Chapters Mirrored Lunar Prophecy Part 1
You have probably heard the familiar story. It has been told to each generation, told to you from the time your earliest years. Yet perhaps you have not heard the whole story. After all, it is the story itself which teaches us that not all of what we hear is the whole truth. So come little ones, and hear again the tale of that longest night… a night which changed the face of Equestria forever after.
The Nightfall Chronicles Book 1
Twilight Sparkle, the faithful and studious protégé of Princess Celestia, had the misfortune of being named after the beginning of night. She had always wondered why her parents named her such in an empire that glorified the sun. Yet this was not what she was thinking as she rushed towards the doors to the Princess’s chambers. Rather, she wondered what it was that her mentor wanted, to have called for a private meeting. Celestia had summoned the lavender unicorn to discuss “matters of dire importance”, and Twilight was not about to be labeled tardy for any reason whatsoever. As she desperately hurried down the halls, passing Royal Guards who knew her well, she wondered what in all of Equestria could be going on, and she was almost scared to find out. Now as she arrived, Twilight paused for a moment before knocking on the double golden doors.
“Enter” came the sound of her teacher’s voice
Twilight entered the room and immediately bowed. As her ruler called her to stand, Twilight looked upon her teacher, seated upon her throne, and she was clearly troubled; for another pony it would be hard to tell, but after the time spent studying under her, Twilight was able to tell easily. Two guards shut the doors as Celestia greeted her pupil and got straight to the point.
“Twilight, it is good to see you as always, though I fear that the circumstances that now draw us together are not pleasant ones.”
“What’s wrong?” Genuine concern was gathering in Twilight’s voice.
“You are well aware of the tale of Nightmare Moon, correct?” Celestia said in a calm yet ominous voice.
“Well…of course…everypony has heard that story: two princesses, the elder ruled the day, the younger the night. The younger princess became jealous and refused to allow the sun to be raised up, and the older sister reluctantly banished her sibling to the moon. Thus, Nightmare Moon, and her legend, came to be.”
“There is more to that story than you think.”
“More?” Twilight wondered how there could be more to a story she had heard since she was in magic kindergarten. Everypony knew the story, some by heart. If there was more… then Celestia has been keeping a secret? thought Twilight. No, Celestia must have good reasons for this. She wouldn’t lie to anypony.
“It is not something I like to think about, but as horrible as it is, the actions of the elder sister were far from permanent.”
“What do you mean, Princess?”
“Nightmare Moon…will return again.” Celestia intoned darkly
“W-When will she return?” Twilight was filled with apprehension. She had no absolute fear, really, because she knew Celestia could protect Equestria from any threat, but she still dreaded the return of a most dangerous foe.
“The Summer Sun Celebration marks the 1,000 year anniversary of her imprisonment, and on that night, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will be free to terrorize all of Equestria once more.”
“This is terrible… what are you going to do? This is the biggest threat to Equestria since…since…a thousand years ago! Is there anything I can do to help you?” Dreadful, though it was, this was a once in a life time event, Twilight’s chance to see her teacher defeat evil in Equestria’s darkest hour.
“I need you to be strong Twilight. I need you to stop her.”
“Me?” Twilight’s mouth dropped open. WHAT!? You want me, an ordinary unicorn mage, to face your greatest enemy and one of the most infamous tyrants in history? “Alone? Are you sure I can-” Twilight continued.
“I will lend you whatever you need to defeat Nightmare Moon, but I ask that you prevent this from becoming public knowledge. Equestria is not ready to know of her return…not yet…”
“Still…me…stop Nightmare Moon? Well, if you think I can…” Twilight was suddenly more nervous than she had ever been before. It was like Mage Academy Final Exams, except she’d not studied and failure meant Equestria’s doom.
“I know you can do it. I have faith in you. You are the best student I have ever had, and you are more than capable of ending this threat, besides, you will not face her alone. Use whatever force necessary to stop her, but you must not let the public know of this issue, that will only cause unrest that we do not need. Is your task clear?”
“…Yes. I understand what I need to do…and I’m ready.”
“Very good. I will be awaiting your success. Be careful Twilight Sparkle. Make me proud to call you my student.”
“I will.”
With that, Celestia bid Twilight farewell, and Twilight set out on her quest to stop Nightmare Moon. It was a test among tests, but she was up to the task, at least, her mentor thought so, and that was enough for her. She was clear on her commission, and her first stop was a small town called Ponyville. It was a…quaint…town, very small, notable only for being the location of the one chapter of the Royal Mage Society. The halls seemed shorter now, and as Twilight ran out to get to the train station that could take her to Ponyville, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat afraid of what her future would hold, and noticed that time seemed to be speeding toward the crucial moment where one decision could be the difference between a passing grade, and a failing one.
…
Arriving in Ponyville, Twilight could already tell this town was almost nothing like Canterlot. It was the type of place where everypony knew everypony by name and concrete streets were a rare sight. The small town had many urban and rural houses and shops, and it was certainly a better town than say…Van Hoover to the north. As she departed the train and entered the sea of fellow passengers departing their means of transportation, she soon found the tower she was looking for, very noticeable in the small rural area known to Equestria as Ponyville. She headed over to the Ponyville Royal Equestrian Mage Society Headquarters with an air of confidence and purpose, and she was feeling much better knowing that the greatest magicians in Equestria would be supporting her. The tower itself (The only three storied building in Ponyville) was quite Canterlot-esque in style and shape. It was guarded by two mages in the standard blue robe, and they looked more serious than Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard. The Mages were above all in unicorn kind as far as magical prowess went, and they rarely received visitors to their headquarters. Twilight was met with disapproving looks as she tried to enter, and was blocked by the mages.
“You will state your business before entering.” The first said arrogantly.
“And if we do not see fit to let you in, then you will not enter at all.” Continued the second, equally as arrogant.
“Oh, I have this Royal Order from Princess Celestia, see?” Twilight levitated the Order in front of the guards and they stared at each other a brief moment before removing themselves from Twilight’s path. They seemed a little angry to Twilight. She went in and climbed the stairs to the upper floor of the tower. It was such an amazing piece of architecture. Unicorn mages actually opened the doors to rooms with a spell that made the door tangible. They worked in alternate dimensions. Admittedly, Twilight was a little scared to see how skilled some of these mages were, and how far apart their skills were from her own. At the top floor, however, was the office of the Head Mage of that chapter of the Order, and this room was easily accessed by anypony, due to the urgency of affairs that the Head Mage was known to deal with in the past. The door was unlocked, and Twilight went in to find a unicorn on her way out. Her coat was brilliant azure, and her mane was pale cornflower blue. Her eyes were a dark grayish-violet, and held a certain malice within them.
“And what can the Great and Powerful! Head Mage, Trixie, do for you?”
“Hi…my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m here to find a few mages to help me in a mission from Princess Celestia.”
“Sure you are. Trixie knows the unicorns Princess Celestia associates with, and you aren’t one.”
“Actually…I’m her student.” Twilight stated flatly.
“What? Impossible. Celestia would never send somepony like you on a Royal Mission, and don’t make Trixie laugh by passing yourself off as her student.”
“Well, I have the order…right here.” Twilight levitated it to Trixie’s face and waited for a reply. Trixie was noticeably confounded.
“Th-This is…how could…fine…Trixie has just the mage for you.” She went out to fulfill Twilight’s request and left Twilight to continue planning and organizing her strategy. When she returned, only one mage was with her, a white mare, and she didn’t seem overly magical, but Twilight was not a pony to judge, so, she went along with it.
“This is one of Trixie’s more…unique…mages. She will serve your purpose well, as all of Trixie’s mages are the elite of the elite. Now, be gone!” Trixie levitated both Twilight and the Mage out of her office and threw them down the stairs. They rolled right out the door and past the guards as Trixie slammed the door shut with her magic. The guards smirked, but it was barely noticeable.
“Well…I have quite a long complaint to write when I get back to Canterlot, but for now-“
“YOU are from CANTERLOT?!?” The Mage nearly threw Twilight down with her scream alone.
“Umm…yes, yes I am.”
“Oh you simply must tell me all about it!”
“Is now the best time? We have an important task to attend to right now.”
“Important task?”
“What did Trixie tell you?”
“Something about a snobby unicorn in need of mages for a task of hers. I assumed whatever it was she needed me for wasn’t important, but it seems that couldn’t be less true! You’re from CANTERLOT!”
“She didn’t mention the Royal Order?”
“Royal Order? You mean this task has been assigned by Princess Celestia?”
“Yeah…just out of curiosity…how adept at magic are you I mean, as far as Mage standard goes you’re…?”
“Oh, well, I’m not what you’d call…an average mage, no, I focus my time and effort on the uniforms of the Society. They are in drastic need of attention, as should be obvious for somepony as refined as yourself. As for mage standards…I’m the least talented.” She emphasized drastic and saw Twilight’s look of disappointment after she finished her sentence.
“Well, you’re still a mage, right? That’s good, you’re at least somewhat adept…aren’t you?”
