CHAPTER SEVEN: NIGHT COURT

October 9

The Princess of the Night flexed her powerful wings. The muscles ached from being locked against her sides for so long, and her flanks tingled numbly. Celestia was not lying when she said this infernal throne was uncomfortable, she thought. What was her nickname for the Throne of Canterlot? The golden torture.

It was magnificent, to be sure, due to its size and metallic paneling and glittering bejeweled filigree: a suitable seat for the ruler of Equestria. The velvet carpeting draped from the steps was the same shade as her midnight-blue mane. At each sunset, a squad of servants rolled up the bright red carpeting of the day and replaced it with one more suited to the proceedings of the evening. Matching tapestries hung between the stained glass windows of the throne room and her own waning moon shone through every detailed panel to her right, casting shadowed lines and mosaics across the room that was, at the moment, filled with ponies. At her side was the commander of her Night Guard, an earth pony named Darkmane who stood as tall as herself and nearly twice as wide; at forty years old he had the stamina of a pony half his age and was all hulking muscle, encased in jet-black plate armor that seemed to drink the torches' light. His cool gray eyes swept the throne room. Any threats to the Princess would be pulverized under his colossal hooves.

She brought a silver-shod hoof to her forehead where a dull ache was simmering. Never in another thousand years would she admit it to her sister, but her Night Court duties were the one thing about her position as co-ruler of Equestria that she hated. With a longing glance at the moon and stars dancing in the outside sky, she wished she could forget her responsibility of dealing with the day's remaining judicial business and take flight among her stars.

Celestia was always the social princess, the one most loved by her citizens, even before my exile. Even with the crushing mantle of the sun and the public face of our nation on her shoulders, she still takes time to listen to ponies' stories and daily troubles and dreams. It is what she was born to do. The shining white Princess of the Day was born to be the leader, and the reclusive, misunderstood, feared Princess of the Night was born to be a tyrant. I bore love for my subjects, in my own way, and yet ponies still fear my night as they did then. Only cowardly and craven things that use my darkness to harm others are to be feared, and not the creator of the darkness… when will these brainless mules ever realize this?

Princess Luna drew in a deep breath and exhaled. For a moment, her thoughts took her to a darker frame of mind that was only noticeable as a downward crease on her forehead.

It was a Princess's duty to love her subjects and seek their approval, and to treat every pony with love and justice. But a thousand years is a long time. Deep within the secret chambers of her heart was a resentment of the ponies before her, because in their eyes she saw those who had originally shunned her beautiful night so many untold centuries ago. Has it really been that long? Have I spent those many years alone on the moon only to have to suffer through the petty squabbles of everyday ponies not worth my sister's time?

She shifted awkwardly on the throne with a sigh. It would be a long night, she realized, judging by the number of ponies filling the floor space. In principle, the Night Court of Canterlot heard small to medium cases or those that Celestia's schedule could not fit. High-profile trials might require both royal sisters' presence- such as the case several months ago involving a rogue griffon assassin and a traitor in Celestia's own personal guard- but normally Celestia's duties kept her constantly traveling and interacting with Canterlot elite and foreign dignitaries. This put Luna on the throne during Celestia's resting hours, cleaning up the legal equivalent of spilled milk.

Celestia portrayed it as a good thing. "You have been gone a long time, sister. Taking up the duties of the Night Court and fairly judging citizens' quarrels will show Equestria that you are present and responsive to their concerns. It is a stepping stone to earning their respect and, in due time, their love."

When dark thoughts brewed in Luna's mind, she reminded herself of these words, yet on some occasions they rang hollow. Despite her efforts to become as equally loved and venerated as her older sister, Celestia had a thousand-year head start. After everything she has done, she has the gall to take the moral high ground. And she is not the one with a sore flank from this ridiculous throne. She made up her mind to fashion a cushion for it.

The bailiff, an aged gray unicorn with a pair of scales as his cutie mark, called across the courtroom, "Cherry Ann Jubilee, step forward."

The scarlet-maned earth pony took her place at the bottom of the steps, five feet from Luna's throne, and the bailiff began to read her statements. "Cherry Jubilee, you have brought an accusation before us tonight for her Royal Majesty, Princess Luna, to hear. Would you be so kind as to repeat your charge?"

