For months, Tywin Lannister has been patiently waiting for the right moment to strike upon the Mayor and Twilight Sparkle. During those months, the lion cub that Fluttershy gave him had slowly started to grow into a ferocious beast. One day, as Tywin was just sitting upon his table, breaking his fast, Spike was giving Tytan his daily meal. The second he got close to this giant cat, the little dragon soon found himself being wrapped by paws and having his cheek licked. "Tytan, quit it!" he giggled.
Everything seem peaceful today. But just as Tywin was about to take a sip of orange juice, that's when Discord popped in front of him and cried, "Surprise!" and that would end up getting orange juice stains all over his black suit.
Seven Hells, this was my best suit! He then called out for Spike, "Spike, fetch my red suit for me." after scratching behind Tytan's ear, Spike was able to get loose and went towards the wardrobe. Tywin gave Discord an annoyed scowl and said, "And just what might I ask are you doing here? You're suppose to be spying on the Mayor and Princess Twilight."
"I know that," said Discord. "Which is why I've come back with some juicy information."
"Is that so?" Spike then gave him his red suit. "Well don't be shy, tell me everything."
While Tywin was changing behind a folding screen, Discord transformed into a highschool girl as he told him everything he knows. "Well, I heard that some of the towns ponies aren't too happy with you being here. Some of them are even petitioning for the Mayor to have you evicted from here."
Tywin stepped out of the folding screen and was now donning his red suit. "So the pretender's finally attempting to get rid of me; took a little longer than I expected, but at least she knows that I'm a threat to her position. And what of Princess Twilight?"
"I've been listening in on her little meetings that she has with her friends, and it would seem that she's just as eager to see you gone as well."
"I suppose she supports the Mayor's petition as well?"
"Oh no, she actually doesn't even know about it, yet." this caused Tywin to stop for a moment. "In fact, the Mayor is just about to come over and present the petition to Twilight herself."
Looks like now's the time to act. Upon realizing this, Tywin went up to his desk and took out four documents. "What's with the papers?" Spike asked.
"These papers will help us in getting the Mayor out of Ponyville and removing Princess Twilight from power," Tywin explained to him. "If I can be able to somehow get Twilight to sign them without her knowing their true intention, then we just might be able to succeed in both of those objectives."
"I don't think you'll have much trouble with that," Spike declared. "She never was very good when it comes to focusing or pretty much noticing whenever an answer is right in front of her."
"Go on," Tywin demanded more.
"Well for starters, when she and her friends got infected by poison joke, she looked through every book she had for a cure except for one that she assumed was automatically useless; that is until she learned that that 'useless book' had the cure all along. And one time, I was having to pay off a life debt for Applejack, and when I was telling Twilight about this she didn't even pay attention. Yeah, I was literally telling her that I wasn't going to be in her service for awhile and she acts like it wasn't a big deal. She's very naive that way."
"It's true," Discord agreed. "She even once tried to get her friends to drink some potion that would remove a spell she thought I casted over them. And instead of making up a reason for this, she was foolish enough to tell them what her actual intention was. Not only is she guileless, but she can also be too sure of her own success; so getting the better of her shouldn't be too difficult for you."
"I hope she is," Tywin responded. "Normally I wouldn't be taking great risks over matters such as these, but seeing as how the pretender's planning on striking before me, I might as well just pray that what you two say about the princess is true."
Knowing that time is of the essence to him, Tywin had let out a fast pace as he walked into the council chamber--just right in the middle of a meeting that Twilight was having with her friends. Tywin stood right in front of her, and after giving a bow he said, "Your Grace."
"Tywin," Twilight responded. "I assume you have something to tell me?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," he then presented the documents to her. Twilight was close to reading the first three words until Tywin mentioned, "The Mayor wishes for you to sign these in approval."
She was immediately taken back by that information. "And she asked you to present them to me?"
"Of course," he assured her. "After my punishment, I thought it would be best that I make amends for my disrespect towards her. And through these past months, the Mayor and I have been on equal terms ever since."
"Well I'm glad to hear that." the second she finished writing her signature on all four documents, she handed them back to Tywin with her magic. "You know Tywin, at first I thought you were just going to be a nuisance; but I guess I was wrong about you."
"You're too kind," with that said, Tywin had left the council chamber, leaving Twilight and her friends to continue their little meeting. "You see girls, a little discipline was all Tywin needed. Maybe I won't have to request Princess Celestia to take him away after all."
