Sweetie Belle's Guide to Global Pony Politics

Chapters

SBGGPP: Chapter 1 - A Kingdom in Dispair
SBGGPP: Chapter 2 - Celestia's Final Orders
SBGGPP: Chapter 3 - The Tribunal

SBGGPP: Chapter 1 - A Kingdom in Dispair

6:00 AM. 2nd of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Equestria. Province of Canterlot. Canterlot Castle Royal Chambers.

Celestia trotted in circles… “Luna… Luna…” She muttered to herself, “I’m so sorry, Luna… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’ve ruined everything…” She spared a quick glance out the window… Canterlot still shone in the morning light, gold and silver and marble… Ponyville though, the library was little more than a burnt stump, half the cottages were completely flattened, her eyes, even from all these kilometers away, could make out the husks of ponies starving in the streets, forced to eat grass and wild hay.

“What would you have done… Luna… I’m so sorry… I didn’t want to… Luna… Luna… Luna… I need to do something, I can’t watch this any longer… And it’s all my fault, I wish I could fix it… Luna, please… Luna… Luna…” Her voice trailed off, she had long run out of tears, she had long lost her voice, she found it harder and harder to move the sun and moon…

“I don’t want to, please don’t make me, please, Luna… I can’t do this anymore… Luna, what would you have me do? I can’t let him keep doing this either, I’m to blame. For everything, for you… Please… Luna… My ponies, they’re… They’re… Luna, help. Please help me… Luna...”

7:00 AM. 3nd of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Equestria. Province of Canterlot. Mount Canter Mines.

Black Star walked into work that day, as she had for the past six years, in the Mount Canter Mines. The entrance, the rock-floor polished smooth simply by the near-constant stream of earth ponies and unicorns doing their work, hooves wearing the stone flat, welcomed her every day, save for the occasional holiday where she didn’t need to walk through those enchanted iron gates. Her hooves clipped and clopped against the rough stone floor. A group was leaving the mine as she entered, manes, tails, and coats coated so thickly in dust and debris that it was nigh impossible to make out their colors, just dirty greys and browns and blacks.

The tunnel branched off in all directions, marked with old wood signs that helped workers navigate the tunnels, she trotted down the north-facing tunnel number three and started to walk downward. Cheap glass or quartz crystals were stuck into the walls, minor enchantments, to provide light or clear air, marked every few meters, many were cracked or missing, and the air they provided was noticeably stale.

The sounds of hammers, picks, shovels, and spell casting drew closer. “Black Star, thank Celestia, alright, I found something here, looks like a kind of ore, no idea what it is though…”

Limestone Pie spat out the sledgehammer she had been cracking the rock wall with, a unicorn was jabbing blades of magic into the wall, telekinetic force cracking the stone. “I thought you grew up near a quarry?”

“Rock farm… I know gems and crystals, this is an ore, and it doesn’t have any crystal formations on it,” Limestone growled.

“Yeah, yeah, hang on,” Black Star pointed her horn at the rock, a shiny speckled mess of gold and black, after just a few seconds she replied, “Chalcopyrite, copper, and iron mostly.”

With that, Star took a step back as Limestone smashed her hammer down hard on the stone, cracking it into tiny splinters, the other unicorn pulled up a shovel and started to dump the rock fragments into a wooden cart, dust now coated Black Star’s mane and tail with all the fragments kicked up, she had a hard time breathing.

Black Star touched her horn against the other walls, “Hmm, iron-nickel in this general direction, low-concentration though… Some pitchblende too…” She pulled out a stick of chalk from her saddlebags and marked an X on the wall.

“Why does Celestia need all this crap, doesn’t Canterlot already have enough gold and copper…” Limestone muttered as she slammed down on the marked wall, cracking the rock open, “Like, my sister is over in Ponyville, cooking cakes, while my family is struggling to pay my other sisters’ tuitions at school, and here I am breaking rocks open, working hard to support my family, while that ungrateful little… Ahh!” She brought her hammer down right on the crack in the wall, the hammer’s head went flying while the wooden shaft splintered in fragments. “Damn…”

“Limestone-” Black Star was about to say something, then the crack the earth pony had just hit started to grow, crawling upward, spidering outward along the cleavage lines of the stone walls and roof… “Shit shit shit! Get out!” The unicorn raised her horn, and pulled the other two ponies with all her strength, it nearly knocked her unconscious, then the roof came tumbling down, fragments of rock as large as a full-grown stallion pounded into the ground, Black Star lept to get out of the way, then horrible pain hit her in the leg.

The other unicorn muttered, “Collapse, at least it was just a small one, is everyone ok?”

“Fine here…” Limestone muttered, “Black-” She paused.

“M-My leg…” Black Star managed to squeak out, she didn’t dare look, all she could feel anymore was the stabbing pain up by her flanks.

“Run! Get a medical unicorn!” Limestone yelled to the other pony in the shaft, then staggered to her hooves to pull the rubble off Black Star.

Half an hour later, the medical unicorns arrived, but… Blood was everywhere, Limestone was growling under her breath and crying, and Black Star lay motionless, her rear legs missing.

2:00 AM. 4th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. South-Eastern Equestria. Province of Las Pegasus. Town of Sire’s Hollow.

The sun had just set when the ponies ran into the cave, the mare had been awoken by the shout of a stallion, soon, before she realized what was happening, pain erupted in her back as she was hit with hoof-sized stones, she swooped down, trying to fly away, but she had dived too low, and crashed into the ponies, they beat her with clubs and sticks, she screamed a shrill screech, but it did nothing but make the pain worse, she felt something in her wings crack, “Death to the nightmare!” That shout rang in the mare’s ears as ropes were tied around her legs and muzzle, she was dragged, kicking, from the cave… The town’s lights glowed in the distance, the moon was rising, deep red, as it had every night for seven long and terrible years now.

