It was a lovely spring day in Ponyville. Birds were singing, foals were playing, and everypony was going about their business in a cheerful upbeat manner.
It was a day that seemed to be begging fate to send something to spoil it.
That something seemed to come in the form of a figure making his way to the residency. As he stopped in front of the building, he took a moment to savour the fact that all his planning was finally coming to fruition.
"And so the stage is set. Tres magnifique!"
He took some powder from a small bag and rubbed it between his two front hooves and it started to glow slightly.
"But before we start things off, I believe a round of applause for my co-star in this performance is in order."
The representative and her assistant were currently in the office, discussing the day ahead over the obligatory morning coffee.
"So what's on the agenda?" Trixie asked before taking a big sip from her cup.
"Not a lot." Pokey replied. "You've got some weather reports that need to be checked over before noon, a council meeting at two and a few odd jobs around the residency before heading out for a afternoon tea with Lyra and Bon Bon."
"Potential causes for concern?"
"Well, Windowpane did stop by while you were in the shower. He thought it would be professional courtesy to let you know that the specialised safe break glass you now request is on back order and any repairs to your window wouldn't be able to happen until next week."
It was at that moment the window was hit with a massive percussive force.
"TREMBLE IN FEAR LULAMOON!!" A voice shouted through the window. "FOR THE TIME OF YOUR RECKONING IS UPON YOU!!!"
Instead of responding straight away, Trixie took in a couple of breaths as she lay down her cup.
"Now that we have that out of the way." She commented dryly. "Let's go see who's at the door."
"Can't you just look through the window?" Pokey asked.
"Why ruin the surprise?"
My little pony, My little pony
Ahh ahh ahh ahhh...
My little pony
Friendship never meant that much to me
My little pony
But you're all here and now I can see
Stormy weather; Lots to share
A musical bond; With love and care
Teaching laughter; It's an easy feat,
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
How'd I ever make so many true friends?
Trixie stepped out of the residency. "You know I have a door. It's a very nice door, good solid design. Opens up real easily and when you knock on it you can hear all throughout the building so you really don't..." The representative stopped her rant when she saw who was waiting for her.
It was a stallion. At first glance you would have mistaken him for an Earth Pony if it wasn't for the fact that his coat was a robin blue with navy blue stripes. He was wearing a purple dinner jacket that had obviously seen better days. Over his short, upright, aquamarine and navy striped mane was a purple top hat decorated with feathers and other trinkets. On his flank, in place of a cutie mark, was a 4 cross with arms all equal length that split at 45 degree angles at their ends, and in the middle of each of the 4 'squares' the cross formed was a small circle.
"That’s right, Lulamoon. Accept your fate as at long last your past is catching up to you."
Trixie raised an eyebrow. "If I was actually trying to run from my past, I really suck at it." She commented.
Right on cue Pokey stepped out to see what the hubbub was about.
"So who's the smartly dressed Zebra?" he asked.
"He's a Zebrony." Trixie corrected. "Zebra/pony hybrid, there's decent community of them in Neigh Orleans."
"Right." The assistant replied in mild interest. "So who's the smartly dressed Zebrony?"
"His name is Galeb." Trixie replied.
"Former friend?"
Trixie gave her assistant a suspicious look. "Why do you assume 'former friend'?"
"Well you know him by name, most ponies don't know your last name and your current friends know you don't like being called Lulamoon."
"You've been working on your deduction skills." Trixie commented.
"Yes I have, thank you for noticing."
"DON'T IGNORE ME!!!"
The two Unicorns drew their attention back to the Zebrony.
"Now what are we supposed to do?" Trixie demanded. "So far all you've done is smash my window and shouted about my reckoning. What do you want?"
"I want you to pay for what you did to my brother in the name of your own ambition."
Trixie sighed. "Look, I know you blame me for what happened to your brother but this really isn't achieving anything."
"Blame you?" Galeb repeated. "He's rotting in a prison cell because of you."
"No, he's rotting in a prison cell because he's a criminal."
"Enough!" Galeb snapped. "I will not let this slander against my family's name go unpunished."
"Slander?" Trixie asked in dismay. "There was a trial. He plead guilty to get a reduced sentence. This is fact."
"Enough!! Trixie Lulamoon, for what you have done, you will be punished."
