Chapter 23
Words Meant to Dwell in Darkness Shall Never See the Light of Day
That evening was one of an almost unprecedented bliss, filled with the sort of happiness I’d nearly forgotten I could feel. A wise person once said that home is where the heart is; I cannot disagree. Then entire time I’d been away from Joy, I’d felt out of place; alone and adrift in a veritable storm of badness and conflicting feelings. With a single embrace Joy had brought me home, had taken away all of that which had plagued my soul and restored me to the nearly carefree bliss I’d last known before my confession. In this way, I’d been home before we’d even gotten back to the house.
Once I was home and showered, I was treated to that which I had missed most of all, the ritual that had been the highlight and redemption for every day of my life in Equestria. Joy laid on the couch, resting her head in my lap as I slowly stroked her mane. The surge of love and happiness within me was so overwhelming, so powerful, that I had to fight back tears. As the warmth swelled within me it reminded me that, no matter how bad things got, so long as I had Joy by my side I could weather them. Stroking her mane in the ritual that had formed a cornerstone of my sanity, I could clearly see that Joy was as enraptured as I was. This night was different from those before it though, for there hung a slight mist in the mood. It was then that Joy spoke up, lending credence to my perceptions. After all, Joy almost never spoke this far into a brushing, unless she was vocalizing from a dream.
“Dave… I have a few questions I need to ask you.”
I tensed up at this, though I knew not why. Trying to hide the slight edge in my voice, I kept brushing at a measured pace as I responded. “Oh? Alright, fire at will.”
With a sly grin and a half-opened eye to gauge my reaction, she quipped “Who’s Will, and why am I firing at him?”
I tried to shoot her a deadpan expression, but I was too overcome with happiness to manage it. Instead, I simply smiled at her, hoping that my gentle expression could possibly convey even the barest hint of the love I felt for her. A rosy hue spread on her cheeks as she returned my smile, and she craned her neck up to kiss me. Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that she missed me as much as I missed her. Breaking the kiss, her smile faltered slightly before she cleared her throat. Laying her head back upon my lap and averting her gaze, she spoke in hushed tones, barely above a whisper.
“I need to know more about you, who you were before, back… back in the other world.”
I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts and piece together the fragments of a past life before I spoke. “Okay. What, specifically?”
“I need to know who you were, Dave. Habits, hobbies, family, friends… what did you do for a living, how’d you earn your pay?”
A flood of images surged through me, seemingly incongruous with my current life. Memories of myself as a bipedal hominid fought those of a quadruped equine for dominance, each feeling right to me. The grueling slog through Basic Training, the long hours on shift at the hospital, endless recollections of running, on two legs and four… squeezing my eyes shut, I forced all the images from my mind and found peace. In this peace, images and thoughts came once more, though in an orderly fashion this time. Taking another deep breath, I began.
“Well, that’s a lot to cover, but I’ll do it as best I can. As far as who I am, I would say that I’ve not changed much if at all; my traits and mannerisms seem intact. I joke and kid with you just as much as I used to in my old life, at least around those I care for.”
Joy interjected at this, catching me off guard as I was just beginning to wander down memory lane. “Care for? Like your wife and child? Tell me about them, please.”
I was momentarily shocked that Joy knew I’d been married and a father, but almost instantly it dawned on me that I’d told her as much a few days prior. “How… oh, wait. I remember. Well, I’ll tell you all I can. I was married for a year and a half, roughly, before I came here. It was a whirlwind affair, stemming from a blind date arranged by mutual friends. She was with child when I shipped out for training, and it put a terrible strain on her to be alone during that time. I was also under stress, what with being in highly intensive training and all, so things quickly went sour. When my son was born, I’d hoped that things would improve, but they didn’t. I’d always been emotionally distant, and this did nothing to change it. I wanted to love them both, and I suppose in some way I did, but it was nothing like what love should be. At least, what I thought love should be. This is going to sound terrible, but it’s the honest truth… I loved them as some love pets. There was an endearment, and emotional attachment, but nothing that was as strong as you would expect.”
Joy didn't react to this as I expected, remaining silent instead of shaming me.
