//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: You're all Fools 
// by articunos bitch 
//------------------------------//

	The negotiations with the Forest States were going slow, and little progress was made to resolving the pressing issues. The disputed lands held little value outside of gas that Equstria had no interest in, and little water that the deer needed. That didn’t stop both from claiming it as their own, it simply lacked the passion or urgency many of these disputes were often associated with. Flying back to Canterlot after a day of talks, Princess Luna figured she should have something to eat if she didn’t want to be too grouchy arriving home. She was flying above the very territory she had bickered over all day when she noticed a small settlement.
The town couldn’t have held more than two hundred ponies. The sun was just setting now, she wouldn’t have to take time out to raise the moon for an hour or so according to her pocket watch, enough time for a bite to eat and a walk around town center. Princess Luna landed down the main road to avoid the fuss ponies normally went to when her sister or Princess Cadance arrived somewhere unexpectedly. She did get a unique reception, but not one she was accustomed to, nor understood.
Strolling past a couriers office silenced the two mares gossiping by the entrance while they narrowed their eyes at her. Her eye caught a curious poster advertising spell lessons, ‘Inquire at Sheriff’s Office.’ A pack of ponies gathered quickly around a well with their backs to it, almost as if they didn’t want Luna to draw from it, and a pegasis flew over her with what looked like a particularly heavy rain cloud threatening to burst. The Princess stopped in the middle of a road when she noticed the rude behavior she was getting from all sides, and found it trumped when a colt directly in front of her spit on the ground at her hooves.
A crowd gathered around her. Taking a deep breath she pressed onward until a mare stepped forward and ran around in front of her, spreading her wings. Her tan coat and dirty brown mane somehow reminded Luna of her sister from another time, her words did not. “My name is Combustible. You are trespassing in the town of Murky’s Dream. Leave at once Princess!”
Her voice did not falter, her eyes did not leave Luna’s. As bold as she bellowed, Luna would not be driven off so easily. “Good mare, I have not been in your fair village but a minute. Whatever have I done to deserve your contempt?” As much as she wanted to drive them to cower with her Canterlot Voice, there was bad blood here, and it would not do to tempt anything.
“We came here to get away from the Equestrian crown. We want no quarrel with you and have no business with you. You are not welcome here!”
An azure unicorn mare with a sliver mane stepped out of from the crowd and barked out, “Okay ponies, back to business! Go on, I’ll take care of our guest. You’ve had a long day, get some sleep.” She turned to stare face to face with Luna who was struck by a sense of déjà vu. “I’m afraid she’s right Princess. You are not a welcome sight here. I doubt you’re planning to cause trouble for us, but let’s keep things simple for everyone and just leave us alone. Okay?”
Luna tilted her head, and suddenly the answer came to her. “What is your name? The Great and Powerful Trixie I believe?"
The unicorns eyes bugged before her ears drooped and head tilted downward. “Princess,” she began. “I’m serious. You have to go. If you want to talk we can at my own home, but let’s get out of here now.” She threw her left leg around Luna’s right and teleported the two of them away.
Blinking, her eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness of the forest around them, Luna saw a small cottage before her as the door slid open on well-oiled hinges. Trixie stepped inside and sparked a gas lantern to life before lighting the fireplace and placing two cups on the table. “Come on in Princess. I’m sorry I don’t have much to offer, I don’t get visitors. I do have water, dried grass and some canned vegetables. Which strikes your fancy?”
“Do you happen to have maize? Or corn?”
“Two cans of maize coming up. I’m going to stick to grass myself. Do you want them warmed or room temperature?”
“Warmed would be nice. And if you are to host me I would like water as well.” Taking her seat on a white cushion worn to grey at the table, Luna took in the details of Trixie’s home: an unmade bed with bleach white sheets and a very thin pillow in the corner, a stone fireplace near the foot of the bed, the table she sat at stood in the middle two meters from the fire, a cluttered desk and several locked trunks dotted the corners, and a trapped door on the floor, presumably leading to a basement sat opposite the fireplace. The only pictures she saw were a poster for a traveling magician named Presto hung over the bed, and four photographs of Trixie and a mare she resembled over the fireplace from different stages of her life.
