Chapter 2: An Interrupted Court
Luna was having a bad day.
The shock of her sister’s departure, coupled with the sudden burden of responsibility had all but pushed her original complaints from her thoughts. Raising the sun was a challenge all its own for the sun was restive and angry compared to her placid moon. Even as she lifted it to bring the morning it lay bloated and heavy in her magic, feeling like nothing so much as a giant ball of gas caught in the gut.
Having recently returned from the moon Luna barely even knew the current form of Equestria’s government, let alone the major players of the court. However, she was determined to be an adequate replacement for her sister. She spent the morning cramming every bit of knowledge that might prove useful into her poor abused brain. As noon rolled around Sunlit Rooms, a white pegasus with a ray of sunlight for a cutie mark that Luna appeared to have inherited as her primary assistant, herded her gently but inevitably toward the throne room.
Court commenced at 3:00pm and the lunar princess was soon subject to such idiocy, cupidity, and sheer lunacy that she was seriously considering returning to the moon and closing the way behind her. Thus, Luna was somewhat relieved when, at 3:03pm, the doors to the great hall slammed open and Twilight Sparkle strode through.
“In the name of Princess Celestia I vow to topple thee, Nightmare!” Twilight’s declaration rang through the shocked silence of the hall. She gathered up a mighty pulse of purple energy and unleashed it at Luna before turning and galloping away. As she fled Luna could make out Spike crouched low upon her back.
“Your student has disrupted the court,” gasped one of the Nobles.
My student? thought Luna. Ah yes, I suppose I’m filling in for Tia there as well. It matters not. Anything to get out of here.
“Indeed. Court is dismissed for the moment while I deal with my wayward pupil,” she said aloud. Spreading her wings wide, Luna took flight and sped after the departing Archmage.
As she crossed the threshold of the door her wings suddenly lacked any lift and she flipped head over heels and crashed to the floor. How… I see. A square of vacuum hovered in the doorway to stop my flight. Clever. Luna caught site of Twilight just turning the corner at high speed, skewing the long red carpet to one side as she ran.
Intent on her prey Luna gathered her magic and flashed off a line-of-sight teleport to the end of the hall. The instant she appeared a purple light flashed directly in her eyes sending her off balance. A bolt of force followed and she stumbled backward, tripping over the scuffed rug. Luna reached to catch herself on the wall and was shocked to find herself falling through it and down. Furiously she blinked to clear her eyes and stretched her wings out wide to slow her fall.
Luna almost had succeeded in turning her fall into a controlled descent when a weight suddenly smashed into her back.
“Now!” Twilight Sparkle screamed directly into her ear. Luna flinched. She heard the tail end of Spike inhaling and then with the exhale there was a great burst of heat. The world grew still and sharp, like a note ringing on and on just above her range of hearing.
Her personal wards flickered into visibility around her, manifesting as clear panes of glass tinted pastel colors. Luna bucked against the weight on her back as Spike’s dragonfire strained her spells. With a crash the wards shattered, sharp shards of spells splintered through the air before dissolving into sparkling motes.
Immediately, Luna flared her magic, electrifying the air around her. Unfortunately for the princess, even as the wards broke Twilight had leapt from her back and stood at the opening of a long dark corridor. She cocked her head in apparent confusion.
“Alright, time for plan B,” she muttered under her breath. Magic gathered at the end of the purple pony’s horn and was released in another beam of purple magic. Luna barely managed to get up a shield of midnight blue in time. As an alicorn she would probably have been able to take the hit, but Twilight Sparkle had proved to be a clever opponent and the risk wasn’t worth it.
True to form, Twilight had a trick planned. As Luna’s shield blocked the attack from the front, a sliver of magic struck from behind and swept her legs out from under her. Luna crashed to the floor for the third time in as many minutes.
With a savage grin Twilight called back, “catch me if you can, Nightmare!” then turned and ran down the corridor.
Irked, Luna very nearly charged after Twilight without thinking. The memory of her recent failure with that strategy shamed her into a greater degree of caution. She reached for her magic and pieced together a quick set of shield spells. The haste with which they were assembled meant they were weaker than the wards they were replacing, but they were still better than nothing. She also cast a suite of sensory enhancement spells designed to give her warning for any physical traps and a magic detection spell to help her counter Twilight’s magical attacks.
When she had finished preparing scarcely a minute had passed and the clip clop of Twilight’s hooves could still be heard from down the corridor. Luna set off with a grim smile of her own, trusting her longer legs would quickly bring her to her prey.
What followed was one of the most challenging games of hide and seek Luna could ever remember playing. She didn’t have to hold back so it was cathartic to a certain extent, allowing her release from the tensions of court. On the other hoof, when she got her hooves on Twilight Sparkle there was going to be a new Archmage-shaped crater on the peak of the Canterhorn.
Catching the blasted unicorn proved easier said than done. Every time Luna thought she was gaining ground she’d reach a dead end or a room sealed with immortal magic set by her sister and impassable without blowing the entire section of the castle to pieces.
