//------------------------------// // 36 - Conspired // Story: The master and the windigo // by stupidswampdragon //------------------------------// "The team couldn't find any clues to just who broke into the Garden, your Highness." The Guard trooper shook his head - then glared upwards as the plume kept his helmet rocking slightly even after he stopped moving. Luna sighed at the sight. "We would advise you to tighten your headgear properly, lieutenant," she muttered, internally debating whether these ponies could be trusted with sharp tools. Or tools in general. "What of the lockdown?" "Still in effect!" the lieutenant hastily replied. He sounded a bit aloof - probably because he was trying to nudge his helmet back to the proper angle. "But we haven't caught anypony trying to leave so far. And the search team is almost done with the interior..." Luna gave a slight nod; this much was to be expected. Anypony skilled enough to release Discord - or make Celestia's former student release him - would be also able to teleport in and out. An annoying method of transportation, that magic was! It had very few countermeasures and left no trail behind. As a princess who valued actual security, teleporting ponies were always a thorn in Luna's backside. There weren't all that many, the twelve Gods be thanked. Things being such as they were, she had no choice but to cede that there was nothing more to be done. Frowning with some bitterness in her mouth, she turned her gaze to her right, at the scattered group of artists. "Make sure this crime-scene gets painted properly, lieutenant." she stressed the word as she motioned at the ponies. "Every little detail must be present. Double- nay, triplecheck that not a single leaf of grass is missing." "As you wish, your Highness," the pony next to her bowed. "After that is done, the Garden may be opened up to the public." Luna dictated. She said 'public', but she was well aware just how few ponies would be allowed inside in reality. Only the highest of nobility were allowed into the inner Garden. She wouldn't trust any of those high-lives more than the last beggar on the street, though. She turned to the stallion next to her, her icy teal gaze directly meeting the other pony's. "Be sure that your soldiers are properly briefed before that happens." "Yes, your highness. I doubt anypony would miss it, but should they ask... then the draconequus statue has been transferred away, for renovations," the lieutenant recounted. "Good," Luna rewarded the cover-story with a nod. "You shall be debriefed tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to your report, lieutenant." She didn't linger for the answer. She spread her wings and took off, darting back to the palace. She faced the usual problem: there was so much to do, yet so little time to actually get things done. It would be favourable if we had more than one of us, Luna mused as the air tore into her mane. Though then again, we have already given that a shot... and it was such a terrible 'success' that we wound up sealing those copies back into the Mirror Lake. Having to make do with only her singular self, Luna picked her second best choice to conserve time. She beat her wings faster. The guard gave a very un-stallion-like scream and ducked behind a potted plant. It would have been a mildly amusing scene, had his thrown spear not missed Luna by mere inches. Even though she could recover from any physical injury, the Night Princess didn't particularly enjoy getting her eyes gouged out. The last time it had happened, she had to endure Celestia's pirate impressions for almost two weeks. Unlike their physical brethren, mental injuries such as those would never really heal. "Ahem," Luna cleared her throat and hopped onto the marble floor. She arrived in a somewhat unconventional way; she noticed that a window was left open, so she chose to be hasty and skip the lower level of the Palace. She wasn't expecting her arrival to cause such panic. "AHEM!" she repeated the throat-clearing with some added volume, her eyes rolling. Her efforts were to no avail; the Guard was still covering behind the potted plant, as evidenced by the pair of quivering brown ears. Why does Sister insist on keeping a military? Luna sighed and gave up on the trooper. Seriously, we could have bought half the world with all the bits we have thrown out the window on them. Speaking of whom, Luna realised she had better check on the white alicorn. Celestia had a somewhat unhealthy obsession with those students of hers, and it was hard to predict how she would react to losing yet another one. Or even having said student turn on her... by freeing Discord, no less. We should talk to Sister right away... this could turn ugly pretty fast. The distant memories of the Sunset Shimmer debacle running through her mind, Luna absent-mindedly knocked the spear out of her way and began her march towards Celestia's quarters. The moon-patterned, violet horseshoe hovered a few inches from the surface of the door. The position was admittedly a bit uncomfortable, but Luna had some last-second doubts whether she wanted to knock. She'd had a long night and an even longer morning. After so many years of getting her ten hours of sleep every day, she could feel the effects of tiredness kicking in. Could we really assist Sister with ourselves being such as we are...? Her lips pursed, Luna silently berated herself for that momentary doubt. Of course she was! She was above such mortal concerns, after all. She used to go for months without sleeping, in fact! A long time ago, when she was roaming