Princess Twilight Sparkle in the Changing of the Night Courtby bejammin2000ChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1To say that the Night Court was any different from the Day Court of Canterlot was to say that the Orange branch of the Apple clan was different from their Smith cousins on the clan ranch in Ponyville. It was, in effect, the difference between night and day, to turn a pun. This was, of course, brought upon that as matter of fact, a majority of ponies were by nature diurnal, with few exceptional outliers. But, we are only talking about those that descended from the three tribes that founded Equestria so many eons ago against the threat of Windigo and Disharmony, etc. It was... unknown at the time, but modern scholars don't even bother to talk about what happens when you a pony is reflected in a mirror, darkly. The pegasi had distant cousins that preferred the dank and dark of caves in mountains during the day, only coming out at night, flying upon leathery wings. The Unicorns dark reflections spent most of their time in crumbling sepulchers, learning things nopony was meant to know, delving deeper into such secrets that a majority of their tribe had some form of madness. And of course, the humble Earth Pony... it too shone against black glass, their dark cousins preferring life in swamps and thick forests, fishing and frogging and foraging. No one knows why they were not present at the founding of Equestria, but most people ignored that, especially the original leaders of the three tribes. Eventually, however, time marched on and soon the kingdom created by the three tribes found leadership with the Alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, one capable of moving the sun, the other the moon. A feat that took the entire wizardry council of unicorns to do, and with much more accuracy. So the castle the of the Pony Sisters was built, within the Everfree. Events happened. The banishment of King Sombra and the Loss of the Crystal Empire. The defeat and imprisonment of Discord. And finally... the fall of Luna into the Madness of Nightmare Moon. But to say that Luna turned into a monster over night is an over simplification of facts. It was a gradual decline. As mentioned earlier in this document, ponies are diurnal. She crafted beautiful night skies and all she had to show of it... were the non-Equestrian ponies to marvel at when they left their caves and their towers and their swamps. And they were in awe at the handiwork of the goddess of night. And almost as a whole... pledged loyalty to their lunar mistress. It was one thing to be ignored by the masses. It was quite another to have a different mass elevate you higher then the sun itself. And thus the inner workings of Luna's mind clicked into place, like gears turning in a great clock. She had the affection she needed, but she couldn't just leave. She had duties as a princess of Equestria. Duties that she couldn't... would not shirk! So she waited and she planned and slowly, so slowly, Luna turned into Nightmare Moon. It was supposed to be an ambush. She would overcome her sister's naivety and in one brilliant stroke, become sole ruler of Equestria, bring her loyal subjects as the new ruling caste, and start the promised Eternal Night! This did not go as planned for the former Princess Luna, as she soon found herself ruminating on the moon about where she went wrong. Was it the fact that she attacked during the day, when her sister's powers were at their peak in an ill thought out attempt to show her superiority? Perhaps it was attacking in the middle of the throne room of the castle, a room which was designed personally by Celestia to offer the best protections to the diarchs in case of attack. No, no, no... her mistake was one of ill-timing. As the Elements of Harmony, the relics that was used to banish Discord into his stone prison... were being taken out to be polished and cared for under Celestia's watchful eye. Truly this was no fault of her own, on even ground, despite the sun at it's zenith, she would have proved the victor. Or so she told herself. Every day for a thousand years. Needless to say, when the stars finally allowed the Mare in the Moon to escape her prison on the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, she was filled with plenty of hate, a desire for vengeance, etc etc. A retelling of those events is unneeded. The Elements of Harmony purified Nightmare Moon and returned her to being nothing more then normal, ordinary (for an alicorn, at least) Princess Luna. She was no longer full of hate or anger and she wanted nothing more then the forgiveness of her sister for the wrongs a thousand years old. Unfortunately for Princess Luna, however, the memories of ponies are long. Especially those that pledged loyalty to Nightmare Moon. So imagine the princesses surprise when she found herself confronted by the Grand Magister of the Magistry of Illuminated Practitioners, the High Captain of what was now being dubbed the Night Guard, the Commander of the Shadowbolts (which she was sure was just something she conjured out of whole cloth to try and bedevil the Element of Loyalty), numerous ponies that over the millennia immigrated to Equestria... even some that were ennobled by the sun princess for great deeds. "All done in your name of quiet whispers of course." The leader of this group of... Nightmare Loyalists introduced himself as Grand Vizier Stone Cutter. "We have waited a thousand years, my dark lady! A single set back in a single day is no need for concern. If it takes a thousand years again, we shall be by your side." This of course, was... unheard of to the princess. That the loyal subjects that had sworn their service to her a thousand years ago, had carried on a tradition of loyalty in waiting for her return. The formation of the Night Court was a direct effect of this cause. A court to rule the night, and for Princess Luna to keep eyes and ears upon her most loyal followers, sinister and wicked they may be. Which finally leads us to the present... Grand Vizier Stone Cutter was as regal a pony could be while wearing a ludicrously large turban in midnight blue, with filigreed robes of the same could possibly be. Gathered at the table was Grand Magister Ever Last, the 47th Grand Magister of Illuminated Practioners, Arch-Bishop August Learning, head of the Children of the Moon religious group who recently petitioned right to seat at the Night Court. High Captain Able Body of the Night's Guard. And Commander Shadow Chaser of the Shadowbolts. "The Moon is high, Brothers and Sister. Night gathers, and I call this Council of Darkness to order!" He clomped his hoof on the table, bringing to order the meeting. "All hail Nightmare Moon!" "ALL HAIL NIGHTMARE MOON!" The rest of the council had joined him. "ALL HAIL NIGHTMARE MOON!" So had the guards. With the walls still shaking from the revelry, Grand Vizier Stone Cutter started to speak. "The first order of business for this Council is a welcome to our new member, Arch-Bishop Learning. We welcome the head of the Children of the Moon to this most glorious position and hope that it brings much to your most vaunted office." He shuffled some papers that floated around him, wreathed in an aura silver/black light. "However, it has been brought to our attention that a minor sect in our most sensible veneration of our Dark Lady seems to have some... interesting beliefs." The elderly earth pony analog nodded his head sagely. "You speak of the True Nightmare sect, yes? They wish to bring about her ascension and the Eternal Night sooner rather then later. Unfortunately, it has been... difficult to teach them that this will only be decided upon by Herself when She is ready to take what is rightfully Hers." There was a murmur from the Council. It was well known that the defeat of Nightmare Moon was a dangerous blow to their esteemed leader, but they could all see it as she was biding her time. She would need to heal, learn her Sister and her Students ways and hows before bringing forth the strike that would make her sole leader of the lands. But that was all in due time. They waited a thousand years. They're already three into the next millennium of waiting. "Our second order of business is what to do about the so called Princess of Magic." Truly to refer to anyone except they glorious Nightmare Moon as anything but their leader and princess was blasphemy of the highest order and avoided at all costs by the Council of Darkness. "It seems that the student of the Sun has ascended to a higher plane of existence, and unfortunately for us, returned more powerful they we could ever imagine. Suggestions?" More murmuring from the table. "Why not turn her to the light of the Moon? Yes, she is a child of the Sun, but can we not show her the true glory of the Night? Of the Moon and the Stars? With the so called Princess of Love off in the Crystal Empire, turning away the Sun's student and making her an ally of our Dark Lady would do wonders for our cause." The Grand Magister did make a good point. How hard could it be to convince a single child of the sun the true beauty of the night, the harmony found in evil. "This is a grand undertaking, Magister. We would need to play it close to our chest. I do not see such enlightenment in our life time." Able Body was a large stallion, but matched his brawn with a calculated brain that was always thinking strategies. "We may have to assign some Night Guard to watch over her, an eye on her in the name of our Dark Lady to make sure she is safe from... undo influence." There were nods from the other Council members. "All in favor?" "AYE!" "The motion passes. We shall begin the education of Twilight Sparkle. Next order: ... where is the Princess?" The Princess was not at the council's meeting because there wasn't much she could do. She could tell them all she could Don't be Evil. Try to tone down the absolute wickedness. Sinister is more then just your left hoof. Of course, the issue with that would be their smiles and responses. "Oh, of course madam! We must make sure that when the blow comes that your sister never see's it coming." Knowing nods of some conspiracy that she was leading but had no control over because she wasn't a member. She was lounging on a cloud, basking in the light of her moon. "One would think they would understand after three years, but no. I get the loyal ponies that think I'm still Nightmare Moon. If only..." Then she lifted her head. "That's it! Sparkle has had enough friendship reports and is friends with the one that even turned Discord... well, not good, but! Yes! I can have her change the ways of the Night Court! And ease my paranoia." With her plan set in her mind, she flew back to Canterlot Castle, gears in her head already turning as she figured out the best way to get Twilight Sparkle to take her seat at the Night Court meetings. Perhaps it was time to go see Stalliongrad or Prance once more. And so two plans were set in motion. One play was to use Twilight Sparkle to teach a group... a populace of wicked ponies that friendship is a powerful magic. Whereas the other was that same group that had decided to turn Twilight Sparkle into their staunchest ally through subtlety and deceit most vilely wicked. What would be the absolute worst that could happen? Author's Note Well, that wasn't so bad, wasn't it? Just some... yeesh. I've had this story in me for the better part of a year and now I'm finally going about and writing it and oh my god I'm writing fanfiction about pastel horses and some of them are admittedly pretty evil. ... Enough about that. Comment. Review. Whatever, just... be gentle, it's my first time. Chapter 2The problem with being appointed to royalty was the fact that Equestria royalty was of the sort that actually did things, as Twilight Sparkle... excuse me, Princess Twilight Sparkle was soon discovering. For the nascent princess of magic, there was all sorts of things to do. Aristocracy, the nobility, the upper class... Canterlot society was made up for the wheelers and dealers of those that considered themselves ponies of wealth and taste, various descendants of the Unicorn Kingdom (however valid such a claim may be), those raised by decree of Princess Celestia, and at the bottom of this fine pyramid, the common folk that supported the political morass that was Canterlot. All in all, it was quite a lot to take in. "This is... quite a lot to take in." Twilight Sparkle stated to the Royal Secretary, Neighville Chamberland quite redundantly. She was always an apt pupil, but here she was learning the ins and outs of equestrian politics. And there was quite a lot of equestrian politics. "Be that as it may, Your Grace, the fact is that as the Princess of Magic etc, you have to deal with such politics, especially with the various parliamentary procedures of two Houses." The Royal Secretary was a miniature horse, easily two heads shorter then Twilight Sparkle, using a front hoof to adjust the pince-nez upon his face. "With the House of Peers, you have the various members of the Nobility clinging to what little power they have left, using their finite resources to influence Equestrian policy. As a Princess of Equestria, you have absolute veto over any and item brought up by the noblesse." That was certainly a huge responsibility. "That's a huge responsibility! How can any pony... even the Princesses go against the will of the people like that?" Twilight asked, pondering such a question. The secretary harrumphed, the scarlet breast of his waist coat swelling a bit with the noise. "The House of Peers do not represent the will of the people, Your Grace. For that one must look toward the House of Commons, the lower house if you will of the Parliament. They are the ones that set taxes on the earth pony farmer, the pegasi weather pony, even the unicorn librarian. They make the laws to govern the land. The House of Peers try to influence foreign policy with the various nations that border our fine Principality." He walked to the other end of the table and grabbed a sheath of papers with his mouth and deposited them in front of the princess. "You will find that within the dossiers on the various ambassadors of other nations that call Canterlot home. It would do you well, Your Grace, to study these." Twilight Sparkle leafed through them. A detailed account on the almost venerable griffon ambassador appointed by the current Griffin Emperor's great grandfather seemed to take up most of the sheets of paper. "Why so much focus on the Griffonian ambassador? He can't possibly be that bad..." The secretary cleared his throat. "Griffon-Pony relations have been strained for some years. It's to happen when a predator species occupies a significant border with a prey species. Or so the theory goes. Especially with most of the Griffon clans ready to go to war at the drop of a hat." There was a ding on the table. "Oh dear, it seems that today's lesson is concluded. I'm sure, in time, you'll be more then ready to rule your own chunk of Equestria, Your Grace." And with that, the royal secretary hopped off the table and sauntered off to parts unknown of the castle. Most certainly his office. As the lavender alicorn mare also turned to leave, she found herself practically stumbling into Princess Luna. "Princess! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" She apologized quickly, only to find Luna shaking her head. "Twilight, please. You don't have to call me Princess. We're the same, now. You have just as much right to be called Princess now. But! It's good that we met up. I need you to do a tiny favor for me." The other alicorn was, well, one wouldn't call her terse, but she was too the point, in a manner. "Oh, I'd be happy to do anything for you Prin- Luna." She stopped herself. That was good. It showed that she was learning. "Ah, good! You see, I plan on making a little trip. To Seaddle. Yes. I plan on visiting the Solar Needle in Seaddle and I need someone to cover for the Night Court for me and since it's for one day..." She trailed off, a single bead of sweat running down her brow. "Of course! I'll be happy too! I've sat in on the Day Court several times. How much different could the night court be?" Several hours later... A rather stunned Twilight Sparkle sat at the head of the Council of Darkness' meeting table. Was... was this all for real? "Are you all for real?" Blunt and to the point. T'was the shock, you see. "You can't possibly... that... Princess Luna isn't Nightmare Moon anymore!" She looked at the gathered ponies, who looked at her with their baleful glares. "Are you quite certain? Could you truly burn away the most pure darkness from our Lady, Nightmare Moon?" That was the Grand Vizier, Stone Cutter, and his ridiculously large turban talking to her. "YES! The Elements of Harmony burned away the evil from Princess Luna and left her free from the corrupting forces of Nightmare Moon." She reiterated, as they continued to look at her. "To think that the Elements of Harmony are capable of defeating her. Please. What is more logical, young Princess? That the Elements were capable of undoing a thousand plus years of enduring malice, or that our Dark Lady saw that it was better to play a much longer game, giving her sister a false sense of security?" That was Grand Magister Ever Last. And to think... Twilight Sparkle's great-grandfather was a member of the Magistry of Illuminated Practitioners. "Do you even hear yourselves talk? You're... you're being actively seditious!" They were laughing at her. "Please, as long as Nightmare Moon deigns to leave this charade up, we shall follow her lead. It is, after all, for the good of Equestria, is it not?" This was absolutely infuriating. "You are absolutely infuriating." Once again, the shock. "I will not stand to see you conspire in the open over something that was finished three years ago." She stood up, tall and proud, looking about as regal as she could muster. "If you are quite done, we still have the matter of actually running the nightly business of our principality, your grace." The Grand Vizier was terse in his denunciation. "What you think is true and what we know to be true is not up to debate. But what is up to debate is the fate of Slippery Eel. Canterlot's finest cut purse was recently caught and now punishment is to be decided." There was murmuring from the table as the counselors talked amongst themselves. Since the return of Princess Luna, things like law and order was given over to her. To show that she could be a compassionate pony that no one needed to fear. "The sacred texts of night are clear on this." The Arch-Bishop started. "An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. We should remove his thieve hooves from him at once. That should teach him the most abject lesson possible of his thievery." ... what? "Agreed!" The High Commander of the Night's Guard stated. "He was just a slippery as his name implied and sent my men on quite the merry chase." "Wait, wait, wait. Do you even know why he committed his crimes? Surely there must be some answer." They all looked through her. "It matters not why he committed the crime, young princess." The Grand Vizier started. "What matters is that he committed the crime. Laws exist not for the law abiding, just as a doctor exists not for the healthy. Laws must punish those that are criminals, and they must show what the price of their crimes. If you do not put the fear of the law in them, then you doom the city. Neigh, the principality to unjust lawlessness." She was being lectured on the necessity of harsh punishments for breaking the law... from an admittedly evil pony that wished to see an Eternal Darkness brought upon by Princess Luna. Perhaps this was a sign from the universe that it hated her, utterly and truly. Or maybe it was iron that was doing the hating. She really cared not. But... Yes. "No. No you can not! I was appointed to oversee this council by your mistress and I speak in her name. Until such a time that is not true, I have the right to overrule your decisions." That... was patently true. The Grand Vizier smiled. It would be easier to manipulate the poor mare then he had first thought. She was passionate and driven. That would be easy to turn. "My dear, you are absolutely correct. If you wish to pass judgement, then this council will deign to whatever you decide. But it is our advice to see if you truly believe that Slippery Slope is innocent or not. Next order of business." A piece of paper rose from the table, surrounded by the miasma of the vizier's magic. "It would appear that the glassblower's union of Baltimare is currently on strike, halting glass production. It should be know that almost 80% of the nations glass is produced in Baltimare, the rest being imported from our neighbors. Woult it be possible for the Night Guard to go disrupt the picket line and allow the various companies new hires to begin work at their new jobs?" The earth pony commander of the guard thought for a moment, hoof to muzzle. "It can. We can have it done before dawn breaks." ... wait wait wait... corporal punishment, not strike busting? "You can't do that, either! Ponies have the right to gather however they want." "To redress grievances with their governments. Ponies to not, in fact, have the right to disrupt the business of their former employers over imagined sleights. Besides, the whole of Equestria depends on Baltimarian glass production. It's more then just windows and drink ware, they make the housing for syringes and medicine and industrial waste. Many lives depend on the glass made and they are impeding it." He... made a very good point. "Surely there is a way to peacefully disperse the protestors?" Twilight suggested almost halfheartedly. "If the Grand Magister can loan as a magister or two, we could do it with absolute minimum casualties for the protestors and my men, yes." The High-Captain replied. Twilight turned to the Grand Magister. "Well, do it then! This is about pony lives here." She commanded. The Grand Magister nodded. As did the Grand Vizier. "As you command, Your Grace. As long as our Dark Lady has commanded you to be here, your will is her will and we shall follow it to the letter." Oh, yes. This was going swimmingly. She was influencing the Council... just as they were influencing her. It was sure to be a war of the wills in the coming weeks. Author's Note Eh. I managed to type this out... (and the first chapter) mostly in a feverish haze. I'm not exactly sure if Twilight is in character, but it seems easy enough. And this is before S4, since I haven't seen any of it. So... *shrug*. Anyways, tell me what you thing etc etc etc, the feedback so far has been all very heartening. Chapter 3Princess Luna had only arrived in Seaddle a few days ago. It was a rather lovely little city, if one didn't mind the rain. Or the fog. Or the hip ponies walking around in decades old fashion drinking their premium coffee. She was currently being shown around down, flanked by a pair of the Night Guard and lead by the Mayor of Seaddle... something or the other. She admitted, darkly, that she didn't bother to remember his name. "And here we have the Solar Needle! Tallest structure this side of Equestria, almost rivals some of the buildings in downtown Manehattan." He was showing off the large, towering... well... tower that was tipped with a 30 foot needle. Needless to say, it was quite the spectacular accomplishment. There was also the rumor that the tower itself was built upon a conveyance of leylines and that the whole thing could be used to focus one's magical might and sheer willpower. But that was just a pony story. No one actually believe that. And bringing up that it was built by the Pentagram Corporation was nothing more then happenstance. Luna, being the clever sort of pony, didn't dismiss the rumors, but took them with a grain of salt. Truly if the Mare in the Moon was really real, then why couldn't an architectural feat like this not have some otherworldly influence. "Your Grace?" Oh. Right, the Mayor was still talking to her about something. She lost track of the conversation while she was in her thoughts. "I asked you if you wished to dine at the restaurant at the top of the needle." ... that... didn't sound to bad, actually. Some greens and oats would do well to settle her thoughts. It's not like she placed her Sister's most precious student and new found Princess into a pit of the most scheming vipers in all of Equestria. "Grk!" Oh... that's right. That's exactly what she did. She left the naive lavender alicorn with the most troubling group to ever arise in Equestria. She needed to fix this. She needed to save Twilight. "I'm sorry, Mayor. I just remembered that I left the oven on back home." That was a terrible lie, especially since she'd been in the city for almost a week. That didn't stop her from disappearing with a pop. ...days earlier... Princess Twilight Sparkle was finding the Night Court, sorry, the Council of Darkness to be... unique in their approach. They were most certainly evil, of that she was sure of... but they did seem to, at heart, have the best intentions for Equestria. Especially if Luna remained herself and not Nightmare Moon. Still, while Luna was away, she was the one speaking to the Council of Darkness and making the decisions about what happens. Already glass production in Baltimare went back to pre-strike levels and nopony was put into the hospital! There was still the subject of Slippery Eel, however. The cut purse from last night that was currently in the dungeons of Canterlot Castle. She couldn't go and make pronouncement without talking to the gentlecolt, so that was how she found herself in the dungeons. "It's... really not that bad." She looked around at the rather dank and moss covered stonework of the stairway leading deeper and deeper and deeper into the bowels of the castle. And she was lying to herself. "Sure, it's a bit dirty, but some extra torches and a good cleaning and... oh who am I kidding, this place is creepy." The guard pony leading her down the spiraling stone stairs said nothing. "Excuse me, I do have one question." There was something bothering her about the guard. "Why do you wear that black hood?" Ah, yes. The creepy black hood he was wearing with nothing but a pair of eyeholes cut into it. It made him seem more like an executioner of the old kingdoms then anything you'd find in Modern Equestria. "It's so that the prisoners can not tell which guard is which." Oh, that made... wait. "But all the guards wear armor that's enchanted to make them look identical while they're wearing it! Why would you need to obscure it if it's already obscured?" She asked incredulously. Truly this was wearing suspenders with your belt. Not that she would not the term or anything, being a pony, but the fact was it seemed redundant. "The hood is a traditional uniform from before the armor was enchanted, Princess." And once again, Tradition. Like the speaker in Parliament spending 45 minutes getting everything started because he has to recite each and every title he had... or like how in Ponyville they don't wrap up winter with unicorn magic. Tradition was going to be the bane of her if she was going to be the model of a modern pony princess. "I see." Finally, they had reached the dungeons proper. "I need to see Slippery Eel." And soon she was standing in front of a heavy oak door. Inside was the pony in question, wearing a straight jacket and a chained heavily. "Is this really necessary?" She turned to the guard. "Mister Eel has managed, in the time he was here, steal my hood, my comrade's spear, the keys to my house, and his lawyer's tie." ... so he had some sticky hooves, then. Quite the feat for an earth pony. "Other then that, he has been treated well?" She asked. The pony guard nodded. "He has. Pity he was picked up by the Night Guard and not the Day Guard. The Night Court is much less forgiving then the day." Well, they did state that they had all intentions of crippling him. "Less forgiving..." She said that out loud. A statement, not a question. But, of course the ponyguard misheard. "There was someone that has perjured themselves in the court of law, so it wad decided by the Night Court to cut out his lying tongue." It was so nonchalant. "They cut it out?" She looked at the guard in horror, who nodded. "They surely did. Surprised he didn't drown on his own blood." She felt her gorge rise. "You are dismissed. I wish to talk to Mister Eel alone if possible." The guard saluted and exited the cell. "Slippery Eel... I see they had to take precautions against your sticky hooves." The pony in question nodded, and was smiling. "But Sticky Hooves was my father, Princess." Oh, he was one of those types. Fun. "Be that as it may, you do know why you are here, yes?" She was talking to him as if she was talking to a foal. This was embarrassing for her and yet the stallion wasn't paying any attention. "Oh, because I have a tendency to lift things that aren't mind off of people. I mean, if he didn't want his bit purse to just vanish, he would have left it at home." "That's blaming the victim!" She muster all the indignity she could. "I can blame the victim? I wasn't aware I could do that. Imagine all the trouble I wouldn't have if I knew that before." And he was unrepentant. "You... you are impossible!" And she turned on her hooves and left, the door slamming. Late that evening "He's an incorrigible unrepentant recidivist!" Twilight patiently waited for the whole Nightmare Moon hooey to finish before stamping her foot down. "There is no way he is innocent, nor does he seem capable of being so." "So you agree that the only thing to do is to remove one of his hooves, yes?" Grand Vizier Cutter nodded, as much as he could without losing that towering turban he wore. He must realize that he looked absolutely appalling in that thing. "I... I didn't say that. Surely there would be a better way to show that we will not tolerate thievery, but that we are... discretionary." Twilight didn't like the idea of permanent corporal punishment like that. Especially after she heard about the perjurer and his tongue. "In the Old Kingdoms, one would have there crimes etched an inlaid with copper on the