Alakazam
It was night time at the residency and all the Elements were gathered together to discuss what exactly they were going to do about Ponyville's newest visitor.
"So he wants you to wager your title and your knighthood in a duel?" Ditzy clarified. "Can you actually do that?"
"Well, yes and no." Cheerilee answered. "The precedent is there so you could in theory wager your title but our Knighthoods are tied to us being the Elements of Harmony so the only way that Trixie could lose her title would be if the Element of Magic deemed somepony else the new bearer."
"Then what’s the point in challenging Trixie for it then?" Carrot Top wondered.
"Well, I doubt that particular loophole in our Knighthoods is common knowledge." Trixie answered. "And I could still lose my title as Representative."
"But then wouldn't Luna take it off him and give it back to you?" Lyra asked.
"Well, the problem is that the same laws that make wagering a title in a duel legal also state that Luna can't reverse a title exchange unless the new title holder is deemed unfit for the position." Cheerilee replied. "Meaning that we would have to prove that he was unfit to be Representative before Luna could intervene."
"Can't we just throw his sorry flank in jail?" Raindrops emphasised her statement by banging one hoof into the other.
"What for?" Trixie responded. "He's already being billed for the window, I cut him off before he could make any legitimate threat and any proof of him writing the message as well as joking Big Mac and Pinkie is purely circumstantial."
"Isn't the fact that it was after he came to Ponyville that this stuff happened enough to have him investigated?" Carrot Top asked.
"Not really." Cheerilee explained. "The Visitor's Protection Act prevents individuals from being persecuted for a crime on the sole basis of their appearance into a town coinciding with when said crime occurred."
"Really?" Trixie asked. "Then why the buck was the town ready to lynch me when Corona came back?"
"Firstly, that was a different situation, it was more than just the fact of you being here that set them off. Secondly, that wasn't the law, that was an angry mob." The teacher then noticed the Representative rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "No Trixie, we are not getting an angry mob to lynch Galeb."
"Let's just keep our options open."
"Okay, I'm gonna play Discord’s advocate here." Lyra said. "Why not just face Galeb in the duel, whip his sorry flank and be done with it."
"Thought of it but I’m not going to risk it." Trixie replied. "Canterlot style magic duels may be fairly harmless with the two unicorns just trying to one up each other but a Neigh Orleans style magic duel is only called that because magic is allowed. In reality it’s an anything goes brawl that ends when one combatant is unable to continue."
"And you think you may lose?" Carrot Top asked.
"I think that he has had a lot more time to prepare." Trixie answered. "And even if I asked for a month off, he still would have an advantage."
"So what do we do then?" Raindrops asked.
"We keep an eye on him." Cheerilee answered. "So far he has been careful but he didn't come all this way just to stand around. Once he makes a move, we'll be able to counter him."
Trixie sighed. "I hate playing defensive, but it's the best plan we have."
After a bit more deliberating, the Elements decided to call it a night. In the end Trixie and Ditzy were the last ones remaining.
"Sorry to pull you away from Dinky like this." Trixie said.
"That's okay, she's at a sleepover with a friend." The mail mare replied. "So how are you holding up?"
"Oh you know. Just somepony else out to settle a score." Trixie replied almost dismissively. "It ain't exactly new territory for me."
"But you said that he was a friend." The mail mare said sympathetically. "That's never nice."
At first Trixie was going to just brush it off but the look on Ditzy's face made her decide otherwise.
"It is what it is." She replied finally. "I've had friendships that have ended on spectacularly bad terms but this was the first time that I actually ended it."
"But you didn't have a choice." Ditzy argued.
"Of course I had a choice." Trixie replied. "I chose Princess Luna and my morals over my friendship with Bantu and Galeb. And now, right or wrong, Ponyville may be stuck paying for my choice, which I'm really sorry about."
"You’re not the one who started it." Ditzy replied.
"Maybe not." Trixie replied. "But I sure as heck will finish it."
It was late at night. The town was quiet as everypony were asleep. All except for a Zebrony up to no good. After making sure that the coast was clear, he snuck over to a fountain he had observed as being popular with the residents of ponyville looking to get a quick drink.