Just as she was laying her hind legs upon the table while slouching on her throne in a relaxed tone, Applejack was the first to give the Princess of Friendship a reality check. "I wouldn't be lowerin' my suspicions just yet, Twilight; Lord Tywin doesn't really strike me as the trustin' type."
"Now Applejack," Twilight tsked. "I know that he's been somewhat of an annoyance for the past months, but as you just saw he's become about as reformed as Discord."
"I'm tellin' ya Twi, he's up ta somethin'; and it ain't good. Nine months ago, he was over at Sweet Apple Acres tryin' ta hire Big Mac as a bodyguard."
"Did he accept the offer?"
"No, bu..."
"Then I guess there's nothing for us to worry about."
"Actually Twilight, I've also been noticing some suspicious doings from Lord Tywin." Rarity spoke up. "One time when Caramel and Lucky Clover were trying to invade my personal space and threaten Spike, Lord Tywin not only destroyed an expensive carriage the two of them bought but he was also threatening to execute them as well. Not only that, but my sister had told me that that fiend was about to lock her and her friends in a dungeon!"
"Relax Rarity," Twilight soothed her. "I understand that this all sounds pretty horrible, but Lord Tywin didn't really arrest your little sister and the others, did he?"
"Of course not; but he would've if Spikey-Wikey hadn't been able to talk him into letting them go."
"So there, Tywin's nothing to worry about." Twilight declared. "He might bark out a few threats, but he's pretty much all bark and no bite. And unless anypony else wants to tell me more of his 'suspicious doings', this meeting will go to an end for today."
Just as they were about to get off their thrones, Fluttershy was able to muster, "Actually, I've started to become suspicious of Lord Tywin ever since he came to talk with Discord."
That made everypony (including Twilight) to freeze in place. "And...what might I ask did Tywin talk with Discord about?" Twilight asked with a little apprehension in her voice.
"Well, um...I don't really know, because..."
"Well if even Fluttershy can't remember what Tywin and Discord are possibly plotting, then I guess that it's nothing to be concerned over," Twilight tried to brush it all off as she got off her throne. "OK, I'm in the mood for some tarts. You girls want tarts? Because I just got to get me some tarts. In fact, let's all go to Sugarcube Corner before Lord Tywin decides to destroy it." after laughing at her own joke, Twilight was just about to leave until she felt her tail being pinned down by Rainbow Dash.
"Twi, aren't you forgetting someone?" she asked the Princess of Friendship.
Twilight thought for a good ten seconds until concluding, "No, you girls seem to be all here; so I mustn't have forgotten any of you."
"You're not counting Spike," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Spike?" Twilight scoffed at the sound of that name. "Since when do we need him to go anywhere? Besides, he's probably busy helping Lord Tywin deliver those papers back to the Mayor."
Pinkie Pie had finally decided to open her mouth at this point. "Say Twilight, how come Spike's always hanging around Tywee more often?"
"Because I'm letting him, of course. I mean, my servant is Tywin's servant...oops! I mean my 'number one assistant'." Twilight let out a giggle that even Pinkie felt was cruel.
"Twilight, darling," Rarity spoke up. "You don't really view Spike as nothing more than a servant, do you?"
"Yes I do," Twilight insisted. "He's been nothing but my loyal servant ever since I hatched him; of course I have to refer to him as my 'number one assistant', otherwise Princess Celestia would've just taken him away from me and I would've had to take care of myself."
"Uh, Twilight, you haven't forgotten that you can just use magic to do the things Spike does, have you?" Rainbow Dash reminded her.
"You're beginning to sound like Jeffrie," Twilight retorted.
"Say Twi, how come Celestia gave Spike ta ya anyway?" Applejack inquired.
Looks like those tarts are going to have to wait. Twilight thought to herself as she prepared to educate her friends on her origins with her little dragon assistant. "When Celestia decided to make me her personal protegee, she gave Spike to me sort of as a first lesson. At first, I never paid too much attention towards him. (I mean, I've been studying to improve my magic skills for months, and I didn't want to waste all that time foalsitting.) So while my parents and brother took care of Spike for me, I focused on my studies. Then one day, after I came back from school, I went into my room and saw Spike looking at a book. I was afraid he'd tried to eat it or burn the pages so I rushed over to take it away from him, and that's when I heard him say, 'Hello Twilight'. I learned that day that dragons--no matter how young--are fast learners; while I was being taught by Celestia, Spike had taught himself how to read and speak while still in his hatchling stage. I also realized that if a baby dragon can teach himself to read and speak, then I can teach him to serve me as well. After that day, I told Celestia that I plan on taking Spike under my wing as my assistant; what she didn't know was that I was truly just training him to carry my books and clean up after myself, while I just study. And because I've been able to fool Princess Celestia for so long, I've become a princess, I get to live in my own castle, and as you all just saw I've been able to whip Lord Tywin into being my new servant."
