Lessons in quirks

by Mike84

Chapter XLVI

The great hall had mostly emptied by the time Twilight and Rainbow Dash got back down there. Featherscribe, Mayor Mare and Lady Justice were just heading for the stairs as Twilight and Rainbow Dash descended.
"Princess Twilight", Lady Justice said with a little nod. "I got to say that even with this being just a hearing, this is one of the most... intriguing cases I have ever been involved with. Prosecution and defense both argued quite... fervently." She squinted at Featherscribe.
"I'm going to talk to Inkhorn", Twilight said. "I must hear about this alleged attack of Frank!"
"Alleged...", Featherscribe began. "Now give her a moment, for pity's sake, Princess! She's been up all night and the day before, been attacked by Mr. Blanket and only got home shortly before the start of the hearing!"
"For pity's sake?" Twilight snapped, forgetting about any royal decorum for a moment. "You'd send him to stand trial in Canterlot for something he didn't do and dare talking about pity?"

"Princess Twilight...", Lady Justice said very seriously, "...while Mr. Blanket doesn't come across as a liar, the evidence brought up against him is rather strong. The money in his sleeping back, the entry on the map in his hoofwriting, the amulet that would enable him to commit the theft and that had been stolen from the very place he is coming from... I am not ignoring the flaws in the plausibility and the indications of a possible framing. However, even without the attack on Inkhorn, I would have considered further examinations necessary. Mr. Featherscribe has been doing his job as the prosecutor and admitted to a possible bias based on the attack on Inkhorn."

"But Mr. Blanket said he didn't attack her!" Twilight said.
"He didn't just say he didn't attack her...", Rainbow Dash came to Twilight's assistance, "...he swore like the holiest of oaths that he wasn't lying! In the name of Celestia, Luna, all there is in Equestria and all that. If a pony was lying with such an oath, wouldn't that pony be... you know... struck by lightning or something like that?"
"You probably know better than I do about weather phenomena and what influence the truthfulness of a pony may or may not have on them", Featherscribe commented dryly. "And as I suggested during the hearing, I wouldn't even exclude the chance that Mr. Blanket himself was under the impression that he is telling the truth. I admitted the possible bias because he attacked my Inky—"
"Inky?" Rainbow Dash said, but was determinedly ignored by Featherscribe.
"...but with all due respect, you seem to be rather biased yourself, Princess, if you never ever even consider the possibility that Mr. Blanket may have done all that! And if you...", he squinted at Rainbow Dash, "...are serious about what you said during the hearing, suggesting that Inkhorn may be 'seeing things' for being too tired, then you are rather inconsequent if now you want to wake her up to question her!"

There was an uncomfortable silence for several moments.
"Maybe we should get upstairs to write to Canterlot and do all the paperwork that needs to be done now", Mayor Mare said. "I regret that the hearing led to no more... satisfactory outcome."
It wasn't clear for whom the last words had been meant; for everypony perhaps.
Lady Justice nodded in agreement and with a little bow to Twilight she proceeded past her and Rainbow Dash up the stairs followed by Featherscribe and Mayor Mare.
Twilight sighed. She walked down to where Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike, with Owlowiscious perched on his head, were waiting. In the now empty hall they had probably heard every word of the exchange on the stairs, for nopony had spoken very quietly.

"We got a lot to do, everypony!" Twilight said with an air of grim determination as she approached. "Come on!" she said as she walked past the others towards the door of the town hall.
Twilight cast a short look at the sky when she left the building. The sun had moved well past its zenith by now.
"There's something really strange about Inkhorn", Twilight said.
"What makes you say that, darling?" Rarity asked surprised.
"Yes, what is wrong with...", Rainbow Dash grinned, "...Inky?"
"Remember I told you yesterday that she told me that Swallowtail was not in the register of citizens of Ponyville?"
"Of course", Applejack said.
"When Rainbow and I were upstairs to bring Frank back, I took a quick look into her office."
"You spied on her? Twi, the Princess and spy?" Pinkie Pie asked cheerfully.
"Now really, Pinkie", Rarity said indignantly. "Twilight wouldn't spy!"

"Well... in a sense I did", Twilight admitted.
"Told you so!" Pinkie Pie chirped.
"Anyway, I just checked out the citizens register and Swallowtail was right there. The entry really couldn't be overlooked."
"You mean Inkhorn lied to you yesterday?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised.
Twilight hesitated. They had reached the fountain on the town square and Twilight stopped, for she hadn't yet made up her mind about which way to go first.
"Are you suspecting Inkhorn to be behind all this?" Applejack asked, sounding alarmed and highly skeptical at the same time.

Twilight was gnawing on her lower lip. "I just don't really know. I don't really want to suspect her. I've been rash about Swallowtail yesterday and it all seemed so clear at the time, but then this suspicion was taken apart in moments. I don't want to make that same mistake again. But there is yet another point. If indeed Frank had no idea about the entry on his map and the amulet hidden there, both must have been arranged by somepony with access to his saddle-bags. Theoretically, and really I am not saying that this is was happened, Inkhorn could have used a sound muffling spell to sneak into the room at night and do this."