In the middle of the town stood a stallion on a podium, the mare was dragged to his hooves, he shouted a long and crazed speech, much the mare did not understand, her ears still rang from the shouts, her wings still hurt from the beatings. “Soon, by our own hooves, us loyal followers of Celestia’s divine grace will bring peace to this realm, blighted by the shadows of the nightmare!” The preacher’s speech ended with roaring applause, “As Celestia, our sun, our guiding light wills it, so shall it be!”

“Sol Ave!” The cry rang out through the town center, “Sol Ave! Sol Ave! Sol Ave!”

The ponies in the town all wore white cloaks, on their flanks were the symbol of the sun, the preacher held a torch in his magic, his cloak billowing in the night wind, underneath that cloak his cutie mark was actually what was shown on the outside, a burning sun… “Burn the witch! Burn the heretic! Burn the bringer of nightmares!” The preacher shouted.

“Sol Ave!” The mob shouted, louder and louder. The mare’s bat-wings had been broken, she couldn’t escape… Now, she was tied to this post, doused in oil, surrounded. The preacher thrust the torch into the mare’s underside, and she screamed as the mob cheered, the flames quickly spreading across her whole body. Ash rose into the sky, blotting out the bloodied moon, to the rising cheers of the mob.

This wasn’t the first fire lit in that town, and it would not be the last, the mare had seen smoke rising from this horrible place before, she remembered her mother, running, hiding her in the shadows of an old tree as the ponies ran after them, she remembered her father, and the spear that ran through his heart, and the smell of ashes on the wind the next night, a horrible night, she did not dare sleep that day… Now, she just wished that the pain would go away.

10:00 AM. 4th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Eastern Equestria. City of Manehattan. Southside District.

Coco sat in the alley, the sun was high in the sky, and for once it was warm, not that it helped much, but it was better than sitting out in the cold, she leaned down to try and nibble on the shoots of grass and weeds growing between the cracks in the concrete, they tasted awful, but for nine months that was all she had eaten, what she wouldn’t do for a lily or rose to chew on, she tried to sneak into a garden last night but was chased off, that old mare had even called the police on her!

Coco just curled herself up, Celestia damn that Prince and his ‘reforms’... Celestia damn that Tirek beast too! There was no work to be found for an earth pony without magic, at least she rested knowing she wasn’t alone, she had seen hundreds of magic-drained ponies begging in alleys, just like her, but the unfairness of it all still stung. A stallion passed, “P-Pease sir!” She cried, but the stallion ignored her… She huffed, but at least he didn’t kick her, or worse… Another pony passed, then another, then another, but they couldn’t spare a single bit…

After hours of that, she gave up begging for today, and simply dug through the trash for something of value, or at least something to drink, it hadn’t rained in two days, she would be lucky to survive the next week at this rate, but she didn’t find anything other than ants and roaches…

“C-Coco?” Coco’s eyes opened wide, that voice! That voice!

“R-Rarity?” Coco was on the verge of tears, she couldn’t believe it! Rarity was alive! She was alive! Thank Celestia she was alive! She ran in for a hug.

“Ummmmm… Coco,” Rarity said carefully, “Come to my apartment, you’re filthy… I can help you take a bath…”

1:00 PM. 4th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Crystal Empire. The Grand Crystal City.

The princess sat on her throne, armor gleaming silver in the light given off by the sun through the crystal castle. A guard walked in, he bowed low, and dare not look the princess in the eyes, not now, not on this day… “Your majesty, Princess Cadance, everything has been prepared for you.”

“Thank you, Flash Sentry, leave me…” The princess’s tone was calm and almost kind, but it chilled the stallion to the bone, worse than any blizzard. The stallion did not respond, he simply bowed and marched swiftly out of the way as the princess stood and walked out of the throne room, he did not dare look her in the eyes.

Cadence walked quietly past the windows, she did not want to look outside, she did not want to see the snow, the ice, or the dark clouds ahead, white and black… Those colors had been burned into her mind, all they gave her now was sorrow. Outside it was always the same these days anyway, ponies were hiding in their homes, under heavy blankets, unicorns casting charms to warm themselves, others were on the streets, buried under snow, fighting over warm spots, or the last scraps of flammable material.

The guards muttered as she passed, they thought she couldn’t hear them, but her hearing was as sharp as ever, “I found another one last night, poor colt had been frozen to the bone, I pulled him off the street but his fur and skin stayed behind on the ground... I- I don’t want to talk about that….”

“We need another shipment from the Homeland, shouldn’t Celestia be doing something for us, the food stocks just seem to get more and more empty every year.

“And if we don’t get potions and talismans, even just some more blankets or wood, a lot more ponies are going to die this winter…”

Cadence ignored them, she had given up hope for this place long ago… She walked downstairs and trotted out of the castle, the cold air blasting her like a dragon’s fire, chilling her to the bone, but she suppressed her shivering, she resolutely ignored the cold… She walked down into what had once been a beautiful garden, but now every flower had long died, every tree had been turned to ice, had the guards not worked day and night to shovel the snow, it would have long been buried by the storms that shook the castle every day.

There, in the middle, stood a solid opaque crystal box, about as large as a pony, Cadence had to resist the urge to open it, she knew what was in there already, she just wished… On the crystal there had been engraved “Here lies Shining Mi Amore Armor, Slayer of The Dark Lord Sombra, Liberator of the Crystal Empire, Grand Martyr.” Just behind this crystal grave there stood an altar, atop which were the dull and dead remnants of the Crystal Heart, pierced by Sombra’s horn, a fragment of which still lay deep within the diamond the heart had been fashioned from, no pony dared touch it in all five years it had rested there, not even the snow dared touch it… Cadence simply glared at that hated fragment, she did not move for hours, even as ice crept up her hooves and built around her horn…

It took the guards dragging her back inside by force to save her from a frigid death.

