Chapter 6: Accusations

**March 3, 1504 A.D.**

**Lunar Wing, Canterlot Castle**

The day had barely begun before the cool cusp of winter began to make way for the warm of spring.   Winter Wrap-Up in Canterlot had proceeded smoothly the previous week, the unicorns casting their magic to clear the snow and frost from the marble city.  The pegasi assigned to the weather of the city had also cleared the skies above Canterlot of any gray and gloomy clouds that cast shadows over the pristine city.

The mood that infected the city however, was not so easily smoothed.

In the week since the attack on Princess Twilight, the city had been in an uproar over her attackers as well as extremely nervous as it reminded them too closely of both the Changeling Invasion and the Everfree Incident.  Rumors had flown like wind through the city streets of who did it and why, each equally unlikely but the dread and mystery surrounding the attack still caused a pall of dread to descend on the inhabitants of the capital.

While Twilight was recovering in the hospital, soldiers were increased in the city both for obvious security reasons and to help calm the city and keep the populous from rioting in a panicked frenzy.  Several statements had been issued from the princesses that Twilight would make a full recovery and an investigation by Parliament was to be due any day.

That day was in fact today.

Princess Luna was rather grumpy, she had been changing her sleeping habits over the course of the previous week in order to be awake and alert for the beginning of Parliament’s investigation.

This was not the source of her grumpiness however.

“I’m sorry princess, but all the rest of the guard captains agreed that until the perpetrators behind Princess Twilight’s attackers are found we must accompany you.”

Luna looked over at her Night Guard Captain, Night Wing.  The female thestral was of average height, had a light gray coat with a dark blue mane and tail to match her near black bat-wings that were folded at the mares sides.  Night Wing was an accomplished fighter and in addition to her duties as a guard captain, she was also head of Equestrian Intelligence.

They were both walking to the front of Canterlot Castle, leaving Luna’s residence in the lunar wing of the castle behind them as they walked.  They and the other four Night Guards were preparing to meet with Celestia and Twilight who were both waiting for them with their respective captains and accompanying guards.

Twilight had left the hospital two days ago with her burns healing and her wings mending.  She had taken it slow with her friends and family helping her, doting on her like a newborn foal, a fact which Twilight found unamusing and that which Luna teased her about to no end in friendly gest.

Speaking of Twilight, Luna looked out a window as she and her guards walked down the hallway and spied Twilight’s new residence looming over the castle.

When Canterlot Castle had been built shortly after her banishment, (a fact Luna reluctantly admitted, she still felt awful for demolishing the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in her nightmarish rage) her sister Celestia had planned it with a mind of Luna’s eventual return.

With this hope inside her, Celestia had the workers construct two wings of the castle with respect to the sun and moon.  The Solar wing, in which Celestia resided, and the Lunar wing, which was mostly untouched and preserved for the day Luna returned.  When Luna had returned in 1500 A.D., the rooms were ready for her immediate use but she instead spent the next several months sharing a room with her sister, finding comfort in the white alicorn’s presence after a millennium on the moon.  As Luna slowly recovered from both her banishment and the Elements of Harmony’s cleansing power, she moved into her new residence and rearranged things to her liking.

When Twilight had ascended, the sisters had discussed with the younger alicorn where she would be staying.  They had all agreed that Twilight would mostly remain in Ponyville with her friends for the time being but had also agreed for her having a permanent residence in the castle for her as well.  Twilight’s old quarters as Celestia’s student were too small, Celestia asserted, much to Twilight’s disagreement.  But as Twilight began to grow taller and thin out, she reluctantly agreed that a change would be needed.

What had then followed was the construction of the Twilight Tower.

This tower’s base was located in the middle of the hallway which connected the Solar and Lunar wings of the castle.  It wasn’t the tallest tower of the castle, that honor belonged to the Observatory tower which the princesses used to both view the stars and look out over Equestria.  The Twilight Tower was of mid-size in height but was very thick with lavender marble that sparkled like stars in the sunset.  Its rooms consisted of a personal library, a kitchen, a laboratory, a room for Spike, several rooms for guests, and a bathroom for guests.  At the top of the tower was Twilight’s personal quarters which contained a study, a bedroom, a personal bathroom, and of course plenty of room for more books.

Luna broke her gaze from the tower outside the window as they approached the front of the castle. Reaching out, Luna used her magic to open the doors to the front lawn of the castle.  She saw Celestia, Twilight, and their guards as they waited for her.  They all wanted to leave together before going through the castle gates to attend Parliament’s investigation.  Celestia was wearing her usual vestments while Twilight was wearing her coronation attire.  They had all agreed that while Twilight’s wings healed, it would be best to conceal them and the bandages they were wrapped in so as to not worry ponies.

“Luna!  You’re here!  What took you so long?  Parliament was supposed to start five minutes ago!”  Twilight told the blue alicorn as she walked up to them.  Luna looked back at Twilight and gave her a small smile.

“They’re just going to start the roll-call of the delegates.  They can’t proceed without us, not with you being the focus of the entire investigation in the first place.  Besides, we’ll make it there in time for everything else.”  Luna smirked at her fellow princesses, confidant in her reasoning, but Celestia frowned at her as they trotted through the castle gates into the streets of Canterlot.