the world, far away from Equestria... The memories were so distant that they almost seemed to belong to different pony, though. We have really changed a lot since we settled in this place, Luna admitted with a weary sigh. Living comfortably was one of the worst things that had happened to her in the last few thousand years. She had fought and conquered a wide range of hardships. But comfort... she had rarely met such an insidious curse. It poisoned the mind in ways one could hardly fathom. Grunting in displeasure, she pushed her hoof against the door. A loud bam filled the air around her; then again and again, repeating twice more. Luna counted to five and pushed the door open. Whatever Celestia was doing inside, she had been given enough time to stop. The large door creaked as it sailed out of the way - but despite the free way inside, Luna didn't move forward. She remained standing at the edge of the room, staring and blinking. She saw Celestia in the middle of the room, her large white wings wrapped around what seemed like a small unicorn with a pointy wizard hat. And she was crying. Snivelling, even. It was a sight completely lacking modesty... a sight utterly unbecoming of a powerful alicorn. The scene had left Luna perplexed. Not the crying part, no; Celestia had always been somewhat soft-hearted. She wouldn't break into tears all the time of course, but she wasn't the type to stoically bear the loss of anypony she personally knew. No, what surprised Luna was that Celestia had company for this session of self-pity. That was something new. Being the de-facto ruler of Equestria, Celestia had an image to uphold. She knew better than to let outsiders witness such outbursts of extreme emotion. Luna felt certain that she had to know why that random unicorn had been granted the privilege of witnessing the hidden side of the Sun Princess. She cleared her throat - so loudly that it actually hurt - and then slammed the door behind her. The impact was powerful; it kicked the dust from the floor, the shiny marble tiles shuddering under the alicorn's hooves. The loud noise made Celestia jump. Her age showed; thousands' of years of experience compressed into that single move. She leaped between the wizard-hatted unicorn and Luna, her wings flared and her head held down. Few ponies could transform that abruptly from sobbing to a state of combat readiness. It has been a long while since we have last seen Sister that scary, Luna realized. She was squinting, her head cocked to the side; she wasn't alarmed the slightest. She simply found that reaction to be highly intriguing. For Celestia to be this protective... Just who is that unicorn?! "Sister." Luna gave a curt bow. There was no need for such gestures when she was with her sister; that bow was meant to show that as far as Luna cared, outsiders were present. "Do pardon our intrusion. We just came to... give you an update on the investigation." Such a transparent lie that was. But with an unknown party listening in, Luna saw it better to choose her words wisely. "So formal," Celestia shook her head. Her posture loosened up; the fire died out from her glare, the steely limbs almost wobbling as she turned back to that unicorn. "There is no need for this, Luna. This pony, she is a friend... no, more than that..." Silently reminding herself not to frown, Luna simply narrowed her eyes. She was quite sure that she remembered her friends - all the two of them. And while she had a much higher number of acquaintances, she was plenty sure that the clown with the pointy wizard hat was not one of them. What in the twelve Gods' name has gotten into you, Sister... "You do realize this could bear some explanation, right?" Luna took a step forward. She caught a glimpse to the right; a hint of a colour that wasn't supposed to be present in the room. A patch of green in the sea of white. Gasping and jumping away, Luna found herself facing a gryphon - one with unnatural, glittery green feathers. He seemed to stand out of the picture, as if he wasn't really part of the scene... but to make matters worse, Luna actually recognized that figure. It was a servant who went under the name of Origin. "Oya!" Origin broke into a loud, cheerful yell. Compared to the gloomy situation of everypony around, his upbeat mood was a striking contrast. "Another familiar face! It's been a while, miss envoy." "We do have a name." Luna rolled her eye and relaxed. This gryphon wasn't sticking around to fight. "We have a proper rank, too... and that is Princess Luna, for future reference." "Haha, pardon, pardon! In my defence, you were a mere envoy the first time we met." Origin giggled and clicked his claws. "I still remember when you visited us in Saddle-Arabia... and now that I think about it, you're still not showing any of your age-" "Origin!" the wizard-hatted unicorn glared at the gryphon - and the servant fell silent mid-sentence, his front paws raised high in the air. So she is a fellow master, Luna squinted at the unicorn. You little rascal... you had our curiosity since we saw you here. But now? Now you have our earnest interest. All of a sudden, Luna found the presence of her sister to be a little... detrimental. She wanted to converse with the strange pony right away, and having an emotionally unstable Celestia around did not help to further that goal. Venting her frustration in the form of a slight frown, Luna inched closer to the duo. Celestia and the strange pony were back in the middle of the room, the white alicorn sobbing and stroking the other pony with utmost care. Were she not privy to all the