The Southern Campaign

The Southern Campaign:

Prologue

[Scene in: Twilight, right before night. Outside the steps of Canterlot Castle. Two Alicorns meet at the bottom of the steps, semi-obscured by the setting darkness, one in a robe that obscures most of her face, her horn sticking out from the top]

Celestia: Ah, sister. I see you're here to relieve me of my duties. The guards should be changing as well. I'm glad we can rebuild this cycle...I am glad you are back.

Luna: Sister, I have come here more than to just take up my vocation for the evening. I wish to speak...speak about something that I have seen on my many years on the moon...but we must speak in private.

Celestia: Dearest sister, what is this matter that requires of us the cloak of secrecy? There are no threats that our guards won't warn us of. Surely there is no one who can hear us here!

Luna: It is....about my people, dear Tia...but it is about more than that.

Celestia: Luna, you know how I feel about this. Your people will remained scattered. That has already been decided.

Luna: I do not think that is our choice to make. They are confiding in each other already, their descendants already gathering to speak of my return. But once again Tia...there is more....

[Fade Scene]

[Scene in: Candlelight, night outside. Inside the home of Zecora in the middle of the Everfree forest. There is a knocking on the door. Zecora is in the middle of mixing a potion of some sort.]

Zecora: Ah! Who is this knocking, it better not be a young pony mocking!

[She moves to the door, opening up to let a proud-looking unicorn canter in, dressed in a cloak similar to Luna's from the last scene]

Zecora: Silent Dagger! It has been a long time, and no see. What-ever could the reason for your visit be?

Silent Dagger: It has been a long time, Zecora. Our clan has been in hiding since Luna was banished. But we have been growing. We're no longer hunted. We're free to grow and recruit, and worship the night as we see fit, again. I have lived my entire life in hiding, but now it is my turn to lead our clan towards great heights...and I am uncertain. Living free is something new to us, and it is good to be able to visit a friend such as yourself under instances other than hurt or dying friends, begging your assistance.

Zecora: Yes. Such a strange time we live, but you still have not told me what I need to give.

Silent Dagger: My mission here is two-fold. I know you know the Everfree forest better than anypony around. I know that it is dangerous here, but it is also just as dangerous for anyone who plans any type of attack. It's a citadel against invasion. My clan wishes to make this our base of operations, make this our city. In a few generations, it might even rival Ponyville or Cloudsdale.

Zecora: Though it may seem tough, That I can do. There is very little I would not do for a friend such as you. But what of your other task, surely you are not here for a flask.

Silent Dagger: Your family was once some of the strongest members of our clan, and we benefited greatly from the diversity of your culture, of the knowledge you all brought with you.  I wish to ask you, as the last scion of your clan, to rejoin our rank.

Zecora: Please, you must give me time, I must think on this. I do not want to join you all, and have a want to leave be my only wish.

Silent Dagger: That is fine. Now that we are open about where we are, you'll know where to find us. To the night.

[Silent Dagger walks out, followed by a fade scene]

[Scene in: Day. Canterlot Throne room. Celestia  and a very tired looking Luna are meeting. Guards are posted at the door. Luna is levitating a large set of scrolls of some-sort, closed.]

Celestia: Guards, please leave us. I must speak to my sister alone.

[Guards leave.]

Celestia: I apologize for the time of this meeting, my dear sister, but I'd rather be coherent if you come to me with anything new.

Luna: It is fine sister, I just ask that you listen to me.

[Luna sets down the scrolls, two pieces of paper being placed down on the table.]

Luna: During my banishment on the moon, I have made the observation that our ideas on our world are not correct. It appears that you do not move the sun, sister. You are moving the planet we are on.

Celestia (laughing): What are you talking about, sister? That's ridiculous. The spell I cast must move the sun. It obviously moves in the sky.

Luna: But that is where you are wrong. The sun only seemingly moves across the sky. It is we that are moving.  The sun remains in the same place.

Celestia (serious now): If all of this is true, what is the purpose of this meeting? Just to rub it in my face that I have been wrong all these years? If this is your way of getting back at me for your banishment...

Luna: Sister, no! I would never do such a thing. I only mean to help!

[Luna rolls out one of the pieces of paper, pointing to various locations on it as she spoke.]

Luna: This is a map of the known world. It is fragmented. There are pieces of leylands that cut through the world, and chaos is rampant in those sections. Beyond this border of leylines, the chaos is so intense that the face of the planet changes constantly. Places like The Echo, The Fade, and the Lost World are all unobtainable to us because of the chaos. But what if it did not have to be like that?

Celestia: Now you're just talking crazy, sister. How would we reshape the world? We have our hands full keeping the chaos out of the known world!

Luna: It is simple, my sister. Just wait, I know you will be proud of me!

[Luna opens the other paper.]

Luna: This, is a picture of our known solar system. I asked Twilight Sparkle to do some research for me...