He pulled out a small pouch of powder and poured its contents into the fountain. As he pocketed the now empty bag and headed off to set up his other schemes, he let out a chuckle.
“Rest while you can, Lulamoon, because tomorrow is going to be fun.”
The next day was another deceptively pleasant looking one. All of the Elements (with the exception of Ditzy and Raindrops who had to work) had met outside the Residency to go on 'Galeb patrol'. They decided to start at the market district due to the higher density of ponies.
"Everything looks alright." Carrot Top commented.
Trixie did a double take when she noticed a big red mare selling apples.
"I thought you were going to cure Pinkie and Big Mac."
"I tried," Carrot Top explained. "It worked on Pinkie but it turns out Big Mac is allergic to one of the key ingredients of the cure. I’m looking into an alternative but he may just have to wait for the effects to wear off naturally."
"You'd think he'd wouldn't be out in public." The representative commented.
"This is Big Mac we're talking about." Cheerilee replied. "Nothing short of physical injury or a family emergency is going to get him to stop working. The official story is that Big Mac was called away on urgent business and their cousin, 'Red Gala' come in to help cover."
Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Red Gala?"
"It was either that or Macerana."
"Good call."
"WOOOOOO!" a voice shouted nearby. "FLOWERS RULE!"
"YEEEAAAAAH!"
"EPIC FLOWER TIME!!"
The elements turned to see what was causing the noise. They were shocked to see that it was the Flower Trio.
"THESE PANSIES ARE AWESOME!" Lily shouted.
"PANSIES RULE!" Daisy yelled.
"PANSY POWER!!" Rose finished.
Despite being slightly disturbed by the display, Cheerilee still felt the need to approach them.
"Are you three alr..."
"CHEERILEE!!!" The teacher jumped as Rose suddenly turned to face her. "YOU KNOW WHAT'S THE AWESOMEST AWESOME THING IN THE AWESOMETASTIC HISTORY OF AWESOME?!"
"Uh...flowers?"
"BUCK YEAH FLOWERS!" Rose replied.
"CHECK IT!!" Lily exclaimed. "SHE HAS FLOWERS ON HER BUTT!!"
"WOOHOO!!" Daisy cheered. "CHEERILEE'S BUTT IS AWESOME!!!"
Cheerilee paused. "I know there's something wrong with you three...but I'm still taking the compliment."
Trixie turned to a nearby pony. "Any idea what happened to them?"
"I don't know." Cherry Berry answered. "I saw them drinking from that fountain and then soon they were acting like this."
Carrot Top went over to said fountain and gave the water an inquisitive sniff.
"Not sure what it is but there is definitely something in this water." She stated
"You’re pretty good at this." Lyra remarked.
"A good nose is an invaluable tool to a farmer."
"So we know that it's something in the water." Trixie said. "Now we just need to figure out what it is and who else drank from the fountain."
They then noticed Caramel running for some reason. That reason became clear when he was tackled to the ground by Silver Script.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?!" the postmaster demanded. "LETTERS TO DETROT REQUIRE TWO STAMPS, NOT ONE!!!"
Trixie used her magic pull the irate pegasus off of the Caramel just as Poste Haste came running in.
"Thank goodness," Post Haste said. "I was scared somepony wouldn’t stop him in time."
"What happened?" Cheerilee asked.
"I don't know." Post Haste replied. "He started out fine and then his temper went from righteous to hair trigger."
"Sorry about that." Silver Script said, having seemingly calmed down a bit. "My angry button seems to be a little closer to the service than usual today." He then noticed something. "HEY YOU! YES YOU! YOU BETTER NOT BE TAKING THAT SHODDILY WRAPPED PACKAGE TO THE POST OFFICE TO SEND!!!"
Trixie maintained her hold on the postmaster. "Well luckily he isn't swinging his bat around."
"Luck has nothing to do with it." Post Haste replied. "Ditzy confiscated Love & Tolerance when she noticed something was off. She was about to come get you when Silver Script chased after Mr Cheapskate over there."
"Hey!" Caramel said indignantly. "It was an honest mistake."
