On their first day back in Canterlot after the abduction of Luna, Brass could scarcely concentrate on his portrait subjects as he sketched them in front of the Palace. However, he would scrutinize every pony beyond the Palace gates, and every guard’s movement commanded his attention, even as he desperately tried to appear nonchalant and disinterested. It was always a relief to get the portrait finished for his client, even as he fervently hoped for another interested tourist to quickly appear so he would again have an obvious reason to stare in the direction of the Palace, allowing him to surreptitiously observe all movements therein. However, the Palace staff continued to follow their unhurried routine, and the patrols of the Royal Guard continued to be regular and predictable to the point of monotony. Even now, on the second day after the second ransom note had been delivered, he still saw no change in their behavior.
He blinked his eyes against the setting sun and exhaled. There was no point in staying here any longer, he concluded sourly as he began roughly packing up his art supplies. The bits he had made drawing portraits and colorful pastels of the Palace at sunset were going to buy him and Thunder a decent dinner, and then… He stopped packing for a moment as he recalled his promise to his disheartened teammate.
Three days. That was the agreement. And now those three days were up. Silver’s plan was a bust. It was time to forget the ransom and turn their abductee into an ally. Brass felt his cheeks pull back forming a hard, grim expression as he considered the battles ahead.
First he was going to have to sell the revolt against Celestia to his teammates. They would need to be convinced to overthrow the only government that Equestria had known for a thousand years, and then risk everything on a coup that had failed twice before. Despite his earlier convictions, he was having serious doubts about becoming a revolutionary. Contemplating the future was as dark and uncertain as their present. Gone, were all the bright, hope-filled dreams he had allowed himself to fantasize at a successful ransom. Gone. Just like his first dream of becoming an apprentice here.
Finally, he closed up his supply box and hefted the easel onto his back. There was no easy way out. He cast one last glance at the Palace, now a black silhouette against the blood red and indigo of the twilight sky. Hindsight made it easy for him to see the mistake of joining Silver and her crusade against the Palace. However, it was too late for all of them to back out now. With Luna’s offer of revolution the only option worth considering, he trudged toward his apartment weighed down more by his dark thoughts and regrets than by his physical burden.
Thunder met him wordlessly at the door. Their eyes met, and they exchanged an almost imperceptible head nod.
“Let’s go get something to eat. I want to be at the cave early tomorrow.” Brass said as he set his pack down inside the room.
Thunder nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
Brass decided not to say anything more, but silently wondered if Thunder would even be around tomorrow. If he was willing to leave behind any chance at collecting a ransom, then there existed no reason for him to stick around even now.
Yet he had.
They decided to eat at the Green Zebra restaurant two blocks away. A nice looking place with linen tablecloths and napkins that specialized in vegetables grilled over open flame. The aroma of roasting corn, squash, and potatoes had been teasing them almost every night since they arrived in Canterlot. It was their misfortune that the place they were staying at was often downwind, but now they were finally going to taste what they had so far only been able to sniff at longingly.
Brass stole furtive glances at the strangely silent gray pegasus walking beside him With his eyes looking no farther forward the pavement two steps ahead, Thunder trudged along and carried his head low, just in line with his body, like he was in harness and leaning into the collar to pull a heavy load.
“Are you going to go with me to the cave?” Brass asked, deciding to settle the matter now rather than waiting till morning to find out if he was going to be alone.
Thunder’s ears pricked-up attentively from their languid, flopped-out position, but the rest of him continued to plod along. “Yeah,” he answered the spoken question and then went on to answer the one that he knew Brass wanted to ask. “I won’t leave you during the night.”
“Why not? I don’t need your courier cover anymore. Why not just leave and go your own way?” Brass had expected some kind of reaction to his question, but they just kept walking to the end of the block.
“I’ve been part of this up till now, I might as well know how it’s going to end.” Thunder said at last. “Are you going to tell me what you have in mind?”
