A Return to Sibling Rivalry

by dracolord85

Chapter 7: Crime and Punishment

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

Chapter 7: Crime and Punishment

Vengeance was a terrible thing. It was cyclical in nature, but then, Celestia already knew that. She just didn’t care at this point. It had taken nearly an hour and a half to scrub off the heinous amounts of makeup that Luna had plastered to her face that morning, not to mention the fact that she had to reschedule her meeting with the griffon ambassador for the next day. And to add to her distress? Luna now had her very own personal student that she had actively engaged in their struggle. Her earlier suspicions were also correct, she had heard of this Trixie Lulamoon before, and it had been from her own student, Twilight Sparkle, no less. While Twilight’s friendship report containing information about Trixie had been more about the lessons she had learned and had used fairly neutral wording towards the showmare, it was clear to her at least that Trixie had been part of the latest in a series of incidents that always seemed to occur in the drama prone little village.

Although Celestia had briefly considered bringing Twilight to her side in this struggle, two factors had stopped her from sending a letter immediately. Firstly, the thought of her poor, tightly wound student being subjected to any of the devious pranks that Luna devised was somewhat distressing. The poor thing would probably have a nervous breakdown and live in fear of what could lay in wait around every corner of the castle. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, she would see no end of teasing from her sister about not being original by bringing in her own student. No reason to give Luna any more ammunition than was necessary. Not if she wanted to win this thing anyway, and she knew she needed to win this. Still though, maybe if she came at her student sideways with the request for help then she would join anyway.

As the day had worn on and the Day Court had been wrapped up, Celestia had wound up in her personal office just beside the throne room as usual. The stack of official petitions and reports on her large desk was currently being ignored in favor of another activity. To the casual observer she was deep in concentration as she marked up a document, but that was not the case. Celestia was in fact, sketching out her latest plans for pranking her sister on parchment. Sketching may have been a generous description however, since unbeknownst to nearly everypony, Celestia was a terrible artist. The doodles on her parchment could likely have been outdone by an early grade school filly or colt and could really only be interpreted by the artist. Nevertheless, Celestia sat with her orange tongue poking out of the side of her scrunched muzzle as she focused on sketching the stick ponies and flow arrows detailing her latest masterpiece. The sudden, distinctive sound of an armored hoof rapping at her door brought Celestia back to the present as she hurriedly put away her plans.

“Please enter.”

The helmeted head of a solar guard poked through the door after it opened just enough.

“Your Majesty, the specialist that you summoned has arrived. Will you receive him?”

“Splendid, please send him in, thank you.” Celestia smiled brightly.

As the guard withdrew from the doorway both office doors opened to reveal a lanky young earth pony stallion. His coat was an ashen gray with a dull green mane and tail, a pair of sleek spectacles perched atop his muzzle, framing light blue eyes. A cutie mark of a flask full of bubbling blue chemicals adorned his flank. Still quite young for a pony that had already made as much of an impact as he had on the scientific community, but then again, prodigies did happen every few generations. Thanks to countless years in the realm of politics, she was able to determine much about this pony at a mere glance. His bright eyes spoke of his passion for what he did and the enthusiasm that he approached his work with. His strong stance denoted the confidence that success had instilled in him. Just the type of eager and talented youth she needed.

“Fizzle Flask Ma’am, at your service.” The confident young stallion stepped forward and bowed to his princess.

“Rise Mr. Flask, and thank you for meeting with me on such short notice. I have a task that I believe you are the proper pony to consult with, but first I have a few questions to ask of you.” Celestia indicated the young stallion to the seat opposite of her.

“Of course Ma’am, what would you like to know and how can I help?” The eager stallion sat and leaned forward expectantly.

“Are you aware of the little contest my sister and I are engaged in?”

“Princess, to be honest, I am sure that most of Equestria is aware of it by now. It seems like opinions on the matter seem to be fairly scattered though.”

“Oh? In what way do you mean my little pony?” Celestia titled her head to the side as she inquired.

“Well… Umm… Permission to speak freely your Highness?” The now nervous stallion fidgeted in his seat before Celestia nodded her assent.

“I have heard some ponies say that it is just two siblings bonding. Others say that it is uncouth for ponies of your stature to engage in such a foalish thing. Yet others say that this whole thing just makes you look silly.” Fizzle Flask summoned up the height of his courage as he relayed what he had heard from the common ponies.

