“Another day, another bit,” Cross Circuit said as he locked the door to the Ponyville arcade.
Behind him he heard the clatter of hooves and cartwheels against the packed earth coming to a stop. There was only one pony he could think of that would be riding around in a chariot in the middle of the night: The ruler of the night, the sister of Celestia, the former Nightmare Moon, her Highness Princess… something. He really had meant to find out what her name was but it had always just seemed an awkward thing to ask. Thankfully she had an abundance of titles he could use before it became apparent that he didn’t know her name.
“Good evening your Highness,” He said as he turned and bowed to the alicorn sitting regally in her dark chariot.
“Good evening my subject,” she said in return as she dismounted the chariot.
Cross Circuit arched an eyebrow at the unicorn in dark armor and the third bat-pony-night-pegasus-guard-thing that followed after her. The unicorn regarded everything around him with a neutral frown while the bat-mare looked back at Cross with a dangerous gleam in her eye.
“I am seeking to have a few gaming machines installed in Canterlot Castle and thought it best to consult with you before I made my decision,” The Princess said breaking the silence.
“Of course, you Highness, step inside,” Cross said before unlocking the arcade’s front door and opening it for the princess.
The two guards bustled through the door and began examining the room before Cross had the door opened completely. Cross gave a questioning look to the Princess but on seeing her neutral expression shrugged off the odd behavior. It seemed this was standard practice when dealing with royalty.
After receiving the all clear from her guards the Princess made her way into the arcade followed by Cross.
“You’re more than welcome to turn on the lights you know,” he said as he flipped a few switches near the front door.
The nocturnal ponies inside flinched as their eyes adjusted to the light. Cross noticed the bat-pegasus mare’s slitted pupils dilate in wonder as game displays activated one by one and title music began to play. The other ponies in the room watched with half hidden smiles as she cautiously approached the nearest machine. With a tentative hoof she touched the joystick in front of her. She jumped back as the screen in front of her flashed from its title sequence to black with white text reading, “insert bit(s) to play”.
“Is this really what unicorn magic can do,” she wondered aloud.
“It’s a bit of everypony’s magic, really,” Cross said. “The crystals and minerals are grown by earth ponies, the programs are enchanted onto them by unicorns and the whole thing is powered by pegasus lightning.”
“Oh,” the bat mare said, downcast.
Cross looked at the princess trying to figure out the mare’s rapid change in mood. The Princess’ features quickly settled into a neutral mask but for a moment Cross thought he saw a flash of guilt across her face. Confused cross looked at the unicorn guard only to find a stern frown.
“I’m sorry if I said anything to offend you,” he said turning back to the bat mare.
“It’s nothing,” she said turning away.
Cross gave the unicorn guard a helpless look but only received a shrug in return. If he did understand why his fellow guard was upset he didn’t know how to cheer her up. Cross looked to the Princess, hoping to find some clue of how to cheer the distraught guard, but she still wore her neutral mask. He considered going outside and asking the two other bat pegasi strapped to the chariot for some advise but the would likely be about as much help as the others had been.
“You had some questions for me, your Majesty,” Cross finally said breaking the awkward silence.
“Yes, perhaps we should discuss them in your office,” the Princess said, already headed to the back area.
Cross nodded and followed. His “office” was at least more presentable than it had been the last time the Princess had seen it. The last few weeks of pre-winter chill had kept parts from overheating and all but a few of the arcade’s usual patrons at home.
Come to think of it, it’s been a while since a few of these games have even been played.
As he passed by the counter Cross pulled a small bag of bits out and turned to the two guards. “I am sorry that I’ve upset you,” he said levitating the bag over to them, “Please play some games on me.”
The bat-pegasus caught the bag with a sad smile. She was still far from happy but Cross hoped that he had at least lesson her dour mood.
Cross turned back to find the Princess watching from the back room with a small smile of her own. As he approached she summoned a scroll with and laid it out on the work table.