Trixie tossed several sliced carrots into a cooking pot sitting over the fire and began laying out plates and filling their cups with water. “So, you had something you wanted to ask me Princess Luna,” she asked cordially.
“Yes. I was asking if you were the Great and Powerful Trixie I heard about. Traveling magician extraordinaire?”
“No Princess. I was the Great and Powerful Trixie, but that is in the past, and just a stage name. My real name is Beatrix Lulamoon. My title now is Sheriff of the humble settlement of Murky’s Dream, or at least the closest thing we have to sheriff. You already met the mayor, Combustible. Despite the moniker and her attitude to you, she really does have a cool and collected head on her shoulders. That’s not a trait shared by most ponies in town, so that sets her, and she says myself apart. Short version is she decides who is allowed in town and who’s not, and what their limits are. She treats folks fair; I make sure folks treat each other fair, we try to get along. And it works for us for the time being.”
“Beatrix, could you tell me why I am one of those folks she does not treat fair? She said everypony moved out here to get away from the Crown.”
Pouring a recently opened can into the pot in the fireplace, Beatrix continued talking. “Princess, Murky’s Dream was founded by ponies who have some kind of ax to grind against you. By you I mean the Princesses and other ‘ruling class’ in general. There is no ‘ruling class’, I know, but that’s the mentality of this town. They see many governors and bureaucrats as their Ruling Class. Lording down from their ivory towers on high, above the law, ordering the serfs to collect food for them from their own fields, demanding coal for their railroads and lumber for ships, all stolen from the people, yada, yada, you know where this is going. Well, some ponies like to rebel against that with actions, some ponies accept their place as serfs, and some run away. This town is the last.
“For the record, I know their perception of you is not the case. Then you have your tax cheats and criminal elements. We don’t permit them to live here, they run further, into the Forest States. We don’t want their trouble, our issues are personal.”
“The Crown takes the law seriously. If governors or other state employees violate the trust of the people, we handle it in an orderly, transparent, swift and just fashion. What grievances have we overlooked?” Luna explained.
“Many, Princess.” Stirring the pot, Beatrix finished setting the table and took a seat across from Luna. “Let me tell you a story: One day, a certain mare who lives in this town was arguing with a certain stallion she knew in Canterlot. They were supposed to meet her mother for dinner and she wanted her hooves done first. He told her she wouldn’t have time to do that and meet up when they said they would. They went back and forth, and both of them have loud voices you see. It attracted the attention of a Princess, Mi Amore Cadenza to be exact. She cast her ‘love spell’ on her and this stallion. She instantly became infatuated with him. She didn’t get her hooves done that afternoon, nor did they see her mother that evening. They got a hotel room for the night and…The next day was the worst day of her life. The love spell lost its effect on them, and they remembered who they were. Luna, that stallion was her brother. A mare was arguing with her brother in public, full brother at that, the one she had known and looked up to all her life, and Cadance thought they needed some love. So she cast a spell knowing nothing about these two ponies.
“Princess, she loved her brother, as a brother! She’s so ashamed of what they did, she hasn’t been able to speak to him since. She gets letters from him now and then, and she just tosses them into a box unopened, and writes back that she can’t read them just yet. He was her best friend, friends argue. Brothers and sisters argue. Princess Cadance ruined her life, and did Faust knows what to him, and she continues doing it to this day. A Crystal Pony who was in town just last week said she keeps doing just that whenever she sees someone arguing, and she doesn’t limit herself the stallion/mare either. Anyone will do in her eyes. Do you think that’s acceptable behavior, for anyone? Least of all a Princess who ponies should be able to admire?”
Luna was dumbstruck. She had never seen Cadance do such a thing, but Celestia had mentioned she spreads love wherever she goes. That could not be what she meant, surely.
After pouring Luna’s maize and carrots into the bowl in front of her, Beatrix finally took a bite of her own grass. Chewing casually, Luna went over everything she heard. “I never thought she would do something like that. I didn’t think she could, and…my sister, I think she knew.”
Beatrix giggled. “Your sister is the big one in this town. Everypony hates her. Nopony trusts her.” She took an especially big bite of grass.
“And what of you Beatrix. Do you hate my sister? Do you trust her? What is your problem with my sister?”
