Imperial Forclousure

by The Sound of Loneliness

Rich Secrets

Filthy Rich was thinking over his life decisions. He didn't regret coming here, no. He actually ended up meeting a few of his old mates from the palace. The Guard Captain was some kind of an honorary escort for big stuffs. His old business partner had been getting by selling melted snow water. Rich didn't understand how, but apparently, the brand worked and his partner made enough sales to live.

He was questioning at which point did he allow himself to be dragged into this whole adventure. Was it when he met Tiny or was it when he didn't leave after he got her where she needed to go? He had nothing against his old Princess', but this whole thing wasn't going in the direction he liked. Traveling from place to place, meeting people and making a living from it was fine: that's what he was doing anyway, what was wrong is that in some inexplicable way he ended up being in charge of a whole bunch of creatures he didn't understand and who expected him to make decisions. Tiny's numerous sisters weren't mean to him, or anyone else for that matter. They were actually surprisingly mild-mannered and pleasant for being essentially hobos for much of their lives. He knew it was all a sham, he knew every trick in the book from his own experience, but he couldn't help but sometimes forget that they weren't really ponies. That scared him. He got them to do their own little business, so now their caravan looked like a rolling market. He couldn't forget how they smiled at him and told him how happy they were to have him around. At that moment he forgot once again. Then he noticed that their smiles were all too perfect, he knew because they were all the same, like damn dolls on a shelf they were.

This situation made him nostalgic about his time as a minister. He didn't really choose to be one; it's just one day he woke up to an Imperial courier delivering him a letter of admittance in the middle of the night. His first instinct was to refuse but quickly perished the thought. He didn't really have a choice. The letter was an order, not an offer. Even the courier seemed to know and asked if Rich needed an escort. He remembered himself giving a chuckle.
Ponies never meaning what they actually said, was a distinct mark of that time. Nightmare Moon was a recognized grandmaster of word bending and everyone else simply took the example to heart. Often she didn't even need to speak to get her message across as loud as a bell. She was the most skilled in subtle threats. She never threatened openly and very rarely even allowed her voice to have the most mildly threatening tone, but her words radiated such a clear and intense threat that everyone in the room could be seen visibly sweating. He didn't understand how she was doing it, she never once acted to justify the waves of terror she radiated... at least Rich never knew if she did. In the beginning, she was cold but never cruel. The more cemented her position became, the less threatening her presence became, but it never dissipated entirely. She was magnanimous and merciful but never allowed for a single moment to forget that there was a different side to her which could come back as soon as anyone displeased her. She inspired a mix of adoration and fear. That is the kind of situation Rich felt himself at again.

She wasn't threatening, in fact, she rarely paid him any attention at all, but he again felt like he had no choice in anything that was going on. Rich didn't doubt for a single moment that she would see them safely through the entire journey, but the more time was passing the less disgruntled he became over the arrangement. He could theoretically leave; he doubted that she would stop him, but what was he going to do afterwards? He was already stuck in the frozen north. Crystal City was a fine place to live, but he won't be able to trade here and doing labor felt antithetical to his whole being. He probably could ask Twilight to get him back to Mount Aris, but that won't be much better. In short, she had him again. It was only going to become worse from now on, he just knew it. The worst part is that he couldn't even get when did the trap close. It was all coming down to him meeting a filly and being too damn nice to let her go out alone. He couldn't shake off the feeling of being a massive fool.
But that's life, he supposed. And it was time to do something productive with it.

He didn't feel like asking if anyone needed anything at a camp, so he decided to do his own chores. Since Tiny was staying out of his wagon for once, he could actually have a bit of space for himself. He almost forgot just how large it could be when he was alone. He could have himself at least four more crates with cargo.

Well, time's a-wasting. Good time to do some maintenance. Rich made sure his tools were ready and went to check the wheels. He didn't expect anything to change about them, he checked while they were at Aris.
It wasn't a surprise to find that the wheels were all nailed well and the axels weren't showing rot yet. He then went forwards to check the straps. Won't be nice to suddenly find them weathered when it's time to move again.
Next, he remembered that it was a jolly long time before he added oil to the lantern. It wasn't critically important to do, but he thought it was better to do it now than at night. He took it down from its place under the roof, it still burned just fine. He rotated the pin to snuff it out, but the fire didn't disappear. Rich dumbly stared at the lamp for a few seconds before trying to turn the pin again, nothing happened. He tried turning it back, nothing happened. Rich shook the lamp, the fire didn't disappear.