Post Haste rolled his eyes. "It stops being an honest mistake when you try to do it more than five times. Then it's just trying to cheat the system."
"Alright, alright." Trixie interrupted. "Posthaste, You let Ditzy know that we have Silver Script and that we know what might be causing this. Carrot Top, start trying to figure out a way to reverse whatever happened to these ponies. I'll be back to help you as soon we're finished finding all the ponies that were affected."
"Ms Trixie!" The representative turned and saw Dinky approaching them accompanied by the four rams that Trixie recognised as Ponyville's resident Baabaashop Quartet. "Something's wrong with Woolliam and his friends."
"Really?" Trixie asked. "They look fine."
"Show her." Dinky encouraged.
At that they started singing.
Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, huh I wanna, huh I wanna, huh I wanna, huh I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha
Cheerilee had to close Trixie's mouth for her.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this." Lyra said as she led the rams away.
"What else can go wrong today?" Trixie asked in dismay.
Galeb was finally getting some shuteye after what he thought of as a highly productive night. His dozing however was interrupted by the poking of little hooves. He opened his eyes and saw a young filly with a red mane and big pink bow staring at him.
“Are ya a hobo?” She asked.
“No.”
“Then why are ya sleeping on a park bench?”
“Because I didn’t have anywhere else to sleep last night.”
“Doesn’t that technically make ya a hobo?”
He glared at the filly. “Listen, I was up late last night and I'm really tired. How about you go annoy someone else.”
“Jeez, no need to get grumpy at me cause yer a hobo.”
Galeb turned over and tried to go back to sleep as the filly walked away. He then promptly stood back up.
“Screw it,” he said as he pulled out his case from under the bench. “I’m not letting her get away with calling me a hobo.”
Turns out that the answer to Trixie's question was the balcony of the retirement home collapsing, a tourist wagon speeding out of control and almost heading off a cliff as well as a supposed snake sighting almost causing a stampede. Fortunately, with timely assistance from ponies like Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the elements were able to able to prevent any pony getting hurt.
"So do you think Galeb is behind all of this?" Cheerilee asked
"I'm sure of it." Trixie replied. "This much bad luck, even in Ponyville, is not normal."
"Anything we can pin on him yet?"
"Nothing yet."
"Well we better think of something fast because..." Cheerilee's voice trailed off as she noticed Apple Bloom nearby carrying a strange Heart Shaped flower. With her teacher sense tingling she decided to investigate. Trixie, to her credit, didn't seem to question this.
She finally came to a back alley where Apple Bloom seemed to be busy with something. When the young filly noticed the teacher she suddenly stood to attention.
"Hi Ms Cheerilee! Ms Trixie!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, suddenly appearing to be very nervous. "What are ya'll doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." The teacher responded. "What's that behind your back?"
"What's what?" The young filly said in attempts to sound innocent.
"Apple Bloom!" The tone in Cheerilee's voice let the young filly know that there was no room for arguments.
Reluctantly, Apple Bloom stepped aside, reveal a mixing bowl, various plants and herbs as well sheet of paper. On closer inspection, it was a set of instructions to make a potion called "Instant Cutie Mark".
"Where did you get this?" Cheerilee demanded.
"I was just playing in town when it dropped in front of me." Apple Bloom explained. "It was destiny."
"Sure is," Trixie commented. "If you spell destiny G-A-L-E-B."
Apple Bloom tilted her head slightly. "That's not how ya spell destiny."
"Apple Bloom, I don't know what I'm more disappointed about." Cheerilee said. "The fact that you would do something this reckless or the fact that you would try to cheat your way to something that is meant the natural progression of every young pony."
"But I want it nooooow!" Apple Bloom whined.
"That's enough!" Cheerilee scolded. "Pick up your things, we're going to go have a talk with your family about this."
Apple Bloom didn't look happy to hear that but knew better than to argue.
"We better do something about Galeb." Cheerilee whispered to the Representative before heading off. "Because I'm starting to reconsider my view on the lynching suggestion."
Trixie followed the two out of the alley. As she watched the two earth ponies leave, the representative stood there as she tried think of the best course of attack.