4:00 PM. 5th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Equestria. Province of Canterlot. Mount Canter Mines.

The stallion, Braeburn, had a two-hundred-bit cigar in his mouth as he read the newspaper, just some crap about Manehattanites complaining about their ‘homelessness’ and ‘unemployment’ crisis, those lazy bums should just get jobs… He paused, he could hire them, but then he would need to pay them, and he couldn’t afford that, he was having a hard time just keeping those sacks of bones in his mines working, perhaps lowering their wages was in order, that should get them working again… One death in his mines and they stop working for half an hour, he couldn’t have that, they wouldn’t dare pause for a second.

He caught a glimpse of a pony outside, for a moment he ignored it as he considered the potential profits he was envisioning, he might actually be able to own a home in Canterlot. Then, he caught another glimpse outside, and he actually got up and threw open the door to his administrator cabin. “What are you doing out here! Get back to work!” He shouted.

One of the mares, Lime something, stepped forward, all the ponies had painted black stars on their chests and flanks, “We don’t work for you anymore, we quit! We’re not going to stand for another death in these mines!”

“Who gives a damn about a single pony! Now get back to work or I’ll make sure you never find employment again!”

The mine’s guards were getting twitchy, marching up and pointing their spears at the mob, but they didn’t back down, the two just stared at each other for several minutes, then something in Braeburn snapped, “Guards! Arrest them!” The guards descended on the workers with their spears and swords, expecting them to get scared and surrender, they did not, they stood their ground and fought back, and the guards learned that armor and swords can only do so much to ponies with tools and spells designed to break the hardest rock.

12:00 AM. 7th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Equestria. Province of Canterlot. Town of Ponyville.

“Alright now class, please be quiet…” The excited foals all quickly went silent as their teacher walked in, they had expected Cheerilee, instead, a new pony, dressed sharply, a pair of glasses on her eyes, her mane well-brushed, purple with a sky-blue stripe, her lavender coat neatly groomed, she looked less like an elementary school teacher and more like some important business mare, at least the foals seemed to think so, she had almost a Canterlot Nobility air around her, but the way she acted was nothing like what their parents had told them how nobles acted, she seemed nervous but kind and not at all snobbish. “I am Starlight Glimmer, and I will be your new history and magic teacher… Please, sit.”

The foals did so at once, “Hi Starlight!” some of them replied, waving.

The mare’s eyes seemed, angry? Sad? Some mixture of the two, when she saw what some of the foals were wearing, most of the foal’s saddlebags were torn, some made of hay, some made of sticks woven together… The foals flinched, thinking they were in trouble, but then the mare just sighed and pulled out a book. “I’m sure your previous teacher taught you all that stuff about Hearths Warming, the founding of Equestria, the three tribes, and all that ancient history, correct?”

“Umm yes, we were on chapter five, talking about Princess Platinum building the castle in the Everfree…”

Glimmer just raised a hoof, “I see… Well, I’m going to be teaching you something else, something I think is much, much more important for you ponies to learn, especially now in these days… Who is the oldest of you?” She paused.

One filly raised her hoof, “Ooh, that would be me! I’m, umm, six, I’ll be turning seven soon!”

The mare nodded, “Then I take it you don’t know what Equestria was like eight years ago?”

“Umm… N-No…”

Glimmer gave a sad sigh… “Alright… Let me read something to you, I couldn’t get copies to share with you, thanks to the EEA’s guidelines on general education for your level, so I got my copy from home…” She propped open the book, “You see, one thousand and seven years ago, Princess Celestia banished the horrible monster, Nightmare Moon, to, well, the moon… I’m sure you at least know that much?”

Most of the colts and fillies nodded, “Well, seven years ago, Nightmare Moon returned, the magic holding her soul to the moon broken, and she attacked Canterlot, seeking vengeance for her banishment, destroying six ancient magical relics called the Elements of Harmony to prevent her from being sealed away again… After that, Celestia flew off to confront the Nightmare before she destroyed all of Canterlot.”

Glimmer’s horn glowed and cast an illusion spell, showing recreations of the events, Starlight had not been there to actually see it, at the time she was still trying to put together that tiny little village, but she could guess what happened… “Celestia had no choice but to destroy Nightmare Moon, completely… I do not know why, but Celestia retreated back to Canterlot Castle after this, and has never been heard of since…” Starlight frowned, “Since Celestia refused to see anyone following the Nightmare’s destruction, she appointed Prince Blueblood as her Royal Representative, to deal with all matters of politics in her stead, he says he has been doing his best to bring Equestria out of the current economic depression we are in… Not that I really expect you to know what any of those words mean, but it is important.”

9:00 PM. 9th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. North-Western Equestria. City of Vanhoover.

The click-click-click of the typewriter echoed through Sweetie Belle’s apartment, “To my dear sister, Rarity, I’ve been doing fairly well so far in Vanhoover, I don’t know where you are right now, but I hope you get this letter someday, I’m going to use a dragon to send it, so let us hope that the magic can find you… Regardless, my birthday is coming up soon, only a month away! I wish you were here, seeing your sister as a fully-grown nineteen-year-old mare. I’m thinking about going into politics, the mayor of Vanhoover seems like a kind enough mare, I hope to apply as a secretary in a few weeks, hopefully, I can start fixing some of the problems up here, I want to start working on the economic problems up here, there’s tons of griffons and reindeer living in this city, but they’re pretty much stuck in the slums, it’s not fair that they’re treated so bad just because they’re not ponies, when I get a chance to I’m going to talk to the mayor about that.

I wonder what it’s like where you’re living, if you’re anywhere near where I am, you should totally visit someday, I know Equestria’s really changed since I was a filly… PS. I heard something about a bunch of miners going on strike went down near Canterlot a few days ago, I hope everypony involved is alright.”

