Tricky Concertby Silent StriderChaptersPreludeMusic and LightThunder and LightningEncorePreludeIt had been a quite pleasant day for Twilight. That is, until she saw a cluster of large rockets streaming towards her. Let’s start a bit earlier, though. A couple weeks prior Princess Luna was at the highest point of a prank war with Discord when she had a brilliant idea for a new, if nasty, prank: throw a balloon filled with Tatzlwurm mucus on Discord, granting the draconequus a one-way ticket to the infirmary. The Princess gleefully flew to the ends of Equestria to find a Tatzlwurm and get the balloon filled. In hindsight it wasn’t such a good idea; Luna hadn’t fully considered how to put the mucus inside the balloon, splashing her own hooves on her third failed attempt. She noticed that something was very wrong as her hooves turned green, at which point another issue with her plan became obvious; getting back from the ends of Equestria to Canterlot, easy for her when healthy, was significantly less than easy while sickly green. Luna did manage to get back to Canterlot Castle, which in hindsight was also a less than sensible idea. The Tatzlwurm Fever doesn’t just make ponies (and draconequus) green; it is also highly contagious and - especially troubling when one of the only two alicorns capable of moving the sun and the moon seeks help of the other one - prevents all magic usage until cured. Only some rapid thinking on Discord’s part, involving a giant birdcage and a pink plastic bubble, prevented a greater tragedy involving a green Princess Celestia. Almost having the two de-facto rulers of Equestria incapacitated for the second time since Princess Twilight’s coronation left the three princesses wary. As soon as Luna recovered they agreed that Twilight should take a crash course on how to keep Equestria running in the (apparently not so) unlikely event both other princesses weren’t available. Twilight, of course, loved the idea. She had been asking Celestia for lessons on how to be a princess, or at least a book she could borrow, since her coronation; besides, she loved to study, and doubly so study under Celestia and Luna. The prospect of a couple weeks of hard study with the other two princesses made Twilight feel like she was in heaven. Today’s schedule had been particularly pleasant. Breakfast with Celestia; a brief lecture on court protocol followed by a report on the morning session of the Sun Court; lunch with Celestia and Luna, which doubled as a very laid back princessly etiquette lesson; and in the afternoon a study on guard procedures and advanced magic with Luna. Twilight was almost disappointed when Luna bid her farewell, ending her day full of exciting study, but there was a show that evening she had been planning to see for some time already. Author's Note This first chapter is a bit of an experiment in a tell rich text. It can be skipped, the info contained inside can be garnered by the context where it's referenced again. Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn. Music and LightA new musical group, the Dreamlight Rhapsody, was quickly ascending in Canterlot; in just a few weeks they went from being virtually unknown to being praised by such radically different artists as DJ Pon-3 and Octavia Melody, a feat so unlikely it left Twilight curious. Their shows, mixing classic and modern music with a healthy serving of special effects, were attracting high society and common ponies alike. Today’s show was meant for school-age ponies; the repertoire was chosen together with a group of teachers - which, Twilight had heard, elicited complaints aplenty from the students - and the show itself would start earlier, just after moonrise. Twilight arrived at the plaza where the show was going to happen as the moon was rising. A few stagehooves were working on a large stage in the middle of the plaza, until one of them pointed towards Twilight; they quickly joined in a huddle, one of them running to the back of the stage soon after. So much for anonymity. The rest of the space was taken by ponies, most of them school-age fillies and colts talking enthusiastically, with a few adults keeping an eye on them. Many of them looked at the princess, smiling and waving. The two chaperones of one group in particular caught Twilight’s attention; a dark blue pegasus mare with cyan mane had just landed and was waving at the princess, while a brown unicorn stallion with graying mane was looking intently at Twilight with a mischievous, almost hungry, smile. Twilight was sure she had seen those ponies somewhere, but couldn’t quite place it. A blue pegasus filly with green mane was comfortably snuggled on the stallion’s back. Waving back, Twilight continued to look for a good spot, finally sitting near the middle of the plaza - and drawing glances from every filly and colt nearby. Just as the princess started to think she might be swarmed by the young ones, white fog started to seep from the stage’s back. As the fog started to fall down from the stage’s front the crowd silenced. Shapes started to emerge from the back of the stage: Wood Storm entered from the left, waving energetically, her pink coat and orange mane seeming to gain color as she reached the front of the stage; Steam Harmony, a tan unicorn whose silvery mane almost seemed to billow, walked in a more subdued manner, shyly nodding to the public; Starry Sonnet used her magic to carve a tunnel through the fog, a contagious smile prevalent in her canary yellow face framed in her emerald mane; lastly Wind Whisper seemed to drop from the sky, her sudden landing creating a hole in the fog and making her gray coat and cerulean mane stand out. As the fog dissipated all eyes turned upwards. The Dreamlight Rhapsody shows were as known for the irreverent fireworks display as for the music, and nopony wanted to miss the opening salvo. The first display of the night, as always, formed Luna’s cutie mark; the group always thanked the Princess of Dreams in their shows. The next display seemed more discreet, a single purple star shooting over the stage and towards the public… As the solo purple firework flew over the public it exploded into a huge six pointed purple star; soon after five smaller white stars appeared around it.Twilight was agape; Why is my cutie mark... Her thoughts were interrupted when a spotlight nearly blinded her, as Starry Sonnet announced: “Before we start, we want to thank Princess Twilight Sparkle for her patronage!” The crowd cheered loudly at that. Oh, yes, that is why Celestia used a disguise to watch the show. Twilight forced the morning’s etiquette lessons to the front, smiling and waving slowly. And, no matter what, never let them notice you were surprised. Thankfully the hooflight soon returned to the stage, allowing the cheers to die and leaving on Twilight’s ears a curious giggle from the blue pegasus chaperone. Dreamlight Rhapsody started singing in earnest with an impressive rendition of Winter Wrap Up that got many of the children singing along, almost making Twilight forget her early embarrassment, but that was just the warm up. In the sequence the group started their Hearth’s Warming Suite: Flight of the Northern Warriors, singing about Pegasi valor, and making many of the pegasi in the audience hover in excitement; Earth’s Renewal, which praised Earth Ponies’ resilience and got more than a few ponies to pound the ground in rhythm with the music; and Celestial Mysteries, a song about Unicorn wisdom that had most of the unicorns humming along. By the time the group’s arrangement of The Heart Carol started Twilight had her eyes closed in rapture. As she hummed along she felt a magical tingle, as if a spell had been cast on her. With a confused face, Twilight concentrated on the magic, feeling its last motes coming from the stage; her