At that moment, inspiration struck. Trixie did a sharp turn and headed to the town hall.
Maybe there was a card she could play.
Galeb was sitting at an outside table, enjoying a hay smoothie when he was approached by Trixie, who did not look pleased.
"Lulamoon." He greeted, clearly looking pleased with himself.
"You know, when you challenge somepony to a duel and that pony refuses, you are supposed to accept it and move on. You don't turn your anger towards their town."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Galeb was doing an incredibly bad job at feigning ignorance. "And even if I did, remember I tried to keep this matter between the two of us, you're the one that refused to settle this face to face."
Trixie gaped at Galeb. "That's like wildly swinging a stick as you approach a pony and then blaming them if they get hit."
The Zebrony raised an eyebrow. "As much as I would like to swing a stick at you for what you did, I was perfectly honourable when I laid out my challenge and I have been nothing but respectful of your refusal."
"From what I hear, that is highly debatable."
Galeb turned his head slightly and saw an older looking mare with a grey mane and a fancy looking collar.
"And you are?"
Ivory Scroll glared at the Zebrony "The Mayor of the town you have been disturbing. The Representative has brought me up to speed on what you have been up to since coming to town."
The blue Zebrony rolled his eyes. "As 'unbiased' as I'm sure her report of me was, if you could prove that I was behind these occurrences, I'd already be in shackles." Galeb mockingly showed his fore hooves to prove his point.
"Maybe not." Trixie replied. "But the mayor and I have been talking and we found a solution."
The representative pulled out a piece of paper and laid it on the table.
"This is an official trespass notice." The mayor stated. "You are to vacate Ponyville effective immediately."
Galeb scoffed. "You can't do that."
"Actually we can." The mayor replied. "Not only have you damaged government property and acted hostile towards the Representative but you also have not given a legitimate reason for being here. That combined with the recent incidents as well as your history with the Representative may not be enough to charge you for any wrongdoing, but it is more than enough to demand your removal for the sake of public safety." She pushed the notice closer to the Zebrony. "Since there are no trains running today, the representative and I will personally escort you out of town."
"And if I refuse?" Galeb asked.
"Then we're going to call the guards in and have them drag you out of Ponyville." Trixie replied. "Your choice."
When presented with such appetising alternatives, Galeb let himself be escorted out of town. He however was not going quietly.
"And so yet again you let the law do your dirty work." Galeb said. "Was it this easy when you sold out my brother to win favour in Canterlot?"
"You know what? Enough." Trixie said, finally fed up. "Let's put this into perspective. I helped put your brother away for a crime that he actually committed. In your little revenge trip, you've poison joked two ponies, warped the mood of several more, turned a ram quartet falsetto, contaminated a fountain, tricked a filly into making a concoction that would have done who knows what to her and almost got over a dozen ponies killed! How is anypony supposed to feel sympathy for your side?"
"I don't have to justify myself you." Galeb replied venomously.
"Maybe not." The mayor answered. "But set hoof in Ponyville again and you'll be justifying yourself in court."
"Yes, you've made that perfectly clear." Galeb replied. "But don't think this changes anything."
"Here we are." Trixie said. "The town boundary. Time for you to go."
"Not quite." Ivory Scroll said. "Section 37 clearly states that once issued with a trespass notice a town official is free to use as much force as they deem necessary to vacate said trespassing individual."
"So?" Galeb asked.
The mayor then promptly decked the zebrony with an uppercut to the jaw, knocking him off his hooves and over the boundary line.
"So don't let me catch you in my town again." She answered. "NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
To his credit, when Galeb was finally able to pick himself up, he staggered away fairly quickly. The mayor watched him go for minute and when she was satisfied that he was heading in the right direction, she turned to head back to town only to notice the representative gaping at her.
"Three time North Everfree Middle-Weight Boxing Champion." She explained as she started to walk back. "Been years since I've been in the ring but I still try to keep in shape."
Trixie went with the most logical response. "Uh huh."
It took a few more steps before the representative was able to say something a little more coherent. "Thanks for your help. Sorry you had to get involved."
"Not at all. While I appreciate the work you and the other elements do, as Mayor I have a responsibility to this town."