The mare finished typing her letter before rolling it up in a scroll and tying it with some twine, she was about to put it on her desk when she heard the mailmare outside, something slid through her door, and she trotted over to collect it. She lifted the newspaper in her minty green magic, the headline taking her by surprise. “Celestia’s making a public announcement!” She rapidly read through the article, and then grabbed her suitcase, letter, a good pile of bits - a recent inheritance from her late father, locked the door, and rushed as quickly as she could to the Vanhoover train station.

SBGGPP: Chapter 2 - Celestia's Final Orders

9:00 AM. 10th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Equestria. City of Canterlot.

Sweetie’s hooves clipped to the hard stone floor as she dismounted the train… She had not been here in years, and it was exactly how she remembered, not like Ponyville, or anywhere else, this was the one place that remained how it always had been. It was rather calming. But, there was one unusual thing, the sheer amount of ponies present. Ponies from all over Equestria, mostly the wealthy who could afford the trip, had come to Canterlot… Seven years since the Princess had been seen by anyone other than Blueblood and her servants… It was a momentous occasion.

The ponies marched up the main street, up to the castle, Sweetie Belle marched on, the roar of marching hooves was almost deafening, although, after the rattle of train wheels it wasn’t all too different. On the balcony of a Canterlot home, the mare could see a recording crew making a projection of the scene below, the glowing crystal was pointed almost directly at her, she smiled and waved a hoof and the crew waved a hoof back. There were a few more crews, trying to record the whole of this event on enchanted crystals for the whole world to see, no doubt some of teams were already telepathically sending all this to projectors in Manehattan, Hoofington, Cloudsdale…

“S-Sweetie Belle?” A voice came from right next to her in the crowd, “Is that you?”

“Silver Spoon!” The mare said, surprised to see someone she knew. The silver-maned mare had clearly seen better days, but at least she wasn’t in the same condition as others that Belle had encountered today, the mare’s mane was a little disheveled, but she had a decent dress on, just plain grey, and a fedora.

“I can’t believe it, it’s been so long! You look great… I wish I could say the same about myself.”

Sweetie ran up and hugged the mare tight, any problems the two had from middle school had long been forgotten. “Don’t put yourself down like that, it’s been far too long. It’s so nice to see a familiar face.” Even the recording crew seemed to think so as the recording and broadcasting crystals focused in on them. ‘Reunited friends’ would have been a good story for the newspapers a decade ago, but now, the shot would probably only be used to emphasize how important today was for Equestria…

They talked as they walked to the castle, “So, where exactly have you been, you know, since…” Her voice lowered to a whisper, “Nightmare Moon destroyed Ponyville…” Sweetie said.

“Well, Mare died two years back, pneumonia,” Silver Spoon started.

“Old Mayor Mare?”

“Yeah, well… We elected a new mayor, and I ran, I didn’t think I’d actually win… I certainly wasn’t prepared for the job…”

“You’re Ponyville’s new mayor?!”

“Yeah, well, not for long I don’t think, I’ve only been barely holding the town together, after Sweet Apple Acres was torched, and you and your sister left, the town lost all its income, and, well, begging Canterlot for the funds to rebuild…”

Sweetie winced in sympathy, “Yeahhhhhh…”

“I mean, I’ve been trying my best, my best isn’t good enough though…” Silver Spoon paused, then quickly changed the subject as the uncomfort grew, “So, what happened to you and your sister, after you left, I mean…”

“I, I don’t really know, about Rarity… I went to live with my dad and mom, she just ran off on her own… A year ago Dad died, cancer, we knew about it for a while, by the time we could afford treatment the medical unicorns said it was too late, they couldn’t spell it away without taking most of Dad with it, so… Well, I moved to Vanhoover, been trying to get into politics… I don’t want to talk about Mom…”

“Oh… Oh, sorry, I wish…”

“It’s not your fault, I guess we’ve both had a rough time of it, in our own ways…”

“We’re not the only ones, quite frankly, Equestria’s gone to shit since Celestia vanished…”

Sweetie winced, that was very much on her mind, she just didn’t want to be the one to voice it… “L-Let’s just hope that changes soon…”

The two trotted in silence, they were now approaching the outer gates of Canterlot Castle, the unicorns at the door were scanning ponies for contraband, they had already three ragged old ponies being hauled away, Sweetie dearly hoped the rumors about the Prince’s guard were wrong… They waited patiently in line as pony after pony was scanned and then let through, the recording teams on the walls too were doing their own kind of scanning, the recording gem scanning over the crowd, no doubt a reporter was looking over the telepathic link and taking notes on what to say for when the recordings went public.

“I-I just feel like things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better…” Silver Spoon muttered to herself, but even over the eager whinnies and stomping hooves Sweetie could hear Silver’s worry, and it was, unfortunately, not unfounded.

The two had a brief period of panic as the guards washed them down with the scanning spell, but they got through the gates into the castle courtyard unmolested. The courtyard had once been used for festivals and parties, now, it was solely a place for Blueblood to give speeches, but for once, Sweetie was looking forward to seeing it, and in-person no less, before she only saw recordings on those crystal discs. Soon, the courtyard was filled, Sweetie and Silver were some of the last ponies in, and they watched as the gates were closed, the ponies on the other side trying to argue with the guards, desperate to see their princess again for the first time in almost a decade. There was an abortive hoof-fight, and a dozen or so ponies were dragged away in chains, and the guard had to force back the mob with spears, at least no one died, Sweetie was relieved to see, with this many ponies, all desperate for some hope of their princess returning, things could get ugly fast.

There were guards all over the walls, and several more recording crews, the sun was high in the sky now, the Prince marched up to the balcony of Canterlot Castle, much to the disappointment of all the ponies present, not that any of them dared to let their disappointment show, not in his presence, and not with this many armed guards around.