“Canterlot castle has none of the equipment or infrastructure necessary for gaming machines. I received an estimate and although a thousand year’s interest has left my own accounts overflowing I thought it unwise to spend such a large sum without consulting somepony more knowledgeable than myself.”
“I’m flattered Princess,” Cross said as he looked over the document, “But I’m not really the pony to ask about this sort of thi…” Cross couldn’t believe his eyes, the first sub-total alone was more money than he’d ever dreamed of. There were more zeroes behind one of the numbers than bits he had made this week.
These kinds of numbers he had only seen with statistics spanning years of production and hundreds of ponies yet here before him was a princess asking his advice on a single decision that involved this amount of money.
“Ahem,” the princess cleared her throat and shifted the scroll on the table.
Cross picked his jaw up off of the table and wiped a line of drool off his chin before looking up at the Princess sheepishly.
“I’m sorry Princess, that number is staggering. There is no way installing wires should cost half of this, not even in Canterlot.”
“Then it is as I thought,” The Princess said, “Is there some less expensive way to accomplish this?”
“You could build a generating station and fund it for a century with less than this!”
(“Get him!”)
“Just as I thought,” The princess said excitedly, “If that is your recommendation I will have construction started at once.”
(“Get him!”)
“Wait, Princess,” Cross tried but the Princess seemed caught up in her train of thought.
(“Get him!”)
“Powering one machine, even an arcade of machines will be nothing for me,” The princess continued, (“Get him!”) “I raise the moon each night, (“Get him!”) I awaken the stars to paint the sky, (“Get him!”) and it was our power an age ago!” The Princess said rearing up onto her hind legs.
“Get him, get him, get’mget’mget’mAHHHH!!!” A mare’s voice yelled from the main room accompanied by the furious din of horseshoes franticly tapping on plate armor.
Cross exchanged a quizzical glance with The Princess who stood as if she were about to order ponies to charge into battle in all but the confused look on her face.
Outside in the main room of the arcade the unicorn guard stood at an arcade machine furiously mashing buttons and hiding behind him was the bat-pegasus mare yelling incoherent encouragement and nervously tapping on his armored back.
“Will you stop that,” He hissed over his shoulder. As he turned back he caught sight of Cross and The Princess looking at him and his fellow guard. With drilled precision he turned and saluted, dropping the bat-pegasus off of his hindquarters and removing the pony-shield from between her and the terrifying animated dragons.
“AAAAAEEEEE!” The mare screeched from the floor as she backed into the next row of arcade machines.
“Sergeants report!” The Princess barked cutting off the mare’s screech.
The mare rushed to her hooves and gave a still trembling salute as her companion spoke, “Played a game called ‘Canterlot Defender’ Mistress, seemed appropriate.”
“And.”
“Apologies for the noise, we got a little more immersed than we should have. Won’t happen again.”
“See that it does not,” The Princess said as the stern look on her face faded to a bemused smirk. “You may continue to avail yourself of the arcade but see that you do not make nuisances of yourselves.”
“Yes Mistress,” they said in unison.
As Cross and The Princess turned back to the work table he had to stifle a chuckle at bat-pegasus’s antics. “It’s like she’s never seen a video game before,” he thought aloud.
“Excuse the interruption,” The Princess said. “Now, where were we?”
“Ah, I was going to tell you how inefficient unicorn magic was at powering electronics. A team of unicorns has maintained a constant powered circuit for three hours before but they were all exhausted for days after. It would be much better to have some pegasi from your guard charge a crystal with lightning and use that as a power source.”
“I see,” The Princess said she examined the scroll on the table, “Can you speak as to how much these crystals might cost?”
“They are not cheap by any means,” Cross said, “Rock farms have trouble keeping up with demand so when there are components for power converters on the open market they can go for hundreds of bits but that’s nothing compared to this,” he finished, gesturing to the huge numbers on the scroll.
“I see your point.”
“Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t already one in Canterlot, castles are supposed to be self-sufficient aren’t they?”
“In theory yes,” The Princess said with a dry chuckle, “but Celestia was never very skilled with tactics. Just look at what their playing,” She said gesturing to the guards hunched over an arcade machine, “centuries ago the one who defended the nation was not the one who appeased dragons but the one who slayed them. I doubt the castle could survive a month of siege. I shall look but I am not hopeful, now what else may be required to power these machines?”
Cross sat there with his jaw slightly agape. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard, sure she was a princess but nopony said anything like that.
“Ahem.”
Perhaps it was just some cultural relic from a thousand years ago. She was doing well adapting to the new world but it would take years to iron out all her mannerisms so she could blend in.
“Ahem!”
Then again she was the Alicorn Ruler of the Night; she didn’t blend in, she shaped the world around her. Still was this something that Cross wanted to see his world shaped into?
“AHEM!”
With an eloquent “Bwah,” Cross was pulled out of his thoughts The Princess’s cough inches from his face and none too gentle prodding of her hoof.
“Are you well?” The Princess asked.
“I’m sorry it’s just that well…” Cross said blushing, “nopony ever does that.”
“Does what?”
“Criticizes Princess Celestia, or even questions her judgment really. The only thing I’ve heard about her that wasn’t praise was some colt talking about an article in some gossip magazine.”
The Princess regarded Cross with the same neutral mask she so often wore but he could sense a sternness that had not been there before. Even when barking orders to her guards like a drill sergeant she seemed less cut-from-stone.
“It is good that I am back,” She eventually said in a low voice. “A ruler that walks without being questioned walks on the road to tyranny. Celestia has ever been skilled at portraying an air of perfection but any ruler will err, even one as kind as Celestia. If nopony remembers her mistakes it is because she has seen to it that they forget.
“When I return to Canterlot Celestia will be brought to account for every bit given to appease an enemy, for every inch of territory not fought for, and for every year of this past millennium my little ponies have suffered in solitude for her tendency to sweep her mistakes under the rug! At least I have the bravery to put mine in the grave.”
Cross wondered at her words for a moment. “My little ponies” she had said. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the bat-pegasus mare cautiously examining another arcade machine.
“It’s like she’s never seen a video game before,” he repeated again to himself. The Princess’s ponies, solitude, the bat-like wings, the slitted pupils, the fangs; it all made sense.
In his few prior experiences with the royal guard they had stood stoically waiting to react to anything but these night guard did not wait. They watched him from before he even knew they had come, they searched out the darkness daring anything to be a threat, their sleek, dark armor did not gleam in the sunlight, boldly declaring this place guarded from all threats, it searched out the shadows, seeing but unseen, ending any threat before it had a chance to act. These were nothing like Equestrian guards because they were not.
“Your guards, they aren’t from Equestria are they?”
“Not as you know it,” The Princess replied, the previous steel in her voice replaced by a quiet sadness. “My night ponies were once Equestria’s army. An entire tribe that devoted itself to protecting the other three from all threats because I bid them to. And for a thousand years they exiled themselves because I was exiled. For a thousand years of prosperity and progress Celestia left them behind.”
“They- they’re a new tribe? I thought those wings were just some disguise or enchantment on the armor. I-I had no idea.”
“Then we hid well,” Cross heard a mare’s voice say behind him. “We belong only to the night. Our loyalty and our lives are ever yours. Vivas noctuss!” the ba-night pony (Cross mentally corrected himself) hissed with a salute.
Cross looked back at The Princess expecting to see her heartened by the show of loyalty but instead found her visibly saddened.
“An alicorn knows the land they rule,” she said. “Celestia did not find you because she did not look. When I return to the castle I will have words with her but for now I have been wanting to play these games again for some time, would you be willing to play a few with me?” The Princess asked as a gleam of excitement broke through the gloom of her sad expression.
“I thought you would never ask.” Cross said with a sure grin.