"Still, it's not right that the town got brought into this squabble."
"Galeb was the one who involved the town, not you." Ivory Scroll replied. "And while I do appreciate you taking responsibility for this, know that I don't blame you."
When the two mares arrived near town hall, they saw Lyra was still busy with the ram quartet.
"Any progress?" Trixie asked
"Loads." Lyra responded happily. "Take a listen."
At that ram quartet started singing.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
"Woolliam actually has really good range but he gets sloppy if he speeds up so I'm starting them off on something slower until they adjust." Lyra explained, she then saw Trixie face hoof. "What?"
Once he was certain that he was a safe distance from the mad mayor, Galeb turned back in the direction of Ponyville.
“You may have won this round Lulamoon but mark my words, round three shall be mine!”
He was about to get to work when he realised that his case of supplies was still in Ponyville.
“MARK MY WORDS LULAMOON, ROUND FOUR SHALL BE MINE!!!”
It was then that he noticed a mule standing nearby with a raised eyebrow.
“Are you okay?” the mule asked.
Galeb let out a sigh. "To be honest, today hasn't really gone the way I expected it to."
"That sucks."
"Tell me about it."
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Well, this is an interesting case of Bothering By The Book.....
Well this has gotten... wild.
I did not see that coming, Ivory Scroll's is Badass.
So what you're saying is that he was thrown out for being a hobo?
3914239
More that he was a tourist (ie an individual that was visiting the town with no intent of working or moving there) that had his right to enter Ponyville revoked due to suspicious circumstances.
Though the fact that he was being a hobo wouldn't help his case.
A bat named "Love & Tolerance"?
Also, shouldn´t giving a member of the CMC a bunch of alchemic materials be legally considered an act of terrorism?
Hmm, kicked out of Ponyville? Wonder how he'll get back in...
Trixie is going to be the least of his problems once Applejack finds out he endangered Apple Bloom.
3914797 ...I am so looking forward to that.
I find it a bit suspect that Mayor Mare is really allowed to assault someone who hasn't even been charged with a crime. I can kind of see the whole 'throwing someone out of town' bit, and maybe using force if he refused to go, but beating him up on the town border seems like the kind of thing Galeb could file charges over.
Also, I thought AB in this verse wasn't as gung ho about cutie marks, thanks to Cheerilee being a somewhat more competent teacher? In 'Tales of Ponyville' she seemed to defuse that before it really got started.
You have no idea how happy that phrase's existence makes me.
3916327 I think his attempting to willfully harm a child is all the excuse the mayor needs if called to account for her actions. Especially given his wider goal.
3923194 : But he hasn't been convicted or even charged with that.
3923197 Yes, I'm just saying that that if he tried to charge her with assault, I doubt a judge or jury would sympathize even if he's not charged for anything he's done.
3914320
Yeah, it was actually mentioned in an earlier story (back during season one) when Greengrass' thugs tried to force Ditzy to work for him by kidnapping Dinky. Big Mac, Caramel, and the postmaster all went after them, with the Postmaster wielding the bat. Please note that he also apparently has a hammer named "Gentle Persuasion."
3925079 : That wasn't Greengrass. It was the Manehattan mafia.
3916327 I think he got off damned lightly. He deserved broken limbs at best.
Anyway, glad to see a villain finally getting something of just desserts and getting punched onscreen. I hope he gets his in the end, too. And nice to see Trixie getting some respect, too. And not being seen as the cause of the horse apples going down, either.
3923707 : If Mayor Mare's defense was that "Yes, I beat him up, but only because I thought that he might possibly have given a potion recipe to a foal," I can't imagine her winning that trial. "He deserved it" is not a valid defense except in cases of blatant juror nullification, and I'm not sure it's even been established that the Lunaverse has a juried criminal system (as opposed to one where judges decide everything by themselves). Plus, MM has no proof that he's involved.
Sorry, but I really don't like the idea that MM just beat someone up and is going to suffer no consequences whatsoever. It makes the justice system look completely ridiculous. This is okay for relatively little things like Trixie's window getting broken time and again, but assault is too much.
