Chapter 16
Lunaverse: Galaxy Rangers - The White Raven
Chapter 16
by Rixizu
Trixie drank her coffee with relish. It was a good morning. She didn’t wake up to a psychotic Ranger trying to attack her. So far, an hour had past and nothing had tried to kill her yet. That made this an exceptional morning in Trixie’s opinion. Zecora had provided many tasty options for breakfast. Trixie particularly enjoyed something called mealie bread. It was a type of cornbread native to the zebra’s country. She also provided other type of bread called rusk was also made available that Trixie found enjoyable. The rest was not unlike a typical pony breakfast like toast with jam, eggs, and cereal. Trixie ate heartily for she knew today to be a tough one.
As she ate, Trixie eyed Carrot Top with apprehension. Carrot hadn’t woken Trixie up as promised, and Twilight was the one to take watch instead. Even then, Carrot didn’t get as much sleep as she should have. Even during this peaceful breakfast, Carrot seemed agitated and on edge ready for a fight and was unable to even relax for a moment.
“So, you have a plan, Trixie?" Carrot asked when Trixie got finished eating.
Trixie nodded. “Yes, I have a plan to unveil the pony that is really behind the embezzlement of Ponyville’s relief funds.”
Carrot Top slammed her hooves on the table startling everypony and zebra at the table. “Who is it?!” She demanded.
"Uh, it's only a theory for right now," Trixie said with some hesitance, "I best not point any hooves without proof!" She believed it might be a good idea not to tell Carrot Top at the moment. In this state, who knows what she might do.
“Fine.” Carrot relented and sat down on her seat.
“Calm yourself Carrot Top.” Zecora soothed. “Our enemy is strong and caution is needed, not recklessness. What is required is some eloquence”
Carrot Top snorted and looked away.
“Carrot, I want you to… watch our backs!” Trixie exclaimed. That would be for the best and it would be an excellent use of her skills. Must to Trixie’s relief, Carrot Top nodded.
“How do you plan to get around Ponyville unnoticed?” Carrot Top asked.
“Leave that one to me!” Trixie smirked.
---
Trixie looked through the canopy of trees and saw several goons guarding the perimeter of the forest. It wasn’t much of a surprise. There were four of them. It would be easy enough to get past them. She motioned to Carrot who nodded and rushed forward out of the forest.
“What the…” One of the thugs tried to say before getting punched in the face.
“You little!” Another came at Carrot with a knife, but she dodged it with little difficulty and kicked him in the ribs. His knife clattered to the ground.
The other two goons moved in to surround Carrot but a bolt of magic struck one in the head from Twilight who was hiding in a bush. It knocked the goon out cold.
The last thug was a unicorn and looked around at his fallen comrades a nervous look on his face. It was obvious he didn't like his odds. He bolted away in terror. Carrot started after him.
"Let him go," Trixie said after emerging from the trees, "It won't be long until they know about this, anyway." Carrot nodded.
Trixie considered her disguise a work of genius despite the limited resources and time she had at her disposal. Zecora didn’t give her much to work with. Her skills in making disguises could only do so much. She was a now a muscular earth pony stallion with a green coat and lime mane. She had a thick square jaw and was a half a hoof taller than usual using platform horseshoes. Not bad for a rush job. Trixie didn’t think that not even her mentor would recognize her.
"Let's hurry!" Twilight said. Her disguise made her into a gray stallion with a dark gray mane. The mane was balding on the top and Twilight had dark circles under her eyes that made her look sleep deprived and haggard. According to Twilight, she was posing as her father’s personal accountant, Accrual Crusher.
The three went into town and nopony seemed to recognize them which Trixie was grateful for. Several ponies gave her a welcoming wave, but Trixie just ignored them. Carrot was watching for trouble behind them sneaking from hiding place to hiding place.
Trixie approached the town hall back door with some trepidation. This was a gamble to be sure. “Let me do all the talking.” Twilight nodded in response. Trixie knocked on the door. After a few moments, Mayor Ivory Scrolls answered the door.
“Hello, may I help…” The Mayor was interrupted by Trixie.