Which was not an option. Yet.
When she stopped running to concentrate on using free magic to locate or control Twilight, the unicorn would appear, often through an apparently solid wall, ceiling, or on one occasion in a free standing mirror in the center of the corridor, and blast her with enough magic to disrupt her concentration and force her to resume the chase. Defensive spells were broken with dragonfire and even with her sensory improvements and magical detection spells she fell prey to entirely too many tripwires, deadfalls, and perfectly placed buckets of water.
It had been centuries since Luna had had that much fun. This was the kind of combat she relished. One on one, no politics to worry about, no need to hold back, just sheer magical and physical ability and a worthy foe to test oneself against. It was surprising that that foe was a mortal, but Luna supposed it was to be expected of her sister’s prized pupil. After this was over she resolved to become better friends with Twilight Sparkle and learn just how she had managed half of the tricks she had pulled off. Of course, step one in that plan was capturing the thrice-blasted slippery unicorn and teaching her not to meddle in the affairs of immortals.
Luna growled as Twilight slipped through an attempt to box her in, apparently by walking straight through a wall. A unicorn shouldn’t be able to do that! Luna griped. And even if she could she must be getting tired. Even I’m a bit winded after all this and I have the stamina of an earth pony. The lunar princess walked slowly toward the intersection where her trap had been set, using the time to catch her breath.
Gazing down one of the corridors she could just glimpse Twilight, horn glowing as she prepared some further devilry. Sensing an opportunity, Luna used free magic to bend the light away and render herself invisible. She crept down the passageway as silently as she could, preparing a spell designed to immediately counter any spell a unicorn cast. It required the caster to be significantly more powerful than the target to succeed and the difficulty meant the range of the spell was very short but if Luna could just get close enough victory would be hers.
Twenty feet until she was in range.
Ten feet.
Five
One.
With a great shout Luna flung aside her invisibility and lunged at Twilight, casting her spell as she did. The light around the unicorn’s horn winked out and then the unicorn herself disappeared. Luna had time only to curse as a blast of force struck her from behind and catapulted her into the stone wall of the corridor.
Or through it.
The cold tingle of an illusion washed against her fur followed by a blast of water from above that sent her wet body crashing upside down onto a pile of gold coins. As Luna lay on the pile, attempting to make sense of the inverted world, Twilight and Spike followed her through the illusionary stone wall and the waterfall that had resulted in her current circumstances.
Confusion and dawning horror filled the unicorn’s face. “L-Luna? But that’s not… How… What?” she stammered. “I thought you were the Nightmare.”
For her part Luna rolled all the way onto her back and stretched all four legs up into the air, laughing heartily. “The Nightmare? Is that what this is about? I’m not the Nightmare, as I would have explained to you had I been given the smallest opportunity. But I’m curious, what was the point of attacking an alicorn alone? You kept me at bay admirably but you couldn’t hope to win.”
“She wasn’t alone. She had me,” Spike declared, clambering down from his perch on Twilight’s back.
Luna chuckled again and rolled onto her stomach. “Quite right, and you fought well, young drake. However, my question stands. Twilight Sparkle, what did you hope to accomplish?”
“I had planned to reveal you as the Nightmare,” Twilight said. The wariness in her eyes as she regarded Luna had not yet faded. “Dragonfire to cut through your illusion or, failing that, the Thief’s Downfall.”
“Thief’s Downfall?” Luna pondered for a moment and then her eyes lit with understanding. “Ah yes, that waterfall I passed through. My sister’s security system for the treasury. An immortal spell that cancels all illusion and compulsion so that none may steal the kingdom’s gold.” She glanced at the piles of coins scattered around them. “Yes that would have worked, though I must remember to look into sealing up secret passages leading to the treasury, they rather defeat the purpose of guards. So, once you reveled me, then what?”
“The Elements of Harmony are in a vault on the passage to the right,” said Twilight pointed back the way they had entered. “After the Discord incident I made Princess Celestia give me the key to the wards. I planned to grab them, head back to Ponyville, assemble the others, and BOOM friendship rainbow and everything goes back to normal.”
“You planned to simply walk away from an alicorn enraged at having her plot revealed? That would have been rather difficult, I think,” Luna pointed out.
Twilight shook her head. “As you probably know, this castle is the demesne of Princess Celestia. Every turn bends to her will, every staircase and corridor goes where she desires it to. As her faithful student, and as an inquisitive and powerfully magical unicorn who was raised here, I am more in tune with the castle than any other pony except the Princess herself. With that advantage and perhaps a small illusion or two I could have been long gone before you even understood that you were chasing a shadow.”