"I just cannot imagine that!" Rarity said. "She has always been living here and she is such a fine pony. She has been working here for so long and she and Featherscribe such lovely... colleagues."
"Do you think she calls him Feathery?" Rainbow Dash asked, cutting a face. "And doing his job or not, wasn't he just... different today?"
Twilight shook her head slightly. "I do not know. But no, I am not actually suspecting Inkhorn of anything. With all the strange things happening, I think there is really something much more serious about all this than we have so far understood. I don't think Inkhorn is a liar, I don't think Frank is a liar either, but this unknown attacker must have done something to one of them."
Many pieces began to form to a picture in Twilight's mind.

"I didn't have a chance to tell you yet...", Twilight cast a look around to see whether there was anyone who might overhear their talk, but the square and the alleys were empty, "...but last night Princess Luna appeared in my dream. And she said that there was something wrong with Frank's dream. She said that it just suddenly ended in a way that she had never seen before. That one moment there was a dream and the next moment there wasn't anything anymore. A 'void', I think, she called it."
"Does Luna tell you about what other ponies' dream?" asked Rainbow Dash and Twilight didn't miss that she sounded uncomfortable.

"Don't worry. Luna is perfectly discreet. Anyway, Frank looked rather worn out this morning, said he had a headache and his reaction to the spell..."
"Oh yes, Twilight, what did you do to him on the stage?" Rarity asked. "It looked horrible!"
"Creepy!" Pinkie Pie agreed.
"I didn't do anything", Twilight said. "I didn't mean to. The spell shouldn't have hurt him. It was just the same spell I used on Swallowtail yesterday. The kind that would have lifted any illusion spell or returned a changeling to the original form."
"You think it hurt him because of some other magic used on him?" Applejack asked.
"It may be", Twilight said. "I don't know for sure. I don't know a magic that would have that effect, but if some magic was used on him and was lingering or something, it might have changed the effect of my spell. I... I really didn't mean to hurt him."
Twilight suddenly felt it was important to stress that point once again. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had reminded her of how it had probably appeared to many ponies in the audience.

"And what do you think that magic did to Frank?" Applejack asked. "Do you think that perhaps some magic cast on him by somepony else could have made him steal the money and attack Inkhorn?"
Twilight shook her head immediately. "No. Magic doesn't work like that. I'm not sure if even the most powerful magician could control a pony to the point of making that pony act against the own will without even remembering anything about it. I know very little about that branch of magic though..."

"Twilight, I know you don't feel well about this, but maybe you should really ask Princess Celestia about that kind of magic after all", Rarity said.
Twilight nodded reluctantly. "Yes, with everything that has happened, I think I really should. And Princess Luna too. She seemed really worried about what she saw or didn't see in Frank's dreams. Perhaps she found out something more."
"Princess Luna worried?" Rainbow Dash asked. The idea that a Princess whose darker side had been the very definition of nightmare and fear could worry about something didn't leave her unconcerned. Twilight only nodded in response to Rainbow Dash's question but continued: "There are several things which need to be done. I still hope that perhaps Cheerilee might remember something today that may help to find the attacker. We still don't have any idea why she of all ponies was attacked. Anything she may have done recently that she can remember may be important. We saw her talk with Mr. Rich during the party, perhaps he or she said something there that somehow led to her being attacked."
"But... but wouldn't that mean that the thief would have heard whatever they were talking about?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shrugged. "There were so many at the party and while we really don't have any clue at all about the attacker, it is at least a possibility. Just speculating here— no Pinkie, not about cookies!"
Pinkie Pie looked a little taken aback about having been interrupted before she had even opened her mouth.
"Ah was going to visit Cheerilee anyway", Applejack said. "The kids already headed there right after the end of the hearing."
Twilight nodded. She had noticed the absence of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"And what else is there to do?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Inkhorn", Twilight said. "We must talk to her and hear what exactly she says Frank did. And also... like I said, I cannot imagine her having done this and I really don't think that she would know the kind of magic we are dealing with here, but I still think we shouldn't totally exclude any possibility."
"Featherscribe said that she is sleeping", Rarity reminded them. "Do you really want to wake her up?"
"If necessary, yes", Twilight said. "With all due respect to her rest, if this may give us some answers. We need to find this attacker."

Rarity nodded.
"I also very much hope that perhaps Zecora will be able to recover some memory from Mr. Rich. Perhaps she could talk to Cheerilee too."
"When did Zecora want to come by?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I haven't seen her for a looong time."
"We didn't really agree on a time yesterday", Twilight said. "I hope she didn't get here during the hearing and ended up locked out in front of the Rich Mansion."
"Swallows would let her in", Pinkie Pie said. "He was not at the hearing."
Twilight just hoped that if indeed Zecora had shown up at the Rich Mansion during the time of the hearing, she hadn't been treated as gruffly by Swallowtail as she herself had been.
"Is there anything else to do?" Rarity asked.