details of her sister's personal life, that image could have made Luna worried. "We are still waiting for some explanation," she groaned, sitting down right behind Celestia. "A rather thorough one, too." Her sister, however, didn't humour that wish. Snorting and gulping loudly as she spoke, Celestia only gave a somewhat cryptic answer. "My student... she came back! Even after everything I put her through, she still came back..." Luna reared her head back and blinked. Rapidly. So that is her student, she peeked over Celestia's shoulder, trying to force herself into accepting the fact. How quaint. We were expecting... uh... Truth be told, she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. But a unicorn with a with a pointy wizard-hat and a starry cape... that was such an overload on clichés that it became borderline parody. Nopony serious about their profession would have dressed that way. Luna wrinkled her eyebrows in disapproval. That pony clearly did not belong in the picture. But even so, that pony also had a servant of her own! That made her important. Important enough to make Luna keep her around. Besides, she still had a crying Celestia to fix. "And yet here you are, crying... even though your missing student has returned. What is wrong with you, dearest Sister?" Luna reached out, putting her hoof on white alicorn's back. She did her best to sound - and be, in general - reassuring. "Is this not a jubilant occasion? Why are we crying, instead of celebrating over a cup of fine wine?" "Trixie has tried to point that out already!" the unicorn in Celestia's hug joined in the protest. "There is no getting through to her right now, it seem- ghuah, tight! Trixie can't breathe-!" Luna could easily see that the pony's protests were legitimate. Celestia was hugging that unicorn tight - so tight that Luna could have sworn she heard bones cracking. It was like watching a bear give a pony a cuddle hug - the kind which the odd survivor would always brush off as 'not exactly a pleasant experience, would not recommend'. "Sister... student or not, please remember that we have an image to maintain." Luna sighed sombrely, lightly patting Celestia on the back of her neck. "While keeping feelings bottled up is no good, there are also sound reasons for keeping wild rivers dammed up." Look in a mirror already! Do you not realize how unsightly you are being?! ...that was the expression she had tried to tiptoe around. "Suh... sorry," Celestia mumbled and let go of the other pony, using a leg to smear the tears around her face. "I just..." Luna couldn't do anything but shake her head in disbelief. Had they been on their own, she would have given her sister a serious talking to... but with the extra audience, such heart-to-heart sessions were out of the question. That was a frustrating feeling; being an all-powerful princess and yet being so limited in options at the same time. "Sister, we have already discussed this so many times..." she finally condensed her irritation into one loud sigh. "We are the ones upholding this world... and that is not an occupation for the faint of heart. It would be foolish to assume that ponies so close to us would be free from the hazards. Your student is back; you should be glad for that fact alone, no matter what has transpired." Pull yourself together already, she thought and grit her teeth. "Haha... are YOU comforting me? Me, the liege who built a country always in need of saving? Me, the careless master who had lost countless students along the years?" Celestia cackled with a low tone and turned around, showing the sour grimace on her face. "Me, the irresponsible sister... the one who had ignored you, then banished you for a thousand years?" The last remark was a bullseye. Luna felt her resolve crack for a moment; she shuddered and froze up. She wanted to speak, but the words eluded her; for many long moments, that singular event occupied the entirety of her mind. Is that... unfortunate idea of ours still on your mind? she frowned and took a ragged breath. Keh. That will not do...! "You are not at fault, Sister. Not for a single one of those!" she exclaimed loudly, making full use of the Canterlot Voice once again. "And never speak of our mistakes like that again! The results of our actions are ours - and ours alone!" Much to her surprise, Celestia didn't protest that outburst. The Sun Princess only gave a nod and a tired smile. "Taking responsibility, huh?" Squinting hard and turning her head slightly off-angle, Luna wasn't sure what to make of that reaction. She didn't ask anything though; she knew her sister well enough to know the explanation was going to come before long. And indeed, Celestia grabbed a scroll from the nearby drawer and levitated it to Luna. "So, Luna... who should take responsibility for this then?" "Hmpfh," Luna snorted and yanked the scroll with her own magic. She unfurled the paper and began reading, hastily and greedily; she had no idea what to expect, but she wanted the whole farce to be over as quickly as possible. There were so many things for her to do and- Her eyes went wide and she stumbled, almost dropping the scroll. She was holding an order - one meant for Celestia's student. An order to free Discord. "And you freed him," Luna sighed and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "Did it not strike you as an... odd request?" What a day. "Well... Trixie did what students do! Trixie followed the instructions," Trixie muttered. She was sitting in the middle of the room, hugging and fiddling with her pointy wizard hat. "Things quickly spiralled out of