186 - The Moon Rises
Luna sat up in bed, her head muggy, her mane frazzled and splayed even as the inner portions of it attempted to flow properly. With bleary eyes, she looked around to see a smiling nurse looking at her.
"Do you feel alright, Your Highness?"
Luna blinked at the question, as innocent as it was. "I feel like something is attempting to escape my skull. What happened?"
A soft cough came from the other side of the bed, where Luna saw a night guard standing vigilantly. "Did you wish to speak?" He nodded. "Go ahead."
"Mistress, you were ambushed while in attendance with Ambassador Silver Watch." He bowed low as he spoke.
"I was?" Luna frowned as she slid to the floor on shaking legs. "Has the culprit been found?"
"About that," began the nurse, only for the guard to bump her right out of the way.
"She has, Mistress. She is in custody awaiting your word."
Luna glanced between the two. A part of her demanded swift action, but she felt... she should do what was right, not what felt expedient. "Good, let her speak. Nurse, what were you trying to say?"
The nurse glared at the guard before looking at Luna and smiling. "Your attacker, Samantha. She gave us the ingredients she used for the drug that incapacitated you. She... is a menace, but she didn't mean to hurt you, ma'am."
Was that who it was? The memory of the event started to come back to her. The angry looks of those two mares, the needle, the darkness. "I see..." By many rights, she was still a commoner with Silver not yet ascended to princedom. She could have the mare swiftly dealt with. Vengeance could be hers... But it would be a dish served bitter and cold. It would cement the fact that Silver would never love, let alone like, her. She would be driving that wedge in herself, and for what? "I would speak to her. Where is she?"
The guard held up a hoof. "She is in custody, Mistress. She will be brought to court for proper trial. We trust you will be in attendance, Mistress?"
Court? Trial? Luna scowled. "Who would be bringing these charges to her, if not myself?"
The guard glanced off with obvious sudden nervousness. "Is that not what you want, mistress?"
Luna lied. She lied completely. "I asked her to do it! She is innocent of any crime. Bring her to me this instant."
That did not mesh with what had already been said, and the guard raised a brow at Luna. "The drugs have clearly had an effect on your memory, Mistress. Please, rest and recover. We will see justice done."
Justice done... She had wanted justice done before, and it had ended poorly... "Don't hurt her!"
"Mistress?" He took a slow step back. "She's... Keep Princess Luna here, for her own safety." He turned to leave.
Luna looked to the nurse with challenging eyes. "Will you obey him?"
The nurse gestured at the rest of the infirmary. "I have work to do. Healthy patients are free to go whenever they like." She smiled a little. "Do what's right."
"I intend to." Luna strode out, shaking her head to clear it as she sought out her sister. This was becoming quite a mess, and she had to stop it...
Samantha rolled from left to right upside-down in her cell as she listened to Silver argue with a night guard elsewhere in the castle, trying to determine where she was. She wasn't in the same cells Silver had been kept. He had tried there already. At least knowing Silver was hunting for her made her a bit happy.
Light shone down the hallway a moment as the clip-clop of hooves came towards them purposefully. "The accused has control of Princess Luna through mind-altering drugs."
"What?"
"It's true. We have a report from a trusted guard. She wanted to release the accused without a trial."
Samantha rolled up to her belly. "I did no such thing. If I was going to mind-control Luna, I wouldn't use tranquilizing agents at the same time. That's illogical."
One of the guards approached her cell, just a vague shape in the shadows. He clanged a metal-clad hoof on the bars of her cell. "Silence! You've done more than enough harm."
Samantha raised a hoof at the guard she could barely see. "And what if I'm telling the truth? Proper rigor demands the discovery of the truth through empirical means."
The guard seemed confused at her words. "What?"
"She's trying to confuse you." A second shape walked up to the bar. "You just wait here. We'll discover the truth at the trial, then you'll face your punishment." He nudged the other guard back. "Until then, all guards are to keep a minimum safe distance from her. She's dangerous."
Celestia looked up with a smile as Luna entered day court. Many eyes turned to regard the entering Princess of the Night. "Sister, it's good to see you."