eyebrows shot up as she recognized the spell. A Magical Magnet spell? Why on Equestria would somepony cast that on me? Twilight’s train of thought was interrupted as a familiar blue unicorn mare invaded the stage from the side, eyes wide with fear. Horn aglow, the unicorn ran to the stage’s back, her screams drowned by the music. In her haste she couldn’t avoid Wind Whisper’s outstretched wings, leaving unicorn and pegasus sprawled on the stage. A dark gray smoke screen suddenly obscured the stage, the music stopping a few moments later; in the sudden silence, the sound of a large amount of fireworks launching could be heard like a dragon’s roar. The rather large rockets came into view from behind the smoke, promptly curving towards Twilight; time slowed to a crawl, her pupils shrinking to primpricks as she remembered all the young ponies around her. Without thinking twice Twilight was in the air; to the side she could see the dark blue pegasus taking flight, a magical glow atop her head… Rockets first, mysteries later. Twilight’s horn flared as she desperately pointed rockets away from the crowd, the mysterious magical pegasus doing the same. No time left, Twilight concentrated on one last spell to shield herself when something heavy but soft hit her from the side; the pegasus had just tacked her out of the path of the rockets. Cringing, Twilight closed her eyes and… Splosh. Opening her eyes Twilight saw Luna hovering in place of the mysterious pegasus, covered muzzle to tail in pies and cakes; pegasi guards were already approaching her, and - to Luna’s chagrin - camera noises could be heard from the crowd. The brown unicorn chaperone that was with her earlier had a golden glow on his horn, his eyes having turned an unmistakable yellow. Above them a few rockets both alicorns sent up were still rising, finally exploding with a loud noise and illuminating the whole plaza.. Twilight looked around. Many other ponies - including herself - were hit by the suddenly appearing baked goods. Shaking the worst of the icing and the pie filling from her mane, Twilight scanned the stage; among the dissipating smoke she could only see three ponies. After a short talk with a pair of guards, Luna flew towards Twilight. “I will have to stay here to coordinate the guard and handle… other things. The guard is already pursuing the ponies that fled the stage. Perhaps you should join them; I believe one of the fleeing ponies is known to you.” Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Luna. For the help and for saving me.” She winked at the brown unicorn chaperone. “And I guess I should thank Discord too. Being bombarded with dessert isn’t exactly pleasant, but it sure beats the alternative.” “You can’t hold Trixie like this! Trixie is not a criminal!” Twilight found the two unicorn guards and their prisoner, held in a net, exactly where the pegasus had indicated. As soon as she landed the two guards knelt. “Your highness.” “At ease. I need to speak with your prisoner.” Twilight turned to the blue unicorn in the net. “Hello, Trixie.” Trixie’s face went from a concerned frown to a hopeful smile. “Princess Twilight! You have to help Trixie, this is all a misunderstanding!” “I know, Trixie. And you can call me just Twilight” Twilight rubbed her temple. “But can you stop talking in third person? It’s giving me a headache.” “But Trixie is innocent, the fireworks were… Wait, you believe Trixie- I mean, you believe me?” Twilight tried a reassuring smile. “We might not be best friends, but I doubt you would ever send a fireworks barrage at me. Besides, I doubt the Great and Powerful Trixie would run through the stage screaming like that, it didn’t look professional.” Trixie cringed at the words, and Twilight blushed a bit. “Let me get you out of that net, but I must ask you to stay where you are.” She motioned at the closest guard, which removed the net in a single, practiced movement. “Now, what were you saying about the fireworks?” “Somepony exchanged the harmless one Trixie - I was going to use, and put those large ones in their place; when I found it I tried to prevent them from launching, but I failed. I was trying to find who did it when the guards found me and threw that net.” “And how were you going to find the responsible?” “I saw somepony messing with the fireworks; I think I can recognize him if I see him again.” “Perfect! I’ll get the guards to find everypony that worked on the stage and bring them to you.” Twilight’s excitement vanished from her voice as she looked down. ”But I must ask that you go with the guard. I think I can arrange for you to be held at a palace guest room instead of the guardhouse -” “Wait, what?” A slight frown crept into Twilight’s face. “Well, you were formally arrested before I got here, which means even as a princess I can’t dismiss the whole thing out of hoof. I don’t believe you were responsible, but the closest pony to the fireworks when somepony attempted to use me for target practice was you, and besides you fled the stage afterwards.” She smiled weakly. “Don’t worry, as soon as the responsible is found out we will clear this whole mess; you can recognize who messed with the fireworks, and I think I can find who cast that magnetic spell on me…” Trixie paled as she whispered: “Starry.” Then in a normal voice: “Please, Twilight, take me with you. I don’t want her to suffer any more than she already has.” “Wait, you know who cast that spell on me?” “It will be faster if I show you. And I really need to be there for her. Please, Twilight…” “Well, if you want. But you might not like this very much.” Twilight turned to the closest guard. “I’m taking responsibility for her. You may cast the tether spell.” Trixie inclined her head. “Tether?” “Okey, rules. You stick close to me until this whole thing is over or I leave you with the guards. If we become separated for any reason the guard will consider you a fugitive, in which case I ask you to turn yourself to the first guard you find and tell everything to prevent any further misunderstanding.” Trixie silently nodded. “Right. Now let us find this pony so you can explain me everything.” “Thank you. By the way, why do you smell like cake?” Starry Sonata was sprawled on the floor of her house, yellow cheeks crisscrossed with tear streaks, while Trixie gently patted her head. “Now, now, no one was hurt, and I’m sure the princess forgives you.” Starry looked up at Twilight, who nodded. The yellow unicorn collapsed again, quietly sobbing. Twilight looked back towards Trixie, concern and curiosity fighting for space on her face. “Let’s see if I understood correctly: you two were classmates at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns before deciding to become performers, you a showmare and she a singer. You were handling the fireworks for her shows as a favor for her.” “Yes. That and the bits; I did lose my wagon to an Ursa Minor and spent my economies on an amulet you confiscated, you know.” Trixie’s weak smile turned into concern as she looked back at the sobbing unicorn and sighed. “I was afraid she would be like this. Starry loves surprising others, but she becomes scared to death at the mere thought of actually hurting anypony. Here, Let me show you something.” Trixie moved to pick something from a closet, Twilight moving to keep close. “The rockets we were going to use are just like this one.” Trixie moved the rocket so it was touching her forehead, where it detonated in a puff of smoke and a shower of flower petals, startling Twilight. As the smoke cleared it became apparent that not even a single hair from Trixie’s coat were singed. “She had me create those for her shows. You know how I am with bragging, but when it comes to fireworks I really am the Great and Powerful Trixie.” “So, are you saying her spell and the firewords