A thousand years. A thousand dark, lonely years our lady Luna waited alone on the moon. All because she wished to be Celestia's equal. All because she wanted other ponies to enjoy the night as much as she, as much as us. She dared to question the order of things and she paid dearly. As did we for daring to back her when she decided it was time to fight for that equality.

Oh yes, all of you ponies now love the day, sleep at night as told. Have you ever bothered to question the true reason for this? Surely in her 'Infinite' power Celestia could have allowed her citizens to flourish in the night just as well as in the day. But look out your window one night when there is no street light or lantern to guide you. Can you see? Does society so much as function on a basic level in the night? No. THAT is her work, that is her way of assuring our lady Luna wouldn't be allowed her place.

Yes, she is more cunning than any truly give her credit for. Why do you think she still rules? The people have never questioned her rule in recent years because they do not know better. Because that is how they were raised after the first and only rebellion was put down. But there were times in the past when they did question her. History refuses to acknowledge this, because it inspires thought.

Soon we will reveal to all the truth. That she is a tyrant and that lady Luna was only punished for trying to give us all a choice. It wasn't 'eternal' night that she fought for back then, but an equal right to enjoy the night and day as we pleased. To follow whatever princess we wished. Simply for an equal place, ruling alongside her sister rather than taking a back seat because government simply didn't function after the sun fell.

As for who 'we' are? We were the ones that stood by Luna's side in her darkest hour. The last of her loyalists, the Lunar guard. Soldiers that would have happily faced exile and death at her side. Instead she bid us away in the final moments, due to the final plan I would devise for that war. To seal ourselves away in wait for her eventual return. I and four companions would raise a new lunar resistance once our waking time came. This time we would not fail. This shall be the story of our glorious return or of the final fall of Luna's hope. Which it shall be is up to fate herself. -Midnight

Midnight

To us it was merely a flash of light. It was a mere second, a blink and it was over. Yet for the rest of the world a thousand years had passed. It was difficult to believe admittedly. As my eyes re-focused on the darkness surrounding us and the world began to take shape again I honestly thought for a moment that the spell had failed given the cavern we'd chosen to use was precisely the same as when we had first arrived. Well, aside from the bats having returned.

I stretched my wings as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave, taking the time to look around to my companions before nodding mostly to myself. They seemed alright. I coughed to get their attention and gestured toward the entrance, each of them nodding in ascent and following as I began the walk. As we made our way toward the entrance I began to take note of some smaller discrepancies that quickly made me realize my doubts about the spell may well have been unfounded. Small trickles of water from a nearby river that seemed to have eroded its way closer, sections that had caved in and others that had collapsed into a seemingly bottomless cavern on the side opposite the river. But it wasn't until we finally reached the entrance that we had all the proof we needed.

In the days of the war this land had been clear cut for a base and then scorched by Celestia's forces when they found it. But as we moved the remains of the rock that we had used to hide the cave we found ourselves lost instantly. The land was filled with trees as far as the eye could see. It was verdant and alive , every single tree bearing apples on their branches that looked truly delicious.

We weren't here to eat, nor to sight-see however, so I turned to my companions and coughed to grab their attention. My first orders in this 'new world' went to the Pegasus and the Earthbound of the group, Night Glimmer and Grand Hammer respectively.

“Glimmer, I want you to take to the sky while we still have the night to conceal our movements. Scout the surrounding areas for any signs of civilization. Do not interact, we have no way of knowing if they will speak our language any longer. I merely wish to know where the nearest supplies might lay from here, as well as the nearest source of resistance. Hammer, you will scout the area closer to the cave. We need a safer location for our base, that cavern will be flooded the instant the area receives a good jolt. If you find signs of a more secure tunnel feel free to test the walls a bit.”

Both of them nodded and headed off, Glimmer zipping into the distance with her usual incredible speed. I then turned to the other two, a Unicorn by the name of Twisting Shadow and a Zebra by the name of Zephiel. "Shadow, I'd like you to look for the nearest settlement specifically. With your gift and the shadows all around us you should be able to hide and observe with ease, learn what you can of current culture. Zephiel, I'd like you to remain here with me. It is time we devised our new base of operations." Shadow of course responded with her typical silent nod before stepping back into the shadow of a tree and, with a flick of her horn, sinking into it.

Zephiel and I made our way back into the caves and he began to lay out his own plans as far as our abandoned cave was concerned. "I do not believe that tunnel is as structurally compromised as you might think. If we are careful we may be able to open up a small section and funnel the water into the abyss below safely without collapsing the entire thing. Though we will need materials to shore up the sections we don't want collapsing. Once this is done we would be safe to build a base inside and can hide the entrance the same way we did before. No one knows there is a cave here, or the door would have been removed. It is perfect."

As he went on I couldn't help a glance upward to the moon, longing to find our princess.