Luna gave a wan smile. "We need to speak."
Celestia confused Luna's words with her archaic way of speaking. "Go ahead, we're listening."
"No, we need to speak." She gestured between herself and Celestia. "It is of the utmost importance."
That broke the ambiguity and Celestia waved off the court. "Court is recessed for an hour." When most of the ponies had left, largely leaving the guard behind, she fixed her eyes on her sister. "What's wrong?"
Luna gestured outwards. "I fear my guard is acting of its own volition. They plan to prosecute Samantha, Silver's wife, with or without my consent or support."
Celestia raised a brow. "And just who do they plan to preside over such a trial? Certainly I wouldn't sentence a pony in the manner they desire."
Luna snorted softly. "Even you, gentle sister, have banished the truly unrepentant."
Celestia nodded. "This much is true, but Samantha hardly fits that description. She acted in error, but she wishes no harm. You realize that, I hope?"
"That's why I'm trying to stop this." Luna clopped the ground. "This travesty must be brought to a halt."
Celestia smiled. "Then perhaps we would be better served doing as they wish."
"What?"
Celestia pointed at herself. "I will offer to oversee the trial of 'the one that attacked my dear sister'."
Luna blinked, but the logic of it came to her. "They will think you are ready to sentence harshly."
"They will bring me to her, and I will listen fairly, and judge." Celestia's wings spread wide. "Justice will be done."
Luna quirked a smile. There was that term again, but coming from Celestia, it seemed alright. "Thank you, dear sister. Let me confer with Silver Watch. He deserves to at least know what's happening." She turned for the exit. "Good luck."
Silver sank to his bed with an angry grunt. "It's like she vanished!"
Night frowned at that. "You know that's not what she did."
"Of course not... They have her, somewhere. You were a night guard, didn't you--"
"I told you... I guarded mostly outside the palace. They didn't need to tell me where all the secret places were, so they didn't." She let out a little sigh. "Need to know..."
"Right." Silver slipped back to the floor and trotted past Night into the nursery. "I hope she's alright. Why did you two do that anyway?"
Night followed after Silver. "To protect you, stupid stallion. Luna shook you up something fierce... and we were worried for you."
Silver looked back to Night, then sighed. "Look, thank you, both of you." He returned to her and pressed nose to nose. "I'm lucky to have two such lovely people in my life. Let's just make sure we keep both of them."
Night nodded at that, but there was a soft clopping at the door, drawing her attention. "I'll get that."
She opened the door to find a frazzled Luna standing there. She raised a brow at the Princess of the Night. "You're looking well."
"I bear news of Samantha."
Silver emerged in record time. "Luna?"
Luna nodded at the two of them. "She is... Celestia has it under control. I lost control of the entire situation..."
Night gestured at Luna. "Can you tell us what happened?"
Luna took a slow breath. "While I was asleep, my guards moved to produce justice for me. They are eager to see your wife punished for the crime of attacking me."
Night raised a brow. "What do you think she's guilty of?"
"She did attack me." Luna dipped her head a little. "But an apology would be sufficient, just as I owe you so many, Silver. Being knocked out was rude, this headache is unconscionable, but I wish no more than that." She offered a hoof to the two. "I've had enough justice."
Silver's face split in a little smile and he reached out, meeting that hoof. "I'll agree with that."
Night rolled a hoof. "So what do we... do now?"
Luna grunted softly. "I would sorely wish to take action, but this is truly out of my hooves. I trust my sister will put this to right. Until then, we wait."
Silver looked between the two mares beside him. "Fine, then we wait. While we do, it's long past time we settled things, between us." He gestured between them. "Night Watch, this is Luna. Luna, this is Night Watch. I think you two have a lot in common."
Night blinked at that. "Where are you going with this?"
Luna nodded in agreement. "We are also confused."
Silver smiled. "I want you two to know each other, at least as friends. Have you met my wife? Night Watch is a tested warrior with an excellent record. Night, this is Luna. I'll be serving alongside her as royalty. You're both very important mares in my life."