control, though." Leaning back against the wall, Luna gave that assessment a sombre nod. No kidding. You caused a nation-wide disaster... out of control, indeed. "How are you still here, then?" She raised her eyebrow, giving the unicorn a questioning look. "We honestly doubt that Discord would allow you to return unharmed. He does not think that kindly of our dearest Sister, you see." "Unharmed, you say?" Luna turned her gaze right, to the baldachin bed. Celestia was there, laying upside-down in the thick white bed sheet, her leg resting on her head, just a little below her horn. "This is probably horrible of me to say, but destroying my student would have only hurt once." Celestia chuckled darkly, then squeezed her head deeper in the bed. "Giving me a reminder every day, on the other hoof..." Closing her eyes, Luna sighed loudly. "True enough. Completely erasing her from everypony's mind and destroying all the records of her... quite the creative punishment." She scratched her temple and shook her head. "Hardly unexpected, either. He even used this punishment quite a few times in the past..." An uneasy silence followed. Luna was mulling over the recent revelations; they meshed nicely with the other facts she had gathered of the incident. Celestia was also silent; the white alicorn seemed content to simply lie in her bed, occasionally gurgling a loud sob. And as for the other pony - Trixie was sitting in the middle of the room, upright and tense as if she had swallowed a girder. Turning her attention to the unicorn, Luna gave Trixie a long, hard stare... and then yanked her gaze to Celestia. We are quite certain now... time to act. "You look terrible, Sister." A sombre chuckle was the sole answer to that remark. "Have you had breakfast yet?" Luna pushed herself from the wall with a muffled grunt. "Would you like some sweets? A coffee, perhaps?" "No," Celestia muttered, the tip of her nose bobbing left and right. "Am' fine." "No, you are obviously not!" Luna barked, her voice thundering as she pointed a hoof at the door. "And while we would gladly let you cope on your own, we must also remind you that you have a public appearance later today!" Celestia groaned loudly and rolled around, pulling a pillow over her head. "Fine. We are getting you some coffee, then." Luna growled, then darted her eyes to Trixie. "You! Student! Accompany us." This made Celestia yank her head up, the move ejecting the pillow in a wide trajectory. "Wait! I am not letting my stu-" "We believe that we are well-equipped for this treacherous walk to the kitchen... we shall keep that pony safe." Luna interjected, using her thousands years of experience to keep her feelings off her face. "Surely you are not planning to keep this pony chained up in your room, right?" Behind the cover of her ruffled mane, Celestia hummed and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. The hesitation to answer such an obvious question did make Luna somewhat worried. "Trixie is fine!" the self-proclaimed student hastily spoke up. "Trixie is certain she can handle the dangers of a kitchen! No need to keep Trixie in this room for eternity... ahaha!" Raising her eyebrow, Luna wondered if she just witnessed how 'being kept in the room' had become the new 'being sent to the moon'. Sister sure attracts some bizarre beliefs. Celestia glared at the small unicorn and then at her sister, then moved her gaze back to the small unicorn... and then glanced to the top of her baldachin. "Fine. Fine! Lust!" she puffed and barked, her words at odds with her tone; she was obviously displeased with the outcome. "Lust, get down here already! We are also accompanying these two." "No you will not!" Luna pointed a hoof at the white alicorn, rejecting the idea in a hurry. "You look as if something horrific has happened to our kingdom... we would not want our subjects to start panicking, correct?" "But... Discord kinda escaped," Trixie rose her hoof in the air. "Isn't that something horrific for Equestria?" "And just how many know that our evil genie is out of the bottle?" Luna threw a smirk at the unicorn. Trixie became dumbfounded for a moment, staring with her mouth hanging open; then she came to and clasped her hooves, even giggling a little. "Genius!" "Only if we manage to continue to keep it a secret." Luna rolled her eyes, then moved her gaze back to Celestia. "As long as you are in this state, you should remain in the room, Sister. We are not deaf to your plea, however... so we have no objections if you were to send an observer." "An... observer?" Celestia blinked and scratched the top of her head. Then enlightenment arrived, her eyes glistering as the idea dawned on her. "Oh! Oh, I get it! That... that is a good idea, actually. Lust! Could you accompany my sister and my student, please?" "But of course," the white lion replied, his long white mane flowing as he leapt to the floor. "I will gladly do anything you ask of me, honey." Sighing in resignation, Luna turned around and pulled the door open. "Whoaaa... this is one big castle," Trixie exhaled. She was walking at Luna's side, occasionally bumping into the alicorn; her gaze and most of her attention was focused on the richly decorated ceiling. "Trixie can't even fathom how-" "Do not gawk," Luna barked. "Close your mouth, too. It is quite unsightly to walk like that." Trixie acted as if she was doused with boiling water. She dropped her ears and hung her head low, scampering two steps behind Luna - a fact which didn't escape the alicorn's attention. "Are we going too fast? Can you not keep up with the pace?" Luna snickered. She