inside of their right hoof. We could do something similar to Slippery Eel. Everyone would recognize him for the criminal he is as he goes about his daily business." August Learning, sorry, Arch-Bishop August Learning stated. "That's all and good for first time offenders, but this isn't the first time Slippery Eel has been caught. The Day Guard have a list almost from my shoulder to my hooves of his crimes." Able Body, the High-Captain of the Night Guard said. A good point to be made, for sure. Something more drastic would need to be done. But cutting off his foot seemed too drastic. "We could... we could..." Twilight thought and thought. What could they do. When she remembered something that her mother told Shining Armor when he got in trouble. "We could crop his ear!" She said it just a little too loud, all the councilors looking at her. "Hmmm. Ear cropping. Simple, venerable, something everypony knows of and is taught about from an early age. And it shows that our council is willing to be discretionary about first time offenses. I like it!" The Grand Vizier nodded, the rest nodding along. "So it is decided. We shall mark the inside of his hoof... and crop one of his ears. A stain of crime that he may never remove." There was a bit grumble of agreement from the councilors as the motion passed. "Now, onto tonight's order of business since we've sorted out that nastiness is Baltimare and Slippery Eel. It would seem that in Parliament there is currently a minor scandal going on in both the Upper and Lower Houses. It would also appear that the Day Court is letting such scandal get by as it is not the business of the government to pry into the private lives of the various MPs. However, we are the Council of Darkness! We see all that happens!" The Grand Vizier was practically grand standing, slamming his hoof into the table. "... what scandal is going on in Parliament?" As a Princess, she should know... something about this. Why didn't anyone tell her? "One of the Lords Temporal, a member of the upper house is having an affair. Apparently he has multiple mistresses. Can we really let someone with such... moral ambiguity set how the principality is to project itself externally? It is my opinion that this..." He looked over the file to see who had earned his ire. "Viscount... heh. Oh, the little ironies in life. Ahem. Viscount Always Faithful is a hypocrite of the worst sort, incredibly ill named by his sire, and finally deserves to be censured, despite whatever claim he has to the Old Kingdoms." "Censure? Do you really think that's necessary?" Twilight was... the lengths these ponies would go. "You're absolutely right, Your Grace. He deserves to be removed! We shall excise the taint from the body of Parliament before it's corruption spreads!" That wasn't what she said at all. "That's not what I mean! So he has some issues with his home life. I was told that it's not... unexpected for the nobles to have a mistress." She really wished she wasn't, but the Royal Secretary was rather... blunt with his lessons. "One or two, yes. But not 10! And a whole herd of bastard foals!" That was the Arch-Bishop, disapproving of the noble philanderer. "Imagine, if you will, Princess." The High-Captain, Abel Body, started. "That you were the head of the company that produces the arms and armor for the Royal Guard. You wish to increase your profit margins. It's well know that Always Faithful can be swayed by a dressed up plot. What better way then to have his bed mate whisper in his ear that Equestria should have a standing army to guard it's borders, man new checkpoints, etc etc etc. Perhaps, perhaps not. But we cannot trust him to not be influenced by pretty mare with ambition." ... that made a lot of sense, actually. "That makes a lot of sense, if you put it that way." Twilight finally relented. "Good, good! Then we shall draw up a proclamation." He stamped his foot and the personal scribe of the Grand Vizier showed up. "Is... is that a kobold?" Truly the creature not much bigger then the scroll and quill it was holding had the draconic features common to the kobold race, not unlike Spike, but it was clothed in a a robe that... it was surprising that it didn't trip over the voluminous amount of cloth. "Oh, yes. Scrollkeeper is a gift from the Draconic Ambassador. A fantastic scribe if I say so myself. Ahem. 'In the Name of Princess Twilight Sparkle, in the third year of the return of Princess Luna, it has been declared the Right Honorable Always Faithful is hereby removed from his position in the House of Peers, to be assigned to another lord at a future date. Let all remember this day, for the Lords Temporal must be held to a higher standard and it is the will of the Princess of Magic that this standard will be enforced.'" The creature wrote it down. "Good, take that to the Royal Secretary's office so that it can be enacted. Congratulations, your grace. You managed to exercise a rite of your office that hasn't' been done in a thousand years." "... I just got him fired..." She didn't know what else to say. "Fired? Not really. The House of Peers is a hereditary position. Honestly, if I had my way, I'd clear out even more of the idiots, but we can't do that unless they've actually done wrong. Now, onto the House of Commons scandal. It would appear that MP Highen Mighty is pushing for reforms where it comes to vinting of wine and the various fermented spirits. However, it has been recently discovered that MP Mighty was recently a guest of honor at a retreat funded by the Vine Committee of Equestria. As you know, the ViCE is a non-governmental organization with the mission to get ponies to drink more wine. What is it that they're saying right now?" He looked over to the Grand Magister. "'An Apple a Day, with a Glass of Chardonnay, will Certainly Keep the Doctors Away.' Which, in a manner of speaking is true. Wine does have recuperative properties when taken in moderation." Was the reply from Ever Last. "So there we have it. Highen Mighty is chair of the Recreational and Habitual Use committee, there the ones that say how much we should drink and smoke before we start piling on truly deleterious effects. This is all and good, but it was the RHUC that let the ViCE use their new marketing slogan. And afterwards, MP Mighty was speaking at their conference in Las Pegasus. I may not be in the part of government that's being lobbied, but I know bribe when I see it." So did Twilight Sparkle. "So do I. What should we do then? Censure? Certainly. But how do tell the MP that this kind of behavior isn't allowed. Unlike the Lords Temporal, we can't just oust him. They're elected by the people." She was at a conundrum. This was actually bad. Elected officials accepting bribes like this? It was one thing to meet a lobbyist at lunch or for drinks. They had to work. But here was an MP working directly with a lobbying group. "Who says you can't? You are a Princess, Your Grace. Just because it hasn't been done, doesn't mean it can't be. We oust the offending MP and hold a recall election in his district to fill his seat. Or, you could use your Princess Precedent to just appoint someone from said district to fill it. You are, after all, speaking with the full power of Princess Luna in this matter, she did say that she would back any decision you made." He motioned his head to the kobold scribe. "Shall we take another proclamation, Your Grace? This will send a message not just to the MPs, but to those that would influence them. No one is above the Princesses when it comes to ruling Equestria." Twilight thought about it. She weighed the choices. She closed her eyes, then snapped them open. "Yes. Yes we do. Scrollkeeper!" She called for the Kobold herself. "I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic and speaker for Princess Luna, Princess of the Moon and the Stars and Dreams, declare that Highen Mighty has committed a high crime. That his speech at the Vine Committee of Equestria's convention constitutes a bribery. He shall be ousted at once from his position in the House of Commons of Parliament, effective immediately, until such a time that I have chosen a proper representative from his District. I am also issuing a warrant for his arrest as we investigate these charges of corruption against him, as well as the heads of ViCE. We shall see where justice lies." The kobold wrote down everything... and proceeded to have it sent to the Royal Secretary. There was much stomping at the table. "Congratulations, Your Grace! Truly this is a wonderful day for law and order. They will learn that the rules they make are for everyone, not just those that they serve." "Yes. Yes they will. Where did the former MP Highen Mighty district lie?" She would have to see who would replace the bribe taking parliament member, but... she stifled a yawn. At the next council meeting. "Vanhoover, Your Grace. Shall we compile a list of those we think will fit best in Parliament?" "Yes, please do. I will make my appointment tomorrow night. For now..." She yawned again. "I must turn in." And with that, the second meeting of the Council of Darkness headed by Twilight Sparkle ended. Author's Note Wow, longest chapter yet by almost a thousand words. Not sure I like where this is going though. Twilight Sparkle is supposed to be the one changing the Council of Darkness, but the Council of Darkness seems to be changing her instead. oh... wait. That's practically the whole premise of this story. Haha. There's maybe... two more chapters of Twilight being unhindered in Canterlot with the pit of vipers she's working with. I wonder just how much damage she can cause before Luna returns. Chapter 4Canterlot proper was quite a buzz with the Night Court's proclamation. What with Viscount Always Faithful thrown from the House of Peers. Of course, the fact of the matter was, various nobles and peers always get thrown from the Upper House once the Princess found out about their various dalliances etc. What really shook up the status quo, however, as the fact that not only was MP Highen Mighty dismissed from the Lower House, he was both ARRESTED on charges of Corruption and Princess Twilight Sparkle said that she would be appointing a new representative from Vanhoover within the next few days. Every newspaper in Canterlot was going over it. All the political leanings, from the Worker's Write to the Capitalist Evening Post. Some papers supported the decision, others said that this was a terrible precedent, but Prince Twilight Sparkle was a new ruler. This is just the terrible twos. And yet others said that they couldn't speak for anyone else, but they welcomed their new lavender overlords. In fact, Princess Celestia decided to speak with Twilight on the nature of just what had happened. This was a terrible precedent. Never had a princess outright ousted an elected official like that. Ponies should always be able to have a voice and pick those to speak fo them. The fact that Twilight decided to go and toss one out without an inquiry was tantamount to revolution. "Twilight Sparkle..." The regal looking alicorn tried her best not to seem disappointed. She failed miserably. "Do you know what you did? You did something that not even I would have done. This.. what you did, Twilight Sparkle, was absolutely uncalled for." She didn't sound mad or angry or anything like that, just... disappointed. "Princess... I understand that it's not the usual, but you don't understand. We had evidence that Highen Mighty was involved in a case of corruption. He was practically bribed with a wonderful weekend in Las Pegasus." She hoofed at the floor, collecting her thoughts. "We looked into it. He had everything paid for and was paid a few thousand bits not just for his speech, but just to be in the city. He's on the Recreation and Habitual Use committee... being buttered up by the industry he's supposed to regulate. It would be one thing if he was a regular MP, but he had influence. He had to be gone." There was a moment of silence. "And what do you plan on doing with the poor pony you appoint to such a position? They may not have to take Mighty's position in the RHUC, they'll have to deal with all the baggage left behind. Everything that Mighty was working for Vanhoover." Celestia was trying to get to Twilight. Making sure she understood the extreme political ramifications of what she did. "I understand that. We'll appoint someone and make sure that they understand that come elections, they'll have to fight for their seat just as anyone else and election is coming up in six months. All they have to do is vote along with their party and boom. Instant political career. It's practically a gimme. Every clerk in Vanhoover with greater aspirations will be fighting over themselves looking to get this. It's win-win for everyone." The argument she made was logical and well thought out. "That's very logical and well thought out, Twilight. But I wish you would talk to me about these things. Before you do anything else, please consult me." With that, she left, possibly to take care of her own royal business. With that being said, Twilight went to go see what the papers were saying. How bad could it be? Well, bad enough that when she looked at the first newspaper, it featured a political cartoon. It was simple enough. There was a picture of the parliament building... and towering over top of it was a caricature Twilight Sparkle looking just like Nightmare Moon did. "Tyrant Sparkle? Please! This was for the good of Equestria! No one is defending Always Faithful." The next newspaper talked about the philandering viscount, discussing how it the former lord temporal brought great shame upon his family, Equestria, possibly the species. The rest, as mentioned early, were either supportive or not. But that didn't matter to her at all, she was the Princess. She was doing good things. ... she would have to go and talk to the Royal Secretary. She had a question about something of great importance. "Chamberland! I have need of your assistance! Well, I have more of a question!" It was easy to find the royal secretary. Not many adult ponies were in the castle that were the size of a foal. "And what is it that you need, Your Grace?" He was currently on his desk, singing a few sheaths of papers. Twilight nodded. "Yes, yes I do. Is there any thing that prevents a Princess from censuring a newspaper due to an unflattering protrayal." She asked, not realizing just what she was implying. "Well... yes. There is, it must not be unflattering, it must be positively libelous." Ah ha! Yes. She could then! Tyrant Sparkle, ha! She'll show them! "Thank you, Chamberland. Could you draft something for me, please?" Oh, this was going to be almost too perfect. "And what would that be, Your Grace?" He had a quill ready. "Ahem. I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic, do find that the Canterlot Times to be quite libelous in their portrayal of my royal being in their terrible political cartoon. No fear, however, as I am quite the merciful pony and am only charging a fine of 40% of the sale of each issue of the Canterlot Times that features the unpleasant