Chapters

1 Lights in the Sky
2 The Horn of a Dilemma
3 Freedom and Incarceration
4 The Deception Begins
6 Truth Revealed
7 Luna to the Fore
8 Preparing for Battle
9 To Recover a Princess
10 The Badlands
11 Tea and Cakes
5 A Terrible Accident

1 Lights in the Sky
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

1 Lights in the Sky

“It happened again this morning” said Luna, casually sipping a perfectly infused cup of tea whilst staring absent-mindedly over its gently swirling aroma at her sister “At just the same time as before.”

The dark brown mahogany table was laid formally with a tasteful combination of bone china and silver, complemented with two candles aglow. Two places were set, one at each end, at one end a midnight blue alicorn at the end of her night’s duty while at the other end a white alicorn prepared for her busy day of engagements to start.

“How many times is that now, Luna?” asked the white mare returning her gaze.
“Every morning for the last week. It may even have been happening before, but it is faint and you have to know to look for it.”
“What do you propose to do about it?” asked the white mare helping herself to a sumptuous looking deep-filled frosted Danish, trying to convince herself that the healthy benefit of the fruit filling outweighed any calories that the delectable treat may contain.
“As it occurs at the cusp of dawn, I wondered if we should both go and take a closer look as I cannot say for certain whose domain it falls into.”
“An early morning stretch would be nice for once. Shall we say tomorrow?”

The blue mare gestured to one of the servants that she had finished with her plate and he trotted over obediently to take it from her, topping up her tea at the same time. She smiled her thanks, acknowledging his attentiveness and then returned her attention to her sister.
“Yes, that would fit in with me perfectly. I suggest that if we are prepared, say a half hour before, then we could fly up and take our rest on a cloud to get a better view when it appears.”

“If it appears, Luna. I suspect by the simple act of our concentrated observation it may decide not to show up.”
“Be that as it may, Sister, I remain intrigued as to what could cause a green flash to occur in the sky at such regularity. My research has yielded nothing.”

Celestia took another cake; they were especially tasty today she noticed, and it would be a great pity if some were left to be returned to the kitchen where the pastry chef could see his craftsmanship rejected. That, she thought, would be a crime, and eased her conscience by helping herself to just one more.

“Did you take the opportunity to look in my library?” she asked, brushing a few escaped flakes of pastry from her lips.
“Thank you, Sister, yes; your librarian was especially helpful, but we still turned up nothing.”
“How odd” commented the white mare, taking another deep bite, while trying hard not to betray any outward sign of the blissful delight that the crumbly delicacies were giving her.
The Royal Sisters enjoyed an unhurried meal during which the platter of cakes mysteriously emptied without Luna even trying one.

“You know Sister” said Luna delicately replacing the china cup on to its matching saucer “I fail to comprehend the delight you derive from tea.”
“It’s reviving, it stimulates the senses and it goes especially well with cake” replied Celestia.
“Perhaps I should try some cake, you know, to confirm your hypothesis for myself.”
“Well, of course” said Celestia, turning to look at the freshly emptied platter where the cakes used to be and halting suddenly “Or maybe tomorrow. It looks like we were short today …”

“Really?” teased Luna, shooting her sister an enquiring look that made a pink blush appear prominently on the pure white face.
“Um … I really don’t know where they could have gone …” she said sheepishly.
Luna stared at her levelly, one eyebrow raised and a smile forming on her face.
“Oh alright!” confessed Celestia begrudgingly “I ate them all!”
“I know” replied Luna with a gentle giggle “Maybe I can have one tomorrow then?”

Luna rose and the two sisters embraced tenderly, Luna wiping the last few pastry crumbs from Celestia’s lips.
“Well, at least it looks like they tasted nice” she teased gently, feeling the warmth of her sister’s blushing increase noticeably. Celestia flustered slightly before changing the subject to more serious matters, her voice becoming suddenly more assertive “I’ll meet you on the balcony at half an hour before dawn tomorrow morning then?”