“Well, even according to magical standard and spell prowess, I’m considered the worst mage, or about…regular unicorn level. Can you blame me though? I mean, how can I study magic when I have to work wonders for the uniforms. So embarrassingly ugly.”
“Of course…that’s just…PERFECT! Well, nothing can surprise me now.” Twilight could tell this was going to be a long day.
“Oh, just look at the bright side, I’ll be able to work wonders for your complexion. Look what I did with my uniform… Oh, yes, and then we can attend to your mission.” Twilight noticed that this unicorn’s uniform was subtly different, and yet, far more stylish. Silver thread was sewn into the sleeves and a subtle sparkling effect was made too. It really did change the style enough to make her stand out in uniform, though not too noticeably. Of course, none of that made up for her lack of magical skill. Silver thread only went so far against evil overlords.
“What’s your name anyways?” Twilight asked, growing increasingly frustrated with the unicorn.
“Oh, forgive my manners, or rather, lack thereof, I am Rarity.”
“Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle, now, I think we really ought to focus on our mission. We need to get to the Equestrian Guard Barracks.”
Before I lose my sanity Twilight thought.
“Of course…wait! First, do you prefer silk, or cotton?”
“Now isn’t the best time!” Twilight said, annoyed, and went off to find the Guard Barracks with Rarity trailing behind.
Twilight and Rarity ventured out into the middle of the Ponyville shopping center. It was busy, but not as crowded as Canterlot was at times, a fact Rarity absorbed like a plant does sunlight. The Barracks were located near the town hall, and served as a constant reminder that the law was absolute, even in small towns like Ponyville.
“OK, I’m going to try and get some Royal Guards for our mission, you stay here and wait for me to return.”
“Very well.” Rarity replied and looked out at a few shops as twilight went in.
“Can I help you Ms.?”
“Yes, I’m hear to organize a mission for Princess Celestia and am in need of several Royal Guards.”
“May I ask to see your Orders?” He replied coolly.
“Certainly.” She showed the sergeant the Orders and he filed them in the records and went to the living area to find a certain pony who could truly help out Twilight. As he went out, Twilight took the time to really observe the Barracks. They were slightly older than most of the buildings she had seen in Ponyville, but were spotlessly clean, as per Royal Guard standard. There were a few banners on the walls promoting the Royal Guard, as well as a few permanent orders, some of which truly shocked Twilight, but then again, it was the Royal Guard, so their strict rules were expected. A few other guards walked in and out of the barracks as she waited for what felt like several hours. All types of ponies worked here, and all were about equally tough, it seemed. Finally, the sergeant returned with an even higher ranked Guard. He was an Earth pony with a thick brown mane, and his coat was a mild tan. He seemed more relaxed than some of the other guards, but still retained the spirit of authority that was expected of a superior officer.
“Hello Ms., I’m Lt. Towers. What can I do for you?”
“Hello Lieutenant I’m on a Royal Mission, and am in need of your forces, at least some of them.”
“I see…and how many will you need?”
“Oh…perhaps 10 or so.”
“I think I have just the squadron in mind. Summon staff sergeant Dash.”
“Right away Sir.” The sergeant replied with dignity and trotted off to find this Sergeant Dash.
“Sergeant Dash will serve you just fine. She’s one of my best Squadron leaders and she’ll get the job done.”
“Thank you for your time in hearing me out, the last authority I went to for help wasn’t nearly as kind as you.”
“Think nothing of it, it is my duty after all.”
With that, he went over to the front desk and went through a few forms as Twilight again waited. Though it was now a quiet scene once again, it was still more open and friendly than what she had been given by Trixie at the Mage Society Headquarters. After another wait, though not as long, the officer came back with a Pegasus Sergeant. Her coat was a very light cerulean and her mane was rainbow colored. Her eyes were light, brilliant vermilion, and they were true and kind. Twilight liked her based on initial impressions.
“So, your Twilight Sparkle, eh? I’m staff sergeant Rainbow Dash, so you can just leave this mission of yours to me! I’ll get it done pronto and look great doing it…like usual.”
Negate initial impressions. What a braggart. Twilight now seemed a little disheartened as she smiled, of course it was a forced smile, and introduced herself to the brash young sergeant.
“Hello, nice to meet you.”
“Just let me get my team together and we’ll meet you out front in no time to deal with whatever you need my help with.”
“Okay then.”
Twilight was semi-relieved to have ended that conversation; ponies like Rainbow Dash weren’t her favorite type. No doubt Rainbow Dash was skilled, her rank proved that, especially for her being as young as she was, but she was arrogant, confident, and probably a little mean too. On the other hoof, at least she had a team to work with now. Trixie’s help had proved to be less than useless in her mission to stop Nightmare Moon. Meeting Rarity out front, Twilight waited with her and was caught in a conversation about fashion, and by extent Canterlot fashion.
“Now, despite being from Canterlot, you seem to not know the current mane style…we’ll have to change that. You’ll need better attire as well…I think I have just the things to make you the perfect quest leader in my shop, Carousel Boutique.”
“You run a business too?”
“My love for fashion and supreme style cannot be limited by anything!”
“I’m beginning to see that.”
“Really though…is that the usual mane style for you? That isn’t what I’d call…fashionable, darling.”
“Don’t you think we should be focused on the mission here? This is a serious thing! I can appreciate your extreme fashion sense, but we’re on the most important quest in recent history!” Twilight was now yelling in frustration as Rarity took a step back and quieted down.
“You seem distressed…”
“Really? What gave you that idea?” Twilight asked, now calmer, but still irritated and somewhat depressed too, as well as sarcastic in order to alleviate some frustration.
“OK, so what can I help you out with?” Rainbow Dash inquired as she came out of the barracks with 10 other Royal Guards, cutting off Rarity before she could speak.
“OK, now that I’ve assembled you all here, I need to go over our mission. This is important. This is huge. This is the biggest responsibility we’ll likely ever have. We are on, quite possibly, the biggest mission in Equestrian History…we cannot fail.”
“So what are we doing?” Rainbow asked once more, somewhat annoyed by Twilight’s monologue.
“We need to stop one of Equestria’s greatest threats from returning. Nightmare Moon will escape her prison during the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“Nightmare Moon? Isn’t she a myth?” One guard asked, almost mockingly.
“No. I’ve never believed that, my mentor, Princess Celestia has always reassured me of that story. I won’t discount anything she tells me, and I won’t fail her now…I can’t…”
“OK, so how do we stop Nightmare Moon?” Dash questioned, following up quickly by adding, “And what can I do specifically to save the day?”
“I’m still formulating a plan, but it looks like we’ll need to use our numbers and our abilities to stop her. Rainbow Dash will lead the other pegasi to block off the skies, and the rest of us will use our skills on the ground to capture her. When she is subdued, we take her back to Canterlot. Nopony can know about this though, we need to make sure this doesn’t become public knowledge.”
“Alright, so basically we gang up on her and take her down with our awesome skill? Cool.” Rainbow summed up and flipped her mane to the side in a brash gesture.
Unbeknown to these ponies however, a wild card was forming as they were spied upon by the most unlikely of ponies from afar. A native of Ponyville, the morale officer of sorts, a pink mare, was listening to the whole thing. What would she do with this information? Tell her best friend Fluttershy of course.
Fluttershy jumped at the sound of loud knocking on the door of her cottage. Could it be the royal guards? she thought. She tried to be kind to them and follow the rules, but… Oh No! They m..m...must have found out I’ve been keeping animals here!
“Fluttershy! Open the door! I’ve got such exciting news to tell you!”
“Oh, Pinkie, I thought you were the royal guard,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Me, Royal Guard?” Pinkie exclaimed. She looked down at herself. “No, I’m not in the uniform, so you must be mistaken. Unless I’m an undercover guard… Oh no, Fluttershy, this is terrible! I’m an undercover royal guard! What do I do?”
“Uh, no Pinkie, you’re not a royal guard,” Fluttershy reassured her friend.
“Oh, good. Well then, I’ll just be on my way.” Pinkie said as she turned toward the door.
“But, didn’t you have something important to tell me?”
“Oh, right. How couldn’t I have forgotten,” Pinkie Pie laughed. “So, I was hiding out by the royal guard barracks when I heard the most amazing thing: Nightmare Moon is RETURNING! Tonight! On the outskirts of Ponyville! Isn’t that exciting? *squee* ” Pinkie exclaimed.
Fluttershy’s relief at her friend’s appearance had now faded completely. “No Pinkie, this is terrible. We might have to move to a new town, maybe even a new country…”
“Don’t be silly. The guards will take care of everything. Some new pony showed up and organized a posse to capture her when she returns. And if we move quick enough, we may even get to see it! Come on!”
Fluttershy began back away from the door towards the deepest recesses of her cottage. “No. This is not a good idea Pinkie. It’s dangerous. We could be captured, or even…”
Pinkie jumped behind her friend to block her retreat. “Come on, it will be fun!”
Fluttershy dug her hooves in as Pinkie Pie pushed her towards the door.
