Title:           House of Horses (Part 4)
Author:          InstantCoffee
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/8fRpzMvi
First Edit:      Sunday 23rd of November 2014 10:49:27 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Last edit on: Sunday 13th of March 2016 03:04:32 AM CDT

"Are you absolutely sure?"
>"I've looked over all royal court hearings both forwards and backwards. There's no mention of dreams being used as hard evidence in any of them. I'd say that what happened today is unprecedented on many levels."
"That explains why there's no rule strictly forbidding their use in court."
>You pinch the bridge of your nose as you close the thick volume on your desk, sending dust into the air.
>"They really are out to get us, aren't they?"
"They're out to get only me. You just happen to be a target by association. A little collateral damage wouldn't stop them."
>"So what do we do?"
>You pick up the heavy volume and add it to the top of the stack of law books on your desk. It's almost frightening how little protection all those years of established laws and precedents can provide you. Then again, you're the one who's breaking new ground, setting your own path instead of following those of others. Traveling the road less taken, so to speak. A lot of Canterlot's ruling class must be scared out of their wits right now. Their seemingly invincible status quo is falling down piece by piece, and they're all scrambling to put it back together. It's almost comical. In their panic to fix everything, the entire operation becomes unorganized, causing more harm to themselves than good. You never intended for the judiciary panel to collapse so quickly and so soon, but you suppose life likes to hand out a few freebies to those it favors from time to time.
"Today may have been a victory, but that doesn't mean we stop our assault. Let's continue our advance before they become able to fully regroup. Schedule an appointment with our beloved Princess Luna. I'm sure she'd be more than excited to see me."
>"Already on it."
"Good."
 
>The guard opens the door, letting you into an empty dining room occupied by the pony you wanted to see. She was sitting at the far end of the table opposite you, a steaming cup of tea resting in front of her.
"Luna."
>"Anonymous. Please have a seat."
"No thanks," you state in a low voice. "We need to speak."
>"The hearing today."
"Yes. We all know what you did, but the question remains. Why?"
>"This might be hard to believe," she says as she picks up the cup with her magic, taking a sip. "But I did not give the judge any information about Finch's dream."
>A scoff escapes you lips.
"You can't honestly expect me to believe that."
>She sets down her drink, the cup making a small clinking noise with the saucer below.
>"Believe it or not, it's the truth."
>You wonder what her explanation for this one is.
"Okay, let's suppose you didn't tell the judge anything," you say as you start to slowly walk towards her, arms crossed. "You, the Princess of the Night, are the only known being who has the ability to traverse, witness, and manipulate the dreams of her fellow citizens. You witnessed Finch's nightmares and did nothing to stop them, which either makes you terrible at your job or something else entirely. But that's beside the point."
>You finally reach her and tower over her sitting figure. Luna seems unfazed by your act of intimidation.
"So daytime comes. You are relieved for your duties for the time being, and at some point between then and the court hearing, information about her dreams reaches the judge. Did you have someone carry the message for you?"
>"No."
>If she didn't have someone carry out her explicit instructions to tell the judge, then what?
"You told your sister."
>Luna refills her cup with a teapot.
>"Yes."
"Anyone else?"
>"No."
"And she told the judge."
>Luna looks directly into your eyes, her gaze as intense as ever.
>"I don't know what she did, but all I know is that whatever my sister does, it's for what she thinks best. My duties in the night are to protect my citizens from terrors in their dreams. But repeated dreams, especially like Finch's, are often found to be the result of very real trauma experienced during consciousness. When I found out that she's been having those nightmares for multiple days in a row, I reported them to my sister because those issues are within her domain of rule. Yes, I told her. Yes, she probably told the judge. But it was to protect her, Anon."
"Well it certainly didn't have that kind of effect, now did it?"
>You calm yourself down before you speak further. There's nothing productive about turning this into a shoutfest. Not now.
"What happened today should have never occurred."
>"I know."
"Yet you still stand by your sister's actions."
>"My sister isn't perfect, but whatever she does," Luna says with a sigh. "She does for her people. I'm sure she has all our best interests in mind."
>You turn to walk away.
"Of course, Luna. You keep telling yourself that. Though it's funny to hear that coming from you, since your own sister sent you to the moon for a thousand years. But I'm sure it was for your 'best interests.'"
>As you reach the door, Luna speaks once again, this time her voice cracking a bit.
>"Anon?"
>You don't bother turn around to face her.
"What?"
>She pauses.