Brass moved his jaw around in thought. “No, not tonight,” he answered as they neared the restaurant, “but I’ll fill you in on our way up.”
Thunder’s head bobbed like he had expected that answer. “Good, I don’t want to spoil my appetite.” He said as he trotted ahead of Brass and through the doors of the restaurant.
Silver spun her head around suddenly and turned to face the purple-armored Lunar Guardpony she had seen stealthily observing her from the tree line at the periphery of her vision. Heart thumping in her chest she stood ready to fight or flee. Holding her breath so as to better listen for any movement while her ears and eyes swiveled all around, scanning for the elusive warrior pony. But there was nopony there. Just like the last dozen or so times she had performed this very same action. Finally, she had to breathe, and she exhaled like bursting balloon.
“Silver?” Millstone came up alongside her, worry clearly etched on face. “Are you okay?”
“No!” Tiara said loudly, shocking both of them. Millstone being surprised by her volume, and her being surprised by her honest answer. Tiara stood there panting, her gaze still fixed and the forest of lodge-pole pine trees that bordered their tiny clearing, meanwhile her mind ran pell-mell through the dark, trail-less woods of her scattered thoughts. “No, I’m not okay.” She confessed. Dropping her head, she clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyelids shut.
Millstone put his foreleg over her shoulders and pressed his neck against hers. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m hallucinating.” She sniffed aloud. And I’m telling you the truth! Her mind screamed. Some rational part of her wondered when honesty had become a warning sign of mental imbalance.
“I keep seeing movement in the trees. I swear I keep seeing Lunar Guardponies everywhere, but they’re not there!” Tiara squeaked out on the verge of tears as he lifted her up on her hind legs and held her body tightly pressed to his chest.
Millstone rubbed her back with one hoof and held her head against him with the other. “I’m finished.” He said, and paused long enough for even her tired mind to form a response, but she said nothing. “Do you want me to start?” He asked cautiously in the gulf of her answer.
Tiara pressed her face into his chest and began to cry. “It doesn’t make any sense,” she sobbed. “Why? Why won’t she write the letters?”
“I don’t know,” He answered solemnly, “but I do know she deserves what’s coming to her for what she’s done, and is still doing to you."
Tiara looked up. “But, what if she doesn’t?”
Millstone looked down into her wild, unfocused eyes, “What do you mean? Are you saying that Princess Luna didn’t do all the things to you that you said she did?”
“No, she did act abusively toward me as I described,” Tiara said quickly, “but-”
“But nothing,” Millstone interrupted, “if she did everything you said she did, I’d say she’s due for some comeuppance.”
“Yes, but,” – Tiara’s eyes darted around, as though she could find another way somewhere between them – “but what if I did do something to her first that she took offense at?”
Millstone rolled his eyes. “What could you possibly have done to her that would call for all the crap you had to take from her every day you worked there?”
Tiara’s eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with both of her fore-hooves as a connection sparked in her mind. She shook her head slightly as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. There was no reason for her to lie. But, at the same time, she didn’t have to tell her everything. It was possible. Improbable, but still possible, that Luna was a secondary victim: Unintended collateral damage. Luna's assertion rang in her ears.
“If thou art Silver Chalice, then thou art most cruel indeed!”
“Silver?” Millstone’s hooves pressed on each of her shoulders and he jostled her. “Well? What could you have done to deserve everything she did to you?” He asked her again.
Tiara was afraid to speak. Terrified that she might answer him honestly again. “I – I don’t know,” she said at last, mentally noting that even that dodge was a near truth. For she didn’t know anything for certain.
“There. You see?” Millstone looked satisfied, “If you had done something so terrible to her you would be able to think of something. So now I’m going to go in there and start.”
“No!” Tiara grabbed his shoulders to keep him from turning away from her and going into the cave.
He looked at her, annoyance clearly etched on his face like she was spitefully dragging out an unpleasant chore he had to finish and reveling in his discomfort.