“We’re going to be in trouble, or worse, we may never….”
“Just. Come. On. You won’t regret it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she pushed Fluttershy out the door and down the road away from her cottage. The two continued to argue as Pinkie Pie nudged Fluttershy closer to the town outskirts.
As night began to fall on Equestria, Twilight and the small posse began to fan out on the outskirts of Ponyville.
“According to my calculations,” Twilight whispered while consulting a map of the region, “Nightmare Moon should land in this area here.”
“That’s near Sweet Apple Acres,” said Rainbow Dash, “Nightmare Moon could hide anywhere in those orchards, and my Pegasi wouldn’t be able to spot her.”
“We’ll just have to sweep the area and hope for the best,” Twilight sighed, “For Equestria’s sake.”
Nightmare Moon soared through the stars, using her magic to transport her across the space between the moon where she had been imprisoned and the land she once called home. The alignment of the stars had helped her escape her exile, but they would not prepare her what she would meet after her arrival.
All was still on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres when the shining blue beam that carried Nightmare Moon alighted in a clearing in the West Orchard. The earth pony who watched over and ran the farm, Applejack, was fast asleep as the dark blue and black Alicorn materialized in the shallow crater created by her return, and stepped out onto the grassy ground with blue-armored hooves.
“Wait, stop!” Twilight hissed, “I sense something. There’s a magical disturbance some where that way.” Twilight indicated the direction of the Apple family’s farm. Rarity was not very good at magic, and couldn’t confirm her suspicions, but followed her anyways.
“Alright, squadron, reform on Twilight’s position and close in on the farm.” Rainbow Dash ordered her team, “We don’t want to miss our chance to capture Equestria’s most infamous villain.”
The team closed in on the farm house. Twilight trotted up to the door and knocked loudly on it with a hoof.
“Open up in the name of Celestia!” shouted the unicorn mare.
“What the hay is going on here? I haven’t done anything wrong and I don’t want trouble.” exclaimed the mare.
“Oh, we don’t want any trou-” Twilight began.
“We’re just going to have a look inside.” Rainbow dash cut her off and pushed past the mare into the house. Two of the guards followed her.
“Sorry about that. The Equestrian Guard is sometimes a little direct.” Twilight explained, “but we have reason to believe a enemy to Equestria is lurking on the premises. Have you seen anything suspicious?”
“Uh, no.” Applejack replied. She personally thought this was one of those “Good guard, Bad guard” routines, but kept it to herself. She didn’t want to end up in a dungeon like Big Macintosh did. “I’d been asleep until you folks woke me up.”
“Well then, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” Twilight quoted one of Celestia’s many slogans, “You won’t mind if we have a look around, will you?”
“No, ‘course not.” Looks like you’ve already started, Applejack thought.
After two minutes of searching, Rainbow Dash came back out.
“No sign of any problems.”
“She must be here. I feel it.” Twilight muttered. Turning back to Applejack she asked, “Would you show us around the farm, any places a villain might hide?”
Not like I have a choice, Applejack thought, but all she said was “Sure thing.”
Five minutes later they came across the crater in the West Orchard.
“Well I’ll be.” was all Applejack said.
“Let’s move.” Twilight called, as the team began running after the trail of hoof prints leading off toward another area of the farm.
Nightmare Moon was tired, and wanted to rest. But she couldn’t rest just anywhere, or her sister (If she still ruled this land) might find her. So she curled up in an abandoned barn and hoped she wouldn’t be found til morning.
“The trail ends in that barn!” Rarity whispered, “She must be in there!” Her excitement at being on a quest with no less that Celestia’s personal apprentice had by now completely faded with the fear of what was to come. This was Nightmare Moon they were dealing with! But Twilight Sparkle seemed quite confident in her abilities, so Rarity put her faith in the young unicorn.
“Alright, Lets-” Rainbow Dash said loudly before Twilight silenced her with a hiss.
“We have to have the element of surprise!” Twilight whispered angrily.
“Well, we’ll have surprise if we burst in there, wings flapping, shouting, hooves flying!” Rainbow Dash hissed back.
“Or we could be so loud she knows we’re coming. We have to sneak up.”
“Yeah right. Look, I don’t know how many places you raided in Canterlot, but I bet is was a lot less than the raids I’ve conducted here. This place is a hotbed of dissent, and I know that barging in is the best way to go.” Rainbow Dash was getting louder as the argument heated up.
“Celestia put me in charge of this mission, and I say we sneak up!”
Nightmare Moon woke to the sound of voices talking outside the barn door. They sounded angry and she caught the words “sneak up” “raided” “Canterlot” “dissent” and worst of all: “Celestia”
Rainbow Dash had at last bowed to Twilight’s royal authority. The ponies closed in as Twilight silently used magic to throw open the door.
A blinding flash of blue light threw everyone back, as a large, dark mare threw herself through the open door. Twilight fired off several magical blasts at the assailant, only to have each deflected by her opponent’s magic. Rainbow Dash and two of the other Pegasi closed in from above, only to be forced back by a magical barrier. At last, the light dimmed, and everypony could see clearly, only to find the attacker gone.
“Up there!” exclaimed Rarity, “She’s flying away!” Everyone looked up to see a dark blue Alicorn with a flowing blue mane drifting away through the night.
“After her!” Twilight shouted, though she realized there was little she could do at this point.
Faster than the blink of an eye, the rainbow colored mare swerved around the attacks, closing on Nightmare Moon so fast that the two collided heavily in mid air. The ponies pursuing through the air and on foot gasped as the two limp forms fell through the sky, down into the shadows of the Everfree Forest.
To be Continued...
Mirrored Lunar Prophecy Part 2
Mirrored Lunar Prophecy: Part 2
Luna was trapped. The fall crippled her wing and flight was now an unachievable feat. As she crouched in the ruins of a long forgotten castle, the hoofbeats of the soldiers became more and more distinguishable. Examining her surroundings, she realized that Celestia was intent on stopping her from returning to her place on the throne. A thousand years had not allowed Celestia to forget, and much less to be more reasonable with anypony, and she seemed to be an even more ruthless and selfish tyrant. The ponies that searched the barn wore the golden armor of the Equestrian Guard and the cerulean robes of the Mage Guild, and they seemed intent on capturing Luna. As the guards drew nearer, Luna ran up into the abandoned stone fortress, ascending its tall spires as she prepared for what she knew would be the third greatest challenge of her life.
Twilight swiftly led Rarity and the ground forces in pursuit of Nightmare Moon. Despite not seeing where she landed, the pegasi guards did, and they directed the search from the sky. Before long, the group stumbled upon Rainbow Dash, who after a minute’s recovery proceeded to take flight once more and reveal the approximate location of Nightmare Moon.
“Wait! She’s in here!” Twilight exclaimed as she halted to an abrupt stop.
“How do you know?” Asked Rarity.
“I don’t…not for sure, but it feels…dark.” Replied Twilight.
“Well, I’d expect an evil villain to hide in such a miserable place, it practically screams Nightmare Moon.” Rainbow Dash boldly, yet somewhat arrogantly said, before rocketing into the old ruins.
“She’s…uh…up there!” grunted Rainbow Dash, her pride wounded more severely than her head.
“I shall not allow Equestria to fall into such hatred so easily!” Shouted the Alicorn.
“What? You’re the one trying to bring out eternal night in Equestria!” Retorted Twilight in an angered and slightly possessive tone.
“I try to save Equestria! My Sister deceives you when she talks of working to bring about the good of all!” Cried out Nightmare Moon.
“Don’t believe her lies! She’s the enemy of the Princess! She’s obviously trying to trick us!” Rainbow defiantly stated as she flew into the room, “Celestia should have locked her away for more than 1,000 years to stop her eternal night!”
“I do not seek to bring Eternal Night upon the land! Crops would die, and the land would freeze! I seek only what is good for Equestria! I have fought for such good since ascending the throne with Celestia long ago! It is she who seeks to enslave the freedom off all to enforce her plans!” Nightmare Moon boldly and powerfully shouted, the black sky above the old ruins thundering and flashing as if Nightmare Moon symbolized the rage of nature.
The words spoken by Nightmare Moon, until this point believed to be evil incarnate, affected the observing ponies differently. Applejack had never admired Celestia’s rule, though among the Apple family, dissent led to time behind bars, and she was careful to appear as Celestia’s faithful and proud servant at all times. Now, the words of Nightmare Moon broke the prison she had constructed inside, and her rebellious feelings emerged at the revelation of Celestia’s lies. Rarity had no qualms about Celestia’s rule, but she was a privileged sort, as a mage, and did not feel the hardships that others such as Applejack did. Yet, Rarity was a pony that had a strong sense of decency, and the words Nightmare Moon spoke pierced her heart and filled it with doubts about the true nature of her Ruler. Rainbow Dash was not moved at all, being a Royal Guard that was forever loyal to the Princess of Equestria, and one who had heard many traitors make such claims in the past. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, unseen and unknown by both sides, were also questioning what they had heard. Could it be that Celestia’s loving and caring motherly persona was indeed a shadowy façade? Twilight was unmoved by Nightmare Moon’s claims. Surely her leader, her mentor, her Princess, would not deceive her. As it happened, however, events would unfold that changed the minds of each of the ponies present.