"Begging your pardon, yer Majesty, ma'am. Ah don't want ta take up much o' yer time," she began, in a strong Dodge Junction accent. Luna's eagle-eyed gaze caught the telltale signs of crying on the pony's face- puffy eyelids, strained and bloodshot eyes. "Ta be honest, Ah don't know where ta start."

"It is quite all right, subject," answered Luna. Make them love you, she reminded herself. She kept her tone gentle and resisted the ingrained urge to unleash her Royal Canterlot Voice. "Please continue."

"So last week- well hay, this was about two weeks back. My family comes from Dodge Junction and as ya probably know, it's not the most civilized o' places. We get a lot o' drifters, migrant workers from Appleloosa an' even Manehatten sometimes. We've seen more than a couple o' griffons too. Ah run a boardin' house an' cherry farm, and two weeks ago, we had an'- an' incident. So ta understand where Ah'm comin' from here, my family owns three cherry orchards, ya see. The south field's full to burstin' these last few days, an'-"

The bailiff interrupted her in his gravelly monotone voice. "You're getting off topic, citizen. Kindly keep your statements to the issue at hand."

Red-faced and stifling a sob, she continued: "Two days ago, my son an' one o' my workers were in the south field, pickin' cherries after sundown, see. An' they found one o' our cows that had wandered into the field. It was- it was- killed. Its head was thrown clear out o' the field and the rest o' it was hung from one o' the cherry trees, an' missin' its pelt too."

The Night Court convened once every week and lasted the entire night or until the cases on its schedule were heard and finalized. There was no strict format for these hearings, because as Celestia pointed out, the Princesses ruled through love. Any pony- from a Canterlot royal to a starving filly on the streets of Manehatten- had the right to an audience with the Princesses and the assurance of justice. Celestia's reign would have failed in its first century if her system did not work.

Tonight, Luna had presided over a case between drunken Canterlot citizens and the owner of a nightclub, which had been trashed by their brawling. She ordered the offending ponies to pay back the owner for the damage, including over two thousand bits' worth of smashed DJ equipment; aside from general ill will, the DJ in question, Vinyl Scratch, was satisfied. The two unicorns and an earth pony involved in the scuffle were less than satisfied. Alcohol only causes misconduct and ruin, she thought, and I will never understand my sister's proclivities for the stuff. Luna had settled back on her throne, expecting to hear several more hours of complaints against liquored-up unicorns and the like, and her mind had wandered off. That is, until this Dodge Junction mare climbed atop the platform and, with many asides, unfolded a deeply unsettling story. The Princess's attention was now solely fixed on her.

"The Pie family's been runnin' that place for seven generations, and we've never lost an animal to unnatural causes. Timberwolves, sure, 'n no shortage o' buffalo herds migrating from Appleloosa n' the lands south o'there, but they've always been civil." She sniffed. "An' last night, most o' the workers were a little unsettled. Three o' them wanted on the first train outta town. It's been a lot colder lately, with gusts of wind that nearly blew six o' my peach trees down too, 'n Ah wanted the harvest in right quick before those cherries plumb froze on the trees. But… but… when the sun went down…"

From somewhere deep inside herself, a chill rose in the Princess.

"When the sun went down, Ah called everypony back to the ranch house. Ah had five ponies out in the fields beside my son, an' by then it was rainin' pretty hard. Cold rain, too. As like to drench the happiness right out o' your chest. Then my son came runnin' out of the trees screamin' something about tentacles after him. He'd never looked that scared a day in 'is life before. Ah know I've taken up too much of your time, Your Majesty, but… Ah don't know what else ta do. Nopony's feelin' like goin' outside after dark and several ponies stayin' at the inn have been complainin' about dreadful nightmares. If ya could find it in your heart ta send some extra guards or an investigation our way, Dodge Junction'd appreciate it somethin' mighty."

Luna mulled over theories as the red-maned mare spoke. A loose Hydra, in the middle of the desert? Timberwolves could not skin and hang a cow from a tree. If not an animal, then it has to be a mentally unstable pony. No outlaw griffon, or band of such griffons, would leave a kill uneaten. It was the reference to tentacles that made her uneasy.

She stared, not unkindly, down at Cherry Pie. The mare sniffled and trembled. "Citizen, I do not command the Royal Guard of Canterlot, yet I am not without my own resources. Ten of my elite Night Guard will be dispatched to Dodge Junction with the orders to guard the town. They are trained fighters from all three races, deadly in hoof-to-hoof combat and fighting magic. Instruct your townspeople to give them food and shelter. If they do not catch the culprit, I will personally see to it. You have my promise."