“I mean, let’s wait until morning. She always seems more irritable in the morning; we might get quicker results if we wait.” Tiara explained rapidly, impressed with herself for her quick thinking, even while she was extremely tired and emotional.
He nodded slow and thoughtful at first, and then faster in complete agreement. “Okay, then let’s get you to bed.
Peach sorbet with lemon curd and whipped cream, freshly sliced peaches with french vanilla ice cream, frozen peach yogurt with banana slices and drizzled with hot marshmallow topping, Millstone thought wistfully as he watched Silver sleep. Her coloration and his empty stomach together were conspiring to make him think of food. In addition, eating nothing but oatmeal with only slight variations for every meal over the past four days probably contributed too. Sill, looking at her, and her cutie-mark of a – surprise, surprise: silver chalice – had his mind trapped in an endless loop thinking about desserts served in that dish.
A sleep driven snort from Silver brought him out of his food fixation. It was distressing for him to see her sleep so soundly, and yet have her wake up just as drowsy and disoriented as she was when she went to bed. Last night, she had tried to get him to go to sleep, as he was supposed to be the one sleeping at night. But after he had adamantly refused, she gave in without much argument, laid down on her mat, and started snoring as soon as he had laid down beside her. Just another bit of evidence for him that she couldn’t keep this up any longer and desperately needed him to bring about a quick resolution.
He looked over at Luna, standing silently on two opposite legs while their pairs bent slightly in relief. About every fifteen minutes, he would hear the slight jingle of chains as she switched legs. Of course he had been watching her all night. She was his adversary. And soon they would be locked in a contest of wills. One that he had been confident that she was doomed to lose. However, Princess Luna had throughout these past four days demonstrated that she possessed a reasonably high pain threshold and the ability to endure hardship. His opponent was formidable. Sighing, he realized that his battle with her may very well not be over as quickly as he had originally thought.
His thoughts returned to Silver, and specifically, of her admission of her failing strength and to having recurring hallucinations. It might be her who surrenders first and decides the contest.
“Princess Luna?”
As if she was reading his mind, Luna immediately answered. “It is dawn. The moon is down, but the sun is still on the horizon.”
“Thank you.” He stood up and stretched. “You know what we have planned. Do you want breakfast?” He spoke plainly. He already knew her answer, but felt obligated to ask.
Luna shook her head. “We thank thee for thy consideration.”
“You’re welcome, Princess.” He answered her. Then he knelt down and picked up Silver’s fore leg and pulled it over his shoulder. “Come on, Silver. It’s morning.” He said as he continued picking her up off the floor and laying her on his back as he would an exhausted younger sibling.
She woke to his handling and groaned, mumbling incoherent protests, but she cooperated by throwing her hind leg over his haunch and putting her chin over his neck.
“Good.” He said as he stood up and felt her she shifting her body to balance herself. “Now, I need you to tuck your legs up so we can get out of the cave.”
She didn’t say anything, but pulled her hooves up under her to allow them to exit.
Outside the cave in the cold, fresh, morning air, with a cup of hot coffee in her hoof and a partially eaten bowl of oatmeal in front of her, Tiara finally, fully reentered the conscious world. “So, M, is there anything you need me to do?” She asked him as he started to clean his dishes.
Millstone looked over sharply, that was the first intelligible thing she had spoken all morning. Up until that point, he had believed that her earlier zombie-like state was the next step and had expected her to remain much as she was, unable to assist him in any way. That might have been a good thing, as he didn’t think she had the stomach to witness what he was about to do. It would be so much better for her if she remained oblivious, he reasoned. But there was still one small task that he was relieved to be able to hoof over to her. “Yes. Yes, there is something you can do for me.”
“I’m going to tie a bell to your tail, Princess. You will use it to signal M when you are ready to write those letters.” Tiara explained as she began tying the brass bell midway down Luna’s dock with a bit of mane ribbon braided into the gossamer strands of her ethereal tail to keep it secure. The braid was more than decoration. Millstone had made it clear that he expected her to whip her tail about frantically, and as such, she should make it as slip resistant as possible. With a sigh that brought no solace, she finished tying the knot and with that, completed last thing that Millstone needed before he would begin.