3925572 3923707 3925617
) deal with one of the many creatures that have messed with her town far too satisfying.
Ok GrassAndClouds2. While I think the points that you made are valid and I will definitely keep them in mind next time I use the mayor, I just find finally having the Mayor personally (physically
While yes, I know in real life she would get in serious trouble for it, and no, I don't plan on turning her into a pony Mike Haggar (as awesome as that mental image is
) I enjoyed that scene with her too much to change it.
Flimsy justification I know but that's all I've got. I hope this doesn't affect your opinion of this story too much.
Coincidently, I had originally intended to have Cheerilee be the one to punch Galeb. The punch was going to come from somepony because frankly, I think I have unintentionally created the most unsympathetic, unlikable douchebag in the entire Lunaverse, I was almost at the point where I was unable to continue the story until someone decked the bastard
That said, Cheerilee has sort of become my go to mare for when someone deserves a hurting and I really wanted to mix it up.
Drat, I missed the update notification on this fic until just now. Would probably help if I cleaned up a few other outstanding fics with unread chapters from my favs list so that such alerts were more obvious, but that would require actual effort on my part.
Anyway, I loved the "war room" scene with the L6 discussing how to handle Galeb, especially towards the end when the difference between legal action and and angry mobs came, and of course Trixie's considerations there of. I also found Galeb's "pranks" to have just about the right balance between the comical and the legitimately troublesome, though you might have leaned just a little too heavily on the mythology gags. Most notably Apple Bloom's close brush with a retread of Cutie Pox, which as mentioned in another comment isn't something she's nearly so obsessed with in L! canon that she'd be likely to brew up random potions in a desperate bid to speed up her destiny.
I also think maybe you should cut Twilight's interactions. We really don't want to become overly reliant on her as the go to answer for every magical dilemma, and she really didn't add anything meaningful to the scene, not to mention she's supposed to be under house arrest at the library anyway. Besides, Trixie herself isn't supposed to be a slouch at magic and so the scene would probably be better if she just tried analyzing the water with her magic sight spell as seen in other fics.
Actually, vagrancy would be a rather legitimate reason to kick him out of town, though probably not with quite so much literal emphasis on the "kick" part. Speaking of which...
3916327
Mayor Mare specifically cited a legal precedent that explicitly grants her permission to use as much force as she deems necessary to remove him from town, so she was technically operating within her official capacities therein. Besides she didn't beat him up, just socked him a good one in the jaw, basically as a "and don't you comeback" warning, which is hardly all that atypical for a rural country setting like Ponyville. Admittedly he could possibly go over her head and file a complaint on the grounds of unnecessary roughness, but this was very much a circumstance of he was already engaged in criminal actions there just wasn't any hard evidence.
3933964
No worries. All comments are welcome, no matter when they come in.
Glad you liked the war room scene and the pranks. I'll definitely try to cut back on the mythology gags for future work.
I probably wasn't very clear on it in the chapter so that's my fault. The reason Trixie got Twilight wasn't due to Trixie thinking that Twilight was better suited to deal with , it was due to Trixie trying to get somepony with a decent knowledge base in magic to help Carrot Top whilst being able to stay on crisis control trying to find and help all the ponies that had been affected.
The alternative was a) leaving Carrot Top to deal with (which really wouldn't be fair since she really isn't equipped to deal with magical issues) or b) Staying with Carrot Top and removing herself (the pony with the best idea of what Galeb was capable of) from the team trying to find and help more of Galebs victims.
With that said, I do see where you are coming from.
3934066
Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but...
To be fair, Carrot Top is supposed to be a skilled herbologist. So it's not exactly like she'd be entirely ill-suited to figure out what was wrong with water that has been altered by a chemical additive. Besides, Trixie wouldn't have to indispose herself all that long just to make a quick survey with her magic sight.
If you still think Twilight needs to be involved it would probably be better for Carrot Top to take a water sample to the library. Though again, tha's not the kind of thing we want to become overly reliant on, both because Twilight isn't one of heroes in this setting (nor any of the other M6), and more importantly the L6 are the heroes and so should be capable of solving their own problems through their own skill.