caricature. We also expect an expedient apology." She looked at the miniature house. "That would be all." The royal secretary looked at her. "I will make sure that this is... sent to both the Equestrian Revenue Service and to the Canterlot Times." With that, Twilight Sparkle headed back to her room. She needed a nap before the council meeting tonight. And later that evening, Twilight Sparkle found her caught up in the whole thing, saying with them how they should all hail Nightmare Moon. "I would like to open this meeting to congratulate Princess Twilight Sparkle on her handling of the corruption in the Parliament. I couldn't have done it better myself! A round of applause." They politely clapped at the insistence of the Grand Vizier. "Why thank you, Stone Cutter. I only did what I thought was right. You know, before I thought that you lot were bad ponies. But you just play this political game better then everyone else. Highen Mighty was a bad pony. I don't see you all taking bribes and kowing to lobbying pressures. Or telling lies in newspapers." She was almost proud of herself. "Oh, you pressed forward on your own?" This was perfect for Stone Cutter. It only took two days of talking with her to start acting on her own. This... she was molding quite perfectly on her own. "I did, yes! It felt... kinda good, actually, telling them not only that they did bad, but that they actually have to listen to me and I got to punish them." There was another round of applause from the table. "And that is why we are fortunate that our Dark Lady has granted as such a quiet night that I move that we celebrate Twilight Sparkle's first acts of being a ruler with real positive Consequences! All in favor?" "Aye!" It wasn't like one of Pinkie Pie's parties, the small celebration that they did. It was a very subdued affair. A bottle or two of wine was brought up from the royal cellars, as was some fresh fruit. All in all, very very simple fare. "Your Grace, the last couple of days I was thinking and it occurred to me that you need a personal bodyguard. If it's just the same to you, I could assign a Night Guard are two to watch over you, especially if you plan on filling in for Lady Nightmare Moon for long." Able Body was into his third glass of wine and Twilight managed to mingle with the councilors. She was still into her first, but it was strong prickly stuff that they brought out and she herself wasn't used to drinking spirits. "You know what, Able Body..." There was a blush on her cheeks and she was smiling and she hadn't felt this good in the weeks since she turned into an alicorn. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! Celestia wanted to assign a guardspony from the Day Guard, but couldn't find someone appropriate yet! But you... you already have someone picked out." She gave the earth pony a tap on the side with her wing when he nodded. "Well then! I would love to meet them." She gave a little hiccup and her blush deepened. "Tomorrow, I think I shall turn in early." And she stumbled out of the meeting room. "I think..." Grand Vizier Stone Cutter started. "We should have liquid refreshment at all our meetings from now on. She seems so much more susceptible to our influence while imbibing." The rest agreed. Author's Note Oh, man. Shortest chapter yet by about five hundred words. I suppose that's the issue with my writing style. No outline means I have to find an organic end. Also... it's like 0140 in the morning where I'm at and it seemed like a good place to end it. ... I'm really not sure how many chapters I should do, but there's probably... You know what? I don't actually know. I'll figure it out at some point! Thanks for readin'! Chapter 5Canterlot was burning. No, that was incorrect. When they talked about this day, years in the future, they will say that Canterlot was burning, but not any damage was actually done. For the most part, most ponies in Canterlot went about their business of serving the government, serving the people that served the government, or serving the tourists that came to see the ponies serving the government. But for those in the know, the front page of the Canterlot Times told all. "In light of recent events," the editorial started. "We here at the Canterlot Times do apologize for the mean spiritedness of the political cartoon in yesterday's evening edition that featured the the Princess Twilight Sparkle, dressed as resplendently as Nightmare Moon upon her return, and labeling her as Tyrant Sparkle. We understand that this seemed to insult the Princess and hereby official and on the record apologize. However, we are currently consulting our Legal Consul and seeking a redress of our grievances against the fine slapped upon us hastily. It is one thing to ask us to remove something that may be offense with debate and discussion, but to tell us to remove it without such and then to fine us? We, the staff at the Canterlot Times, cannot and will not stand for it." Similar letters were printed in the morning editions of the various other Canterlot newspapers, and apparently the EiC of the Canterlot Times sent it to all major newspapers in the Principality. It was printed on the first page of the Balitmare Sun, the Neigh York Times, the Las Pegasus Tribune, and the Vanhoover Courier. All around Equestria, people were reading about what Princess Twilight Sparkle had done. There were opinions, arguments, and everyone was starting to pick a side. One side stood for the status quo of the way things had been since Parliament was instituted almost 300 years ago and that they certainly enjoyed the rights and freedoms Parlaiment petitioned from the Princess over the last 3 centuries, a Princess, it should be noted, that freely gave them when asked and took nothing away from them just because it didn't suit her temper! The other side said that this was kind of Leadership that Equestria would need in it's future. A ruler that isn't afraid to get her hooves dirty, who's more then willing to step on somepony to get something done! This was the kind of leadership Celestia used to have. This is what lead to the defeat of Discord. The Defeat of Sombra. The Defeat of Nightmare Moon, and by the all that was good, they were thankful to have it! Princess Celestia had almost every single newspaper with the editorial and opinions. Spread out over her large breakfast table, breakfast still on it's trolley. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had already drained the carafe of coffee, and asked for another one to be brought to her. "What have you done, Twilight? What have you done!" She separating the articles into who was for what she did and who was against what she did and tried to see if there was any kind of pattern to it. Which political parties were for it. Which ideologies. It seemed most of the voices against what she did was the Equestrian Democratic Party, and currently they controlled the Parliament, with support from the Liberal Equestrian Party and... the All-Night Party (which while it only had a single MP, brought upon because there was some po-dunk rock farming community that only had maybe 5 ponies vote and do a write in). On the other hand, the Equestrial New Independence Party, the Freedom Party of Equestria, and the People's Democratic Party were all for the new direction in leadership. It was very telling that the right wing lunatics of Equestria fringe policy making was enjoying this turn of events. Because of course they were, they were the war mongers, they were the ones that said drinking water was a commodity, they were the ones that thought they should expel all non-pony sentients. Because cows and sheep do nothing and offer nothing. What she really needed... was a well deserved vacation. Which she couldn't take because Cadance had to run the Crystal Empire, Luna was off doing official business in Seaddle (just what she neglected to mention) and she couldn't ask Twilight Sparkle because she was the reason why she needed a vacation in the first place! Rile up the Fourth Estate without even a having a proper scandal! The absolute nerve of her! But, all was not lost. Her former most faithful student was currently still in bed, having not rose with the sun. This was alright. This was okay. It gave her time to plan. What she needed, what she really needed was to have a little intervention. And who better to have an intervention then some friends. She turned to the server that was standing next to her. "Find someone that can fetch me the Elements of Harmony." She paused for a moment. "The bearers, not the jewelry." A plan was forming in her head. Several hours later, in the Royal Bedchamber of one Twilight Sparkle, she was trying to stay asleep, and failing at it quite terribly. The fact of the matter was, she had the mother of all headaches, the source was probably all that drinking she did. All one cup of it. A single cup of wine shouldn't be so effective of giving her such pains, but it was certainly more to it then just alcohol. Of course, at the small polite cough, her lids lifted and then snapped open as she saw all the regal eminence of one Princess Celestia, flanked by her friends, who wore a mixture of confusion and disappointment. Except Pinkie, who was oddly dressed in a jacket and tie and appeared to look mildly annoyed. "Pri-princess Celestia! Girls! What are you doing in my room?" It was her room when ever she was to stay in the Canterlot Castle. She was told that she would have her own domain, if not to rule over, then to rule from in some time and was more then welcome to stay in the Castle while in Canterlot. "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. You still have so much to learn. So much to understand." Celestia started, sighing. "You were presented with a conundrum. Certain ponies thought your handling of the Parliament scandals were heavy hoofed. I thought they were as well, but once you explained and I truly saw what was happening, I thought better of it. The press is always one to over blow things, but to see you make a decree over something as innocuous as a mocking doodle." She shook her head. "But... but... but Royal Secretary Chamberland didn't say that it was illegal. That what I did was beyond my royal appointment." She was grasping now. Surely she had some kind of lesson learned from that miniature horse that would explain what the heck was going on. "Twilight, Neighville has his position only for one reason. The reason is that he has two immensely useful talents when it comes to ruling the principality. One, he is an absolute expert at navigating the swampy morass that is the Equestrian Parliament. A caliber such as he is truly once a generation. Two, he can not say no for the life of him. The Royal Secretary position, over the centuries, has turned into a glorified yespony position. They only need to agree and tell you what is going on in the Parliament. Advisers tell you if you should do something before you have the Secretary write up the decree." She was talking to her like she was a filly again she really messed up. "Darlin'." It was Applejack that first spoke up. "I'm just a humble earth pony farmer from the sticks, but... once the Princess told us what you did, it seems kinda... ya know... dishonest. Oh, sure the Canterlot Times shouldn't have printed that little doodle. I getcha, I really do. But you shoulda talked with them first, I think. Let them see your side of things before you went bringing down the iron hoof. That's my piece." In her simple folksy ways, Applejack managed to make a very good point. Twilight did seem to rush off. "Ahem. Your Grace." That was Pinkie... what was she doing in that ridiculous get up, even for her. She looked like she was trying to dress like Mayor Mare. "Pinkie, what are you doing dressed like that?" Twilight asked... it was... weird how she was still in bed, but she really didn't want to get out and she probably looked terrible and this was most certainly for the best. "Oh, I'm absolutely sorry, Your Grace, but if it would please you, I would prefer to be referred to as MP Pie, representing Equestria District 9 and the All-Night Party." There was not a single hint of humor to her voice. "Wait, wait, wait... Pinkie Pie... is a member of Parliament? How did none of us figure that out?" That was Rarity. This was rolling down hill faster then anyone would think. "I would be happy to explain the wheres and hows of my current position in the Equestrian Parliament, my duties at Sugarcube Corner, and as the top party planner in Ponyville." She turned back to Twilight. "Back to my question, Your Grace. It is my understanding that while the Equestrian Alicorn royalty has power of veto, command over the guard in times of war, and even the ability to enforce laws, I was under the impression that actual use of such power was rarely called upon by the diarchy as it felt, and I quote Princess Celestia, Princess of the Day and Sun, 'unbecoming of my little ponies, I should respect them enough to let them rule themselves.' Black and white, it seems the preferred method of handling things such as a unflattering political cartoon would be talking with the newspaper in question." "... Pinkie, is there an actual question in there?" "Just a statement of precedence and how I feel about the matter, Your Grace. And as much as I hate to say so, you can bet the All-Night Party will be voting with Equestrian Democratic Party if they manage to find a way to limit your power until your mature enough to use it." She turned to Celestia and bowed. "With your permission of course, Princess Celestia." ... ... ... this was weird. This was weird and frightening. Even for Pinkie. "Well, I know what I want to say. Twilight..." Applejack was well thought out if simple. Pinkie was damning, what was Rainbow Dash going to do. "Just because you're a princess now, doesn't mean you should turn into a jerk." How succinct. "Girls, Princess. I understand that you're all upset. I really do. I was just... the Council told me that I needed to take charge, to act, not react. A Princess shouldn't be a fire fighter or a police officer. They must active, not passive." "... the Council? You mean that band of malcontents that my sister deigns to keep around because they seem mostly harmless?" Celestia looked at her wayward and naive student. "Uhm... yes? Princess Luna asked me to sit in on the Night Court meetings, and while they were weird the first couple times, they really make a lot of sense and they really are harmless for the most part. Sure, they're admittedly evil and Nightmare Moon loyalists, but as long as they think Luna is playing an extremely long game to retake the throne, they won't act without her say so." At that, Celestia put a hoof to face. "Lulu, what did you do!" Author's Note Okay, yeah. Pinkie Pie. MP. One off gag that I couldn't resist. The All-Night Party belongs to Steve Gruber. Used without permission. Other then that, sorry I didn't have an update yesterday. I had too much work and the original draft was lost so... yeah. I was doing so good, too. A chapter a day. Oh well. I think we might be heading to the end of this little tale. Probably. Depending on how many chapters I can eke out tomorrow.