After allowing all that information to sink in, Twilight's friends were appalled by this new side of her. "Twilight, you can't be serious about all this," Rarity denied. "I mean, you were with Rainbow Dash and I to bring Spike home after we humiliated him into joining that dragon migration."
"Well of course I had to say something to get Spike back," Twilight explained. "You didn't really think that I would allow my only means of never doing any manual labor by myself to leave my life forever, did you?"
"So ya mean that time you tried ta help me get Spike out of his life debt over his Dragon Code was all because ya wanted him ta serve ya again?" Applejack asked.
Twilight let out a laugh that would put Pinkie Pie to shame upon being asked that. "Oh that's right, I comepletely forgot his 'Dragon Code'! That was just something I made up so he would always be obediant towards me. How do I know this? Because I literally drew that card he carries around myself, with crayon, when I was five!"
After listening to her laugh some more, Rainbow Dash just had to let her disgust be known. "OK Twilight, you're starting to be a little too hard on the little guy right now."
Rainbow Dash, you really are starting to sound like Jeffrie. "Really, I'm being too hard on him? You flung him off your back over a thousand miles away and refered to him as a 'lame dragon', while the rest of you were doing some things that are just as harsh, and you're all only now starting to take pity on him?"
They were all too stunned by that fact to even say anything back; that is except for Fluttershy. "Well um...you see... we never really thought that those times we've ignored, laughed at, or miss treat Spike in anyway would have any negative affects over us. But after revealing how you were truly feeling towards him...we're kinda starting to feel guilty about all we've done to him."
"Will you girls relax," Twilight assured them. "You all forget that we represent the Elements of Harmony, and that I'm the Princess of Friendship. As long as we keep on smiling and saying 'friendship is magic', then Princess Celestia--or Luna--will never suspect what we've been doing behind their backs."
"But aren't you worried that Spike might send a letter to Princess Celestia that tells her everything that you've been doing to him?" Pinkie Pie pointed out.
But that also didn't seem to worry Twilight Sparkle. "Please, like Celestia would believe her student's assistant over her student. Besides, Spike owes everything to me; he wouldn't dare betray the very pony who brought him into Equestria in the first place (he practically thinks of me as an older sister). The truth is that Spike isn't really a dragon; he's just a dog with scales. (And if none of you believe me, then go to the other Equestria and see what he looks like there.) And even if he does hang around with Lord Tywin for the moment, Spike will always stay loyal to his true master."
Over at town hall, the Mayor was gazing upon her reflection in her private bathroom, taking the necessary steps into transforming herself into Ponyville's most reliable politician. She noticed that a bit of her natural pink hair color was beginning to reveal itself, so she covered it with some grey hair dye. Ever since she'd been elected, this process had practically become a daily routine for her. She remember a time when she was younger, and how she had lost the election due to her pink hair that told everypony that she had no experience. But by the next election, she returned with grey hair and glasses that gave her a kind of professional demeanor.
Whenever somepony looks at her, they see a pony who was meant to be Mayor of Ponyville. And for nearly thirty years, she has managed to continue serving the citizens of Ponyville (even after Princess Twilight's coronation). But she saw a threat in Tywin Lannister; to the Mayor, he is a crook who has come to steal everything that she worked hard to achieve. And her only hope was in the form of a piece of paper.
Upon entering her office, the Mayor's assistant was quick on her four hooves to present the petition to her. The Mayor took the time to look over the piece of paper some more. (Because when you're the Mayor of a small town, it never hurts you to double check some things.) After reading signature upon signature of what is ultimately an eviction notice, the Mayor picked up her pen with her own muzzle and written her own signature in approval. And now all it needed was to be signed by a princess.
"You really think this'll work?" the Mayor's assistant asked.
"It will once Princess Twilight signs it," the Mayor stated. "She of all ponies wants to see that Tywin fiend gone from Ponyville."
"Is he really as malicious as everypony describes him?"