“Ponies of our fine kingdom, our great Equestria!” The Prince began, “In all of this magnificent kingdom’s great history never has it been more prosperous, more harmonic, more grand, than this fine day, as I, your prince, have done my utmost to bring our civilization up from the ashes that the Nightmare and her followers had left us in!” The crowd was evidently getting twitchy, “And, now, our great kingdom will rise greater still as our most magnificent Princess has at last returned to us from her chambers, ready to drive the kingdom forward into a new age of prosperity, peace, and wealth, and I vow to forever stand by her side as her most loyal and trusted prince and advisor!”

The golden doors opened, and out from the shadows stepped a figure… She was thin, her eyes had lost their shine and instead gained great dark bags underneath, her mane no longer flowed and flowed, but had gone matte and hard, rolling over her back in an unkempt mess, her wings were ragged, some of her primary feathers missing, her tail in an even worse state than her mane… That was her… Was that really her? That was really what had become of their mighty Princess, Sweetie didn’t remember much of the old Celestia, but that couldn’t have truly been her.

“Ponies… My ponies… Forgive me…” The princess began, her voice was weak, but over the quiet of the courtyard it could be heard clearly, there must have been some spell behind that… The Prince had started to look worried when the Princess’s appearance hadn’t warranted the cheers that he clearly expected, and even he clearly didn’t expect the state Celestia had been in. “I’m so, so sorry… My ponies, there is nothing I can do… You all have been suffering for so long, and it’s all my fault… I- I, I am not fit to be your princess, I cannot be, not anymore, not for a long time, a very long time, please forgive me… I cannot do this anymore.” The crowd was growing worried. “It is time you had a better ruler, one who would not let the kingdom fall into ruin like this, a ruler who would truly care and protect you, not as I have done…”

The Prince’s chest swelled with pride once again, and he began to say “I would be honored to-”

Princess Celestia cut Blueblood off mid-sentence, her voice regaining some of its old grandeur, “I hereby renounce my title as Equestria’s princess, forever, and with me goes the last Princess of Equestria, from now on, the ponies will choose their own leaders!” Blueblood’s jaw dropped, as did much of the audience, with gasps and whispers racing like a wild-fire through the crowd, “I have done so much to harm you all in my absence, and as such, I must be punished, but I cannot bring you ponies to punish me, thus, I shall take that task upon myself… Farewell… Forever, my little ponies!” And with that, her horn erupted in a shower of golden light, there was a brilliant flash and a beam of light that went racing upward faster than the eye could track… The sun unleashed a brilliant flare upon the ponies above, the sun’s hues turning a little more pink and cyan, and then… Gone… Where Celestia had once stood, there was nothing.

For a minute there was silence, just an inaudible horror from the audience and the guards, and a look of pure terror on the Prince… Then, in a single instant, it turned into chaos… The ponies were shouting, screaming, stampeding in all directions, many running up to the castle doors, trying to get inside, to see if their princess was really gone or not, others were trying to batter down the castle doors to get to the prince, thinking that it was somehow his fault that their princess was gone, the ponies ready to grind him into a bloody paste. The guards ran in, trying to contain the riot, but even with their spears they couldn’t scare the ponies into submission, they were only making the panic worse. The recording crews were angrily arguing over what to do, some kept recording, others shouted to stop recording, no one was listening to anyone anymore though. The Prince turned around and bolted into the castle, shouting “Guards! Guards!”

Sweetie rushed up, she had to do something, otherwise, with all the armed guards, scared unicorns casting random spells, and angry mob throwing blame at one-another for this disaster… It was going to turn into a bloodbath. Silver Spoon followed her up, using her earth pony strength to force the mob out of the way. Soon Sweetie got to the top of the stairs, where the ponies were trying to break the gold doors down, a shield spell built at the base of her horn, it was her specialty after all, and with a flash of green, every pony around the door was thrown backward, she quickly cast a spell to amplify her voice and then shouted.

“Everypony Quiet!” Her voice shook the pillars and nearly deafened the ponies standing around her, “Calm down! You heard our Princess! She wanted us to choose our own leaders! Don’t ruin her final command with chaos and bloodshed!”

The ponies in the courtyard all stopped in an instant at the deafening shouts, but they clearly made out the words being said, even if it took them a moment to process, the guards on the walls stopped trying to force their way down the angry mob, the mob at the door stopped trying to force their way in, mostly because Sweetie’s force field had both knocked them away, and also knocked the huge golden doors backward as well, just inside was the prince, tail caught by the huge fallen door, whimpering, clearly having tried to escape through a back-room before the ponies burned the castle to the ground.

“Y-Yes, the mare is correct,” The prince began to whine, “Now, if you would be so kind to help your prince get back up I would be glad to lead this great kingdom-” Silver Spoon stepped up and kicked the prince in the mouth, knocking him unconscious.

“That was for refusing to pay for my farmland reconstruction act…” Silver Spoon muttered.

Sweetie Belle cleared her voice again and dialed down the spell, “As our Princess’ commanded, we must put it to a vote, I demand a referendum to choose the next leader of Equestria!”

The ponies outside all started muttering, questions flowed from their lips, to each other, and the pony who had taken command, standing on the staircase, mostly a litany of “Who? When? Where? And How?”

Blueblood moaned, the guards raised their spears toward the mare who had attacked their prince, but confusion and a slight worry gripped the guards and they began backing away, they were very much not prepared for this.

“I agree with the Princess and the Mare!” A hoof, wrapped around a sledgehammer, raised in the back of the crowd, a mare, grey mane and grey coat, got to her hind legs and propped herself up with her hammer, a black star painted on her chest, “We must have a referendum!”