“The Element of Honesty!” Twilight exclaimed in both shock and revelation.
“Please help me! Tell them the truth!” Nightmare Moon’s words were taken in the worst way for herself and Twilight.
“You’re in league with her?!” Rainbow exclaimed as anger rose within her.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong! She’s not the villain!” Twilight desperately tried to explain after having realized that the Element of Honesty had revealed itself only after the truth was spoken.
“Twilight has sided with Nightmare Moon! Get her!” A Guard cried out.
“No wait!” Was all Twilight could get out as chaos erupted across the room.
“Maybe…” Applejack didn’t finish her thought out loud because nopony was there, and because she wasn’t sure if anypony would hold it against her if she was questioned and overheard. Better safe than sorry. Applejack went out of the old ruins and followed the Guards who left an obvious trail in the dark and disturbing place known as the Everfree Forest. Soon, she heard the shout of the pegasi guard captain, Rainbow Dash.
“OK Nightmare Moon! I want answers! Now!” It was definitely Rainbow Dash.
“Firstly, I am not Nightmare Moon. I am Princess Luna…at least…I once was…long ago…before my 1,000 year punishment for defying the evil goals of my sister. Secondly, due to my position, I will not obey your behest, nor kneel before you as a monk with his hassock!”
"Keep lying traitor. You'll rot in Tartarus for your crimes!"
"Thou must hear my story, please... more than 1000 years ago, my sister and I rose to the thrown after freeing this land of chaos. My sister wished to bring order and harmony. But as time went on... she began persecuting "dissidents" for promoting disharmony in our land, and order became more important to her than friendship. I confronted her, but she only saw me as a traitor to her cause. I was banished to the moon, a cruel bower worthy of my actions. The Element of Honesty that you saw tonight... your unicorn friend saw that it proved my truthfulness. I am sorry that things turned out the way they did, but I assure you I mean thee no harm."
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment Pinkie Pie jumped out of the bushes nearby.
"Wow! You're really a true Princess. This is so exciting! I met Celestia's sister, who is really Nightmare Moon, but she isn't evil!" Pinkie turned back to the bushes. " Isn’t this so exciting, Fluttershy?"
"What in tarnation? Applejack said as Fluttershy stepped out of the brush, surprising Rarity, who jumped back, not realizing the yellow pegasus was even there at all. "Who are you two?" The farmer questioned.
"We'll question them later" Rainbow interrupted, "I've got a question for Nightmare Moon Princess here: If you're not bringing about Eternal night, then why isn't the sun up yet?" The other ponies looked around. Rainbow was right, it should have been dawn already.
" I... I know not. But this is not my doing. It is my sister who controls the rising of the sun..." Luna stammered.
"She has a point." said Rarity, "Celestia can choose not to raise the sun just as easily as Nightmare Moon could refuse to lower the moon."
The tide of thought was turning. The more Luna (for that was her true name) spoke, the more the 5 ponies around her began to believe her story, and the more they resent the ruler who had deceived them for so long...
Twilight woke up dazed in a prison cell. She was not sure where she was, as the cell appeared to be underground and had no windows. On the walls were "inspirational" posters that Celestia made the guards put up everywhere in Equestria: "Obedience brings Harmony", which depicted a smiling Celestia whose eyes followed you around, "Celestia: Defender of the Day" which depicted a stylized Celestia defeating Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony, and "Benevolence is helping the Unfortunate", which depicted orphans surrounded in the feathery embrace of Celestia's wings.
A lone Guard stood outside the cell bars. "Alright traitor, Celestia should be here to see you shortly. I wouldn't want to be in your hooves. I just can't believe it... a big shot like you... and you threw it away for disharmony."
"I'm wrongly imprisoned, I did nothing wrong!" Twilight frantically exclaimed.
"That's what they all say..." the Guard sighed as he walked away.
Some time later, Twilight heard hoofsteps approaching her cell. As far as she could tell, she was the only prisoner here, which meant this was probably the ponyville jail, since ponyville had a surprisingly low dissident rate. As the hoofsteps got louder, Twilight braced herself for the confrontation she would soon have.
"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful- or so I thought, student" Twilight looked up into her mentor Celestia's eyes. The look on her face was so calm, so compassionate, that Twilight knew she was not the one at wrong. Celestia would never, ever lie to her. It was obviously a misunderstanding.
"I'm terribly sorry about the misunderstanding Princess, but-" Twilight began.
"Misunderstanding?" Celestia spoke, cutting her off, "You attacked several guards, resisted arrest, confessed to being in league with an enemy of Equestria, and you call that a misunderstanding?" Celestia was no longer the benevolent mentor, she was now the enraged ruler and reprimander of wrongdoers.
"It was a mistake. I only said that Nightmare Moon was telling the truth!" Twilight cried.
"And you believed that traitor's lies? I'm ashamed of you, Twilight Sparkle. You had held such promise..." Celestia truly looked regretful.
"She was telling the truth! The Element of Honesty revealed itself at her words!" Twilight was desperate, she had to get her Mentor to understand.
Suddenly Celestia took on a new look, one of intent, command, and... greed. "The Element of Honesty? Where? I command you to reveal its location!"
Twilight would ordinarily have readily complied, but she was no longer sure if she should trust Celestia anymore. She stalled.
"Uh... Uh... I don't know, it was all so fast, there were more pressing matters..." she stammered
"More pressing than an Element of Harmony? What could be more pressing than the Elements of Harmony? You... you're in league with her aren't you? You've made a pact with Nightmare Moon not to reveal the Element of Honesty's location! I knew you were a traitor to harmony."
"Celestia, no! I've done nothing wrong!"
"That's Princess Celestia to you. You shall have a public trial at the Ponyville town square today, at noon, at least, if there is a noon." Celestia turned and trotted away, leaving Twilight and her broken life in the small cell of Ponyville's jail.
"I thought I knew you, Princess. But it turns out, it was all a lie..." Twilight sobbed to herself.
“I am glad you have chosen to believe me and follow me in this quest to defeat my sister,” Luna thanked the ponies gathered around her, “but it will not be an easy task. We must be cautious and alert at all times in order to defeat her once and for all.”
“I agree... and I think I know who might help us... we should make an effort to rescue Twilight from imprisonment.” Rarity told the others.
“I almost forgot the guards seized her!” Rainbow chided herself lightly and tapped the side of her head with her hoof.
“Knowing how strict Celestia is, I don’t reckon she has much time to wait. I think Celestia’ll want her gone as soon as possible.” Applejack announced as the others began to talk amongst themselves quietly.
“Yeah, we’ve got to hurry and catch up with Twilight….and maybe bring some mustard…” Pinkie announced as she swallowed a small sandwich whole, licking her lips and confusing everypony to some degree as to how she got a tray of small sandwiches in the first place.
“Yes...in any case, we must be swift to save our unicorn friend,” Luna concured and looked them each in the eye, “this will be a true test of thine prowess and skill, but I need thee to help me rescue her, art thou willing?”
“I know I am.” Rainbow exclaimed and gave a cocky smile.
“And you can count me in too.” Rarity added.
Applejack hesitated for a second, knowing that this sort of action could lead to serious trouble if this act of resistance failed...but that was all assuming that it would fail, and besides, she was knee deep in it already, and she couldn’t let anypony who needed her down, it was the Apple Family way.
“I’m in.” AJ finally told them and smiled.
“Well I’m totally totally in!” Pinkie said, jumping up and down.
“And you, small shy one?” Luna asked and looked down at the slightly shaking mare.
“I….I….I don’t think you’d want me there…” Fluttershy was able to admit and looked down in both anxiety and sadness in her own self believed incompetence.
“I know you aren’t exactly the rough type, sugarcube, but we could use you.” Applejack told Fluttershy with another smile.
“We could?” Rainbow discreetly asked Rarity, who nudged at the daring pegasus with her elbow.
“You have your worths, young Fluttershy, and I would greatly thank thee for joining us.” Luna told her.
“I...I still don’t think I could-” Fluttershy was cut off by Pinkie, who jumped up behind her and put her forelegs around her pegasi friend.
“Oh come on you silly filly! We want you to come with us, and besides it’ll be fun. You’ll have your old Auntie Pinkie Pie by your side the whole time!”
“But...I’m older than you…” Fluttershy tried to respond, but the others all pleaded one last time, and she finally gave in.
“Well… OK... If you want me too... I’ll come with you.”
“Great, now that we’re all onboard, we need a game plan for rescuing Twilight.” Rainbow mentioned as they began to once more converse amongst themselves.
“Well, I figure she ought to be locked up in the basement cells of the Ponyville jail, and being a member of the Apple Family, I happen to know a thing or two about the cells in Ponyville.” Applejack told the group.