“This caused problems. I wanted to care about them and for them, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t until I left my old life behind that I realized how much they meant to me. I couldn’t appreciate them until it was too late… and that is my biggest regret in my life. I loved her, I realized later, but I never treated her right. I’m honestly ashamed of the man I was, of the husband and the father I couldn’t be. I was a decent enough person for the most part, but that didn’t translate to home. I suppose that’s the biggest change in me since I’ve arrived… I’ve vowed never to take love for granted again, and I haven’t since. Love, to me, used to be like sitting on the floor in a dark house with the shades drawn. Now, it’s as if I’m standing outside for the first time, and the brightness and warmth of it is overwhelming. I loved, but couldn’t show it until now. So here I am, a changed pony, though hopefully changed for the better.”
Joy remained silent for a long while, and I could feel her heart rate pick up slightly as her ears twitched randomly. That meant she was thinking about something, as I recalled. A moment’s passage proved me right as she spoke up. “So, you really loved her, but you treated her badly? How badly?”
I hung my head, turning from Joy to hide the shame in my eyes as I answered. “In the cruelest way. I never hit her or verbally abused her, but that might have been less painful for her if I had. No, I was far worse, and I know I caused a much deeper pain by my actions… or rather, my inaction. I never showed her any form of love. We hardly spoke, were only very rarely intimate, and seldom communicated. I all but shunned her without even realizing it. She tried to be warm towards me, but received nothing but cold indifference in return. I don’t think she’ll ever know how much I truly loved her, how precious she was to me. And now, I’ll never be able to tell her. It… it’s all for the best, anyways. She deserves better than what I could provide. And what kills me the most inside is that she loved me still, and will be mourning me, as little as I deserve it. Because of this insight I have found since my arrival here, I’ve vowed to myself and to the stars themselves that I’ll never let that happen again. I’ll never treat you like I treated her, I’d rather die than put you through the same torment.”
Hot tears slipped from my eyes as I relived my greatest shame, a quiver finding its way into my voice near the end. Joy reached up and placed her hoof against my cheek and gently tried to turn my head to face her, but I rebuked her comfort. I deserved every second of misery. Joy then asked the same question I’d pondered myself countless times. “But… why me? Why am I different?”
I responded with the same answer I gave myself whenever I asked the same of myself. “Because this second life is my redemption. It is my chance to make up for some of the terrible things I did in my past life. If I’d learned nothing and made the same mistakes here, caused the same suffering as before, then there’d be no hope for me. If there’s an afterlife of any sort, I’d be doomed to spend it toiling in the deepest and darkest reaches of eternal torment. But you… you are my redemption, Joy. In so many ways. I can be better, I know I can, and I know I must. Everything I’ve been through here, from meeting you to saving Derpy, fixing the playground, even the thing with Mocha… it all seems to be a part of some greater plan, some design beyond fathom. I’ve been pushed and tested in every conceivable way, as if something is trying to break me down, to make me fail. And I have failed, in small ways, from the start. Each time I do, I see your face, your smile, and I can pick myself up and put myself back together… for you. For redemption’s sake.”
There was no hiding the scorn in her voice, which caught me entirely off guard. “Is that all I am to you? A chance at redemption?” Her pulse had quickened noticeably, upset as she was. Doing what I do best, I answered without thinking, speaking from the heart.
“No, that was just the conclusion I came to when I asked myself why I loved you so much. I fell for you harder and faster than I thought possible, and I wanted to figure out why it was that everything I felt for you was so much more intense, or why I felt so strongly that I needed to be better. I loved you deeply before I ever realized that you were my redemption. It was only after I knew I loved you that redemption even came into my mind, and it’s how I knew I was meant to love you. It’s as simple as that.”
Her pulse slackened a bit at this, the scorn edging out of her voice as she replied, hope in her voice. “Is that so? This isn’t just some cockamamie plan to win redemption by treating me better than your… wife? Gosh, that word is so hard to say, it sounds so wrong… I’m going to be your wife soon… wait, hold on. You’re still technically married to her, aren’t you? You never got a divorce.”