Night looked over Luna. "We've... met--"
"Meet Luna." Silver gestured at the Princess of the Night again.
Night let out a suffering sigh. "Very well. Nice to meet you, Princess Luna." She offered a hoof.
Luna nodded in reply. "It is an honor to meet such a distinguished warrior." She reached to meet it with a clop. "Will you tell us of a valorous battle?"
Night glanced between the two a moment before she settled in place. "Alright, there was the time..."
Luna listened quietly as Night began to speak of her adventures at Silver's side, defending him and that which she held valuable.
Night suddenly stumbled over a part.
"What was that?"
Night colored softly. "I... You were my idol, as a foal. I wanted to fight with the quiet poise I imagined you had. It was all imagination, of course. You were... not here... but I imagined it, and followed that vision. I galloped towards it, always wanting to be that warrior of the night..."
Luna gave a small smile. "In some ways, you have outshone the original. I am proud to know you, warrior." She reached a wing and drew Night close. The two grew quiet, but much meaning was exchanged in that silence.
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Nice chapter!
"The princess isn't doing what we expected, It's mind control!"
Ooh God the guards are trying to burn the which except it's science not magic they don't understand!
this chapter a day is killing me man. especially with it being so short. killlll me, release me from my torment....tomorrow..after the next chapter..or the next..next..next..
7263994 You'd rather it slower?
Well, this chapter was surprisingly low-impact. While that might sound like a complaint, I'm actually quite impressed at how well it contextualized everything, mostly in terms of the various characters learning from their experiences and adapting to try and deescalate a volatile situation. Finally, they're learning!
Insofar as Luna's guards go, I'm a little surprised that nobody brought up how this level of fanaticism is extremely reminiscent of what happened with Night Wing. At some point, someone needs to point out that the ponies that serve Luna in a police fashion keep facing problems of extremism. One bad actor in the warlocks in happenstance, but having this happen again in her royal guard speaks to a deeper problem, and it needs to be dealt with at the root, rather than just treating the latest symptom.
I suspect that this can be explained, at least in part, by Luna's relatively recent return. Given that Luna was banished in the moon for the last thousand years, I highly doubt that her guards and secret police were active during that time. As such, she likely put these forces together shortly after her return. Given that we know that she was still in her old mindset when she got back (to the point of not knowing what "fun" even was), that would likely suggest that she didn't choose very wisely...and now she's reaping the consequences. Throw in the oft-referenced (though rarely seen) issues of ethnic tensions between lunar and solar ponies, and this is likely a warning sign that things are heading in a bad direction. When there's a particular minority that feels like they have no voice, and you give them military training and police powers, then things are likely to become bad in a hurry.
To that end, I have to wonder how well Samantha's trial will go with Celestia running it. It's not that I doubt her ability to judge the situation fairly, but rather than the guards (and quite possibly the wider population of lunar ponies) might not trust a sentence that's just a slap on the fetlock. After all, a solar alicorn giving a free pass to a solar unicorn (and wife to another solar alicorn) for attacking the progenitor of the lunar ponies? If justice, once served, isn't believed to be justice by the wider community, then it can still create major problems.
I also have to wonder, where's Night Wing during all of this? I get that Silver told her to put together some information on that zebra, but at no time did he think to say (since she always seems to be listening) that he needs her to abandon that job and instead find his imprisoned wife? That's the sort of thing that she's best at, even if it would just be reconnaissance.
I'm also slightly disappointed in Samantha using tranquilizers on Luna; not so much that it was inappropriate (it was), but because it was illogical. Knocking out someone you want to reveal information is counterproductive. Though now, I can just see her saying that at her trial; "I know what I did was wrong. I should have used truth serum instead."
7264044
Slower and longer..... phrasing.
7264120 Unlikely. I live on feedback in these things. I get them through constant updates. If people objected to something that happened 20% through a 10k chapter, well, they're just out of luck.
7264095 Problems rarely occur in a void. You are correct that what look like diseases are often symptoms of the real problem.
Whhheeeee, this is what we wanted to see, burying the hatch. Granted it won't be easy to forget all past grievances but this is better that an assassination attempt.... much better.
