In the Early years of the Sixteenth Century, to combat the rising tide of religious unorthodoxy caused by Luna’s banishment, Celestia gave the pony Cardinal Ximinez of Spain leave to move without let or hindrance throughout the land, in a reign of violence, terror, and torture which makes for a fascinating read.

This was the Spanish Inquisition…

Twilight Sparkle lifted her head from the history book she was currently reading in confusion. She read the passage again to make sure there wasn’t some mistake, but no, the words violence, terror, and torture, were still there. She looked up from the book once more.

“How…how could Celestia ever authorize something like this?” She said aloud in shock and confusion.

She shook her head in disbelief “No there must be some mistake, Celestia would never allow ponies to be tortured.”

“Well you never know Twilight, it was the middle ages after all.”

Twilight looked back and saw that Spike had been reading over her shoulder. Her face became scolding not just because of what he just said, but also because she had told him a million times not to read over other ponies’ shoulders.

“Spike! How could you even suggest that! This is Princess Celestia we’re talking about. The benevolent ruler of Equestria who raises the sun every day and who supports peace, happiness and above all Harmony…you know, the force me and the other girls represent?”

Spike held up his hands and backed up from Twilight’s tirade. “Alright fine, sorry. I was just saying that bad stuff like that used to happen back then, I’ve read all about it.”

Twilight rolled her eyes “Spike~ I’ve already told you, the Game of Stones books are fictional. And you’re too young to be reading those anyway.”

“But the story is so good Twilight, I can’t stop now, besides, when the White Trotters come back, I’ll be ready for them and you’ll be thanking me,” He added with a smirk.

“Uh-huh,” She said with disbelief, before returning to the history book. “Back to the subject at hoof, I still don’t think that Celestia could’ve done something like this, it’s just not her.”

“Well what else does the book say about this Inquisition?” Spike asked.

“Nothing, there’s nothing else and that’s what confuses me the most. There’s this ominous summary setting up for a ‘fascinating read’ and then a sketch of the three ponies reported to have been in charge, and that’s it.”

She turned the book towards Spike so that he could get a better look at the colored sketch. It depicted three sneering stallions all dressed in red robes with Celestial Sun Medallions around their necks. They all had different facial hair styles, and each wore a different kind of head gear. The one in the middle had a pronounced chin beard and slight moustache and he wore a big, red full brim hat. Spike thought that if Applejack’s hat were flattened both on top and on the brim and painted red, then it would look similar. The one on the right had on a red hood, that covered his whole head and he only had a slight chin beard and a pencil thin moustache. Lastly the one on the left had on an aviator helmet with goggles similar to the ones the Wonderbolts wore, and he had a big curled moustache.

When Spike was done looking over the picture, he began chuckling, then giggling, and then full on laughing. He hadn’t expected the Spanish Inquisition to look so silly. As he laughed Twilight frowned.

“Spike, this is serious!” She brought her hoof down hard on the ground to emphasize her point.

Spike held back his laughter a bit, but not by much, “Lighten up Twilight, look what they’re wearing, can you imagine guys dressed like that torturing anypony?” he began laughing again at that image.

Twilight rolled her eyes and groaned in exasperation. This was no joke, this information was in her rare first edition of The History of Equestria, written by Clover the Clever herself. No, this little tidbit was real in some way and she had to know more about it, and she knew just who to ask. Twilight was already going into Canterlot that afternoon to visit her parents, but she figured that a trip to see the Princess of the Sun was in order as well.

She thought to herself “I’ll just go up to her and have her explain this moment in history, she’ll oblige, she’s my teacher after all, and teachers teach right? Once I know the truth, then I can move past this.” She smiled to herself at the thought and went upstairs to her room, leaving Spike to his giggling fit. When she got to her room she put the book into her saddlebags she had ready for the trip. She placed the bags on her back and was about to descend the stairs when a scary thought crossed her mind.

“What if Spike is right? What if Celestia did order ponies to be tortured for their beliefs?” She tried to shake this thought by remembering how kind and caring and loving her teacher was, which made her smile, and then Twilight thought about the not so pleasant sides of Celestia. Like how she sent her own sister to the moon, or how angry and murderous she looked at the wedding when Queen Chrysalis revealed herself, or how she had Discord imprisoned in stone for over a thousand years. When they’d reformed him he said he was still conscious in stone, so that meant he was aware of his surroundings and unable to move or speak for a Millennium. Twilight’s eyes shrunk at this realization. If that wasn’t torture, then she didn’t know what was, and if Celestia had done it once….