I almost laughed at the strangeness of the statement, but something on her voice told me that she was quite serious about this. Very carefully and with a measured tone, I responded to her. “Joy, are you sure it’s necessary? We are worlds, if not universes, apart. There is no conceivable link remaining aside from memory, love.”
My shame subsiding, I mustered the strength to face Joy once more. She stared ahead in silence for a moment before turning to look me in the eyes. With a pleading tone, she said “Please, for me.” Her voice was but a whisper. “I know it’s silly to you, but it would mean the world to me.”
I sat there, mildly to moderately befuddled for a moment before the gears in my head started turning again. “Well, how would we do it? I think I’d be thrown out of the Mayor’s office if I approached with the request to be divorced from my wife from another world.”
Her gaze was unwavering, unblinking. “Just say it.”
I held her gaze, unable to look away. “Say what?”
“Tell me that you love me and no other, and that you renounce your old life and any connection to it.”
I felt my eyes burning in a way that was unrelated to them being open for so long. Though I’d said the same to myself a dozen times since I came to this place, to say it out loud to Joy seemed final and binding, as if I were severing the ties anew. “Why?”
Her gaze wavered but did not fail, even as tears crept into the corners of her eyes. “Just… please? I need to hear it. I don’t know why, but I know that it means the world to me.”
I realized, in a fashion becoming entirely too familiar to me, that I was being a fool. I swiftly put my trepidation aside to say what needed to be said. “Joy, I love you so much that there is no room for any other, not even myself. I disavow any bonds to my old life, save for the memories of my failures. I love you, Joy. There can be no other.”
Tears now flowing freely, Joy craned her neck upwards to kiss me full on the lips. It was a desperate gesture, full of relief, as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. A long moment passed in silence as she pressed her head to my chest, nuzzling her cheek against my coat. When the next question came, it was so softly spoken that I almost didn’t hear it. “What were their names?”
Caught off guard as I was by the question, it took me a moment to actually grasp the meaning of the question. “Oh, sorry. Took me a second to figure it out. Her name was Danielle, and his was Dustin. ’We three D’s’, as it were.”
“The three D’s? Wow… I just… wow. Okay.”
I cocked an eyebrow at this. “Oh? Something funny, love?”
Joy responded with a coy smile and a raised eyebrow of her own. “Oh, nothing much. I was just marveling at your creativity, is all.”
I was sorely tempted to stick my tongue out at her, but I’d learned my lesson by then. In lieu of that, I simply made an exaggerated frowning expression, scrunching my face and narrowing my eyes. She smiled innocently, looking too darn adorable for her own good. I gave her a quick peck on the forehead, drawing a rosy blush from her. For an instant I was back under the streetlight on my first day in Ponyville, marveling at the innocent beauty of Nurse Joy. Her blush and look of surprise were the same then as they were before, a timeless treasure meant just for me. Until the end of my days, I would have these little pieces of wonder and joy to warm me. My warm reverie was unceremoniously shattered as Joy continued her inquisition, the blush still on her face.
“So, where were you born, where did you grow up, what sort of family did you have, et cetera?”
The moment passed without a sound, though its echoes were still bouncing around my skull. Quieting the echoes, I grumbled my reply, earning a smirk from Joy. “Way to kill the moment, Joy. Anyway, just about everything I told you there was the truth. I was raised in a town called Rockledge, though it wasn’t a griffin clan. I had my mom, but my dad was never around. I was the middle of three kids, bracketed by sisters. Honestly, family is an uncomfortable subject for me… could we talk about something else, please?”
Joy sighed tiredly but assented nonetheless. She looked disappointed for a moment, but only a moment; you could practically see the light bulb over her head as she was struck by an idea. “Oh! I know! Tell me about the special training you got, I want to know more about that!”