“What must we do to free her?” Luna inquired as all eyes turned towards the farmer.
“Supposing that she’s in a basement cell, all we’d need to do is remove a few bricks on the east side, where the basement wall is visible from the outside. It should work fine. Of course, we’d also have to deal with the guards in the cellblock, and that means either a fight or a distraction.”
“I think a distraction would work better, but I’m not sure how complicated it would be to get all of them out.” Rarity spoke up.
“Hmmm...considering the amount of guards inside the cell block, not all too difficult, but there are plenty of others all around, and getting by them is going to be the hard part if you ask me.” Rainbow responded.
“If you went in and told the guards in the cell blocks about a new cupcake platter in Sugarcube corner, I’d bet they’d run for that sweet icing in a flash!” Pinkie suggested and foamed just a little at the mouth.
“Good idea Pinkie, but guards aren’t just going to abandon their posts for...cupcakes.” Rainbow answered the suggestion.
“Actually, the idea it quite good, Rainbow,” Rarity said, “If you go in and make a distraction, we can save Twilight and sneak out undetected if the rest of us stay on the look out for nearby guards.”
“Hold on a minute! I know I’m pretty strong, but I can’t break down the wall by myself. Rainbow Dash is about the only one here I think could handle it...except maybe for you, Princess.” Applejack told the group with concern.
“I will gladly do my part to save Twilight, whatever it may be.” Luna stated firmly.
“OK then, we have us a plan, let’s get to it!” Applejack affirmed as they went off to free their captive ally.
On the outskirts of Ponyville, the small group stopped at the sight of a small gathering in the middle of Ponyville, out by the town hall.
“I fear we come too late.” Luna told the others.
“Oh no…” Fluttershy quietly worried, barely being heard by the others.
“That’s OK...we can still make this work.” Dash told them with a stubborn frown and looked around for a way to get Twilight out.
“I just don’t see how...there are too many guards and far too many witnesses to attempt such a feat.” Rarity replied.
“Oh, I got it!" Pinkie said before dashing off into the crowd.
"What is she doing?" Rainbow remarked to Rarity, "Does that puddinghead even have a plan?"
As the escort of Equestrian Guards (and none other than Archmage Trixie herself) moved towards the central stage with Twilight in chains, Pinkie Pie jumped out of a nearby pony's hat with a handful of pink fliers.
"Wait, before any executions, you have to come to the Sugarcube Corner’s Summer Sun Celebration Super Sweets Sale! Nothing like cupcakes to lighten up a guilty consc- I mean, verdict, right? 20% Off!" Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped in front of the guards and shoved fliers in their faces.
“Quick, while she's distracting them!" Applejack whispered to Rainbow Dash, "Follow me."
The two ponies quietly but quickly galloped over to a stack of crates nearby.
"Rainbow, pretend to fly into that stack while I kick it at them."
Twilight, recovering from the confusion, noticed the pink baking pony in front of her wink, and turned to see Rarity cast a brief spell from the crowd. Twilight felt the chains fall off her, locks opened magically.
"What?!? She had a disabling spell on her!" exclaimed a very baffled Trixie. "Somepony stop her!"
Twilight ran, knowing this was her only chance to escape. She ran towards an alley, only to find her way blocked by a dozen guards. Suddenly, a familiar blue light lit up the area as the guards scattered before energy blasts. Twilight looked up to see Nightmare Moon flying towards her, casting attacks down on the unprepared guards. Nightmare Moon swooped in and grabbed Twilight with her fore legs, flying her away from the center of town. Several pegasi took flight to pursue them, but Nightmare Moon unexpectedly dropped Twilight as she soared over an alley way.
Twilight thought she was dead as she plummeted to the ground, but just before she hit, a yellow pegasus broke her fall and deposited her in a cart filled with hay. Applejack, the orange mare pulling the cart, took off at a leisurely pace.
"Shouldn't we be going faster?" Twilight hissed to her as they rolled along several winding streets.
"Not unless you want to get caught; a running pony is suspicious. Walkers have nothing to hide. Now get down and be quiet awhile." Applejack whispered back.
After awhile, they stopped. Twilight felt herself get pulled out of the hay by several hooves. She looked around to see several dust covered shelves with a smattering of books upon them. Around her were Applejack, Rarity, and two ponies she recognized but couldn't name.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Twilight asked.
"The Ponyville Library, darling." Rarity explained, "Long abandoned, luckily. Celestia decided books were unfashionable."
“And who are you?" Twilight asked the pink earth pony mare and yellow pegasus mare beside Rarity.
"I'm Pinkie Pie and his is my friend Fluttershy." said Pinkie Pie," We helped you escape."
"But why?" Twilight asked aloud, "Why did you help me?"
"We've decided to fight back against Celestia's tyranny, for all the lies she's told us." said Applejack, "We've had enough, and we thought you'd help us."
"Yeah, seeing as you realized Luna was telling the truth." put in Pinkie Pie
"Luna?" said Twilight, puzzled.
"Nightmare Moon, she's really Princess Luna, Celestia's sister." Explained Rarity.
"And we're going to help her regain her throne... would you help us?" pleaded Fluttershy.
"Just you four? Against Celestia?" Twilight said doubtfully.
"Well, there’s Rainbow Dash too, and Luna herself. And we were kinda hoping you would join too." Applejack admitted.
Twilight thought for a moment. She had loved Celestia. She loved her dearly. But now, in the course of a night, it seemed as if her whole world had come crashing down around her. These ponies were her only allies. After a few moments, Twilight spoke.
"I'll help. I will do anything in my power to see Celestia dethroned, and Nightma- I mean, Princess Luna put back in her rightful place." Twilight affirmed and stood proudly with the newly formed alliance. "Even if it costs me my life."
To Be Continued...
Eternal Night had set, likely across all of Equestria, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel as though she failed. Of course, the revelation that her mentor Princess Celestia was truly behind this reign of literal darkness was disturbing and quite shocking, but even with this new revelation, Twilight felt the sting of failure. She didn’t care as much what Celestia thought, and her Royal Mission now held no value whatsoever, but the ringing defeat was still palpable. She was hiding out in the old library in Ponyville, left in shambles when Celestia had banned fictional books, and all the non-fiction books were held in the local Mage Society headquarters. The darkness that encompassed her inside the shadowy library was a shield, blending in with the rest of Ponyville. It was a cozy place, perhaps, in its prime, but now that it was abandoned, it was merely a quiet tree with empty shelves devoid of learning. The other mares explained everything earlier today, before leaving for their homes. She knew they were starting a resistance movement, and she knew it would be best if they overthrew Celestia, but part of her wanted to lock herself away in the forgotten library, a pocket dimension to erase her presence from the nightmare Equestria was becoming.
...
Applejack had been brought by several guards back into Ponyville shortly after she returned to her farm, and was thoroughly questioned inside the barracks. She was just leaving after a particularly dull round of questions. She was ready to forget this nightmare and get back to Sweet Apple Acres where things made sense, but sadly, she did have work to do there, and it was harder than the regular chores. The world could be a complicated place, but the farm was simple. After all, how hard was it to understand that life revolved around bucking trees and making goods? Simple, and, at least for her, a nice, enjoyable life too, until that is, she had to tell her family about last night’s events and convince them that joining this resistance movement was the best option. Sweet Apple Acres came within view as Applebloom ran up to meet her big sister.
“Applejack!” The younger sister cried out with joy at the return of her older sibling.
“Hey there Applebloom.” Applejack replied happily, patting her on the head when she reached her younger sister.
“What happened? Big Macintosh said some guards came to search the barn. Where’d you go?” She asked with curiosity and more focus now that she knew Applejack was back home.
“I went with them into the Everfree Forest and on a small adventure. I’ll tell you more about it later, right now I need you to go on up to your room and finish the homework Ms. Cheerilee gave you today.” Applejack said, knowing that Applebloom shouldn’t hear too many details of what had happened, at least not at the moment. She had a feeling inside that told her this discuss with her family wouldn’t be particularly fun.
Big Mac and Granny Smith went over to her as she walked into the dining room, they themselves were sitting down to a small meal. It was a little known fact that Big Mac was a stress eater.
“Where’d you go runnin’ off to?” Granny Smith asked with slight ire in her voice when AJ had settled down at the table with Big Mac.
“Sorry for just dropping what I was doing, but the Royal Guards were chasing after Nightmare Moon in the Everfree Forest, and I tailed along, figuring that we should make sure nopony breaks into or hides in our barn again. Basically, it was one huge fiasco that ended with some questions for me in the barracks back in Ponyville.” AJ explained and took a drink of some cool, refrigerated, Apple Cider.
“Nightmare Moon? Isn’t she one of them big celebrity types? Why was the guards chasin’ her? Tax evasion?” Granny Smith began to go off on a tangent as Big Mac facehoofed and Applejack stopped drinking the cider to stop Granny Smith from going too far.
“No Granny, Nightmare Moon is the legendary villain who Princess Celestia banished to the Moon 1,000 years ago. You remember that story, right?” AJ asked, as Big Mac looked on with uncertain eyes.