A gentle tap on the tin roof sounded like rain to Luna as Beatrix chewed and swallowed her mouthful. “Me? I think,” Her eyes wandered the room in thought. “…I think every one of you are fools. You have your high points, you have your low points. You make mistakes, you Princesses are ponies just like everyone else. BUT, that means you are expected to learn from your mistakes as well. You make poor choices again and again. And some of you don’t learn. And if you are in a position of authority and can’t stop making mistakes, you should step aside for someone better suited for the office. But you don’t learn, and no-one seems ready to step aside. Not when I left for this town, and not today. I don’t want to live in a nation run by fools, so here I am.”
Two incidents came to her mind when Beatrix called her a fool, she would not dispute the claim on either. But she needed to know more. “So, what did Cadance do to make you call her a fool. Did you think that before you meet that mare you told me about or…”
“It’s your sister more than anything Luna. May I call you Luna?” She nodded. “Tell me, how long was it from the time you declared yourself to be the only rightful Princess until you were banished? I am of course talking about the whole Nightmare Moon thing.”
“It was…I’m not sure. My sense of time is thrown off whenever I think about it. The whole experience could have been a dream I had during a nap before sunrise, it could have been a thousand years I was awake for. But Twilight Sparkle told me it was about five minutes.”
“Exactly Princess. You were bitter and jealous of your sister getting all that attention for rotating the planet. While you moved the entire moon one kilometer a second, every second of the month. Not to mention how you decorate the night sky with the stars, not just above Equestria but all over the world. You do ten times as much work, and that’s being generous to Celestia, you split royal duties evenly, and she is loved, adored, and worshiped. You are feared, shunned, even hated and vilified. You deserve more praise than her, and she soaks it up like a sponge. Add to that-“
“Watch your tongue Commoner! That is your Princess you speak ill about in front of another!” Her snap brought a smirk to Beatrix’s face before Luna sat down.
“Did this occur when you took the Throne Luna? Or did this happen over a period of years? Perhaps centuries even?”
Luna stared at her dinner, half eaten despite Beatrix doing most of the talking. Few ponies had seen her face look as pained as when she said, “Four hundred eighty-six years, to the day that my sister and I were crowned was when I became Nightmare Moon. It was on her birthday too.”
“So, you kept your mouth shut and went along with it. You wanted to be loved no different than your sister, but that would not happen as things were going. So you threw a temper tantrum. Immature? Without a doubt. Uncalled for? Yes. But in context, understandable. And, in a private discussion between two sister, you were justified to lose your temper after bearing such a burden I believe. Then what happened?”
Luna exclaimed, “My sister tried to use the Elements of Harmony to exorcise the bitterness from my heart. She told me that herself the day I returned. I would have done the same thing had the situations been reversed!”
Beatrix chuckled. “Then you have just proven to be a fool yourself. The Elements are to be used together, by that I mean the people being the Elements must work together. One by itself won’t do much good, if it does anything at all. Princess Luna, your sister wielded three Elements, and tried to use all of them herself. That’s not the way it works. So then what happened?”
She sighed. “There was a burst of magic, and I was banished to the moon. That was not her intent, as she told me.”
“It back fired Princess." Beatrix was growing impassioned. "The Elements are some of the most powerful magical artifacts in the known world. That is why they must be used properly, every time. You do not eyeball your target, you wait for the magic to do what you know it must do. They can be used as weapons of mass destruction! She is not some cowpony shooting from the hip!
“But she did Luna. She was a fool who thought she could use the Elements a way they were never meant to be. And YOU paid for her mistake. Not only with your banishment, but also with ponies thinking you deserved a thousand year banishment, because Princess Celestia would never do something so unjust. Would she? Like she would never ignore a sister who was ignored and feared for hundreds of years before she snapped.” Luna kept here eyes on the floor.
“Your banishment was the worst thing ever to happen to Equestria. Your sister is the only Princess ponies have known for a thousand years. Her legend is immortal, invincible, every word she speaks is law, her every thought Good. She is above our understanding. The ponies of Equestria would be lost without her, she is their mother and they are adults who never weaned off Mothers Milk. Can you imagine what would happen if Celestia stepped down from the Throne? Ponies would beg her return, ponies would find someone to blame, maybe you, the mysterious  alicorn from frightening bedtime stories who threatened to shroud the world in eternal night. You would be hated by many despite how little involvement you had in your sisters resignation, and few would ever believe you. Generations later ponies would tell tales of the beautiful, wonderful Princess Celestia who was cast down from her rightful seat by her evil sister. No matter what you do Luna, you are not Celestia. They will accept no-one in her place. They would be lost without her. They praise her no different than their ancestors did, just because they did. The people of Equestria can’t survive with their Princess. And it’s not you, or Cadance, or Twilight Sparkle. They honor Celestia, even if it’s through you.””