Soon, more hooves joined in praise of the “The Princess and the Mare!”, then more, and more, until the entire crowd was cheering… Sweetie Belle’s heart sank when she realized just what had just landed squarely on her shoulders, she had just gotten her wish, she was now a politician, and she was already regretting it...

SBGGPP: Chapter 3 - The Tribunal

6:00 AM. 11th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Crystal Empire. The Grand Crystal City.

The princess held the disc in her magic. When news came that Celestia was, at last, making an appearance for the first time in almost a decade, the entire empire cheered, perhaps, at last, they were going to get their ponanitarian aid. And finally, a recording disc of the event had arrived, a small cylindrical crystal, when activated with a touch of magic it would display the recording inside… Her guards, their captain Flash Sentry, and her secretary/advisor, Radiant Hope, gathered in the throne room.

The crystal was placed on the ground, and then, with the slightest touch of pale blue magic, the crystal began to project an image in the air, the image was a monochromatic blue, using the arcane energies of the pony who activated the recording… Soon, the image took up the entire room, and the ponies watched in interest. “Today marks a historical moment in our great kingdom’s history, as ponies from all across the nation come to see the return of their mighty princess!” The narrator began.

The recording panned over the herds of ponies walking through Canterlot, from the train station to the castle, there must have been at least a million of them all in the city at once… Ponies were crying, hugging, hoping that their princess would solve their problems, hoping that the return of the princess would spark a new golden age of peace and harmony, as the narrator was so kind to point out, as if that wasn’t obvious. The view cut to the Canterlot Castle Courtyard, the image of Prince Blueblood stepping up to the second-floor balcony overlooking the courtyard. Cadence’s face turned sour staring at that stallion, where was the princess?

The prince gave a speech about himself and how much he did for the kingdom, before, at last, introducing the Princess, the doors to the courtyard opened, and Celestia stepped out, she was tired, unkempt, she looked sad, angry, and above all else, pitying. A slight hope flared in Cadence’s chest, perhaps, at last, her ponies in the Crystal Empire will have their hope, perhaps, at last, her ponies will survive the winter without any casualties, without starving and freezing.

Then, the Princess gave her speech, how she failed Equestria, how she was unworthy of being a princess, how she said she was leaving, forever.. Then, the flash of light, she was gone… There was a moment’s pause, both in the recording and in Cadence's throne room, then the ponies in the recording went into a manic riot.

“C-Celestia has abandoned us!” Flash Sentry gasped.

“Doesn’t she know how many ponies are going to die up here!” Radiant Hope growled.

Cadence rose from her throne, and with an armored hoof, smashed the recording disc without a second thought as the ponies in the recording were trying to break down the door into the Canterlot Castle’s Throne-Room. The magical recording paused, then dissipated… “Celestia, and all the ponies of Equestria, have forgotten us, betrayed us!” the princess growled… A freezing gust of air washed through the Crystal Castle, even though all the windows were fused shut against the everlasting blizzard outside. That wasn’t what made Flash shiver, it was the look in the princess’ face… “I will protect my ponies, and my kingdom, no matter the cost, I will keep them all alive, I will not see another of my ponies die without reason…” Her voice had an eerie calm in it. She turned, wings flaring, “Radiant Hope! Do you still keep the Key?”

“Y-Yes…” She said, not liking where this was going.

“Bring it to me… I am going to do what I should have done ages ago…” She turned again, “Flash Sentry! Bring my Shining Armor, now!”

Flash paused, but in that moment of hesitation, the room grew icy-cold, “A-At once!”

8:00 AM. 11th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Equestria. Canterlot Castle.

The Tribunal consisted of all the various political, economic, and public heads of state… Crystal Glow, Ironhoof, White Horn, Copper Spanner, Rusty Waves, Tops, Gladmane, Numerica, Poppy Bread, and of course, Silver Spoon… These ponies were all the mayors of the major cities across the kingdom, normally Ponyville wouldn’t have been counted among their number, but Silver Spoon was here for a different reason, being one of the ponies who helped orchestrate this event. Next came Chancellor Neighsay, Chief Secretary Pearl Flare, and Vice Secretary Berry Mash, the heads of the EEA. Fancypants and his wife Fleur-De-Lis, the head of the Royal Banking Institution and Chief of the Royal Treasury respectively. The former Princess’ secretary and advisor, Raven Inkwell, along with the Commander of the Royal Guard, Silver Sable. Finally there was the Lacunae Lacklilyian, evidently a distant relative of Princess Celestia, although, exactly how was not clear, the papers referencing her were sketchy to say the least, but she still had a right to be present, even if she was only barely related to royalty. The mare had a pair of leathery wings and fangs, a thestral, and clearly made everyone else slightly nervous, Sweetie Belle didn’t care. As the pony primarily responsible for organizing the tribunal, she was required, unfortunately… She radiated nervousness as she sat around a round-table with ponies vastly more important and prestigious than her. Prince Blueblood was also present, his tail shaved clean and wrapped in bandages, his face swollen where Silver Spoon kicked him, the two staring each-other down with venom in their eyes.

“Is that everypony?” Inkwell began as the last visitor took their seats, “Then, if there are no objections-”

The door to the conference room burst open and in trotted a mare with a grey mane and grey coat, and lime and a rock on her flanks, black star painted on her chest and a sledgehammer tied to her side… Sweetie recognized her immediately as one of the ponies in the crowd, how she got past security with such an obvious weapon was beyond her though. “I should have a right to be here!

“And who in Celestia’s name are you supposed to be! This is a gathering of the leaders of Equestria!” Shouted Neighsay.

“I am Limestone Pie, a worker in the Mount Canter Mines, and I am here to represent the will of the common working mare…”

“On whose authority!” Blueblood interjected.

“On my own authority.”

“Guards, escort this commoner out this instant,” Fleur-De-Lis said.