>"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
>You don't know whether to believe her or not as you leave the room without responding. You don't like to be played, but shooting down a dove with an olive branch is a sure way to lose an ally. But sometimes it's better to have one more enemy to fight than to end up in bed with him, only to be helplessly murdered in your sleep.
 
>You're outside the room of yet another Princess. Unfortunately, it's not Celestia this time. Apparently all possible meetings with her are booked for the time being. Rather convenient for her and inconvenient for you. It's almost as if that was intentional.
>"Let him in," a familiar voice sang out. One that you haven't heard in a long, long time.
>The stationed guard opens one of the doors, allowing you to enter.
>Twilight's room has certainly changed since you were last here. It appears that her obsession with books has increased tenfold. They lay scattered across the floor, opened to various pages, some of them in languages you couldn't understand. To the side, a worn chalkboard barely stands on its own with various equations scribbled all over it.
>At the far end of the room sits Twilight behind her desk. Or at least what was supposed to be Twilight. Her mane is a mess, her coat heavily stained, and her smile unnervingly crooked.
>"Hello, Anon! So good to see you!" she says, her eyes widening a bit as she says those words. "It's been so long since I've seen you! Please, have a seat!"
>You begin the difficult journey of traversing her room while stepping over all the books on her floor. You might as well have been trying to make it across a minefield. Finally, you reach the end and grab a seat, dust flying into the air as you sit down on the cushion.
"How are you holding up, Princess Twilight?"
>"Oh, just FINE!" she says, giggling a bit as she says it. "I've been catching up on a LOT of reading lately!"
>This is going to be a little more difficult than you anticipated. Looking for something to talk about, you notice the book on her table. It seems to be fairly archaic and has various runes written across the cover. It almost seems to be glowing.
"What's that book you got there?" you ask as you reach out towards the strange book.
>"DON'T TOUCH IT!" she screams as she slams her hooves on the table, causing you to flinch and almost jump out of your seat.
>Twilight realizes what she just did and sits back down, laughing a bit to herself and wringing her hooves.
>"Sorry. But you can't touch my books," she says almost apologetically, a small blush on her cheeks.
>Has she really never recovered since the summit? You've truly created a monster. Hopefully you won't have to put her down.
"It's perfectly alright. Well, I'll skip the small talk and say why I'm here."
>You put your hands together on the table.
"We're all worried about you, Princess Twilight. You're not performing any of your duties anymore and everyone is starting to ask questions. What's going on?"
>Her broken smile fades and she looks down, shoulders sagging.
"What happened at the summit was only a stumble. Nothing too serious. No one even remembers it anymore. You need to move on, Princess."
>To be completely honest, you're glad that she's holed up in her own room like a hermit in the mountains. That way there is one less thing in your way.
>Twilight eventually looks up, a weak grin on her dirty face.
>"I'm fine, Anonymous. Really."
>From the looks of it, there really isn't much you can do at this point. You've said your piece. Hopefully it doesn't stick.
"Very well then, Princess. Have a nice day."
>You rise from your seat and give a slight bow. To be honest, you almost pity Twilight's condition. She used to be so full of life and excitement, but now she's just a mere shell of her former self. Only a miracle can bring her back now, and hopefully that miracle never comes. She was a major pain in your side before, and now she can't stop you even if she wanted to. Besides, there's nothing admirable about a leader who grovels on the ground after tripping over himself.
>"Wait."
>Uh oh.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
>Twilight comes over to you, a smile on her face.
>"How about a hug?"
>Odd. You've never hugged her before. Evidently it was against some sort of protocol in one of her books. If she's willing to break her own overly restrictive rules just for some small physical comfort, she must be truly miserable.
"Of course."
>You bend down as she wraps her hooves around your neck, her stench filling your nostrils. Hopefully this hug doesn't last longer than you can hold your breadth.
>Fortunately, she soon lets go, but you feel a prick on the back of your neck.
"Ow!"
>You pull back, your hand on the area of pain.
>"Sorry. Forgot I was holding that."
>Twilight apologetically smiles. You can see a needle on her hoof, a drop of your blood at the tip.
>You remind yourself to create an emergency bunker just in case Twilight goes on a murder spree.
"It's quite alright, Your Highness. Have a nice day."
>You bow and walk to the exit, a taking a little less time than before to step over the books.
>As you push the door open and leave, you can almost swear that you hear Twilight giggling softly to herself.
 
>"Could you repeat that?"
"Are there spells or potions of any kind that involve blood?"
>"W-what exactly are you planning?"
