//------------------------------// // Courts and Presents // Story: The Thousand Year Change // by Darthvalgaav //------------------------------// Princess Luna had though she had seen it all. In the thousand years she had been ruling the Lunar Republic many ponies had come before her asking for some kind of justice. Most of the time it was something serious like destruction of property. However there were those times when the dispute would be, in her opinion, trivial. But today she had been surprised as a large group of ponies entered her court while dragging a tied up stallion behind them. Luna, shocked to see her subjects acting in such a way, demanded that the group explain themselves. They explained that the tied up pony was named Michael Hay before going into detail the problems with his movie. In the end they demanded justice for the ways he had not only insulted those who had died that day, but also the Royal Guards who looked completely incompetent. Sighing, Luna asked them to release Mr. Hay while she went to watch the movie. There was no way it could be as bad as they made it seem, right. One movie viewing later Luna was seated in front on the director pony while mentally counting to ten. “Michael Hay,” said Luna as she did her best to keep calm. “I have reviewed the evidence and find that the film you created is beyond insulting. There was no group of school foals on a field trip in the Deep Tunnel that day! You have insulted the Royal Guard when you had one of them say he didn’t know how to use a shovel! Then you have them work until noon and then call it a day! Even you should know that’s a lie. Royal Guards as well as civilians worked around the clock for days trying to recover the bodies. Then you have the audacity to claim that Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor, and Shadow Blade were saved by a machine that could transform into a pony form. You have lied about our history and offended not only the ponies that died that day but also the families that they left behind.” “Don’t forget what he did to you Princess,” said a pony in the crowd. Slowly Luna nodded. She didn’t want to add that to the list of offences for fear that it might look like she was taking it personally. The movie Luna had order her subjects to stop digging, saying that there was no point in trying to recover the bodies. They were dead and already buried. Luna turned to look at Mr. Hay. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?” she demanded. Hay just shrugged. “It’s just show business,” he said. “I took some liberties.” This earned an angry outburst from the crowd. “You may take liberties when working with fiction,” growled the Princess of the Moon. “But when making a movie about a real event you must get the facts right. But you didn’t! It was an accident, not a military attack from Equestria.” Luna paused for a moment to take a deep breath. Just saying the name of that country fueled her anger. She would not let her subjects make the same mistakes as the ones made in Equestria. “During my short trip to Equestria, I found that many things were said about us. All of them false. My sister had allowed these things to be said to the point were they became part of their historical books. We shall not do the same!” She then looked directly at Mr. Hay. “While I would love to see you in a prison pod, there is no law currently in existence that would allow such an action. However, you will be forbidden from making another historically based movie, will return all the bits the movie made, and will do community service for the next six months. Perhaps then you will gain some small degree of respect for the Republic and those who work hard in it. Finally your movie shall be removed from all theaters and destroyed.” -x- Twilight and Scootaloo had just sat down to dinner when there was a knock at the door. Wishing she had an assistant or something to get it instead of her, Twilight got up. She moved as quickly as she could to the door so that her dinner, apple stew with flower petals, wouldn’t get cold. Opening the door she found three ponies with gifts. “Hey Twilight,” said Lightning Dust as she handed Twilight a large wrapped box. “So, where’s the kid?” “At the dinner table,” said Twilight as she set down the box. “We were just about to eat dinner.” Twilight turned her head to look at the doorway leading to the kitchen to see that Scootaloo was standing there. “So this is her,” said Lightning as she walked over towards Scootaloo. She looked the filly up and down before she began to circle around her. Finally, she stopped and looked at Twilight. “I guess she looks somewhat cool.” Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something when a filly about her age ran up to her. She was a unicorn with a pale purple coat, a blond mane, and yellow eyes. In a way she sort of looked a bit like the last pony that had come to visit, a grey Pegasus with weird eyes. “Hey, I’m Dinky,” she said quickly. “What’s your name?” “Scootaloo,” replied the orange filly as she was handed a gift. Dinky leaned in close to whisper in Scootaloo’s ear. “Don’t mind Lightning. She thinks she’s the coolest pony in the Republic. Actually, I think she was giving you a compliment.” Dinky then pulled back a bit and spoke in a normal voice. “I hope you like the presents we got you. How about you open mine?” Scootaloo nodded and began to unwrap the gift Dinky had brought with her teeth. It took awhile, but soon Scootaloo was looking at a board game called ‘Starship’. Curious, Scootaloo turned it over to read the back. From what she could tell, it was a two player game where both players place their starship on a grid and then try to guess where they were. It sort of reminded her of the game Rainbow Dash liked to play. “So, how did you two find out?” asked Twilight as she watched Scootaloo pull out the game. “Princess Luna told me,” said Derpy as she handed Twilight her gift. “It was very nice of you to do that for her. Raising a filly isn’t easy, but very rewarding.” “Thanks Derpy,” said Twilight. She had known Derpy for years and had been there when Derpy found out she was pregnant. It was at a dance when she met this unicorn from Twilight’s school. He had charmed her and offered her muffins if she came back to his place. Several weeks later, Twilight had gone with her friend to confirm what they both had feared. Derpy’s family took the news hard at first, but they still supported her decision to keep the foal. Sadly, Derpy had to drop out of school in order to take care of Dinky. Normally it would have been very difficult for her to get a decent job without completing her education, but Twilight had talked to Princess Luna and got her the job of the royal messenger. “Tell her the news,” said Lightning as she