A Return to Sibling Rivalry

by dracolord85

Chapter 3: Gang Pressed Service

Disclaimer – I own none of the cannon characters, settings, or locations contained herein. All ownership credit goes to Hasbro/Lauren Faust respectively.

Chapter 3: Gang Pressed Service

Unless it was otherwise planned there were only a few hours a day when the two royal sisters of Equestria were both active and in each other’s presence. Most frequently they saw each other at breakfast and dinner, during the changing of the sun and moon, and anytime that Luna needed to be informed of official business that was to take place during the occasional night court session. It was currently early morning in a private drawing room that the two alicorns were met. They were going over their proposed lists of potential judges for their contest, although they were currently at odds over whom it should be and were quickly exhausting each of their lists as the other shot down every proposal.

“What about Judge Steel Gavel?” Celestia inquired of her fellow diarch.

“Neigh sister, we need not somepony to arbitrate proceedings over public defacement or petty theft. Not as yet anyway. It must be someone closer that we know equally.” Luna refuted soundly.

With a deep sigh, Celestia began wracking her brain for any of the few ponies that Luna knew and that also had experience in impartial decision making. Levitating a small cookie from a tray on the table between them, she took several dainty bites as she poured over the list of potential judges she had gathered. What she did not see was the smirk Luna hid behind a cup of coffee she raised to take a sip of. Not having had the same time to build the perfect poker face her sister possessed meant she struggled greatly not to tip her hoof at the trap her sister had just bitten into. Seemingly brought on from providence to save her cover, there was a knock at the door followed by it opening just enough for young Cadence to poke her head through.

“Ah, there you both are, I hope I am not interrupting anything?”

“Nothing critically important dear, please come in.” Celestia eased her concern with her classic warm smile.

Luna smiled as well but kept her sharp eyes on the young alicorn as she entered. It would have unnerved any lesser pony, but Cadence was still highly curious about her newly returned aunt. By her very nature she was dark and mysterious to the younger alicorn, and her odd speech habits and customs only lent more curiosity as well. What must it be like to return to a world that is your own yet completely alien as well? Luna’s smile grew into a smirk as she extended a wing to bring the slightly smaller alicorn closer to her.

“It is most certainly an unsettling experience my dear, there is much that I must now contend with that did not exist when last I walked this earth.”

“Hey! You were reading my mind again!” Cadence squawked indignantly.

“Neigh, thy thoughts were written plainly upon thy face.”

“Don’t let her startle you Cadence; my sister is quite good at reading nonverbal cues. Unless you tightly control your behavior it can seem like she is reading your mind.” Celestia attempted to sooth her ruffled niece.

“Indeed, were I to employ actual mind reading magic it wouldst be far more obvious. Dost thou care to sample some my dear? Wouldst thou let thy auntie know the darkest corners of thy mind?”

Luna locked the smaller alicorn into her forelegs and extended her wings forward, blocking out the rest of the room in a feathery prison. Cadence struggled briefly before she was quite suddenly teleported to freedom by Celestia. Luna glared at her sister as Celestia leveled her best disapproving gaze at her in return. Once Cadence had recovered, both sisters launched into each other.

“Luna, you know how I feel about mind reading magic, it is unethical.” The elder sister pontificated with her muzzle held high.

“Twas mere fun at our niece’s expense, we were not actually going to violate her mind!” The younger sister defended, wings spread in challenge.

“She doesn’t know that, nor has she had time to become accustomed to your alternative sense of humor!” The elder sister retorted, lowering her head to meet the challenge.

“She doth not need thy overbearing protection; we reason she is savvy enough to figure things out of her own accord!” The younger closed the distance between their muzzles to mere inches.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a brat all the time I wouldn’t have to intervene!” The white horn began crackling with golden energy.

“Doth mine ears detect the sound of jealousy in thy voice? Thou art a stuffy, pompous-”

“AUNTIES PLEASE!” Somehow Cadence had managed to snap them from their focus and shift them apart with a hoof to each chest.

“You are both correct and you are both wrong. Now this is exactly why I sought you both out, in the first place. What is this I keep hearing about you going to battle with each other? Can you really not stay civil with each other enough to prevent conflict?” The younger alicorn finished with a huff.

“…” Celestia stared.

“…” Luna scrutinized.

“Umm…” Cadence raised a fore hoof in preparation to bolt.

“Luna, are you thinking what I am thinking?” Celestia cautiously queried.

“I believe I am big sister, she wouldst be a perfect fit.” Luna backed her sister up.

“Then it is settled!” Celestia summoned a large scroll and thrust it into Cadence’s hooves.