“I’m done,” She said as she walked backwards away from Luna, unavoidably getting a good look at her princess, tied ignominiously kneeling on her forelegs and with her hindquarters held up by a rope from the ceiling that kept her hind legs fully extended. The view caused within her a stabbing pang of guilt that she simply could not brush aside, and made even worse by her knowledge of what would happen next.
Princess Luna, she noticed appeared remarkably calm as they went through their final preparations and showed only infrequent and subtle tale-tales of her well-hidden anxiety. An increase in the frequency of swallowing, a much quieter demeanor, and a recurring shoulder twitch were all that she could see, and only because she was watching so carefully.
Millstone set a full bucket of water with the ladle next to her half-full water bucket at her head. “Okay, Princess, I am going to put this piece of folded wool in your mouth like a bit. Then I am going to put a piece in each nostril. All of this will be held in place by the burlap bag I earlier fit to your muzzle.”
Luna nodded. “Before thou proceeds with thy most contemptible act, We wish to inquire of thee.”
Millstone drew back slightly, his ears splayed at odd angles. “Uhh, Silver?” He said after a pregnant pause.
“She wants to ask us a question.” Tiara interpreted for him. Then to Luna she said. “Go ahead, Princess.”
“M, We did think thee valiant and righteous. Why do you willingly do this?”
Millstone’s ears flipped back and then forward. “Princess, I have chosen to do this to you because I too have suffered in a similar manner, and was forced to do something that I did not wish to do. I completely sympathize with what you are about to go through.” His voice was robbed of emotion as he explained himself, making him sound resolute, but empty.
“If thou sympathizes as thou claims, then how is it that thee justifies this action?” Luna asked. Tiara was amazed. Her questions and her tone sounded genuine, like she truly desired the information and was not the subject of the conversation. There was not even a hint of desperation in her voice to make Tiara think that Luna was simply trying to postpone her ordeal.
“I justify my doing this to you because of one major difference between you and me.” Millstone said, leaning in close to Luna. “When it happened to me, I had no choice. Even though I begged for it not to happen. But you do have a choice. You can stop this right now by simply writing three letters that tell the truth. We are not asking you to lie, cheat, steal, betray, or keep silent.” He sat back up straight. “So, will you do what we ask?”
Luna tried to turn her head toward Tiara, but her new restraints prevented her head from turning. Her ears swiveled to show her change in focus. “Silver Chalice,” She said easily, but then she stopped and took another breath before continuing. “In your opinion, what is the premier responsibility of a ruling Princess of Equestria?"
Tiara blinked several times. The question seemed to be a non sequitur and she had to take time to get past her initial befuddlement. “I suppose, Princess,” she said slowly, her mind still working on answering the question she had been asked, “that the primary responsibility of a Princess of Equestria, is…to safeguard her subjects.”
Luna’s head bobbed slightly in agreement. “Thou has answered well.” Her ears flicked forward. “We refuse to comply. You may proceed.”
Shocked at hearing her direction, Millstone, wide-eyed and agape, shot his attention over to Tiara for confirmation. Tiara, just as surprised, found that she couldn’t speak. Finally, she forced her head to vibrate up and down.
Numbly, she continued to watch the increasingly surreal scene unfold before her as though she were in a trance and unable to stop Millstone as he placed the largest piece of folded cloth in Luna’s mouth, gingerly stuffed the two smaller ones in her nose, and then securing them with the fitted burlap sack.
“Now, Princess, I am going to force your muzzle underwater for a slow count to thirty, then I will release you.” He said after he had finished. Then he pulled on a rope that passed through a ring on the floor and went up from there to where it was tied to the top strap of her bridle. The action drew her head inexorably down into her water bucket and submerged her muzzle.