In spite of the lateness of the hour and the emotional beating that we’d both endured recently, she was smiling and positively bouncing in my lap as the awaited my anecdote. With an evil, maniacal grin, I answered her. “I’m sorry, but those details are classified, and I’m not at liberty to discuss them.” She looked positively crestfallen, and I could swear that she was about to cry. Having seen too many of her tears already, I quickly shushed her with a kiss and redacted. “I was kidding, dear. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Now, where to start…”
Over the next hour or so, I recounted a general account of my basic training experiences, though much of this time was spent skirting around what exactly and M-4 is, or the principal of firearms in general. To do this, I just referred to it as a tool, requiring special precautions and training. Any attempt by her to get further information out of me was met by the excuse that I actually wasn’t allowed to talk about it, that it really and truly was classified. Though skeptical and highly annoyed, she eventually gave up on that particular subject. Instead, she reveled in my accounts of barracks shenanigans and the general incompetence of certain soldiers. I was high on nostalgia, recounting my various misadventures in the desert and in garrison, when I became aware of a faint noise coming from Joy.
Trailing off in the middle of my sentence, I looked at her, growing concerned. Her eyes were open but unblinking, with a faraway glaze on them, as if she weren’t really here. Her breath was deep and slow, coming at a regular interval that was marked by a slight nasally wheeze. The sound was a familiar one, but where I recognized it from seem incongruous with the current situation; she usually made these noises when she was asleep. That, however, couldn’t be so; her eyes were wide open. As if to answer me she snorted a little bit, a pronounced snore emerging.
Well, I’ll be damned. She’s sleeping with her eyes open. That’s a new one by me.
Smiling gently, I brushed her eyelids closed, fighting away the thought that I’d do the same for a corpse. Her eyes being closed, I gently scooted out from under her, somehow managing not to wake her despite my complete lack of grace. If I had any doubts, they were erased by this; she was out cold. I’d no sooner laid the blankets out on the bed than she’d snatched two-thirds of them up, wrapping herself in a quasi-cocoon. With a gentle kiss on her forehead that brought a smile to her face, I climbed into bed beside her and snuggled with what was left of the covers. Still in good spirits from my trip down memory lane, I was soon fast asleep.
That night, I dreamt of clouds. Knowing the texture and consistency of them just served to lend the dream an extra air of realism. Soaring through the mountainous cumulus valleys, gilded by the moon’s light, I realized that I seldom dreamed of a time other than night. I felt happy about this, for I have always been and always shall be a creature of the night. As I climbed and swooped higher into the sky, I found myself emerging on top of the cloud layer, leaving nothing to spoil the awe inspiring dome of the night sky. The night sky was as brilliantly beautiful as I’d ever seen it before, filled with more stars than I’d ever seen in my life. Even as I stared in wonder, my mouth agape, a single immaculate meteor streaked across the sky. That was the final clue before realization all but slapped me in the face.
Flapping as hard and as fast as I could I streaked upwards, searching for what I knew I’d find; sure enough, there was a single cloud lingering far above the rest. Though I recalled the despair I’d felt as my last attempt fell short, I knew that this time would be different. I would not fall, I would not fail. Just as before, I could feel the atmosphere becoming thinner and thinner, each breath harder and harder to take as my wings struggled to pry me from the embrace of gravity. Just when I was beginning to think I’d fail short, I crested the lip of the cloud, coming to a gentle rest as my momentum was spent.
Breathing as heavily as I could in the thin air, I slowly caught my breath with a smile on my face. Up ahead, with her back to me, was the regal Princess of the Night. Her mane of stars flapped in an ethereal breeze, seemingly spreading out to blanket the night sky in its brilliance. She seemed to take no notice of my approach until I’d taken a seat beside her; her reaction was naught more than a playful smirk. For several moments we sat in silence, sharing the wonder of the night from opposite perspectives; the creator and the ignorant observer. It was Luna who spoke first.
“It has been quite an eventful period since I saw you last; how have you fared for your troubles?” She regarded me with a raised eyebrow, trying to play off her genuine concern as small talk. Intending to do the same, I smiled dismissively.
“Oh, you know how these things go. Sometimes, you have to become the thing you hate most to save what you love.” Only once I’d spoken did I realize the double meaning and magnitude of what I’d just asked. Feeling stupid beyond measure, I decided to remain silent for fear of making matters worse.