Celestia: You've been asking things of my student!?

Luna: Please do not be angry. She is a wonderful pupil, and she surpassed all my expectations. Just listen.

Celestia: ...go on.

Luna: This is us, right here, and here is the moon. I asked Twilight, all hypothetically of course, what it would look like to create a stable day-night cycle for the entire planet, assuming a few things such as planet size. I am not an astronomer, but your pupil is quite the star-gazer. She surmised that if we put the planet on this axis, and spun it at this speed, and then sent it orbiting the sun with this force, we can have a full day-night cycle for the entire planet! This will also give us a steady magnetic field, completely erasing the chaotic leylines.

Celestia: I don't know, sister. This is different than anything that has been done before. It would take a lot of the guess work out of my spells...and it is good to know exactly what I am doing when I cast my spell. But I don't know if I can do it.

Luna: I have seen our world, Tia. It is round, and it is beautiful, and there is much that we do not know or understand because we have been too ignorant to do anything about it. Now we can know what is beyond these lines. Now we can turn chaos away forever. We must take this opportunity.

Celestia (sighing):  Well, sister. It may be time to change our ways. You have shown me a new path, and while it may feel safer to stay within our borders and try and protect us from chaos, I know that the only way to truly bring safety and stability to our people is to strike chaos at its source. Changing the course of this planet might require time...

Luna: It must require time. If we are to do this, we must be prepared. Opening up these locations will loose many a monster upon the known world. Those who have adapted to live in the leylands and beyond have learned to feed off of chaos. Cutting off their supply will ultimately lead them to create their own brand of chaos; upon us.

Celestia: And how will we muster these forces? We have barely enough to protect our current borders.

Luna: As I said before sister. My people already confide in each other. I have spoken to them...

Celestia: I have told you time and again that you are not allowed to be summoned by them!

Luna:  I know! I know! I am sorry, sister! But I could not resist to see them again. When I responded to their summons and made myself known, I was surprised to see so many still in the worship of the moon and stars. They were preparing for war. Many had become ponies of science, of war, of power. Many had integrated into society, keeping their worship of the night a secret. They were waiting for the time of my attack. To their surprise, I was bearing the olive branch of peace. They have wonderful weaponry, and even more advancement than most ponies have ever fathomed. They have already begun trying to find a location for a village, and due to my change of heart in the past thousand years, wish to share their advancements with all of Equestria.

Celestia: ...Luna...I am afraid. I'm afraid because I am the protector of this realm, and yet the foment of rebellion was happening right beneath my nose. Perhaps...perhaps it is time I listen to your council more. Perhaps it is time that we rule together again. Your people can rebuild if they wish. But they have no sovereignty...they are under the rule of Equestria. That is my one term. They must follow the laws of this land. Their conquests are for her, and her alone.  Otherwise, they are free for self government.

Luna (excited): Thank you Celestia! That is fine, I am so happy! I must go and tell them, tell them all that they are free to build, to help Equestria be great!

[Luna runs out, leaving the papers and her sister behind]

Celestia: (watching the door close): I hope they do, sister....I hope they do.

[Celestia walks to one of her stain-glass windows, the window of the recent defeat of discord, looking out upon the realm.]

Celestia: This peace. It cannot last. I know that. I've always known that. The chaos that surrounds us circles like a hungry shark, waiting to partake upon us, swarming us whenever one slight wound chums the water for them.  But for some reason....it seems safe. For some reason, I am comfortable with that. Perhaps I am weaker than my sister. She can see, see beyond the limits of constant fear. She can see a world without anything to fear, where anypony can partake in anything, of the entire world, in all of its beauty. I am afraid of the darkness of chaos, but that is where my sister is strongest. She can see that the world is darkest just before dawn. But that is what I am afraid of the most, of the world getting so dark that I never see the dawn, just infinite night...Heh, what irony. "Infinite night". Perhaps this is the world playing some type of divine trick upon this semi-divine entity. Infinite night might not be too bad. It is, at least, stable. Wouldn't that just make you angry? The joke would finally be on you, wouldn't it, Discord? I loose, but it's not you who wins! Wouldn't that be hilarious!? I am not afraid of my sister. I would not be so disposed to infinite night. It is you I fear the most. That day, that horrible day you came from the south.  Flying so high and destroying all that you came in contact with. You were the first thing to ever leave The Echo. It was only through the power of our relationships, our friendships, that we were able to defeat you. It was only with those friendships that we are able to tie ourselves down to reality. But over the years, I have lost those relationships. Three of us passed on long ago. One of us cannot be found. The only one I have left is my sister, and she had been banished for a thousand years. With her return comes the return of some semblance of reality, some semblance of truth...and yet I am slow to trust her. Perhaps it has just been too long. I am not afraid of my sister, but I am afraid of the reality she brings. She has been the bearer of that sobering knowledge, that knowledge that this peace cannot last....but she has also brought news today. News that while this peace cannot last, there is peace out there that can. With you, Discord, came a taboo. No one enters the Echo, no one enters The Lost World, no one enters The Fade. Perhaps with the return of Luna, those taboos can be broken. Perhaps, it is time for change.