"Nopony would bother writing their names on this petition if he wasn't; I heard that he almost tried to arrest three innocent foals. He may just be Princess Twilight's advisor, but could you imagine just what horrors he could bring to Ponyville if he were given more authority?! That's something that I don't plan on seeing; so let's head over to the castle at once."
Before she even had a chance to get off her chair, her intercom started to buzz. "Mayor, somepony has come to...!"
The sound had suddenly cut off before the warning could be made. "Hello?! Hello?!" the Mayor kept bashing the button in a futile attempt to get it working. Feeling that danger is coming her way, she slipped her hoof under her desk and pressed the security alarm. "Lock the door," she ordered her assistant. The second that had been locked, both ponies could do nothing but listen to the sound of galloping hoof steps and pain-filled grunts.
"What should we do?" the Mayor's assistant asked in desperation.
"If this is what I think it is," said the Mayor. "Then we're going to have to escape by any means."
With that said, the Mayor opened up her window and was ready to climb her way down from the five storey building (with any luck, she might be able to land on some hay). But before she even got out, the door suddenly crashed down with Bulk Biceps standing on top, and shouting, "Yeah!" and for a pegasus with tiny wings, he wasn't too slow when it came to apprehending the Mayor with an iron grip!
"Let go of me at once! You'll be sorry when Princess Twilight hears of...!" the Mayor was then silenced by Iron Will--who was fast when it came to gagging her.
As she struggled and desperately tried her best to cry out for somepony to help, that's when Tywin Lannister finally arrived. He looked at her with that cold gaze of his very briefly until he turned his attention to the Mayor's assistant. After paralyzing her as well, Tywin snatched the petition from her own hooves, skimmed through every name and sentence, and then he slowly tore the paper one piece at a time.
"Hey, what are you...?!" the Mayor's assistant was immediately silenced by one swift punch from Iron Will's fist.
After shredding the petition to bits, Tywin looked down at the subdued Mayor and told her, "In the name of Princess Twilight Sparkle, I, Tywin Lannister, hold you under arrest for high treason. Iron Will, Bulk Biceps, take our prisoner in front of the castle and make sure her restraints are extra tight." as his two guards were dragging the Mayor out of her office, that's when Spike--who has been in a sullen mood since leaving the castle--came in to receive his orders. Not only did Tywin give the dragon his commands, but a scrolled-up letter as well. "Hold onto this letter, and don't send it until I tell you to. In the meantime, return to the castle and bring me that bucket of raw meat that you use to feed Tytan. Then after that, just make sure that Tytan is ready for his public appearance." with Spike now gone, that is when Discord finally popped into place. "Discord, can you drench this place from top-to-bottom with wildfire?"
"Can I?" the master of chaos asked with a devilish grin.
...
Eleven minutes later, the Mayor of Ponyville now found herself being tied up in front of Twilight Sparkle's castle, while all the citizens were gathering around to see what was going on. As everypony muttered amongst themselves, that's when they all notice Tywin Lannister standing next to the restrained Mayor and made his announcement. "I am Lord Tywin Lannister; Hand of Princess Twilight Sparkle. I've come before you to carry out the sentence of this criminal in the name of your Princess. This pony before you has been declared guilty for crimes of pretending under Princess Twilight's reign, and for attempting to usurp control of Ponyville from her. So long as Twilight Sparkle remains your princess, treason of any kind shall never go unpunishied. Therefore, the sentence for this pretender is death!" everypony who heard this were all in a hysterical state as if they were being attacked by a swarm of bees. During this uproar, Tywin whispered to the Mayor's ear. "Normally, I would have one of my guards chop your head off. But since neither of them have any weapons, I decided to let you play with my cat, instead."
Just then, the door to the castle had slowly opened. The Mayor looked over with hope in her eyes that maybe Princess Twilight has come to pardon her of whatever crime she had committed. But instead of the princess, it was only her dragon assistant with chains held within his claws. But Spike didn't come out alone; he came with Tywin's pet lion, Tytan. Upon arriving, Tywin immediately picked up the bucket and splattered all the raw meat over the Mayor. It may have made her smell like a rotting corpse, but to Tytan she smelt like dinner. All it took was for Spike to unhook the chain that connect to Tytan's collar, and one quick pounce for the lion to start devouring the meat reeking Mayor!