Luna seemed not to be bothered by the slip, or she’d taken it at face value to be a valid answer to her question. Her reply betrayed nothing to contradict this conclusion. “As I’ve seen. In even the most trying of circumstances, you’ve demonstrated a remarkable ability to find the best solution. The most recent event was, admittedly, handled with more… decisive means than most are comfortable with, but it was effective.”
I let out a heaving sigh before shaking my head. “No, effective isn’t the word I’d use. Foolish and irresponsible are better suited as a description. I very nearly threw away my whole life for revenge. It isn’t worth the cost.”
Luna rounded on me, a steeled conviction written across her features. “Nay, this is where you are wrong. There will always be ponies of Mocha’s ilk, out to cause suffering among those who do not fight back. Had you dealt with him lightly, Mocha would not have stopped there. He’d have pegged you, and rightly so, as one who is too timid to fight back. To win against his ilk requires violence of action and decisive moves. You can’t just beat them and expect for that to be the end of it; you have to rout them so thoroughly that you break their very will to fight. One mustn’t simply beat them, one must defeat them. This is a concept remembered by precious few, as it is a wartime strategy that hasn’t seen use since my Banishment. Unfortunately, as you’re aware, the laws have changed in that time to better maintain peace.”
I found myself simply nodding. What more needed to be said in the matter? Side by side in the dead of night, Luna startled me quite badly when she jerked her head up and to the side, as if listening to a faint sound from faraway. My theory seemed to be confirmed as she rose to her hooves, wings spread, and looked back at me. “I apologize, I must cut out time together short; there is one whose need is greater. Until we meet next, just know that you have friends in high places who shan’t let you waste away for this. Fare thee well, Dave.”
And just like that, I was alone again. It was as if she stepped off the cloud and into the void, for there was no sign of her when I made it to the edge to search her out. Looking back to the sky I was very disappointed; as Luna departed, so too did her influence on the night sky. The blackness was not so deep as it had been, and the stars were fewer and dimmer than they had been moments before. I vaguely wondered how it was possible for me to be even slightly disappointed with a sky so beautiful, but it just couldn’t compare to the splendor Luna had imparted. With a rueful smile, I stepped off the edge of the cloud and rocketed towards the forest below. Until the alarm roused me from slumber, I dreamed of nothing but speed.
As usual on Saturday, Joy and I rose a bit later than most ponies, not crawling out of bed until nearly ten in the morning. While she woke up refreshed from the extra hours of sleep, I found myself more than a little bit tired from the truncated rest I’d received. In an effort to return to a semblance of normal at the same time as remedying my lethargy, we made our way into town for breakfast and coffee. But mostly for the coffee.
After brunch, Joy and I found ourselves walking to our spot under the oak, fat and happy from our rather robust meal. In the same clearing that we’d discussed our wedding plans in, We found ourselves having a very different discussion.
“What do you mean ‘friends in high places’? Who are they?” Joy had been incredulous at first, but she now seemed to be growing annoyed at the lack of hard facts and details I was able to provide for her.
“I don’t know, love. That’s what she said, and that I wouldn’t waste away for it. Honestly, that’s it. I don’t know any more than you do.” I was doing my best to calm her, though with little effect.
“I don’t get it. Was she talking about herself? Is she going to intervene directly with a pardon if you get locked away?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Joy. It doesn’t seem likely that she’d go over the Mayor’s head like that, though. It doesn’t seem like something she’d condone, let alone do. I think, if anything, she would probably just urge the Mayor to be lenient or something.”
Now it was Joy that shook her head. “But really, if she wanted to, she could do it and nopony would question her; She’s the Princess of the Night, after all.”
This whole conversation was making me uneasy, talking about my own incarceration and possible trump cards and such. Holding up a hoof to forestall any further debate, I spoke my mind. “Really, we’re talking about it like it’s a foregone conclusion. It’s like we expect me to fail, to mess up, and I won’t. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it; I won’t let it happen. So, can we please just drop it?”
Picking up on the discomfort evident in my voice, Joy immediately looked abashed and kissed me in apology. “I’m sorry, Love; I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. The whole thing has me on edge too, and I guess I’m just eager to hear about anything that might give you a way out of all of this mess.”