“Luna, they can’t start without us.  Parliament follows very strict procedures, especially when it concerns us.  They will wait until we arrive, and it is impolite to keep them waiting.”  Celestia put her smile back on her face as they walked towards the Parliament Building, their guards fanning out to their front, sides, and behind them.  Celestia continued, “But enough of that, I wager we will hear enough lectures soon enough.  What kept you however?”  With that Celestia turned back to the lunar princess with her eyebrow arching up into her flowing mane.

The three alicorns were nearing the building as Luna replied, “I was doing some last minute reading over the most recent guard’s reports and the eyewitness accounts.  We should be prepared for whatever is brewing in there.”

They arrived at the building that housed Parliament.  The building itself was of small-height compared to the castle, but had a central dome where the chamber rested underneath and was surrounded by offices that handled different departments.  The royal guards at the door nodded to their princesses and opened the doors.  As they walked inside, Twilight turned her head to Luna, a searching look in her eyes.

“Has anything else new been discovered?”

Luna shook her head, “No, and the unicorns still refuse to talk, we still have guards searching however.  If they find anything I have given them orders to bring it in immediately.”

As she talked, an attendant led them to the chamber and opened the door for them.

The chamber was filled with the members in their seats, witnesses on the floor in chairs, and ponies ranging from journalists to concerned citizens filling the viewing booths above the floor of the chamber.  Luna and the others were walking to the royal booth as she noticed that most of the former elements of harmony were seated in the witness chairs, they were joined by the three guard captains, Wheeler, Night Wing, and Flash Sentry.

The princesses walked into the booth and took their seats.  Celestia then turned to Fancy Pants, who was patiently waiting at the Prime Minister’s chair, and bowed her head, letting him know he could begin.  Fancy Pants turned to the members and seized the gavel in his magic, he then rapped it on the podium in three short successive taps.

“The nine hundredth and forty-eighth session of the Equestrian Parliament is now in session!  I will call out roll.”

As Fancy Pants drolled out his duty, Luna thought that roll-call was redundant since she could clearly see that all the members were there.  She tore her gaze from Fancy Pants and her teal eyes looked about the room and gauged the general mood.

She first looked into the guest gallery.  The ponies they seemed both excited and nervous, the journalist scribbling notes and the citizens conversing quietly.

On the floor, the princesses’ guard captains sat with their famous stoic expressions and most of Twilight’s friends looked uncomfortable at being the center of attention.  The two exceptions were Rarity and Pinkie Pie.  Rarity was dressed more lavishly than anyone else in the room and simply looked like she was loving the attention.  Pinkie Pie looked like she didn’t have a care in the world as she defied the laws of magic with her random tricks and appearances.

Luna quickly turned away from the pink mare before a headache could set in, she very well knew that she would have more luck accurately predicting the number of rocks in Canterhorn mountain than explaining Pinkie Pie’s……well….. um…..Pinkie Pie is the best way to classify it, she thought.

Luna then looked over at the members of Parliament, the roll-call nearing the end.

Many of the members were focused and collected, ready to get down to business.  They were barely paying attention to Fancy Pants as he called out names.  There were a notable few however, that did not follow the norm.  Prince Blueblood looked bored as the proceedings began, Lady Fleur Dis Lis was gazing up at Fancy Pants with all of her attention, and Senator Tejas was sitting very still in his seat.

Luna frowned as her thoughts turned to the senator and what he represented and observed him more closely.  The earth pony was wearing a fine suit with the emblem of the Celestial Territories, an eclipse, emblazoned on it.  He looked very tired as if he hadn’t slept in a week but carried about him a very determined and confidant air about him.  But his eyes betrayed him, showing he was nervous and worried as the orbs flickered back and forth.

Luna carried her attention to Fancy Pants as roll-call ended.  The stallion then pulled himself together before speaking.

“We all know why we are here.  There has been an attack on Princess Twilight with fatal intentions.  This gathering is to investigate what happened and to see if we can discover the perpetrators behind it.  Princess Twilight has already submitted her testimony on the events to all of you from her point of view.  We have gathered witnesses to the events, and the guard captains in charge of our princesses’ safety.  One by one we shall call them to the stand and each shall give their testimony, after which you may question them.  Up first, Applejack of the Apple Family, former bearer of the element of honesty, and a personal friend of Princess Twilight.”

As Fancy Pants called her, Applejack stepped up to the podium in the center of the chamber, opposite of Fancy Pants.  Fancy Pants looked down at Applejack and gave her a large book to swear on with her hoof.  After doing so, he asked,

“Miss Applejack, as we understand it, it was your farm that caught fire.  Can you please tell us what happened from what you saw?”

Applejack nodded and took a deep breath.