were meant to just shower me with flower petals? And that somepony switched the harmless rockets with common ones?” Trixie nodded, looking towards Starry with kindness. As she turned towards Twilight, though, her eyes showed ironclad determination. “Let’s see if you guards managed to round up the stagehooves.” After making sure nopony was injured and yielding command of the guard to a pegasus lieutenant, Luna - still dripping pie filling - went back to the castle for a much needed bath, with Discord - still in his brown unicorn disguise - in tow. The young blue filly was still perched on Discord’s back, snoring gently. “Care to tell me why you had to turn the rockets into pies and cakes instead of, for example, balloons? Or even water balloons?” “Well, next time, if you can get the bad guy to delay his opening salvo, I can send you the proper forms in triplicate to choose what I transform the rockets into.” “Aaagh! I don’t know why I even asked you!” “I concur. After all, doing the same thing while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.” Discord turned his head to look at the young filly on his back, his sarcastic smile becoming gentle. “Thank you. My magic does have limits, you know; if you didn’t jump right into action I don’t think I could have handled all those fireworks, and while I wasn’t in danger...” “Why, Discord giving thanks and caring about ponies! And you do smell heavenly, sister.” Discord’s pony face contorted in an attempt to stifle a laughter. Luna’s face assumed an obviously forced neutral semblance, her cheeks slightly purple. “Have you heard about what happened in the plaza?” “The captain of the guard just told me. Are you sure it’s safe to leave Twilight alone when she was the target of the attack?” “She is resourceful, and she knows she can count on the guards. But perhaps some extra caution is warranted; yould your pet be willing to keep an eye on Twilight?” “I think so. I will go fetch her.” “Actually, can you send a guard fetch her instead? I desperately need a bath before we return Discord’s charge to her parents, and I would prefer if you kept watch over Discord meanwhile.” “Of course, sister.” Just after Luna left the room Discord turned towards Celestia, his eyes - of all things - coy as he pointed the pegasus filly sleeping on his back. “Would you mind if I woke little Blossom here? She loves the princesses, and meeting Luna and yourself the same day would make her really happy.” Author's Note Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn. Thunder and Lightning“Are you sure those were all the stagehooves?” Twilight wondered, not for the first time, how Trixie could slip into her confident showmare persona so easily. When they got back to the guards and the suspects they had gathered Trixie was radiating confidence, a couple guards even accidentally saluting her. Unfortunately interviewing the stagehooves had been almost fruitless; Trixie did not recognize anypony, and while the lieutenant who coordinated the search did find a few leads, they would require a far longer investigation before yielding any usable result. “The lieutenant is sure. I’m sorry, Trixie, but it seems like we can’t do anything more today. Let me get you to the castle, and Starry if you feel like she needs company, then -” “And now we have a princess apologising to a commoner for something that isn’t even her fault. Wonderful.” Twilight eyed the interloper warily. “And you are?” “You may call me Proudhoof.” The white unicorn with gray mane levitated a scroll from his impeccable black vest. “My master has a proposal for Princess Twilight alone. He can tell you where the miscreant that sabotaged the show is hiding, if your highness agree with his terms.” “You can tell your master that The Great and Powerful Trixie -” A purple hoof was suddenly shoved on Trixie’s mouth. Taking the scroll in her own magic, Twilight answered: “I will meet your master, but my companion comes with me. She’s under my responsibility in this same investigation.” The white unicorn was unfazed. “You do know that you could drop your… friend… from your care, or even from the investigation as a whole, by invoking national interests, I take it.” Twilight’s eyebrows lowered dangerously. “And you do know that no alicorn princess has ever invoked that law for personal reasons in known history. My friend stays with me. You may go and inform your master.” As soon as the white unicorn was out of earshot Twilight removed her hoof from Trixie’s mouth. “Who was that?” Twilight levitated the closed scroll in front of Trixie, prominently displaying its seal. “If I’m not mistaken he is Prince Blueblood’s majordomo.” Breaking the seal, Twilight scanned the document. “He says that he will tell us where the culprit is hidden if we don’t involve the guard. Apparently the culprit is the servant of a noble, and Blueblood wants to avoid any negative repercussion for the noble class.” Trixie gave a disgusted look. “So if the pony responsible for the attack is this noble he simply goes free?” As she looked at twilight and saw a smile full of mischievous glee Trixie took a step back. “Oh, I won’t involve the guard. But Celestia will know. Believe me, if a noble is responsible, he will wish that all he had to deal with was the guard.” Twilight’s face changed into concern. “But, for the love of Celestia, don’t talk to anyone while we are at Blueblood’s manor, specially to Blueblood himself. In fact, don’t talk at all until we are out of there.” “You fear Prince Blueblood that much?” “No, I don’t fear him. But Celestia promised that the next time I give him reason to complain, she will delegate to me hearing his complaint in full. I’m not sure I can keep my sanity if that happens, and if you cause it, I will have you there with me; I will drag you kicking and screaming if I need to, or so Celestia help me.” All things taken into account it was a productive meeting, even if Twilight had to keep repeating all of Celestia’s lessons about patience in her head to get through the sixth time Blueblood complained about the Grand Galloping Gala. Blueblood held his part of the bargain; Twilight now had a place the henchman was supposedly hiding at and the name of the noble that hired him. Trixie was mercifully silent the whole time, though Twilight suspected that, after starting to hear an informal complaint, she was simply scared senseless with the idea of having to hear one of Blueblood’s formal complaints. She finally spoke after they were well out of hearing range from the manor. “Wow, Twilight, he must hate you to talk to you like that. What did you ever do to him?” Twilight looked sheepishly at Trixie. “Apart from the whole Grand Galloping Gala thing? I might have zipped his mouth the fifth time he complained about that to me.