"The hay?" he quietly swore. He cautiously set it down and slowly turned the glass cover till it came off. Rich tried sniffing but the fire had no usual burnt oil smell he came to expect. The fire also wasn't exuding any heat. At this point, Rich came to the realization that it had to be magic again, which meant he probably shouldn't mess with it. "Well, at least it doesn't need any more oil," he mumbled before hanging the lamp back in its place.

He thought about what else he could check, maybe the roof. He started to turn around the wagon to make his way up there when he realised that there was someone behind him,
"Yeah-yeah, I am just about to finish here, wait a moment."

"Sure, I can wait," the answer came. Oddly enough it was a voice he didn't hear before, he peeked behind him out of curiosity and nearly hit his head on the wagon. He thought for a second that a bugbear snuck up on him so large was the pony behind him.

"Sweet Celestia, lady!" he spat out. "Didn't your parents teach you to not sneak up on others?"

"Well, since you knew that I was there, it technically doesn't count as sneaking up."

Rich sighed, partly to calm down his pulse, partly out of exasperation, and began turning to face his visitor,
"Anyway, what can I..." the enormous mare had both horn and wings. They just keep multiplying, didn't they? Rich had to remember to tell his mates back at the mountain that there was another one now.

"I am Flurry, by the way," she smiled at him.

"Filthy Rich, Your... Highness?" he cautiously guessed.

"Nah, don't bother with that," she waved him away. "Nightmare isn't around to chew you up for keeping your own convenience in mind."

"Eh... thanks, Flurry."

"Don't mention it. So, anyway, I need you to sell me something. I got bits." With a soft pop, a heavy purse appeared floating by her side.

"Me?" Rich asked with genuine surprise. "Eh... Flurry, I think you've missed the Emporium of Exotic Whatevers a bit."

"No, I think I came just where there's something I need. Anyways, since when do you tell clients to piss off?"

Rich stared at the Princess with suspicion and slight disbelief for a few more moments, waiting for her to say that she was joking,
"Well then... what can I help you with?"

"Nothing extravagant. I need that lantern," Flurry pointed with her eyes over Rich's head. He turned his head around to make sure he didn't have some different lamp he forgot about. "Oh, also I am going to buy your silence."

"You know... it just so happened that I need this lamp. It gets a bit dark around here at night," Rich carefully worded this response.

"I can add another lantern, just like this one, to the deal," Flurry said without losing her smile. Sure enough, the lamp appeared, floating. It was an exact copy, it even had stains and scratches. "All of this," she jingled the coins in the purse. "And the lantern." Rich had to admit, the deal was enticing. That purse had to have enough gold to buy him a new wagon, just for one lamp that won't stop burning. Something wasn't right here though. The money probably wasn't of any value to Flurry, it's that she wanted the lamp this bad to actually come and ask for it.

"Let me guess, if I refuse, you are going to take it anyway?" Rich asked with dreary expectancy.

"Not at all," Flurry readily answered. "It's yours; if I can't have it, then I can't."

"What, you ain't even gonna tell on me to the rest of your entitlement circle?"

"Nope. I do want to buy your silence, remember?"

"Right. So, tell you what. You are going to tell me what's up with this lamp and then I am going to sell it to you," Rich didn't care for the lamp, to be fair, but the information was probably worth more than the money he's been offered.

"Can't do that, sorry," Flurry straightly refused.

"Well, then I guess we are about done, ain't we? If you excuse me now..."

"I can tell you something else though. Something that you could actually find uses for. Although, you are probably gonna facehoof yourself over how you didn't manage to piece it together yourself," Flurry teased.

Rich huffed,
"Fine. It better be good though."

"Oh, it is, promise! It's about Nightmare, something everyone knows but nobody ever brings up to her."