She was right, Luna realized. An immortal’s demesne was when the immortal saturated an area with their magic, essentially making the entire area an extension of their self. Without any need for additional magic, doors would open at their will, corridors would lead directly to their destination and even walls might shift around to accommodate them. Naturally, it conveyed a powerful home field advantage. Celestia had almost certainly willed the castle to assist Twilight and, unlike spells which required a specific command, a demesne was almost alive and perfectly capable of broadly interpreting orders to protect a pony. Knowing about Twilight’s affinity for Celestia’s demesne went a long way toward explaining how she had done so well in their contest.
Luna felt a brief pang of sorrow, remembering the Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree. It had been a demesne shared between the princesses and a proper home for both of them. Canterlot Castle belonged solely to Celestia and it did not welcome her in the way their old stronghold had. Still, even with the castle working against her it would take a powerful unicorn indeed to successfully leverage that into an advantage. Mentally she upgraded her estimation of Twilight. Not on par with an alicorn of course, but formidable nonetheless.
First among mortals, one might say.
The memory of another unicorn who had worn that phrase and very nearly beaten her oh so recently curled around her mind and the good mood she’d had from exercise and challenge soured.
“You underestimate the power of an alicorn,” said Luna, brusquely. The princess rose to her feet, gold coins rolling off her back like water. “It doesn’t matters. Return to Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle. I will overlook your attack because of the debt I owe you for freeing me from the Nightmare, but this little game is over.”
“It is not over!” Twilight stamped her hoof and coins clinked as they spun away. “What have you done to Princess Celestia? Why did you make everypony forget her?”
Luna spun about and glared down at the smaller mare. “You labor under a small misapprehension, Twilight Sparkle. I did not cast that spell.”
“Impossible,” Twilight protested. “That spell came from an immortal. The only other pony who could have cast it is…” she trailed off, not wanting to follow the logic to the end.
“Indeed,” Luna laughed bitterly. “On the heels of an argument my dear sister decided that it was time I stand on my own four legs. She has decamped to parts unknown, leaving me an entire unfamiliar kingdom to manage and depriving her subjects of even the hint of a memory of her.” The princess frowned. “Except for you and Spike. How is it that you still remember my sister after her memory spell?”
“I have wards for everything, including memory spells,” Twilight said shortly. “More importantly, do you have any idea how to bring Princess Celestia back?”
“And why would I want to do that?” Luna asked vindictively, enjoying the chance pass her own distress along to another. “Here I am, finally the sole ruler of Equestria. I led a rebellion to achieve this goal and now I find it handed to me on a silver platter. Who am I to turn it down?”
“I will find Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, not with hope or desire but with certainty. “With or without your help the Princess of Day shall return.”
“I know she’s your teacher, but such devotion,” Luna marveled cruelly. “Do you love—“
Twilight interrupted, “It’s more than love. There is nothing I would not do for her.”
Luna spoke slyly, “Even—“
“Nothing,” said flatly. “If she ordered me to walk off the astronomy tower I would happily do it.
“Confident that she would catch you before you hit the ground?” Luna asked.
Twilight corrected her. “Confident that if I hit the ground it would serve her purpose.”
The two ponies stared at one another, eye to eye, taking each other’s measure. In the background Spike watched out of the corner of his eye while he gathered a few of the tastiest gemstones.
At last Luna nodded slowly. “I’ve changed my mind, Twilight Sparkle. I will use your devotion to my sister. You will stay in Canterlot as my principal advisor and aid me in holding court. This will allow you to search for my sister, keep an eye on me, and make sure Celestia’s plans are kept as undisturbed as possible. Is this agreeable to you?”
For a moment Twilight thought and then she nodded. “Fine,” she said, her affect flat and all the more frightening for it. “But if I find out that you are in fact responsible for Princess Celestia’s circumstances then one of us is going to die.” The Archmage turned on her heels and the locked doors sprung open as she strode out of the treasury.
Luna turned to look at Spike. “I don’t remember her being quite so intense.”
He shrugged. “She’s acting odd today but Princess Celestia has always been important to her. Kind a mother, teacher, first crush, and goddess all rolled into one. I’m not surprised she got a little odd when the princess went missing. The other princess that is. There is one thing you should understand though.”
The princess cocked an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
Spike took a deep breath. “The way she feels about Celestia? That’s the way I feel about her. Her magic brought me into this world, and even now its fire fuels the beat of my heart and grants me the capacity to feel as ponies do. My first memory is the feel of her magic on my scales as she stroked away my fears. If she comes after you I will be right there beside her. And then we’ll see if in this castle an Archmage, and a dragon can surpass an alicorn.”
As Spike left the room Luna’s eyes lingered on his sharp claws and she noted the smooth grace of a predator in his walk. He was young, yes, but he was still a dragon and no dragon should be taken lightly. Though the lunar princess had gained two sun-blessed allies, she couldn’t help but worry that they might prove more dangerous to her than to their mutual obstacles.
***
The guards of Canterlot Castle had long ago grown used to odd behavior from Twilight Sparkle. She had been a hoofful when she had arrived as a foal, and the less said about the activities of the teenaged Archmage the better, particularly after the Oat Bale Incident.