Luna finished her dinner in silence.
Beatrix pushed her plate away and drained her water glass. “That was a thousand years ago, and Celestia would have become wiser since then. But what happened at the Changeling invasion? She told Twilight to get to the Elements. Why? The Changelings were hungry and were trying to eat. What was out of Harmony? The Elements only restore Harmony and would do nothing to the ‘Lings, beings trying to eat like all beings and animals do. Princess Celestia tried using the Elements improperly again. Why would she do that if she learned from her past mistake Princess Luna?”
“Beatrix, my sister…She was desperate for a quick end that would harm as few ponies as possible. And she was injured, she wasn’t thinking clearly.” Princess Luna poured herself more water.
“Are you aware that the Changelings had been trying to gain asylum to Equestria for three hundred years before Catnerlot? But Celestia wouldn’t even receive letters from them? Do you have any clue what they did for Celestia to deny them diplomatic ties?” The Princess shook her head. “Nothing. The Changelings did absolutely nothing to wrong Equestria or Celestia. And yet she treated them like garbage for centuries. There are millions of ‘Lings in across the world, and only a few thousand tired struck Canterlot in an invasion that made no sense at all. Luna, they were starving, and she had the audacity to call Equestria and herself victims. Your sister is a liar and manipulator. Ohhh, there’s another story you may not be aware of either. Do you want to hear it?”
Princess Luna stared at her.
“So Celestia sends a letter to Twilight Sparkle, telling her not to worry about Nightmare Moon. Saying she needs to go to Ponyville and make some friends. She did as she was told, you showed up, Twilight and her friends found the Elements and exorcised you, and Celestia set things into motion for it. Your sister manipulated Twilight into making friends and freeing you, but she could have told Twilight what to do as well. No, Twilight was not to know what she was doing, and could have made any number of mistakes along the way, while doing what Celestia should have done so long ago. Princess, your sister has proven herself to be a manipulative, sly, underhanded master of deception. She can’t be trusted. I can’t imagine why anyone does.”
Biting her lip, Luna asked, “Beatrix, you have given the matter a great deal of thought and consideration. I ask, what grievances do you have against Twilight Sparkle, or me?”
Pushing the table aside to sit on the floor, Beatrix gave a soft smile. “I used to admire Twilight Sparkle. I first meet her when I was a traveling magician, trying to be like Presto.” She pointed to the poster on her wall. “I lied about defeating an Ursa Major, so some idiot local boys went into the woods and found an Ursa, leading it to town for me to defeat. I could have given them a speech about not looking for trouble, but it was huge, and I woke up a minute ago. I tried my usual bag of parlor tricks, nothing worked, no surprise there. Then Twilight Sparkle ran up, lulled it to sleep and drifted it away to its cave. Turns out, the beast we saw in town was an Ursa Minor, and it was cranky, not rampaging.
“I tried to save some face and hightailed it out of town. After that I gave up on my magic career for a while and found work on a rock farm. There I meet Maud Pie, one of the most caring ponies you’ll ever meet. She's still a boatload of fun though. Her sister was in Ponyville when I was, she’s the one who told me about Celestia’s manipulation of Twilight. We became fast friends, if that seems likely. One morning I was going through a newspaper and saw an advertisement for The Alicorn Amulet, an uber powerful artifact that is supposed to boost the magical capabilities of ponies was on display at a nearby shop. I said how I wanted it and bragged about everything I could do with it, then Maud and I had to get working.
“That evening she presented the very amulet I saw that morning. She wanted to see my magic improve and grow, I think she also had a thing for me. So I practiced and practiced every moment I could. Soon, I grew confident enough to match Twilight Sparkle, so I took some time off to go to Ponyville and show her my new skills. Impress her, as she impressed me. Neither Maud nor I knew the corrupting influence it would have on me. By the time I got to town I wanted to One Up Twilight Sparkle, not just show her my improvement.
