The problem with being appointed to royalty was the fact that Equestria royalty was of the sort that actually did things, as Twilight Sparkle... excuse me, Princess Twilight Sparkle was soon discovering. For the nascent princess of magic, there was all sorts of things to do. Aristocracy, the nobility, the upper class... Canterlot society was made up for the wheelers and dealers of those that considered themselves ponies of wealth and taste, various descendants of the Unicorn Kingdom (however valid such a claim may be), those raised by decree of Princess Celestia, and at the bottom of this fine pyramid, the common folk that supported the political morass that was Canterlot.
All in all, it was quite a lot to take in.
"This is... quite a lot to take in." Twilight Sparkle stated to the Royal Secretary, Neighville Chamberland quite redundantly. She was always an apt pupil, but here she was learning the ins and outs of equestrian politics. And there was quite a lot of equestrian politics.
"Be that as it may, Your Grace, the fact is that as the Princess of Magic etc, you have to deal with such politics, especially with the various parliamentary procedures of two Houses." The Royal Secretary was a miniature horse, easily two heads shorter then Twilight Sparkle, using a front hoof to adjust the pince-nez upon his face. "With the House of Peers, you have the various members of the Nobility clinging to what little power they have left, using their finite resources to influence Equestrian policy. As a Princess of Equestria, you have absolute veto over any and item brought up by the noblesse." That was certainly a huge responsibility.
"That's a huge responsibility! How can any pony... even the Princesses go against the will of the people like that?" Twilight asked, pondering such a question. The secretary harrumphed, the scarlet breast of his waist coat swelling a bit with the noise.
"The House of Peers do not represent the will of the people, Your Grace. For that one must look toward the House of Commons, the lower house if you will of the Parliament. They are the ones that set taxes on the earth pony farmer, the pegasi weather pony, even the unicorn librarian. They make the laws to govern the land. The House of Peers try to influence foreign policy with the various nations that border our fine Principality." He walked to the other end of the table and grabbed a sheath of papers with his mouth and deposited them in front of the princess. "You will find that within the dossiers on the various ambassadors of other nations that call Canterlot home. It would do you well, Your Grace, to study these."
Twilight Sparkle leafed through them. A detailed account on the almost venerable griffon ambassador appointed by the current Griffin Emperor's great grandfather seemed to take up most of the sheets of paper. "Why so much focus on the Griffonian ambassador? He can't possibly be that bad..." The secretary cleared his throat.
"Griffon-Pony relations have been strained for some years. It's to happen when a predator species occupies a significant border with a prey species. Or so the theory goes. Especially with most of the Griffon clans ready to go to war at the drop of a hat." There was a ding on the table. "Oh dear, it seems that today's lesson is concluded. I'm sure, in time, you'll be more then ready to rule your own chunk of Equestria, Your Grace." And with that, the royal secretary hopped off the table and sauntered off to parts unknown of the castle. Most certainly his office.
As the lavender alicorn mare also turned to leave, she found herself practically stumbling into Princess Luna. "Princess! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" She apologized quickly, only to find Luna shaking her head.
"Twilight, please. You don't have to call me Princess. We're the same, now. You have just as much right to be called Princess now. But! It's good that we met up. I need you to do a tiny favor for me." The other alicorn was, well, one wouldn't call her terse, but she was too the point, in a manner.
"Oh, I'd be happy to do anything for you Prin- Luna." She stopped herself. That was good. It showed that she was learning.
"Ah, good! You see, I plan on making a little trip. To Seaddle. Yes. I plan on visiting the Solar Needle in Seaddle and I need someone to cover for the Night Court for me and since it's for one day..." She trailed off, a single bead of sweat running down her brow.
"Of course! I'll be happy too! I've sat in on the Day Court several times. How much different could the night court be?"
Several hours later...
A rather stunned Twilight Sparkle sat at the head of the Council of Darkness' meeting table. Was... was this all for real?
"Are you all for real?" Blunt and to the point. T'was the shock, you see. "You can't possibly... that... Princess Luna isn't Nightmare Moon anymore!" She looked at the gathered ponies, who looked at her with their baleful glares.
"Are you quite certain? Could you truly burn away the most pure darkness from our Lady, Nightmare Moon?" That was the Grand Vizier, Stone Cutter, and his ridiculously large turban talking to her.
"YES! The Elements of Harmony burned away the evil from Princess Luna and left her free from the corrupting forces of Nightmare Moon." She reiterated, as they continued to look at her.