was free to make faces, and she had herself to thank for that: she had ordered most of the Palace Guard into the Garden last night. That left the Palace eerily quiet in parts - many of the hallways were completely deserted. A great number of commoners were still milling about of course, doing their duties - advisors, repairponies, the usual riff-raff. But with the sheer size of the Palace, Luna had no difficulties picking a route where she was guaranteed not to bump into any of them. She needed the privacy, too. "Uh- n, no. You're walking fine." Trixie muttered and hastened her steps a little. "Trixie was just-" "You also need to learn speaking properly." Luna kept on with the lecture. She had much to say, and no matter what elaborate route she took, the kitchen wasn't that far. "Abbreviations may pass on the street, but you are not on the streets anymore." That was the last straw, apparently. "Trixie did NOT come from the streets!" the unicorn barked and ground to a halt, stomping her hoof against the marble floor. "And Trixie speaks properly already! Trixie is the greatest magician, so-!" Both Origin and Lust stopped. The servants traded a quizzed glance and sat down, staring at the two ponies, obviously waiting for the spectacle to begin in earnest. Sighing wearily, Luna turned around. She had been expecting that pony to lash out - though she expected it to happen a little later. Patience and a thicker skin; two more things in the long list this 'student' had to learn. "We do not care who you are... or rather, were. You are the student of our Sister now," Luna explained in a low, emotionless tone. "This is a prestigious position - one which demands that you meet certain requirements. We regret if this is sudden, but do excuse us! Normally we are given more time to coach newcomers in the ways of Canterlot." "Coach...!" Trixie slapped herself on the forehead. "So this is why you wanted to bring the coffee yourself... Trixie was wondering why didn't simply ask a servant! You wanted to lure Trixie away!" Sharp, if a little bit slow. Luna hummed to herself. Ehh, we have seen worse material. This pony just needs a little polish. A few years of experience and training will do wonders. Twisting her lips into a dark grin, Luna decided that the earnest training began now - and the first lesson was the pecking order. "Of course we lured you away. Thanks to Discord's mistimed revenge, Sister is vulnerable right now... she needs us to take care of her. To protect her." Luna exclaimed and began pacing slowly, drawing a small circle around the so-called 'student'. "This place - Equestria - is only safe as long as we are protecting it, you see? There are so many dangers out there. Mad gods, insane tyrants, petty magicians, shapeshifting pony-eating bugs..." Leaning down, Luna placed her mouth right next to Trixie's ear. "Even ponies who would have the gall to take advantage of Sister's misfortune." A loud yell rang in Luna's ears, but she bore the pain with the usual stoicism. She sighed and scratched the base of her ear, then watched in silence as the shaking Trixie began backing away from her. She studied the unicorn's terrified expression... and sighed, rubbing a hoof against her forehead. She decided it would be easiest to spell this lesson out loud. "Dear student, cracking under pressure will not do. For all you may know, we could have been merely testing you; and then you would have betrayed yourself splendidly." Luna shook her head, her tone rife with disappointment. "We appreciate your bravery in duping our sister... but we would advise against pulling acts if you are not prepared to remain in character until the very last moment." "WHAT?! Is she a faker? Really?!" Lust leaped next to Trixie and began inspecting the hapless unicorn up close - that was, until Origin rushed to his master's aid, giving the white lion a very intimidating stare. "Trixie slipped up, didn't she?" Trixie giggled and glanced away. The shock had disappeared from her face, giving way to misery. "Aah... this one act could have changed Trixie's life..." "You actually did quite well... but your attire had rendered your efforts futile." Luna pointed at the starry cape on the unicorn's back. "Sister is quite lenient, but we would have never allowed something this tasteless in our vicinity. Any student accompanying our sister would know that." Smirking in pain and sobbing loudly, Trixie reached to her back and yanked the cape off. She didn't say a word, but her glare betrayed everything on her mind; the sour realization that such a simple mistake was enough to reveal her. Luna allowed the little pony to wallow in that pain for a while. She had no idea who Trixie was, to be honest; but it only seemed fair, facing some repercussion for attempting to fool the two Princesses. We are still a lot more generous than we would be in our court, too. "So, what will it be?" Trixie sniffled and wiped her face in the cloak. She didn't say it, but it was obvious that she was fearing the punishment. "Well, let us see..." Luna turned her head sideways, prodding her chin with a hoof. She may have been heading the court, but the lesser used charges still took her a while to recall. "It depends on the charges. But deception of a state figure and impersonation of a pony in high ranking... well, you may be in for life." That wasn't an outright lie, but veered quite close to being one. The theoretical maximum for those offences was quite high indeed - but unless Trixie was a re-offender, she was unlikely get more than a few years at most. And since her sob-story