Glimmer

Such an odd feeling, truly. When last we left this place there weren't even animals left over. It was a scorched wasteland. Now? It was beautiful, verdant. It was tempting to linger among the trees and feast on the apples they held, but I had my mission. Surprisingly enough I found the first signs of civilization not far from the cave, a small farm. I could just see inide one of the windows to spot an adorable little one asleep in her bed. Though I didn't linger, making my way toward a larger site ahead. A small, quaint little town spread out before me, its citizens asleep for the night. Well, most of them.

As I flew over the center keeping high up to avoid detection I suddenly found myself face to face with another Pegasus, rushing from the cloud ahead of me..and then head to head. Next thing I knew we were both plummeting and she seemed to be struggling to right herself. I finally managed it myself as we drew close to the ground and flew down, under the Pegasus to halt her fall and land.

I let her stand with a sigh and a stretch of my wings, but as I looked up to greet her she was already face to face again, smiling as she spoke, "Whoa, sorry. Didn't mean to hit you but I gotta hurry! Delivering mail takes ALL day."

A mail-mare? She seemed a bit klutzy for that, especially given the puzzling expression.. Still I coughed and forced a smile, trying to get my voice working. "It is fine. But if I may I'd like to ask you to please keep my presence here a secret." At her confused look I looked on pleadingly "Please. I must remain hidden for the time being."

She thought for a mere five seconds before nodding and smiling. "Yep, your secret is safe with me. I gotta go though, see ya new pony." With that she was off, smacking into a sign along her path into the air. She seemed nice, that was a good sign. I was honestly worried they'd all be brainwashed and emotionless by now. Though looking around the town that seemed more and more unlikely.

It was a charming little town, truly. Everyone lived so close and it was all so colorful, the whole town probably knew one another like family. At least that was what it was like for me before it was taken away. Still I took to the air once again, intending to make my way out of town quickly. That crash likely alerted any guards they might have had posted.

As I lifted off once more I looked out over the sleepy little town and felt a pang of desire in my heart. It had been so long since I'd seen my home. Of course I knew I would never see it again, but this place brought back memories I'd hoped would remain buried. Still, I had a mission, no time to dwell on them. I made my way off toward the nearby lands, taking note of landmarks here and there. From the rather massive tree which seemed to have a home built into it, to the smaller home on the outskirts on the opposing side where I could see dozens of animals gathered and frolicking happily around a single yellow pony who was washing a... bear?

I shook my head and pushed myself further, to the edges of a strangely eerie forest where I took the time to observe the actual boundaries of the town, noting yet more orchards as I passed in the direction of Canterlot. Of course I had no intentions of flying out that far just to see what we already knew. The castle would still be standing. No, instead I began to veer off toward the west, Though I quickly came to a halt, ducking low as I could as I noticed a strange tower atop a particularly thick cloud, the oddest rainbow liquid falling from it.

The home of another Pegasus no doubt. I made my way for the nearest trees, buzzing between them to try to avoid detection in case they were out and about already. Though much to my dismay it would prove hopeless. In moments I noticed a figure to my side, weaving through the trees with amazing ease despite the incredible speed she displayed. Should have known I wouldn't be able to evade another of my kind. I growled in effort, jetting off to the south into a thicker section, trying to put some distance between us, but it would prove fruitless. She was just too fast, too used to the forest.

“Heeeeyyy!” I heard her call out from behind, closing on me. “Hold on will ya, you're gonna crash if you keep this up!” I knew she was likely right. I simply didn't know the area. I should have stopped; Instead I pushed myself forward as hard as I could manage. I couldn't give up, I couldn't be cau-

Midnight

I glanced upward as we exited the cave once again, noticing the sun had risen above us and glancing around. No report from Glimmer. Hammer had come in an hour ago, reporting no caves in much better shape near us. It seemed Zephiel's plan would have to suffice. Well I say suffice, he had surprised me as he always did with the plans he'd whipped up within mere moments of surveying our awakening point. Though I grew worried now, it was noon and Glimmer was not one to be late. She was easily among the fastest members of the Lunar Republic's aerial forces. I could only hope if she had found trouble that Shadow would be able to aid her.

Author's Note

Alright, going to take a crack at this writing thing again. I know it might not be 'professional' level but I hope it's at least good enough for a start. Sorry about the lack of advanced punctuation for those that love it but I just can't seem to wrap my head around those. Anyway, advise is welcome and if any proofreaders see this and wanna take a crack at making me a better writer, feel free.

As for comments on the story itself I'll say this, expect Glimmer to be a big part later on. and for things to go a little differently than one might expect of a story involving five of a guy's OCs as main characters. This is not a group of nice people...with maybe one or two exceptions. And characters that will appear? Well, I know the ones I have tagged, but honestly pretty much anyone could end up making an appearance by the end.