“No, she can stay…” Sweetie Belle said, earning her glares from several others around the table.

Blueblood was about to counter when Silver Spoon stepped in, “I agree, this tribunal concerns all the ponies of Equestria, not just your nobility.”

“Preposterous! If you let that sort of riff-raff in who knows-” Began Pearl Flare, earning a smile and nod from Neighsay, however, they were cut off by Limestone.

“This ‘riff-raff’ is responsible for keeping all you stuck-ups fed and cared for, without us your kingdom would fall apart, we have the right to know who we’re working for and why.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, she also really didn’t have any right to be here, and it would be stupid to refuse Limestone, especially as she certainly didn’t have an important job or noble blood, she was just here because of the massive mob of ponies still in the courtyard. “The working pony must have a say in their new leadership, let us not forget, Blueblood, that under the rule of the nobility, there have been several questionable decrees passed that have led to mass-poverty and the deaths of millions from famine and disease,” Sweetie Belle’s eyes glared directly into the prince’s eyes, he had been allowed to get away with his downright theft for years now, as he was Princess Celestia’s representative, but it didn’t take a political genius to see that he had abused his authority, Sweetie Belle would bet every bit she owned that by the end of the week, Blueblood would be dragged in chains into the Canterlot dungeons, if not outright lynched by the angry mobs of the homeless and destitute who couldn’t afford to pay Blueblood’s outrageous taxes.

Blueblood slumped in his seat, some pinpricks of sweat forming on his coat, the moment the Princess vanished, so did Blueblood’s authority, one way or another, his future wasn’t looking bright.

“Speaking of riff-raff,” Neighsay continued, somehow injecting even more venom in his words, “What is that… Beast… Doing here!” He pointed a hoof across the table at the thestral, Lacunae Lacklilyian.

“I,” The mare began in a rather deep but still feminine voice, “am the granddaughter of Nyx Imperia, who was the brother of Aurora Imperia, great-granddaughter of Midnight Nova, who was the adoptive daughter of Princess Celestia’s sister, Princess Luna.”

“That is insane! Luna did not exist!” Neighsay countered, “And even if she did, our kind, especially a Princess, would never associate with your mutated kin! You do not even have a drop of royal blood!”

“Luna very much did exist, my clan has physical proof! And I am the last surviving descendant of Luna, which makes me one of only three ponies with any semblance of a claim to the throne! The other two, if I am not mistaken, are also sitting in this very room,” The mare’s wings pointed at Fleur and Blueblood.

Neighsay was about to continue the argument when Silver Sable cut him off, “That is enough, Neighsay, she is a pony and is to be treated as such! In fact, I am rather happy to see a thestral in our midst.”

“As a member of the Royal Guard, you at the very least, must have some record of Princess Luna,” Lacklilyian continued.

“I do, in fact. Not only that, but we have the armor of the Night Guard, and Princess Luna’s very own halberd, the Erebus Crescentia.”

“I thought I ordered those accused artifacts destroyed!” Blueblood shouted.

“I scanned over them myself and couldn’t feel a trace of dark magic in them, I had them put into the Canterlot armory under lock-and-key.”

“You never informed me of this!”

“Blueblood!” Numerica, Mayor of Hoofington, shouted, “Would you kindly shut your mouth!”

“Thank you, Numerica,” Raven Inkwell said. “I was getting sick of the shouting, and quite frankly now is not the time to argue over family lineage or historical accuracy, we are in a very real and very current crisis.”

“We need to choose a leader, it doesn’t matter who or what they are, because, without a figure to look up to ponies are going to panic,” Ironhoof, the gruff stallion that was mayor of Fillydelphia, said.

“You are correct, we must do our best to avoid a schism,” Berry Mash said, unlike his superiors, his face was clearly very worried.

“First,” Inkwell began, “We must select our next leader…”

“We need a prince or princess, the only two with claim to the throne are Prince Blueblood and Duchess Fleur-De-Lis… Blueblood is the adoptive son of Princess Celestia and thus has the most claim to the throne,” Gladmane, Mayor of Las Pegasus said.

“And what of Lacklilyian?” Silver Spoon asked.

“While I assure you I have nothing against Thestrals, she is far too distant to the crown to be considered a true heir…”

“Blueblood has proven himself incompetent and has lost the faith of the people,” Rusty Waves, Mayor of Vanhoover, replied, “It cannot be him, there would be an open revolt!”

“The only possible candidate then is Fleur,” Said Fancypants, Fleur, who had been completely silent for the entire tribunal thus far, nodded.

“I say we don’t choose another monarch at all,” Limestone said, breaking her silence. The entire tribunal turned their heads, some questioningly, some angrily.

“I agree,” Silver Spoon said, warranting some more angry glares, “Princess Celestia was the first, and greatest, monarch this kingdom will ever see, it would be a disgrace to replace her.”

“That is insane!” Neighsay shouted, “We have always been a monarchy-”

“It is blasphemy!” Fleur-De-Lis broke her silence.

“Exactly!’ Pearl Flare backed up Neighsay’s shouts, “Think of Griffonstone! Those beasts don’t have a monarch, their little council has led them into ruin!”

White Horn, mayor of Dodge City, continued “I do not care who rules the kingdom, as long as it is a pure-blooded pony and not, that,” The mare pointed a hoof at the thestral.

“Agreed, to both of you,” Neighsay replied to both Pearl and White, “It must be Fleur then!”

“I agree with Silver Spoon and Limestone Pie,” Tops, the skinny stallion who was Mayor of Tall Tale said, earning him a glare from Gladmane, in the seat beside him, “What! It makes sense, no single pony could possibly live up to Celestia’s greatness, a council, or an elected representative, would have the best chance of succeeding!”

“At least we are in agreement that it cannot be Blueblood,” Copper Spanner, Mayor of Manehattan, concluded.