involved Discord, it was always easy to claim that the official documents had been tampered with. That was what Luna would have done - and it was what she was going to do, after this talk was over. There was no way Celestia's student could have recorded offences. "For life," Trixie echoed and pulled the cloak all over her face. "For life...!" "That is, if there is anything to charge you with." Luna carried on musing out loud. "Since, if you are really Sister's student... then you were simply telling the truth, were you not?" Trixie jumped at the offer - literally so. She bounced a few steps forward, casting her cloak away like a tattered rag of no value. "Is... is that an offer?" she asked, her excited grimace mixing with her red eyes and flowing tears. "You would cast a blind eye on this? Allow Trixie to live her dream?!" Her nose still resting on her hoof, Luna gave a sombre chuckle and swayed her head from right to left and back. "Please do not put words in our mouth. We never cast a blind eye to crime - that is a slippery slope we would rather not endure." She stared the unicorn right in the eyes. "We simply explained that there is no punishment if there was no crime." "But... Trixie has already met Celestia," Trixie looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. "How could Trixie go back on all that?" You fail to think outside the box, Luna noted and narrowed her eyes. We sincerely hope this is just a lack of experience, and not something more fundamental. "You misunderstood us... student. What is done is done; you can not go back anymore. You should not attempt to either - Sister needs the moral supports that are her students," Luna took her nose off her hoof and rolled her head. "All you can do now is to become the student you claimed to be. Do just that, and there will be nothing to be afraid of. You will have achieved your goal." Trixie nodded, slowly and somewhat aloofly. She seemed to have issues grasping the offer. "But... how could Trixie become a student? She already claimed to be one! Or... is there some sort of initiation?" Luna glanced at Lust. The white lion understood the message and backed off, slowly pacing behind the back of the alicorn. "There is. You need to become the mask which you so casually took up," Luna explained and stretched her neck again. "We can do that for you, right here and right now. All you need to do is order your servant to not interfere." Trixie and Origin glanced at each other. The gryphon shook his head, obviously unconvinced; but Trixie was visibly faltering, likely debating the choices inside her head. "Will then Trixie really become the student of Celestia?" the little unicorn turned back to Luna, her purple eyes betraying a mixture of fear, anxiety... and excitement. "Will then Trixie be the most powerful mage in Equestria?" "The most powerful...? Ha... ahahaha! Is that it?" A chuckle burst out of Luna. She regretted it a mere moment later, and felt ashamed about the mistake - but knew better than to give any sign of that. She simply cleared her throat and carried on. "Why, of course! Celestia's favoured may pick whichever title they fancy." "Then stop mincing words," Trixie huffed and nodded so heartedly that her mane flapped into her face. "Origin! Whatever Luna's doing... allow her to do it, okay?" "Meh. This is another incredibly stupid call... but as you wish, master!" the green gryphon sneered in the direction of the other servant. He then paced to the opposite side of the hall, propping himself against the white marble wall, his front legs folded on his chest. "At ease, servant... we will not do anything drastic," Luna waved a hoof at the displeased gryphon. "Paradox, show yourself! There is work to be done." Luna's servant made her entrance without any extra flashiness. No smoke, no lights, no sound - nothing at all. She simply appeared from behind Luna, as if she had been hiding there the whole time. There wasn't much remarkable about her either. She was a simple grey pony with glasses, completely featureless and rather unremarkable. "Whoa," Trixie blinked at the newcomer. "You've got your own servant..." Luna didn't even bother to acknowledge that asinine remark. "Paradox, this pony needs to become our dearest Sister's student," she explained to the grey mare. "Understood. The standard fare, then." Paradox adjusted her reading glasses, taking a better look at Trixie. "Let's see... a travelling magician with her own caravan. Hmm... that would be hard to alter. Not a popular show; but still one with too many witnesses. I could make her remember taking an academy exam during her less busy years, though." Like an ant under a huge magnifying glass, Trixie stared at the grey servant with her mouth hanging open. She was obviously being analysed, but there was nothing she could do about the fact. All she could do was trust the alicorn holding the glass to not burn her for fun. "That and everything else necessary. You know the drill," Luna nodded and closed her eyes. There was a rush of dull pain throughout her head - and then the whole thing was over, as soon as it came. When she cracked her eyes open, Paradox was nowhere to be found. Luna gave that adherence to protocol an honest smile. She had trained Paradox for a long time. One of the first lessons was concealment; that having a servant hang around all the time was a sure-fire way to tipping the other masters off. Luna wanted her servant to stay out of sight. It was probably paranoid of her, but given the game she was in, she felt her paranoia thoroughly justified. "Oohh... ohhh..." Turning her head