"Spill it out already," Rich sighed.

"Okay, so you know how she makes a point of only nobility being worth her time? You had to notice it, real obvious. So, what if I told you that it's the tiniest bit hypocritical coming from her?"

"Well, actually yes. I noticed her making a big deal out of it. So what are you saying?"

"Well, it ever occurred to you that Nightmare herself isn't directly related to the noble line of Celestia and Luna?"

What followed was screaming silence. No, in fact, he never thought about this for one single second ever since he learned that Nightmare and Luna were different ponies. The thought felt wrong, alien as if it couldn't be true. Someone who spent so much time lecturing everyone around on how important nobility was couldn't just be pretending... right?

"Yeah," Flurry said quietly. "That changes things, doesn't it? Just be very sure you never mention this particular part of her biography within her hearing range. That... wouldn't be very nice of you." Rich had to agree, it really wouldn't be very nice of him at all. He had to think on what to do with this information.
"Well, anyway, I am not going to bother you any further. Here's your money," she dropped the bag down into the wagon. "Here's your lantern," she put down the lamp more carefully.
"Ta-ta," she said with a wave of her hoof before disappearing away with the same pop. Rich didn't even remember anymore what she wanted, but it couldn't possibly be important since he was a damn moving kiosk holder.

Nightmare Moon, the Emperess of all Equestria, the Crystal Empire and later Changelings too, had no noble right to rule. This was wild to think about. She sure behaved on par, if anything she was even more imperious than all other princesses he met. Not that it was a very high bar since others made a point of being approachable.

Another thing he could scarcely believe is that he suddenly had the means to actually hurt her in some way. Back when she was in power, she made it a pinnacle of her strategy to appear unassailable, that's what one of his colleagues told him once before the cabinet meeting. It suddenly made even more sense for her to pretend to be Luna now. Luna actually had a legitimate claim on the throne. It also made a lot of sense for Nightmare to be in good graces with everyone who could expose her, that meant... everyone who was here with her right now and tripped over each other to please her. Folks like him, or the rest of Twilight's friends, wouldn't have been taken seriously if they came out and said it.

Oh... Oh, damn. She suddenly looked a lot more insidious now. Definitely a lot more so than any other nobility he heard about, that included Queen Cryssalis, which was a high bar. What was even wilder was that he had a way to hurt her. Actually hurt Nightmare Moon! Did he really want to though? She didn't do anything to him; if anything, she gave him one hell of a promotion. It caused him a fallout with his family, but it's not like she intended it to... right?
He wasn't sure anymore. Coming to think about it, he wasn't sure of anything he thought he understood about her actions. If she had no right to rule in the first place and now didn't even want to... what were they even doing here?

Nobody really bothered to explain anything to him, but he had an idea that they wanted to get some help from Cadance... to do what? He overheard Nightmare Moon saying that she wanted Luna back. If he didn't dream up their foray to the temple, Cadance wouldn't be of any help in catching the runaway Princess. Actually, where was that Sombra character? He just disappeared right after they were back.

What if Nightmare Moon wanted Luna to pretend to be her again? Or actually possessing her like Tiny and this lot in the camp were doing? Oh, horsecrap, this was getting very interesting. There's still something he didn't know, what did the rest of the court know? The question was: who could he ask?
The changeling maid would know, but she won't talk to him and almost certainly even report him to Nightmare Moon.
Twilight herself had exactly no idea about what they were doing and why but followed out of blind loyalty. That was obvious to him from the very first time he met her.
Rarity could also know a lot, but anything she realistically would tell him was something that would set him on a completely sideways trail.
Nightmare's sister will flog him for even asking.
Celestia won't tell on her ally.
Cadance never spent any significant time at the Palace.
And who else was there?
He could try the old Guard Captain, he probably won't immediately tell on him digging. Spike could also know something useful, secondhoof from Twilight, but still. He'd have to get his old mates Rolling and Spike some other time, somehow he didn't doubt that they won't let him into the Cadance's palace to ask either one...

"Mister Filthy Rich?" someone called behind him. There stood a pony in the blue uniform of the police, "I was told you could be found here."