Cherry Pie glanced up at Darkmane's towering form, then to the Princess again, and she forgot her tears. "Your Majesty, Ah- Ah- Ah don't know what ta say! Ah-" she stammered. The pony tried, without success, to coherently thank Luna, but the alicorn held out her hoof for order.

"It is no trouble, citizen." The tongue-tied mare stepped away from the throne and the Princess felt her lips curl up in a smile. Perhaps Celestia was right. All they want is a Princess that cares for their well-being, and I will do my best to give that to them. The bailiff's staff cracked against the floor. "Next case!"

Three Pegasi from Cloudsdale's weather team approached the throne, followed by a single pink Pegasus with an unfamiliar sigil on her vest. "Rainbowshine, April Showers, and Blueberry Cloud, step forward. In this document, you have accused the weather department of the sovereign city of Vanhoover, represented on this night by Stardancer, of gross and dangerous mishandling of thunderheads which on the eve of Friday last, caused considerable damage to Cloudsdale's Cirrus District. Her Royal Majesty will now hear your statements."

Pegasi are always too brash for their own good, mused Luna. This one is no different. Rainbowshine burst straight into her story, her fuchsia locks bouncing and accusing eyes trained on Stardancer. The other two Pegasi nodded or stamped their hooves when emphasis was needed. "For the last month, our weather teams have been worked to death with this unnatural shift in the jetstream pattern. Normally the stream bends around Canterlot Peak and then southwest, but within the last month it's- shifted. It's now trained on Cloudsdale and the Unicorn Range, and we don't have the ponypower to keep the clouds on track when they keep blowing away."

"For the last time, Rainbowshine, it isn't Vanhoover's fault!"

"Who else could it be?" April Showers shot back. "There's no other weather management departments that far north, except for Manehatten's teams, and they handle a completely different weather system. Where else would these storms be coming from?"

Stardancer's ears flattened. "After the scheduled September rainfall, our squads were worked to their limit. Not to mention that our captain took sick leave and he is the only one with the experience to handle the thunderheads. We've barely enough ponies to keep the scheduled cloud rotations on schedule. We're already ten inches short on rainfall-"

"Then why are unauthorized thunderheads suddenly appearing out of nowhere in Cloudsdale? Explain that."

"I told you that we're not responsible!" said Stardancer hotly. Her ears were now pinned flat and she pounded the carpet with her forehooves. "We don't know why the stream changed direction. Maybe it has something to do with whatever's going on up North? We've had scouts reporting strange lights and weather beyond the Crystal Mountains. But it's none of our business when we have our own territory to handle."

"Then explain that to the filly that got electrocuted by one of your storm clouds!" put in Blueberry, much louder than necessary.

"Order!" bellowed Luna, as the red-faced Vanhoover pony snorted and spread her wings to launch an attack on the nearest Pegasus. "No fighting will be tolerated or my guard will escort you out. Now: without pointing hooves at each other, did any pony of you actually notice which direction the clouds followed?"

Rainbowshine cleared her throat bashfully. "I was on thunderhead patrol two nights ago when it happened. Our leader had us flying at high altitude to clear up some excess rainfall. Come to think of it, I don't remember a storm scheduled for that day either. Then Blueberry called out the position of that cloud. Nopony saw where it came from, but by then it was too late. The wind was blowing in all directions, rain in our faces and half of our team couldn't hold position. The lightning got too close to the north part of the city and- and it caught that apartment complex. It took all of our team and half of the reserves to wrestle it clear of the city, because one that big is dangerous to move. The fire was spreading… once the second strike hit the hospital, we could hear the screams."

"If the cloud cannot be traced to the Vanhoover office, you have no right to accuse them of this wrongdoing," said Luna.

"But Princess," the mare continued. "Somepony had to let that thunderhead loose. If it blew in and around from the south, then it was either from the Everfree Forest or somepony in the Ponyville office has their head up their flank. It doesn't make any sense."

Blueberry interrupted her. "Wouldn't that make it Rainbow Dash's problem? She's head of the weather ponies in Ponyville. But Ponyville never lets that kind of bad management happen. Remember, she was the one that made that latest water transfer. A textbook maneuver if you ask me."