“ “Ha! I would have loved to see that! I still don’t understand how you were able to keep calm in his manor, though.” “Well, after that incident Celestia did start giving me lessons on how to not lose my patience…” That small exchange served to lift a weight from the two mare’s hearts. They were still laughing when they saw their destination, a low house with a domed ceiling. Looking around, Twilight noticed a pony in a nearby roof; the pony quickly stepped out of sight. Behind him Twilight noticed something red and yellow flying, and smiled. Trixie had stopped and was staring fixedly at the house. “I can sense my fireworks inside.” Absently she took an old blanket from a nearby clothesline, using her magic to transform it into a black cape. The mares walked silently to the door. Trixie’s horn glowed as she reared, nodding to Twilight; a tiny storm cloud appeared behind them, releasing a lightning bolt at the exact moment Trixie kicked the door in. “Who are you that dared ruin a display by The Great and Powerful Trixie?” Twilight glanced at the storm clouds already appearing inside the house, at the enchanted rope circling the hapless pony inside, at the stashed fireworks lighting by themselves and flying around their target; she took another look at Trixie, her mane and black cape billowing in a magical wind, her features illuminated by intermittent lightning; ignoring the screams from the other pony inside, she poured magic into extending the tether and closed the door as quietly as she could, thankful for the fact Trixie didn’t know how to imitate the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Trixie, don’t you think you exaggerated a tiny bit?” Trixie looked back at the house; even now faint whimpering could be heard coming from inside. “No.” Twilight looked back at the house, a twinge of pity hitting her. “Did you get the name of the noble that hired him?” Trixie’s voice went cold as ice. “He would have told even if I hadn’t asked. It was the son of Baron Silverheart. The fool thought that he would get back at Starry by having her prank hurt somepony.” Twilight’s eyes went wide in surprise, her earlier pity not only forgotten but buried. “Wait, he wanted to hurt somepony just because he was showered in flower petals?” “No; he wanted to get back at Starry for making everypony see that a noble was enjoying entertainment fit for commoners. Was that the same name you got from Blueblood?” Twilight took a few seconds to believe what she had just heard. “Yes. Last I heard the Baron was away inspecting his holdings; I’m starting to like the idea of not involving the guard.” She looked around, and finally up. “His manor is on the other side of Canterlot; would you care for a lift?” Trixie was looking a little green around the gills as the mares landed and Twilight’s magical aura faded from her. “Remind me to never accept a lift again.” After giving Trixie a few moments to steady herself the two mares started walking towards the manor’s entrance. As they approached the closed gates the mares noticed three figures leaving the shadows. The central one, a brown earth pony with a black hat, started to speak as they kept approaching. “So, you are the mares that keep sticking their muzzles where they don’t belong.” Trixie lifted her head in challenge, horn glowing. “What if we are?” She didn’t have time to follow up, though; as soon as she finished talking the left figure, a large dark gray earth pony in a brown vest, pounced on her, pinning Trixie to the ground. The right figure, a white earth pony with sunglasses, jumped at Twilight. Twilight teleported before the white pony could land, but the brown pony was waiting. He jumped as soon as Twilight appeared, pushing her aside but failing to knock down her. In another flash of light Twilight appeared behind the gray pony and, with a wince, promptly bucked him. Pulling Trixie up with her magic Twilight backed away from the trio of henchponies and into the manor’s wall. “You see, girls, we do know how to fight unicorns. Why don’t you give up?” Twilight was almost growling as she answered. “Why don’t you come get us then?” “Because they are waiting for me.” The gates of the manor had opened and a tall white unicorn, with perfectly coiffed blue mane, came through them. Trixie glared daggers at the newcomer. “So you are the brat that thinks he is more important than other ponies.” “Correction, I know I’m more important than other ponies. Now, if you two surrender, I will just humiliate that vulgar showmare for having the audacity to help that worthless singer slight me. And, of course, I will have you drink a forgetfulness potion; I can’t have Celestia coming after me.” “You think you can humiliate The Great and Powerful Trixie?” “I can do whatever I want. Besides, if you are so powerful, why don’t you escape?” “To tell the truth,” Twilight smiled as she lowered her gaze from the sky to the baron’s son, “after seeing how your henchponies fight I’m fairly sure I can defeat them alone. And having fought against Trixie two times, I’m certain she can either defeat you or at least keep you occupied until I finish with your henchponies, at which point you would have to face us two. But I don’t need to bother.” The younger Silverheart started laughing. “Might you tell us why?” Two loud impacts could be heard behind the baron’s son. Luna spoke with her singsong voice: “Because she knew a little bird would bring us.” Philomena’s cry could be heard from the sky. The three henchponies looked at the newcomers, exchanged a glance, and started to run. “No, you won’t.” Discord, standing besides Luna, snapped his fingers; a glow covered the three henchponies, leaving three mice in its wake. “Now you can flee like the rats you are or you can accept your punishment like ponies; your choice.” “So, “ Luna turned to Twilight, “what is your tale? Is this the one responsible for the earlier incident?” “Yes, he is. He felt slighted that one of the singers made his presence at a show meant for commoners known, and for this he tried to hurt the public and put the blame on the singer.” “That was all I needed to hear.” “Eh, I kinda made a deal with Blueblood to not involve the guard.” A smile full of malicious glee spread across Luna’s face. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Thanks to this sorry excuse of a noble tomorrow every newspaper will be carrying my photo plastered with pastry and cakes; this is personal. What do you say, Discord, shall we put our differences aside and have some fun?” Discord rubbed his hands. “I thought you would never ask.” The last thing Twilight and Trixie heard as they left was a weak “Eep” as the baron’s son fainted. Author's Note Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn. EncoreCelestia raised the sun from the balcony and went back inside, sitting at the breakfast table where Twilight, Trixie, and Starry were waiting. Trixie picked the conversation from where it had stopped. “So, what did Luna do to that pompous oaf after we left?” “After the younger Silverheart woke up Luna decided to play dress up with him. She and Discord took turns deciding which outfit he would wear, and Luna even got him to pose up by declaring that if he didn’t cooperate she would charge him with two counts of attempted murder of a princess. Discord photographed everything, of course, and I hear Blueblood received a copy of the photos so he could keep the baron’s son in line in the future.” Twilight lifted her eyebrow. “Luna must be getting soft if that was his only punishment.” Celestia’s laughter sounded crystal clear. “Oh, not at all. That was just for the pies and cakes incident. For the actual act of sabotage and putting those young ponies’ lives at risk she decided that the younger Silverheart shall work as a clown at schools and hospitals, under Discord’s supervision, for a few months. I do agree with that suggestion, and knowing the elder Silverheart like I do I have no doubts that he will also support his son’s punishment.” Celestia winked. “Specially after he learns that he could have grievously hurt two princesses; he is quite fond of Luna, if I recall correctly.” Starry, her earlier grief forgotten after Luna and Twilight had forgiven her and a good night’s sleep, commented wishfully: “I wish I could see that.” “Well, I can find when and where he will be working as a clown if you want to see, and I have the photos of his little dress up session here.” The four mares spent the next half hour voting on which outfit was the funniest (the sexy maid won by a landslide) and laughing. Twilight avoided thinking about how pleasant the day was shaping up to be, with a day of delicious study ahead and a repeat of the previous day’s show for the evening, though; she might not be superstitious, but she wasn’t about to tempt fate again. Author's Note Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn.