“I was in mah house with mah family preparing fer bed, when I saw that some of our trees were caught up in a blaze.  I roused Big Mac’ from his slumber and he and I rushed out into field.   We were busy puttin out the flames with our equipment when Twilight flew in.  She quickly doused the flames by usin water from the city tank.  We had a brief talk about what happened when the fire restarted.  Twilight took off without us and flew towards the fire, leavin us behind.  Mac’and I were headed towards it when the fire went out and then the orchard let up with more lights, which we could see was magic.  We dumped our equipment and made a break for where the fire was.  As we ran, more magic lit up and we could hear several ponies scream.   When we arrived, Twilight was out cold and so were the unicorns.  Mac’ waved down the pegasi and Fluttershy bandaged up Twilight as I tied up the unicorns with mah lasso, thinking that they had attacked her.  We sent Rainbow for help, and then the princesses arrived and took Twilight back with them to Canterlot.  We sat on the unicorns till the guards showed up and carted them away too.  And that’s mah story.”

When Applejack finished she looked around for anyone that had questions.   Lady Grace waved down her attention.

“Miss Apple, did you see anything suspicious before the fire began?”

“No ma’am, twas as quiet as a field mouse when we tuckered in fer bed.”

Lady Grace looked satisfied at this and the others sat quietly in their seats.

“Is there any more questions for the witness?” Fancy Pants inquired, when there was none he dismissed Applejack and she returned to her seat.  “Next is Miss Rainbow Dash, head weather pegasus of Ponyville, former bearer of the element of loyalty, a close friend of Princess Twilight, and a trainee candidate for the Wonderbolts.”

Rainbow dashed to the podium and recited the same oath as Applejack before she began.

“I was in my cloudhome, hangin out, when I started smelling smoke.  I looked outside and saw that Sweet Apple Acres was on fire!  NOT COOL!  I quickly gathered the other pegasi nearby, and we started putting together rainclouds to put out the fire.  But…. we flew into a few difficulties.  It was hard to form rainclouds over the fire because of the heat, and even harder to fly them over the fire.  We couldn’t see through the smoke and it became hard to breathe if we stayed close for too long.  Then, all of a sudden, the fire went out, but the remaining smoke still made it too difficult to fly down, so we started gathering some wind to blow it away when we saw lights flicker in the orchard.  I later learned that was the unicorns attacking Twilight.  We sent the smoke away and Fluttershy and I flew down.  When we saw that Twilight was hurt, Flutters bandaged up Twilight and I flew to the Mayor.  She was with Chief Book’Em of the Ponyville police department.  I told them what happened to Twilight and the chief went to Sweet Apple Acres while the mayor sent me to Canterlot to tell the princesses.  When I arrived at the castle, Wheeler was there and I told him what had happened.  He rushed off to find the princesses and I flew back to Ponyville to check on everypony.  And that’s pretty much it.  Any questions on my AWSOME narration?”

Luna thought that was pretty straightforward, and she could tell that the other members agreed as none of them asked any questions.

Fancy Pants dismissed her and Rainbow Dash flew back to her seat quickly.

“Next is Miss Fluttershy, animal caretaker near Ponyville, former bearer of the element of kindness, and a personal friend of Princess Twilight.”

Fluttershy slowly walked to the podium and meekly gave her oath, which had to be repeated several times as nopony could hear her.  To fix this before continuing, Fancy Pants cast a voice amplifier voice spell on her.  Fluttershy then spoke at what could be considered a Royal Canterlot Voice to her but normal for everypony else.

“I was with my animals in my cottage asleep when they all woke up and panicked.  I didn’t know what was wrong until Angel dragged me outside and showed me the fire.  Rainbow Dash flew down and got me to help her with the clouds.  We kept trying until the fire went out and we saw the lights through the smoke.  After we sent the smoke away, we flew down to where Big Mac’ was and found Twilight.  I then bandaged her the best I could with the medical gear I had in my saddlebags.  One can never be too careful of course.  I continued to help her until the princesses arrived and took her away.  I then made sure the unicorns weren’t in fatal conditions and then the guards took them away too.  That’s it.”

The timid mare waited for questions nervously, and shrank back further as several members had their hooves up.  Sherriff Silverstar was first.

“Now who in tarnation is this “Angel”?  I don’t recall hearin about anypony else involved.”

Fluttershy looked back at the earth pony stallion with the large mustache and said,

“Oh…Angel isn’t a pony.  He’s a bunny.”

Silverstar looked skeptical of this.

“A small cute bunny dragged a fully-grown mare out of her home?”

“Yes.”

“You must understand why I don’t believe you.”

At this Flash Sentry poked up in his chair and addressed Parliament.

“The bunny is described under, “Possible Terrorist Cell” in your documents concerning Ponyville’s security.”

When he finished, the sound of rustling paper could be heard as the members searched their folders.  All of them had a grimace on their face as they read it.  Finally Silverstar looked back at Fluttershy with an incredulous look on his face.

“You live with that monster?!”

“Oh….he’s not a monster.  He’s a bunny.  And yes I do.  I also make him lunch.”

Silverstar was gaping at Fluttershy and the other members decided to move on.  Duke York phrased the next question at the yellow Pegasus.

“Miss Fluttershy, can you describe to us the extent of injuries you found on Princess Twilight when you found her?”

Fluttershy didn’t look any happier with more questions but persevered.

“She had several burns across her body, mostly on her wings and barrel.  But she had a large burn that I found on the side of her head, which is what I believe knocked her out.  Her wings had a few fractures and several of her feathers were burned.”

Duke York continued, “Now can you describe the wounds on the unicorns?”