Thus, when Twilight stormed out of one of the most secure rooms in the castle past guards that had not seen her enter, they managed to keep a stone face in true Royal Guard fashion. Their resolve was further tested when Spike followed after and asked for dinner to be sent to the chambers he shared with Twilight and for somepony to wake them before the start of court the next day. Finally, their composure broke when a disheveled Princess Luna followed after Spike and passed along the same request. The loss of composure took the form of each guard raising a single eyebrow. Slightly.
The palace guards were very well trained.
Twilight, however, was in no mood to acknowledge the legendary equanimity of the palace guards. Her headache had returned in full force and was feeding into the anger she let guide her footsteps, trusting the castle to bring her to her rooms. Hooves pounded stone and carpet as though they had personally offended; maids yelped and dove out of the way as Twilight passed. She scarcely noticed the fear she inspired in those she encountered and when she did she was grimly pleased.
On and on her legs carried her until at last a thought penetrated the pounding fog of anger in her mind. This is taking far too long. Even from the treasury, my room is closer than this. As the thought crossed her mind she came to a dead end, a rare occurrence in Canterlot Castle, especially for her. Looking closer, she found a plain wooden door set into the left wall of the corridor.
Opening the door she nearly jumped back in fright. On all sides, images of a mad pony loomed over her. Smoke curled from the pony’s disarrayed mane and her teeth were gritted with a hint of sharpness no herbivore should have possessed. Her purple coat stood on end and faint crackles of electricity could be seem jumping from the unkempt clumps of fur.
So frightening and strange was the image that it took Twilight several moments to realize she was seeing her own reflection. With that dawning realization, alarm at her appearance overcame her fear and she ventured forth into what she now realized was a hall of mirrors.
It was a long hall, with large square mirrors in gilt frames hung like portraits on the walls. In between rested smaller round hoofheld mirrors. The ceiling and floor were each one great pane of glass, giving the viewer the impression that they hung in space, supported only by their own inverted image below and supporting infinite versions of themselves above. Twilight wandered forward in a daze, her eyes darting from mirror to mirror, hoping to find one that held a less alien visage.
That’s not me, she thought. I’m not an angry pony. Anxious and paranoid with some obsessive compulsive tendencies, sure, but not angry. The mirrors stood in silent disagreement with her claims. I’ve been angry twice today? Three times? That is odd.
Mirror Twilight’s clenched expression slowly began to relax into confusion. I shouted at all my friends before storming out. By Celestia, I even shouted at Luna. I threatened her. Her eyes widened. I attacked her in front of the entire court. What in Tartarus was I thinking?
She gazed around again at her reflections. They looked more sorrowful now but there was still a hint of anger lurking in the messy mane and coat. I understand now. The castle brought me here to see what the anger does to me. Twilight brought up a hoof and rested it on the nearest mirror. “Thank you for showing me this, castle” she said aloud. “I need better self-control. I don’t want to live up to what your reflections show. It’ll help, I think, being aware of the problem. Now I just have to be a better pony.”
Nodding firmly to herself at her new resolution Twilight walked confidently to the door on the far side and walked out. As she walked away she heard a great tinkling crash as thousands of mirrors collided and shattered. Twilight smiled, confident that that meant she had learned the lesson the castle intended and so the room was no longer needed.
Back in her chambers Twilight found Spike and dinner waiting. She opted to consult the former and consume the latter.
Spike, for his part, greeted her with concern. “Where were you, Twilight? You left before me but the trip took you half an hour longer.”
“The castle took me on a little detour.” Twilight sat down at the table and breathed in the smell of freshly baked bread with deep satisfaction. “Tell me honestly, Spike, have I been angry a lot today?” She scooped up a piece of bread and covered it in a layer of creamy butter.
“Well, yeah,” he said, joining her at the table. “I mean, it’s not too surprising considering everything that’s happened. But I’ve been worried about it. It isn’t like you.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s what the castle wanted to show me. That I’ve been letting my anger turn me into something I’m not. Or at least, somepony that I don’t want to be.”
“Are you sure that’s all it is, Twilight? You’ve faced plenty of monsters before but I’ve never seen you get so angry so quickly.” Spike filled his own plate spinach and emeralds. “It’s just, dismissing the problem as you needing to control your temper better sounds like a cliché answer to a problem you’ve never really had before. ”
“I think that’s it.” Twilight answered with less confidence than she’d had before. “Do you have a different idea of why I’ve been getting uncharacteristically angry?”
The little dragon shook his head. “Not exactly. I just have a feeling that something else is at work.”
Waving a piece of bread for emphasis Twilight took on a light scolding tone. “You know the rules, mister. You need evidence before anypony will believe your hypothesis. Otherwise you end up looking like those crazy ponies who believe Equestria is a sphere or that we orbit the sun.”
“Alright,” Spike laughed. “But I’m keeping a close eye on you and if there is any evidence to be found them I will find it and present it to the committee.”