“How will I recognise you?” joshed Luna.
“Oh, I’ll stand out in the crowd - I’ll be wearing a bowler hat and have a red carnation in my button hole!” responded Celestia joining in with the playful banter.
“Tomorrow then, Sister.”
“Love you, Lulu.”
“Love you too Celly.”

***

As she knew that her sister would be out with her to see the night sky, Luna made a special effort to find time and decorate it to its finest; the stars all had an extra added sparkle and a meteor shower just happened to be going on as well. Those who stayed out that night; the astronomers, the insomniac poets and those who had jobs that demanded their keeping hours that most would have found antisocial were all treated to the most wonderful display, one that made them feel just a cut above the regular sun-loving majority.

Luna stood on the balcony feeling a gentle pre-dawn breeze ruffle her feathers slightly. She shook her head to settle her mane but without making any snort or whinny that may detract from the perfect beauty unfolded across the sky in every direction; she was proud of her work.

A subdued clop of hooves on the stone announced the arrival of her sister long before any words were exchanged. She stayed looking down the bearing where the meteor shower was coming from and was shortly rewarded by another brilliant flash leaving a long bright streak across the sky. She nodded her head in silent approval and listened as the perfect quiet was punctuated by a soft voice beside her.

“That was particularly beautiful” commented Celestia.
“Yes, one of many such tonight. Sometimes you may look up and just see a long flash but without observing a trail; this more often than not is a meteor burning up as it comes straight towards you.”
Celestia gasped “Is it safe to be out when this is happening?”
“Actually” giggled Luna softly “They still come during the daytime, but nopony sees them against the brightness of the sunlit sky.”
“Oh” said Celestia, a little uncertainly.
“Do not worry Sister, there are no records of ponies ever having been injured by them.”

Celestia untensed imperceptibly; probably betrayed by the smallest movement that only her sister, who had known her for hundreds of years, would ever pick up on. She had moved closer during their conversation but still kept a respectful gap between them; this was Luna’s domain, after all. She was the conductor of an orchestra comprising myriad individual sparkling lights that danced at her command all across the rich dark tapestry of the night sky until she laid them to rest in the morning.

Celestia immersed herself in the night’s embrace, appreciating the subtle mix of bold and finely detailed tableaux subtly knitted together seamlessly above and around her. Each glittering gem was so close and yet so distant should one try to reach out and capture it; a compete jewellery box filled with treasures shared freely with anypony who had only to look up.

“You have outdone yourself tonight Luna” said Celestia with deep respect in her voice “I could never manage to create such splendour while it was under my stewardship.”

“I’m sure you did an admirable job, but my talent has always been to express myself through artistry where you express yourself through the power of words in all their infinite forms. I should struggle to master your talents of diplomacy and writing in much the same way as I expect the finer points of the visual aesthetic will remain beyond your grasp.”

After a pause Luna continued “But we are not here to provide each other with mutual admiration, moreover we have a more urgent task at hand. We have time to reach a good vantage point if you are ready?”

Celestia nodded and the two most impressive ponies in Equestria lifted into the early morning air side by side, climbing up over the magical city of Canterlot and banking gently as they set course for a few scattered clouds left by the weather ponies.

Luna flew significantly more than her sister, while Celestia ate significantly more cake, the combination of which soon found Luna having to moderate her speed for her sister to keep up. Soon they approached the clouds and Celestia plomped down gratefully while Luna executed a slow and graceful descent to alight on a little cloud nearby, whereupon she tucked her forelegs neatly underneath her and watched expectantly in a specific well-rehearsed direction. The time was drawing near now.

Celestia followed her sister’s lead and faced the same way, unsure of what to expect, but looking forward to tea and cake afterwards.

“Any … second … now …” said Luna.