Twilight nodded slowly. She had reserved the task which she considered the most difficult of all for herself.
"What is it?" Rarity asked.
"I know only one for whom it would be quite possible to do all that has happened."
"Discord", Applejack said grimly.
"I must talk to Fluttershy again", Twilight said. "Maybe she can talk to Discord. He really is the only one I know who not only has the means but probably also the mind to do that kind of thing. I only wished it wasn't so difficult to talk about Discord to Fluttershy."
"Do you think he did it?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Like I said, he could do it and I think he would do it. But if he really did it, he also has all the means to make it impossible to track it down to him. If he did it, I don't think we would find any evidence. I think there is nothing we can do but ask Fluttershy to appeal to whatever she sees in him and hope that she is right about him."

"You don't believe in Discord's reformation?" Rarity asked.
"Do you?" Twilight asked in turn, leaving all of the others just as unable to answer as she was herself. She sighed. "I hate to admit it, but I sometimes wonder if things wouldn't be better if he had been left the stone to which he was turned because of his own actions!"
"You're right, Twilight, but I don't think you want to lay it out to Fluttershy like that", Rainbow Dash said.
Twilight nodded sadly. "Of course I won't. But really, ever since we had to give up on the Elements of Harmony, I'm wondering whatever we could even do at all if Discord decided it would be fun to bring back all the chaos of his reign. What he can do is on such a totally different level than anything I could do against him. Even Celestia and Luna may not stand a chance against him without the help of the Elements of Harmony and I sometimes wonder if Princess Celestia would have ever had us release him if she had known that we would have to give up on the Elements."

"Did ya ever ask her about that?" Applejack asked.
Twilight shook her head. "Didn't dare to", she admitted. "It's a moot point anyway. But I'm going to Fluttershy and talk to her. You said you were going to Miss Cheerilee, AJ, would one of you go with her?" Twilight asked in the direction of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity.
"Go with me?" Applejack asked a bit surprised.
"I can come along", Rarity said. "That way I can also have an eye on Sweetie Belle."
"Begging your pardon Twilight, but isn't it a little over the top having Rarity escort me to Cheerilee? No offense meant, but I can't say I feel an awful lot safer with Rarity as a bodyguard than I would feel without her."
"Hey!" Rarity protested, putting on a pout.
"I appreciate your company of course", Applejack hurried to assure.

"Girls, this is not about anypony being anypony else's bodyguard! But seriously, we don't know whoever is out there and attacked Mr. Rich, Mrs. Cheerilee and possibly Frank. I told everypony to avoid staying on their own and I really think that may be a good idea while we don't have any clue about the attacker. He or she may be deterred if there is more than one pony around. Of course I don't want to prohibit you from being on your own, but if we can help it... please, I just don't want to see anyone of you being attacked!"
There was a barely concealed urgency in Twilight's voice.

"So Dashie and I will go to Pen and Paper's house then!" Pinkie Pie announced cheerfully and Rainbow Dash shrugged in agreement.
"Great!" Twilight said. "I'll be off to Fluttershy then and will be back as soon as possible."
"Wait a moment, sugarcube, aren't ya forgetting something?" Applejack asked, frowning.
"What's that, Applejack?"
"We're all not to stay alone while you wander off on your own, making yourself the perfect target for that attacker?"
Twilight smiled broadly at Applejack: "No, AJ, you're the one forgetting someone." With a flash of her horn Twilight teleported Spike, who was still holding Owlowiscious, onto her back.
"I got a flame-breathing dragon by my side! Of whom should I be afraid?"
Spike was beaming at her.

Author's Note:

Last edited on December 15th 2015.

Comments

[Mike84]

6302081
Thank you very, very much for your feedback Chronicler, it is helping a lot
I reread all of the chapters about the hearing and (apart from eliminating some mistakes I hadn't spoted earlier (such as the mare in the name Mayor Mare being not capitalized at one point)) I added a number of lines where it was either not a 100% clear who was speaking or else where it became clear only relatively late within a long statement who the speaker was.
When writing this I have it running in my mind a bit like it was a movie and sometimes what I write down doesn't take into account what information that "mind-movie" provides while the text does not. Your feedback is really very helpful there and I appreciate it a lot.

With the hearing concluded the upcoming chapters will provide some more information and be a bit of a "calm before the storm". I'm by now working on what I expect to be the antepenultimate chapter of the story and more likely than not I will finish it this month (or the next), while the posting of the remaining chapters here will last a little longer if I continue with two chapters a week.

Unfortunately it is not likely to appear on Equestria Daily. The day after I applied there I received a mail stating:

Thank you for submitting your story to Equestria Daily, but, unfortunately, I cannot recommend posting it. Due to the high volume of stories we receive on a daily basis, we cannot give specific feedback on why. Our Editor’s Omnibus contains a thorough list of the issues we look for in our reviews, and also contains resources for finding proofreaders and editors. Give it a look and ask the linked reviewing groups for help, as they will go a long way toward improving your writing! This is not a strike.

I got to admit that I failed to figure out which of the issued from the list of the editor's omnibus the story has. Oh well, it was worth the try