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Superficial-A Twilight’s Kingdom’s Kingdom Aftermath
Twilight Sparkle, newly christened Princess of Friendship, stepped out of the bathroom, having just drained herself after having one to many cups of Pinkie’s special punch mix. The young princess couldn’t help but smile as she thought back to everything that had happened recently. It has been over a day since her friends and she had defeated the latest threat to their homes, and every pony was busy celebrating, even the guards were on it for change. With small sigh of contentment, she turned and was about to head back to the party when the sounds of hooves caught her attention.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle. It’s time you and I have a long overdue conversation.”
The young princess stopped dead in her tracks, and looked to her right. She saw a unicorn mare walking toward her in a condescending manner, and her face narrowed as she studied the pony.
The mare’s coat was a crimson red which went wall with her black mane and tail and her blue eyes. The mane was rather short, shorter then most ponies Twilight had seen, and kept well combed, parting down the middle. She wears a while collar with a navy blue tie. The mare’s cutie mark was rather simple; just a half-opened scroll with a gold ring behind it.
“You’re Sacred Scroll!” Twilight said as she finally remembered the mare before her. “You’re on the Council of Equestrian Advisors!”
Scroll scoff at that idea as she turned her nose up slightly but not enough to break eye contact with Twilight, as she said condescendingly, “Please, I’m the head of the Council, making me the single most important pony in all of Equestria.”
Twilight frown as she went over the mare’s words in her head. She may not know that much about politics, but she knew that the council didn’t have any sort of ranking or placement system. If anything, the true head of the council are the princesses. She opened her mouth to correct the pony in front of her, but was stopped when Scroll waved her right hoof condescendingly.
“As I have stated moment before, we are due for a conversation, and I don’t want to be interrupted. Understand, little filly?” Scroll asked, using a tone that sounded like she was talking to a filly that just got in trouble.
Twilight felt a twitch of anger build within her. This was her first meeting with this mare and all she had done is talk to her like she was some little no pony who didn’t deserve the time the mare was giving her. And to make the matters worse the mare was now talking like she was dealing with a filly.
And she would be Discord’s ugly table lamb if she planned to let this go on any farther. She opened her mouth to gave this mare a piece of her mind, but closed it when Scroll began pacing in front of Twilight, somehow keeping her eyes locked on the young Alicorn.
“You had recently come into process of a castle,” Scroll stated condescendingly, but before Twilight could say anything, the arrogant mare continued, “That’s good. Now you can live up to the title of princess that was so careless given to you. I will be sending an advisor within the week, personally trained by me. You’ll discuss any future decisions with her before you finalize anything. Understood?”
Twilight, her anger suddenly giving away to confusion, fell into her rear and causing her wings to pop open from the sudden impact. Her mouth hanged open as she stared at the council member speechless by said member’s tone of voice. Unfortunately for the young princess, Scroll took as a good sigh as she stopped in front of the stun alicorn and gave her a disapproving glare.
“Another matter also must be address while I have this free moment,” Scroll said commandingly. “You are to stop socializing with those common ponies effect immediately. Your advisor would give you a list of ponies more…fitting of somepony of your title. At least make an attempt to show up with them at the next charity ball. Understood…good. That’s all, young filly, you can go back to whatever you were doing.”
With that said, the snobby mare turned around and began to walk away leaving a very stun princess in her woke. Twilight looked at the retreating form of Scroll, for about four seconds, before something snapped in her. With a low growl, the young princess’s horn lit up and she disappeared in a flash of lavender light, appearing in front of the indifferent mare.
“Who do you think you are?” Twilight growled lowly. “I have never met you until this moment and suddenly you came up to me and began ordering me around like you own me? Who do you think you are to order a Princess of Equestria like that?”
Twilight didn’t know what was more surprising…her sudden outburst or the fact Scroll wasn’t effect by it in any shape or form? In fact, the council mare was just staring at Twilight like she was a filly who just got angry from no good reason.
“Are you done?” Scroll asked indifferently, stunning the pony into silence. “Good. And it doesn’t matter what you may think, you’re a princess now, and thereby you have a certain roll to fulfill and you can’t do that with a bunch of county bumpkins following you around like lost puppies.”
Twilight could feel her anger returning in spades. How dare that pony talk bad about her friends, the very friends whom made it possible for Twilight to become the princess she is today. So she had no right to talk that way about them.
Unfortunately for the young princess, the council-mare sidestepped her and began walked away again. She began to talk condescendingly as she walked by the stun princess, “Don’t think you or those county bumpkins are special because you save our land a few times. You’re a princess now and that means you have an image to maintain. We can’t have the other nations think that Equstria is nothing but sunshine and rainbows.”