“Hmm. And if I could have your personal opinion?” Celestia steepled her hooves before her muzzle as she asked.

“I guess if we are being honest here, I would say that I’m surprised that somepony like you would engage in a prank war with anyone. It doesn’t seem like something that a princess would do publicly.” Fizzle cringed as he finished and waited for the impending rebuke for his candid statements.

“Hehehe! Perfect!” Celestia giggled in genuine good humor.

“Princess?”

“You see Mr. Flask, some of the theories you put forth are true. I am indeed bonding with my sister to repair our damaged relationship. However, I am also trying to give myself somewhat of an image makeover if you will.”

“Princess, I’m still not sure I follow. Why would you want to change the image that your subjects already have of you? Wasn’t it a good image already?” Fizzle asked with a tilt of his head.

“Indeed it was a good image, too good in fact. Ponies saw me as the sole immortal ruler of the country for a thousand years. This led them to view me as both perfect and infallible, which in turn put me on a pedestal and made me seen as unapproachable and distant. It is that mindset that I want to change.”

“Hmm, I guess I never thought about how isolating that could be.” The stallion nodded as he reasoned through the logic.

“Indeed, now onto the reason I wish you to be involved in my little campaign. My sister Luna is a very powerful magician and a talented illusionist, but her understanding of modern technology is understandably lacking, severely.”

“I could see that being a hindrance for someone that had to step straight into a thousand years of technological progress.”
“Yes, and that is why I wish for you to make a bottle of coat and mane wash for her.” Celestia smiled warmly as she finished her statement.

“…What?” The poor stallion was officially lost.

“Not just any ordinary shampoo,this one needs to be a bit special for my dear sister. What can you tell me about photo reactive compounds?” Celestia queried the now intrigued young scientist.

Over the next half hour, Celestia went into detail over what exactly her idea entailed. Once all of her ideas had been discussed, she was pleased to hear from the young chemist that her idea seemed plausible and that he would begin his research and development immediately. Celestia had known that the setup for this prank would take a while, so she would need to devise something else in the meantime. Patience had a payout though, and she could make do with something less epic here and now to allow her larger plan to properly mature. And of course by less epic she meant just ever so slightly. Once again her office resounded with the sound of an armored hoof meeting a wooden door.

“Enter~.” Celestia’s sing song voice called out.

“Princess, the Canterlot historical museum security chief you requested had arrived. Will you see her now?” Her guard called back.

“Indeed. Please show her in.”

As her office door opened, a dark orange coated, silver maned unicorn mare entered and bowed to the princess. A blue shield with a white cross in the center adorned her flank, denoting her special talent in the defensive arts. Celestia could tell from the way this mare carried herself that she bore a confidence derived from years of hard work and successful endeavors. Just the pony she needed to consult for her interim plan.

“Ah, Miss Ever Shield I presume?”

“Correct your Majesty, what can I help you with?”

“I am looking to set up a small laser trip-wire system, which I would assume you are familiar with in your field, what can you tell me about them?”

“Absolutely Princess! What kind of deterrent system are you going to interface with? Cameras? Alarms? Security shutters?”

"Claymore anti-infantry mines." Came Celestia's nonchalant response.

"Ah I see... WAIT! WHAT!? Princess, I'm so sorry, but perhaps you meant to ask your question to a military pony. My methods aren't supposed to result in dead ponies." The flabbergasted mare refuted the request.

"Hehehe, calm down my little pony. I have no intention of killing anypony either. I am going to modify the mines in order to make them a rapid deployment system for something decidedly more benign than a hail of shrapnel." Celestia giggled softly as she soothed the security pony.

"Well, in that case then..." The still somewhat cautious mare trailed off.

Over the course of the next hour, Celestia had changed Ever Shield's view on her plan from passively resistant to cautiously agreeable. Not much of a shift really, but still enough to ensure her help in procuring the necessary materials for the plan. As the mare left her office with a promise to bring the necessary equipment tomorrow evening, Celestia could barely contain her glee. Once the door was shut and she was once again alone she was no longer able to contain her excitement as she stood in front of the large office window and began prancing in place while making excited squealing noises. How could she not after all? Tomorrow was looking to be just perfect!