While Tytan was gnawing her with teeth and claw, Tywin turned to Spike. "Do you still have the letter?" all Spike had to do was pull the scrolled up parchment from whatever part of his body that he uses as an invisible pocket to let Tywin know that he still has it. "Good, now send it." after taking a deep breath and letting his green flames engulf the letter, it was know heading its way to Princess Celestia. "All right Spike, Discord should be done flooding that building with wildfire by now. I want you to go light up the green liquid with your flames and then head back here; and try not to get yourself burned."
"Pfft, as if a dragon ever got hurt by fire." the second Spike had left, Tytan had already crunched the Mayor's entire face and was now digging his claws into the rest of her flesh.
As if on cue, Princess Twilight--with her crown upon her head--and her friends had finally come to see what all the commotion was. It only took one glance at the lion feasting on the Mayor's corpse for the six of them to be just as paranoid as the rest of town. "Tywin, what the hay's going on around here?!" Twilight demanded an answer. Before one could be given, that's when they all heard the sound of burning wood. Everypony's eyes had nothing but terror when they saw town hall cover in the bright green flames known as wildfire! Mixed within was also the sound of screaming ponies! (Whether it be from the towns ponies watching or the ones who were unfortunate to still be inside the blazing building, no one could tell.) By the time Spike decided to come back, Twilight had regained her voice. "Tywin, what have you done?!"
"I've only done what you've ordered," Tywin replied.
She was a bit shaken by that statement, but she shrugged it off as an empty ploy and turned her attention to Spike. "Spike, send a letter to Princess Celestia, now!"
"That won't be necessary," Tywin dismissed her order. "He already sent one not too long ago; she should be here any minute."
True to his word, Princess Celestia--along with Princess Luna--decided to grace Ponyville with their royal presence. After stepping off their seperate chariots, Twilight Sparkle attempted to speak with them before Tywin had a chance. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, you two could not arrive in any better time! I don't usually question your judgement, but the advisor that you've sent me has been..."
"Princess Twilight, what is the meaning of this?!" Celestia asked in a bit of rage that even Twilight was never use to hearing from her.
"I know this all seems very hard to handle right now," said Twilight. "But the sooner you two punish Lord Tywin, the better Ponyville will become again."
"What makes you think it is Lord Tywin who is at fault?" Luna asked. "The letter he sent us says that you're behind all this mayhem."
"And judging from the dreadful state of the Mayor and town hall, it would seem he was telling the truth." Celestia added.
Twilight felt like she had been bitten by an eel from all the shock she's experiencing right now. "That's not true! I would never do such a thing!"
"It is true, and she can do such a thing," Tywin intervened. "She's been plotting this ever since I first arrived. I of course tried my best to advise her out of it, but she either ignored or choose to send me away for a brief period of time. As to how all this carnage transpired, Princess Twilight had ordered my guards to seize the Mayor and tied her in front of the castle, made her friend, Fluttershy, use her staring abilities to control my pet lion into eating the Mayor alive, and then she forced Spike into burning down that building over there."
Everything Tywin just said had left them all daunted, especially Fluttershy (whose mouth remained gapping and pupils shrunked to the size of peas after hearing her name be mentioned). But Twilight wasn't going to let herself be accussed so easily. "If I truly did give out those orders, there would at least be some signed documents with my approval."
"Of course, that's why you gave me the documents for safe keeping." Tywin handed two of the four papers to Celestia and Luna. "This is the arrest warrant she signed to have the Mayor seized, and this is the death warrant she also signed to have the Mayor executed."
After closely examining each paper, both princesses came to a conclusion. "They both have your signature on them," Celestia pointed out to a rather dumbfounded Twilight.
"That's because I saw her sign them myself," Tywin continued. "Even her friends were there to witness it."
The princesses turned their eyes upon Twilight's friends. "Well...we did see her sign 'em," Applejack admitted. "But he told her that them papers were from the Mayor."
"Is that true?" Luna asked.
"Of course not," Tywin denied it. "Do you ever expect a dog to bark at its own master? No, even if Princess Twilight is the one to blame for all this, you can't expect her own followers to speak out against her."
"He does have a point," Discord was watching all of this while floating on a recliner and feasting on popcorn as if he were watching a tv show. "I mean friendship wouldn't exactly be magic if Twilight's friends don't even defend her. But that still doesn't change the fact that Twilight had killed a politician behind your backs."
Celestia looked very sternly upon Tywin when she said, "Lord Tywin, what you have told us has Luna and I feeling very dismayed. A bit of me feels ashamed that Twilight could be capable of something so heinous; but another part of me doubts that my own student would ever stoop to something so low."
