//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle in the Changing of the Night Court 
// by bejammin2000 
//------------------------------//

Princess Luna had only arrived in Seaddle a few days ago. It was a rather lovely little city, if one didn't mind the rain. Or the fog. Or the hip ponies walking around in decades old fashion drinking their premium coffee. She was currently being shown around down, flanked by a pair of the Night Guard and lead by the Mayor of Seaddle... something or the other. She admitted, darkly, that she didn't bother to remember his name.

"And here we have the Solar Needle! Tallest structure this side of Equestria, almost rivals some of the buildings in downtown Manehattan." He was showing off the large, towering... well... tower that was tipped with a 30 foot needle. Needless to say, it was quite the spectacular accomplishment.

There was also the rumor that the tower itself was built upon a conveyance of leylines and that the whole thing could be used to focus one's magical might and sheer willpower. But that was just a pony story. No one actually believe that. And bringing up that it was built by the Pentagram Corporation was nothing more then happenstance.

Luna, being the clever sort of pony, didn't dismiss the rumors, but took them with a grain of salt. Truly if the Mare in the Moon was really real, then why couldn't an architectural feat like this not have some otherworldly influence.

"Your Grace?" Oh. Right, the Mayor was still talking to her about something. She lost track of the conversation while she was in her thoughts. "I asked you if you wished to dine at the restaurant at the top of the needle." ... that... didn't sound to bad, actually. Some greens and oats would do well to settle her thoughts.

It's not like she placed her Sister's most precious student and new found Princess into a pit of the most scheming vipers in all of Equestria.

"Grk!" Oh... that's right. That's exactly what she did. She left the naive lavender alicorn with the most troubling group to ever arise in Equestria. She needed to fix this. She needed to save Twilight. "I'm sorry, Mayor. I just remembered that I left the oven on back home." That was a terrible lie, especially since she'd been in the city for almost a week. That didn't stop her from disappearing with a pop.

...days earlier...

Princess Twilight Sparkle was finding the Night Court, sorry, the Council of Darkness to be... unique in their approach. They were most certainly evil, of that she was sure of... but they did seem to, at heart, have the best intentions for Equestria. Especially if Luna remained herself and not Nightmare Moon.

Still, while Luna was away, she was the one speaking to the Council of Darkness and making the decisions about what happens. Already glass production in Baltimare went back to pre-strike levels and nopony was put into the hospital!

There was still the subject of Slippery Eel, however. The cut purse from last night that was currently in the dungeons of Canterlot Castle. She couldn't go and make pronouncement without talking to the gentlecolt, so that was how she found herself in the dungeons.

"It's... really not that bad." She looked around at the rather dank and moss covered stonework of the stairway leading deeper and deeper and deeper into the bowels of the castle. And she was lying to herself. "Sure, it's a bit dirty, but some extra torches and a good cleaning and... oh who am I kidding, this place is creepy." The guard pony leading her down the spiraling stone stairs said nothing.

"Excuse me, I do have one question." There was something bothering her about the guard. "Why do you wear that black hood?" Ah, yes. The creepy black hood he was wearing with nothing but a pair of eyeholes cut into it. It made him seem more like an executioner of the old kingdoms then anything you'd find in Modern Equestria.

"It's so that the prisoners can not tell which guard is which." Oh, that made... wait.

"But all the guards wear armor that's enchanted to make them look identical while they're wearing it! Why would you need to obscure it if it's already obscured?" She asked incredulously. Truly this was wearing suspenders with your belt. Not that she would not the term or anything, being a pony, but the fact was it seemed redundant.

"The hood is a traditional uniform from before the armor was enchanted, Princess." And once again, Tradition. Like the speaker in Parliament spending 45 minutes getting everything started because he has to recite each and every title he had... or like how in Ponyville they don't wrap up winter with unicorn magic. Tradition was going to be the bane of her if she was going to be the model of a modern pony princess.

"I see." Finally, they had reached the dungeons proper. "I need to see Slippery Eel." And soon she was standing in front of a heavy oak door. Inside was the pony in question, wearing a straight jacket and a chained heavily.

"Is this really necessary?" She turned to the guard.

"Mister Eel has managed, in the time he was here, steal my hood, my comrade's spear, the keys to my house, and his lawyer's tie." ... so he had some sticky hooves, then. Quite the feat for an earth pony.

"Other then that, he has been treated well?" She asked. The pony guard nodded. "He has. Pity he was picked up by the Night Guard and not the Day Guard. The Night Court is much less forgiving then the day." Well, they did state that they had all intentions of crippling him.

"Less forgiving..." She said that out loud. A statement, not a question. But, of course the ponyguard misheard.

"There was someone that has perjured themselves in the court of law, so it wad decided by the Night Court to cut out his lying tongue." It was so nonchalant.