PreludeIt had been a quite pleasant day for Twilight. That is, until she saw a cluster of large rockets streaming towards her. Let’s start a bit earlier, though. A couple weeks prior Princess Luna was at the highest point of a prank war with Discord when she had a brilliant idea for a new, if nasty, prank: throw a balloon filled with Tatzlwurm mucus on Discord, granting the draconequus a one-way ticket to the infirmary. The Princess gleefully flew to the ends of Equestria to find a Tatzlwurm and get the balloon filled. In hindsight it wasn’t such a good idea; Luna hadn’t fully considered how to put the mucus inside the balloon, splashing her own hooves on her third failed attempt. She noticed that something was very wrong as her hooves turned green, at which point another issue with her plan became obvious; getting back from the ends of Equestria to Canterlot, easy for her when healthy, was significantly less than easy while sickly green. Luna did manage to get back to Canterlot Castle, which in hindsight was also a less than sensible idea. The Tatzlwurm Fever doesn’t just make ponies (and draconequus) green; it is also highly contagious and - especially troubling when one of the only two alicorns capable of moving the sun and the moon seeks help of the other one - prevents all magic usage until cured. Only some rapid thinking on Discord’s part, involving a giant birdcage and a pink plastic bubble, prevented a greater tragedy involving a green Princess Celestia. Almost having the two de-facto rulers of Equestria incapacitated for the second time since Princess Twilight’s coronation left the three princesses wary. As soon as Luna recovered they agreed that Twilight should take a crash course on how to keep Equestria running in the (apparently not so) unlikely event both other princesses weren’t available. Twilight, of course, loved the idea. She had been asking Celestia for lessons on how to be a princess, or at least a book she could borrow, since her coronation; besides, she loved to study, and doubly so study under Celestia and Luna. The prospect of a couple weeks of hard study with the other two princesses made Twilight feel like she was in heaven. Today’s schedule had been particularly pleasant. Breakfast with Celestia; a brief lecture on court protocol followed by a report on the morning session of the Sun Court; lunch with Celestia and Luna, which doubled as a very laid back princessly etiquette lesson; and in the afternoon a study on guard procedures and advanced magic with Luna. Twilight was almost disappointed when Luna bid her farewell, ending her day full of exciting study, but there was a show that evening she had been planning to see for some time already. Author's Note This first chapter is a bit of an experiment in a tell rich text. It can be skipped, the info contained inside can be garnered by the context where it's referenced again. Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn.
Music and LightA new musical group, the Dreamlight Rhapsody, was quickly ascending in Canterlot; in just a few weeks they went from being virtually unknown to being praised by such radically different artists as DJ Pon-3 and Octavia Melody, a feat so unlikely it left Twilight curious. Their shows, mixing classic and modern music with a healthy serving of special effects, were attracting high society and common ponies alike. Today’s show was meant for school-age ponies; the repertoire was chosen together with a group of teachers - which, Twilight had heard, elicited complaints aplenty from the students - and the show itself would start earlier, just after moonrise. Twilight arrived at the plaza where the show was going to happen as the moon was rising. A few stagehooves were working on a large stage in the middle of the plaza, until one of them pointed towards Twilight; they quickly joined in a huddle, one of them running to the back of the stage soon after. So much for anonymity. The rest of the space was taken by ponies, most of them school-age fillies and colts talking enthusiastically, with a few adults keeping an eye on them. Many of them looked at the princess, smiling and waving. The two chaperones of one group in particular caught Twilight’s attention; a dark blue pegasus mare with cyan mane had just landed and was waving at the princess, while a brown unicorn stallion with graying mane was looking intently at Twilight with a mischievous, almost hungry, smile. Twilight was sure she had seen those ponies somewhere, but couldn’t quite place it. A blue pegasus filly with green mane was comfortably snuggled on the stallion’s back. Waving back, Twilight continued to look for a good spot, finally sitting near the middle of the plaza - and drawing glances from every filly and colt nearby. Just as the princess started to think she might be swarmed by the young ones, white fog started to seep from the stage’s back. As the fog started to fall down from the stage’s front the crowd silenced. Shapes started to emerge from the back of the stage: Wood Storm entered from the left, waving energetically, her pink coat and orange mane seeming to gain color as she reached the front of the stage; Steam Harmony, a tan unicorn whose silvery mane almost seemed to billow, walked in a more subdued manner, shyly nodding to the public; Starry Sonnet used her magic to carve a tunnel through the fog, a contagious smile prevalent in her canary yellow face framed in her emerald mane; lastly Wind Whisper seemed to drop from the sky, her sudden landing creating a hole in the fog and making her gray coat and cerulean mane stand out. As the fog dissipated all eyes turned upwards. The Dreamlight Rhapsody shows were as known for the irreverent fireworks display as for the music, and nopony wanted to miss the opening salvo. The first display of the night, as always, formed Luna’s cutie mark; the group always thanked the Princess of Dreams in their shows. The next display seemed more discreet, a single purple star shooting over the stage and towards the public… As the solo purple firework flew over the public it exploded into a huge six pointed purple star; soon after five smaller white stars appeared around it.Twilight was agape; Why is my cutie mark... Her thoughts were interrupted when a spotlight nearly blinded her, as Starry Sonnet announced: “Before we start, we want to thank Princess Twilight Sparkle for her patronage!” The crowd cheered loudly at that. Oh, yes, that is why Celestia used a disguise to watch the show. Twilight forced the morning’s etiquette lessons to the front, smiling and waving slowly. And, no matter what, never let them notice you were surprised. Thankfully the hooflight soon returned to the stage, allowing the cheers to die and leaving on Twilight’s ears a curious giggle from the blue pegasus chaperone. Dreamlight Rhapsody started singing in earnest with an impressive rendition of Winter Wrap Up that got many of the children singing along, almost making Twilight forget her early embarrassment, but that was just the warm up. In the sequence the group started their Hearth’s Warming Suite: Flight of the Northern Warriors, singing about Pegasi valor, and making many of the pegasi in the audience hover in excitement; Earth’s Renewal, which praised Earth Ponies’ resilience and got more than a few ponies to pound the ground in rhythm with the music; and Celestial Mysteries, a song about Unicorn wisdom that had most of the unicorns humming along. By the time the group’s arrangement of The Heart Carol started Twilight had her eyes closed in rapture. As she hummed along she felt a magical tingle, as if a spell had been cast on her. With a confused face, Twilight concentrated on the magic, feeling its last motes coming from the stage; her eyebrows shot up as she recognized the spell. A