Tiara found that she herself couldn’t breathe as he counted. When he reached thirty, and released the rope as he had promised, both Tiara and Luna blew and sucked in air. However, Luna had to force her breath through the now soaking wet cloth in her nose and mouth.
Millstone had explained the technique of water torture to her when she had asked about ways to force Luna to comply with their demands. The method is not to drown the victim, but to force them to breathe saturated, moisture-rich air until the drowning reflex in the body is triggered, followed with its associated panic and primal fear that is hardwired in the brain. Done properly, there shouldn’t be any liquid water in the victim’s lungs. At the time, the bloodless, non-maiming, and relatively painless procedure sounded to her to be a civilized way to pressure Luna into compliance. Even setting up for it seemed sterile; they used clear fresh water, brand new ropes, and clean fabric. She had allowed herself to become convinced that this was little worse than performing and unwanted but medically necessary surgery.
But after the third dunk in the bucket, Luna’s drowning reflex triggered. Immediately her body violently squirmed, thrashing against and stressing all the chains, straps, and ropes holding her till they creaked and groaned in protest. Forced, labored breaths now came with tortured moans that the sodden gag in her mouth couldn’t muffle. Powerful spasms worked through her legs and rattled the chains restraining them. And over it all, the paradoxical happy chiming of a brass bell as her tail flagged up and down at the onset of her panic, heralding the arrival of unbridled, primal fear.
“Wag your tail if you will write the letters!” Millstone yelled at Luna. “Wag your tail and this will all stop, right now!”
In response, Luna’s tail defiantly clinched down tightly against her body, silencing the bell. But it was as though that were the only muscle she could control. For the rest of her continued to writhe and thrash against her restraints as though in agony.
For Tiara, the blinders she had so carefully crafted were stripped away. She was not seeing a bloodless, non-maiming method of applying pressure. Neither was she observing a sterile, painless procedure. She was watching torture; the torture of the Princess she had once sworn to faithfully serve.
Bile raced up her throat. She couldn’t stand to see or hear anymore! Spinning on her hooves, she raced out of the cave. Millstone’s voice bellowed out, chasing after her as she scraped through the narrow entrance. “You can stop this! You can stop this at any time!” he said. Tiara’s ears clamped shut against those words. Although she knew he was directing his assertions at Luna, but she felt the knife-edge of those statements sticking in her chest, knowing that she too could bring all this to a halt.
Once outside, Tiara collapsed on the nearest patch of grass and wept. She never wanted this. It was all going to be so easy and nopony would get hurt. But now she felt in every fiber of her being that she had become the vile monster that Luna had from the beginning declared her and her teammates to be. In the bright morning light she reflected on her actions over the past few years. Stripped of her justifications and viewed in the harsh mirror of hindsight, her actions revealed her as nothing more than a bitter, selfish, vengeful, mare. And she recoiled from her hideous reflection.
A noise from the tree-line interrupted her epiphany and made her raise her head and squint in its direction. Then her eyes flew open and she scrambled to her hooves. Forcefully blinking again and again didn’t change what she saw; two fully armored stallions of the Lunar Guard marching out from the trees and heading right for her! The terror reserved for those who have been caught in the act of a heinous crime seized her and stole her breath. Weak-limbed, she backed up toward the cave, never daring to take her eyes off of the purple clad warriors steadily closing the distance between them.
“Calm down, Tiara,” she frantically whispered to herself, “they don’t know anything. They are just going to ask you some questions.” But there was little reassurance in her own words. Her mind was locked in flight mode and useless. Her body felt like it had already capitulated and only the frayed threads of her will were keeping her upright and walking instead of throwing herself prostrate at the hooves of the still advancing guards.
Cold hard stone abruptly stopped her backward progress and she flinched. The advancing guards were upon her now and she had nowhere left to go! Unable to flee, think, speak, or even watch anymore, she finally closed her eyes and grit her teeth, waiting for the end.