"If you wish to accuse Rainbow Dash, and by extension the Ponyville weather station, we may summon her to the Court at her earliest convenience. Until then, without more concrete evidence, the claim against Vanhoover is without merit. I am deeply sorry for Cloudsdale's loss and reparations will be made, but I am afraid this matter is concluded for the time being."

"I'm not sure who to accuse," sulked Rainbowshine. "All I know is that a filly died, several ponies are hurt, and it isn't our fault."

The bailiff's staff began to descend when April Showers added, almost in an undertone, "Maybe it was from the Everfree Forest. I don't like the clouds over that place anymore. It's like they're angry at ponies that get too close."

---

Canterlot, much like the other larger Equestrian cities, was a place that only truly came alive at night. The Palace District's lights shone eternally and it was under the unceasing watch of the Royal Guard; its gleaming towers and streets were what most visitors to the city wanted to see. The Princesses' abode was nevertheless only one small segment of a vibrant and growing metropolis.

A vertical city perched on a magically reinforced cliff face will only have room for so much outward expansion. In the first centuries of Celestia's reign, when the initial walled city reached its economic and population limit, the physical and spiritual center of Equestria began to expand in the only direction open to it, which was into the mountain's superstructure. The true architectural genius of the city was not its visible edifice but the invisible maze of concentric regions hollowed into the peak's interior. Lower Canterlot contained ten levels, each one slightly wider than the one atop it, and each supported with massive columns hewn from the crystalline bones of the mountain. The Celestial Gates separated the two halves of the city and beyond the gates was a circular shaft which dropped over one thousand feet to the lowest level. Vertical access was by wingpower, for ponies so endowed, and via clanking metal lifts for the rest.

Here was the unseen beating heart of the city and one that never truly slept. A place that rivaled the beaches of Los Pegasus for its effervescent nightlife. A twenty four-seven hub of light and life and music. Never had a gigantic cave known such brilliance, and as a structural marvel it had no equal- not even the Great Eyrie of the griffon lands.

Without the Princesses and the Royal Guard's presence, Lower Canterlot (or the Undercity to more prejudiced ponies) may well have become a cesspool of vagrants and darkness and corruption. But such a city was Canterlot that crime and poverty were nearly unheard of. The lower levels benefited from frequent patrols and a surplus of housing for less fortunate ponies, as well as job opportunities; nevertheless, it was in these darker reaches where a culture of nightclubs and gaming and intoxication had taken hold, and a ready source of court cases when drunken ponies became too rowdy.

Outside the Palace, the streets were filled as Canterlot's nightlife began; street vendors held newspapers out to passing ponies, emblazoned with the headline CLOUDSDALE TRAGEDY, and a throng of upper crust and worker ponies alike pushed through the Celestial Gates in search of an experience only the lower levels could offer.

The case against Vanhoover's weather team was the last on Princess Luna's docket. She sat restlessly through the concluding procedures and as the ponies filtered out of the throne room, she instructed the bailiff to prepare a summons to one Rainbow Dash of Ponyville, with orders to report to the courtroom post-haste.

In calamity's wake, we always find somepony else to blame and do not deal with the problem ourselves.

Luna unfurled her wings and took a running leap from the outside patio. Eight hours on that throne had made her ache for the feeling of wind beneath her feathers and starlight in her mane. As her night waned and her resting hours approached, she was in the habit of taking short flights among Canterlot's spires and sometimes into the depths of the Undercity itself.

Tonight, however, called for a longer journey. She pummeled the air with her powerful wings. An exceptional Pegasus such as Rainbow Dash might have had an edge in speed, but could never match an alicorn for endurance and sheer power. Luna's wings could carry her to the edge of the Crystal Mountains and all the way south to Horseshoe Bay without any fatigue. My sister can keep her teleportation spells. This is the true way to travel, with a cool breeze in my mane and the land thousands of feet below my hooves. She blasted upward until the clouds were dark patches far below her and Canterlot's lights were mere dots on the mountainside.

She closed her eyes and let the wind carry her where it would. Perhaps her mind was on the Everfree Forest, as it had been mentioned in two cases of the Night Court, because when she opened them again she had lost a slight bit of altitude and now hovered above the Unicorn Range. Ponyville was a patchwork quilt of fields and twinkling lights; the surrounding Everfree Forest was a roiling, hidden sea of trees and dark clouds. An open flame wreathed in darkness. It seemed to Luna that the black embrace of the thunderheads was slowly creeping in on the valley, crushing the remaining light in its grasp and fighting the approach of dawn.