“When you get to be my age you tend to forget a lot of things Applebloom.” Granny Smith told AJ.
“Granny… I’m Applejack.” AJ corrected.
“Oh…right, well I knew that.” Granny Smith said with slight embarrassment and then took a drink of her own cider.
“So, anyways, we ended up in the Everfree Forest and found Nightmare Moon in an old fortress or something, crumbling away from old age. And then, when we cornered her, this wall broke down and this stone started glowing. I had no idea what was going on, but Twilight, one of the ponies chasing Nightmare Moon, started acting all funny and tried to defend Nightmare Moon.” AJ went on as Big Mac looked on somewhat skeptically.
“Hold on there, Sis,” Big Mac stopped his younger sister and held up a hoof.
Granny Smith then spoke up: “Even if this pony you were chasing was Nightmare Moon, don’t ya think you're exaggerating a bit? Call me crazy, but I ain’t never seen a glowing rock.” She told her granddaughter in a gentle yet clearly doubtful tone.
“Now just a minute! Are you saying that I’m lying about what I saw? It all happened I tell ya. In fact, after my questioning, I was there to help her escape from that trial they were gonna hold. She was really right about Princess Luna, after all.” AJ told her family.
“Princess Luna?” Asked Granny Smith, confused with good reason.
“Luna- uh… Nightmare Moon. See, Nightmare Moon is really a good pony. The story y’all heard from Princess Celestia was just made up to frame Princess Luna when she was banished to the Moon 1,000 years ago. Really, Celestia’s the evil one, (everypony else gasped, and Granny Smith almost choked on her cider) just like I knew all along. She’s never been the way she tells everypony she is. Now look, I’m asking ya’ll to please, just consider what I’ saying and join with me and Twilight and the others in the resistance movement under Princess Luna. We can change Equestria, make it a better place for everypony.” Applejack told them, starting to get on a roll and a serious speech.
Everypony stared at her with a look of complete shock and concern.
“Don’t ya think you’re being a little too…emotional? I think ya should stay away from them ponies and keep to yerself, we don’t need you getting thrown in jail too.” Granny Smith told AJ with a goofy wisdom that Applejack couldn’t disrespect, though in her heart, she knew she wanted to be a part of this movement.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac replied, adding his usual sign of confirmation and agreement onto Granny Smith’s words.
…
Rarity had quietly escaped the EUP barracks clean and free, and had gone off to her favorite café to enjoy a cup of tea. She could go home, but she figured she would talk with a few mages she thought might want to join the resistance. They always met at the café, and after a simply stressful day, Rarity couldn’t imagine anything much better than a cup of emerald fire tea, and truth be told, she actually wondered if they put in real emeralds to make it, because she could never seem to recreate it at home. After obtaining the beverage and sitting alone for a few minutes, she took her cup and headed over to the other mages who sat across the café. They were nervously discussing something, probably the fact that the sun hadn’t risen today, and when they saw Rarity move over to them they stopped talking as loudly and soon enough stopped talking altogether.
“Good day everypony...err...evening, rather.” Rarity greeted cheerfully and gave a small smile.
“Rarity.” Amethyst Star acknowledged.
“Good...evening.” Diamond Mint parroted back to her.
“Hey…” Lyra replied, sounding a little awkward.
“Do you mind if I join you for a little while?” Rarity asked.
“Umm…Sure.” Diamond Mint replied after looking at her friends.
“Why thank you.” Rarity said, sitting down and placing her beverage on the table.
“Seriously though, is the sun being fixed for damages or something? Is Princess Celestia on vacation? Why is the MOON out at noon?” Lyra asked, returning to their conversation as though Rarity had been there from the start.
“Actually, I have something quite interesting to say about that particular topic. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you something.” She told them as she carefully weaved her way into the conversation.
“Going into a new fashion for the longest night in history?” Amethyst Star asked sarcastically.
“Come on, at least let her speak her mind.” Diamond Mint told the other two.
“I wanted to discuss Princess Celestia.” Rarity told them, careful not to raise her voice too high.
“What about the Princess?” Diamond Mint asked as a look of intrigue crossed her eye.
“Can you promise to keep this confidential,” Rarity asked and continued after the three mares nodded, “Last night- er- this night? Anyways, as you know, I went with Twilight Sparkle, the lavender unicorn who came over yesterday to enlist help from our chapter, and I ended up chasing down Nightmare Moon. Now, at first, I figured she was just a rough and unfashionable villain, much like you probably do, but I discovered something else entirely. As it turns out…Nightmare Moon is really Princess Luna, Celestia’s sister who tried to prevent a reign of tyranny and absolute law, the very one we live under! Not only that, Princess Celestia has been lying to us all about many things and covering up the things that Luna did to stop her up with the legend of Nightmare Moon. I’ve joined her group and I want to know if you’d have the same interest.” Rarity explained, having lost their interest by the end.
“OK...well...I’m not entirely sure if you’re joking...but if you aren’t...are you crazy?” Amethyst Star asked as if Rarity had just offered them a trip to Tartarus.
“Yeah, on top of the whole ‘Princess Luna Resistance’ thing, which I don’t know if I can believe either, this whole idea of joining you sounds…” Diamond Mint told her but trailed off at the end, allowing Lyra to speak up and finish the thought: “crazy...stupid...probably suicidal.”
“I understand your skepticism, and if one of you were in my place I’m sure I’d have a similar reaction, but I beg of you, please give this some serious thought.” Rarity reasoned with them.
“OK, hypothetically, if this scenario was completely true and we knew it, how exactly would we help you?” Lyra inquired as she took a bite out of her cookie.
“Well…” Rarity began to reply and looked around nervously, not having quite established many details about their rebellion’s actions.
“You don’t have any plans yet, do you?” Amethyst asked.
“Well, I don’t, but that isn’t exactly my place...I’m sure Princess Luna is plotting out the next several moves as we speak.” Rarity tried to reassure them.
“Rarity...in all honesty, I just don’t know if you’re telling us the truth, and even if you are, I’m still not sure that it’s the whole truth. On top of that, You stand absolutely no chance against Celestia's forces, and I’m not going to take the chance of ending up imprisoned for a rebellion that will certainly end before it accomplished anything.” Diamond told her.
“Yeah, maybe if you’d come to us with an army of a thousand ponies, a more developed rebellion and actual, concrete plans about it’s work we’d join up with you...but the way it is? I doubt any ponies would be foolish enough to jump on the sinking ship you’re sailing.” Lyra added, causing Rarity to look down at her tea in extreme disappointment.
“Oh, very well then...I must be going now. If you’ll excuse me,” Rarity bade them farewell and stood up before leaning in and adding in one last thing, “remember...you must keep this a secret. Please, please do.”
“We will Rarity. No sense in you getting killed sooner rather than later.” Diamond Mint assured her as the fashionista paid for her tea and left the cafe.
…
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had left the barracks together, but they separated when they reached the market area. Fluttershy went off into the fields to talk to her closest friends, which just happened to be animals, and Pinkie Pie went off to talk to her closest friends, which just happened to be anypony she could possibly talk to. Pinkie was desperate to talk with anyone about the new resistance movement… except for the guards of course. She was a little spacey sometimes, but she wasn’t about to let any guard figure out she was planning to overthrow Celestia. She ran back to Sugarcube Corner and up to her room, spending a good 15 minutes making messages. She then exited and ran out into the streets. She approached the passing Jetstream and called out.
“Psst…hey, here, take this.” Pinkie Pie said and handed out a folded piece of paper.
“Oh…what’s this Pinkie?” Jetstream asked.
“You have to read it to find out silly. I’m not gonna just go around telling everypony in person that I’m part of a new resistance movement to overthrow Princess Celestia…duh. Let me know if you’re in or not!” Pinkie said and trotted off to find another pony, leaving Jetstream standing alone in utter confusion. She opened up the paper to find a crudely drawn propaganda poster in red crayon, depicting Pinkie’s views on Celestia with a large, red, X over Celestia’s portrait, also drawn by Pinkie Pie. All in all…it was a mess, and the mare simply rolled her eyes and trotted off, leaving the poorly made and rushed propaganda poster lying crumpled up in a puddle at the side of the street. Meanwhile, Pinkie had handed over a few more posters and left just as many ponies standing in the same confusion that Jetstream had been left in. Finally, she bumped into a royal guard, who questioned what was on the paper.
“Paper? What paper? This? Oh, silly filly, this isn’t paper…it’s uh…my lunch!” Pinkie managed to get out before putting on a fake smile.
“Lunch?” The Guard asked, raising an eyebrow and gazing into Pinkie’s face, no, into her soul.
“Uh…yeah, paper is an essential part of anypony’s healthy diet.” Pinkie said before crumpling up the few remaining posters and taking a bite from the large ball.
“…” The guard simply stared blankly at her and kept his eyebrow raised.
“Yummy yummy…” Pinkie Pie faked and continued to chew.