[Fade Scene with Celestia looking out the window]

[Scene In: Night. A large clearing in the middle of Everfree, with the startings of buildings and small tents set up all around. Silent Dagger,  Gen. Coriolunis, and Luna (followed by a detachment of royal guards who look very out of place and semi-nervous) walk through the construction and inspect the progress.]

Silent Dagger:  ...Over here shall be our granary, and over there we shall grow the necessary crops for our sustenance. We're going to go for self-sustainability over anything else.

Luna: That is all fine and good, Silent, but what of our people? Has the word gone out of the construction.

Silent Dagger: Yes, yes. The word has gone out to everyone, from our people in hiding to our spies. Many have chosen to come back, but some have stated they'd rather stay with their current lives, and continue to worship the moon on their own.

Luna: That is fine. And our military force, General Coriolunis?

Gen. Coriolunis: I have sent the word. All of our forces are currently on the move, and we're going to solidify here and see what we've got. Unfortunately, our spies in the royal guard have to be replaced, lest we spark an incident with Celestia. They have been informed, and are currently looking for replacements before our men and woman can return to us.

Luna: Good, I wish to bring all of my people together. I am planning on announcing our new city to the world. And a new city requires a new name, does it not?

Silent Dagger: What were you thinking for the name, Your Highness?

Luna: Lunaris. I'd like this place to be called Lunaris.

Silent Dagger: An excellent name, my liege.

Gen. Coriolunis (under his breath): Tch...Kiss up.

Luna: Do we know how many ponys are amongst our ranks?

[A pony walks up,  from the other direction, followed by a few assistants. She was just in ear-shot of that question]

Nightshade: I believe I can answer that.

Luna:  And who are you?

Nightshade: I'm the mare they picked to run the build effort, and possibly run the town after we have something stable enough to be called as such. The name is Nightshade, and you, your highness, should never feel uncomfortable asking anything of me. (Bow)

Luna: Ah, perfect! What is the answer to my question then.

Nightshade: Our census just came in recently. It's a bit rough, but we think it's about right. We are reporting a total of about 1000 adult mares and stallions. That's twice the size of Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and Appleloosa combined. About the size of Canterlot, but  still smaller than big cities such as Manehattan. 200 have decided not to come back to us, however, or will come back to us at a later, undetermined time.

Luna: That much!? I am happily surprised that our people have been fruitful, even while in hiding, but how is it that we will be able to feed all of those people.

Nightshade: We won't. It will take more than a few years to build this city, but my advisors and I agree, we should not build this city. We should build a village, but we will eventually need to move. It is not our wish to destroy the Everfree forest, but if we stay here, we would take it over in short order. To that end, our advisors have requested that we continue looking for new places to make our home.

Luna: So...shall Lunaris wait?

Nightshade: It is up to you, your Highness.

Luna: I shall keep it for when we have our own city...

Gen Coriolunis: Perhaps even when we have our own country.

Luna: Then I need a new name...

Silent Dagger: Perhaps we should name it after someone who you admire, or someone you think deserves accolades. Perhaps something that would have multiple meanings?

Luna: Hmmm...I shall think on this... Thank you all. I believe this may be the start of something great. Now if you excuse me, I must go and take care of some issues in Canterlot, thank you all for your time.

Silent Dagger, Gen. Coriolunis and Nightshade et. all but Luna and the nervous guards( bow): May the darkness of night protect you.

Luna: And you as well.

[Fade Scene after Luna and her guards get into a guard-drawn chariot and fly off]

[Scene in: Day. Canterlot throne room. Celestia is reading a message when the two guards that were following Luna make their entrance.]

Celestia(without looking away from the message): Status report.

Guard 1: There's a lot of them, much more than we expected. There's going to be about 800 coming back to help out in the rebuilding, and up to 200 are going to come back at some point in the future.

Guard 2: That General Coriolunis is not to be trusted, either. He claimed that they would eventually have their own country. The rest seem honest enough, though anyone named "Silent Dagger" is probably worth looking in to.

Celestia(looking down at them): That is fine, keep surveillance up and continue your reports.

Guard 2: Yes, your highness.

[The two turn to leave, walking out almost completely, the first guard turning around right before leaving]

Guard 1: Oh, and, Princess. They picked a name.

Celestia: Oh? What is it?

Guard 1: Philomenia

[Fade Scene]

A/N: This is using the map "Equestria and Beyond: rev 8.1" by hlissner. I picked "The Fade" as the title of the unknown lands to the north. Just seemed to fit in well with the theme of the other two.