At her great height, she could feel the curvature of the world and the rarified air. Her stars felt close enough to touch. A fine film of frost clung to her mane and the tips of her flight feathers. Her shudder came not from the temperatures- as Princess of the Night, she felt no cold- but from the sight of the forest. Can it be a coincidence? Last week I saw unfamiliar shadows among the trees when I flew over Ponyville, and now I hear of tentacles and rogue thunderheads that may trace back to this place. Perhaps my sister knows more.

Dawn was close. Luna hovered for a few more minutes before descending toward Canterlot at the limits of subsonic flight, landing on a certain marble balcony where the ruler of all Equestria silently stood. It was their custom to meet atop Celestia's tower before the mantle of the heavens changed hooves. Since they now ruled together- if only in spirit, thought Luna- they shared concerns and advice during these private meetings.

The elder alicorn was meditating, eyes closed with the effort of summoning the magic needed to raise the sun. Her horn and milk-white coat shimmered with golden power.

"Good morning, Sister."

Celestia turned to face her. "You have blessed us with another beautiful night, dearest. How went the Night Court?"

"Trying. Have you heard of the events in Cloudsdale? And Dodge Junction, south of the forest, is haunted by tentacles and strange occurrences."

"Truly?"

"The Pegasi are restless; they believe the storm came from Ponyville or- elsewhere. A rogue thunderhead."

Now Celestia paused her magic to look into Luna's eyes. It was a mark of their shared connection as sisters that their gaze could communicate just as well as a sentence, if not more so. She guessed that the smaller alicorn avoided speaking the name of the forest that, since Twilight Sparkle's visit, had also lurked at the borders of her mind. Celestia touched her gilded hoof to her sister's silver-shod one. "Morning comes soon, dear sister, but we have a little time to ourselves. Tell me what is troubling you."

"You know my fears, Sister. You were at my side when the darkness took me. Please do not ask me to speak of them again."

"Twelve hundred years ago, we defeated that mysterious monster with the Elements of Harmony, even though our castle and hundreds of alicorns were lost. Two months later we turned them on its master, Discord himself. Your fears of the darkness are unfounded."

"I do not fear the darkness!" said Luna angrily, lapsing into her royal tone. "I fear what turned me to darkness! In case you have forgotten, we no longer wield the Elements and our fate rests in the hooves of mere mortal ponies!"

Perhaps it was the stress of the Court, or her long-held thoughts about the rule of Equestria coming to light, or Celestia's patronizing tone: whatever the cause, Luna suddenly found herself shouting at her sister. She does not understand how it felt to be lost in such malice. To be bound to hatred and gloom with no escape. I saw it in that Dodge Junction pony's eyes. She was afraid of what she does not know, and she is safer not knowing.

She regretted raising her voice, though. A shouting match between the Princesses, using their Royal Canterlot Voices, would be heard through the entire city.

The damage was already done. For the first time Celestia sounded upset and to Luna, oddly possessive. "This matter is not up for debate. You well know that we are not worthy to hold the Elements. They belong in the hooves of ordinary ponies whose love and friendship keeps them from becoming instruments of war, as we tried to do. We shall watch over the Everfree Forest closely, and if your fears are true, Twilight Sparkle and her friends will take action. We will be there to support and guide them. Have you no faith in the ponies who freed you from Nightmare Moon, who defeated Discord and stopped Queen Chrysalis as well?"

"It is not a matter of faith. Twilight showed me great kindness; her abilities rival a unicorn thrice her age, yet she is still a child and cannot possibly understand the true magic of the Elements. You and I are now nothing but bureaucrats and figureheads. We sit on thrones and sort through paperwork while the Element bearers fight our battles. Would you have her take our place on the throne?"

"Enough. Twilight's integrity is not in question and it is precisely her innocence that is her greatest strength. We will discuss this matter later when our minds are clear."

Luna noticed the nearly invisible blush on her sister's cheeks.

Magic surged through the Princess of the Day's horn and blasted skyward. Seething at this abrupt dismissal, Luna turned away and spread her wings to fly back to her own tower. "What happens if Twilight Sparkle and her friends fail?"

My sister cares for Twilight very much, thought Luna as she took to the skies. Perhaps too much.