“Huzzah! We are in agreement!” Luna summoned a black robe and goofy white wig, draping them over Cadence’s back and head respectively.

“Best of luck little Woona, and let the games begin!” Celestia cried with a giggle that seemed curiously more drawn out than normal.

“I need not luck, for my attack has already begun! I hope thou hast enjoyed the enchantment I placed upon thy baked treats dear sister. The laughter spell thou hast ingested shall make thee laugh at everything anypony says unto thee for quite a while!" Luna sneered in triumph.

"Hehehe! Then, Oh-hohoho, I hope you-ahahaha, enjoy the laxatives Bah-hahaha, that I laced into the coffee-hehehehe that you have been drinking!" Celestia clutched her already aching stomach as she leered back at her little sister.

Luna's belly let forth an appallingly loud gurgling noise right on cue as her pupils shrank to pinpricks and her muzzle scrunched up in alarm. Celestia cackled madly at her sister as tears began to stream down her muzzle from the force of her laughter. Luna was then the first to retreat as she teleported away in a blast of dark magic. The golden magic of the elder alicorn flickered as she attempted to focus long enough through the laughter to teleport away as well. Eventually she succeeded, leaving a positively gob smacked Cadence alone in the formerly more occupied drawing room. What rolled out of her mouth next however, was quite possibly the most profound thing to have been said in pony history.

“What is this… I don’t even…”

As her senses began to return to her and her mind once again became active she realized that the scroll in her hooves may hold some answers. Her left eye twitched furiously as she read over the contents of the scroll Celestia had hooved over. Once she had finished reading, her response was both violent and abrupt. She telekinetically blew the doors off of their hinges and galloped into the hallway beyond. Heads turned and eyebrows were raised in her wake as she barreled through the halls, shrieking the same phrase over the course of her flight, desperation in her voice.

“NONONONONONONONONONO!”

====== Back in Luna’s atelier ======

Cadence paced anxiously in front of a large crystal that was embedded in the wall. The dark gray stone pulsed with a regular frequency as the magic within it reached outward. Her father had left it in her care and it was the first of its kind anywhere in Equestria, although quite common back home in Titania. Soon enough, the crystal went solid blue and an image of her father, Terra, appeared on the face of the crystal.

“Hmmm? Cadenza? Don’t tell me you’re already homesick. It hasn’t even been a few days yet my little filly!”

“Daddy you have to help me! Auntie Celestia and Luna are fighting and I don’t know what it is about and they dragged me into it and I don’t know what to do!” She finished her rant with her desperate face pressed to the crystal.

“Whoa there! Slow it down just a touch sweetie. Now let’s take things one at a time. So Celestia and Luna are fighting?”

“Yes, they made an official declaration and everything!”

“Have they hurt each other, anypony else, or destroyed their castle?”

“Well no…”

“Are they still talking to each other?”

“They were sitting together and discussing something before I interrupted them earlier…”

“And have they asked you to do anything illegal or unethical?”

“…no.”

“I am not sure there is a problem outside of the one you created in your own mind then. Remember what I always tell you, slow down, clear your thoughts, and the best decisions will always be found. I bet if you still need help you can ask your coltfriend, what’s his name, Sparkly Silk? He should be able to help you.”

“Its Shining Armor daddy, but maybe you are right. He should know how to handle this.”

"That's what I said, Shimmering Satin!" Terra retorted.

"No daddy its Shining Ar-" Cadence stopped herself as she noticed her father's grin. "You know what? Never mind. I am going to go ask for his help. Thanks for the advice though."

"Anytime sweetie. Just remember to slow down and not get so caught up in the moment."

Father and daughter exchanged their goodbyes before Cadence shut down the magic of the crystal and headed out to find Shining Armor, and hopefully any ideas he might have on how to get her out of her current situation. If there was anyone this far from home that she could depend on, it should be him.

===== Shortly Thereafter =====

“Hmm. Seems pretty airtight to me, a typical royal decree really, no wiggle room at all.” Shining Armor explained to his slightly less panicked marefriend.

“But, but, they can’t just make me judge their silly little squabble! I don’t even know how to be a judge!” An exasperated Cadence whined.

The sun shone down on the military training grounds the two ponies stood in. Near them was the galloping track, which was currently being used by a group of cadets under the supervision of the guard captain. When Cadence had shown up in a tizzy about something they had used the opportunity to slacken the pace and eavesdrop on the ensuing drama.

“Seems pretty easy really. All you have to do is make sure neither of them violates the rules that they both agreed to. If they do, all you have to do is arbitrate the punishment. Think of it like back when you watched Twilie and you had to enforce the rules with her.”