Twilight’s panicked mind then ran through so many scenarios about what Celestia would do to her if she brought up the Spanish Inquisition in her company. The lesser punishments she came up with were being sent back to Magic Kindergarten, or Celestia no longer wanting her as her student. The more extreme ones were being thrown in a dungeon for the rest of her life, being banished to the moon, being turned to stone, or worst yet, being turned to stone and banished to a dungeon on the moon.

She shook her head hard at these thoughts. She couldn’t afford to think in What-ifs, they weren’t healthy for her. She took a deep breath to calm down.

“I’ll ask the Princess about one confusing page in a history book, and whatever happens, happens,” she said to herself.

She put on a brave face and walked down the stairs, with the doomsday scenarios swimming in the back of her mind. She thought to herself “Perhaps I should send a letter to let her know I’m coming, don’t want to be rude after all.” ‘Or make it look like I’m interrogating her’ she thought but didn’t say.

“Spike,” she called out, “take a letter.” Silence met her ears. “Spike? Where are you?”

Spike was not in the library. She then remembered that he was going to be helping Rarity today with something. She smiled and shook her head. “Poor lovesick fool. Oh well, I guess I don’t need to send a letter, Celestia loves surprises…I hope.”

Twilight then locked up the library and headed for the train station, she had to see her Mother and Father before speaking to the Princess, and in the back of her mind she hoped that this wasn’t the last time she would see her family.

On the other side of town, Spike knocked on the door of the Carousel Boutique where the love of his young life waited for his help. The door opened and there stood Rarity, going over the usual greeting.

“Welcome to the Carousel Bout… Spikey-Wikey, oh I’m so glad you could take the time to come and help me,” she said as she wrapped the young dragon in a hug. Spikes face flushed red as he smiled and stammered “Oh you know, anything for you.”

She then led him into the dressing room where Spike was to be the dummy for a young colt’s line of suits Rarity had the idea for.

“Your spines may slightly be in the way, but it’s nothing I can’t adapt to and overcome. Besides, your patience is most rewarding, my experience with little colts and fillies is that they can’t stand still to save their lives.”

“Yeah….” Spike said clearly not listening to what she said as he stared at her eyes.

Rarity, either not noticing or ignoring his stare continued on, “But before we get to that, I would like to show you my period piece clothing I have just finished. They are for a performance of ShakesPony in the Park for the play Manebeth.”

She opened the curtain on her right to reveal three mannequins with three red robes on them. “These are for the actresses playing the coven of witches. True I could’ve made a costume that would make them look like the more traditional scary witch, but this is Shakespony, and everyone deserves to look fantastic, don’t you agree Spike?”

Looking at the red robes made Spike remember the three silly looking stallions in Twilight’s book, and before he could stop himself, he began laughing. Rarity obviously misinterpreted why he was laughing and the hurt showed on her face.

“Spike! Are they so bad that you would mock me so? You don’t have to laugh!” Rarity whimpered with tears forming in her eyes. Spike realizing his mistake, quickly saved himself.

“No, No, No Rarity they’re beautiful, I wasn’t mocking them.”

“Then why were you laughing so hard?” She asked.

“It’s just that they reminded me of this funny picture of these robed stallions in one of Twilight’s books, I swear that’s it, I wasn’t mocking you,” Spike said it with so much sincerity that Rarity knew he was telling the truth.

“Well that’s a relief, I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions Spikey-Wikey,” She said with a smile.

Glad that she believed him he let out a sigh. “Sorry again, but it was funny when you pulled back the curtains.

“Oh? How So?” She asked.

“I was expecting to see black witch robes, I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition.”

As soon as these words left Spike’s mouth the front door of Carousel Boutique flew open with what sounded like some sort of ominous music tone playing, as the three stallions from Twilight’s book ran inside and stopped before Rarity and Spike.

“NOPONY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!”

The robed pony in the red hat was right, Spike and Rarity sure weren’t expecting this at all.