"Really," Despite her wanting to resolve this matter peacefully she was kinda curious to see how the Zebrony was going to make her pay.
"I challenge you to a Magic Duel." Galeb answered. "You win, I let the matter rest. If I win, you forfeit your knighthood and your position as representative."
Trixie blinked a couple of times. "A magic duel?" she repeated. "After all this time you've had to plan your revenge against me and the effort of making the trip here from Neigh Orleans, the best you can come up with is to challenge me to a magic duel."
"What?" Galeb scoffed. "You think that because you are 'The Element of Magic' you won't lose?"
"No, it’s the fact that this scheme of yours hinges on the fact that I would accept such a bone-headed challenge."
Galeb took a moment to process Trixie's response.
"Oh I get it. You're scared of facing me."
Trixie knew this was an attempt from Galeb to get a rise out of her and frankly it was a bad one.
"No, it's the fact that I have worked hard to earn my titles and what idiot would wager something as valuable as their knighthood in a duel?"
"Sir Iron Hoof and Sir Torrential Storm of Trottingham." Pokey offered. "Wagered their titles to settle a dispute involving a half eaten lemon tart and a glass of sherry." He then saw the other two looking at him. "Oh come on, you must have heard of the Twits of the Terrific Trottingham Tart Tussle."
Galeb and Trixie blinked a couple of times before refocusing on each other.
"I knew you were spineless Lulamoon but at least have the decency to face your nemesis."
"My nemesis?" Trixie repeated in disbelief. "You honestly think that you're my nemesis?"
The representative closed the distance between her and the Zebrony.
"Let's make something perfectly clear." Trixie said. "You are not my nemesis, I don't have a 'nemesis'. Even if I had a nemesis, there are a whole lot of creatures more likely than you to be it, including but not limited to; Corona the Tyrant Sun, Zecora her Zebra henchmare, nobles that hold a grudge but are too scared of Luna to do anything, Solrathicharnon the big red Dragon, Spike the small purple Dragon, the salamanders, idiot inventors from Detrot, who ever made it a legal requirement that tax reports had to be fill out in triplicate,whoever wrote the 29th amendment to the Liqueur Consumption and Distribution Bill, whoever keeps subscribing me to Erotic Knitting Monthly, whoever keeps ordering the last Lemon Muffin Surprise at Sugar Cube Corner before I can get to it and whoever those foals are that keep playing base ball too close to the residency. YES I SEE YOU STANDING THERE!!"
There was then the sound of small hooves scurrying away.
Galeb looked on at the unicorn, emerald eyes brimming with hate.
"Lulamoon you will fight me in a duel or I'll..."
"You'll what?" Trixie interjected. "You lay one hoof or spell on me or my friends and you will be deemed an enemy of the state and thrown in the darkest hole Princess Luna can find for you."
"You can't do that." Galeb shot back.
"You wanna try me?" The representative asked, when she didn't get a reply she said. "That's what I thought."
Trixie did a sharp turn, "accidentally" hitting Galeb in the face with her tail. "So just to conclude, I won't fight you, I'll send the bill for my window to your Neigh Orleans address, thank you for coming and have a safe trip home."
Galeb snapped out of his stupor in time to see Trixie walk off to her door. "Votre mère était une pute!" he shouted venomously.
"Et votre mère était sa meilleur cliente." Trixie shouted back as she slammed the door.
Pokey Pierce then approached Galeb. "Sorry the whole 'being Trixie's nemesis' thing didn't work out." The assistant said in hopes of consoling him. "But if you're set on being a nemesis, I know Pinkie Pie's looking for one."
As Pokey turned to leave, Galeb noticed something to his left and when he looked he saw an excited pink pony standing there.
"Ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleeeeeaaaaseee be my nemesis." Pinkie Pie asked. "It would be so much fun. We can plot schemes, do villainous monologues and take turns wearing this moustache." To prove her point the mare then stuck on a fake moustache.
Galeb instead focused his attention back to the residency. "Shrug me off now Lulamoon but you are at the top of my list and vengeance shall be mine!"
"Yes." The moustache wearing mare said as she rubbed her hooves. "Vengeance shall be ours!" She then let out an evil chuckle as a vein popped out of Galeb's forehead.