Blueblood glared in his seat, at this he finally worked up the nerve to say something “I have at least tried my best to keep the kingdom together in Princess Celestia’s absence! Crystal Glow! You support me!”

Crystal Glow, a large pegasus mare who prided herself as mayor of Cloudsdale simply replied, “At one point I would have, but in light of recent events I can no longer support your claim to the throne of Equestria.” Silver Spoon failed to suppress a smirk at the fear in Blueblood’s eyes.

Copper Spanner reiterated, “It cannot be Blueblood, nor do I think it should be Fleur-De-Lis.”

“What! Are you siding with those peasants or the bat!” Neighsay shouted.

“I will not be under the reign of a plutocrat again… As many of you are aware, Manehattan is dying, poverty and homelessness has risen almost three-hundred percent, and when I wrote a letter to the Canterlot Royal Treasury, demanding subsidies and stimulus to aid in the construction of shelters and new jobs, you know what Fleur said!” Fleur harshly glared at Copper as she talked, “We do not concern ourselves with mundane matters, as if the ponies, my ponies, dying on the street, unable to feed themselves, unable to find shelter from the harsh weather of the Celestial Sea, is somehow a mundane matter…” She paused, “Either Lacunae Lacklilyian, or Limestone’s suggestion of a council-”

“You cannot expect me to believe this rubbish!” White Horn burst out, “A pony, siding with that- that- monster!”

“Calm down, White Horn,” Inkwell said, trying to keep the discussion civil.

“Do you have any idea the lengths I’ve gone to try and keep that thing’s kin out of our kingdom! Do you have any idea how much I’ve paid the Church of Celestia Sol to deal with them!” There was a moment’s pause, half the tribunal staring at White Horn with sudden disgust, Lacklilyian with horror and fury, Neighsay and Pearl schooled their expressions to ones of professional calm, Blueblood’s ears just flattened.

“You!” Lacklilyian began, “You were paying those cultists to murder and burn my fellow Thestrals!”

Silver Sable’s horn lit and the gem on the chestplate of her armor lit up, enchanted with a telepathy spell, “Guards, arrest Mayor White Horn this instant, she is found guilty of supporting a terrorist group.”

White Horn, suddenly realizing what she had just admitted to, prepared to bolt out of the room, throwing open a door, only to be greeted by a royal guard unicorn on the other side, who fired a stunning spell at the mare before she had time to register the pony blocking her path. White Horn dropped to the floor with a thunk and was quickly carried away by the guards.

“Before this gets any more out-of-hoof” Raven Inkwell continued, “All in favor of Prince Blueblood, raise your hooves,” Out of the twenty, now nineteen that White Horn had been dragged away, only one pony raised their hoof, and that was Blueblood himself. “Now, all in favor of Fleur-De-Lis claim to the throne?” Fleur, Fancypants, Neighsay, Pearl Flare, and Gladmane, raised their hooves. “Those in support of Lacklilyian?” Silver Sable, Copper Spanner, Crystal Glow, and Berry Mash, earning him a stern glare from his superiors, all raised their hooves. Surprisingly, Lacunae herself did not raise a hoof.

“I am personally in support of a rule-of-the-people, a method in which the ponies vote upon their leader, a democracy,” Said Lacklilyian.

“I was getting to that,” Raven said, “All those in favor of getting rid of the monarchy?”

Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, Lacklilyian, Limestone Pie, Rusty Waves, Copper Spanner again, Tops, Numerica, Poppy Bread, hesitantly Silver Sable raised her hoof again, followed by Crystal Glow, and then even Raven Inkwell herself. “If you raise your hoof you will be fired the moment we return to the EEA Administration, without your paycheck this month,” Neighsay growled at Berry Mash, who raised his hoof anyway.

“That’s that I suppose,” Raven said, thirteen votes in support of instating a democratic system of governance.

Neighsay and Pearl Flare burst out of their seats and marched out of the room, shouting “Does any pony have any respect for tradition anymore!”

“I guess that means I will need to schedule a vote for the first Chancellor of Equestria… Before that, however, we must make a public statement regarding the change of governance.”

“How will your ponies take such a radical change?” Lacklilyian asked.

“We are ponies, many of us are traditionalists, however, with all the poverty and strife created by Blueblood’s administration, there will undoubtedly be overwhelming support for this movement, as it will allow those impoverished or discriminated to make their voices heard in the government,” Rusty Waves informed.

“Agreed, and I have no doubt the ponies of Ponyville will be given new hope by this development,” Silver Spoon said.

“I just hope some of the more radical elements of society keep themselves silent…” Silver Sable said.

“After the show White Horn and Neighsay put on…” Sweetie Belle muttered darkly.

“I’m more concerned about Equestria’s enemies, we aren’t exactly on the best terms with the Dragons, or Griffons, they could take this moment of transition as a point of weakness,” Numerica replied.

“You have the support of Equestria’s Working Class!” Limestone said.

“And the support of Thestralkind,” Lacklilyian said.

“Thank you, your contributions will not go unrewarded,” Raven Inkwell said, bowing to the two as she left the room, going to check her schedules.

8:00 AM. 11th of Aquiline. 1612 APR. Central Crystal Empire. The Grand Crystal City.

It was frigid, colder than even outside the castle. A series of guards were hauling the crystal coffin with the prince’s bones in them down the stairs, followed by Flash Sentry. In the front of the procession was Radiant Hope, holding a key cut from obsidian, just in front of the Princess.

They stopped in front of a door… For as long as Flash Sentry had served the Princess and been within the Crystal Castle, he had never known that door to have ever been opened, all he knew was that if you stood near it for too long, it became very, very cold, colder than standing out in a blizzard, and you could hear whispers just beyond it.

Cadence stared down at Radiant Hope, “Open it.”