“Properly formatted, I should hope?” Twilight prodded.
“My Little Annotation format, all the way through.”
Slinging a foreleg around Spike Twilight declared proudly, “we’ll make a scholar out of you yet.”
Spike smiled back. “I hope so, Twi, I hope so.”
***
For Twilight, running morning court was a kind of stress relief. Each petitioner was a puzzle and it was her job to find the best solution and show her work so others could follow along. True, on the other occasions when she’d led court Princess Celestia had been on hoof, ready to intervene if a mistake was made. For this reason, she initially worried that she might overstep her bounds in passing rulings from the throne, as it were. Though she was actually sitting one step down from the royal dais in a seat that was one size shy of the royal throne. However, every time she glanced backwards and up at Luna seated on the solar, or lunar now she supposed, throne she was greeted with a look of profound relief. Luna hadn’t had to hold court in over 1000 years and she clearly had never been fond of it in the first place.
Meeting Luna for morning court had been its own form of stress. They had not parted on the best note and Twilight, mindful of her resolve to be a less angry pony, was worried that their argument might continue. Luna, on the other hoof, seemed to consider the matter settled and was clearly grateful for the Archmage’s presence and expertise. Twilight, for her part, was more than willing to go along with Luna and conduct court while leaving the argument behind.
That was not to say that court was entirely a stress free environment. There were plenty of aggravations to be had and most of them held titles.
In principle, the court was open for anypony to come and have their disputes or problems resolved by the Princess. In practice, the nobility tended to monopolize the court’s time, partially because ordinary ponies were intimidated by the court and partially because the nobilities’ concerns really were bigger. While Twilight preferred seeing the joy in a pony’s face when she smoothed the path to their dreams, she realized that setting proper standards on tax rates and land usage, to name one example, could benefit far more ponies in the long run.
Currently, Blueblood was declaiming on the merits of his latest project. “That is why declaring a special financial enhancement region in section 3 of Canterlot with a corresponding rural component of 900 square miles centered on the nature preserve colloquially referred to as “White tail woods” would raise the standard of living in Canterlot by 15%.”
There were murmurs of approval from the gallery, composed mainly of nobles who stood to profit from Blueblood’s proposal. If Twilight were a cynical pony, and she was, she would suspect that they had been briefed on exactly how to respond to each statement from Blueblood.
A purple glow surrounded Blueblood’s proposal as it rose from his grasp and floated over to Twilight. “The White-Tail woods are the traditional home of the deer,” Twilight said, probing for weakness while she reread the document. “While we nominally have sovereignty in that region, tradition and treaties between our two species make the action you propose unwise.”
“As you well know, Archmage, the deer have recently suffered from a plague that reduced their population size. Offering to buy their land is a kindness,” Blueblood answered. “They no longer need the land but our bits could be very valuable indeed to their relief efforts.”
“One might argue that the equine thing to do would be to simply send aid to our oldest and dearest neighbors,” Twilight countered.
Blueblood flashed a rueful smile. “Unfortunately, the world simply is not that kind. Why I doubt you’d be able to find more than one or two nobles willing to lend their resources to an aid mission for non-ponies. Though I do suspect they’d become more generous if they believed that a new agreement with the deer was in the offing. One that reaffirms the close ties between our peoples and arranges for our stewardship of land they no longer need.”
Scanning the assembled nobles Twilight was forced to agree with his estimation. Duke Fancypants would likely have volunteered to spearhead an aid mission. Unfortunately, he rarely attended court unless prompted, preferring to shore up his power through broad popularity with the populace and close alignment with the princess’s own plans. Without him, none of the members of his faction had the courage to act on their own.
Inspiration struck and Twilight put her idea into action. “If you guarantee that an aid mission will be sent immediately I suppose I can sign off on this proposal,” she said.
“Of course.” Blueblood gestured magnanimously. “After all I am only thinking of everypony’s best interest.”
Twilight reached for the official signing quill and held it to the page. About to sign, she paused for a brief moment. Then her eyes widened and the hoof holding the quill moved to the side of the parchment. At the same time she surreptitiously cast a small spell on the paper.
“What’s this?” Twilight put on her warmest tone. “Why Blueblood, how generous of you. You’re offering the deer 50% of all profits from the land in perpetuity? I must have misjudged you.”
“Let me see that,” he snapped. Reaching out with his magic he jerked the parchment away from Twilight. It moved so quickly that the edge sliced across Twilight’s hoof and gave her a paper cut, helped along by the little sharpening spell she had just cast. Blueblood didn’t noticed, busy as he was scanning the proposal. “It says nothing of the sort.”
“No?” Twilight asked. “I must have been mistaken then. Uh-oh.” She gestured with her slightly cut foreleg. “I am sorry Blueblood.”
Catching sight of the cut Blueblood scoffed. “What are you babbling about now? Unless you’re apologizing for sullying my proposal with your common blood.”