Chapter 1To say that the Night Court was any different from the Day Court of Canterlot was to say that the Orange branch of the Apple clan was different from their Smith cousins on the clan ranch in Ponyville. It was, in effect, the difference between night and day, to turn a pun. This was, of course, brought upon that as matter of fact, a majority of ponies were by nature diurnal, with few exceptional outliers. But, we are only talking about those that descended from the three tribes that founded Equestria so many eons ago against the threat of Windigo and Disharmony, etc. It was... unknown at the time, but modern scholars don't even bother to talk about what happens when you a pony is reflected in a mirror, darkly. The pegasi had distant cousins that preferred the dank and dark of caves in mountains during the day, only coming out at night, flying upon leathery wings. The Unicorns dark reflections spent most of their time in crumbling sepulchers, learning things nopony was meant to know, delving deeper into such secrets that a majority of their tribe had some form of madness. And of course, the humble Earth Pony... it too shone against black glass, their dark cousins preferring life in swamps and thick forests, fishing and frogging and foraging. No one knows why they were not present at the founding of Equestria, but most people ignored that, especially the original leaders of the three tribes. Eventually, however, time marched on and soon the kingdom created by the three tribes found leadership with the Alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, one capable of moving the sun, the other the moon. A feat that took the entire wizardry council of unicorns to do, and with much more accuracy. So the castle the of the Pony Sisters was built, within the Everfree. Events happened. The banishment of King Sombra and the Loss of the Crystal Empire. The defeat and imprisonment of Discord. And finally... the fall of Luna into the Madness of Nightmare Moon. But to say that Luna turned into a monster over night is an over simplification of facts. It was a gradual decline. As mentioned earlier in this document, ponies are diurnal. She crafted beautiful night skies and all she had to show of it... were the non-Equestrian ponies to marvel at when they left their caves and their towers and their swamps. And they were in awe at the handiwork of the goddess of night. And almost as a whole... pledged loyalty to their lunar mistress. It was one thing to be ignored by the masses. It was quite another to have a different mass elevate you higher then the sun itself. And thus the inner workings of Luna's mind clicked into place, like gears turning in a great clock. She had the affection she needed, but she couldn't just leave. She had duties as a princess of Equestria. Duties that she couldn't... would not shirk! So she waited and she planned and slowly, so slowly, Luna turned into Nightmare Moon. It was supposed to be an ambush. She would overcome her sister's naivety and in one brilliant stroke, become sole ruler of Equestria, bring her loyal subjects as the new ruling caste, and start the promised Eternal Night! This did not go as planned for the former Princess Luna, as she soon found herself ruminating on the moon about where she went wrong. Was it the fact that she attacked during the day, when her sister's powers were at their peak in an ill thought out attempt to show her superiority? Perhaps it was attacking in the middle of the throne room of the castle, a room which was designed personally by Celestia to offer the best protections to the diarchs in case of attack. No, no, no... her mistake was one of ill-timing. As the Elements of Harmony, the relics that was used to banish Discord into his stone prison... were being taken out to be polished and cared for under Celestia's watchful eye. Truly this was no fault of her own, on even ground, despite the sun at it's zenith, she would have proved the victor. Or so she told herself. Every day for a thousand years. Needless to say, when the stars finally allowed the Mare in the Moon to escape her prison on the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, she was filled with plenty of hate, a desire for vengeance, etc etc. A retelling of those events is unneeded. The Elements of Harmony purified Nightmare Moon and returned her to being nothing more then normal, ordinary (for an alicorn, at least) Princess Luna. She was no longer full of hate or anger and she wanted nothing more then the forgiveness of her sister for the wrongs a thousand years old. Unfortunately for Princess Luna, however, the memories of ponies are long. Especially those that pledged loyalty to Nightmare Moon. So imagine the princesses surprise when she found herself confronted by the Grand Magister of the Magistry of Illuminated Practitioners, the High Captain of what was now being dubbed the Night Guard, the Commander of the Shadowbolts (which she was sure was just something she conjured out of whole cloth to try and bedevil the Element of Loyalty), numerous ponies that over the millennia immigrated to Equestria... even some that were ennobled by the sun princess for great deeds. "All done in your name of quiet whispers of course." The leader of this group of... Nightmare Loyalists introduced himself as Grand Vizier Stone Cutter. "We have waited a thousand years, my dark lady! A single set back in a single day is no need for concern. If it takes a thousand years again, we shall be by your side." This of course, was... unheard of to the princess. That the loyal subjects that had sworn their service to her a thousand years ago, had carried on a tradition of loyalty in waiting for her return. The formation of the Night Court was a direct effect of this cause. A court to rule the night, and for Princess Luna to keep eyes and ears upon her most loyal followers, sinister and wicked they may be. Which finally leads us to the present... Grand Vizier Stone Cutter was as regal a pony could be while wearing a ludicrously large turban in midnight blue, with filigreed robes of the same could possibly be. Gathered at the table was Grand Magister Ever Last, the 47th Grand Magister of Illuminated Practioners, Arch-Bishop August Learning, head of the Children of the Moon religious group who recently petitioned right to seat at the Night Court. High Captain Able Body of the Night's Guard. And Commander Shadow Chaser of the Shadowbolts. "The Moon is high, Brothers and Sister. Night gathers, and I call this Council of Darkness to order!" He clomped his hoof on the table, bringing to order the meeting. "All hail Nightmare Moon!" "ALL HAIL NIGHTMARE MOON!" The rest of the council had joined him. "ALL HAIL NIGHTMARE MOON!" So had the guards. With the walls still shaking from the revelry, Grand Vizier Stone Cutter started to speak. "The first order of business for this Council is a welcome to our new member, Arch-Bishop Learning. We welcome the head of the Children of the Moon to this most glorious position and hope that it brings much to your most vaunted office." He shuffled some papers that floated around him, wreathed in an aura silver/black light. "However, it has been brought to our attention that a minor sect in our most sensible veneration of our Dark Lady seems to have some... interesting beliefs." The elderly earth pony analog nodded his head sagely. "You speak of the True Nightmare sect, yes? They wish to bring about her ascension and the Eternal Night sooner rather then later. Unfortunately, it has been... difficult to teach them that this will only be decided upon by Herself when She is ready to take what is rightfully Hers." There was a murmur from the Council. It was well known that the defeat of Nightmare Moon was a dangerous blow to their esteemed leader, but they could all see it as she was biding her time. She would need to heal, learn her Sister and her Students ways and hows before bringing forth the strike that would make her sole leader of the lands. But that was all in due time. They waited a thousand years. They're already three into the next millennium of waiting. "Our second order of business is what to do about the so called Princess of Magic." Truly to refer to anyone except they glorious Nightmare Moon as anything but their leader and princess was blasphemy of the highest order and avoided at all costs by the Council of Darkness. "It seems that the student of the Sun has ascended to a higher plane of existence, and unfortunately for us, returned more powerful they we could ever imagine. Suggestions?" More murmuring from the table. "Why not turn her to the light of the Moon? Yes, she is a child of the Sun, but can we not show her the true glory of the Night? Of the Moon and the Stars? With the so called Princess of Love off in the Crystal Empire, turning away the Sun's student and making her an ally of our Dark Lady would do wonders for our cause." The Grand Magister did make a good point. How hard could it be to convince a single child of the sun the true beauty of the night, the harmony found in evil. "This is a grand undertaking, Magister. We would need to play it close to our chest. I do not see such enlightenment in our life time." Able Body was a large stallion, but matched his brawn with a calculated brain that was always thinking strategies. "We may have to assign some Night Guard to watch over her, an eye on her in the name of our Dark Lady to make sure she is safe from... undo influence." There were nods from the other Council members. "All in favor?" "AYE!" "The motion passes. We shall begin the education of Twilight Sparkle. Next order: ... where is the Princess?" The Princess was not at the council's meeting because there wasn't much she could do. She could tell them all she could Don't be Evil. Try to tone down the absolute wickedness. Sinister is more then just your left hoof. Of course, the issue with that would be their smiles and responses. "Oh, of course madam! We must make sure that when the blow comes that your sister never see's it coming." Knowing nods of some conspiracy that she was leading but had no control over because she wasn't a member. She was lounging on a cloud, basking in the light of her moon. "One would think they would understand after three years, but no. I get the loyal ponies that think I'm still Nightmare Moon. If only..." Then she lifted her head. "That's it! Sparkle has had enough friendship reports and is friends with the one that even turned Discord... well, not good, but! Yes! I can have her change the ways of the Night Court! And ease my paranoia." With her plan set in her mind, she flew back to Canterlot Castle, gears in her head already turning as she figured out the best way to get Twilight Sparkle to take her seat at the Night Court meetings. Perhaps it was time to go see Stalliongrad or Prance once more. And so two plans were set in motion. One play was to use Twilight Sparkle to teach a group... a populace of wicked ponies that friendship is a powerful magic. Whereas the other was that same group that had decided to turn Twilight Sparkle into their staunchest ally through subtlety and deceit most vilely wicked. What would be the absolute worst that could happen? Author's Note Well, that wasn't so bad, wasn't it? Just some... yeesh. I've had this story in me for the better part of a year and now I'm finally going about and writing it and oh my god I'm writing fanfiction about pastel horses and some of them are admittedly pretty evil. ... Enough about that. Comment. Review. Whatever, just... be gentle, it's my first time.
Chapter 2The problem with being appointed to royalty was the fact that Equestria royalty was of the sort that actually did things, as Twilight Sparkle... excuse me, Princess Twilight Sparkle was soon discovering. For the nascent princess of magic, there was all sorts of things to do. Aristocracy, the nobility, the upper class... Canterlot society was made up for the wheelers and dealers of those that considered themselves ponies of wealth and taste, various descendants of the Unicorn Kingdom (however valid such a claim may be), those raised by decree of Princess Celestia, and at the bottom of this fine pyramid, the common folk that supported the political morass that was Canterlot. All in all, it was quite a lot to take in. "This is... quite a lot to take in." Twilight Sparkle stated to the Royal Secretary, Neighville Chamberland quite redundantly. She was always an apt pupil, but here she was learning the ins and outs of equestrian politics. And there was quite a lot of equestrian politics. "Be that as it may, Your Grace, the fact is that as the Princess of Magic etc, you have to deal with such politics, especially with the various parliamentary procedures of two Houses." The Royal Secretary was a miniature horse, easily two heads shorter then Twilight Sparkle, using a front hoof to adjust the pince-nez upon his face. "With the House of Peers, you have the various members of the Nobility clinging to what little power they have left, using their finite resources to influence Equestrian policy. As a Princess of Equestria, you have absolute veto over any and item brought up by the noblesse." That was certainly a huge responsibility. "That's a huge responsibility! How can any pony... even the Princesses go against the will of the people like that?" Twilight asked, pondering such a question. The secretary harrumphed, the scarlet breast of his waist coat swelling a bit with the noise. "The House of Peers do not represent the will of the people, Your Grace. For that one must look toward the House of Commons, the lower house if you will of the Parliament. They are the ones that set taxes on the earth pony farmer, the pegasi weather pony, even the unicorn librarian. They make the laws to govern the land. The House of Peers try to influence foreign policy with the various nations that border our fine Principality." He walked to the other end of the table and grabbed a sheath of papers with his mouth and deposited them in front of the princess. "You will find that within the dossiers on the various ambassadors of other nations that call Canterlot home. It would do you well, Your Grace, to study these." Twilight Sparkle leafed through them. A detailed account on the almost venerable griffon ambassador appointed by the current Griffin Emperor's great grandfather seemed to take up most of the sheets of paper. "Why so much focus on the Griffonian ambassador? He can't possibly be that bad..." The secretary cleared his throat. "Griffon-Pony relations have been strained for some years. It's to happen when a predator species occupies a significant border with a prey species. Or so the theory goes. Especially with most of the Griffon clans ready to go to war at the drop of a hat." There was a ding on the table. "Oh dear, it seems that today's lesson is concluded. I'm sure, in time, you'll be more then ready to rule your own chunk of Equestria, Your Grace." And with that, the royal secretary hopped off the table and sauntered off to parts unknown of the castle. Most certainly his office. As the lavender alicorn mare also turned to leave, she found herself practically stumbling into Princess Luna. "Princess! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" She apologized quickly, only to find Luna shaking her head. "Twilight, please. You don't have to call me Princess. We're the same, now. You have just as much right to be called Princess now. But! It's good that we met up. I need you to do a tiny favor for me." The other alicorn was, well, one wouldn't call her terse, but she was too the point, in a manner. "Oh, I'd be happy to do anything for you Prin- Luna." She stopped herself. That was good. It showed that she was learning. "Ah, good! You see, I plan on making a little trip. To Seaddle. Yes. I plan on visiting the Solar Needle in Seaddle and I need someone to cover for the Night Court for me and since it's for one day..." She trailed off, a single bead of sweat running down her brow. "Of course! I'll be happy too! I've sat in on the Day Court several times. How much different could the night court be?" Several hours later... A rather stunned Twilight Sparkle sat at the head of the Council of Darkness' meeting table. Was... was this all for real? "Are you all for real?" Blunt and to the point. T'was the shock, you see. "You can't possibly... that... Princess Luna isn't Nightmare Moon anymore!" She looked at the gathered ponies, who looked at her with their baleful glares. "Are you quite certain? Could you truly burn away the most pure darkness from our Lady, Nightmare Moon?" That was the Grand Vizier, Stone Cutter, and his ridiculously large turban talking to her. "YES! The Elements of Harmony burned away the evil from Princess Luna and left her free from the corrupting forces of Nightmare Moon." She reiterated, as they continued to look at her. "To think that the Elements of Harmony are capable of defeating her. Please. What is more logical, young Princess? That the Elements were capable of undoing a thousand plus years of enduring malice, or that our Dark Lady saw that it was better to play a much longer game, giving her sister a false sense of security?" That was Grand Magister Ever Last. And to think... Twilight Sparkle's great-grandfather was a member of the Magistry of Illuminated Practitioners. "Do you even hear yourselves talk? You're... you're being actively seditious!" They were laughing at her. "Please, as long as Nightmare Moon deigns to leave this charade up, we shall follow her lead. It is, after all, for the good of Equestria, is it not?" This was absolutely infuriating. "You are absolutely infuriating." Once again, the shock. "I will not stand to see you conspire in the open over something that was finished three years ago." She stood up, tall and proud, looking about as regal as she could muster. "If you are quite done, we still have the matter of actually running the nightly business of our principality, your grace." The Grand Vizier was terse in his denunciation. "What you think is true and what we know to be true is not up to debate. But what is up to debate is the fate of Slippery Eel. Canterlot's finest cut purse was recently caught and now punishment is to be decided." There was murmuring from the table as the counselors talked amongst themselves. Since the return of Princess Luna, things like law and order was given over to her. To show that she could be a compassionate pony that no one needed to fear. "The sacred texts of night are clear on this." The Arch-Bishop started. "An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. We should remove his thieve hooves from him at once. That should teach him the most abject lesson possible of his thievery." ... what? "Agreed!" The High Commander of the Night's Guard stated. "He was just a slippery as his name implied and sent my men on quite the merry chase." "Wait, wait, wait. Do you even know why he committed his crimes? Surely there must be some answer." They all looked through her. "It matters not why he committed the crime, young princess." The Grand Vizier started. "What matters is that he committed the crime. Laws exist not for the law abiding, just as a doctor exists not for the healthy. Laws must punish those that are criminals, and they must show what the price of their crimes. If you do not put the fear of the law in them, then you doom the city. Neigh, the principality to unjust lawlessness." She was being lectured on the necessity of harsh punishments for breaking the law... from an admittedly evil pony that wished to see an Eternal Darkness brought upon by Princess Luna. Perhaps this was a sign from the universe that it hated her, utterly and truly. Or maybe it was iron that was doing the hating. She really cared not. But... Yes. "No. No you can not! I was appointed to oversee this council by your mistress and I speak in her name. Until such a time that is not true, I have the right to overrule your decisions." That... was patently true. The Grand Vizier smiled. It would be easier to manipulate the poor mare then he had first thought. She was passionate and driven. That would be easy to turn. "My dear, you are absolutely correct. If you wish to pass judgement, then this council will deign to whatever you decide. But it is our advice to see if you truly believe that Slippery Slope is innocent or not. Next order of business." A piece of paper rose from the table, surrounded by the miasma of the vizier's magic. "It would appear that the glassblower's union of Baltimare is currently on strike, halting glass production. It should be know that almost 80% of the nations glass is produced in Baltimare, the rest being imported from our neighbors. Woult it be possible for the Night Guard to go disrupt the picket line and allow the various companies new hires to begin work at their new jobs?" The earth pony commander of the guard thought for a moment, hoof to muzzle. "It can. We can have it done before dawn breaks." ... wait wait wait... corporal punishment, not strike busting? "You can't do that, either! Ponies have the right to gather however they want." "To redress grievances with their governments. Ponies to not, in fact, have the right to disrupt the business of their former employers over imagined sleights. Besides, the whole of Equestria depends on Baltimarian glass production. It's more then just windows and drink ware, they make the housing for syringes and medicine and industrial waste. Many lives depend on the glass made and they are impeding it." He... made a very good point. "Surely there is a way to peacefully disperse the protestors?" Twilight suggested almost halfheartedly. "If the Grand Magister can loan as a magister or two, we could do it with absolute minimum casualties for the protestors and my men, yes." The High-Captain replied. Twilight turned to the Grand Magister. "Well, do it then! This is about pony lives here." She commanded. The Grand Magister nodded. As did the Grand Vizier. "As you command, Your Grace. As long as our Dark Lady has commanded you to be here, your will is her will and we shall follow it to the letter." Oh, yes. This was going swimmingly. She was influencing the Council... just as they were influencing her. It was sure to be a war of the wills in the coming weeks. Author's Note Eh. I managed to type this out... (and the first chapter) mostly in a feverish haze. I'm not exactly sure if Twilight is in character, but it seems easy enough. And this is before S4, since I haven't seen any of it. So... *shrug*. Anyways, tell me what you thing etc etc etc, the feedback so far has been all very heartening.
Chapter 3Princess Luna had only arrived in Seaddle a few days ago. It was a rather lovely little city, if one didn't mind the rain. Or the fog. Or the hip ponies walking around in decades old fashion drinking their premium coffee. She was currently being shown around down, flanked by a pair of the Night Guard and lead by the Mayor of Seaddle... something or the other. She admitted, darkly, that she didn't bother to remember his name. "And here we have the Solar Needle! Tallest structure this side of Equestria, almost rivals some of the buildings in downtown Manehattan." He was showing off the large, towering... well... tower that was tipped with a 30 foot needle. Needless to say, it was quite the spectacular accomplishment. There was also the rumor that the tower itself was built upon a conveyance of leylines and that the whole thing could be used to focus one's magical might and sheer willpower. But that was just a pony story. No one actually believe that. And bringing up that it was built by the Pentagram Corporation was nothing more then happenstance. Luna, being the clever sort of pony, didn't dismiss the rumors, but took them with a grain of salt. Truly if the Mare in the Moon was really real, then why couldn't an architectural feat like this not have some otherworldly influence. "Your Grace?" Oh. Right, the Mayor was still talking to her about something. She lost track of the conversation while she was in her thoughts. "I asked you if you wished to dine at the restaurant at the top of the needle." ... that... didn't sound to bad, actually. Some greens and oats would do well to settle her thoughts. It's not like she placed her Sister's most precious student and new found Princess into a pit of the most scheming vipers in all of Equestria. "Grk!" Oh... that's right. That's exactly what she did. She left the naive lavender alicorn with the most troubling group to ever arise in Equestria. She needed to fix this. She needed to save Twilight. "I'm sorry, Mayor. I just remembered that I left the oven on back home." That was a terrible lie, especially since she'd been in the city for almost a week. That didn't stop her from disappearing with a pop. ...days earlier... Princess Twilight Sparkle was finding the Night Court, sorry, the Council of Darkness to be... unique in their approach. They were most certainly evil, of that she was sure of... but they did seem to, at heart, have the best intentions for Equestria. Especially if Luna remained herself and not Nightmare Moon. Still, while Luna was away, she was the one speaking to the Council of Darkness and making the decisions about what happens. Already glass production in Baltimare went back to pre-strike levels and nopony was put into the hospital! There was still the subject of Slippery Eel, however. The cut purse from last night that was currently in the dungeons of Canterlot Castle. She couldn't go and make pronouncement without talking to the gentlecolt, so that was how she found herself in the dungeons. "It's... really not that bad." She looked around at the rather dank and moss covered stonework of the stairway leading deeper and deeper and deeper into the bowels of the castle. And she was lying to herself. "Sure, it's a bit dirty, but some extra torches and a good cleaning and... oh who am I kidding, this place is creepy." The guard pony leading her down the spiraling stone stairs said nothing. "Excuse me, I do have one question." There was something bothering her about the guard. "Why do you wear that black hood?" Ah, yes. The creepy black hood he was wearing with nothing but a pair of eyeholes cut into it. It made him seem more like an executioner of the old kingdoms then anything you'd find in Modern Equestria. "It's so that the prisoners can not tell which guard is which." Oh, that made... wait. "But all the guards wear armor that's enchanted to make them look identical while they're wearing it! Why would you need to obscure it if it's already obscured?" She asked incredulously. Truly this was wearing suspenders with your belt. Not that she would not the term or anything, being a pony, but the fact was it seemed redundant. "The hood is a traditional uniform from before the armor was enchanted, Princess." And once again, Tradition. Like the speaker in Parliament spending 45 minutes getting everything started because he has to recite each and every title he had... or like how in Ponyville they don't wrap up winter with unicorn magic. Tradition was going to be the bane of her if she was going to be the model of a modern pony princess. "I see." Finally, they had reached the dungeons proper. "I need to see Slippery Eel." And soon she was standing in front of a heavy oak door. Inside was the pony in question, wearing a straight jacket and a chained heavily. "Is this really necessary?" She turned to the guard. "Mister Eel has managed, in the time he was here, steal my hood, my comrade's spear, the keys to my house, and his lawyer's tie." ... so he had some sticky hooves, then. Quite the feat for an earth pony. "Other then that, he has been treated well?" She asked. The pony guard nodded. "He has. Pity he was picked up by the Night Guard and not the Day Guard. The Night Court is much less forgiving then the day." Well, they did state that they had all intentions of crippling him. "Less forgiving..." She said that out loud. A statement, not a question. But, of course the ponyguard misheard. "There was someone that has perjured themselves in the court of law, so it wad decided by the Night Court to cut out his lying tongue." It was so nonchalant. "They cut it out?" She looked at the guard in horror, who nodded. "They surely did. Surprised he didn't drown on his own blood." She felt her gorge rise. "You are dismissed. I wish to talk to Mister Eel alone if possible." The guard saluted and exited the cell. "Slippery Eel... I see they had to take precautions against your sticky hooves." The pony in question nodded, and was smiling. "But Sticky Hooves was my father, Princess." Oh, he was one of those types. Fun. "Be that as it may, you do know why you are here, yes?" She was talking to him as if she was talking to a foal. This was embarrassing for her and yet the stallion wasn't paying any attention. "Oh, because I have a tendency to lift things that aren't mind off of people. I mean, if he didn't want his bit purse to just vanish, he would have left it at home." "That's blaming the victim!" She muster all the indignity she could. "I can blame the victim? I wasn't aware I could do that. Imagine all the trouble I wouldn't have if I knew that before." And he was unrepentant. "You... you are impossible!" And she turned on her hooves and left, the door slamming. Late that evening "He's an incorrigible unrepentant recidivist!" Twilight patiently waited for the whole Nightmare Moon hooey to finish before stamping her foot down. "There is no way he is innocent, nor does he seem capable of being so." "So you agree that the only thing to do is to remove one of his hooves, yes?" Grand Vizier Cutter nodded, as much as he could without losing that towering turban he wore. He must realize that he looked absolutely appalling in that thing. "I... I didn't say that. Surely there would be a better way to show that we will not tolerate thievery, but that we are... discretionary." Twilight didn't like the idea of permanent corporal punishment like that. Especially after she heard about the perjurer and his tongue. "In the Old Kingdoms, one would have there crimes etched an inlaid with copper on the inside of their right hoof. We could do something similar to