"To think that the Elements of Harmony are capable of defeating her. Please. What is more logical, young Princess? That the Elements were capable of undoing a thousand plus years of enduring malice, or that our Dark Lady saw that it was better to play a much longer game, giving her sister a false sense of security?" That was Grand Magister Ever Last. And to think... Twilight Sparkle's great-grandfather was a member of the Magistry of Illuminated Practitioners.
"Do you even hear yourselves talk? You're... you're being actively seditious!" They were laughing at her.
"Please, as long as Nightmare Moon deigns to leave this charade up, we shall follow her lead. It is, after all, for the good of Equestria, is it not?" This was absolutely infuriating.
"You are absolutely infuriating." Once again, the shock. "I will not stand to see you conspire in the open over something that was finished three years ago." She stood up, tall and proud, looking about as regal as she could muster.
"If you are quite done, we still have the matter of actually running the nightly business of our principality, your grace." The Grand Vizier was terse in his denunciation. "What you think is true and what we know to be true is not up to debate. But what is up to debate is the fate of Slippery Eel. Canterlot's finest cut purse was recently caught and now punishment is to be decided." There was murmuring from the table as the counselors talked amongst themselves. Since the return of Princess Luna, things like law and order was given over to her. To show that she could be a compassionate pony that no one needed to fear.
"The sacred texts of night are clear on this." The Arch-Bishop started. "An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. We should remove his thieve hooves from him at once. That should teach him the most abject lesson possible of his thievery." ... what?
"Agreed!" The High Commander of the Night's Guard stated. "He was just a slippery as his name implied and sent my men on quite the merry chase."
"Wait, wait, wait. Do you even know why he committed his crimes? Surely there must be some answer." They all looked through her.
"It matters not why he committed the crime, young princess." The Grand Vizier started. "What matters is that he committed the crime. Laws exist not for the law abiding, just as a doctor exists not for the healthy. Laws must punish those that are criminals, and they must show what the price of their crimes. If you do not put the fear of the law in them, then you doom the city. Neigh, the principality to unjust lawlessness."
She was being lectured on the necessity of harsh punishments for breaking the law... from an admittedly evil pony that wished to see an Eternal Darkness brought upon by Princess Luna. Perhaps this was a sign from the universe that it hated her, utterly and truly. Or maybe it was iron that was doing the hating. She really cared not. But...
Yes.
"No. No you can not! I was appointed to oversee this council by your mistress and I speak in her name. Until such a time that is not true, I have the right to overrule your decisions." That... was patently true.
The Grand Vizier smiled. It would be easier to manipulate the poor mare then he had first thought. She was passionate and driven. That would be easy to turn. "My dear, you are absolutely correct. If you wish to pass judgement, then this council will deign to whatever you decide. But it is our advice to see if you truly believe that Slippery Slope is innocent or not. Next order of business." A piece of paper rose from the table, surrounded by the miasma of the vizier's magic.
"It would appear that the glassblower's union of Baltimare is currently on strike, halting glass production. It should be know that almost 80% of the nations glass is produced in Baltimare, the rest being imported from our neighbors. Woult it be possible for the Night Guard to go disrupt the picket line and allow the various companies new hires to begin work at their new jobs?"
The earth pony commander of the guard thought for a moment, hoof to muzzle. "It can. We can have it done before dawn breaks." ... wait wait wait... corporal punishment, not strike busting?
"You can't do that, either! Ponies have the right to gather however they want."
"To redress grievances with their governments. Ponies to not, in fact, have the right to disrupt the business of their former employers over imagined sleights. Besides, the whole of Equestria depends on Baltimarian glass production. It's more then just windows and drink ware, they make the housing for syringes and medicine and industrial waste. Many lives depend on the glass made and they are impeding it." He... made a very good point.
"Surely there is a way to peacefully disperse the protestors?" Twilight suggested almost halfheartedly.
"If the Grand Magister can loan as a magister or two, we could do it with absolute minimum casualties for the protestors and my men, yes." The High-Captain replied. Twilight turned to the Grand Magister.
"Well, do it then! This is about pony lives here." She commanded. The Grand Magister nodded. As did the Grand Vizier.
"As you command, Your Grace. As long as our Dark Lady has commanded you to be here, your will is her will and we shall follow it to the letter."
Oh, yes. This was going swimmingly. She was influencing the Council... just as they were influencing her. It was sure to be a war of the wills in the coming weeks.