"They cut it out?" She looked at the guard in horror, who nodded.

"They surely did. Surprised he didn't drown on his own blood." She felt her gorge rise.

"You are dismissed. I wish to talk to Mister Eel alone if possible." The guard saluted and exited the cell.

"Slippery Eel... I see they had to take precautions against your sticky hooves." The pony in question nodded, and was smiling.

"But Sticky Hooves was my father, Princess." Oh, he was one of those types. Fun.

"Be that as it may, you do know why you are here, yes?" She was talking to him as if she was talking to a foal. This was embarrassing for her and yet the stallion wasn't paying any attention.

"Oh, because I have a tendency to lift things that aren't mind off of people. I mean, if he didn't want his bit purse to just vanish, he would have left it at home."

"That's blaming the victim!" She muster all the indignity she could.

"I can blame the victim? I wasn't aware I could do that. Imagine all the trouble I wouldn't have if I knew that before." And he was unrepentant.

"You... you are impossible!" And she turned on her hooves and left, the door slamming.

Late that evening

"He's an incorrigible unrepentant recidivist!" Twilight patiently waited for the whole Nightmare Moon hooey to finish before stamping her foot down. "There is no way he is innocent, nor does he seem capable of being so."

"So you agree that the only thing to do is to remove one of his hooves, yes?" Grand Vizier Cutter nodded, as much as he could without losing that towering turban he wore. He must realize that he looked absolutely appalling in that thing.

"I... I didn't say that. Surely there would be a better way to show that we will not tolerate thievery, but that we are... discretionary." Twilight didn't like the idea of permanent corporal punishment like that. Especially after she heard about the perjurer and his tongue.

"In the Old Kingdoms, one would have there crimes etched an inlaid with copper on the inside of their right hoof. We could do something similar to Slippery Eel. Everyone would recognize him for the criminal he is as he goes about his daily business." August Learning, sorry, Arch-Bishop August Learning stated.

"That's all and good for first time offenders, but this isn't the first time Slippery Eel has been caught. The Day Guard have a list almost from my shoulder to my hooves of his crimes." Able Body, the High-Captain of the Night Guard said. A good point to be made, for sure. Something more drastic would need to be done. But cutting off his foot seemed too drastic.

"We could... we could..." Twilight thought and thought. What could they do. When she remembered something that her mother told Shining Armor when he got in trouble.

"We could crop his ear!" She said it just a little too loud, all the councilors looking at her.

"Hmmm. Ear cropping. Simple, venerable, something everypony knows of and is taught about from an early age. And it shows that our council is willing to be discretionary about first time offenses. I like it!" The Grand Vizier nodded, the rest nodding along. "So it is decided. We shall mark the inside of his hoof... and crop one of his ears. A stain of crime that he may never remove."

There was a bit grumble of agreement from the councilors as the motion passed.

"Now, onto tonight's order of business since we've sorted out that nastiness is Baltimare and Slippery Eel. It would seem that in Parliament there is currently a minor scandal going on in both the Upper and Lower Houses. It would also appear that the Day Court is letting such scandal get by as it is not the business of the government to pry into the private lives of the various MPs. However, we are the Council of Darkness! We see all that happens!" The Grand Vizier was practically grand standing, slamming his hoof into the table.

"... what scandal is going on in Parliament?" As a Princess, she should know... something about this. Why didn't anyone tell her?

"One of the Lords Temporal, a member of the upper house is having an affair. Apparently he has multiple mistresses. Can we really let someone with such... moral ambiguity set how the principality is to project itself externally? It is my opinion that this..." He looked over the file to see who had earned his ire. "Viscount... heh. Oh, the little ironies in life. Ahem. Viscount Always Faithful is a hypocrite of the worst sort, incredibly ill named by his sire, and finally deserves to be censured, despite whatever claim he has to the Old Kingdoms."

"Censure? Do you really think that's necessary?" Twilight was... the lengths these ponies would go.

"You're absolutely right, Your Grace. He deserves to be removed! We shall excise the taint from the body of Parliament before it's corruption spreads!" That wasn't what she said at all.

"That's not what I mean! So he has some issues with his home life. I was told that it's not... unexpected for the nobles to have a mistress." She really wished she wasn't, but the Royal Secretary was rather... blunt with his lessons.

"One or two, yes. But not 10! And a whole herd of bastard foals!" That was the Arch-Bishop, disapproving of the noble philanderer.

"Imagine, if you will, Princess." The High-Captain, Abel Body, started. "That you were the head of the company that produces the arms and armor for the Royal Guard. You wish to increase your profit margins. It's well know that Always Faithful can be swayed by a dressed up plot. What better way then to have his bed mate whisper in his ear that Equestria should have a standing army to guard it's borders, man new checkpoints, etc etc etc. Perhaps, perhaps not. But we cannot trust him to not be influenced by pretty mare with ambition."