3933964
By this time, it should be clear that Twilight Sparkle is no longer a flight-risk. Indeed, by Season # 3, I imagine that Twilight Sparkle should have free run of Ponyville, the surrounding farms, and WhiteTailWoods.
3916327
I agree.
3936744
Come season-3, maybe so. But it isn't season-3, it's still season-2 and Twilight is still functionally transitioning out the remenants of her season-1 fugitive arc. A rather big deal was made about her arrival at the library that even if it's not a prison sentence she is still very much serving out a punishment. It's even been explicitly mentioned that Twilight has the magical equivalent of a security anklet that will call the guard on her if she violates the terms of her house arrest.
As such, even if she is ostensibly one of the "good-guys" now, her characters is still supposed to be that of a convicted criminal and that's a legacy that we can't just brush aside like it never happened. For better or ill, that places limitations on how her character can be used in any given fic, and personally I think that's a good thing, if only because it further discourages us from over-exposing someone who's not supposed to be a main character in the first place (that's what the actual show and most every other fic on this website is for).
Besides, for the few times when we do want to have a story focusing on her it'd be nice to have the opportunity to play into some of the tropes that come with her actually being restricted by the terms of her parole. Notably I'd really like to see something built around Twilight and Trixie getting stuck in a Chained Heat scenario for an adventure.
3914250 the way I see it, It's not different than when you visit Japan you need to prove you have a place to stay as well as a ticket back out.
3934086
Okay fair enough, I've removed Twilight's involvement. I didn't realise using her would be a problem and frankly her role in this wasn't big enough to be worth justifying.
3938682
).
I'm not saying they couldn't have have kicked him out of town on a vagrancy charge, its just that at the time neither Trixie nor the mayor would have been aware that he was being a hobo. I doubt Ponyville is that thorough in screening the visitors (though would save themselves a lot of trouble if they did
Ultimately they could only charge him based on the facts that they did know.
3938713 I think it would make more sense though if they checked the only motel in town to see if he had a room or not.
3938730
Fair call. Just gonna be honest and say I hadn't thought of that,
Ivory Scroll has just gained several levels in Badass just for being a several times boxing champion and punching the guy in the jaw, usally the Mayor rarely, if ever, does anything, here she does and is awesome. Macarena...
Well that was fun.
So are you going to explain how Voodoo works in this world? Granted i am very fuzzy on how RL voodoo is supposed to work but i am curious as to how it works in a world with actual magic. Is it directly tied to Zebra magic? Does it deal with spirits or actual curses(something that is supposed to be impossible for unicorns according to Show cannon), or does it just work by dramatically enhancing the properties of certain ingredients? Can only Zebronies do it? Can any of the three pony tribes learn it? Can it be directly combines with any of three tribes natural magics? Could a minotaur or gryphon learn it (a Cajun gryphon would be awesome!)?
4107763
Well the main idea of Voodoo in the Lunaverse (or at least Niegh Orleans Voodoo) is that there is no real guideline for how it works and what it can do. While it holds it's origin in Zebra magic, thus ample use of chants, rituals and potion making, it has grown and changed over the years. Much like how a Zebrony is the combination of two creatures, N.O. Voodoo is the combination of a lot of things such as Pony Herbology or Focus techniques that unicorns use for spell casting. Ultimately any time a voodoo see something they can use, they will add it to their repertoire.
Another key part of it is theatrics. While a voodoo practitioner will tell you that voodoo can control spirits and harness power from sources beyond mortal comprehension, instances where Zebronies have actually drawn from supernatural forces are heavily debated. They will use mind games and misdirection just as readily as they will use actual magic. I mean, why exhaust your self with a complicated spell or in debt yourself to a spirit when you can get the same effect with some hyper charged poison joke and some well timed hoof waving.
With this in mind, I don't think it is impossible there for there to be Gryphon or Minotaurs that claim to practise voodoo even though they wouldn't have a source of internal power to draw on like the Zebronies do.
The trick lies in that when a voodoo practitioner is doing it right, you won't know when its theatrics or when its genuine ability, which is why underestimating them is very risky. And when you strip it all away, a Zebrony still does posses magic of their own.