a little, Luna took another good look at Trixie. The unicorn clearly wasn't feeling well; she looked light on her hooves, stumbling around in a dazed fashion. Figures, Luna put a hoof to the dully aching portion of her skull. To us, altering memories is nothing... to her, it may have messed with half her life. And this was far from being the end. "Lust!" Luna barked, making the white lion's head snap to her. "Your turn." "Wai- what?" Trixie yanked her head up. She didn't look well - she was squinting with one eye, keeping the other one closed. "There's more?!" "But of course!" Lust walked forward, positioning himself between the unicorn and the alicorn. "You see, now you have been a faithful student of my hon'... but I would prefer you to not break her heart later on either." "How?" Trixie whined. She collapsed to the floor, using her hooves to squeeze both sides of her head together. "By making you devoted," Lust cackled loudly. His sapphire eyes flashed in a bright blue colour - before the unicorn had a chance to protest. "My hon' is the meaning of your life from now on. If she asks something, you provide. If she wishes something, you do not ask why. Her word is is your will! For from now on, THAT is your devotion!" "YOU BASTARD!" A sword zipped through the air. It hit Lust right between his eyes - but the metal blade couldn't harm the ghostly lion. The blade flew on without any effect, clanging loudly and screeching as it came to a spinning halt on the marble floor. Luna followed the shiny piece of metal for a while, then turned her eyes to where it appeared from. "You lowlife thug! Thrice-damned mongrel!" Origin sneered, his left paw still steaming. "That's not devotion! That's plain slavery! How dare you-!" "It's... it's okay, Origin." The trembling voice made the green gryphon stop dead in his tracks. He clenched his paws in useless fury and turned to Trixie, his face deformed by anger. "Master, don't be stupid! Don't stop me. Just this once! Please!" he sneered, his voice somewhere heartfelt pleading and bloodthirsty demanding. "You're not yourself!" "But I am. I am Trixie Lulamoon... and you are my servant," Trixie rose her head and gave the gryphon a weak smile. "So please... stop. There is no reason for us to fight. Everything's alright." Still clenching his paws, Origin stared lengthily at Trixie... then turned his burning glare to Luna. He glared without saying a word, then disappeared with a poof, leaving but a few loose feathers behind. Luna couldn't fault him for wanting a break. Levelling her eyebrows, she gave her head a gentle shake. This is why she despised this game so much. It sapped life of out everything sacred. Now ponies' lives were so simple to manipulate, it was way too easy to see everything as an object. Without the proper restraint, servants like Lust or Paradox were so dangerous that even she couldn't fully comprehend the risks involved. And she was a thousands' year old immortal. It was frightening to think what disasters a mortal could wreak - perhaps unwittingly. "Are you all right... student?" she finally spoke up, absent-mindedly gazing at Trixie. The blue unicorn was recovering splendidly. She stopped shaking, and was only smacking herself over the head repeatedly - the phantom pain only seeming to slightly annoy her at this point. "Mh-hmm! Trixie is feeling splendid!" the unicorn gave Luna a wide-mouthed smile. "Let's go and get that coffee! We're taking so long... Celestia must be worried sick by now!" "Very well." Luna grinned and gave a token bow. "Lead the way, then." Finding out whether Trixie 'remembered' the layout of the Palace was a splendid way to check how successful Paradox was at altering her memories, after all. "Knock-knock!" Trixie chirped and she sneaked through the barely opened door. That wasn't an easy task; she had difficulties opening the door and keeping the floating tray in the air, so full of coffee and cake as it was. She could only solve the puzzle by using her leg to crack the door open - and then squeezing herself and the tray through. "Coffee has arrived!" She found the white alicorn near the window, hunched over the desk. Celestia seemed rather busy indeed, as she paid no attention to the arriving pony. It didn't take long for Trixie to realise that if the Princess was so busy, then she probably shouldn't have interfered either. Using her magic to balance the tray and keep the coffee from spilling, Trixie made her way to the desk in complete silence. Then, still trying to remain as subtle as possible, she shuffled a few of the opened scrolls aside, and placed the tray on the desk. The cup made a faint clang, but that was the loudest noise. Trixie, content in her belief that she was as invisible as a ghost, gave herself an appreciative nod- "Where is Luna?" Not expecting Celestia to have noticed her, Trixie almost broke into a surprised yelp - only by biting onto her lip did she manage to preserve some of her dignity. The ad-hoc solution hurt, but a little pain was preferable to yelling inside the castle. Basic rules of etiquette, really. Celestia, having noted the humbled silence of her student, took her time to grab the cup of steaming coffee. "Ah - it's the way you like it! Three cubes of sugar and a little cinnamon," Trixie hastily explained. "As for Princess Luna, she, uh... she was approached by a trooper in the kitchen. Apparently there is some matter she needs to attend to." Celestia stared at her wobbling reflection in the brown coffee, then took a sip. "Hmm, I see..." she mumbled, rotating the cup absent-mindedly, studying the rich