“The unicorns were very beat up.  Many of them had burns that were similar to Twilight’s.  They also had several bruises on their heads as if hit with a blunt instrument in addition to several shallow cuts in specific areas like their knees and back legs.  They were all unconscious when I found them.”

As Fluttershy finished, Luna saw that many of the members had thoughtful expressions on their faces.  Each trying to figure out what had happened after Twilight was knocked unconscious.  Luna knew there was a missing piece to the puzzle.  Something had happened between the times that Twilight was unconscious and when the Apples found her.

‘But what?’

There had been no evidence that she knew of that had told them of anypony else in the orchard.  But the fact was that the unicorns were stopped before Twilight was killed, and nopony had saw what had stopped them, pointed toward an intervention.

‘There is another player on the board.  But who?  And why would they keep quiet?’

When there was no more questions for Fluttershy she descended back to the floor, and Luna thought she looked very grateful and happy that her questioning was over.

Luna barely paid attention as the members questioned Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike next.  But none of them had been near the events at the time it happened and so had nothing truly relevant to report.  Next would be the captains’ reports, with Captain Wheeler of the Day Guard first.

Fancy Pants looked very intently at Wheeler as he spoke.

“Captain, you are here to tell us what your role was in this and what you and the other Day and Night Guards found upon arriving.” When Fancy Pants finished, Wheeler looked up at the prime minister with a neutral expression before speaking clearly to the assembly.

“When Miss Rainbow Dash informed me of the attack on Princess Twilight, I immediately took guards to find her majesties Princesses Celestia and Luna in case it was a multiple attack.  I sent messengers to alert my fellow captains Night Wing and Flash Sentry of the events as well as orders to double the guards in the castle and to search for possible intruders.  My stallions and I found the princesses unharmed in their private dining-room and quickly informed them of the situation.  I then received orders from Princess Celestia to lead the unicorns and earth ponies to Ponyville by train while Captain Night Wing would go with them and any air-capable guards.  I took the grounded guards, both Day and Night Guards, by train to Ponyville where we were informed that the princesses had already taken Princess Twilight back to Canterlot.  We took the unicorns into our custody and searched them and the sight of the attack.  On the unicorns was a map detailing the area, a list of the princess’s habits and friends in the town, as well as instructions to quickly use magic to subdue the princess before killing her.  All of these including the instructions had no identifying marks on who gave it to the attackers.  At the site of the attack, we found the princess’s feathers, as well as hoofprints in the surrounding trees which is believed to be that of the attackers.  No other evidence was found.  We then left a regiment to continue searching while I and the rest of the guards took the unicorns back to Canterlot where we imprisoned them in the dungeons. “

When Wheeler finished, he shut his muzzle and sat stoically on his haunches.  Luna looked around the chamber and saw that Mayor Cloudy Skies had a question for the guard captain.

“Captain, may we see the instructions found on the attackers?  Its language might prove to be of some use identifying the culprits.”

Wheeler nodded and a subordinate hoofed him the instructions from the evidence folders nearby.  He began reading out loud the contents of the document.

“To Silent Slaughter,

Your assassin squad has been assigned by our lord to ambush and kill the alicorn Twilight Sparkle.  Included with this message is a map of the town of Ponyville, and a list of her habits and associates in the vicinity.  Our lord also advices you to ambush the alicorn out of the sight of eyewitnesses and to use magic to quickly subdue her, as she is an alicorn and is most likely dangerous if not put down quickly.

We Will Rise Again,

The Seneschal”

Luna saw Celestia put a wing around Twilight as the lavender mare shivered.  Luna also wanted to comfort her friend but the box was too small to scoot around in and didn’t want to make a scene in Parliament.  Instead she leaned over to Twilight and whispered to her.

“Don’t worry, we will find those responsible and stop them.  You’ll see.”

Twilight nodded her thanks and Luna turned back around to observe Wheeler as Cloudy Skies began questioning him again.

“Who is this ‘Silent Slaughter’?”

“We believe that is the code name of the leader of the group.  A mare that seems to be the main spokespony for the group.  The Seneschal is also a codename.”

“Do you have any leads on the “lord” of which the letter names?”

“No ma’am.  There are many dukes, lords, and mayors in Equestria.  Without any further evidence we cannot pinpoint if it is one of them.  Since most of the letters subjects were coded, Night Wing also believes that the “lord” referenced is a codename.”

Luna could see that many of the members were frustrated with the lack of any solid leads.  The lunar princess herself felt annoyed with all the secrets and mystery that stubbornly refused to be revealed.

Cloudy Skies sat back down, disappointed but satisfied with Wheeler’s answers.  When there were no more questions for the stallion he sat down in his chair on the floor and Flash Sentry ascended to the podium, looking very nervous.  Luna understood why, it was his charge that had been attacked after all.  Fancy Pants gave the rookie captain a disappointed frown as he addressed him.

“Captain Flash Sentry.  Your princess, Twilight Sparkle, was attacked by a group of unicorn assassins.  Explain why you, the captain of Princess Twilight’s Arcane Guard, and your ponies failed your duty in protecting our princess!”

Flash Sentry was fidgeting nervously and was very pale, he obviously felt the gravity of the Arcane Guard’s failure.

“We were not in Ponyville when Princess Twilight was attacked, my fellow guardponies and I were here in Canterlot.”