“Silver? Are you alright?” Brass’ perplexed voice snapped her out of her nightmarish delusion. She opened her eyes and saw that the two Lunar Guards were gone, and in their place stood Brass and Thunder. Both were examining her with bewildered, asymmetrical expressions as if they were seeing for the first time a performance of interpretive dance, but done by clumsy amateurs.
“Brass, Thunder,” She exhaled with some relief, “what are you doing here?” At her question, Thunder shot a nervous glance over to Brass, who took a deep breath.
“We are here because…we think that the ransom plan is a failure, and…we want to talk about…an alternative plan that…will still be…beneficial to us.” He spoke somewhat hesitantly, like he felt he had to choose his words carefully, lest he reveal too much.
“I understand that you are getting impatient, that is why I have taken steps to force the Palace to act.” Tiara took a side-step toward the cave entrance that she disguised with a quick stretch.
“Oh really?” Brass didn’t look convinced. “Would you care to tell us?”
Tiara inwardly cursed her failing brain. That simple and vague response was obviously an attempt to stall. And it was all too easy for them to call her bluff. “Princess Luna is personally going to write letters stating that she is in our possession, and that we are making demands.” She said, hoping that they didn’t ask why Luna had a change of heart.
“So how is that going to help us?”
“In several ways,” – Tiara lifted her chin haughtily and walked an arc toward cave mouth to position herself between them and the cave – “It gives us proof of life so they know she is still alive, they also know that she is now cooperating with us, and now, we can threaten to go public and expose Celestia as a heartless monarch. There is no way the Palace can continue to ignore us.”
Thunder grimaced like he had just taken a mouthful of saltwater, but Brass smirked skeptically. “Okay, let’s see the letters.” Said Brass.
A chill descended her spine and she swallowed nervously. Her confident display hadn’t been enough to convince them to stay committed to her chosen course of action. And now at their challenge she faced them like a fish, with a blank expression and her mouth flapping soundlessly.
“So she hasn’t written them yet, has she?” Brass surmised at seeing Tiara’s vacant stare, “I bet that she is still refusing to cooperate with any request you make.”
Tiara’s mind was moving as fast a three-legged pony through knee deep mud. “She – she will.” She managed to say in reply. However, she inwardly cringed at how pathetic she sounded.
Brass chuckled. Although he had been uneasy and hesitant at first, he now seemed to be enjoying himself. “Okay, what makes you so sure?” He asked.
Even though Tiara felt hopelessly mired in mental fog, she knew when she was being patronized, and the flare of fiery indignation propelled her out of her cerebral doldrums. An angry, profanity-sprinkled tirade coalesced in her mind and her lips eagerly parted to spew the venom. But before she could utter a word--
“This can go on as long you want, or you can choose to end it now. Just wag your tail and write three letters and all of this will stop right now!” Clearly heard by all outside the cave, but sounding far away, Millstone’s shouted statements to Luna cut the air between them.
Thunder, who had been silent and subdued, perked up at the interruption. “Hey, what the hay is he doing in there?”
“He’s trying to force Luna to write her own ransom letters!” Brass quickly deduced and started toward the cave, only to be cut off by Tiara moving in front of him.
“No! Don’t go in there!” Tiara pleaded, her guilt and fear brushing aside her anger.
Thunder saw his opening and with assistance from his powerful wings, easily sprang into the gap she had left. At seeing Thunder squeeze through, Brass shoved the still protesting Tiara aside and muscled his way in after him.
Knocked to the ground by Brass, Tiara laid there dazed for a moment by the rapid and violent turn of events. Then the surprised and angry shouts filtered out of the cave and forced her back into action. Scrambling to her hooves, she charged into the cave.
Once her eyes adjusted to the dim interior she could make out Brass struggling with Millstone in the back corner of the cave while Thunder was down by Luna’s side, and had already removed the burlap sack and wet cloth from her mouth and nose and was now tugging at the ropes to loosen the knots.