===== Early afternoon of the next day =====

Celestia walked around the corner of a hallway and ducked into a small alcove that was serving as a temporary forward operating base. The space was small already and stuffing Ever Shield, her security equipment and the much larger alicorn into the space made for a tight fit.

"Are your preparations complete Princess?" Ever looked up from her equipment calibrations as Celestia trotted up.

"Hehehe, indeed my dear, Oh-hohho, everything is ready on my end. Showtime approaches, are you ready?" Celestia turned her pinprick gaze to the waiting mare.

"Umm, yeah, I guess so. Are you feeling okay your Majesty? You seem somewhat... off."

'Off' was the most polite way that Ever Shield could voice her concern over the apparent instability that her princess was displaying. Ever since meeting up with Celestia that morning, the alicorn had been displaying increasingly odd and worrying behavior. So much so in fact, that Ever was no longer certain that accepting the request for help was an altogether good idea on her part. She definitely didn't understand the nature of the rivalry between the princess and her younger sister, but she was beginning to realize that being involved may not end up going exactly well for her.

"Nonsense my little pony, everything is going exactly as planned. There is nothing to worry about." Celestia flashed a small but for some reason DEEPLY disturbing smile to the smaller mare.

"O-okay then P-princess. Should I a-arm the s-system?" The now unsettled mare questioned.

"If you would please."

With a flip of a switch and a few button presses, there was a slight hum as the security system was activated. On a monitor placed before them there was a graphic representation of the hallway around the corner, and once the system had been activated a series of red lines began to criss-cross the area. Laser trip lines had been set up at angles that provided complete coverage across the hall. Also adorning the screen were a series of small red and yellow blips that represented the claymores that Celestia herself had modified and placed in precise locations throughout the hallway. Once Luna walked through the hallway she would trigger the trap and complete her sister's revenge plan. It was perfect!

"May I ask what thou art doing hiding here as such?" A new voice drifted into the alcove.

"Shhh! Be quiet, we are waiting to spring a trap!" Celestia hissed as her shifty gaze and creepy smile focused on the monitor before her.

"A trap? For whom pray tell?"

"My rotten sister of course! She will pay for what she did to me the other day, deciding to escalate this into the public embarrassment realm like that. I can still hear the laughter of the griffon ambassador..." Celestia shuddered but kept her gaze fixated on the monitor.

"Umm, Princess?" Ever Shield spoke up.

"Not now Miss Shield. My sister should be coming down the hallway any moment now and I don't want to miss a second of this."

"Art thou certain that Princess Luna will be coming down this hallway at precisely this time?"

"Of course! Her predictability is something that this plan is hinging on. Wait, I can hear her coming now!" Celestia edged closer to the screen as hear ears swiveled to focus on the clip-clop of hooves approaching the hallway.

"Princess you should really-"

"Just a moment more Miss Shield and then we-"

"PRINCESS YOUR SISTER IS SITTNG RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!" The frustrated mare bellowed at her princess.

With a slowly dawning horror, Celestia pried her eyes from the monitor as she slowly turned her head to look beside her, a distinct creaking noise accompanying the slow motion. There Luna sat, and smiled widely as she waved at her sister with an enthusiastic fore hoof. The terror gripped more firmly onto the Solar Princess for every nano-second that she beheld her younger sister sitting there and not in the hallway. But if Luna was there then who was walking... down the...

"NONONONONONO!" Celestia shrieked as she sprung to her hooves and attempted to stop the inevitable.

Just as she cleared the entryway of the alcove, Celestia's sharp ears picked up the distinctive click of the relays making contact in Ever Shield's security setup, it was too late. Not even a fraction of a second later the first explosions shook the hallway. Celestia skidded around the corner as the first wave of mines was halfway through their detonation sequence. She had daisy chained them together so that the entire hallway was covered by their blast zones. Huddled in the middle of the hallway was a pair of figures that sat screaming as the hallway erupted in a series of explosions that released torrents of maple syrup onto everything in the area. As the last of the primary mines detonated, the second series went off in the opposite direction. These explosions released clouds of feathers in an apocalyptically fluffy white storm, which of course instantly stuck fast to everything that had the sticky maple syrup on it, which was everything.

Once the chaos had died down and most of the feathers had settled, Celestia strode forward into the disaster scene. The two figures she had seen revealed themselves to be castle maids, now covered head to hoof in syrup and feathers, their uniforms wrecked beyond recovery. To make matters worse, she could just barely make out the green bands on the sleeves of one of the maids, it had been her first day on the job.