“Why were you not in Ponyville?  As I understand it, that has remained Princess Twilight’s main residency as she is gradually being assimilated into our government.”

Luna pitied the stallion, the poor colt looked sick as he answered the prime minister.

“Ponyville is a very peaceful town, and one of the closest towns to Canterlot itself.  We had been told by the princess that we were only needed when she visited Canterlot or other cities.  So we remained in Canterlot.”

Fancy Pants paused at this and turned around and faced the royal booth where Luna, Celestia, and Twilight sat.  He gave Twilight and incredulous gaze as he addressed the princess of magic.

“Is this true your majesty?  You asked your guards to remain here instead of allowing them to fulfill their duty in protecting you?”

Twilight looked like a scolded filly caught stealing cookies.  She had the appearance of being slightly abashed as she answered.

“Yes I did.  I’m still getting used to being a princess and I didn’t like guards following me around everywhere.  It made talking with my friends in Ponyville awkward and difficult.  Besides, Ponyville is very peaceful and…”

“Peaceful?!”

Luna snapped her head back to Mayor Mare as she interrupted Twilight in a disbelieving voice.

“Ponyville borders the Everfree Forest!  Was home to the Elements of Harmony!  We get monthly visits by a former chaotic tyrant of Equestria!  Cerberus, who guards Tarturus, plays ball with our citizens!  We’ve had dragons rampage through the streets!  Psychopaths enslave the town!  We’ve been enchanted with Want it’ Need it!

Twilight turned away at this, looking very embarrassed, but the mayor continued.

“Diamond dogs live in caves nearby!  Parasprites have invaded!  Ursa Minor attacks!  Timberwolves crawl nearby at night!  Nightmare Moon returned and first appeared in Ponyville!”

Luna ducked her head at hearing that, she didn’t like being reminded of her time of being possessed by the nightmare.

“And on top of all that, Ponyville is the home of the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!!”

There was a collective gasp in the audience and several members turned pale.  Everypony had heard of the infamous trio.

Mayor Mare ended her tirade and fell back in her seat, looking winded from her rant.  Fancy Pants shook his head at her in pity.

“While I must berate the mayor for interrupting the princess, she does have a good point.”

He turned back towards the princesses and his face grew serious.

“Princess Twilight, these guards are here for your protection.  While this body cannot force you to accept them, we all highly recommend that you do so.  For your safety and that of the town.  Surely you must see that now in light of your attack.  You were very lucky and so was Ponyville that no lasting harm was done.”

Twilight didn’t look happy at all.  She seemed to mull it over in her head for a few moments before her head snapped back up and she addressed the chamber.  Her voice was filled with reluctance and a hint of regret.

“I understand.  Thank you Prime Minister, I shall accept Parliament’s request and my captain and I shall discuss suitable arrangements after today.  I was being foolish and prideful I suppose.  I will of course, make plans for a permanent branch of my guard to be garrisoned in Ponyville while I retain residency.  Is this acceptable?”

“It is your majesty, we want what is best for your safety.”

“Very well.  Captain Flash Sentry?”

The rookie looked up at his princess nervously, probably afraid of being lectured, Luna thought.

“I am sorry for not allowing you to fulfill your duties.  That was my mistake, not yours or my guards.  We have much to discuss after Parliament adjourns.  You are dismissed.”

Flash Sentry nodded gratefully and flew back down to his seat, looking like he had dodged an arrow.

Night Wing, Luna’s captain and also head of intelligence stepped forth.  Fancy Pants cast a weary gaze down at the thestral mare as she ascended, Luna knew that he had been stressed these past weeks.

“Captain Night Wing, as head of Equestrian Intelligence I hope that your report will shed some light on this conspiracy.  Please proceed."

Night Wing swore the oath of honesty and began in her high-pitched yet crystal voice.

“As Wheeler said, I assisted him in securing the princesses and I also led all flight-capable ponies with the princesses to Ponyville.  We recovered Princess Twilight and took her to the hospital in the castle.  Since then I have been scouring through everything to find the conspirators.”

Luna had to smile at Night Wing.  She always preferred her guards being short and to the point, she disliked how Celestia’s guards could be so long winded at times.

Duchess Gold Dust glared down at the thestral and her greedy voice piped up.

“You have been in charge of the interrogation of the unicorns captured.  I want to know everything you have been able to dig up on them.”

Night Wing shifted slightly in her seat, a movement that Luna found odd, since it indicated that Night Wing was uncomfortable with what she was about to say.

“Wheeler already told you all that no significant evidence was found on them.  We have interrogated them and they have yielded nothing.  No names.  No contacts.  No residence.  No conspiracy.  We haven’t even gotten their favorite food.  These assassins were trained well.  They won’t even talk about what attacked them.  When they didn’t confess anything we went through the cutie-mark registry and found… um…..”

“Found what captain?”

“Well…. they aren’t registered.”

Luna was shocked, and judging by the gaping, gasping, and looks of disbelief that appeared around the chamber, so was everypony else.  Every pony had to register their cutie-mark.  It was an easy way to identify ponies since each pony’s mark was individual and unique.  They had to be registered in order to apply for any government department help.  Registration was necessary for voting, marriage licenses, purchases, and even to apply for residency in a town or city.  The fact that these ponies weren’t registered was astounding.