I felt a surge of love well up in my chest for the mare who loved me so. I gently nuzzled her cheek, sneaking in a soft kiss at the base of her jaw that made her squeak in an adorable manner. I was so riddled with Diabeetus by this point that I might as well have had my blood replaced with maple syrup. For those precious moments things were the same as before the Revelation, the two of us simply overflowing with love for one another as we kissed and nibbled playfully at each other’s neck, ears, and lips. At least for a short while, we were innocent again.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Meanwhile, at the Ponyville Mayor’s Office
The turquoise mare named Prose sat at her post behind the help desk, ready to “help” any pony who came to ask inane questions… help them find their way back outside, that is. With a weary sigh, Prose reflected on her seemingly eternal career as the Mayor’s secretary. She could remember a time when she greeted each day and every pony with enthusiasm, ready to jump through hoops at a moment’s notice to help a pony find the solution they sought. Bah. Nopony has time for all that. Nowadays ponies all seemed to think that they were the most important thing on four legs, and that Prose was supposed to cater to their every whim. Need to see the Mayor right now? Sure, I’m positive she won’t mind dropping the tax reform she’s working on to hear you complain about your neighbor’s dog. So on and so forth, it never changed.
Fortunately, being the secretary also entailed her filling the role of court stenographer, meaning that she always had the best gossip out of anypony at the spa. Lately, that was one of the few dwindling perks that kept her coming to work each day. If there was anything exciting that happened in town, the job might be a bit more tolerable. As it was though, nothing exciting ever happened in town. Not ever. The most excitement she’d seen in the last two months came from one thug beating the feathers off of five others. That one had been pretty good, but not spectacular. By the sun, why can’t anything exciting ever happen here?
A small mote of bluish magic lazily drifted across Prose’s nose, making it tingle slightly. Looking about in confusion, she caught sight of another speck across the room. Another and then another popped into being right before her eyes, forming a ball of glowing energy that hovered in the center of the room. Well, thought Prose, would you look at-
A blinding flash and a tremendous crack echoed throughout the room, the waves of magical energy making Prose’s mane stand straight on end (which was no mean feat, considering the amount of hairspray she used). The smell of ozone hung heavily in the air as papers fluttered lamely to the floor. Blinking the spots from her eyes, she began to take in the features of the pony who had suddenly appeared in the middle of her domain without so much as a knock. How rude. An instant before telling this pony to step outside and re-enter like a civilized creature, she saw something that made her catch her tongue. In the nick of time, she recognized the intruder as none other than Princess Luna.
In her struggle to rise from her chair and bestow her genuflections, Prose managed to knock over nearly every item on her desk and a few others besides. When Luna finally told her to relax before she hurt herself, Prose could feel her cheeks burning like the sun. “Pardon the intrusion, but I need to speak to the Mayor, please.” Prose nodded a bit overzealously at this before she turned and scampered off to gather the Mayor. Bursting into her boss’ office without so much as a courtesy knock would normally be grounds for a stern talking to, but these were far from normal circumstances. “Mayor, there’s somepony in the Lobby who needs to see you.”
The Mayor looked up from the agreement she’d been scanning to lock a deadpan gaze on Prose. While the unicorn wasn’t one prone to flights of fancy, she had been known in the past to overstate the importance of a visitor. Casting a glance back at the agreement, she debated for a moment before concluding that the agreement was more pressing than anypony in the lobby. If it was important, they’d wait. “Prose, unless the Princess herself is standing out there, tell them they’ll have to wait for me to finish.”
What came next caused the Mayor’s jaw to drop. “Okay Mayor, I’ll tell her you’re on your way now.” Far more surreptitiously than she entered, Prose disappeared, leaving the Mayor in mild shock. Certainly, there was no way the Princess had actually visited her, face to face. That was supposed to be a dismissal, not a… oh, crud. Hastily gathering herself into a semi-presentable manner, she set off for the door.