... that made a lot of sense, actually.

"That makes a lot of sense, if you put it that way." Twilight finally relented.

"Good, good! Then we shall draw up a proclamation." He stamped his foot and the personal scribe of the Grand Vizier showed up.

"Is... is that a kobold?" Truly the creature not much bigger then the scroll and quill it was holding had the draconic features common to the kobold race, not unlike Spike, but it was clothed in a a robe that... it was surprising that it didn't trip over the voluminous amount of cloth.

"Oh, yes. Scrollkeeper is a gift from the Draconic Ambassador. A fantastic scribe if I say so myself. Ahem. 'In the Name of Princess Twilight Sparkle, in the third year of the return of Princess Luna, it has been declared the Right Honorable Always Faithful is hereby removed from his position in the House of Peers, to be assigned to another lord at a future date. Let all remember this day, for the Lords Temporal must be held to a higher standard and it is the will of the Princess of Magic that this standard will be enforced.'" The creature wrote it down. "Good, take that to the Royal Secretary's office so that it can be enacted. Congratulations, your grace. You managed to exercise a rite of your office that hasn't' been done in a thousand years."

"... I just got him fired..." She didn't know what else to say.

"Fired? Not really. The House of Peers is a hereditary position. Honestly, if I had my way, I'd clear out even more of the idiots, but we can't do that unless they've actually done wrong. Now, onto the House of Commons scandal. It would appear that MP Highen Mighty is pushing for reforms where it comes to vinting of wine and the various fermented spirits. However, it has been recently discovered that MP Mighty was recently a guest of honor at a retreat funded by the Vine Committee of Equestria. As you know, the ViCE is a non-governmental organization with the mission to get ponies to drink more wine. What is it that they're saying right now?" He looked over to the Grand Magister.

"'An Apple a Day, with a Glass of Chardonnay, will Certainly Keep the Doctors Away.' Which, in a manner of speaking is true. Wine does have recuperative properties when taken in moderation." Was the reply from Ever Last.

"So there we have it. Highen Mighty is chair of the Recreational and Habitual Use committee, there the ones that say how much we should drink and smoke before we start piling on truly deleterious effects. This is all and good, but it was the RHUC that let the ViCE use their new marketing slogan. And afterwards, MP Mighty was speaking at their conference in Las Pegasus. I may not be in the part of government that's being lobbied, but I know bribe when I see it."

So did Twilight Sparkle.

"So do I. What should we do then? Censure? Certainly. But how do tell the MP that this kind of behavior isn't allowed. Unlike the Lords Temporal, we can't just oust him. They're elected by the people." She was at a conundrum. This was actually bad. Elected officials accepting bribes like this? It was one thing to meet a lobbyist at lunch or for drinks. They had to work. But here was an MP working directly with a lobbying group.

"Who says you can't? You are a Princess, Your Grace. Just because it hasn't been done, doesn't mean it can't be. We oust the offending MP and hold a recall election in his district to fill his seat. Or, you could use your Princess Precedent to just appoint someone from said district to fill it. You are, after all, speaking with the full power of Princess Luna in this matter, she did say that she would back any decision you made." He motioned his head to the kobold scribe.

"Shall we take another proclamation, Your Grace? This will send a message not just to the MPs, but to those that would influence them. No one is above the Princesses when it comes to ruling Equestria."

Twilight thought about it. She weighed the choices. She closed her eyes, then snapped them open.

"Yes. Yes we do. Scrollkeeper!" She called for the Kobold herself. "I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic and speaker for Princess Luna, Princess of the Moon and the Stars and Dreams, declare that Highen Mighty has committed a high crime. That his speech at the Vine Committee of Equestria's convention constitutes a bribery. He shall be ousted at once from his position in the House of Commons of Parliament, effective immediately, until such a time that I have chosen a proper representative from his District. I am also issuing a warrant for his arrest as we investigate these charges of corruption against him, as well as the heads of ViCE. We shall see where justice lies." The kobold wrote down everything... and proceeded to have it sent to the Royal Secretary.

There was much stomping at the table. "Congratulations, Your Grace! Truly this is a wonderful day for law and order. They will learn that the rules they make are for everyone, not just those that they serve."

"Yes. Yes they will. Where did the former MP Highen Mighty district lie?" She would have to see who would replace the bribe taking parliament member, but... she stifled a yawn. At the next council meeting.

"Vanhoover, Your Grace. Shall we compile a list of those we think will fit best in Parliament?"

"Yes, please do. I will make my appointment tomorrow night. For now..." She yawned again. "I must turn in."

And with that, the second meeting of the Council of Darkness headed by Twilight Sparkle ended.