Slippery Eel. Everyone would recognize him for the criminal he is as he goes about his daily business." August Learning, sorry, Arch-Bishop August Learning stated. "That's all and good for first time offenders, but this isn't the first time Slippery Eel has been caught. The Day Guard have a list almost from my shoulder to my hooves of his crimes." Able Body, the High-Captain of the Night Guard said. A good point to be made, for sure. Something more drastic would need to be done. But cutting off his foot seemed too drastic. "We could... we could..." Twilight thought and thought. What could they do. When she remembered something that her mother told Shining Armor when he got in trouble. "We could crop his ear!" She said it just a little too loud, all the councilors looking at her. "Hmmm. Ear cropping. Simple, venerable, something everypony knows of and is taught about from an early age. And it shows that our council is willing to be discretionary about first time offenses. I like it!" The Grand Vizier nodded, the rest nodding along. "So it is decided. We shall mark the inside of his hoof... and crop one of his ears. A stain of crime that he may never remove." There was a bit grumble of agreement from the councilors as the motion passed. "Now, onto tonight's order of business since we've sorted out that nastiness is Baltimare and Slippery Eel. It would seem that in Parliament there is currently a minor scandal going on in both the Upper and Lower Houses. It would also appear that the Day Court is letting such scandal get by as it is not the business of the government to pry into the private lives of the various MPs. However, we are the Council of Darkness! We see all that happens!" The Grand Vizier was practically grand standing, slamming his hoof into the table. "... what scandal is going on in Parliament?" As a Princess, she should know... something about this. Why didn't anyone tell her? "One of the Lords Temporal, a member of the upper house is having an affair. Apparently he has multiple mistresses. Can we really let someone with such... moral ambiguity set how the principality is to project itself externally? It is my opinion that this..." He looked over the file to see who had earned his ire. "Viscount... heh. Oh, the little ironies in life. Ahem. Viscount Always Faithful is a hypocrite of the worst sort, incredibly ill named by his sire, and finally deserves to be censured, despite whatever claim he has to the Old Kingdoms." "Censure? Do you really think that's necessary?" Twilight was... the lengths these ponies would go. "You're absolutely right, Your Grace. He deserves to be removed! We shall excise the taint from the body of Parliament before it's corruption spreads!" That wasn't what she said at all. "That's not what I mean! So he has some issues with his home life. I was told that it's not... unexpected for the nobles to have a mistress." She really wished she wasn't, but the Royal Secretary was rather... blunt with his lessons. "One or two, yes. But not 10! And a whole herd of bastard foals!" That was the Arch-Bishop, disapproving of the noble philanderer. "Imagine, if you will, Princess." The High-Captain, Abel Body, started. "That you were the head of the company that produces the arms and armor for the Royal Guard. You wish to increase your profit margins. It's well know that Always Faithful can be swayed by a dressed up plot. What better way then to have his bed mate whisper in his ear that Equestria should have a standing army to guard it's borders, man new checkpoints, etc etc etc. Perhaps, perhaps not. But we cannot trust him to not be influenced by pretty mare with ambition." ... that made a lot of sense, actually. "That makes a lot of sense, if you put it that way." Twilight finally relented. "Good, good! Then we shall draw up a proclamation." He stamped his foot and the personal scribe of the Grand Vizier showed up. "Is... is that a kobold?" Truly the creature not much bigger then the scroll and quill it was holding had the draconic features common to the kobold race, not unlike Spike, but it was clothed in a a robe that... it was surprising that it didn't trip over the voluminous amount of cloth. "Oh, yes. Scrollkeeper is a gift from the Draconic Ambassador. A fantastic scribe if I say so myself. Ahem. 'In the Name of Princess Twilight Sparkle, in the third year of the return of Princess Luna, it has been declared the Right Honorable Always Faithful is hereby removed from his position in the House of Peers, to be assigned to another lord at a future date. Let all remember this day, for the Lords Temporal must be held to a higher standard and it is the will of the Princess of Magic that this standard will be enforced.'" The creature wrote it down. "Good, take that to the Royal Secretary's office so that it can be enacted. Congratulations, your grace. You managed to exercise a rite of your office that hasn't' been done in a thousand years." "... I just got him fired..." She didn't know what else to say. "Fired? Not really. The House of Peers is a hereditary position. Honestly, if I had my way, I'd clear out even more of the idiots, but we can't do that unless they've actually done wrong. Now, onto the House of Commons scandal. It would appear that MP Highen Mighty is pushing for reforms where it comes to vinting of wine and the various fermented spirits. However, it has been recently discovered that MP Mighty was recently a guest of honor at a retreat funded by the Vine Committee of Equestria. As you know, the ViCE is a non-governmental organization with the mission to get ponies to drink more wine. What is it that they're saying right now?" He looked over to the Grand Magister. "'An Apple a Day, with a Glass of Chardonnay, will Certainly Keep the Doctors Away.' Which, in a manner of speaking is true. Wine does have recuperative properties when taken in moderation." Was the reply from Ever Last. "So there we have it. Highen Mighty is chair of the Recreational and Habitual Use committee, there the ones that say how much we should drink and smoke before we start piling on truly deleterious effects. This is all and good, but it was the RHUC that let the ViCE use their new marketing slogan. And afterwards, MP Mighty was speaking at their conference in Las Pegasus. I may not be in the part of government that's being lobbied, but I know bribe when I see it." So did Twilight Sparkle. "So do I. What should we do then? Censure? Certainly. But how do tell the MP that this kind of behavior isn't allowed. Unlike the Lords Temporal, we can't just oust him. They're elected by the people." She was at a conundrum. This was actually bad. Elected officials accepting bribes like this? It was one thing to meet a lobbyist at lunch or for drinks. They had to work. But here was an MP working directly with a lobbying group. "Who says you can't? You are a Princess, Your Grace. Just because it hasn't been done, doesn't mean it can't be. We oust the offending MP and hold a recall election in his district to fill his seat. Or, you could use your Princess Precedent to just appoint someone from said district to fill it. You are, after all, speaking with the full power of Princess Luna in this matter, she did say that she would back any decision you made." He motioned his head to the kobold scribe. "Shall we take another proclamation, Your Grace? This will send a message not just to the MPs, but to those that would influence them. No one is above the Princesses when it comes to ruling Equestria." Twilight thought about it. She weighed the choices. She closed her eyes, then snapped them open. "Yes. Yes we do. Scrollkeeper!" She called for the Kobold herself. "I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic and speaker for Princess Luna, Princess of the Moon and the Stars and Dreams, declare that Highen Mighty has committed a high crime. That his speech at the Vine Committee of Equestria's convention constitutes a bribery. He shall be ousted at once from his position in the House of Commons of Parliament, effective immediately, until such a time that I have chosen a proper representative from his District. I am also issuing a warrant for his arrest as we investigate these charges of corruption against him, as well as the heads of ViCE. We shall see where justice lies." The kobold wrote down everything... and proceeded to have it sent to the Royal Secretary. There was much stomping at the table. "Congratulations, Your Grace! Truly this is a wonderful day for law and order. They will learn that the rules they make are for everyone, not just those that they serve." "Yes. Yes they will. Where did the former MP Highen Mighty district lie?" She would have to see who would replace the bribe taking parliament member, but... she stifled a yawn. At the next council meeting. "Vanhoover, Your Grace. Shall we compile a list of those we think will fit best in Parliament?" "Yes, please do. I will make my appointment tomorrow night. For now..." She yawned again. "I must turn in." And with that, the second meeting of the Council of Darkness headed by Twilight Sparkle ended. Author's Note Wow, longest chapter yet by almost a thousand words. Not sure I like where this is going though. Twilight Sparkle is supposed to be the one changing the Council of Darkness, but the Council of Darkness seems to be changing her instead. oh... wait. That's practically the whole premise of this story. Haha. There's maybe... two more chapters of Twilight being unhindered in Canterlot with the pit of vipers she's working with. I wonder just how much damage she can cause before Luna returns.
Chapter 4Canterlot proper was quite a buzz with the Night Court's proclamation. What with Viscount Always Faithful thrown from the House of Peers. Of course, the fact of the matter was, various nobles and peers always get thrown from the Upper House once the Princess found out about their various dalliances etc. What really shook up the status quo, however, as the fact that not only was MP Highen Mighty dismissed from the Lower House, he was both ARRESTED on charges of Corruption and Princess Twilight Sparkle said that she would be appointing a new representative from Vanhoover within the next few days. Every newspaper in Canterlot was going over it. All the political leanings, from the Worker's Write to the Capitalist Evening Post. Some papers supported the decision, others said that this was a terrible precedent, but Prince Twilight Sparkle was a new ruler. This is just the terrible twos. And yet others said that they couldn't speak for anyone else, but they welcomed their new lavender overlords. In fact, Princess Celestia decided to speak with Twilight on the nature of just what had happened. This was a terrible precedent. Never had a princess outright ousted an elected official like that. Ponies should always be able to have a voice and pick those to speak fo them. The fact that Twilight decided to go and toss one out without an inquiry was tantamount to revolution. "Twilight Sparkle..." The regal looking alicorn tried her best not to seem disappointed. She failed miserably. "Do you know what you did? You did something that not even I would have done. This.. what you did, Twilight Sparkle, was absolutely uncalled for." She didn't sound mad or angry or anything like that, just... disappointed. "Princess... I understand that it's not the usual, but you don't understand. We had evidence that Highen Mighty was involved in a case of corruption. He was practically bribed with a wonderful weekend in Las Pegasus." She hoofed at the floor, collecting her thoughts. "We looked into it. He had everything paid for and was paid a few thousand bits not just for his speech, but just to be in the city. He's on the Recreation and Habitual Use committee... being buttered up by the industry he's supposed to regulate. It would be one thing if he was a regular MP, but he had influence. He had to be gone." There was a moment of silence. "And what do you plan on doing with the poor pony you appoint to such a position? They may not have to take Mighty's position in the RHUC, they'll have to deal with all the baggage left behind. Everything that Mighty was working for Vanhoover." Celestia was trying to get to Twilight. Making sure she understood the extreme political ramifications of what she did. "I understand that. We'll appoint someone and make sure that they understand that come elections, they'll have to fight for their seat just as anyone else and election is coming up in six months. All they have to do is vote along with their party and boom. Instant political career. It's practically a gimme. Every clerk in Vanhoover with greater aspirations will be fighting over themselves looking to get this. It's win-win for everyone." The argument she made was logical and well thought out. "That's very logical and well thought out, Twilight. But I wish you would talk to me about these things. Before you do anything else, please consult me." With that, she left, possibly to take care of her own royal business. With that being said, Twilight went to go see what the papers were saying. How bad could it be? Well, bad enough that when she looked at the first newspaper, it featured a political cartoon. It was simple enough. There was a picture of the parliament building... and towering over top of it was a caricature Twilight Sparkle looking just like Nightmare Moon did. "Tyrant Sparkle? Please! This was for the good of Equestria! No one is defending Always Faithful." The next newspaper talked about the philandering viscount, discussing how it the former lord temporal brought great shame upon his family, Equestria, possibly the species. The rest, as mentioned early, were either supportive or not. But that didn't matter to her at all, she was the Princess. She was doing good things. ... she would have to go and talk to the Royal Secretary. She had a question about something of great importance. "Chamberland! I have need of your assistance! Well, I have more of a question!" It was easy to find the royal secretary. Not many adult ponies were in the castle that were the size of a foal. "And what is it that you need, Your Grace?" He was currently on his desk, singing a few sheaths of papers. Twilight nodded. "Yes, yes I do. Is there any thing that prevents a Princess from censuring a newspaper due to an unflattering protrayal." She asked, not realizing just what she was implying. "Well... yes. There is, it must not be unflattering, it must be positively libelous." Ah ha! Yes. She could then! Tyrant Sparkle, ha! She'll show them! "Thank you, Chamberland. Could you draft something for me, please?" Oh, this was going to be almost too perfect. "And what would that be, Your Grace?" He had a quill ready. "Ahem. I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic, do find that the Canterlot Times to be quite libelous in their portrayal of my royal being in their terrible political cartoon. No fear, however, as I am quite the merciful pony and am only charging a fine of 40% of the sale of each issue of the Canterlot Times that features the unpleasant caricature. We also expect an expedient apology." She looked at the