"My little ponies I am so, so, sorry." Celestia attempted an apology until the junior maid's lower lip began to tremble.

"Shhh, Shhh. Weep not my dear, let us hasten to the nearest showers. I shall not let my reckless sister harm thy day any further, come now." Luna had swooped in like a dark guardian angel to usher the two maids away from Celestia.

"Rest assured, I shall see to it that my sister is properly punished for her transgressions against thee." Luna glanced behind her as she led the maids away, her smile promising the most horrible of retributions.

===== Later that evening =====

A small group of ponies had gathered in the royal throne room. As night had officially begun, the throne room had undergone its normal transformation. All of the solar banners and motifs had magically changed into lunar symbols and effigies. The broad stained glass windows that depicted historic Equestrian events during the day now displayed simplified starry night patters and the various phases of the moon. All that was once red, white, and gold was now blue, black, and silver respectively. As night court was still a very infrequent occurrence, few had beheld the transformations that took place in the throne room. Although, tonight there was not to be a night court, despite it being the correct time and location for it. Tonight, it was the first gathering of the court of Chief Justice Cadence of the Royal Grievance Court.

To one side and several paces away from the base of the dais sat a sullen looking Celestia and a confused Ever Shield, with two solar guards not so much guarding the two as making sure they stayed put. To the opposite side and at equal distance from the throne sat Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, and Trixie. Standing at the base of the throne was Shining Armor, in his full guard regalia, and with his game face on. And finally, sitting atop the throne was a thoroughly uncomfortable looking Cadence.

"Umm, I really don't feel comfortable sitting on your throne auntie Luna..." Cadence mumbled as she fidgeted in place.

"Nonsense my dear, thou art perfectly welcome to it on this occasion." Luna nodded toward her niece.

"Well, okay then. Let's get this started. Attention all prese-" Cadence began before being cut off.

"Neigh, Cadence. Thou must first don thy official robe and wig to properly assume the role of judge." Luna interrupted while summoning a black robe and goofy white wig before her niece.

"What? Are you serious?" Cadence queried, looking askance at the offending garments.

"Tis tradition!" Luna confirmed as Cadence looked desperately to Celestia.

"Sorry my dear, my sister is right." Celestia perked up a bit as she hid a smirk behind a hoof at Cadence's flustered expression.

With a scowl and an indignant huff, Cadence draped the full coverage robe over herself and fitted the wig over her mane as carefully as she could. Once she was done she glared out at the ponies before her. Thankfully neither of her aunts was openly laughing, that was reserved for Trixie, Nightmare, and Ever. If Shinning was laughing he was doing a masterful job of hiding it. Calling the court to order, Cadence wanted to get this over and done with.

"Princess Celestia, you stand accused of violating the code of conduct that you have affixed your signature to regarding the contest between yourself and your sister, Princess Luna. How do you plead to these accusations?" Cadence settled herself as she slipped into the required character for the occasion.

"I wish to plead no contest your Honor." Celestia raised her head and looked up at her niece.

"So noted and accepted. Miss Ever Shield you stand as a co-conspirator to the violation perpetrated by Princess Celestia and are therefore guilty by association." Cadence decreed as Ever Shield cringed visibly.

"By the rules of this court, it is now up to Princess Luna to suggest a punishment that will then be made official on my judgment. Princess Luna, have you decided upon the punishment that Princess Celestia is to receive."

"Indeed your Honor, we have arrived upon several choices to select from. Firstly though, we wish that the charges be dropped against Miss Ever Shield, she should not be made to suffer for being an unwitting accessory to my sister's recklessness." Luna nodded resolutely.

"That is most generous of you Princess Luna, and the court agrees with your motion. Miss Ever Shield, consider the charges against you dropped, you are no longer in jeopardy." Cadence smiled at the exuberant mare beside Celestia, who herself sent a small smile at her sister.

"Excellent, now onto my sister's punishment. Our first suggestion, that she be made to work in the employ of the Canterlot sanitation department for a day." Luna smirked at her somehow more pale than usual sister.

"Hmm, community service. Interesting. Anything else?" Cadence mused from her perch.

"Eternal Night!" Nightmare jumped up and down as she shouted enthusiastically.

"..."