"We need to talk…now," Trixie said in a threatening voice. She changed her voice to a deep masculine one, and the Mayor didn’t seem to recognize it.
“C-come in.” The Mayor beckoned for the two to come in and the office they entered into was well furnished. “How may I be of service?”
Trixie got into the Mayor’s face and scowled. “The police are poking their noses around. The boss is worried that you might spill if they come around asking.”
“D-don’t worry!” The Mayor promised. “I would never say anything!”
“Really?” Trixie said skeptically. “The boss isn’t so convinced.”
“Viceroy Night Light has nothing to worry about!” The Mayor exclaimed. “I have just as much to lose as he does.”
Trixie sighed in relieved that her bluff worked. She knew the Mayor wasn't a brave pony. She didn't think it would take too much to scare her and get her talking out of nervousness to please her masters. If the Mayor was innocent, she could just pretend to be an overeager door to door salesponies. Trixie pretended to consider the Mayor’s words and looked around the room. The room was very well decorated with expensive looking furniture. She had a desk looked like it was made of mahogany. There were paintings on the wall from famous artists even Trixie recognized. It looked like the Mayor did everything in her power to make her life as comfortable as possible and was pretending to be a high class noble, not a mayor from a backwater town. Trixie gave the Mayor a nasty smile who gulped in response.
“And how do you plan to explain this?” Trixie gestured to her surroundings. “It just screams ‘I’m an embezzler.’ Mayor.”
“Don’t worry about it!” The Mayor promised. “I’ve put a lot of work into making this look legitimate.”
“Really?” Trixie sounded skeptical.
“I've created elaborate excuses for where all the money comes from." The Mayor explained. "Every little bit adds up."
"Funny you should say that," Trixie smirked, "I brought my associate, Accrual Crusher, here to make sure all your numbers add up. You’ve met before I believe?” Having Crusher here would increase their legitimacy as Viceroy’s lackeys.
The Mayor nodded. "Yes, of course! It's nice to see you again!" Twilight returned the greeting with a curt nod. According to Twilight, Crusher spoke little and was a stone-faced stoic. Which was good because Twilight's ability to disguise her voice and act was not great.
“The boss wants no loose ends.” Trixie gave a vicious smile.
“No problem! I have all my financial papers right here.” The Mayor pointed towards a painting behind her desk. “I even have a record of all the relief funds Ponyville has received over the last 5 years if you want to check that!”
"Get them," Trixie ordered.
The Mayor ran behind her deck and pull on the painting revealing a safe. She opened it and laid stacks of papers on her desk. “That should be all of it.”
Trixie pointed towards the desk and Twilight picked up the papers and started looking through them. An awkward silence permeated the room and Mayor fidgeted nervously as Twilight worked.
“Get me some bourbon. Now.” Trixie ordered, and the Mayor nodded leaving the room.
“Well?” Trixie whispered.
"The Mayor didn't do as good job as she said," Twilight whispered back, "if you compare the two it is pretty obvious when and where she stole money."
Trixie nodded. She didn’t really understand any of this financial stuff or how Twilight could identify all that with only a few glances, but she was grateful that Twilight was so skilled with numbers. It’s nice having an ultra-nerd as a friend. Twilight started scribbling something on a notebook.
The Mayor reentered with a bottle of bourbon and three glasses. Trixie did her best not to drool. Mayor filled three glasses with the brown elixir of life after placing the bottle on the desk. Trixie took hers and downed it. Dear Luna, she needed that. She was about to ask for a refill but thought better of it. She needed to focus. This was no time to get tipsy. She waved the Mayor away when she was about to refill her glass. The Mayor shrugged and downed hers in one gulp and poured herself another. Twilight ignored her drink and continued working.
"You better be careful," Trixie said, "Trixie Lulamoon might be on your trail."
The Mayor snorted and broke out into laughter almost spilling her cup. She took a long drink from it after she calmed down. "That idiot? She's a threat to nopony. She couldn't find Equestria on a map."
Trixie gritted her teeth. “What makes you say that?”