“Hello and good morning, Princess Cel-… Princess Luna?” Blushing in angry embarrassment at her own foolish assumption, the Mayor bowed deeply to hide her shame, waiting for Luna’s reprisal. Such reprisal was not forthcoming. Instead, Luna replied in a neutral tone that belied no trace of emotion whatsoever.
“Mayor, I’d like to speak to you in private about a rather important matter.”
All but springing to her hooves, the Mayor nodded vigorously as she gestured for Luna to follow. “Of course, Your Highness. My office is right this way.” Luna responded with a nod, following silently. Once the door was sealed with a muffled thud, Mayor spoke up once more. “So, uh, Your Highness… how may I be of service?”
Luna’s gaze panned across the office, seemingly scrutinizing every nook and cranny before coming to rest upon the Mayor. “Well, I have a favor, of sorts, to ask of you. You may refuse at no consequence if you so desire.”
The elderly mare gulped heavily, trying in vain to hide it with a cough and a fake smile. What would a Princess, one of the most powerful beings in existence, possibly want from her? “Anything, Your Majesty.”
Luna broke her gaze with the Mayor, smirking at voice from the past. Her grin faded nearly as soon as it had come, and a small sigh filled the emptiness before Luna spoke. “What I ask of you, and indeed, the very fact that I ask this of you must be a closely guarded secret whether you accept or not. Is that understood?” A coifed grey mane bounced up and down as the head it was attached to nodded in agreement. Luna continued. “Good, very good. I’m sure you are familiar with a relatively new pony in town who goes by the name of ‘Dave’. He was recently involved in an… altercation, of sorts as I’m sure you recall. He is under the stewardship of the Crown, as an ambassador of sorts. Because of his position, it would be a distinct disadvantage to the Crown if he were to be incarcerated for any period of time.”
The Mayor’s head was spinning under the weight of these implications. Dave, the local hero-turned-villain-turned-hero-again was under the protection of the Crown? As an Ambassador? But then… what did the Crown need her for? Surely, all it would take is a single letter and he’d be released from whatever cell he was in. Why drag her into this? “I’m afraid I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out what exactly you need from me, Princess.”
Luna took a step closer to the Mayor, lowering her head near the governor’s as she spoke in hushed tones. “Please understand that this is a delicate matter. In this community, you are the law, the center of justice. For his crimes, you have given Dave a suspended sentence, one that is dependent on his continued good behavior to remain suspended. What I ask of you is that you take a more… lenient stance, should his name come across your desk during that time. I leave you in full control of your town, and I am by no means forbidding you to incarcerate him for a sufficiently grave transgression. All I ask is that you think long and hard about just what would constitute such a crime. I do not wish to undermine your authority or the ponies’ perceptions of you as a leader by granting a pardon to one you have deemed guilty of a crime. Instead, I ask that you merely evaluate your standards to ensure that he is not imprisoned over a minor offense.”
The Mayor nodded dumbly. What the Princess was asking her to do was a borderline violation of the trust the townsponies had in her, and it made her deeply uncomfortable. On one hoof, it was underhooved to use her authority to exert influence over the judicial system in town. On the other, it was certainly less scandalous than if she’d sent Dave to prison only to have him pardoned by the Crown, which would cast doubt upon her judgment. Uncomfortable and slimy as it made her feel, the Mayor nevertheless found herself raising a hoof to shake, sealing the deal. Without another word, Luna nodded and departed.
Shortly after the Princess had left, Prose returned with an utterly bewildered expression, inquiring as to the nature of Luna’s visit. The elderly mare was feeling every one of her years as she waved away her secretary, crafting some sort of excuse about having to review trade agreements with Canterlot. Once the door was closed and the sound of hooves faded, the grey mare depressed a hidden button on the desk. With a barely-audible click, a panel popped open on well-oiled hinges to reveal a bottle of amber liquid and a small glass. Well, old gal, looks like it’s going to be one of those days…
With a wry chuckle, she popped out the cork and poured herself a glass.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Fifty kilometers away, Joy and Dave lounged in the shade of an ancient oak, entirely unaware of the back room deal that had just been made to shape Dave’s fate.