Magical Magnet spell? Why on Equestria would somepony cast that on me? Twilight’s train of thought was interrupted as a familiar blue unicorn mare invaded the stage from the side, eyes wide with fear. Horn aglow, the unicorn ran to the stage’s back, her screams drowned by the music. In her haste she couldn’t avoid Wind Whisper’s outstretched wings, leaving unicorn and pegasus sprawled on the stage. A dark gray smoke screen suddenly obscured the stage, the music stopping a few moments later; in the sudden silence, the sound of a large amount of fireworks launching could be heard like a dragon’s roar. The rather large rockets came into view from behind the smoke, promptly curving towards Twilight; time slowed to a crawl, her pupils shrinking to primpricks as she remembered all the young ponies around her. Without thinking twice Twilight was in the air; to the side she could see the dark blue pegasus taking flight, a magical glow atop her head… Rockets first, mysteries later. Twilight’s horn flared as she desperately pointed rockets away from the crowd, the mysterious magical pegasus doing the same. No time left, Twilight concentrated on one last spell to shield herself when something heavy but soft hit her from the side; the pegasus had just tacked her out of the path of the rockets. Cringing, Twilight closed her eyes and… Splosh. Opening her eyes Twilight saw Luna hovering in place of the mysterious pegasus, covered muzzle to tail in pies and cakes; pegasi guards were already approaching her, and - to Luna’s chagrin - camera noises could be heard from the crowd. The brown unicorn chaperone that was with her earlier had a golden glow on his horn, his eyes having turned an unmistakable yellow. Above them a few rockets both alicorns sent up were still rising, finally exploding with a loud noise and illuminating the whole plaza.. Twilight looked around. Many other ponies - including herself - were hit by the suddenly appearing baked goods. Shaking the worst of the icing and the pie filling from her mane, Twilight scanned the stage; among the dissipating smoke she could only see three ponies. After a short talk with a pair of guards, Luna flew towards Twilight. “I will have to stay here to coordinate the guard and handle… other things. The guard is already pursuing the ponies that fled the stage. Perhaps you should join them; I believe one of the fleeing ponies is known to you.” Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Luna. For the help and for saving me.” She winked at the brown unicorn chaperone. “And I guess I should thank Discord too. Being bombarded with dessert isn’t exactly pleasant, but it sure beats the alternative.” “You can’t hold Trixie like this! Trixie is not a criminal!” Twilight found the two unicorn guards and their prisoner, held in a net, exactly where the pegasus had indicated. As soon as she landed the two guards knelt. “Your highness.” “At ease. I need to speak with your prisoner.” Twilight turned to the blue unicorn in the net. “Hello, Trixie.” Trixie’s face went from a concerned frown to a hopeful smile. “Princess Twilight! You have to help Trixie, this is all a misunderstanding!” “I know, Trixie. And you can call me just Twilight” Twilight rubbed her temple. “But can you stop talking in third person? It’s giving me a headache.” “But Trixie is innocent, the fireworks were… Wait, you believe Trixie- I mean, you believe me?” Twilight tried a reassuring smile. “We might not be best friends, but I doubt you would ever send a fireworks barrage at me. Besides, I doubt the Great and Powerful Trixie would run through the stage screaming like that, it didn’t look professional.” Trixie cringed at the words, and Twilight blushed a bit. “Let me get you out of that net, but I must ask you to stay where you are.” She motioned at the closest guard, which removed the net in a single, practiced movement. “Now, what were you saying about the fireworks?” “Somepony exchanged the harmless one Trixie - I was going to use, and put those large ones in their place; when I found it I tried to prevent them from launching, but I failed. I was trying to find who did it when the guards found me and threw that net.” “And how were you going to find the responsible?” “I saw somepony messing with the fireworks; I think I can recognize him if I see him again.” “Perfect! I’ll get the guards to find everypony that worked on the stage and bring them to you.” Twilight’s excitement vanished from her voice as she looked down. ”But I must ask that you go with the guard. I think I can arrange for you to be held at a palace guest room instead of the guardhouse -” “Wait, what?” A slight frown crept into Twilight’s face. “Well, you were formally arrested before I got here, which means even as a princess I can’t dismiss the whole thing out of hoof. I don’t believe you were responsible, but the closest pony to the fireworks when somepony attempted to use me for target practice was you, and besides you fled the stage afterwards.” She smiled weakly. “Don’t worry, as soon as the responsible is found out we will clear this whole mess; you can recognize who messed with the fireworks, and I think I can find who cast that magnetic spell on me…” Trixie paled as she whispered: “Starry.” Then in a normal voice: “Please, Twilight, take me with you. I don’t want her to suffer any more than she already has.” “Wait, you know who cast that spell on me?” “It will be faster if I show you. And I really need to be there for her. Please, Twilight…” “Well, if you want. But you might not like this very much.” Twilight turned to the closest guard. “I’m taking responsibility for her. You may cast the tether spell.” Trixie inclined her head. “Tether?” “Okey, rules. You stick close to me until this whole thing is over or I leave you with the guards. If we become separated for any reason the guard will consider you a fugitive, in which case I ask you to turn yourself to the first guard you find and tell everything to prevent any further misunderstanding.” Trixie silently nodded. “Right. Now let us find this pony so you can explain me everything.” “Thank you. By the way, why do you smell like cake?” Starry Sonata was sprawled on the floor of her house, yellow cheeks crisscrossed with tear streaks, while Trixie gently patted her head. “Now, now, no one was hurt, and I’m sure the princess forgives you.” Starry looked up at Twilight, who nodded. The yellow unicorn collapsed again, quietly sobbing. Twilight looked back towards Trixie, concern and curiosity fighting for space on her face. “Let’s see if I understood correctly: you two were classmates at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns before deciding to become performers, you a showmare and she a singer. You were handling the fireworks for her shows as a favor for her.” “Yes. That and the bits; I did lose my wagon to an Ursa Minor and spent my economies on an amulet you confiscated, you know.” Trixie’s weak smile turned into concern as she looked back at the sobbing unicorn and sighed. “I was afraid she would be like this. Starry loves surprising others, but she becomes scared to death at the mere thought of actually hurting anypony. Here, Let me show you something.” Trixie moved to pick something from a closet, Twilight moving to keep close. “The rockets we were going to use are just like this one.” Trixie moved the rocket so it was touching her forehead, where it detonated in a puff of smoke and a shower of flower petals, startling Twilight. As the smoke cleared it became apparent that not even a single hair from Trixie’s coat were singed. “She had me create those for her shows. You know how I am with bragging, but when it comes to fireworks I really am the Great and Powerful Trixie.” “So, are you saying her spell and the firewords were meant to just shower me with flower petals? And