Nightmare stopped as she noticed the entire room giving her the 'seriously?' look.

"What? Too soon?" Nightmare tilted her head in confusion.

"Denied." Cadence deadpanned.

"Whatever." Nightmare pouted with her forelegs crossed.

"What of thy ideas my student, feel free to join in devising a punishment for my sister." Luna smiled at Trixie as Celestia shot the two a venomous look.

"Well, umm... Oh! I know!" Trixie smiled as revelation hit her.

The showmare quickly levitated a quill and parchment from her saddle bags at her side and began scratching out her idea. Once finished she showed it to both Luna and Nightmare, both of whom gasped and looked wide eyed back at Celestia, whose sense of impending doom deepened. Luna folded the parchment in half and levitated it to Shining Armor, who carried it by mouth up to the throne. Sneaking a brief kiss from her coltfriend by taking the note in her own mouth instead of by magic, Cadence read the note. Upon finishing, her eyes widened and she broke character to whisper briefly.

"Oh, my..." Cadence shook her head and resumed her role.

"Very well then. I have taken into consideration all of the proposed correctional actions, and have made my decision. Princess Celestia of Equestria, it is the judgment of this court that you will pay for your rule violation in the following manner. In three days time you are to perform a sing along magic show for the foals of Canterlot, the venue being the royal amphitheater. Failure or refusal to comply will result in your forfeiture to Princess Luna, is that understood?"

"...Yes..." A shell shocked Celestia spoke back in a dread filled voice.

"In that case, this court is adjourned." Cadence huffed as she banished the ridiculous wig and robe with her magic and stepped down from the throne, Shining Armor in tow.

"Thou had best to begin planning thy routines dear sister, as I suspect the time of thy performance will be here before thou realize it." Luna smirked at her sister, who simply scowled before teleporting back to her room.

===== Three Days Later =====

"No Luna, absolutely not!" Celestia sat on her haunches with her muzzle raised high in defiance.

"Tia, the time for negotiations hath concluded. Now take it off." Luna crooked forward her fore hoof in a 'gimme' gesture.

"I am not going out there without my regalia! It would be like being naked before my subjects!" Celestia looked positively scandalized at the very notion.

"Listen, sister, I have already given more ground than I needed by not making thou wear the jester costume that Nightmare made for thy performance. Besides, this is meant to be a humbling experience, now remove thy articles before I remove them by force!" Luna challenged her sister with steel in her voice.

With a whimper that garnered no sympathy from her sister, Celestia reluctantly removed her royal vestments and stood waiting in the wings of the stage. On the opposite side, Nightmare and Trixie stood and waived to her. The mass of foals sitting in the bleachers were all waiting and the time to perform had come. Celestia gave one last pleading look back at her sister in the hail mary of hopes that this would all be called off somehow.

"Please sister..." Celestia employed her best puppy dog eyes and set her lower lip to trembling.

"Neigh! Gentlecolts, if thou would please give my sister a nudge."

Suddenly, both of Luna's Shadow Sentinels were behind her and had planted their hooves on her backside before giving a mighty shove. With an alarmed squawk, Celestia stumbled forward onto the stage, where spotlights formed on her and the thunderous applause of hundreds of foals greeted her. Luna gave a nod and dispersed into the shadows along with her Sentinels, she needed to get a nice vantage point to enjoy her sister's act. After all, what kind of sister would miss their sibling's big performance?

Author's Note:

WHOOO HAH! This one was way later than I intended! Life kinda decided to rear up and buck my routine, so I had to spend some time beating it back into submission! Sorry about not detailing Celestia's sing along show with the foals, but every attempt I made came out sounding kinda weak. Anybody that wants to write it up, feel free, and maybe I will include it as a bonus chapter. Anyways, enjoy, and as always, comments, questions, and constructive criticism are appreciated.

-dracolord85

Comments

[Charlie_K]

Making your own sister sing naked to a bunch of excited foals in a public setting. Cruel, brutal, and I love it. Celestia's gonna have to really up the ante on this one to get back at her.

[Tatsurou]

I couldn't stop laughing at this one! Well done!

[Kage no Brony]

Mr. Flask...

Would it be too much to ask you to add some itching powder to the items I asked you to create? Preferably a homecooked powder; I can't seem to find any that induce burning itches in their victims...

[HotRodasaurus]

As soon as I finish reading, insta fav!