As if having waited for her cue, there was a sudden flash and a translucent green orb appeared, yellow fingers of electricity crackling around its surface. Luna had judged their position well; it was only a matter of a few hundred yards away and slightly below them.
”Come on!” she urged, springing off her cloud and gliding down to orbit round the conspicuous new arrival.
“Celly, look!” she cried “There’s a pony inside – no, wait – it’s an alicorn!”
“It’s seen us!” called back Celestia “Look it’s shouting something!”
“It looks like a cry for help!” shouted Luna over the electrical crackling of the orb “We haven’t got much time if we’re going for a rescue!”

“Come to me” shouted Celestia and Luna obliged, both alicorns pointing their horns at the orb as each summoned their power and a yellow and a blue stream of energy shot forth. The captive alicorn inside flapped its wings while it continued shouting and scrambling to get out, but in a flash both the orb and its prisoner had disappeared.

The stunned sisters looked at each other.

“Home?” suggested Celestia.

“Home” agreed Luna.

2 The Horn of a Dilemma
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

2 The Horn of a Dilemma

In place of the subtle decorum and witty conversational games over yesterday’s breakfast, Celestia and Luna burst in upon landing, driving roughshod over courtly protocol.
“Did you recognise the alicorn?” asked Luna, placing herself down at table.
“No, but her form looked female” replied Celestia walking round to her own place setting without waiting to be shown as was accepted etiquette.

“Do you think we would have freed her if we’d have had a little longer?
“I don’t know; it’s so difficult to tell” replied Celestia pensively “Has it always appeared for only such a short time?”
“Yes” replied Luna “But I can’t be sure it will do the same again tomorrow now we have interacted with it.”

The Maître d’, a pony who thrived on a personal code anchored in rigid adherence to self-discipline and following established order, was startled by the sudden and unannounced departure from accepted courtly protocol that had been established during his service to the Royal Princesses. His inflexibly repressed nature was screaming to protest, but with whom could he lodge a complaint? It was the Princesses whom he served that were the cause of the dissonance within his strictly self-imposed straitjacket of a moral code, and thus he had no higher authority to whom he could appeal.

Meanwhile he was acutely aware that the serving staff could see the dining room descending into chaos as the Princesses breached their own laid down protocol and began to panic inwardly at the thought of how they must be regarding him due to his own inability to stamp any authority over the situation and bring it into line. Yet, he was in no place to reprimand the Princesses. He took the bravest action he could muster under the circumstances and quietly cleared his throat in an attempt to focus the Princesses upon him and his authority in his dining room, whilst not being seen to rise noticeably as a challenge against them.

It was all frighteningly complicated and it made his head spin, wishing the meal would be over as soon as possible, but the intensity of the discussion between the two Diarchs showed no signs of abating. He wanted to take a further, even more radical step of showing his disapproval at the situation by resorting to gentle tutting or even a slight disapproving shake of his head, but lacked the courage to do it.

“I know she’s held within that bubble, but what if it’s a prison?” proposed Celestia “Have you thought that maybe she’s being locked up for society’s benefit?”
“Yes, but what if she has been imprisoned by an evil force and wishes to alert us before the same fate befalls us?” countered Luna.

Stalemate.

“Very well, but if we are to try and release her, then by what means?” pondered Celestia “Our spell earlier didn’t work.”
“Perhaps that was because we left it too late and there was not enough time for it to build to the intensity to dissipate the bubble?” countered Luna.

“There’s always tomorrow morning.”
“If it returns following our having attacked it today.”

“We should each consider the matter and meet tomorrow as we did today” concluded Celestia “We can decide then what to do, but at least we will be prepared.”
“A good decision, Sister. Let us eat; I am eager to take you up on yesterday’s offer of trying the cakes.”

Celestia blanched. She had offered, but now she was put on the spot, she would have to lose one or even two. Even if it was her sister who would be the beneficiary, it was still hard for her to want to part with any of them.
“Are you sure you really want to try them?” she asked tentatively “You may not want to rush into following through on the suggestion quite yet.”

Luna giggled. She had struck her sister’s weakness and she knew it, but still enjoyed winding her up.
“Which one do you recommend I should consider as my introduction to cakes?” she enquired mischievously.