“Right…” He walked away and left Pinkie Pie standing there eating the paper. When he had gone far enough away for Pinkie to feel safe, she spit out the paper and tried desperately to cleanse her tongue from the vile propaganda…even though it was made by nopony other than herself.
“Well great, there goes a good 4 minutes of drawing and red crayon.” Pinkie said to nopony, as nopony was there.
“Oh well…somepony has to do it…so here goes.” Pinkie said, at first determined, then cheerily, and she pounced away in her usual Pinkie glee.
The market place was fairly empty, but there were a couple of guards there, observing the populous and ensuring that theft and plots against the Princess did not occur.
“Excuse me sir…how many…red crayons do you have?” Pinkie asked the stallion at the arts and crafts booth.
“Umm…we only sell crayons in packs of 12 or 1728.” He replied.
“So, how much for a pack of 12 red crayons?” Pinkie asked, her eyes shifting from the vendor to the guards and back more than once.
“Well we don’t sell packs of just one color. If you want a red crayon then you have to buy an entire assortment. Each 12 pack is one bit.” He informed her.
“Drat…I only need a red. Well, what about paint? How much for a tube of red paint?” She asked and dramatically flipped her mane up to cover her face as a guard walked by, not noticing the gesture much.
“Four bits for a gallon and 12 bits for five gallons.” The stallion answered.
“Alright, then I’ll buy 12 packs of 1728 crayons .” She told the vendor.
“I only have one. I didn’t think anypony actually wanted ‘light neon electric lime green’ as a color of crayon.” He admitted.
“Well, then I’ll take the gallon of paint.” Pinkie stated as she set four bits on the table.
“Here you go. Anything else?” He asked as he set down the tube in front of her and took the bits away with his hoof.
“Have any paper?” She asked, again eyeing the guards.
“Sorry, we sold out when a guard came by and told everypony who would listen about how paper was an essential part of anypony’s healthy diet.” He informed the disappointed mare.
“I knew that would catch on!” Pinkie said somewhat proudly and walked away with her paint.
“Is she…crazier than normal today?” The vendor asked another customer, who was in line after her.
“Maybe a little bit…yeah. Go figure. That’s Pinkie I guess.” He replied.
Since she had no paper, Pinkie decided the best option was now graffiti. She moved quickly and quietly to avoid the guards and painted her propaganda messages all around town, much to the chagrin of many shop owners and cleaning ponies. One particular instance went downhill, that being when the owner of the orange stand came back from his bathroom trip and found her painting his oranges. But it wasn’t all bad, he thought she was trying to make ponies think they were apples, and the guard who was alerted was able to be persuaded that painting oranges different colors helped them get riper more quickly. The orange stand owner wasn’t as easy to persuade, but some slick bargaining, or in this case, confusion, managed to quiet him down and let the issue go to rest. Sadly however, her first day of recruitment didn’t go so well.
…
Fluttershy retreated from the town to the meadows to find her animal companions. Given all that had happened, she was about ready to get some sleep and cuddle with her Angel Bunny. She still felt a little nervous about breaking Twilight out of jail, and in truth this whole ordeal made her uncomfortable in many ways, but given all that she had heard, she knew that no matter how hard it was, she had to fight back. It was the right thing to do. Of course, that didn’t change the fact that she simply wanted to go home and hide in her closet with angel, away from all of this. The meadow was calm and quiet, as usual, but the animals seemed to be in complete disarray.
“Oh my! What’s happened here? What’s wrong?” She asked, her voice retaining an urgent quality while still quieter than most ponies normal talking.
“Quack, quack.” A duck beside her in the river responded.
“Oh my! I’m sure this will all blow over.” Fluttershy tried to reassure the duck, who had related to her the worries of the animals that the moon was out of place, and inside, she knew they were right. She was lying. It was almost too much for her; she couldn’t stand the thought of lying to her animal friends.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp.” A nearby wren told Fluttershy, who got even more red in the face.
“I-I’m pretty sure this will all work out…” She repeated, realizing she soon going to crack like an eggshell over a bowl of cake batter.
“…” A nearby turtle let out a sound that was almost inaudible, but Fluttershy heard it loud and clear and wondered if her face could get any redder.
“W-Well…I…I-I don’t…I’m sure that…” Fluttershy crouched down into a small yellow bundle of fur on the grass and shut her eyes as the nearby animals gathered around her. The bunnies, bears, fish, turtles, birds, and other critters staring her down, Fluttershy broke down.
“Ok! Ok! I admit it! Something is wrong! Equestria is in terrible danger! Princess Celestia is really the one who caused this problem with the moon! Why? Because she’s really evil and Nightmare Moon is the good princess! That’s why! And, yes, before any of you ask, I am joining the resistance group with Pinkie and the others.” Fluttershy nearly screamed out the last part and calmed down when all the critters silently stared at her.
“Umm…so…yes, something is wrong, but it really isn’t anything to worry about. The resistance is going to end this tragedy before too long…I hope.” Fluttershy asked them.
“Growl…” The bear told her.
“Quack.” The duck reaffirmed.
“You want to help? But that would be risky…not to mention dangerous! Are you all sure?” She asked them, hoping desperately they would deny their desire to join the resistance cause. Ponies were one thing, but animals were entirely another.
“Chirp.” The wren answered, signaling their desire to help.
“Oh…oh my…well…O-Ok…but you have to promise not to do anything too dangerous now.” She told them and continued to fight herself inwardly for letting them take such risks. The poor critters...
…
Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in the dark room, the only light was on the wooden table where the suspect, a certain Earth pony stallion was being questioned. She was the only guard questioning him, a perk of being a non-commissioned officer with some weight around that particular guard chapter. In fact, the only reason they were even holding this stallion was because Rainbow so desired to speak with him alone, causing a false charge to be brought to his name, which was actually pretty typical of the Guard. She had the perfect plan to get a few members into the resistance.
“OK, I’m not going to ask again, so let’s make this easy on everypony. You know why I brought you here, so just tell me what I want to know.” Rainbow told the stallion with fierce intent in her eyes.
“I haven’t done anything wrong! That filly, she’s a liar! I didn’t come near her!” He told her energetically and emphatically.
“Ewwwww...never mind!” Rainbow closed her eyes and headed over to the door, calling a guard in and whispering orders to her as she took the suspect away. Rainbow shook herself a little and tried to get the image of that creep coming towards an innocent filly out of her mind. Hopefully the measures she put in place would prevent any such thing from happening in the future.
“Ma’am...I’m SO sorry about tha-” began the guard, looking worried at his carelessness.
“Leave!” Rainbow cut him off and breathed in deeply again, preparing herself to deal with a mare who didn’t take her seriously.
“Alright, let’s get serious,” Rainbow began and backed away a little before continuing, “I don’t want to waste any time, so I suggest you answer my questions quickly and honestly.”
“What if I don’t?” The mare questioned merely for the sake of ticking Rainbow off.
“Ok, spit it out. What am I here for, I didn’t do anything.”
“What would you say if we have you on charges of dissent?”
“I’d say you’re crazy! I’ve been minding my own business since I got out of jail last time! I’ve hardly gone out of my house at all in the past week!” The mare objected.
“But isn’t it true that you hate Celestia’s rule? Isn’t it a fact that you’ve openly expressed to me and other guards before a disdain for it?”
“Hey, that isn’t fair at a-”
“Is it true?” Rainbow repeated, a bit louder this time.
“...I’m not saying anything else!”
“What? No, no, no, no, just answer the question! Yes or no?” Rainbow urged.
“Forget it! I won’t say anything else to you!”
“C’mon! Yes or no? It’s not like it’s hard!”
“...” The mare remained quiet and Rainbow sighed deeply as she called for a guard to take her away.
“I’m just gonna be brutally honest with you, I know about your secrets.”
“Wait a minute! HOW did you figure it out? I DEMAND to know how you figured out my addiction!”
“...Well, i was actually talking about your rebellious attitude and desire to overthrow Celestia, but that addiction stuff is interesting.”
“OH COME ON! Hold on! Hold on!” He pleaded, attempting to keep himself out of as much trouble as possible.
“Look, I’m not here to bust you for anything I’d ordinarily like to; I just want information about dissenters in Ponyville.” Rainbow confided in a tough, proud, yet oddly gentle tone.
“There are no dissenters in Ponyville. That’s crazy. We’d get put down by you and your guard friends in no time.”
“C’mon. Don’t play dumb with me, I know how this town works,” Rainbow told him, raising her voice and tone slightly.
“Nothing is going on here, you guys would be all over us; we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“So you aren’t involved in any resistance movement? You haven’t started any rebellions?”
“I never formed any gang of dissenters or anything like that. I swear by Celestia’s… uh… commanding presence?” The stallion protested, sure now that he was looking at at least three weeks of jail time.
“Don’t play this game with me. I know you Joe, you can’t hide any secrets from me.” Rainbow told him, pacing in front of the table once again.
“...You don’t remember my name, do you?” The stallion asked, ruining the moment for Rainbow and absolutely killing the mood.