"We've known Twilight Sparkle for years and have only met you months ago," Luna added. "To be honest, neither of us know who we should believe."
"I understand," Tywin agreed. "You can't completely trust Princess Twilight because she might be guilty; and you can't fully trust me because you've barely known me. But there is someone whom you can trust."
"Who?"
"Spike," the mention of that name took everyone off guard--mostly Spike himself. "Children has always have a sort of...innocence--for lack of a better word. He's been following me everywhere I go since I chose him as my cupbearer; so there's no doubt that he would tell you if I had been committing any treason behind Princess Twilight's back."
"It's true," Twilight agreed eagerly. "Spike has always been a faithful and loyal assistant to me and anypony he helps. And although I never appreciate it, he always tells me what I need to hear; he's practically more honest than Applejack. So you have my word Princess Celestia that Spike will never lie to you, or Princess Luna."
With all that said, Spike was slowly dragging his feet towards the princess sisters as he looked at each of them with a sort of childish timidity. He looked at Twilight and at Tywin; he knew he would have to betray one and stay loyal to the other. By the choice of any words, he might end up making one of them look like a criminal in front of Equestria's most powerful rulers.
"Ahem," Twilight coughed impatiently. "Go on Spike, tell Celestia and Luna what actually happen."
The tension of all this was making the little dragon expose his anxiety in the forms of little bullets of sweat. He wanted to imagine himself as egg again, but was cut out of it when he felt Celestia's hoof raise his chin. "There's no need to be afraid, Spike. We just want the truth."
Spike turned his head to look at Tywin for some kind of assistance. "Look at us, Spike," Luna said in a soft but firm tone. She waited until the little dragon had given her a hundred percent eye contact before she said, "Now be honest with us, Spike; is Twilight Sparkle abusing her authority as a princess, or is Lord Tywin committing an act of treason?"
His time was finally running out; Spike knew that he would have to give the princesses a name for them to blame, starting now. He looked down at the ground like a kid who got caught breaking a cookie jar, and was scratching the back of his head with his claws. Tears started to build up and his breath was pacing rather quickly when he finally shouted his choice. "IT'S TRUE! THIS IS ALL TWILIGHT'S DOING!"
"WHAT?!" Twilight cried in disbelief.
Celestia's face had begun to harden after hearing Spike's confession. "You're sure that Twilight Sparkle is to blame?"
"I swear to you by my honor as a dragon that Twilight Sparkle had the Mayor killed for the sake of gaining full control of Ponyville, and that she also forced me to burn down town hall when there were still civilians inside!" Spike brought himself down to his knees as he continued to sob more tears. "I heard them screaming when I set that building afire; I told Twilight that I didn't want to burn those ponies, but she told me that true friends always do what their friends tell them to do. I just didn't want her to think that I'm not her number one assistant any more! And the worst part is...she's been doing these sort of things behind your back since you gave me to her!"
"YOU LITTLE TRAITOR!" Twilight shrieked while Applejack and Rainbow Dash were putting all their strength into holding her back. "I hatch you and allow you to serve as my assistant and this is the thanks you give me?!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" Celestia almost stomped a crater into the ground as she yelled in the royal Canterlot voice on this rare occassion. After Twilight Sparkle had knelt to the ground like a dog being chastise by its master, Celestia regained her elegant composure as she spoke to Spike in her regular voice. "Spike, if Twilight's been mistreating you, then why didn't you tell me or my sister?"
"Because she told me that you and Princess Luna wouldn't believe me and banish me from Equestria for not being her obediant assistant," Spike continued to sob. "She's always telling me that friendship is magic, so I figured that putting up with the abuse, neglect, the times she never bothers to thank me for my services, and times when she never defends me from anypony who pushes me around was just part of friendship. I know that I'm betraying Twilight by snitching on her like this, but please don't banish me!"
Luna's horn glowed as blue as her mane when her magical force lifted Spike towards her. She held the dragon in a warm embrace and she gave his face a comforting nuzzle as tears of pure sorrow were sliding down her cheeks. "No, no, Spike, we would never do that to you."
Celestia too was leaking some tears of her own when she rubbed Spike's head and said, "It's OK Spike, you didn't do anything wrong." she had to make her face stern as iron when she looked back at Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, I'm very ashamed of you! Not only have you disgraced yourself as a Princess by murdering the Mayor, but you've also failed as a good role model for Spike! (Even Sunset Shimmer wouldn't do something this despicable.)"