The mare then walked away before the young princess could recover. Twilight blinked as the mare’s words, all of her words, rampage around her head like a raging bull. Her anger returned once more, and she snapped around, horn aglow as she prepared to follow after that bigoted mare and gave her a piece of her mind.
A gentle hoof on her shoulder broke Twilight’s concentration and she looked to her right, right into the eyes of a sympathetic princess. She opened her mouth to say something, but Celestia just shook her head slowly.
“Not here,” the elder princess said softly, and titled her head until her horn was touching her student’s. Her horn lit up gold and some of that energy was transferred into Twilight’s horn and both disappeared to parts unknown in a golden flash.
(…)
The two princesses appeared with a flash and Celestia looked around, smiling as she studied the room they were currently in. It looked a lot like Twilight’s old room in the liberty, only this new room was larger, with more items, like wardrobe to the right of the bed, and the walls are made out of crystal.
“I see the Tree of Harmony did a good job at recreating your room, my faithful student,” Celestia stated causally.
Twilight looked around and realized her teacher had teleported them to her room in her new castle. She couldn’t help but smile as she took in the scenery. Yes, it maybe different but it remained her so much of the room she had grown to love so dearly. That smile disappeared when her eyes landed on her former teacher, who had taken a seat front of Twilight, and was now waiting patiently on her old student.
“I mean no disrespect, princess,” Twilight said politely, “but why did you bring us here?”
The causal astrosphere around the older princess was suddenly gone replaced with more serious demeanor. “…Because, my former student, I believed you have something that you want to get off your chest.”
Twilight stared at her teacher for about a minute, before the events of a few minutes ago came rushing back to her, and her anger exploded, causing her mane and tail to catch fire and her coat to turn white. The effect was short lived as her body returned to normal, but her anger remained as she paced around the room ranting to herself, despite being in the presence of Princess Celestia.
“Who does that mare think she is? She treated me like I was a filly playing dress up! And the way she talked about my friends, like they were nothing but noponies who didn’t even matter!” Her pacing began to slow as he anger cooled and her rational mind began to take hold, “It’s almost like my title as a princess was superficial to her.”
Celestia sigh suddenly and that got Twilight’s attention. She looked at her former teacher and noticed some of her figures had changed, her eyes were closed and her body slightly slumped over. This sudden change got Twilight very curious, but like any good student she waited until her teacher was ready.
It took nearly a minute before the elder princess opened her eyes and looked at her former student with a solemn smile. The smile was almost enough to make the younger princess flinch.
“Once again, my former student, that, even in anger, you’re mind is as sharp as ever,” the smile vanished from the princess’s face as she next said, “Tell me, what do you know about the history of the council?”
Twilight blinked, caught off-guard by the sudden question. She gave her head a quick shake and gathered her wits, digging into her vest storehouse of knowledge as she searched for the answer.
“Well, that’s easy,” Twilight said, keeping herself compose. “You created the council shortly after you were forced to banished Princess Luna to the moon, so the stress of running an entire nation and rising the sun and the moon at the same time wouldn‘t overwhelm you.”
By the time she had finished, a smile had found a way to the Twilight’s face, which seems to be infectious as her teacher had her own small smile on her muzzle.
“Very good, my student,” the smile was replaced with a serious frown. “But that’s only half of the truth, and as a Princess of Equstria, I believe you’re entitled to know the entire truth.”
Twilight’s eyes widen as she heard this. She was silent as she tried to work her way around this new information she was given. Unfortunately, her mind chose that time to shut down. Thankful, Celestia must have sensed her former student’s worries, as she began to explain what transpired all those years ago.
“I was mentally unfit to watch over Equstria, and I created the council to serve in my stead. I still raised and lowered the sun and the moon each day and night, and I held court, but it was the council that made all of the decisions in the end,” Celestia sigh faintly and closed her eyes. “It took me nearly year to recover, but by the time I was fit to resume my role as ruler of Equstria I learn something terrible.”
With a faint sigh, barely audible, Celestia pushed herself into a standing position and opened her eyes. Twilight watched as her former teacher walked to a window and looked down at Ponyville, smiling at the blissful scene below her. Twilight trotted up to her fellow princess, but kept her peace, patiently waiting for Celestia to continue.
“Though I don’t know the full details, the council had convinced themselves that a princess was nothing more then a superficial title, and my only real roll in Equstria was to look pretty as I control the sun and moon,” Celestia said solemnly, and looked at her student as a sad smile spread across her face. “They even passed a law that forbids others ponies not of the original council’s bloodline to join the council.”
“But I don’t understand?” Twilight exclaimed, but kept her tone respectful. “You’re the true ruler of Equestria! You could have easily overturned any law they passed. So why do you put on with all that?”