“Shining, there is a world of difference between foal-sitting your sister and two several thousand year old adults. Besides, we both know that Twilight never broke any rules, ever.” Cadence deadpanned.

“Okay, maybe that was a bad example, but the principle is the same. I know you can do this Cadence.” Shining Armor attempted to sooth his ruffled marefriend before straightening up and glaring at the cadets cantering their laps on the track.

“I SAID I WANTED HUSTLE YOU WORTHLESS FOALS! PICK UP THE PACE! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!” Shining bellowed angrily.

“You are right, I can do this, and you are going to be helping me.” Cadence said as she smoothed her mane from Shining’s verbal assault.

“Sorry hun, but it says right in the rules that military personnel can’t be involved.”

“Oh, but that only pertains to my aunts, dear. Don’t you know that all good judges have a reliable bailiff? A nice, strong, dependable, handsome…” Cadence attempted to woo the Captain while running a hoof slowly up and down his breastplate.

“B-but I have duties! Guard captain duties!” Shining backpedaled with a strong blush and a flustered expression, his cadets slowing down to see what was going on, again.

“Don’t make me do it Shining…” Cadence threatened the nervous stallion.

“Y-you wouldn’t…” Shining blustered as Cadences eyes widened and grew watery, staring straight into the depths of his soul.

“Cadence, n-no I…” The captain’s resolve was quickly reaching its limit, when Cadence moved in for the kill.

“Pwease, Shiny?” She squeaked at him before pouting her trembling lower lip.

“Okay okay, fine, just stop that! Please!? That is so deeply unfair.” The played stallion grumbled.

Cadence instantly reverted to normal before giggling and leaning in to give him a small kiss on the bridge of his muzzle. After thanking him again and promising that it wouldn’t interfere too much with his regular duties she bid him farewell and sauntered back towards the castle. It was then that Shining looked up to see his gaggle of cadets trying to contain their laughter, and worst of all, not running like he had ordered them to. Righteous indignation filling his heart he leapt to his hooves and donned his helmet before marching towards the now terrified cadets.

“THAT’S IT! ON YOUR HOOVES YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOTS! NOW YOU ARE REALLY GONNA RUN BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF YOU THAT I CATCH WILL BE DOING ALL OF THEIR DRILLS FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS IN TRIPLE WEIGHT ARMOR! NOW RUN!”

===== The Royal Offices =====

In Celestia’s office, the snow white alicorn herself was busy, reviewing the latest rounds of legislation and planning out her time tables for next week. Her mind was currently split between her official tasks that she appeared to be doing on the surface and plotting her next strike against her sister. Now was when she would have to exercise more caution, she had already used up the element of surprise on her first prank, and Luna was nothing if not cunning. The evidence of her sister’s skill still lingered in the bandages wrapped around her midsection. When she had teleported back to her room there had been a maid inside that asked if she was okay, which of course triggered the spell and sent her into hysterics of laughter. If she couldn’t even trust her favorite tea cookies then perhaps now was the time to revive the old tradition of a royal food safety tester.

She may need to modify her plan, but planning was always Celestia’s strong point, and it was no surprise that she had a plan from the onset of this whole situation. Though it could be considered somewhat cruel by some, she planned to fully exploit the fact that her sister was in no way, shape, or form used to the modern era yet. Chief among her stockpile of ammunition was going to be technology and all of the incredible things that her ponies had put it to use for.

Her face split into a wide grin as she could just picture her sister helpless before the onslaught of modern technology. If she paired her approach with some of the old classics it would keep her sister off balance and constantly guessing at what she had planned. First though, she would need to do some recon and see if she could dig up any intelligence on her sister’s plans and any allies outside of the obvious Nightmare Moon. Perhaps a recon mission to the Hall of the Night was in order. With a melodic giggle, she returned her full attention to her stacks of paperwork. There was a time and place for everything, and she would have time for her spy mission once she finished her responsibilities.

===== The Hall of the Night =====

The deep darkness echoed with the clip clop of small hooves against the granite floors. Nightmare Moon was making her way towards Luna’s room to debrief her former host. As per their plan during wartime operations against Celestia, Luna would host an action and intelligence meeting before she retired for the day. This extra time was reserved strictly for future operations planning and intelligence briefings from her field agents, which only currently consisted of Nightmare Moon. Luckily, Luna still had the youthful energy necessary to stay up as late/early as she wanted without many repercussions the next night.