Or it meant somepony tampered with the registry.

Luna could see Gold Dust come to the same conclusion.

“Have you investigated if the registry has been defiled?”

“As you know, the registry is kept here in the Parliament Building for record keeping.  It is well guarded and only the highest levels of clearance can access those records.  We looked up what ponies have been in the registry in the past month and it shows that only members of Parliament have accessed it.”

All the sound in the room dropped to nothing.  Mayor Mare looked scared as she asked that which haunted the chamber.

“You mean that a conspirator may be in this chamber as we speak.”

“Yes.”

As the members shifted their nervous gazes on one another, Luna searched them too, looking for any fidgeting that might give them away.

Unfortunately, they were all fidgeting.

Fancy Pants spoke up and addressed Night Wing directly, looking her in the eye.

“Have you found anything that might lead to identify a conspirator in this chamber?”

“No.  The registry access card just mentions a Member of Parliament.  If we had a definite identity, we would already have arrested them.”

Fancy Pants leaned back in his chair and was still for a moment, looking shaken, before turning his gaze to Parliament.

“Miss Applejack.”

The mentioned mare jumped in surprise and looked back at Fancy Pants, who was still looking at the members.

“Yesum?”

“Since you were the bearer of the element of honesty, are you able to tell when a pony is lying?”

“Yes.”

“I am going to ask each member to give an answer to who has accessed the registry.  You speak up if any of them lie.  I will test it first.”

Fancy Pants looked back down into Applejack’s eyes and pulled on his best poker face.

“I accessed the registry.”

Applejack shook her head.  “Lie.”

As Fancy Pants proceeded to ask each member, Luna glared at all of them and noticed that Celestia did too as they gave their answers, all answering truthfully under Applejack’s scrutiny.  When the questioning was done, three members confessed that they had accessed the registry.

Lord Stuffy Tea

Mayor Mare

Prince Blueblood

Each of the members stood in their seats as Fancy Pants interrogated each of them.

“Lord Stuffy Tea, why did you access the cutie-mark registry?”

The Lord of Trottingham looked confidently back at Fancy Pants as he answered.

“I was adding to the registry.  My fief is large and many colts and fillies earn their cutie marks.  If you check the date in which I signed in, you will see a submission by Trottingham on the most recent cutie-marks.”

The chief of the cutie-mark registration committee, who had been pulled in for this, nodded, confirming the stallion’s alibi.  Fancy Pants addressed Mayor Mare next.

“Mayor Mare.  It seems awfully suspicious that the head of the fief that the princess lives in accessed the registry.  AND a map of Ponyville was provided to the assassins.  Why did you access the registry?”

Luna could tell that the mayor was very insulted by being suspected, but she didn’t rise to the bait and replied calmly.

“One of the residents of Ponyville, Diamond Tiara, brought to my attention that there had been a mistake in her registration.  Calling her Tiamond Daria.  Since the registry is here, I came to Canterlot and fixed the mistake to remedy the situation.  If you must, you can ask her yourself.  Her father is Filthy Rich, one of Ponyville’s largest businessponies.  But instead you should just check her file, there should be corrections that are dated and under my signature.”

The chief registrar quickly went through his files and produced the document.  He checked it over and nodded affirmation once again.  Fancy Pants apologized for his suspicions and questioned Prince Blueblood next.

The spoiled prince of unicorns looked disdainful as he answered.

“I was checking the genealogical records that are attached to the cutie-mark registry.  A mare had caught my attention but I wanted to check to see if she was a pure unicorn first.  The mare was misleading however, and she was in fact the product of an earth pony and a pegasus with a distant unicorn ancestor.  She was decidedly not worthy of my affections as she would have spoiled my royal bloodline.”

Luna rolled her eyes in irritation at Blueblood.  She wished she and Celestia hadn’t promised to keep the unicorn royal bloodline as dukes and duchesses of the Canterlot Fief when the Equestrian Confederation had given them the Equestrian Throne after Discord’s rule.  Luna wanted very much to strip Blueblood of his title and lands for his arrogance and racism.  But he was unfortunately sly enough to stay out of trouble, and so the ancient treaty still stood.

Luna then caught something in the corner of her eye.  She looked back at Night Wing and noticed that another one of her thestral guards had entered the chamber and had handed something to Night Wing and had begun whispering urgently to her.  It was very quiet and quick, Luna doubted anyone else but her noticed as their attention was still on Blueblood and Fancy Pants as they talked.

“Prince Blueblood that is not a solid alibi, do you have any concrete proof that you had a legitimate reason to enter the registry?”

Blueblood scoffed at Fancy Pants and dismissed him with a hoof.

“I don’t know why you bother questioning me, Mr. Chairpony, you should instead being asking Tejas.”

Fancy Pants was confused at this and looked at Tejas, who shrugged, before turning back to Blueblood.

“Why should I be questioning Senator Tejas?  He has stated truthfully that he has not entered the registry.”

Blueblood’s face turned into an amazed expression, his eyebrows climbed up into his blond mane.

“You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what Blueblood?  Spit it out already!”