"You know just because we've just met doesn't mean I won't add you to my list." He warned.
"That's okay." Pinkie replied. "I've already added you to mine. See?"
She held out a piece of paper. Galeb saw that it is a invite list for a party, at the bottom was written "Grumpy Blue Zebra."
"I'M A ZEBRONY DAMMIT!!!"
"Jeez, keep that attitude up and you won't get any party favours."
Pokey stepped back into the residency. "Wow, I don't know the last time I saw you tear into somepony like th..."
He was promptly pinned to a wall by Trixie. "Alright Pokey listen closely. We are now officially in a state of alert. Business will continue as usual but until we're certain Galeb is gone I want you to keep an ear out for any trouble."
"But a minute ago you didn't seem at all intimidated by him."
"Don't let his hammy performance fool you." Trixie warned. "He may be a showpony, but he is opportunistic and will use any sign of weakness as leverage. I couldn't let him have even the slightest idea that I'm afraid of him."
"Are you afraid of him?" Pokey asked.
"No, but I'm not stupid." Trixie answered. "And Neigh Orleans Voodoo is not something I take lightly."
Damn it Pinkie! Stop sneaking into my stories!
Oh Alright. But keep it brief this time.
You need to fix your italics tag. Anyway I'm liking it so far!
Still there is the matter that Zecora once tol the Luna6 that Zebras don't get cutie marks, and Trixie didn't correct her... so maybe you should make a note that Galeb has one because he's part Earth Pony, but that it's been enhanced by Zebra tatoo art or something?
I'll be looking forward to the rest!
Also in the list of nemesis you should add 'whoever keeps subscribing me to dirty magazines like Erotic Knitting Monthly' because it's something I decided Zizanie does to spite Trixie
3764337
Thanks for the comment
I've fixed the italics issue.
Zebronies don't get cutie marks either. The mark on Galeb's flank is called a Beacon (working title) and is based on the Veve . It is call a Beacon because it is believed to help open a Zebrony's connection to greater spiritual powers. When a Zebrony comes of age they are given their Beacon from one of their elders. Though most beacons incorporate the Crossroads in some way (a symbol of great mystical importance in Neigh Orleans Voodoo) each Beacon is unique. In Zebrony art, the beacons are often the easiest way to identify the individuals being depicted.
And I added the part about Erotic Knitting Monthly because it is brilliant
Oh baby! Darn that sock! Darn it now!
Zebrony is a cleaver portmanteau on zebra and brony with the double constants of B and R merging. It has 1 more syllable than zony or zorse, but that is okay.
3764495
Personally I'm of the opinion that zebra/pony hybrids have a 50/50 shot of getting an actual cutie mark. Still, that's not really relevant here as either way it can be fact that Galeb doesn't have one. Oh, and according to wikipedia the official term for such hybrids is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebroid]"zony" and personally I prefer it, if only because "zebrony" sounds too much like "brony". Although it could perhaps be amusing if the characters themselves had an argument over the proper term.
Anyway, I'm already REALLY enjoying this fic; keep up the good work. On a note of minor concern though, Trixie doesn't actually hold a title of knighthood. Luna's decree was that whomever bears an Element of Harmony, should they be worthy, is a knight of the realm. As such, that title is really hers to wager even if she wanted to, though her position as Ponyville Representative could still be fair game.
So.....Ditzy is ALSO one of her nemeses? Cool.
Broken italics tag. Other than that, this is a good start, and I can't wait to see where it's going.
3764639 Actually, does he even know that? He wasn't there for the ceremony, so all he knows is that she's a knight. Heck, I could see that as a genera savy loophole to abuse, especially if you throw in exact words.
3749913 Yeowch, that is a really long list. You forgot "chaos empowered shape shifting spies" and "bungling translators" on the list though.
New Orlenes voodoo?
3764495 Oh I see! If it's not a Cutie Mark then you shouldn't use the term to describe it tough, just to make it clear. Also you describe his hat as being 'under' his mane instead of over it .
As an aside I love the way you write Pokey and Trixie's dialogue, it's pitch perfect!
You have "you think" in their twice.
3765175
True; I was more so making sure Zap remembered though.
You know I don't think Pinkie knows that Nemesis actually means
Plus
The mouth on those two .
3764639
Thanks for the feedback, glad your enjoying it so far.