Now this leads to the situation where Night Watch would tell Luna on her (Night's) death bed to take care of Silver.
7264135
And it would take longer to correct any perceived problems as well.
7264135 it never really bothered me until now. I really really really wanna see Samantha's trial and the faces of the guard when all is said and done
she should do what is right - she should do what was right
Your drugs - Her/the drugs
He tried there - He had tried there
metal hoof - metal clad/shod hoof
all guards are to keep a minimum distance from her - all guards are to keep a minimum safe distance from her (of course Samantha would probably not object if the lunar guards all stayed as physically close as possible...)
archaic way of speak - archaic way of speaking
Why did you too - Why did you two
*****
This chapter ended on a development that I've been waiting to see for a long time. Finally we get to see the beginning of a reconciliation between Night Watch and Princess Luna. Silver Watch Prince of Mending Fences and Arbitration!
The behavior of Princess Luna's guard is troubling but understandable. A firm but kind reprimand and restatement of expectations and chain of command will probably be sufficient to remedy things there. Assuming, of course that there isn't a cabal of Lunar guards that is trying to usurp a portion of Luna's authority ala 'Princess Spike'.
I also wonder who else may have overheard the sisters speaking since the room was not entirely cleared when they began speaking. Probably nothing will come of it once the matter is decided by Princess Celestia. Right?
7263985
To be fair, Princess Luna is nearly as skilled in lying as she is in talking about her feelings.
7263988 DARK science!
Silly night guard, you've been stuck so long in the dark your morality is fading...
These twitchy ponies definitely need some day guard rehabilitation lest they intentionally start a war...
Keep going! ;)
7264440
I get the impression that the point being made (i.e. the lesson being taught) is that lunar ponies are just as capable of friendship and love for other ponies and creatures, and just as likely to leap to conclusions and begin to panic, as solar ponies. At their core they are all just ponies no matter what they look like on the outside, with all the same gifts and limitations.
The night guard know Exactly how to bury the hatchet.
Silently and without warning in the perpetraitors back.
If Celestia can pick up Samanthas tracking and scrying spells on her, Suprise is taking particularly long in not dropping by Samanthas spell with a quiet admonishment and a selection of baked scones, muffins, crumpet and for the guards, raspberry jam filled cupcakes.
7264324 Typos fixed! This will require some delicate work from Celestia, non? She's good at that though.
7264655
Somehow all parties involved will feel both vindicated and suitably chastised by the time she is through with them.
Yeah..................After this, Luna need to Up the discipline of her guard...They have no discipline at all...
That is it! This travesty must stop! Your obsession with type-o has gone far enough! You need to acknowledge the other types. Though not as rare as type-o, they too deserve to be recognized. Type-a and type-b should have their times in the light. Even type-ab should not be forgotten. So pony up and show respect for all types.
a interesting chapter.
I am wondering just wear Silver is going with this little meting between Night and Luna? wheat is the long game?
7266204 You caught me. I've been an insensitive jerk about it. All those Type-As...
Hey David I have a question, why isn't it a new story at this point because the inicial description of this story was silver surviving his collage years and that has seemingly long sense past... or is this a hint to what is coming again? Or have you decided the story has to many sequels. I don't know I just fell as if ascension into an alicorn would begin a new. But then again look at me again trying to hint the clearly better writer at what to do, so all in all keep up the good work... Actually finally do you ever use a tablet or a phone to write because i can't help but notice the capital OK's i run into that all the time when writing on a tablet but look at me I'm about to rant again, do once again love the book, keep doing what you feel is right to write
7266674 New stories seem to reset readers pretty hard. I decided to just stick with one. I should, perhaps, update the desc.
7266678 ah that makes more sense
"Besides, I doubt those darts would even have any effect after half an hour."
that."
7266204 How can you forget types C, D, K, P, Q, U, and T? These are ponies, after all.
7279523 Fix'd
.....what?
Proper Investigation? Proper procedure?
7263988
A typo sneaked into your comment near three years ago, my condolences for it not being caught in time.