Rich suppressed the desire to groan; apparently, the day wasn't done with him yet.

"It's me," he answered without even trying to hide his lack of enthusiasm. "Who's asking?"

"Officer Creaky Bars. There's been an accident with one of your acquaintances, she said you would pay the bail of..." he pulled out a tiny notepad, "four hundred sixty-five bits for herself, two of her daughters and a unicorn mare."

Rich was a bit dumbfounded at the officer's claim, did one of the camp's denizens go out? He didn't know none about it,
"You sure you went to the right stallion?" Rich gave voice to his doubts. "I don't know anyone who fits your description."

"They are changelings, sir. One is very old and keeps silent the whole time, we couldn't even get her to tell us her name. The two others told us their names are Tibia and Grossa. The unicorn is Rarity Belle, she is... famous in the town. All four were passed to us with a charge of attempted breaking and entering."

"Break and entry? Where?"

"Considering they were brought in by changeling soldiers, my guess would be a military facility. We don't usually get our noses into changelings' business, so we took them at their word," the officer said. "Miss Rarity told us you may be willing to pay their fine."

"Uh... sure. Let me just grab my purse," Rich mumbled, his mind was already far away. Trying to piece together how this could happen in the first place. He could tell exactly who one of the changelings was, it was far too much of a coincidence to be just any other one of them. The actual question was how did she find herself in such a predicament. To his displeasure, he discovered that paying the fine would take him much of his trading budget. Well, his Lady would compensate him the expense, that part of their arrangement would remain absolutely stable regardless of circumstance, he expected.
"Right then, lead the way," he told the officer.

---

He enjoyed the walk through the city, in all honesty. It has been a very long time since he saw a city that had both electricity and magic users in it. It was either one or the other, usually neither. Since he was left back with the rest of the sisterhood, he didn't get to look at the Crystal City up close until now. Most of the places he ended up travelling were comparatively primitive. They had impressive architecture in their own right, but that was far from the most important. That was why ponies rarely even contemplated living without Princesses to guide them, or he always thought that it's what it was.

All good things had to end and so they arrived at the precinct. Rich gave his purse to the receptionist and a couple of minutes later another pony brought out the detainees. His judgment was spot on and therefore he wasn't surprised one bit.
Rarity gave him a meek, apologetic smile. Shadow refused to look him in the eye, determinedly staring at the floor instead. If he could trust his limited experience around her, that's what counted for a display of embarrassment. The two other changelings stared at him with their monochrome, compound eyes. He couldn't decipher if they even knew who he was, much less if they were glad to see him. It was somewhat unnerving.

"That's one hay of a meet-together, Rarity," he broke the tense silence, still refusing to look away from the two he didn't know. "I honestly expected the friendly visit to be a bit different."

"Ha-ha..." Rarity tensely chuckled. "Y-yes, I suppose this is rather an embarrassing little predicament, is it not? Rich, Darling, can I perhaps interest you in a cocktail?" she asked hopefully, trying to at least slightly lighten the mood with her tone.

"I guess so..." he agreed without thinking, still staring back at the changelings. Rarity quickly darted out and Rich forced himself to look away, unwilling to remain alone with the three changelings.

Rarity waited for him right outside and yet she still managed to startle him,
"Richy, thank you!" Rarity immediately grabbed him around his neck as soon as he was in range. "I couldn't have possibly looked Cadance in the eye if she had to pay my bail herself! This is just horrendous!"

"Y-yes, it totally is, isn't it?" Rich was still reeling slightly. "You want to talk about how this happened?"

"Not here!" she categorically stated. "I need a drink first."

"Since when you drink?" Rich asked in genuine surprise. He never once saw her drink anything apart from trace quantities of wine. "And what do we do with... them?" he had to nod at the silent trio.

"Oh... yes," Rarity evidently simply forgot. "Darlings... do you think you could go for a little... snack?" she coyly suggested.

"We would be honored, Lady Rarity," the smallest one answered, although her distinct lack of enthusiasm said more than her words did.