Celestia froze, trying to suppress the look of fear that wanted to break out on her face. Which one would she be prepared to sacrifice?

At length, she levitated the plainest looking one that she felt she would miss least and passed it to her sister with the finest charade of forced bonhomie that she could muster.
“So kind, Sister” smirked Luna appreciatively, breaking the crumbly delicacy and indulging herself to the accompaniment of a cup of freshly poured tea.

Luna nibbled at the pastry and gave an exaggerated gasp of delight as Celestia watched, horror-struck.
“You know, Sister” she said, taking a sip of tea and crossing her hind legs languidly “I could quite come to enjoy this.”

***

Luna’s night duties were drawing to an end as she waited for her sister to meet her on the balcony once more. She was less happy with the display than she had been the night before. This was principally because she had been wrestling with the decision tree of options presented to her with the imminent prospect of the crackling green orb returning and what course of action would be for the best. She had turned the problem over in her mind many times during her night time watch over Equestria, and had reached the point where she could competently argue against any decision that her sister suggested, yet felt little confidence in her ability to make the right decision herself.

She looked upwards and felt distinctly dissatisfied with her work, snorting her disapproval as she pawed at the stone tiles with her forehoof and bucked her head, her ethereal mane shimmering as each glittering speck danced to an unseen choreography in the rippling sheen of her regal splendour.

Far from being rested, Celestia strode out to join her sister, feeling that a little more sleep would have served her very well. She too had been troubled by the choice that lay ahead, and the potential repercussions for Equestria had chased each other round in her head well into the night.

“Good morning, Luna” she greeted “Have you reached a decision you are comfortable with?”
“No, Sister” she replied, “I was hoping you may have been able to rationalise the problem in a way that I have not yet managed.”

“Our initial instinct was to free the pony from her prison. Had the bubble not disappeared when it did, our acting out of compassion would have doubtless released her. This was a choice we made in the heat of the moment, but nonetheless it was a joint decision. Had we succeeded, she would now be free, for better or for worse. Whilst I appreciate this could be an unwise action, have we learned anything overnight that makes us challenge our previous decision?”

Luna fell silent. Her sister had clearly thought through all the possible outcomes as had she, and presented a coherent argument that hinged on their decision to release the alicorn the day before.

Had anything changed? Well, no.

Was there any reason why they shouldn’t proceed? Yes, too many to list.

Would they ultimately act out of compassion or caution? Probably always the former – everypony deserved a chance, after all.

“We should try again to release her” she said finally.
Celestia nodded.
“Let’s get into position then, shall we?”

3 Freedom and Incarceration
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

3 Freedom and Incarceration

The two sisters beat their majestic wings and rose into the air together aiming for the same patch of sky where they had seen the orb the day before. Neither spoke, both weighed down by the excess baggage of their own thoughts, as their journey passed wingbeat at a time.

Luna judged the rough position at which she expected the orb to re-appear and as they climbed, she looked around for any clouds that may be suitable to rest on while they waited. There were more than yesterday and so she chose one that could accommodate the both of them together, allowing them to bond briefly and provide an opportunity to share last minute thoughts and observations that may indicate that either one of them had weakened in their resolve.

One of the things they both recalled vividly was that the orb had not yielded even in the face of their combined efforts, albeit for only a short period of exposure to their power, so it was clear that they both needed to be focused and working in unison if they were going to stand any chance of releasing the pony held prisoner within.

They waited, poised, for the orb to appear as it had done with such regularity over the last week. Their anticipation caused time to drag, providing the appearance that they had been waiting far longer than was actually true, but they both felt it just the same and it gnawed at them both.

Then, without any warning there was the green flash they were looking for over to their right, and much further away than before.
“Come, Sister” called Luna “We have much ground to cover if we are to get close enough to be effective!”

With mounting urgency, they dropped off their cloud and headed as fast as they could towards the crackling green orb. The pony within had seen them and appeared to be throwing itself against the walls of its prison, beating its wings and moving its mouth as if shouting.