Celestia chuckle a hollow chuckle as she used her right wing to wrap her fellow princess in a motherly wing-hug. Twilight blushed slightly, but didn’t shy away from her teacher’s embrace, choosing to lightly snuggle into the warm and soft coat of the princess of the sun. They remained in that position for nearly a minute, both lost in the comfort that could only be described as a mother/daughter bond.
Finally, the elder princess broke the silence, but when she spoke her voice was as gently as a summer’s breeze. “True, I could have overturned any law the council made. I could have even had them banished from Equestria all together, but it wouldn’t help my image.” Twilight looked at her teacher with a confused expression, and Celestia gave her former student a motherly smile. “You must remember, Twilight Sparkle, my image wasn’t the best after I was forced to banish Luna. And my self-isolation didn’t help improve my subjects’ view of me.”
The elder princess released the younger princess from her wings and turned around, walking towards Twilight’s vanity. The young alicorn watched as her former mentor lazily studied the piece of furniture her, her confusion greater then ever.
“I’m sorry, Princess, but I’m still lost?” Twilight said awkwardly. “Can’t you do something about the council after you regained the ponies’ trust?”
Celestia turned to face Twilight, an easy smile on her face as she took a seat in front of the Princess of Magic’s vanity. “Twilight, I believe you understand how fragile something like a pony’s view can be. Can you imagine how I would look if I decided to disband the council, a council that has for the last year done the work I refused to do, so shortly after I regained the ponies’ trust?”
Twilight frowned, thinking about to a certain gossip incident and how it nearly ruined the entire population of Ponyville with just a few words. Still…she doesn’t see why the princess should have to deal with such condescending ponies on a daily basis?
The young princess opened her mouth to say something, but Celestia held up her hooves, and Twilight respectfully held her tongue as the older princess began to speak, “Twilight, you and I can stand here all day, going back and forth on the matter until I am to end this day, but the matter is simple, and I don’t believe you want to keep your friends, especially Pinkie Pie, waiting.”
Twilight stared at her former teacher in stun silence. She held the position for 40 seconds before her body slumps and she let out a barely hearable sigh. She nodded weakly as said, “I guess you’re right. I just can’t understand how you put up with those types of ponies? Who knows how much problems they‘re causing just because they can‘t see pass their own muzzles!”
“That’s actually easier then you may think,” Celestia replied with a sly grin. “They councilors’ heads are so swelled due their superficial title they will never realize that most of the ponies that serve them are actually loyal to me. Anytime one of the councilors passes a law, I get it before its finalized and make the needed changes.”
The elder princess, with her gin turning warmer, pushed herself to all fours and trotted up to her student’s right side. The older Alicorn’s horn began to glow as she prepared to teleport her student and herself back to her castle, where the “we-beat-the-magic-sucking-meanie-party” was being held.
“And don’t worry about the pony being sent here. She’s one of my best advisors and knows that she would only be here until you get the handle of palace life,” Celestia said gently.
Twilight looked at her fellow princess with a small smile, glad that Celestia didn’t let something like words from a narrow-minded pony get to her. Still…she frowns as something still bugged her.
“I just like to know how you manage to handle all of these ponies on a daily basis.” Twilight muttered sourly.
Celestia giggled lightly as she touched her horn to her student’s and began to transfer her magic. “You would never believe how many times a pony would fall for the same magical trick until you have been to a council’s meeting. I laugh to myself ever single time my so-called “nephew’s” mother faints every time her precious white coat is magically changed to a sickly green color.”
Twilight’s mouth fell as her eyes widen at this piece of information. She recovered quickly and was about to ask something, only for Celestia to finished her spell, and both princesses were teleported back to Canterlot Castle, where they would shortly returned to the party, one a bit wiser due to the experience she had endure, and the other…a little lighter, feeling like the last of a long overdue weight has been lifted from her shoulders.
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Well, the instant Sacred Scroll opened her mouth I wanted to break her teeth. Great job getting me worked up.
Take this like. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find something that'll make a wonderful breaking noise.
...I now want a chapter where Twilight comes up with her own way to mess with the Council. Namely, telling her friends what Sacred said but leaving out what Celestia said for a few moments, with Fluttershy likely crying because of it, which causes Discord to get vengeance on them before she tells the rest of them it's already been pretty much handled by Celestia.
She's been the Princess of Friendship since her coronation at the end of Season 3
The council seems like something that should've been dealt with a thousand years ago. Especially since Celestia can just outlive the reputation hit from setting the council on fire.
If theres a sequel, I hope it involves lots and lots of fire.