Rarity really took them to a bar; to Rich's surprise, she didn't even choose a specifically presentable one. It was run by a gruff-looking pony stallion, he quirked his brow at their company but didn't ask questions. Rarity went up and ordered a bottle of whiskey. Rich was speechless.
Rarity took off for a table then, the changelings remained sitting. Rarity turned her head and shouted that she'll be paying for them. Rarity got immediately to it, without even asking Rich if he wanted any. She downed two glasses in one go and had the third one on the table for when she needed it.

"So... about this whole break in business..." Rich cautiously. "Maybe start from who these two are," Rich glanced at the changelings, still sitting at the stools and evidently not passing on free refreshment either.

"They are Grossa and Tibia. They are Shadow's daughters. Such sweet fillies they are, Richy," Rarity said a little slow.

"She really has children then," Rich musingly propped his chin. "I heard the Lady ask her once, but... ehh..."

"Yes, Shadow is a little... shy... in that regard. From what I heard, she had to leave them at a young age: to go on her fateful mission. Poor Grossa seems to still be a bit sore from that."

"Yeah... I can guess," Rich glanced at the trio again. Try as he might, they all looked the same to him; he just knew that Shadow was much older and had no horn.
"So, did you just run into them on the street or..?"

"Why, no. Surely, not run into them! We went for a visit! It took a little convincing but in the end, we had a wonderful time together."

"So... you just got Shadow to leave Lady's side to have a chat with her fillies?" the story didn't add up to him just yet.

"Why, not leave, of course! As soon as I told Nightmare that Shadow's daughters are here, she would suffer no excuses. I wish more of my friends were so thoughtful..." Rarity sighed with open sadness. Well, Shadow was her best retainer, he mused, and the Lady was attached to her. Nightmare Moon having attachments still felt bizarre today, after weeks of him observing their interactions.

"So it was her idea all along, huh. So, where does this break-in begin?"

"Well..." Rarity coyly smiled and looked down into her glass. "It is a little silly, really. Darling Grossa just wanted to have a word with Her Majesty. She didn't mean any harm." Rich had a moment to process how this came together with the rest of the story.

"At a... changeling base?" Rich asked after he made the only logical conclusion he could see.

"Why, yes. The poor dear is always so awfully busy. She had negotiations at the time and they just couldn't make time for Darling Grossa to speak to her."

"Negotiations with changelings? They wanna pitch in and help us in... whatever is it we are currently up to?"

"Why, of course, they would like to pitch in," Rarity made it sound like the most obvious thing in the world. "Our Lady is very well respected with them. 'Warrior Queen' they call her." Rich wasn't entirely surprised with this new piece of news, it just was unexpected. Nightmare Moon ruined their race and changelings only loved her for it. Meanwhile, Rarity continued, "I imagine they would follow her wherever she wishes. They are even eager to do so. They would never disrespect their hosts here by saying this openly, but poor dears feel terribly out of place here."

"So they did tell you?" Rich pointed out a contradiction. Well, rather an exception he expected. He also suddenly realized that Rarity wielded much more respect than it would seem at first glance if any of the changelings trusted her, a pony, enough to voice their concerns to her.

"Why, no. They didn't tell me anything," Rarity smiled at him indulgently. "I never even asked, truth be told. It's simply so obvious that nopony can avoid seeing it, provided they understand our chitinous friends' way of thought.
See, changelings need someone to follow. It is something of a natural requirement for them. They feel so terribly lost when without their Queen. Nightmare is not their Queen, exactly, but as far as they are concerned she is better. Nightmare won their obedience rather than being born into being their Queen, and Darlings are quite fed-up with the inherited leadership, let me just tell you. Quite the irony, if we remember just how high the Lady values heritage."

"Yeah, about that," Rich suddenly remembered what he wanted to ask her. After he bailed her out of prison, he expected she would at least indulge him enough to not tell anyone who might tell Nightmare, "Rarity, I have to ask you something. Do you know that Nightmare Moon isn't directly related to Luna and Celestia?"

Rarity slowly blinked,
"That is odd of you to say. For all that matters, she is. Our Lady was always like a sister to Luna."