“That Senator Tejas doesn’t have to access our registry, the Celestial Territories keep their own separate from Equestria’s.”

The crowd murmered and whispered to each other at this.  Many of the members looked confused and so did Fancy Pants, who turned back to Tejas with a questioning expression.

“Is this true Senator?”

Luna could see where this was going, and from the looks of it, so did Tejas.

“Yes, the Territories keeps its own registration of Cutie-Marks.  It has been that way since we joined Equestria, it was part of the agreement with Celestia and Luna.”

Fancy Pants looked surprised at this, and so did the rest of Parliament minus Blueblood.

“I wasn’t aware of this.  Captain Night Wing?”

Luna’s captain snapped her attention from the parcel she had been given earlier and looked back at Fancy Pants.  She appeared to be distracted.

‘That’s strange.  She’s usually on top of things.’

“Yes Mr. Chairpony?”

“When you searched the registration, did your guards also search the Celestial Territories as well?”

“No.  We did know they keep their own records so we sent a letter to Inquisitor Long Fang, the head of intelligence in the Territories, with pictures of the assassin’s cutie-marks.  His reply was that their registry did not have a match for any of the unicorns.”

When she finished, she looked back down at the item the night guard had given her earlier.  Noticing her distraction, Fancy Pants seemed to grow curious as to what could have her attention more than the discussion at hand.

“What is that you’ve got Captain?  You seem preoccupied.”

The members interest piqued back up at this, they were all trying to see what the mare had in front of her.  There was a long pause as the thestral studied the paper with an unreadable expression.  Luna turned to Celestia after her sister prodded her.

“Do you know what she has?  It is most unlike the captain of your guard to be this distracted.”

Luna shook her head, her mane flowing in an agitated pattern, “No, but it looks like we’re about to find out.”

The princesses looked back down at Night Wing, who had remained quiet this whole time.  Fancy Pants was getting impatient with her continued silence.

“Captain!  What is the matter?!”

Night Wing snapped back at Fancy Pants with an annoyed face, hinging on anger.

“I don’t know!One of my guards gave it to me.  He said that it was found at the site of the attack under some of the ashes.  But I can’t read it!  The ash has smudged the writing on it and there are several holes where the fire burned it.”

Fancy Pants was taken aback by the thestral’s irritation but spoke kindly to her.

“If I might Captain, I know a few spells that could reveal what is written by cleaning the ash of the parchment.  May I?”

Night Wing nodded her head and hoofed over the burnt parchment to him.  Fancy Pants’ horn lit up and encased it for a few moments before looking at it.  His eyes looked intently at the page as he read it aloud.

“Your ……,

You must ………………Ponyville immediately, our spies in Equest………..w…….a…. conspiracy …..a…….kill Princess Twilight tonig……..ce you have be….th Tejas and are closest to Ponyville, ………you to …………………….being.  The princess being dead ………….everything.

Inq……..Long Fang

Celes…..………. Intellige……”

Fancy Pants looked shocked at the implications but looked closely at a symbol at the bottom of the page before looking up at the princesses.

“I don’t recognize this seal below the signature, can any of your majesties identify it?”

He floated it up to the booth in his magic and Luna grabbed it in hers before he let go.  All three princesses looked at the symbol.  Luna could feel Celestia stiffen next to her as they both recognized the seal.

Luna felt sick, the symbol at the bottom of the page was very familiar.  It was an eclipse surrounded by stars, the six stars had six different colors and surrounded the eclipse in a halo.

‘I haven’t seen this since before my banishment.  But who….?’

Luna wasn’t able to finish her thoughts as Fancy Pants interrupted them.

“What does the symbol mean?”

Twilight looked curious at it but shook her head.

“I don’t know Mr. Chairpony, I am not familiar with the study of different symbols.  Have you two seen it before?”

She was now addressing Celestia and Luna, but Luna didn’t want to answer and she knew Celestia didn’t either.

“Um, Celestia? Luna?”

Luna floated the page back down to Fancy Pants, about to feign ignorance, but Celestia sighed and answered him instead.

“I know the seal, it is the royal crest of the Celestial Territories.  It hasn’t been used since the Territories joined Equestria.”

Silence.

Fancy Pants turned to Tejas, a very disturbed look on his face.

“Senator, I find this very disturbing.  First, your registry, being separate from ours would be easy for you to manipulate.  Second we cannot identify the unicorns that attacked our princess.  Third, I know that your intelligence service, separate from Equestria, trains the best agents.  Fourth, your name along with Long Fang the head of the Celestial Territories intelligence is on a letter that appears to be connected to the attack on Princess Twilight.  And now a long forgotten seal used when the Territories was independent comes back into to use.  Do you have knowledge of any of these things?”

Luna felt awful, the ghosts of the past were coming back to haunt her and her sister.  She looked over at Tejas and could see that he was openly sweating, his fur matted with perspiration.  He seemed to be coming to a decision.

“Yes.”

Silence reigned in the chamber once more.  Fancy Pants’ jaw had dropped.  The members looked absolutely shocked at his admission.  The crowd in the viewing gallery was staring at Tejas with absolute confusion.

Fancy Pants collected himself and stared at Tejas with barely controlled fury.

“What do you know?  And why did you hide it from this Parliament?”