that somepony switched the harmless rockets with common ones?” Trixie nodded, looking towards Starry with kindness. As she turned towards Twilight, though, her eyes showed ironclad determination. “Let’s see if you guards managed to round up the stagehooves.” After making sure nopony was injured and yielding command of the guard to a pegasus lieutenant, Luna - still dripping pie filling - went back to the castle for a much needed bath, with Discord - still in his brown unicorn disguise - in tow. The young blue filly was still perched on Discord’s back, snoring gently. “Care to tell me why you had to turn the rockets into pies and cakes instead of, for example, balloons? Or even water balloons?” “Well, next time, if you can get the bad guy to delay his opening salvo, I can send you the proper forms in triplicate to choose what I transform the rockets into.” “Aaagh! I don’t know why I even asked you!” “I concur. After all, doing the same thing while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.” Discord turned his head to look at the young filly on his back, his sarcastic smile becoming gentle. “Thank you. My magic does have limits, you know; if you didn’t jump right into action I don’t think I could have handled all those fireworks, and while I wasn’t in danger...” “Why, Discord giving thanks and caring about ponies! And you do smell heavenly, sister.” Discord’s pony face contorted in an attempt to stifle a laughter. Luna’s face assumed an obviously forced neutral semblance, her cheeks slightly purple. “Have you heard about what happened in the plaza?” “The captain of the guard just told me. Are you sure it’s safe to leave Twilight alone when she was the target of the attack?” “She is resourceful, and she knows she can count on the guards. But perhaps some extra caution is warranted; yould your pet be willing to keep an eye on Twilight?” “I think so. I will go fetch her.” “Actually, can you send a guard fetch her instead? I desperately need a bath before we return Discord’s charge to her parents, and I would prefer if you kept watch over Discord meanwhile.” “Of course, sister.” Just after Luna left the room Discord turned towards Celestia, his eyes - of all things - coy as he pointed the pegasus filly sleeping on his back. “Would you mind if I woke little Blossom here? She loves the princesses, and meeting Luna and yourself the same day would make her really happy.” Author's Note Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn.
Thunder and Lightning“Are you sure those were all the stagehooves?” Twilight wondered, not for the first time, how Trixie could slip into her confident showmare persona so easily. When they got back to the guards and the suspects they had gathered Trixie was radiating confidence, a couple guards even accidentally saluting her. Unfortunately interviewing the stagehooves had been almost fruitless; Trixie did not recognize anypony, and while the lieutenant who coordinated the search did find a few leads, they would require a far longer investigation before yielding any usable result. “The lieutenant is sure. I’m sorry, Trixie, but it seems like we can’t do anything more today. Let me get you to the castle, and Starry if you feel like she needs company, then -” “And now we have a princess apologising to a commoner for something that isn’t even her fault. Wonderful.” Twilight eyed the interloper warily. “And you are?” “You may call me Proudhoof.” The white unicorn with gray mane levitated a scroll from his impeccable black vest. “My master has a proposal for Princess Twilight alone. He can tell you where the miscreant that sabotaged the show is hiding, if your highness agree with his terms.” “You can tell your master that The Great and Powerful Trixie -” A purple hoof was suddenly shoved on Trixie’s mouth. Taking the scroll in her own magic, Twilight answered: “I will meet your master, but my companion comes with me. She’s under my responsibility in this same investigation.” The white unicorn was unfazed. “You do know that you could drop your… friend… from your care, or even from the investigation as a whole, by invoking national interests, I take it.” Twilight’s eyebrows lowered dangerously. “And you do know that no alicorn princess has ever invoked that law for personal reasons in known history. My friend stays with me. You may go and inform your master.” As soon as the white unicorn was out of earshot Twilight removed her hoof from Trixie’s mouth. “Who was that?” Twilight levitated the closed scroll in front of Trixie, prominently displaying its seal. “If I’m not mistaken he is Prince Blueblood’s majordomo.” Breaking the seal, Twilight scanned the document. “He says that he will tell us where the culprit is hidden if we don’t involve the guard. Apparently the culprit is the servant of a noble, and Blueblood wants to avoid any negative repercussion for the noble class.” Trixie gave a disgusted look. “So if the pony responsible for the attack is this noble he simply goes free?” As she looked at twilight and saw a smile full of mischievous glee Trixie took a step back. “Oh, I won’t involve the guard. But Celestia will know. Believe me, if a noble is responsible, he will wish that all he had to deal with was the guard.” Twilight’s face changed into concern. “But, for the love of Celestia, don’t talk to anyone while we are at Blueblood’s manor, specially to Blueblood himself. In fact, don’t talk at all until we are out of there.” “You fear Prince Blueblood that much?” “No, I don’t fear him. But Celestia promised that the next time I give him reason to complain, she will delegate to me hearing his complaint in full. I’m not sure I can keep my sanity if that happens, and if you cause it, I will have you there with me; I will drag you kicking and screaming if I need to, or so Celestia help me.” All things taken into account it was a productive meeting, even if Twilight had to keep repeating all of Celestia’s lessons about patience in her head to get through the sixth time Blueblood complained about the Grand Galloping Gala. Blueblood held his part of the bargain; Twilight now had a place the henchman was supposedly hiding at and the name of the noble that hired him. Trixie was mercifully silent the whole time, though Twilight suspected that, after starting to hear an informal complaint, she was simply scared senseless with the idea of having to hear one of Blueblood’s formal complaints. She finally spoke after they were well out of hearing range from the manor. “Wow, Twilight, he must hate you to talk to you like that. What did you ever do to him?” Twilight looked sheepishly at Trixie. “Apart from the whole Grand Galloping Gala thing? I might have zipped his mouth the fifth time he complained about that to me.