“What does that matter? I know you as the perp! Got it!” She told him with fire in her eyes, once again getting in his face and a little too close for his comfort.
“Alright, enough messing around. I’m growing impatient. Tell me what you know. You can’t keep this up forever, we’ll keep you here as long as we need to.” Rainbow told him.
“But I haven’t started any resistance movements! Even if I wanted to, you would crack down and arrest us all! It’s no good, not anywhere I’ve ever been in Equestria! My dreams are hopeless! Oh, did I say dreams? I meant...” He finally let out and shrank down in the chair, worried something bad would follow.
“That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear.” She told him, happier than he’d ever seen her.
“Huh? What did I miss?” He asked.
“Join my resistance movement. Well…technically, it’s not mine, it’s Princess Luna’s Resistance, but we need ponies like you to join us and help us fight Celestia’s tyranny. Are you in?” She asked, actually smiling, however slightly, and held out her hoof.
“…Hey, nice try Captain, but I know that trick already. My brother was arrested the same way down in Fillydelphia. Thanks, but no thanks.” He told her and leaned back in the chair feeling pretty confident in himself.
“A trick? Are you nuts or something? I’m serious! Why is EVERYPONY so PARANOID about me today? Join this resistance group! We need ponies like you! Don’t leave Equestria hanging!” Rainbow encouraged him.
“Sorry, but it won’t work.” He told her and closed his eyes in silence, not saying another word despite her pleading for the next minute or so. Finally she let him out and had the guard stationed by the door escort him out.
“No luck?” A fellow guard asked Rainbow.
“No…he’s...uh...he’s a tough one…but I’ll get him to crack sooner or later. There goes Ms. Nice Pony.” She told the fellow guard mare and watched as the suspect was escorted out.
“You OK, Captain? You seem a bit off today.” The guard commented, much to Rainbow’s aggravation and annoyance.
“Huh? Fine. I’m fine. Just send in the next one.” She quickly told the mare before stepping back into the questioning room.
…
A quiet knock awoke Twilight from the light sleep she was resting in.
“Twilight? Are you there?” Rarity whispered from beyond the closed door.
“Rarity? Hold on, I’ll let you in.” Twilight told her and opened the door, letting the white mare into the dark library.
“My word darling…I don’t think I quite noticed it before, but this is actually a depressing little hide out. I suppose it’s functional, but it needs some serious touch ups.” Rarity commented as she entered with a sack she was levitating.
“What’s in the bag?” Asked Twilight as she shut the door behind Rarity, making sure nopony was watching them.
“I just brought you a little food, I imagine the prison food was quite…disturbing.” Rarity told her and unwrapped the back to reveal a daisy and daffodil sandwich
“Thank you Rarity, I haven’t eaten in awhile. Where’d you get this?” Twilight asked as she levitated the sandwich up to her mouth to take a bite.
“I stopped at a café after we sprung you out, they make the most divine tea of any professional café in Ponyville, but I also wanted to get something for you. Until we figure out where to go and what to do, it really isn’t safe for you in Ponyville, and probably not anywhere in Equestria for that matter.” Rarity told her with slight concern.
“I know, but I feel so useless. This entire day has been one long nightmare. I can’t just hide from Celestia forever, at some point I have to do something.” Twilight told her friend in-between bites of her fantastic sandwich.
“I’m sure you do, and I’m sure that can’t be easy, but we have to be realistic about this, you can’t just go out in public anymore, you’re a wanted criminal.”
“I know, I know...its just hard. Especially knowing that everything Celestia told me was a lie...every standard, every rule, every measure I lived my life by have suddenly become fake.” Twilight confided in the fellow unicorn, eyes lowering to the floor in what could be described as shame or pity.
“I...I honestly can’t say that I know what that feels like…”Rarity admitted, “but I do know that Celestia can’t hold us down, not with a resistance of proud and strong ponies like us.” Rarity encouraged.
“Do you really think so?” Twilight asked the mage in all seriousness.
“Of course, Celestia got into power with trickery, scheming, and back stabbing, and I fully believe that such tactics will only lead to others using them against you. It may sound unelegant, but I believe that she’s overdue for a shocking realization that her Kingdom isn’t quite what it seems, even if we have to be the ones to shock her.” Rarity replied.
“It looks so easy on paper. In the confines of a chart or a list, the goal seems so within reach. But in reality...this is the hardest thing we’ll probably ever do. Celestia has surrounded herself with guards, mages, and pawns to do her will. We’ll have to be fast, smart, and strong at every moment. If we have just one slip up, it could have the potential to land us all in jail...or meet a worse fate.” Twilight reasoned with a tone that was more ominous than anything else.
“...Did anypony say it would be so easy?” Rarity asked the lavender magical student, admittedly shocking her greatly.
“So then...you understand just how difficult this will be?” Twilight asked Rarity in confirmation.
“I do.” She responded firmly and then shut her eyes and smiled, causing the entire library to brighten up a bit and prove her true elegance and beauty, leaving Twilight rather speechless. Somehow, this unicorn, this mage of seemingly so small skill, had not only shocked Twilight, but made her question why she even spoke up in the first place. Either way, Rarity’s resolve was remarkably grand, illustrating her confidence in their movement and the willingness Twilight was sure she had to make such dangerous sacrifices.
“Good. I’m glad to have ponies like you fighting alongside me.” Twilight stated after a small moment of silence.
...
It was nighttime when the six ponies gathered at the Library and left for the outskirts of town, but only the clocks held any indication that it was actually night, as opposed to day. The six ponies quietly left town, headed into the Everfree Forest, and approached the tall ruined fortress of stone where the Element of Honesty, and Luna, awaited.
Princess Luna had already arranged for the seven of them to meet here at 12:00. They would be discussing further courses of action, and report any progress they had made during the day -or perhaps it was night.
Luna stood at the top of the main staircase as the ponies entered.
"Come in, come in. We have been awaiting your return." the alicorn mare said "please, accompany us to the library and recount thy achievements to us."
The mares followed the dark Princess down several hallways, before arriving in a large room filled with shelves stacked high with books.
Twilight Sparkle gasped. "I've never seen so many books before. Not even the Palace's Library has so many..."
"Indeed. Our sister loved books as much as we did, once. It is a shame that she prohibited reading for fun... We are grieved at the generations of ponies who lost the joy of reading... but we digress. Come, tell of your exploits."
"Well..." began Applejack, "Ma family doesn't want anything to do with the resistance. They- They're afraid I'll only end up in jail like my cousin Caramel."
"My friends in the Mage Society fear for me too." Rarity put in, "They, how shall we say, lack confidence in my ability."
"Well, I haven't heard from any of my friends yet, except you guys of course, but I'm sure they'll totally agree that it will be fun!" Pinkie stated enthusiastically.
"Uh, I wouldn't exactly call takin' on Celestia fun, Pinkie." Applejack said.
"I obviously couldn't accomplish much..." admitted Twilight, "How about you... Fluttershy, was it?"
"W-w-w-well, I g-g-got some animals t-to join." the yellow pegasus put in meekly, "Uh, if that's alright with you girls."
"Bwa-ha-ha! Yeah, like animals can hel-" Rainbow Dash was cut off suddenly by Twilight's hoof.
"We'll take all the help we can get, especially since we have so little right now." Twilight scolded, "Unless you raised an entire army today, Rainbow Dash?"
"Well, uh... you see, hrm." Rainbow Dash mumbled, at a loss of explanations for her failure. "I... didn't get anyone to join up."
"Weren't you the one bragging that you could spot traitors a mile away?" Applejack accused. "And didn't you work as an EUP guard recruiter a ways back?"
"Well, I found a bunch of traitors... but none of them believed me when I tried to get them to join!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her frustrations from today finally getting to her. "You try getting ponies to think you're a rebel, while you're in a Guard uniform. It isn't easy."
Everypony was silent for a few moments. Finally, Luna spoke.
"It seems as if everypony has had trouble finding allies... perhaps tomorrow will bear better results. Now, we bid thee goodnight."
As the dark mare exited, all the other ponies felt the weight of their task crushing down on them.
To be Continued...
Author's Note
First, I'm sorry if this is taking a long time. I got busy over the summer, and the other writer, theblondeknight was more motivated to work on his own fics than this one ( I'm not sure whether to call it "ours" or "mine" at this point).
~~Secondly, this chapter isn't quite done yet, so I apologize for the abrupt ending.~~ Oops, apparently that's a bad idea... for several reasons. I hacked off part of this Chapter and decided to put it in the next one.
Third, we could use help. I try to edit this, but I don't catch everything, so if you see something, feel free to point it out. Also, if there are any good Pinkie or Fluttershy writers willing to help out, that would be appreciated. As of right now, theblondeknight and I agree we can't write either of those characters well.
For those of you interested in prereading Chapter 4 while we work on it, here's the link: http://www.fimfiction.net/chapter/629846 Unpublished Viewing Password is under.net (Don't ask me why)
Sincerely, Spoiler Alert.