Nightmare gave a nod to the Shadow Sentinels posted at Luna’s door as they wordlessly opened it for her when she approached. After entering however, she saw not a trace of the night princess anywhere in the chamber, until the bathroom door opened and a sullen looking Luna slowly emerged. Quirking an eyebrow in Luna’s direction, the only response Nightmare earned was for Luna to light her horn and seal the doorway to the bathroom with a magically conjured brick wall. She then shook her head clear and sat, gingerly, at a small table before asking Nightmare to commence her report for the day. Celestia would pay dearly for the evil she had unleashed upon the younger alicorn’s bowels, but for now there was planning to attend to.

It was decided over the next hour that their main plan of attack would follow their style to a T, trickery and misdirection, with heavy reliance on high level magical arrays. Celestia never was as good a student in magic as Luna, and it would appear that even a thousand years had not changed that fact any. As they wrapped up their strategy meeting, Nightmare had one last item to cover.

“Luna, I have been looking over the contents of the royal library and have found their advanced magical contents lacking. Even after I broke into the restricted section, there was nothing that could be of much use to us.”

“Hmm, I am not certain that I approve of thou burglarizing restricted sections of the castle.”

“Whatever, if they really wanted to keep ponies out then I wouldn’t have been able to get in. Beyond that topic, I have a request.” Nightmare dismissed Luna with a wave of the hoof before plowing ahead.

“And what would that be pray tell?”

“I want to go back to the old castle. I am willing to bet that most of our old research notes and spell books still have active preservation spells on them and would be far superior to what Celestia has here.”

“Tis sound reasoning. I believe we shall go this very morning so that we may begin integrating anything we discover into our plans.” Luna closed her eyes and nodded her head in agreement with her own statement.

"Excellent, I can't wait to think up some new hexes to place on Celestia! But are you sure you will be okay for tonight if you stay up like this?"

"Indeed I shall; now onto more pressing matters. Hast thou seen our pet about the area? I could have sworn he was in our room when I last beheld him."

"No, but he can't have gone far. Should we look for the little escape artist before we leave?"

“Aye, it would put my mind to ease knowing his location. Let us be off then, to locate our missing ward, and then onward to our old library.” Luna headed for her chamber doors with Nightmare in tow.

===== Back in the old Royal Castle =====

This was simply too perfect to believe for the lost unicorn, but then again, maybe whatever bad karma she was experiencing had finally run its course. She had stumbled into the old castle to seek some form of shelter but had ended up finding the greatest possible treasure while simply in search of a room that wasn’t wrecked and/or roofless. Indeed she had found an intact room, one which seemed to have a powerful anti-aging ward in place, protecting an ancient looking library.

More than half of the titles that she could see were in ancient Equish which meant she could only read every few words or so. But what she could read brought a wide smile to her face and hope in her heart. This seemed to be a vast collection of magical related knowledge and research, the depth of which would ensure that her normally fantastic shows would become the stuff of legends! What’s more, she could triumphantly return to that horrid little town outside the forest where she was unfairly accosted in the middle of her performance. Those neigh-sayers would learn not to heckle a performer ever again!

She removed a thick tome along one of the shelves that had the words ‘Mirage Mastery’ in its dusty title. Setting herself gently on a stool that appeared older than time itself, she placed the book before her and attempted to ease the cover open with her magic. The book resisted. Pumping more power into her horn had no appreciable effect. Why could she pick up the book with magic but not open it? With a grunt of indifference, she placed her fore hooves on the book and gently pried. Again the book scoffed at her while remaining shut. With a growl of effort she heaved on the cover of the book. Quite suddenly the book sprang open with a blinding flash of light that struck the mare and made her fall backwards from her stool with a screech.

She felt as though a net had fallen over her and flailed blindly in her panic until she heard the snap of the book closing again and the sensation across her body stopped. Leaping to her hooves and looking around she noticed nothing except the closed book on the tabletop. However, as she wiped her brow with a fore hoof, she froze when the hoof she saw was not the light blue of her normal coat color, but a violently bright pink instead. Channeling her magic and summoning a mirror before herself she saw that indeed her entire coat had turned the most eye assaulting shade of pink that she had ever seen. The resulting scream startled a flight of bats to escape from the ruined castle and into the bright morning sky.

Author's Note:

And there it is. The next chapter is already under construction and will feature Luna's first big prank on her sister! Also, we will get Trixie officially into the mix! No promises on a time frame for the next chapter, but hopefully same time next week. As always, comments, and constructive criticism are welcomed!

-dracolord85

Comments

[Yubella]

“Luna, you know how I feel about mind reading magic, it is unethical.” The elder sister pontificated with her muzzle held high.

Ha! You just don't like it cause it's a banned spell. Dark magic is just magic some disagree with morally.