“She’s one of the most stupid ponies I have ever met!” The Mayor downed her glass and poured herself another one. “Can you believe she actually wants to become a member of the Night Court?”
The Mayor gave out a hearty laugh again. Trixie’s eye twitched. “Really?”
“They would eat her alive.” The Mayor said. “Can you believe she likes goes on about things like ‘friendship’? Only little foals believe in such nonsense.”
“It’s a wonder that our dear princess ever made that moron her student.” The Mayor laughed. “Well, the princess has been known to overindulge in drink. She probably wasn’t in her right mind when she chose Lulamoon as her pupil.”
Trixie started grinding her teeth and her eye twitched uncontrollably. The Mayor didn’t seem to notice this and continued.
“It’s a shame, really.” The Mayor said. “I wanted to use her a bit longer. Her hero status provided excellent publicity and brought in quite a few tourists.”
The Mayor shrugged. “Oh well. I always planned on making her take the fall. Your boss just sped up the process.”
Trixie’s eyes widened. “Y-you did?”
"Duke Blueblood, that crafty old devil, was on to me I think." The Mayor was talking about the old representative of Ponyville. He retired not too long before Trixie came to Ponyville. "He retired before I could drop the ax on him so to speak. But Trixie? She’s far too brainless to ever see it coming. Now I can retire rich at a beach house and nopony will be the wiser.”
“Shows how much you know!” Trixie pulled her mask off revealing her real face.
The Mayor’s jaw dropped. “W-what?!”
“Ha!” Trixie smirked. “I am not as dumb as you seem to think Mayor Ivory Scrolls!”
The Mayor took a step back. “No!”
“I was always on to you!” Trixie half lied. “I always thought this place was too fancy for a pony of your station.”
The Mayor smirked. “And how do you plan on proving it? You’re a convicted criminal. I’m a model Equestrian citizen!”
Trixie pulled out a tape recorder, pressed rewind, and then play. It played a part of their earlier conversation. The Mayor went white.
Trixie smiled smugly. “You should turn yourself in. The princess might show you a bit of mer…” She was caught off when the Mayor suddenly threw her drink into Trixie’s face and grabbed the tape recorder and smashed it into the ground to pieces.
“Ha! You foal! Now you can’t prove anything!” The Mayor laughed with glee.
Trixie wiped her face with a hoof and pulled out another tape recorder. “It’s a good thing I brought extra.” Twilight pulled one out as well. The Mayor’s eyes bulged and jaw dropped.
“Oh, and my friend here.” Trixie gestured to Twilight. “Has figured out every single time you have embezzled from your personal finances.”
“But it has only been five minutes!” The Mayor said stunned.
Twilight blinked. “Why should that matter? It isn’t that difficult.” She gestured to the multitude of papers on the desk. “It’s just a matter of matching and comparing numbers.”
Trixie rolled her eyes. Not everypony is a super nerd Twilight. “So, as you can see, you’re finished. Give up.”
“L-look!” The Mayor pleaded. “I am sure we can work something out. We can all leave here happy. How about if I give you…”
Trixie slammed her hoof on the desk making the Mayor jump. “I don’t want your damn money.”
“Think about it!” The Mayor said. “You could just disappear rich!”
The Mayor visibly melted at Trixie glare. “I am not going to abandon my friends to whatever the Night Court is planning! It’s a little something called integrity!”
The Mayor gave a hopeful look towards Twilight who also just glared back. “I-I see.” She backed away.
"Give up," Twilight said, "you have nowhere left to run."
The Mayor inched towards the window. Trixie sighed. Didn’t this mare know when she was beaten? “Don’t bother. My…”
The Mayor pressed something on the wall and suddenly she fell into the ground. "Later suckers!" She said down the chute. The door closed a few seconds later.
"Okay, I did not see that one coming," Trixie said slack-jawed.
“I’m on it!” Twilight tore the floor open with her magic and peered down the chute. She was about to jump down when the ground shook.
“What the hay is that?” Trixie asked trying to keep her balance by holding onto the desk.