“Alright enough!” Tiara ran in between Brass and Millstone to separate them. Then after she had backed them up, she turned her fury on Brass. “What is your problem, B? Wasn’t it you that first suggested that we take extreme measures to hasten a resolution?”
“Yes, but I intended it only as a threat.” Brass answered her, but he was glowering at Millstone the whole time. “I had expected you to confer with us before you made a decision like this.”
“Hey, how do you get these straps undone?” Thunder interrupted as he tugged on one of the straps holding Luna’s wings folded against her barrel.
Tiara diverted her attention to Thunder. “You can’t undo those; they are magically bound. Only I can undo any ensorcelled bond.”
Millstone looked shocked. “What?”
“Why are you trying to undo any of her bonds anyway?” Tiara ignored Millstone’s interjected question and advanced on Thunder. “Don’t you know how dangerous that is?”
“We intend to free Princess Luna.” Brass said, maneuvering to stand parallel with Luna. “She wants to take over the Palace. And with my help, this time she will be able to do it.” Tiara was too shocked to say anything, so he continued. “Think about it. We were able to capture Princess Luna with only you as our magic user. But with Luna, we can take all Equestria!”
“You’re mad!” Tiara exclaimed, having overcome her incredulity. “Don’t you know any Equestrian history? Don’t you know who she is?”
“Yes, I know what the history books say. They claim that she is The Nightmare. The evil tyrant who wants to plunge this land into ‘eternal night’,” Brass scoffed, “but have you ever really given it thought? How are ponies supposed to feed themselves in a land of eternal night? Unless you propose that Nightmare Moon wanted to rule a nation with unprecedented emigration while starving ponies left in herds to find somewhere to grow food.”
“But don’t you remember the long night at her return?” Tiara poked at her head with a hoof. “What more proof do you need?”
“Yes, it was a long night, not an eternal one!” Brass stood face to face with her now, staring down at her. “The Princess of the Sun and the Princess of the Moon had just battled, I would expect to see signs of their struggle in the sky.”
“Yeah and the victors write the history books, remember?” Thunder jumped in. “Tell her, Brass. Tell her what you told me on the way over here.”
The earth pony shot a threatening glare at the loose-lipped pegasus that made him wilt. When he faced her again, Tiara just waited expectantly for the information.
“Celestia is a racist.”
“What?!” Tiara exclaimed. She was so shocked at Brass’ assertion that she almost missed Princess Luna’s equally surprised reaction.
“Truthfully, I didn’t expect you to see it,” Brass went on smoothly, “after all, she’s biased toward unicorns.”
Tiara shook her head. “What you are postulating is absurd!”
“No it is not,” Brass affirmed, “One, Celestia has only one school with her name, and it is a school strictly for unicorns. Two, Princess Luna didn’t return to Canterlot to try to take over, she returned to a small earth pony village near Cloudsdale, a pegasus city. She wasn’t trying to return as a conqueror, but Princess Celestia apparently saw her return to a pegasus stronghold as a threat and had her Element bearers race out to subdue her, led by the way, by a unicorn she calls her ‘most faithful student’. And three, I was told to my face by the head of admissions at RTUC that all schools in Canterlot are unicorn schools!” Brass was adamant in delivering his points, but with his last one, he was spitting the words out fiercely.
“But that’s not true!” Tiara yelled back immediately, barely noticing Luna’s bared teeth and clenched jaw. “RTU is open to all ponies. They even have some griffins, zebras, horses, and young dragons as students.”
“Maybe at RTU campuses elsewhere in Equestria, but that elitist in the Palace wants to keep the Canterlot RTU just like her School for Gifted Boneheads, kept pure with other boneheads like you.” He tapped her horn with his hoof.
For the second time this morning, Tiara felt her rage boiling at the smug earth pony. “A unicorn’s magical conduit is called a horn, you ignorant foal!
Millstone charged up next to Tiara. “You better apologize!” He demanded and shoved Brass backward.