“ “Ha! I would have loved to see that! I still don’t understand how you were able to keep calm in his manor, though.” “Well, after that incident Celestia did start giving me lessons on how to not lose my patience…” That small exchange served to lift a weight from the two mare’s hearts. They were still laughing when they saw their destination, a low house with a domed ceiling. Looking around, Twilight noticed a pony in a nearby roof; the pony quickly stepped out of sight. Behind him Twilight noticed something red and yellow flying, and smiled. Trixie had stopped and was staring fixedly at the house. “I can sense my fireworks inside.” Absently she took an old blanket from a nearby clothesline, using her magic to transform it into a black cape. The mares walked silently to the door. Trixie’s horn glowed as she reared, nodding to Twilight; a tiny storm cloud appeared behind them, releasing a lightning bolt at the exact moment Trixie kicked the door in. “Who are you that dared ruin a display by The Great and Powerful Trixie?” Twilight glanced at the storm clouds already appearing inside the house, at the enchanted rope circling the hapless pony inside, at the stashed fireworks lighting by themselves and flying around their target; she took another look at Trixie, her mane and black cape billowing in a magical wind, her features illuminated by intermittent lightning; ignoring the screams from the other pony inside, she poured magic into extending the tether and closed the door as quietly as she could, thankful for the fact Trixie didn’t know how to imitate the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Trixie, don’t you think you exaggerated a tiny bit?” Trixie looked back at the house; even now faint whimpering could be heard coming from inside. “No.” Twilight looked back at the house, a twinge of pity hitting her. “Did you get the name of the noble that hired him?” Trixie’s voice went cold as ice. “He would have told even if I hadn’t asked. It was the son of Baron Silverheart. The fool thought that he would get back at Starry by having her prank hurt somepony.” Twilight’s eyes went wide in surprise, her earlier pity not only forgotten but buried. “Wait, he wanted to hurt somepony just because he was showered in flower petals?” “No; he wanted to get back at Starry for making everypony see that a noble was enjoying entertainment fit for commoners. Was that the same name you got from Blueblood?” Twilight took a few seconds to believe what she had just heard. “Yes. Last I heard the Baron was away inspecting his holdings; I’m starting to like the idea of not involving the guard.” She looked around, and finally up. “His manor is on the other side of Canterlot; would you care for a lift?” Trixie was looking a little green around the gills as the mares landed and Twilight’s magical aura faded from her. “Remind me to never accept a lift again.” After giving Trixie a few moments to steady herself the two mares started walking towards the manor’s entrance. As they approached the closed gates the mares noticed three figures leaving the shadows. The central one, a brown earth pony with a black hat, started to speak as they kept approaching. “So, you are the mares that keep sticking their muzzles where they don’t belong.” Trixie lifted her head in challenge, horn glowing. “What if we are?” She didn’t have time to follow up, though; as soon as she finished talking the left figure, a large dark gray earth pony in a brown vest, pounced on her, pinning Trixie to the ground. The right figure, a white earth pony with sunglasses, jumped at Twilight. Twilight teleported before the white pony could land, but the brown pony was waiting. He jumped as soon as Twilight appeared, pushing her aside but failing to knock down her. In another flash of light Twilight appeared behind the gray pony and, with a wince, promptly bucked him. Pulling Trixie up with her magic Twilight backed away from the trio of henchponies and into the manor’s wall. “You see, girls, we do know how to fight unicorns. Why don’t you give up?” Twilight was almost growling as she answered. “Why don’t you come get us then?” “Because they are waiting for me.” The gates of the manor had opened and a tall white unicorn, with perfectly coiffed blue mane, came through them. Trixie glared daggers at the newcomer. “So you are the brat that thinks he is more important than other ponies.” “Correction, I know I’m more important than other ponies. Now, if you two surrender, I will just humiliate that vulgar showmare for having the audacity to help that worthless singer slight me. And, of course, I will have you drink a forgetfulness potion; I can’t have Celestia coming after me.” “You think you can humiliate The Great and Powerful Trixie?” “I can do whatever I want. Besides, if you are so powerful, why don’t you escape?” “To tell the truth,” Twilight smiled as she lowered her gaze from the sky to the baron’s son, “after seeing how your henchponies fight I’m fairly sure I can defeat them alone. And having fought against Trixie two times, I’m certain she can either defeat you or at least keep you occupied until I finish with your henchponies, at which point you would have to face us two. But I don’t need to bother.” The younger Silverheart started laughing. “Might you tell us why?” Two loud impacts could be heard behind the baron’s son. Luna spoke with her singsong voice: “Because she knew a little bird would bring us.” Philomena’s cry could be heard from the sky. The three henchponies looked at the newcomers, exchanged a glance, and started to run. “No, you won’t.” Discord, standing besides Luna, snapped his fingers; a glow covered the three henchponies, leaving three mice in its wake. “Now you can flee like the rats you are or you can accept your punishment like ponies; your choice.” “So, “ Luna turned to Twilight, “what is your tale? Is this the one responsible for the earlier incident?” “Yes, he is. He felt slighted that one of the singers made his presence at a show meant for commoners known, and for this he tried to hurt the public and put the blame on the singer.” “That was all I needed to hear.” “Eh, I kinda made a deal with Blueblood to not involve the guard.” A smile full of malicious glee spread across Luna’s face. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Thanks to this sorry excuse of a noble tomorrow every newspaper will be carrying my photo plastered with pastry and cakes; this is personal. What do you say, Discord, shall we put our differences aside and have some fun?” Discord rubbed his hands. “I thought you would never ask.” The last thing Twilight and Trixie heard as they left was a weak “Eep” as the baron’s son fainted. Author's Note Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn.
EncoreCelestia raised the sun from the balcony and went back inside, sitting at the breakfast table where Twilight, Trixie, and Starry were waiting. Trixie picked the conversation from where it had stopped. “So, what did Luna do to that pompous oaf after we left?” “After the younger Silverheart woke up Luna decided to play dress up with him. She and Discord took turns deciding which outfit he would wear, and Luna even got him to pose up by declaring that if he didn’t cooperate she would charge him with two counts of attempted murder of a princess. Discord photographed everything, of course, and I hear Blueblood received a copy of the photos so he could keep the baron’s son in line in the future.” Twilight lifted her eyebrow. “Luna must be getting soft if that was his only punishment.” Celestia’s laughter sounded crystal clear. “Oh, not at all. That was just for the pies and cakes incident. For the actual act of sabotage and putting those young ponies’ lives at risk she decided that the younger Silverheart shall work as a clown at schools and hospitals, under Discord’s supervision, for a few months. I do agree with that suggestion, and knowing the elder Silverheart like I do I have no doubts that he will also support his son’s punishment.” Celestia winked. “Specially after he learns that he could have grievously hurt two princesses; he is quite fond of Luna, if I recall correctly.” Starry, her earlier grief forgotten after Luna and Twilight had forgiven her and a good night’s sleep, commented wishfully: “I wish I could see that.” “Well, I can find when and where he will be working as a clown if you want to see, and I have the photos of his little dress up session here.” The four mares spent the next half hour voting on which outfit was the funniest (the sexy maid won by a landslide) and laughing. Twilight avoided thinking about how pleasant the day was shaping up to be, with a day of delicious study ahead and a repeat of the previous day’s show for the evening, though; she might not be superstitious, but she wasn’t about to tempt fate again. Author's Note Feel free to point flaws, errors, or to make suggestions; I'm here to learn.