The shaking intensified and Trixie lost her footing and her face slammed into the edge of the desk. She rubbed her sore face with a hoof. Her ear's perked when she heard something mechanical cheek open outside. Trixie and Twilight rushed outside to see the ground next to the mayor’s office spread apart.
“What the hay is going on?” Carrot Top asked approaching them.
“I don’t know…” Trixie was about to say when a long white shape emerged from opening at high speeds. Trixie coughed as dirt was blown into her face. Trixie’s watering eyes looked up into the air. She could not believe what she was seeing. The Mayor was escaping in a rocket.
---
Sleuth walked through Ponyville while looking through his notes. He questioned over a dozen ponies and not one saw Pierce the morning of the day he was murdered. It seemed very unlikely that the record that Pierce bought a train ticket that morning was true.
Sleuth decided that he would pay the Mayor a visit before getting an early lunch. He had only spoken to her once and thought it might be a good idea to see her again. From the Mayor's office, he could tell that she had been doing well for herself, but maybe a little too well. It seemed a possibility that somepony was embezzling Ponyville's relief funds, and it was quite possible the blame was shifted on Trixie. It won't be hard for Viceroy Night Light to pull that off. True, a lot of bits were found in Trixie’s personal safe, but there was nothing too extravagant in her office or home. There was no evidence that she even spent a bit of the money she supposedly embezzled. He had some hard questions for the Mayor.
Sleuth almost lost his footing when the ground shook. He saw Lulamoon and some unicorn stallion run out of the Town Hall. They were soon joined by the same pony that rescued him earlier from Night Light’s thugs. Something came out of the ground next to Town Hall and sped into the air. Sleuth gapped. It was a rocket. What in Luna’s moon was going on?
The stallion didn’t waste time. He extended his horn into the air and grabbed the rocket with his magic. He grunted in exertion and sweat glistened on his brow. Oddly the gray of his coat dripped off revealing lavender. Of course, it was Twilight Sparkle in disguise. She gritted her teeth harder. She couldn’t keep this up.
“It’s morphing time! Scorpio!”
In a flash, the Yellow Ranger appeared. Sleuth resisted the urge to facehoof. His rescuer was Ms. Top. Why didn’t he think of that?
“Hold it steady!” Carrot Top ordered. Sparkle said nothing too focused on holding the rocket. Top summoned her shield and stared at the rocket. It looked like she was about ready to throw it. She unleashed the shield into the air and threw it at the rocket’s thrusters. The attack hit home, and smashed the thrusters to pieces. Without propulsion, the rocket plummeted, but Sparkle’s magic stopped it from falling a great distance from to the ground. She levitated it in the middle of the road in front of her. It crashed to the ground with a large thud.
Lulamoon put a hoof on Sparkle’s back. “Are you okay?”
“Just fine.” Sparkle panted. She removed the wig on her head and threw it on the ground.
“That was close.” Lulamoon sighed in relief. “It’s a good thing I have an overpowered unicorn on my side.” Sparkle laughed at this.
There was a crash and the door to the rocket flew open. The Mayor peeked sheepishly out of it. In the rocket, Sleuth could see valuables. There were valuable looking paintings, gold statues, gems, and bags of bits. They were scattered throughout the inside of the rocket. Many of the paintings were smashed and broken from the impact. A large crowd of ponies was gathering around this rather bizarre scene.
The Mayor brightened when she saw Sleuth coming her way. “Officer! Thank Luna you are here! Arrest them!” She pointed towards Lulamoon and Sparkle.
“No! Arrest her!” Trixie argued back. “She’s the one that has been embezzling Ponyville’s relief funds!”
“D-don’t listen to her!” The Mayor screamed. “It’s all lies to shift the blame on me!”
Lulamoon pulled a tape recorder out and pressed play. It played a recording where the Mayor admitted to framing Trixie and admitted her crimes.
“Lies! Everything is lies!” The Mayor said looking back and forth at the crowd. “She made it all up! It all fake! Don’t listen to her!” She continued. “She’s a convicted murderer! Look into those eyes of hers! Those are the eyes of a deranged killer! Pokey isn’t going to be her only victim! She’ll kill again!”
