Reason to Destroy

BOOM!

A firework went off right next to the sleeping Princess Luna's bedroom, jarring her awake.  Her eyes shot open, and she flew out of bed, hitting head on the ceiling.  She fell to the floor dazed, while her eye rolled around in her head making her look very much like Derpy, the mail-mare she saw once in Ponyville.  Once she recovered from her temporary stupor, she became angry.

“Who dares disturb the sleep patterns of the princess of the night!”  Yelled Luna, in an enraged rendition of the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Luna usually slept during the day, so she was used to the normal sounds of the ponies going about their business in Canterlot, but setting off a firework right next to her window was going too far.  She yanked open the dark blue curtains over her bedroom window and looked outside.

“Ah, now I remember.  'Tis today that we shall celebrate Twilight's coronation.”

She looked down at the cheerful scene below her.  There were ponies wheeling in carts of food to sell at the celebration.  Others were putting up huge announcement signs with the picture of Twilight Sparkle, newly acquired wings and all, on them.  She spotted a reddish stallion with a blue man, and what looked like an explosion as his cutie mark, setting off the fireworks.  She would let him off.  This time.  Besides, she hated telling other ponies off.  They always reacted to her like anypony would react to angering a princess.  With fear.

She wished that ponies didn't need to be ruled at all.  That they could be free to do whatever they wished without someone like her or her sister brandishing their power over them like a deadly weapon.  She hated other ponies being afraid of her.  She hated being 'superior'.

“Did ponies need to be ruled?”  She wondered.

She pondered this as she got ready for the coronation.  She trotted over to her closet to get dressed  She started to put on the formal attire expected of royalty, but stopped.  She grinned and reached deeper into the closet pulling out a suit of leather armor with the symbol of her cutie mark made of shining silver on the front.  She reached to a shelf on the top of her closet with her magic, and retrieved a deadly looking sword made of bluish blackened magical metal.  She slid it into a sheath attached to her armor.

She looked in a mirror, and smiled grimly.  In her custom made armor she looked like the embodiment of her black sword.  A lethal, dark, and arcane weapon in pony form.  She sighed as she started to take off the armor.  She couldn't wear this at a public celebration.  Or could she?

“No.  Perhaps another day.”  She said aloud to herself.

Disappointed, she quickly removed the armor and put on the royal celebration dress.  It was dark blue with faint stars all over it, and a white brooch in the shape of the moon.  She had to admit, it did suit her quite well, even if it wasn't as strikingly formidable looking as her armor.

Leaving the bedroom, she winced as the guards next to the door came to attention and saluted her.  Hastily galloping past them, she came out into the courtyard of the Lunar Castle.  Since the celebration was being held at the Celestial Castle, no preparations were going on inside Luna's castle walls.

“Luna!”

She heard a voice call from outside the gates.  Luna trotted over the gates, and peered through the bars.  It was Vinyl Scratch!  Vinyl was one of Luna's only friends that was not a noble or royalty.  All the other ponies were too scared of her high position to be good friends with her, but Vinyl was different.  She seemed to know how Luna truly felt about her position of power.

“Hello Vinyl!”  Luna said, excited to see her friend.

“Open the gates!”  She shouted to a guard on top of the wall.

He saluted, and complied.

Vinyl trotted in.

“I'm so glad to finally see you again, Luna.”  Vinyl said, hugging her friend.  “I was able to come from Ponyville to put on an after party concert for the coronation.”

Vinyl Scratch was a famous DJ in Ponyville.

“And I am glad to see you, Vinyl.”  said Luna.  “Why don't we go to one of my private restaurants here in my castle for a bite to eat, and have a chat?”

“Sounds good to me.”  said Vinyl.  “I haven't had anything to eat since I got off the train from Ponyville.”

**********

“And you missed the whole thing!?”  Vinyl burst out laughing.

“Yes.  Yes.  Very funny.  The whole city of Canterlot was overrun with changelings, and I wasn't there.”  Luna facehoofed.

Vinyl calmed her uproar of laughter down to a snicker.

“I'm sorry, I just can't believe you missed all that.”

Suddenly, Luna's eyes narrowed, and she seemed to be in deep thought.  As if considering whether to let Vinyl in on a great secret...

“Let's...  Talk politics.”  Luna said slowly, eyes still narrowed.

Vinyl's sniggering stopped, and she started to get nervous.

“Uh...  Sure.  Why not?  Like, what do you mean?  I don't really know that much abou-”

“What do you think of the ruling class?”  Luna cut her off.

“Well...  I mean...  I d-dunno.  You're cool and stuff.”  Vinyl stuttered.  The conversation was taking an unexpected turn.

“Why should we rule over other ponies when they are perfectly capable of ruling themselves?  Why do we have rulers at all?  I don't WANT to be a ruler!”

“I'm sure there are reasons.”  said Vinyl.

“What reasons?”

“Well...”

“There are none that I can see.  Ponies follow us, simply out of fear of what our power can do to them if they refuse.”  Luna ranted.

“But I've never been afraid of you.”  Vinyl said, smiling, hoping to lighten the mood.

“You're one of the few.”  said Luna.  “Do you realize there is a fifty percent tax my sister has levied on everyone's pay, including yours!  One out of every five fillies and colts is conscripted into the royal guard.  More than that into the Equestrian Defense Force.  You're lucky you weren't sent to fight the out-landers on the borders of Equestria, just like some of your friends.”

“I suppose I am...”  muttered Vinyl.

“Now, everyone is being watched with magical devices that let my sister's Secret Service spy on them to make sure they aren't breaking one of her many, many laws.  This administration has gotten out of hoof.  It's time to do something about it.”  Luna scowled, as she became angrier and angrier.

“Luna, what are you suggesting?”  Vinyl gasped.

Luna's furious scowl disappeared instantly, and she smiled with a foreboding glance at Vinyl.

“Revolution.”

Vinyl's jaw dropped to the table in front of her.  Then she considered for a moment, and a smile similar to Luna's came to her lips.  Celestia's increasing corruption in recent years had been hard on her, and her friends.  Her anger towards the rulers of Equestria, except Luna of course, had been contained deep within her.  Until now.

“I'm in.”  She thought for a moment.  "But where do we start?  We will need provisions.  Weapons.  Other supporters, not least of all!"

"I have...  Connections."  Said Luna.  "As for the other supporters, I have a favor to ask of you.  I think we could gain some support at your next concert."

"How?"  asked Vinyl.

Luna whispered something in her ear, and she nodded thoughtfully.

"This is going to be dangerous."  Vinyl thought, and smirked.  "I like it."

"Consider it done."  She said aloud.

They both looked at each other.  They were conspirators now.  They would both receive the death penalty if Celestia ever discovered their plans.

"Be careful."  said Luna sternly.

They finished their meal in silence and left the Lunar Castle together.