gave Derpy a nudge. Twilight raised an eyebrow at Derpy who began to blush a bit. “Well, I guess I should tell you this first,” said Derpy as she burst into a big smile. “There’s going to be another addition to the family.” As she said this, Derpy placed a hoof on her stomach. For a moment, Twilight stood there in stunned silence. Then, without warning, let out the biggest squeal of her life. She began to talk a mile a minute as she began to make mental plans about the baby shower. She also began to wonder if it would be a Pegasus or an earth pony. She thought about asking Derpy, but she knew that she would most likely wait so that it would be a surprise. “I’m so happy for you,” said Twilight as she calmed down enough to give her friend a hug. “Thanks,” said Derpy as she hugged her friend back. Once they released each other Derpy remembered that she had something else to tell Twilight. “Ah, the Princess also wanted me to tell you something. She needs you to go into work tomorrow.” “What?” Twilight nearly yelled as her happy mode came to a sudden stop. “How come?” Derpy shrugged. “All I know is it has something to do with the senate. Well, maybe Project Crescent Hope as well.” Twilight tried her best to hold back a groan. It had to be something like that. Something must of happened to Dr. Blue Star. Normally something like this wouldn’t have been a problem for Twilight. All the Princess had to do was ask and she would come running without any second thoughts. But now things were a bit different. “I can’t go to work and leave Scootaloo all alone,” Twilight moaned. “And I can’t take her to work either. How could I have overlooked this problem?” Twilight brought a hoof to her head as she tried to think of a quick solution. Vinyl might be able to help, but the DJ was know for her wild side and Twilight feared what might happen if she left a foal in her care. Derpy was out since she had to work as well and…That’s when Twilight had an idea. “Hey Derpy, doesn’t Dinky have a Lunar Troop meeting tomorrow?” “Oh no you don’t,” said Lightning before Derpy could say anything. “I know what’s going on in that head of yours and the answer is no. Tomorrow is a big day.” “What are the Lunar Troops?” asked Scootaloo. “They’re this thing that Princess Luna set up a really long time ago,” answered Dinky. “What happens is they take foals like us on trips and do all sorts of fun activities so that we can get our cutie marks. They also show us all the different jobs in the Republic. Lightning Dust is the Troop Leader for Dome One.” Scootaloo nodded in understanding. The way Dinky put it made it sound like she could have a lot of fun. Please she might finally get her cutie mark. No more being a blank flank and having fillies like Diamond Tiara bullying her. “Please Lightning,” begged Twilight. “No way Twilight,” said Lightning stubbornly. “Tomorrow is the big Laser Tag Free For All between all the Troops. My kids have been working extra hard so that we might actually win this time. If she joins then she has to compete as well. She’ll be a sitting duck!” “We suck,” whispered Dinky as she lowered her head in defeat. “Dome Nine wins first place every time. Don’t worry, when we lose nopony will blame you.” “I’m pretty good at sports,” said Scootaloo as she stood up to face the adults. “I promise I won’t get in the way.” “Well,” began Lightning as she looked at Derpy and Twilight for help. However, Twilight’s face was full of hope that Lightning would relent. Derpy, well, she looked like Derpy. Sometimes it was hard for her to figure out what Derpy was thinking. So, in the end, Lightning Dust let out a sigh of defeat. “Alright, you can come. But I don’t want to hear any whining if you’re the first one out.” “Please,” said Scootaloo in a confident tone. “How hard could it be?” All the adults, as well as Dinky, all looked away. -x- Cadence let out a sigh as she watched the moon rise from her balcony window. Things weren’t going well, not well at all. Nearly all the guards were shooting daggers at Midnight, causing the Princess of Love to keep her new daughter close to her at all times. She knew she couldn’t do this forever. Sooner or later she would have to leave Midnight alone or with a guard due to her work. But how could she do that when she didn’t trust the guards anymore? Then there was the problem with the nobles. It seemed like all day they had been arguing with her that Midnight should not get the title of princess. Cadence held firm that her daughter, while adopted, was now part of the royal family and would be treated as such. The nobles, however, refused to acknowledge this. They said it was bad enough that she had adopted Midnight and was allowing her to stay in the castle. Giving her the title of ‘Princess’ was pushing it. Some left, saying that they would bring this before Princess Celestia herself in the hopes that she would set her crazy niece straight. ‘Good luck with that,’ thought Cadence bitterly. So far nopony had seen her aunt since she locked herself in her private chambers. Whenever Cadence got close she could barely make out the sound of a quill writing on parchment. She could only guess that Celestia was still trying to get Luna to listen to what she had to say. Down in the courtyard a commotion began to rise. Looking down, Cadence saw dozens of guards racing towards three thin ponies with their spears drawn. Quickly the Princess of Love looked in the direction of her aunt’s window to find it sealed shut. It seemed like Celestia wouldn’t be getting involved in this incident. Sighing she place Midnight on her back as she flew downwards to the growing crowd. “Princess, please go back inside,” said one guard as she landed. “It’s not safe.” Cadence ignored him as she walked towards the three intruders. All three were bat ponies, each one looking very thin. Not as bad as Midnight had been but Cadence could see that they rarely got much to eat. When the three saw her they took a step forward only to have a dozen spears pointed at them. “At ease,” commanded Cadence as she stepped in front of the guards. As she did, a bat pony mare stepped forward as well. Most likely the leader of this group. “What is your name?” “Ruby Moon,” answered the mare. “The other two are called Dusk Blitz and Thunderclap. It is a pleasure to met you as we had hoped.” Cadence raised an eyebrow. “You came to see me?” she asked. “Yes,” said Ruby as she began to bow. The other two did the same, much to the surprise of Cadence. “We have heard that you plan on making things better for bat ponies. While most of us think that it is a lie of some kind, we believe that your actions say that you really mean in.” Ruby then raised her head to look Cadence in the eye. “We have come here today to ask that we may join the royal guard.”