Lulamoon for her part facehoofed and rubbed her eyes. “Really?”
“Um, actually Mayor.” One the crowd yelled. “Trixie’s only under suspicion of murder. I don’t think she has even been formally charged yet.”
“Quite true.” Sleuth said.
The Mayor came up to Sleuth. “Nevertheless, she trying to frame me! Don’t believe her lies!”
“If you haven’t been embezzling, how do you explain everything in your rocket Mayor?” Twilight asked. “You couldn’t afford a…” She gasped and pointed at an intact painting. “An original Hay Gogh ‘The Potato Eaters’?!”
"Or that you have an escape rocket to begin with!" Trixie pointed out. “That can’t be cheap.”
“I…I’ve been saving up!” The Mayor suggested. The crowd didn’t seem to buy this for a second and frowned at their mayor.
“You have to believe me!” The Mayor looked from pony to pony. “You’ve known be for years! I’ve been mayor for 8 years! Trixie? She’s only been here for a few months! Can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt?” She gave the audience puppy dog eyes. The crowd responded by booing and throwing rotten fruit at their mayor.
Sleuth knew it was about time to intervene. He was thankful when several police officers started coming this way. “I think it about time you come with me.”
The Mayor held her head down defeated. “Very well.” The officers surround her and took her away. Top untransformed and came up towards Lulamoon. She perked her head around eyes out for any danger.
“Nice work. Your… unconventional approach did the trick.” Sleuth was still unsure how a rocket got involved in all of this. He sighed. Lulamoon doesn’t do things in half measures, does she? Always something crazy happens when she’s involved.
Sparkle levitated a piece of paper over to him. “Here is a list of all the times the Mayor has embezzled over the last few years. You can find the Mayor’s personal financial records inside her office.”
“Thanks.” Sleuth stuck the paper in his pocket. This might make the work of the boys over at the office a bit easier. The crowd was being dispersed by the police officers. Many yelled about Lulamoon’s innocent. One pony gave a loud “Yeah!” at that. It took some convincing, but they soon left and went back to their lives.
“Ha! Now there’s no motive for me being Pokey’s killer.” Trixie said in triumph. “There is no way you can charge me with that now!”
"Actually Trixie," Twilight said, "even if covering up embezzling wasn't the motive, there still might be another reason you might have killed Pokey for. You’re still not completely off the hook.”
Trixie glared at Twilight. “What?” Twilight asked confused. “It’s true!”
Not to mention all the other smaller crimes you committed over the last few days. Sleuth thought. “Now that is settled. You can leave the rest of investigation to…”
Sleuth’s eyes widened when Twilight suddenly grabbed Top and Lulamoon and teleported away. He facehoofed. Why does everypony think they’re a detective? He sighed. At least he knew where they were going. But first, he would have a talk with the princess. She would want to know about this. He ordered this ponies get the parameter secure and get all this evidence to the station of analysis. He was already dreading all the paperwork this would create.
---
Sleuth couldn't believe he was riding the princess's personal chariot. It was a foalhood dream come true. He did his best to repress foalish desires of jumping up and down in glee and act professional. They were on their way to a house Greengrass was renting in Ponyville. By all accounts, Viceroy Nightlight was still in Ponyville. The princess had a firm frown on her face. She wasn’t showing it, but Sleuth could tell she was livid. She confronted Accrual Crusher, the personal accountant of the Viceroy, herself and one glare made him confess everything. Years of guilt bubbled to the surface, and he admitted his and his boss’s crimes. He cried tears of relief that everything was finally over. Sleuth wished the princess was part of the police force. That glare could make even the most hardened criminal crack.
It turns out that the Viceroy not only knew about but tolerated Mayor Ivory Scrolls embezzling. He did it as a way to have leverage over her and she wasn’t the only mayor he did this to. It provided an excellent way to control them and get them to do what he wanted, or else have their crimes revealed. It sickened Sleuth that this kind of corruption at such a high level was occurring. The public will be furious. He wondered if it would be possible for the Night Court’s approval rating to reach the negative numbers.