“That’s the thing,” Twilight said, struggling to keep the smirk off her face. “I am currently acting in locum a regina. In other words, by injuring me you have technically injured the crown, the punishment for which is exile or death.”
Blueblood’s white face turned purple with rage. “How dare you—“
“Oh no, don’t worry,” Twilight soothed. “I, of course, understand it was an accident and will naturally pass the minimum sentence. Therefore, you are hereby banished from the court for one week. You may resubmit your proposal for royal approval at that time.”
Snarling Blueblood took an angry step forward, but the guards were already moving to intercept him.
“How fortunate that the aid mission was an informal agreement or that might have to be delayed as well,” Twilight said brightly. The guards had reached Blueblood and were having to physically restrain him. As they began to forcibly escort him from the hall Twilight called after him, “and that aid mission must have departed before you return. Otherwise your competence will be called into question and I’d have to rethink the proposal and your role in it.” As Blueblood vanished from sight Twilight let the insultingly bright smile drop from her face.
Sighing, Twilight ran a hoof through her mane. She turned to Sunlit Rooms, who was currently assisting with the logistics of running the court. “Please ask the usher to bring in the next petitioner. Though, if you could give us five minutes I’d really appreciate it.”
“Of course, Archmage.” With a quick flap of her wings she rose from her seat and headed to the door.
“That was done well,” Luna said, leaning down so they could speak with relative privacy.
“Hmm?” Twilight rolled her shoulders to take the kinks out and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. “Oh you mean with Blueblood? No it really wasn’t. Resorting to a cheap trick like that to buy time is pretty sloppy. I must be more tired than I thought.”
Luna’s eyebrows rose. “Indeed? It appears court has grown more complex than once it was. Tell me, if you planned to have that knave removed from the court regardless why not simply order it done?”
“I wish I could have but it would have been more trouble than it was worth. See that group of ponies behind me on your left?” Facing Luna, Twilight jerked her eyes sideways to indicate them. The princess’ eyes flicked over and she nodded. “They’re Blueblood’s collection of nobles. They control a plurality of votes in the Noble String.”
“The Noble String? Is that the group of ponies my sister delegated some of her power to? I tried to learn what I could about government but you can only cram 1000 years into your head so fast,” Luna admitted sheepishly.
“That’s not far off. They are the body that implements the crown’s policies.” Twilight’s voice took on a hint of a lecturing cadence as she spoke. “They can vote on policies to ‘suggest’ to the crown, which are often accepted. As a collective they also control the largest amount of Equestria’s land and wealth, outside of the crown, which they use to implement approved policies and pressure the crown into accepting policies favorable to their interests. If I used the crown’s power unwisely they would become inconveniently uncooperative.” Twilight shrugged. “Of course, everypony is legally allowed to approach the crown and present a proposal, but a proposal from the Noble String is far harder to ignore. If Blueblood were a commoner I could simply order him thrown from the court and rip his proposal up without fear of reprisal. Since he’s a noble I have to be more subtle.”
Sitting back on her throne Luna frowned in thought. “Before my banishment the only nobles were those that performed a great service to Equestria. Though the position was hereditary I find it difficult to believe that each noble here is the descendant of a worthy hero.”
“They aren’t all descendants, though they like to claim to be,” said Twilight, smiling slightly. “Approximately 200 years after your banishment, and as the kingdom grew in size, Princess Celestia found it necessary to delegate more and more power to keep the country running smoothly. Naturally, the ponies receiving the power and responsibility wanted assurances that they would not simply be disregarded when it suited the princess. Hence, the checks on the princess’s power built into the system. It gets even more interesting when you consider—” Just as Twilight was about to launch into a full blown lecture on the origins of the current political structure, Sunlit Rooms peeked her head into the hall and signaled that the next petitioner was about to be admitted. “Saved by the bell,” Twilight chuckled. “I’d be happy to lecture your ears off with ancient history and its implications for governmental structure and policy some other time.”
Nodding, Luna said, “I think I would like that. There is much that I do not yet understand about this modern Equestria.”
From the front of the hall the herald blew a ringing note on his trumpet and cried in a clear voice. “Presenting the first heir to the throne of the glorious Griffon Empire and new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Equestria, her swiftness, Pinion Gilda.”
It can’t be, thought Twilight. The doors opened wide and in marched a full flight of griffons. And there she was, marching at the forefront with all the dignity due the position she evidently held. The griffon Twilight had so briefly and unpleasantly known.
As Gilda neared Twilight realized it wasn’t dignity that stiffened her footsteps, it was fear. An entirely appropriate fear, considering she had yelled at and insulted the pony now speaking for the crown to which she had just been named ambassador. Twilight pondered the best way to approach the situation. Confronting Gilda with her past actions had its merits, but there was almost certainly a better tact to take. A small smile crossed Twilight’s face as one particularly fun path occurred to her.