“You can take the story from there. Needless to say, she saved me from the amulet, but I noticed how she showed off her magic for the Saddle Arabian visitors. She was doing what she chastised me for doing just because Celestia wanted it. I learned more about her fear of failing Celestia from a Crystal Pony here in Murky’s Dream. Twilight Sparkle isn’t so much a Princess of her own domain as much as Celestia’s Yes Mare. Princess Luna, how do you feel knowing Celestia gave a pony wings and a crown because she follows orders well enough? She was supposed to be her student, not a puppet. Twilight Sparkle is a nothing more than thug with a title and magic. From what I hear, Cadance is even worse about asking ‘How high’ when Celstia says ‘jump’.”
Processing everything about Beatrix’s tale, Luna asked her final question. “And what of me Beatrix Lulamoon? What have I ever done to be called a fool?”
She emptied her water glass. “Nothing at all Princess. You have done nothing, and that means you are a fool. You have not contradicted a word I said. You know everything I’ve mentioned is accurate. You see it for yourself, and more in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire and Ponyville. You know what’s wrong, and when do you step in and prevent something from occurring? You just let it happen. You are either compliant in foolishness and incompetence, or a fool to not see it for what it is. You are at once the least and greatest among them. That’s my problem with you Princess Luna.”
Beatrix’s voice was going hoarse, she had not spoken so much in a while, and it was tiring. Pouring herself more water, Luna remained on the floor while Beatrix went to her outhouse. Scant minutes later, “Have I answered your questions Princess Luna?”
“Everything I asked, yes. Although,” she sighed. “I do not have to be anywhere tonight. Would you mind if I were to stay nearby and speak to you in the morning?”
“About what?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Don’t go into town and you’ll be fine.”
“Thank you Beatrix. I will find a cloud nearby and rest for a bit.” With that, she ducked her head and stepped out the door.

** ** **

The thick cloud cover that morning was enough to keep temperatures low, and Beatrix had to hold in a shiver as she padded her way on the path to her shack back from the town well. Forgoing her magic this morning, she was thinking about making another trip when a voice boomed behind her. “A good morning to you Beatrix Lulamoon.”
Nearly stumbling, the azure unicorn regained her balance and tilted her head. “Princess Luna. I see you’re still around," ignoring the small splashes at her hooves.
“Yes, indeed. I must ask, do you want help?” Leaping off her cloud, she levitated it over to Beatrix.
“No, thank you Princess. I’m almost done. Shouldn’t you be getting back to Canterlot or Avlee or somewhere,” she asked as her shack came into view.
“I have no pressing engagements today. But I do have an answer for you.” She tossed the cloud up in the air and opened the door for Beatrix.
“An answer?”
“You asked me last night why I let Celestia do what she does if I know it’s going to be a disaster. I know why.”
“I don’t think I did ask that, Princess. But perhaps I should have. Thank you for the door.” She set her full water buckets in their place by her stove.
“Well I can tell you why: Shame.” Beatrix cocked an eye, turned around and sat on her haunches as Luna bowed her head. “Jealousy drove me to be consumed by bitterness, leading to Nightmare Moon. Shame and guilt at my actions lead me to create the Tantabus, and it was only upon seeing that guilt as its fuel that I was able to stop it. I had ponies who trusted me, and that allowed me to destroy it. But I still bear the guilt of everything I’ve done. It’s a look in every pony’s eye: they see me, they know what I’ve done, and I can never forget it. And when my sister does something I don’t agree with, I keep my mouth shut. I think, ‘What do I know? Everyone’s seen what I’ve done before, so why should I bother?’”
“Princess, if you need to say something, say it. You have a perspective no-one else does. Not just as an individual, but as a prodigal. You did wrong, and now here you are, back doing right. The difference is Celestia and Cadance don’t see the damage they cause, or if they do they don’t care. You are invaluable, and do yourself a great discredit by selling yourself short like that. And you do your sister a disservice for keeping quiet. You need to be more assertive. Pony up!”
Luna sighed. “Even if she tells me to shut up and sit quietly in the corner?”