"Well... not entirely. Rarity, forgive me for being blunt, but she made us all into idiots. She has no legitimate claim to the title she held: she's a usurper. Her soldiers 'ought to arrest her, not worship her. That's why she pretended to be Luna, because otherwise everypony would've known who she is and that she has no right to rule over them."

Despite her addled state, Rarity managed to give him a surprisingly clear warning glance,
"Richy, dear, be careful what you say..." she ever so slightly nodded to the stools. She was of course right, he had to remind himself. If Rarity was willing to give him lenience, Shadow would certainly not if she heard him.
"Now, while I do respect your right to have your own ideas, you are just so horrifically wrong that Nightmare would've felt insulted. And she rarely ever feels that way."

Rich snorted,
"What gives, I just ousted her whole game and called her out for who she is. Of course, she'd feel insulted."

"Richy, has it ever occurred to you that it doesn't matter what her real heritage is?" Rarity asked with somewhat more perceivable sting than her usual mannerisms allowed her. "Ponies and changelings alike follow her because of who she is, not who she was born as. She is so much more than just a usurper. She is a reformer and unifier, a great warrior and leader, and one of the wisest creatures alive. It may matter to her; to look like she has some old, dusty tittle that holds her as a legitimate claimant, but to us it never did."

"So you did know? From the start?"

"Why, of course, I did," Rarity admitted without a hint of shame. "We all did, Princess Luna herself explained to us their relationship."

"And you just helped her anyway?" Rich wasn't entirely surprised this time around either, he was just disappointed. So deeply disappointed.

"Why shouldn't have I?" Rarity smiled again. "Richy, there were times when this question would have made me excuse myself, but I don't regret any of what I did any longer. It was the right thing to do. Princess Celestia was willfully neglecting the ponies she was meant to care for. Nightmare may not have been the most peaceful Lady I have seen, but her heart was in the right place."

Rich wasn't sure if she knew what she just admitted, or what he was really expecting to hear from her. Rarity was always sublime in making excuses; apparently, she got good enough to make herself believe her own words. She was right, though. It wouldn't be the most shocking thing her followers already knew about her. It looked like nobody except Rich actually cared for what the law said. And the law said that Nightmare Moon had a lot to answer for.

"Right, let's get you back home then," Rich started getting up. Rarity looked regretfully over at her bottle, still being mostly full.

"A lady can find her way home, thank you very much," Rarity said indignantly. "But perhaps Shadow and the fillies could use your help," she added mildly.

Rich grunted and went to check up on them,
"Hey," he called out. "You three are okay?" the three of them all turned at once and stared at him. The larger one looked noticeably buzzed. They stared for a moment longer, when the elderly changeling herself began to slowly get up. She suddenly looked so old to him. Not just physically, she moved with the weariness only the real elders showed. He barely restrained himself from trying to help her up. Shadow gave him one more, long stare and went for the exit. Her daughters hurried after her each giving him a single glance.

"You go ahead, darlings," Rarity spoke again. "I'll catch up with you later."

The road on was Shadow leading him home rather the other way around. Not a single word was said through the whole way until they reached an unremarkable house Rich assumed had to be their destination. Shadow stopped right outside the door and stood there for a few moments before her daughters took the hint and went inside. The large one nearly hit her head on the doorway and needed a little help from her sister. All in complete silence. Rich was honestly thinking about asking Twilight if changelings had some non-verbal way of communication.

Shadow slowly turned to face him,
"Thank you," she dryly spoke, immediately dropping her look down again. It had to be the first time he ever heard her saying that to anyone who wasn't her lady. To his own surprise, he even looked at her with compassion. He couldn't imagine what shame she was going through and what he saved her from yet going through if it was Nightmare who came for her.

"H-hey, it's not a big deal," he tried talking back. "Just a bit of coin is nothing to cry over, especially if it's for a friend. I... don't suppose you can tell me what happened without me learning something about your Mistress?"

"No," her answer was short and honest, he nodded to that.

"Okay. Let's go back to her then, our lady is probably out of her mind from worry." She visibly relaxed. Her shoulders sank.

"Yes, she probably is. And Miss Tiny might be in need of more directions." Rich smiled at that, now that would be someone who won't be glad to see the creaky, old lady again.