decoration. "Why did you come back? After Discord and everything... you could have run away, you know? I mean... I would expect any sane pony to run away after such a debacle. Nopony would have taken offence at you wanting out." "Is... is that a trick question?" Trixie scratched her head. "Trixie came back because this is where Trixie belongs... as simple as that." Celestia raised her eyebrow at the remark. "This...?" "By your side, of course." Trixie clarified, bowing so deep her mane swept the floor. "Even if it is sometimes dangerous, Trixie wouldn't have it any other way." A golden coloured aura of magic yanked back to her hooves. "Stop bowing. You know I find that offensive." Celestia frowned then turned around, her cup drawing a faint arc of steam in the air. "Out of curiosity... did anything interesting happen on the way to the kitchen?" Following the Princess' gaze, Trixie noticed that the alicorn was talking to the two servants who had entered the room. "Nothing that would bother you, honey." Lust purred. He was resting on top of the baldachin already, stretching and groaning like a well-fed kitten. Origin was slower to respond. He took his time to hear the white lion out, then stared Trixie in the eye... but finally spoke up. "Just a small chat with Princess Luna," he shrugged, fiddling with a claw of his. "But matters were settled the way my master wished. In fact... she may have gotten more than she bargained for." That's not what we agreed on saying! Trixie hissed at the idiot gryphon of hers. "I see." Celestia hummed and gulped some more coffee. She kept staring into the cup for a while... and then turned her eyes back on her student. "Would you like to take a break? You earned it, being almost killed by Discord... and by me, by proxy." "There is no need! Trixie feels just fine." Trixie giggled. She felt kind of awkward, hearing that compliment; she had to scratch the back of her neck just to deal with her high-strung nerves. "This may sound a little weird but... Trixie would like to help cleaning up this room. If... if you don't mind." "This is probably selfish of me... but I would be thankful for the company, I guess." Celestia smiled wryly, taking a long sip of her coffee. Origin watched the heartfelt 'reunion', his heart overflowing with a singular emotion. Disgust. He used to be a proud gryphon. That was long ago - so long ago that even he forgot the exact count of years. He didn't remember much of that life, apart from one detail... something that shone in the dark void like the brightest star. He used to be proud. That was all he needed to remember, too. He had given up that previous life, in exchange to become a servant; he had given his all to become the mightiest fighter in the world. He never longed for anything else. Freedom, wealth, happiness... those had never meant anything to him. He couldn't remember when it was exactly, but he realised that fact even before he had become a servant. Whether he fought for an ideal, whether he fought for hire, whether he fought for the sake of protecting someone else... it never seemed to matter. It didn't matter why he was spilling blood. It only mattered that he won. He had never lost a master in his existence as Origin. His masters kept dying all the time, of course; to old age, to diseases, to their own stupidity. That, however, had never bothered him. If his masters died, then they weren't deserving of commanding him in the first place. But now, watching Trixie mingle with that white alicorn... Origin clenched his claws in useless rage. For the first time, he had failed his master. He lost. He could have made a pincushion out of Luna. Even though he couldn't possibly kill that alicorn, he could have at least tried. He didn't. He simply stood there and watched. He lost - and he hadn't even tried. That was a shame he couldn't cope with. There was no cure for that wound, and the gash on his heart grew wider with each moment his master spent with the white alicorn. The moments of carefree chat between the two had pained him in ways he never felt before. He didn't go away, though. He wanted to remain close to his master; it was the least he could do. He also wanted that pain to burn into his mind, to haunt him forever. He wanted that use that pain to fuel his desperation. He wanted to gather all that pain and turn it into raw power. A power that would break Princess Luna one day. That moment wouldn't come anytime soon; he was well aware of that. No matter how badly he desired revenge, Trixie was beyond saving now. All he could expect of his master was to lick Luna's hooves now. But there was no hurry. Luna would live forever, and Trixie would be a passing memory in some sixty years... and who knows? Perhaps another master would come along before that. Perhaps that Lyra Heartstrings fellow, the one who had come up this entire plan in the first place. Yeah, she seemed more daring. The scene in the empty restaurant had left an impression on Origin. The way that pony had calmly proposed a plan to slight the Princesses and set Discord loose... he liked that sort of reckless bravery. And there was a good chance that Lyra would arrive to Canterlot before long, too. She was planning to do something to the Princesses, after all. So she's going to fight against Luna, right? Breathing in with his entire body trembling, Origin couldn't wait for that moment to come. He may have to betray Trixie, but as far as he cared, that pony was dead already. And he wouldn't rest until he had his vengeance. If it was Lyra Heartstrings who enabled him to achieve that… then so be it.