“She won’t tell you to shut up if she listens to what you say. And if she won’t, make her listen. Tell her where she has gone wrong. If Celestia doesn’t learn from her mistakes, then you learn from them.” Beatrix padded Luna on the shoulder.
The Princess’s gaze jumped from her host back to the floor. “I could…Beatrix, are you content here?”
Taken aback by the change of conversation, “Um. I guess.”
“No, that doesn’t work. You were a traveling magician. Then you worked on a rock farm. Then you came here and became sheriff. Can you see yourself still in this town five years from now? Are you happy doing this now? Will you be then? If not, why not?”
Stumbling over her answer, Beatrix hesitated. “Ub, uh, I suppose I would have found something else in the meantime. I was a fruit salesmare before I became the Great and Powerful Trixie, so I have worn several different hats in my time. And I AM happy here now. But no, I will not always be.”
A grin spread across Luna’s face. “Tell me Beatrix, what does make you happy. Really happy. Excitement? Adventure? Meeting new ponies and learning new things? Intrigue? Challenges?”
“Uh, Princess Luna? Where are you going with this?”
She continued to smirk. “You are sheriff of a town of dissidents to the crown. You are also living on contested land, land the Forest States could cede to Equestria any day. Your behavior encouraged two colts to bring an Ursa to town where you lost your wagon. Then you returned to that town with a grudge and had to be rescued by the mare you called your enemy. Even now, when confronted by a Princess, you don’t fear me. You don’t seem upset by your challenges and changes. You strike me as a rather joyful pony Beatrix.”
Avoiding eye contact, she shrugged. “I…have never been called joyful like that Princess. And I’m not always joyful.”
“Joy is not synonymous with happiness. It’s a state of mind; you know life is hard, but you appreciate what you do have more. You can see opportunity in the tragedy…Forgive me Beatrix. My sister is the orator, not I.” Her hooves twisted in nervous excitement.
“Joyful? Do you really mean that Princess? You think so?”
“Yes I do. I also think you make sure the ponies you watch over here are able to protect themselves.” She thought of the poster she saw when she first arrived. “You don’t leave them out in the cold. Tell me, are you here to look after the ponies in Murky’s Dream, or the town itself?”
Looking at an empty corner of the shack gave her no answers. “You can’t really have a town without ponies. I wouldn’t say I’ve made friends or they are dependent on me, but I am here for the ponies.”
Luna gave her a knowing smile. “As I suspected you did. Beatrix, you remind me of the mare I wanted to be when I was a child. You are honest, loyal, joyful, and brave. You are already a great mare Beatrix, and so young. You have had your stumbles, yet you keep on trekking. If you were to stay here, the foals would look up to you, you would have a deputy or three before you knew it. But I think you would be better suited for another office.
“Beatrix Lulamoon, I want you to come to Canterlot with me. You could be my apprentice, as Celestia had Twilight. You could also serve as my councilor when the need arises.”
Beatrix tilted her head and stared as Luna went on. “You will sit next to me at Princess Councils, I will teach you Dreamwalking so you might join me in expelling nightmares, you will even speak with my voice when I send you elsewhere. It will be a life of service, not just to me, but in part to millions of ponies, but you seem don’t strike me as one to balk at servitude.”
Beatrix’s eyes shifted to the floor and around her cabin before settling on Luna. “Princess, I- couldn’t accept that. My place is here…”
“You are a Wanderer Beatrix. Perhaps you should settle in a place where your talents are fully appreciated and put to use. I have confidence in you. And you could help me clean up the Crown. Celestia does have her talents, as do I, Twilight Sparkle, and you. Working together, we can root out foolish ideas and practices that hurt more than help. Will you join me Beatrix?”
“…I couldn’t just pack up and leave. I have to speak to Combustible, the house came with the title Sheriff, I have a training class to teach this afternoon. I need time Princess.”
Luna straightened herself before speaking. “You will call me Princess Luna from now on. I expect to see in in Centerlot Castle one week from today. I shall let the guards know to let you through and guide you to my office chambers. I usually sleep during day hours but I shall meet with you at any time, and we can discuss details of your apprenticeship from there. Will you join me?”
“I will join you Princess Luna without any more hesitation! I want to thank you for this opportunity, I never expected it, and I won’t let you down.”