"It's not me that's planning anything. Twilight pricked me with a needle and I want to make sure I'm not going to have my soul sacrificed to Cthulhu tonight."
>"Well, I don't know any specific spells or potions, but there are rumors."
"Such as?"
>"The only specific ones I hear about involve offerings to some mythological gods. But mostly it's just children making up stories, and it usually involves a lot more blood. Are you sure she didn't poison you or anything?"
"I stopped by the infirmary on the way here and I should have the results back any time now."
>"You don't actually think she's up to something of that level? That's extreme, even for her."
"You should have seen her today," you say as you sit down on the couch. "You probably wouldn't even recognize her."
>"That bad, huh?"
"Mmmhm. If anyone's a ticking time bomb, it's her."
>A knock on the door interrupts your conversation. Finch gets up to answer it, receiving a letter.
>"Oh, it's from the infirmary. They have the toxicology report back."
>She tears it open and reads it, her expression gradually darkening as she continues to scan the letter.
"W-what does it say?"
>After she finishes reading, she folds the letter back up and sits down.
>"Anon...I'm so sorry."
"Spit it out. What is it?"
>She takes a deep breath.
>"I'm afraid the results came back positive."
"For what?"
>Your heart starts hammering in your chest, probably accelerating the spread of whatever is in your system.
>She stares you in the eye, a dead serious expression on her face.
>"For being a jerk."
>A short pause ensues.
>Finch then breaks up into laughter, throwing the letter in your face before clutching her sides.
>You quickly pick up the letter and skim over it. Everything's negative. You breathe a deep sigh of relief as you lean back in your seat, joining in on the laughter.
>"You should have seen the look on your face!" she struggles to say in between gasps for air, her sides long gone.
>Honestly, you don't care that you've been duped over a matter as serious as death. You're just happy to not currently be dying, at least by non-magical means.
"Yeah, I guess I should have."
>Another knock on the door interrupts her laughter. She soon collects herself and answers the door, receiving a package.
>"Oh, it's a gift you, Anon. I didn't know you had friends."
"Me neither."
>She sniffs it, gagging a bit.
>"Maybe you should open this one."
"Gee thanks," you sarcastically reply as you take the package from her and begin to unwrap it. She sits down next to you, watching intently.
>"What...is that?"
>You pull the thing out of the wrapper. It's a sweater...or at least you think it's supposed to be one. The handiwork is clumsy and unorganized, the color choice awful, and the entire thing smells of sweat and who knows what else. Perhaps you have an admirer from a preschool or mental institution.
>"Oh, look. There's a letter inside."
>You pull out a letter that reads: "To Anon."
>The handwriting is messy, but vaguely familiar. You open it and read it aloud.
"Dear Head Chair Anonymous, I'm sorry for poking you earlier today and wanted to give you this gift as a way of saying sorry. Recently, I've picked up knitting, as a book given to me from an old friend has said that such activities can help create peace of mind. I've also stitched your name on the front so everyone can know it's yours. Your Friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
>Finch whistles as she looks over the letter.
>"Well, it's a good thing she's not pursuing a career in fashion. Got to hand it to her, though. She made that thing pretty quickly."
"To be honest, having my soul sacrificed to Cthulhu doesn't sound so bad anymore," you reply, examining the abomination. "There's even a third sleeve."
>"Third sleeve, eh? Is there something you're not telling me, Anon?" Finch asks, nudging you bit hardly.
"Hilarious."
>You scan the letter once again.
"'An old friend...' I don't remember Twilight having any friends other than the Princesses."
>"According to some ponies, Twilight once had a bunch of friends long ago, from before she became a Princess. Maybe one of them was a designer or something."
"Perhaps. Remind me to write her a thank you letter tomorrow."
>You set the 'sweater' down and make your way towards the door.
>"Calling it a day?"
"I've had enough death scares for one sitting. I'm hitting the bar."
>"Need a drinking buddy?"
"Do you complain when drunk?"
>"No. Do you?"
"Sometimes."
>"I can live with that. Let's go. You're paying."
>The both of you exit your office and head down the hallway, telling jokes and enjoying each other's company.
>Your job is a serious one, and your conquest even more so. But it's nice to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. At least for today, you just want to have a good time and forget everything.
>And poison? Blood-magic? You truly are becoming cynical to the point of complete paranoia. It's always good to be on your guard, but when the smallest of bunnies starts to look like the most ferocious of wolves, perhaps that's a sign that you need to do a quick reality check. Or you could just have a drink with company. Assuming the drinks aren't drugged, of course.