miniature house. "That would be all." The royal secretary looked at her. "I will make sure that this is... sent to both the Equestrian Revenue Service and to the Canterlot Times." With that, Twilight Sparkle headed back to her room. She needed a nap before the council meeting tonight. And later that evening, Twilight Sparkle found her caught up in the whole thing, saying with them how they should all hail Nightmare Moon. "I would like to open this meeting to congratulate Princess Twilight Sparkle on her handling of the corruption in the Parliament. I couldn't have done it better myself! A round of applause." They politely clapped at the insistence of the Grand Vizier. "Why thank you, Stone Cutter. I only did what I thought was right. You know, before I thought that you lot were bad ponies. But you just play this political game better then everyone else. Highen Mighty was a bad pony. I don't see you all taking bribes and kowing to lobbying pressures. Or telling lies in newspapers." She was almost proud of herself. "Oh, you pressed forward on your own?" This was perfect for Stone Cutter. It only took two days of talking with her to start acting on her own. This... she was molding quite perfectly on her own. "I did, yes! It felt... kinda good, actually, telling them not only that they did bad, but that they actually have to listen to me and I got to punish them." There was another round of applause from the table. "And that is why we are fortunate that our Dark Lady has granted as such a quiet night that I move that we celebrate Twilight Sparkle's first acts of being a ruler with real positive Consequences! All in favor?" "Aye!" It wasn't like one of Pinkie Pie's parties, the small celebration that they did. It was a very subdued affair. A bottle or two of wine was brought up from the royal cellars, as was some fresh fruit. All in all, very very simple fare. "Your Grace, the last couple of days I was thinking and it occurred to me that you need a personal bodyguard. If it's just the same to you, I could assign a Night Guard are two to watch over you, especially if you plan on filling in for Lady Nightmare Moon for long." Able Body was into his third glass of wine and Twilight managed to mingle with the councilors. She was still into her first, but it was strong prickly stuff that they brought out and she herself wasn't used to drinking spirits. "You know what, Able Body..." There was a blush on her cheeks and she was smiling and she hadn't felt this good in the weeks since she turned into an alicorn. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! Celestia wanted to assign a guardspony from the Day Guard, but couldn't find someone appropriate yet! But you... you already have someone picked out." She gave the earth pony a tap on the side with her wing when he nodded. "Well then! I would love to meet them." She gave a little hiccup and her blush deepened. "Tomorrow, I think I shall turn in early." And she stumbled out of the meeting room. "I think..." Grand Vizier Stone Cutter started. "We should have liquid refreshment at all our meetings from now on. She seems so much more susceptible to our influence while imbibing." The rest agreed. Author's Note Oh, man. Shortest chapter yet by about five hundred words. I suppose that's the issue with my writing style. No outline means I have to find an organic end. Also... it's like 0140 in the morning where I'm at and it seemed like a good place to end it. ... I'm really not sure how many chapters I should do, but there's probably... You know what? I don't actually know. I'll figure it out at some point! Thanks for readin'!
Chapter 5Canterlot was burning. No, that was incorrect. When they talked about this day, years in the future, they will say that Canterlot was burning, but not any damage was actually done. For the most part, most ponies in Canterlot went about their business of serving the government, serving the people that served the government, or serving the tourists that came to see the ponies serving the government. But for those in the know, the front page of the Canterlot Times told all. "In light of recent events," the editorial started. "We here at the Canterlot Times do apologize for the mean spiritedness of the political cartoon in yesterday's evening edition that featured the the Princess Twilight Sparkle, dressed as resplendently as Nightmare Moon upon her return, and labeling her as Tyrant Sparkle. We understand that this seemed to insult the Princess and hereby official and on the record apologize. However, we are currently consulting our Legal Consul and seeking a redress of our grievances against the fine slapped upon us hastily. It is one thing to ask us to remove something that may be offense with debate and discussion, but to tell us to remove it without such and then to fine us? We, the staff at the Canterlot Times, cannot and will not stand for it." Similar letters were printed in the morning editions of the various other Canterlot newspapers, and apparently the EiC of the Canterlot Times sent it to all major newspapers in the Principality. It was printed on the first page of the Balitmare Sun, the Neigh York Times, the Las Pegasus Tribune, and the Vanhoover Courier. All around Equestria, people were reading about what Princess Twilight Sparkle had done. There were opinions, arguments, and everyone was starting to pick a side. One side stood for the status quo of the way things had been since Parliament was instituted almost 300 years ago and that they certainly enjoyed the rights and freedoms Parlaiment petitioned from the Princess over the last 3 centuries, a Princess, it should be noted, that freely gave them when asked and took nothing away from them just because it didn't suit her temper! The other side said that this was kind of Leadership that Equestria would need in it's future. A ruler that isn't afraid to get her hooves dirty, who's more then willing to step on somepony to get something done! This was the kind of leadership Celestia used to have. This is what lead to the defeat of Discord. The Defeat of Sombra. The Defeat of Nightmare Moon, and by the all that was good, they were thankful to have it! Princess Celestia had almost every single newspaper with the editorial and opinions. Spread out over her large breakfast table, breakfast still on it's trolley. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had already drained the carafe of coffee, and asked for another one to be brought to her. "What have you done, Twilight? What have you done!" She separating the articles into who was for what she did and who was against what she did and tried to see if there was any kind of pattern to it. Which political parties were for it. Which ideologies. It seemed most of the voices against what she did was the Equestrian Democratic Party, and currently they controlled the Parliament, with support from the Liberal Equestrian Party and... the All-Night Party (which while it only had a single MP, brought upon because there was some po-dunk rock farming community that only had maybe 5 ponies vote and do a write in). On the other hand, the Equestrial New Independence Party, the Freedom Party of Equestria, and the People's Democratic Party were all for the new direction in leadership. It was very telling that the right wing lunatics of Equestria fringe policy making was enjoying this turn of events. Because of course they were, they were the war mongers, they were the ones that said drinking water was a commodity, they were the ones that thought they should expel all non-pony sentients. Because cows and sheep do nothing and offer nothing. What she really needed... was a well deserved vacation. Which she couldn't take because Cadance had to run the Crystal Empire, Luna was off doing official business in Seaddle (just what she neglected to mention) and she couldn't ask Twilight Sparkle because she was the reason why she needed a vacation in the first place! Rile up the Fourth Estate without even a having a proper scandal! The absolute nerve of her! But, all was not lost. Her former most faithful student was currently still in bed, having not rose with the sun. This was alright. This was okay. It gave her time to plan. What she needed, what she really needed was to have a little intervention. And who better to have an intervention then some friends. She turned to the server that was standing next to her. "Find someone that can fetch me the Elements of Harmony." She paused for a moment. "The bearers, not the jewelry." A plan was forming in her head. Several hours later, in the Royal Bedchamber of one Twilight Sparkle, she was trying to stay asleep, and failing at it quite terribly. The fact of the matter was, she had the mother of all headaches, the source was probably all that drinking she did. All one cup of it. A single cup of wine shouldn't be so effective of giving her such pains, but it was certainly more to it then just alcohol. Of course, at the small polite cough, her lids lifted and then snapped open as she saw all the regal eminence of one Princess Celestia, flanked by her friends, who wore a mixture of confusion and disappointment. Except Pinkie, who was oddly dressed in a jacket and tie and appeared to look mildly annoyed. "Pri-princess Celestia! Girls! What are you doing in my room?" It was her room when ever she was to stay in the Canterlot Castle. She was told that she would have her own domain, if not to rule over, then to rule from in some time and was more then welcome to stay in the Castle while in Canterlot. "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. You still have so much to learn. So much to understand." Celestia started, sighing. "You were presented with a conundrum. Certain ponies thought your handling of the Parliament scandals were heavy hoofed. I thought they were as well, but once you explained and I truly saw what was happening, I thought better of it. The press is always one to over blow things, but to see you make a decree over something as innocuous as a mocking doodle." She shook her head. "But... but... but Royal Secretary Chamberland didn't say that it was illegal. That what I did was beyond my royal appointment." She was grasping now. Surely she had some kind of lesson learned from that miniature horse that would explain what the heck was going on. "Twilight, Neighville has his position only for one reason. The reason is that he has two immensely useful talents when it comes to ruling the principality. One, he is an absolute expert at navigating the swampy morass that is the Equestrian Parliament. A caliber such as he is truly once a generation. Two, he can not say no for the life of him. The Royal Secretary position, over the centuries, has turned into a glorified yespony position. They only need to agree and tell you what is going on in the Parliament. Advisers tell you if you should do something before you have the Secretary write up the decree." She was talking to her like she was a filly again she really messed up. "Darlin'." It was Applejack that first spoke up. "I'm just a humble earth pony farmer from the sticks, but... once the Princess told us what you did, it seems kinda... ya know... dishonest. Oh, sure the Canterlot Times shouldn't have printed that little doodle. I getcha, I really do. But you shoulda talked with them first, I think. Let them see your side of things before you went bringing down the iron hoof. That's my piece." In her simple folksy ways, Applejack managed to make a very good point. Twilight did seem to rush off. "Ahem. Your Grace." That was Pinkie... what was she doing in that ridiculous get up, even for her. She looked like she was trying to dress like Mayor Mare. "Pinkie, what are you doing dressed like that?" Twilight asked... it was... weird how she was still in bed, but she really didn't want to get out and she probably looked terrible and this was most certainly for the best. "Oh, I'm absolutely sorry, Your Grace, but if it would please you, I would prefer to be referred to as MP Pie, representing Equestria District 9 and the All-Night Party." There was not a single hint of humor to her voice. "Wait, wait, wait... Pinkie Pie... is a member of Parliament? How did none of us figure that out?" That was Rarity. This was rolling down hill faster then anyone would think. "I would be happy to explain the wheres and hows of my current position in the Equestrian Parliament, my duties at Sugarcube Corner, and as the top party planner in Ponyville." She turned back to Twilight. "Back to my question, Your Grace. It is my understanding that while the Equestrian Alicorn royalty has power of veto, command over the guard in times of war, and even the ability to enforce laws, I was under the impression that actual use of such power was rarely called upon by the diarchy as it felt, and I quote Princess Celestia, Princess of the Day and Sun, 'unbecoming of my little ponies, I should respect them enough to let them rule themselves.' Black and white, it seems the preferred method of handling things such as a unflattering political cartoon would be talking with the newspaper in question." "... Pinkie, is there an actual question in there?" "Just a statement of precedence and how I feel about the matter, Your Grace. And as much as I hate to say so, you can bet the All-Night Party will be voting with Equestrian Democratic Party if they manage to find a way to limit your power until your mature enough to use it." She turned to Celestia and bowed. "With your permission of course, Princess Celestia." ... ... ... this was weird. This was weird and frightening. Even for Pinkie. "Well, I know what I want to say. Twilight..." Applejack was well thought out if simple. Pinkie was damning, what was Rainbow Dash going to do. "Just because you're a princess now, doesn't mean you should turn into a jerk." How succinct. "Girls, Princess. I understand that you're all upset. I really do. I was just... the Council told me that I needed to take charge, to act, not react. A Princess shouldn't be a fire fighter or a police officer. They must active, not passive." "... the Council? You mean that band of malcontents that my sister deigns to keep around because they seem mostly harmless?" Celestia looked at her wayward and naive student. "Uhm... yes? Princess Luna asked me to sit in on the Night Court meetings, and while they were weird the first couple times, they really make a lot of sense and they really are harmless for the most part. Sure, they're admittedly evil and Nightmare Moon loyalists, but as long as they think Luna is playing an extremely long game to retake the throne, they won't act without her say so." At that, Celestia put a hoof to face. "Lulu, what did you do!" Author's Note Okay, yeah. Pinkie Pie. MP. One off gag that I couldn't resist. The All-Night Party belongs to Steve Gruber. Used without permission. Other then that, sorry I didn't have an update yesterday. I had too much work and the original draft was lost so... yeah. I was doing so good, too. A chapter a day. Oh well. I think we might be heading to the end of this little tale. Probably. Depending on how many chapters I can eke out tomorrow.