"Come on," Twilight protested. "You're not really gonna believe that lying lizard over your own student, are you?! You must believe me; I was the one whom you chose to be Equestria's new princess!"
"I gave you that title because I thought you were worthy of it," Celestia stated. "And I allowed you to have custody over Spike because I thought you might be able to give this poor child a family that could teach him the magic of friendship. But it's clear now that I've been overestimating you. You've had so much promise in you, that it hurts me that I have to punish you somehow."
"You won't have to," Tywin claimed. "Twilight Sparkle already did." he pulled yet another paper that Twilight had blindly signed and gave to Celestia and Luna to look over. Both princesses seemed to have looks of approval after reading it.
"What does it say?" Pinkie asked after snatching the paper away and read out loud. "Lord Tywin Lannister is to hereby rule all of Ponyville as Lord Regent, until Princess Twilight Sparkle is deemed worthy of rulling." she then whispered to her friends, "I don't know what this means."
Twilight then painstakingly explained to her. "It means...that Lord Tywin will rule with my authority...until I'm ready to get it back."
"Ooh, didn't see that coming!" Discord commented.
"We believe that it's a more than fitting punishment for you, Twilight Sparkle." said Celestia.
"You mean you're actually going to allow this?!" Twilight cried.
"That's right," said Celestia. "You've proven that you still have a lot more to learn before being a ruler; so while Lord Tywin is in charge, you shall observe and learn everything he does until he let us know that you're ready to have your authority back."
"No, this isn't happening, you can't do this! This is just what Lord Tywin wants; he's just playing you for a bunch of fools!"
"You've got some nerve, Twilight Sparkle!" Princess Luna let out her rage. "First you have a politician killed, threatened this poor innocent child into doing your horrible biddings, and now you dare to speak against your own superiors?! I ought to banish you to the moon myself!"
Celestia was able to calm her sister down as she then made it clear to Twilight that failure isn't an option for her. "You see Twilight, you will do as Lord Tywin says. If you don't, not only will I strip you of your title and change you back to unicorn, but I will also take you back to Canterlot where you will start things over by attending Magic Kindergarten again."
That last statement made Twilight feel like she just saw both her parents get flayed by Roose Bolton's bastard. She was already groveling before Celestia's hooves and pleading, "No, anything but that! I'll do anything you command me to do, just don't make me go to Magic Kindergarten!"
"Good," Celestia said with a satisfied smile. "While Lord Tywin rules for you, I shall take your crown back to Canterlot for safekeeping."
After Celestia deprived Twilight of her crown, Luna added, "Consider yourself fortunate that we're even allowing you to refer to yourself as princess."
"Now that that's been settled," said Celestia. "We still need to decide who should take care of Spike." she looked back at the little dragon. "My sister and I would love to look after you, but our duties would only keep us from even seeing you."
"I could take care of him," Rarity sugested. Everyone looked at her with a deadpan expression tha they'd normally give when somepony like Pinkie says something crazy. "What? It's not like I ever exploited Spikey-Wikey's services for my own selfish gain."
"That's nothing to worry about," Tywin stated. "Twilight Sparkle has taken care of that matter as well." he finally took out the last paper and gave it to the princess sisters.
"Oh great, what did I sign this time?" Twilight groaned.
"It would seem that you've allowed Lord Tywin to adopt Spike," Celestia explained.
"Can I read it?" Spike asked. After being given the parchment, Spike looked over it as he read to himself, "From this day forth, Spike the dragon shall forever be known as Spike Lannister, legitimate son of Lord Tywin Lannister." for a second, Spike thought this all just a dream; that he's still napping in his little basket, waiting for Twilight to bark more orders at him. The surprised dragon looked up at the man who might be his new father and said, "Is this true? Am I really going to be your son?"
Tywin looked at his adopted son with a relaxed expression as he said, "Yes Spike, what that document says is true. You've been of good service to me for so long that it's only fair that you get rewarded. That, and I've been growing rather fond of your company for these past few months." he then felt his leg being clutched by the dragon's claws as he was shedding tears of joys that he now has a father of his own. Tywin just gave his new son a pat on the head and continued speaking with Celestia. "Your Grace, by my name as a Lannister, I assure you that Spike shall be treated the same way I treat with my own sons."
"I just want to be assured that Spike shan't be treated like a tool this time." Celestia clarified.
"He's in good hands."
"I should really apologize to you, Lord Tywin. The reason I sent you here was really for Twilight Sparkle to maybe reform you the way Fluttershy did for Discord, but you instead manage to unmask my student's true colors. Do you have any requests you would like to make, before my sister and I return to Canterlot?"