I’m open to suggestion on whether or not Zebronies can get cutie marks but I still think that regardless of whether a Zebrony has a cutie mark they still get given a beacon when they come of age.
You are right, Zony is the correct term for a Zebra pony cross. The thing about the term Zebrony is that it isn’t just genetic but also geographic. The Zebra/pony hybrids that were born in the Neigh Orleans identify themselves as Zebronies as point of difference and as a result most residents from Niegh Orleans call Zebra/pony hybrids Zebronies.
Even if her Knighthood was a legitimate title, Galebs plan falls apart on the basis that both of Trixie’s titles were Luna appointed. This means that even she holds them, they are not Trixie’s to hand over to anybody. At best he can get Trixie to resign her post in Ponyville, which he would still consider a win.
Though just for my own clarification, if her knighthood isn’t official, why is she allowed to introduce herself as Dame Trixie Lulamoon?
3766792
Fair enough about the zebrony thing, though now I'm more convinced than ever that someone should get into an argument with Galeb about it. Maybe Cheerilee, though that's entirely up to you.
Actually, with the president established by the historical accounts Trixie could probably wager such things regardless of who appointed them to her in the first place. It might seem silly by modern legal standards, but I think it works with in the context of the Lunaverse's semi-feudal system as part archaic codes of honor and challenge. These are rules aren't really employed much in Equestria in more, but at the same time no one has ever bother taking them off the books so the can technically still be invoked.
Trixie's knighthood is entirely 100% official, it's just that the title is actually conferred upon the Element of Magic and thus only conferred upon Trixie by proxy by virtue of bearing it. Trixie can't wager the title because it isn't really hers, although were she completely daft she could conceivably wager the "big-crown-thingy" itself, however, even if Galeb won such a wager it would not confer upon him the corresponding title of knighthood unless the artifact itself acknowledged his worthiness to bear it (as that was a further conditional clause when Luna first attached the knightly titles to the Elements of Hamrony).
So far this is looking to be pretty amusing. I hope Pinkie sneaks in here a few more times, she does a marvelous job aggravating Galeb. Wonder what a Neigh Orleans Voodoo... do-er can do? Guess he'll figure out some way to get her into that duel, one way or another.
3765175
Yeah, if Trixie was to list all of her potential nemesises we would be here all day so she had to trim it down to just a small sample . Other notable candidates include the Everfree Sirens, The Ursa Major and Minor, the Manehattan Mobsters and the purposely obstructive guards in Canterlot.
3765105
Thanks for the heads up. Glad your liking it so far.
3765741
Thank you. Yeah, those two are always great together, their dialogue almost writes itself. One of these days I should really do a story focusing on them.
3766073
Well probably not, but then again she wanted to take up beat poetry because you get to wear a beret and play the bongos
3769030
Yes, Pinkie does always know how to bring the fun.
Can't wait to see how this story goes
Okay, not too shabby. The window gag... no comment. Just... no... *Grumbles*
Besides that, nice to see Trixie putting this idiot in his place. At least for now. He will get owned, I assume?
*Grins* Oh, this should be fun...
3783190
Yeah I knew you wouldn't be too pleased about that. I originally planned to make him smash someone else's window by mistake but then I realised that was making him look just a tad too stupid.
Don't worry I'm done with her window now.
Well not to give too much away, he's gonna poke the beehive a bit more and then we see what happens.
3787846
Indeed
I almost feel a little sorry for Galeb. He's trying so hard to be Captain Hammer, but so far he's Johnny Snow at best.
Sorry, forgot to ask - as this is being canonized...where would you like it placed? Autumn, Winter, Spring, or Summer?
3810589
I'm aiming for this to be set in Spring. Early enough the World Tour or other of the major Springtime stuff probably hasn't happened yet but still with more of a slant towards what we're intending to happen in Spring and Summer.
3765279
You read my mind. It seems that just like Facilier, he is very hammy, but a geniuine threat is pushed. Also the French is a bit dodgy, but, that's easily fixed, besides the banter in French makes it all the more worth it!
[Google Translator said "And your mother was his best client." [or did you mean "client" [as in customer]]?
Et votre mère était son meilleur cliente
[mother]
________________
I'm liking this so far. *goes to read more*.