“Gilda!” she called warmly, completely disregarding propriety as she hopped down from her seat. Gilda flinched slightly at her voice but Twilight pretended not to notice. “It’s good to see you again.” She stepped forward and wrapped her forelegs around Gilda, who was too shocked to resist. Twilight whispered in the unmoving griffon’s ear, “you owe me or your embassy learns you have already insulted our crown.” It was a gamble, but a fairly safe one. She doubted Gilda wanted to have it known how poorly she had behaved around the Equestrian Archmage.
Gilda hesitated and then brought one claw up and awkwardly patted Twilight on the back, whispering in return, “fine, but I want a private meeting with you later to boost my position.”
“Deal.” Twilight broke the hug and stepped back. “Please introduce me to the rest of your retinue,” she said in a normal tone of voice.
One griffon with grey front plumage, black fur, and light grey wings bristled at being referred to as part of the retinue. He stepped forward and spoke before Gilda could introduce him. “My name is Grist, Talon of Warlord Aquila and second in command of the embassy.”
“As I recall, Pinion and Talon refer to diplomatic and military ranks respectively?” Twilight said, mostly for Luna’s benefit as the Princess joined the group.
“Correct,” Grist said. “Though Pinion and first heir are titles empty of honor. Warlord Aquila no more needs a successor than does your own princess.”
“Tell me, Talon Grist, what is the greatest victory one can achieve on the battlefield?” asked Princess Luna.
The griffon raised his head proudly and puffed out his chest feathers. “Where the enemies are all dead and your soldiers all alive.”
Luna shook her head. “Wrong. The greatest victory is one in which your enemies strength is added to your own that you may attempt even greater feats. That is the victory achieved by diplomats, such as your own new ambassador.”
“Pah!” he scoffed. “More of the friendship nonsense. As if any force could turn a griffon from an enemy to an ally.” Twilight caught Gilda’s eye and gave her a significant glance. Gilda’s eyes narrowed but she turned to her second in command.
“We have come to speak with the ponies, not to fight them,” she said sternly, clearly trying for a tone of command but only partially succeeding. “You will not belittle their philosophy when it has proven so effective against us in the past.”
He glared at her. “You too? I knew you were too young to lead this mission. As you will one day learn, strength is that which accomplishes its purpose. Any enemy turned to ally is too weak in their convictions to be a trustworthy ally.” He snorted. “I grow weary of this foolishness. Finish the ceremony and we will return to our embassy.”
Uncertain of what ceremony Grist was referring to Twilight glanced over to Luna who momentarily shared her look of confusion. Then the princess’s eyes lit up and she signaled to the servants standing by on the edge of the hall. They must have been expecting it for they immediately came forth with a stream of trays bearing loaves of bread and cups of water.
Luna stood tall and intoned in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “Eat of our bread and drink of our water. Lay aside your weapons and lower your guard for here we shall be your blade and shield. Let our walls provide safety and our roof shelter for I extend to you the gift of hospitality.”
At her words each of the griffons ate a piece of bread and drank the water. As one they replied. “We accept the gift of hospitality and pledge the peacebond in kind.”
Grist nodded firmly. “An older form but well spoken. Thank you Princess of the Night.” He turned to the other griffons. “Troops! Form up and move out!”
The griffons leapt obey but before the marching column could reach the door it slammed open and Sunlit Rooms flew in, shouting a warning. “Ready the guard! Intruders in the palace!”
Before anypony could react two dragons roared into the hall.
On the left came a shimmering blue dragon, serpentine with long thin limbs and wickedly sharp curving talons, slithering through the air like a snake upon the water. There was something subtly wrong with its face, though most ponies weren’t paying much attention to subtleties at the moment. Those few that were paying attention and looked closely at its face found themselves lost in the mechanical and utterly alien androgyny of its features.
On the right strode a tall purple dragoness with a long sinuous neck. Long pink spines started at the top of her head and ran down along her back to her tail and her belly was a light creamy green. She moved fluidly, with a grace that belied her tremendous size, for she towered over even Luna in her position at the top of the dais. The dragons stormed forward, bringing with them the hot stench of sulfur and rusted steel.
“Where is my hatchling?” bellowed the purple dragon. No pony moved, frozen by ancient instincts in the face of a predator. With a jolt, the pieces came together as Twilight realized the dragoness who had spoken had eyes that were a very familiar shade of green. “Where is he?” the dragoness called again, stomping nearer to the throne.
The other predators in the room were the first to react. “Soldiers! Blades out. Defend out hosts!” Grist commanded. As one, the griffons folded their wings beneath the opposite sides and drew out their wing blades, sharp lines of steel sheathed under the wing and wielded by attaching them along the edge of the front tip of the wings. They formed ranks between the throne and the approaching dragons.
It was stupid, since the griffons were approximately as delicious and threatening as chickens to the dragons, but Twilight had to acknowledge their courage. She thought fast, trying to come up with some way to defuse the situation. Unfortunately, all she was willing to do was scream he’s mine and order the attack. And as satisfying as that would have been, somehow it didn’t seem productive.