Celestia's solution is... petty. And cowardly.
What is needed is a chapter where the council finally crosses the last line and Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Twilight proceed to whup the bitch out of them.
well it's quite simpl twilight, celestia may not be able too so easily but hundreds of ponies just saw you crowned princess of friendship by the spirit of harmony itself, declare yourself immune too the council, ponyville, the crystal empire and the spirit of chaos and discord well back you, sacred scroll can't really make a move without making the council look incompotent then.
Also, that castle just has to go. Take out an insurance policy, then give Discord a super bouncy ball to play with.
Not bad. Not bad at all. Despite a few spelling mistakes, I rather enjoyed this fic. Then again, I've always tended to like stories that involve the machinations of political power so I guess I was predisposed towards like this. That said, I'm sure I could have decided "this is boring and crappy" if it had been badly written. Thankfully it isn't so naturally, I enjoyed it.
4405720 Reality Check I like you maybe I could join in that whooping I'll bring my flail
4405720 Agreed. The council needs to be taught that if they can't figure out which side their bread is buttered on, they can get their asses off the council and out of Equestria.
Plus, this situation of Celestia not having any real power reminds me of the book series Deltora Quest. Only this story is written WAY better...
You do realize that everyone now wants a chapter where all four princesses troll the council mercilessly?
4407932
Eh. That pretty much standard fair for any Canterlot Nobles who are not Fancy Pants or Fleur.
The princesses all need to learn how to say, "Balls to you, it's my kingdom."
As you can see my OC is a princess in Equestrian and if someone walked into my castle and said that to me I would be like "I am the princess of mixed cutie marks and thee shall not speeketh to me that way!!"
4405720 Agreed. There has to be some document that sets out the Council's responsibilities. Find it, and nail their hides to the wall with it, especially if it was a council set up to serve in her stead. There has to be some phrase like 'serving at Celestia's pleasure.' Which means if she's not pleased with them, she can drop them like the sun at evening,
Likewise, all the nobility has to ultimately be beholden to by oaths of fealty. There is no way any of the old demenses from before the reign of Discord still existed, which means when Celestia and Luna were crowned as Princesses they would have been the ones defining the new division of land. Which means they created the nobles, and can uncreate them just as easily.
And good luck any upity noble who thinks they can defy Celestia. She fields the only organised military force in the country, inept as they are against world ending threats. She can also call on the Crystal Empire to supply additional troops, and let's not forget that practically everypony else worships her as a deity. Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns has all the most powerful spellcasters in the country, and as your version of Nightlight says, 'And everyone of them calls me SIR!'
And that's not counting the special individuals she could call on in a knock down drag out fight. Three more alicorns, a Chaos spirit (who'd just love the chance to cut loose), the Elements and a unicorn who can shield an entire city. Not that it would ever come to that. All she has to do is call a press conference and tell ponies that 'Lord Stick-up-the-plot is trying to usurp her' and watch as he all his support evapourates and he gets bitch slapped into the next milennium.
Seriously, the entirety of the Canterlot Nobility could revolt en mass and would still get stomped into a muddy puddle by the rest of Equestria if Celestia made any kind of sensible use of the resources at her disposal... oh dear, this is Celestia we're talking about. The mare who's go to solution to crisis management is to wait until the last minute, send somepony else to deal with the threat, and usually give them incomplete or misleading information.
6783599 Celestia suffers this because she tolerates it. And now her sister, her niece and her apprentice all have to suffer it because she is too weak willed to put a stop to it.
"Her image." What does she think her image will be when ponies learn that these arrogant councilers can talk to their Princess like that?
If I had been Celestia upon emerging from my time-out after banishing Luna and found the council like that...
---
Council : You are nothing. We are in charge. You're only job is to raise the sun and moon. We will tell you what to do. You will perform no public action without our approval.
Celestia(me) : ... ..... You have to be kidding.
Council : We most certainly are not. Now obey us little filly.
Celestia(me) : *Sighs* Fine. If that's the way you want it. *Forms flaming sword* You are trying to usurp me. That is treason. THE PENALTY FOR TREASON IS DEATH!
Council : Enough of this! We shall not tolerate this disobedience! Cease this silly little game of yours "princess"! Guards! Lock this foolish little one in the castle's dungeons!
Celestia(me) : *Swings flaming sword and kills loud mouthed council member* I have had enough of your arrogance. I created you and I CAN DESTROY YOU!
Council : *Falls onto floor prostrating themselves* We'll obey! We're sorry!
Celestia(me) : *Extinguishes flaming sword* That's much better. Don't ever try this again.
---
That is how a real ruler handles their subject's rebellion.
Sadly canon Celestia lacks the balls to do anything.