Thunder landed in between them in time to keep Brass from returning the blow with interest. “Hey, this isn’t helping. We all want what is best for everypony here, right?” After a moment of trading angry glares, everypony nodded. “Okay, then let’s vote on our course.”
“Why bother?” Brass snorted derisively, “he’s going to vote with her, and you’re going to vote with me. We’re tied.”
“You don’t know that!” Tiara said furiously, “Everypony here has their own mind.”
“Okay,” Brass conciliated quickly, “we’ll put it to a vote, but first I want to hear you say that you will release Princess Luna if the majority wants to help her take over the Palace.”
Tiara felt all the blood drain from her face. “Okay,” she said weakly, “if the vote goes that way, I’ll do it.”
“All those in favor of releasing Princess Luna and helping her take over the Palace, raise a hoof.” Said Brass, and he raised a hoof. Thunder also raised his hoof.
Brass smirked, “Okay, all those in favor of continuing to torture Princess Luna in the vain hope that it will make a difference, raise a hoof.” The slanted way he worded the options had Tiara glaring at Brass and she defiantly raised a hoof. Shortly afterward, Millstone raised his.
Brass snickered and Thunder couldn’t quite restrain himself from snorting in amusement. “Okay, now a question for you.” Brass pointed to Millstone. “Can you give me a reason why you voted that way without mentioning Silver?”
Millstone didn’t say anything, but stared daggers at Brass.
“Come on, tell the truth. You voted the way you did because Silver has you in her saddlebag, right?” Brass smiled smugly and his eyes twinkled with malevolent intent. “Or should I say that you’re under Silver’s tail?”
Tiara’s vision instantly went red. “How dare you!” She screamed.
“I’m gonna tear you apart!” Millstone roared and launched himself at Brass.
Tiara had seen stallions fight before. Male pegasi challenged their rivals to flying duels where the winner would outmaneuver his opponent and catch his tail and send him into a spin with a strong sideways tug. Unicorns had magic contests or demonstrations of magical ability to determine who was stronger and thus, who won the dispute. These methods of fighting seemed to pit strength against strength and she respected both the stallions who won and those who lost.
But earth ponies in her opinion, had silly and needlessly elaborate rituals where the rivals would first square off, facing each other and trying to look intimidating. Next would come the bluff and blustering, where each stallion would attempt to dishearten his opponent verbally. Sometimes this was done simultaneous with the next step, circling and displaying. The two stallions would circle one another and rear up in threatening poses, again trying to intimidate and discourage the other into backing down. However, if neither of the two earth stallions had backed down, the final stage would begin. One of the stallions would push the other. Then the one pushed would recover and try to push back even harder. And so on, and so on, until somepony realized he couldn’t push back any harder and gave up.
She had no respect for earth stallions’ method of fighting and she always wondered why they didn’t just go straight to the pushing and shoving to settle the fight. And during school, she often scoffed at the administration's preoccupation with rumors of earth stallion fights. Nopony ever got hurt in an earth pony fight. Nor could she see any chance of anypony getting hurt. Or so she had thought.
Now, right in front of her, in awful, violent, and bloody detail, she had her answer. All of the ritual and ceremony was done to prevent this. This was a real earth stallion fight. And she stood transfixed in horror of witnessing two thick-boned, flint-hooved and muscle-bound earth ponies at war with each other. And the only thing that seemed certain to her, was that somepony was going to get killed.
“Stop!” she screamed, her horn flaring to life as she attempted to force them apart. But the null orbs in the cave sapped her magic strength so rapidly that she only managed to separate them for the briefest of moments. Then they threw themselves back to their contest of who could bash in the skull of the other first.
“BE STILL!” The voice overpowering. Both in its volume and in its magically charged presence and shook the very mountain their cave was in.
At hearing it, everypony fell to the floor, succumbing to the overwhelming compulsion to obey. Everypony that is, but the pony who had uttered the command.
Tiara looked up from the floor and felt her heart stop.
They were all doomed.