Tejas slumped back in his chair in defeat, Luna thought that his expression looked like a farmer who had lost their crop.

“I….I can’t tell you.”

Parliament broke out into chaos, if Luna didn’t know any better she would have thought that Discord ruled once more.  Ponies were shouting at Tejas, the members were openly accusing Tejas of treason, the guards all stood up and looked ready to pounce on the poor stallion.  Fancy Pants was banging his gavel on his podium, trying to restore order, but his gavel snapped off from the force being used.

Luna went over to Celestia quickly and tugged on her wings to break her out of her stupor.

“Sister, what is happening?  Why would the Territories attack Twilight?”

Luna was shocked to see that her big sister had tears running down her face.

“I don’t know Luna.  I just don’t know.  That seal shouldn’t even exist anymore, I thought it had been erased from history over a millennia ago.  But I fear that things are about to escalate.”

Twilight was shaking her head in disbelief as the ponies yelled abuse at the silent stallion sitting quietly in his chair.

“Princess, does this mean the Territories are behind my attack?  But why would Tejas stick out his neck for me the last time Parliament met if he knew I was going to be attacked?”

Before either princess could answer, there was a loud bang and a flash of light as Fancy Pants leapt onto his podium and restored order.  He looked down at Tejas with disgust and snorted.

“Senator Tejas of the Celestial Territories, you have admitted to knowledge of these events and have refused to answer them.  I will give you one last chance to answer.  WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!?!”

Tejas barely flinched as Fancy Pants yelled at him.  His gaze was lost in space.  His mouth opened and a regretful voice rang through the chamber.

“I do know about that letter, what is written on it, the royal crest, and some facts about the attackers.  But I have been sworn to secrecy, and I would never betray my friends.”

He looked solemnly back at the princesses up in the booth with tears welling up in his eyes, he seemed to have aged ten years in the space of a few heartbeats.

“But I swear, we would never harm the princesses.”

Fancy Pants continued to stare at him with disbelief.  He then broke his gaze from the reduced stallion and nodded at Captain Wheeler.

“Since you continue to refuse to answer, and you have admitted to knowledge of the attack on Princess Twilight’s life, you are hereby charged with treason, and conspiracy against the triarchy of Equestria.  You will be taken into custody until a trial can be set.”

As he talked, Wheeler and some Day Guards had approached Tejas and chained his neck.  Tejas didn’t flinch or resist, he just continued to stare at the princesses with the tears flowing freely down his face.

Finally, he turned away as the guards led him out of the chamber and to the dungeons that awaited him.  The chamber was silent until the door closed behind them with a loud boom, like the closing of a coffin.  Fancy Pants straightened his suit and sat back down before addressing the members.

“What do we do now with this new development?”

Comrade Marshall spoke up in his northern accent.

“Tis too obvious, Mr. Chairpony, ve Territories are bevind the attack.  Ve must act accordingly.”

“Hear, hear,” chimed in Lord Bismarck, “All that we have found points to Tejas and the Territories as the conspirators, but it still escapes me as to why?”

“Is it not clear too everypony except me?”

The members turned as one to stare at Blueblood.

“The Territories obviously attacked Princess Twilight because they couldn’t get to Princess Cadence in the Crystal Empire.  The Crystal Princess would already be on guard since Tejas showed hostility towards them in the recent session of Parliament, and as it has been revealed, Princess Twilight was completely unguarded and vulnerable in Ponyville.  What better way to get at Cadence than to kill her sister-in-law.”

Luna could see the members faces growing in comprehension as understanding seemed to light up the room, but Blueblood continued.

“What we should do is arrest all Celestial Territories citizens in Equestria’s borders.  It seems to me that they are already breaking away and this attack could be called an act of war.  Here in this chamber, we should so what we can and gain a valuable ally against the threat posed by the Territories.”

He paused and looked smugly at Fancy Pants.

“Mr. Chairpony, I move that Parliament immediately accept Princess Cadence’s proposal of unifying the Crystal Empire and Equestria in light of the attack on Princess Twilight and the threat of the Celestial Territories.”

Mayor Mare stood on her hooves and faced Fancy Pants.

“I second the motion.”

Fancy Pants looked about the room and raised a new gavel.

“All those in favor?”

There was a chorus of “Ayes” from all the members.

“Those opposed?”

The silence spoke for itself.  Luna looked over at the empty seat that Tejas had just occupied, nopony from the Territories was here to defend it.

TAP

“The ayes have it, this assembly accepts the proposal put forth by Princess Cadence.  Preparations shall now begin to unify our two nations.”

Fancy Pants looked tired and asked the assembly in a weak voice,

“I believe we have learned all we can today, is there any objection to Parliament being adjourned?”

None.

“Parliament is adjourned!”  TAP

As ponies everywhere broke out in light conversation and began to leave the chamber, Luna looked over at Twilight and Celestia.

Twilight looked excited that Cadence’s proposal had passed but confused still on all that had happened concerning the Territories.  Twilight was gently tugging on Celestia’s wing, Celestia looked sad and was staring out across the chamber.

“Sister…..what do we do now?”

Celestia looked back at Luna and said in a sorrowful voice,

“What we have to Luna, what we have to.”