As for the tribes, I think that since every practitioner puts their own spin on how they use it, there is nothing stopping a pony from learning some form of voodoo, there are only limits on how far they are able to take it, be it rising to Voodoo Queen or making a living selling charms on a street corner.
Though, much in the same way that each tribe are more inclined towards certain skills or professions, I do think that on average, Zebronies do Voodoo better because they are the ones who developed it.
4108399
Awesome and interesting! I love world building fluff. Thankyou
Seriously you should put that stuff in the Author's notes at the end of next chapter.
Now about Zebronies... Galeb is described as a striped blue earth pony with an upright mane. So i can only assume that he is of Earth Pony/Zebra heritage. So does that mean there are Pegasus and Unicorn zebronies as well? Or do they all favor zebra ancestry and lack horns and wings like Galeb?
Also in RL zebronies and zorses are like mules in that they are sterile hybrids, but I'm guessing that doesn't hold true for Lunazerse hybrids?
Finally, when the magic duel happens (and we all know it will), will Galeb don a full Black Magic Voodoo getup like Dr. Facilier, skull face paint and all?
Thanks for the comments
4097725
Glad you like the banter. Yeah, my French is somewhat limited to google translate so if you knew the proper way to say those sentences, I would be really grateful for the help.
4097805
Yeah, I always thoght Big Mac would have the right vocal talent for evil laughing.
4097866
It was really satisfying to write the Mayor doing something badass.
4109126
Thanks, I really enjoy world building too.
While I will leave it open, my understanding is that Zebra genes cancel out the presence of wings or horns. So even if a pegasus or a unicorn got together with a Zebra, the offspring would still lack wings or horns.
While I know in RL animal hybrids tend to be sterile, this is not the case in the lunaverse. For all intents and purposes, unless stated otherwise, any hybrid in the lunaverse is presumed to be fully capable of reproducing. Also, while there are still Zebronies that a direct result of a Zebra and a Pony getting together, most Zebronies are now the result of having Zebrony parents. While I called them hybrids for simplicity sake, they are now also considered a species in and of themselves.
As for whether we will get to see Galeb putting on his game face, I'm still thinking on that.
4113095
Awesome. And something as un-quantifiable as voodoo is a perfect way to dance around trying to quantify a species with a mix of zebra and 'generic' pony magic inside them. Genius! Though it does make me wonder when and why Neigh Orleans attracted a big enough influx of zebras for them to breed enough zebronies with the local ponies for them to become a distinct micro-culture. According to the Lunaverse canon map Zebreca is all the way across the sea. Do you see Neigh Orleans as the port of call most/all ships from Zebraca land at first so that that is where most/all zebras coming to Equestria arrive?
And even if Galeb doesn't dress up like a witch doctor, he could still force his opponent to see him as such through hallucinogenic drug induced illusions, like this guy:
http://dansyron.deviantart.com/art/High-Roller-Vince-Voodoo-stats-and-bio-353773172
I could totally see Galeb lacing a smoke bomb with a hallucinogenic drug that he had taken the antidote for, and then using more mundane illusions, the obscuring smoke and his well trained voice (maybe in song, Are You Ready!) to make Trixie believe that he was suddenly dressed like a Voodoo King and was summoning the spirits of the underworld to torment her into panicking.
4113074
Just PM me or something and I can help with the French.
It is so satisfying for the Mayor to be badass.
4113709
To be honest, I'm open to suggestions. How I had pictured it, however, is that a while ago, a group of Zebra (perhaps even a whole tribe) came to Equestria seeking a new start. They finally settled in Neigh Orleans and started to integrate into the local pony community.
Firstly, thank you so much for the introduction into the High Roller Universe because it is AWESOME
Secondly, that is definitely something for me to consider.
myself to you
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Round four shall be interesting, and Ivory Scrolls was pretty cool.
Posthaste, You let Ditzy know that we have
1. Extra capitalisation.
Singing Trixie is best Trixie. She's just so adorable.
y'all
__________
y'all
ya'll = you'll
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I get the suspicion that this is a hint at what's to come.