"Only two: I would like my guards to be armed with any weapons you can give and given knighthoods, and I would like to have the sisters of Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, to serve as my new cupbearers."
Sensing something choatic from these requests, Discord began to wave a trophy around and said, "I smell Emmy!"
...
After all the humiliation she had to go through today, Twilight Sparkle was in desperate need of rest. But when she entered her chambers, she saw Spike's basket lying where her bed is suppose to be. Twilight's instincts then led her straight to her former assistant's room. "Spike, have you seen my...?" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw the little dragon lying on her bed while Tywin's pet lion was resting his head on the side and having it scratched by Spike's claws. "Hey, that's my bed!"
That sudden outburst caused Tytan to growl at the demoted princess but was immediately calmed down by Spike. "Actually Twilight, this is the bed that was bought for me, that you decided to keep for yourself. I figured that since you no longer have any authority, that it makes sense for you to sleep in a cramped basket instead of a nice, comfy bed like this."
"Why did you do it, Spike? What have I done for you to betray me? I hatched you, took you under my roof, gave you a decent job..."
"Yeah, and then you had to go and talk trash about me behind my back. Little word of advice, Twilight, the next time you insult me behind my back, don't leave the door to the council chamber open and let me hear everything you say echo over every hall in this castle. You know, I always thought that I would at least earn your respect after all the things I do and put up with, but you made the mistake of letting me know that you never cared about any of that (which is why you've lost all of your power just now). I probably would've stay loyal to you instead of Tywin; but if you weren't going to be grateful for the things I do, then why should I be grateful for the things you do? Tywin at least allowed me to have his family name."
"Do you honestly think that he cares for you? He's just using you for his own ambition; and by the time he's done, he'll just leave you behind."
"Yeah, I can't deny that today pretty much proved that Tywin isn't the trustworthy type; but at this point, I'd rather be used by him than to be used by you, any day. Since you're here, why don't you get me some gems to eat? (That little performance I did for Celestia and Luna's made me hungry.)"
"Excuse me?! What makes you think I have to do what you say?!"
"Because my dad is the Lord Regent of Ponyville, and I'm his son. And since he's your superior, and I have his last name, that means I have just about much authority over you that he does."
Twilight was about to retort, until she became startled by the sound Tywin's voice creaping behind. "He's right, he does authority over you. He is the legitimate son of the Lord Regent, and you're no more than a puppet with an empty title. The only one Spike will have to answer to is me; so if you plan on wanting sending letters to the princess, you better have my approval first (otherwise, you might as well start training ravens to send your letters). While you're getting my son something to eat, see to it that my suit is properly cleaned and then get the blood stains off of Tytan's fur."
After flinging his orange juice stained suit in Twilight's face, she grumbled as she said, "When I get my power back, you two are going to be so sorry!"
Spike just laugh as he told her, "Twilight, Tywin worked very hard just to take away your power. Do you really think he's going to give it back to you after all the trouble he went through just to get it? I don't think so."
After letting out a groan, Twilight left in defeat while Tywin and Spike were left alone. "You did well today, Spike," Tywin congratulated him. "I was beginning to think that you couldn't handle the tension and not lie to the princesses."
"I have Twilight to thank for that," Spike insisted. "If I hadn't over heard what she was saying about me, I probably wouldn't even had a reason to betray her in the first place. Besides, even if I did help her instead, how would she reward me? Say that I'm like family, then give me a hug, but then go back to treating like her servant the next day? Even I wouldn't fall for that old act again."
Tywin nodded in approval. "You're a fast learner; I wish I could say the same for Twilight."
After a long silence, Spike decided to ask him something personal. "Tywin, do you really enjoy my company?"
"Would I still be in this room if I didn't? If Twilight's trying to make you doubt your choice, don't bother listening to her. She's just trying to spread some discontent between us. You're my son now, and I plan to treat you like one."
"Yeah, it's nice that I have a dad now...I can call you dad, right?"
The look he received from Tywin could've been one of disaproval, but since most of his facial features seem to be limited to scowls and frowns, Spike couldn't quite tell what he's feeling until he finally said, "You can call me what ever you like, as long as you don't forget who it was who got you this far in the first place."
"You mean there's more that we have to do?"
"Today is just the first step, Spike. I promised you that I would get you the respect you deserve, I didn't say it would be easy."