They reached the house, and the chariot dropped before the front door. The princess, Sleuth, and several guards left the chariot. Duke Greengrass and Night Light exited the house.
Greengrass gave a gracious bow. "May I help you, princess?"
“We are not here for you Duke. We are here for Night Light.” Princess Luna answered.
Night Light scrunched his face at the princess not using his title but did a bow. "How may I be of your service?"
“You are under arrest.” The princess stood tall and looked down on Night Light.
“W-what? You can’t…” Night Light said stunned.
“I have discovered several of your crimes. Many including blackmail and fraud." The princess answered. "You have not only turned a blind eye to embezzlement but encouraged it as a way of controlling others.”
"You can't possibly prove that!" Night Light shot back.
“Furthermore.” Princess Luna glared at Night Light. “I strip you of your title as Viceroy.”
Night Light fell to his knees in shock. “What?” Greengrass’s eyes widened, and he stared slack-jawed.
“You should feel honored.” Princess Luna said in a huff. “It has been hundreds of years since I have taken a title away from somepony of your station.”
“You can’t do this to me!” Night Light screamed. Spittle flew from his mouth.
Princess Luna gave an indignant snort. “It gives me no pleasure to do so, but I cannot ignore your many crimes. You brought this upon yourself.”
“It’s morphing time!” Night Light’s body flashed white. “Jupiter!”
Night Light summoned his sword and swung it right at Princess Luna’s head. Her eyes widened to saucers, and she summoned a shimming shield to protect herself, but it did nothing to Night Light’s sword. It pierced the shield with ease and the princess almost had her head cut in two. She avoided the attack with a nasty looking gash on the top of her right eye.
“It’s morphing time! Earth!” Greengrass rushed in and blocked another attack at Princess Luna with his spear. “What the hay are you doing?!”
“You don’t deserve to be our princess!” Night Light snarled. In a flash, he disappeared.
Greengrass lowered his weapon and untransformed. “Are you alright princess?”
"I'm fine honorable Duke Greengrass." The Princess answered. Blood dripped from wound into her eye.
“We need to warn Lulamoon!” Sleuth urged. She was in terrible danger. Night Light was completely unhinged now. He would go after her. That much was certain.
“Indeed.” Princess Luna nodded. “In that state, who knows what he might do? We must find her before Night Light does.”
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An "Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers" crossover? You definitely have my attention.
*sees the copyright notice* OH FAUST DAMNIT!
7890416
Nope, just Power Rangers. I have heard of that show. Is it any good?
...No Phoenix Wright Trial? Awwww....
7890425
No clue. It was just the only Galaxy Rangers that I could remember off the top of my head.
7891044 Well PR did have a Galaxy Ranger team, the Lost Galaxy Rangers.
Oh Night Light is screwed. If his known crimes aren't bad enough we can now add Assault, Attempted Murder & Attempted Regicide to the list. I don't know about you but I can see execution as the only proper punishment for this idiot.
7892840
Yes, that is apparently what these two stories are based on. That said, I haven't followed the Rangers in decades, and I never got around to reading the Lunaverse yet. Which reminds me, I never finished "The Elements of Discord", due to the rewrite. It has been completed for years now, so I should start that one over from the beginning.
7892893 Definitely check out the Lunaverse it's neat. And catch up on PR, there's a lot to cover.
7892893
I would definitely check out the Lunaverse. It is a great universe. My personal favorite is The Jackelope Valley Festival by Froborr. Though. I have made this story accessible so that you can understand what is going on even if you aren't familiar with the Lunaverse.
Methinks that Greengrass and Fisher will try to "take care" of Night Light themselves. If he gets brought in alive, most certainly he's going to drag them down with him
Trixie sighed in relieved that her bluff worked
when she heard something mechanical cheek open outside
when a long white shape emerged from opening at high speeds
Many yelled about Lulamoon’s innocent
and she summoned a shimming shield to protect herself
1. Relief.
2. Creek.
3. Emerged from the opening at high speeds.
4. Innocnece.
5. Shimmering.