Meanwhile the dragons had slowed. Smoke shot through with green flame was beginning to pour from the purple dragon’s mouth and all along its length the blue dragon had begun to glow with baleful light. Battle was about to break out in the court of the princess and there was nothing Twilight could do to prevent it.
“That is enough!”
Luna thundered out the command and her voice brought night to the afternoon court. She floated above them all, wings extending from wall to wall. The great crown of the moon illuminated her face alone in the sudden darkness of the hall. With the force of the goddess of night and moon and stars she compelled them all to yield.
And yield they did.
The griffons’ weapons dropped from nerveless wings as the prostrated themselves before her. Nobles, who had held themselves so haughtily so recently, were cowed by the appearance of dragons. They knelt now in a strange combination of abject terror before the might of the princess and pride that this was their princess.
Like a cobra, the floating blue dragon’s tail fell to the ground and it bent in half, lowering itself before the princess. Even the rage of the mother dragon was held in abeyance by the power before her and she dipped down and spread her wings in a curtsy.
Twilight did not bow, though it was a near thing. She recognized the effects of an immortal opening themselves to the magic that was theirs alone, having seen it before from Princess Celestia, though with less intensity. The lighting, the glamor, the urge to obedience all were natural components of being faced with the raw majesty of an immortal, likely enhanced by plain old illusion. Knowing the components did not completely obviate their impact, but it was just enough to allow Twilight to fight off the compulsion to kneel. She could not have said why she was so determined not to bend knee, only that she was.
Luna swept forward on silent wings and landed facing the two dragons.
“You have disturbed my court.” Her voice carried an echoing undertone, as if it came from the depths of the space depicted in her mane. “For that insult I may claim your lives as forfeit.”
She paused, letting the possibility weigh heavy on the dragons’ shoulders. “But I am not without mercy and you are driven by worthy purpose. Return in three days’ time with recompense for the insult offered. If I deem it worthy you, like any of my subjects, may present your petition.”
The blue dragon glanced up and opened its mouth to speak. Luna held up a hoof to forestall it. “Nothing you say will improve your position. Go. Now. And be grateful I believe in second chances.” Nodding once the blue dragon gathered its companion with a glance and the two walked out of the hall with much less pride and fanfare than they had entered it.
Turning, Luna faced the griffon regiment. Almost imperceptibly the hall began to lighten and Luna’s tone of voice, though still regal, no longer held the weight of immortal command. “Soldiers of the Griffon Empire, you drew weapons in my hall mere moments after swearing peacebond.”
Grist shifted angrily, looking as if he wished to speak but, having learned from the blue dragon’s mistake, he held his tongue.
However, Luna caught the motion and fixed him with her gaze. “You wish to speak?” He nodded. “Then speak freely.”
The old military griffon drew himself up and faced her proudly. “I gave the order to break the peacebond so recently given. I will pay any price that no punishment falls upon my soldiers.”
“As it should be,” said Luna approvingly. She considered for a moment. “Your duty as a guest under the laws of hospitality was at cross purposes with your peacebond. You chose to draw weapons and defend your host and for that I cannot fault you. For your assumption of responsibility I will grant you personally a boon from the crown.”
“I thank you,” he said courteously. “But I can accept no boon for acting as my conscience dictated.”
“Very well, Talon Grist. But know that you have earned a measure of my respect this day. I will have somepony escort you to your embassy and ensure that your needs are looked after.” Luna looked around and raised her voice to address the rest of the court. “I believe that that is enough excitement for one day. Court is dismissed.”
Nobles fled rapidly, gossiping about what they had seen as time turned fear to excitement. The column of griffons, led by a court functionary, formed up and marched from the hall. Luna, followed by Twilight Sparkle, left by a door behind the throne.
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Will we be getting more politics, will there be a massive adventure, will the dragons fight to reclaim spike. Find out next time on 'the problem of evil'
How long will that take?
8516636
There are going to be three arcs with around 6-7 chapters in each arc. So I'll probably be posting weekly for 4-5 months.
I liked the chase scene even though I think it favored Twilight a bit too much but since Princess Luna thought it as a game it was well done.
A Noble plot foiled, griffons and dragons, not your typical boring court day.
Luna's an idiot.
Twilight warded against mental magic.
Luna's a recently returned idiot.
Twilight warded against mental magic after Discord X.
I keep getting pulled out of the story because bits of it contradict each other. Celestia and Luna's argument feels like it happened mere weeks after Luna returned, because why wouldn't it've. Yet she listened to "Lullaby for a Princess" a thousand times. Yet Twilight warded against mind magic after Discord(and Chrysalis? Can't remember if she was mentioned too.). It's like a missing tooth, something doesn't fit, and it's annoying.
It reminded me of the substitution jutsu, or a genjutsu
XDDDDDDDDDD