“Are you sure, Sister?” asked Luna as they drew closer, desperately seeking reassurance for her uncertain rationale.
“It is a joint decision Luna, whether right or wrong” replied Celestia flapping her wings with some urgency and lowering her head.

Her stance was clear.

Luna tilted her head as well and two auras shot out almost simultaneously to drive straight into the surface of the orb. The yellow electrostatic crackling intensified around the points at which the magic impacted it, flaring angrily as if receiving a wound. The yellow crackling grew in intensity as if fighting to resist the magic, until suddenly the surface of the orb puckered and peeled open under the intensity of the onslaught. The pony within pressed itself against the far side of the sphere to avoid accidental injury as the powerful display continued.

“Switch off!” called Celestia who could see that they had made a hole, and Luna immediately complied. In an instant, the pony within made a dive for the hole and threw itself out unfurling its wings and flying unsteadily over towards its rescuers as the punctured remains of its green hued prison spiralled lazily downwards, the yellow crackling dimming to nothing as its power faded.

“Thank you so much for my rescue my friends” it said breathlessly with a feminine lilt “I am Sunchaser and I fear my wings may soon give out. May we please rest somewhere?”

Celestia beheld the yellow alicorn with striking orange and white mane and tail and gestured to some nearby clouds. The party of three alicorns made its way over to them together, the Royal Princesses flanking the new arrival lest she tumble out of the sky before reaching a place to rest.

Sunchaser did not so much alight upon a cloud, rather she impacted it clumsily, her legs collapsing as she landed, and her head swung forward into the soft cushioning of the cloud. She lay panting heavily, barely moving as the Royal Sisters looked both at her and each other, and then back again before landing at a distance which was a compromise between being close enough to offer solidarity yet far enough away to provide a degree of personal space.

“Do you need help?” advanced Luna once their visitor appeared to have her breathing more under control, receiving a slight shake of the head in response.
“Just want to catch my breath please” Sunchaser answered between gasps.

“It’s so sweet to be out of that hellish confinement” she said, stumbling unsteadily to her hooves “I really am most grateful. By the way, where am I and who are you?”
“I am Princess Celestia and my Sister is Princess Luna. Together, we are responsible for looking after the ponies and the land of Equestria, which is where you are now.”
“In that case, I am doubly in your debt. Thank you, Princesses.”

“You are quite welcome” said Luna “But tell us, what were you doing inside that bubble at all?”
“I confess I have never heard of Equestria. I used to reign over the land of Bridleberg, but we were attacked by a shapeshifter who infiltrated the highest echelons of our society and turned everypony against me. Next thing, I was sentenced to banishment within the magical prison globe you saw. It’s a particularly horrible punishment; its surface is held in place by high magic that cannot be broken by one alicorn alone, and provides just enough life support to sustain the prisoner in a living death.”

“That sounds truly awful” said Luna “But how did this globe of yours appear and disappear?”
“I don’t know; that was something that only recently started to happen. Sorry – I didn’t know every aspect of the spell that was cast, nor do I know how long I have been held captive, but I am truly grateful it has been broken. While I recognise that I am in your debt, I should like to be able to return to my own land and release my ponies from the thrall of the shapeshifter as soon as you will allow.”

“You will need to recover your strength before you can consider such a bold move” said Celestia “We will help you whichever way we can, but our first responsibility is to assist you in your recuperation. If you have been captive for such a long time, a few more weeks won’t make a great deal of difference; please would you accept our hospitality?”

“You are most gracious, Princesses; thank you. Is your castle close by?”
“Not too far away” replied Celestia “We can summon a chariot if you feel you need?”
“Thank you, I feel faint; most probably some after effects of the imprisonment” said Sunchaser “Perhaps that would be a good idea, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

Luna took her cue and rose gently into the air sharing a nod with her sister before turning towards Canterlot to make the appropriate arrangements.

Celestia turned back to the frail Sunchaser and was startled to see a sturdy looking white alicorn with flowing pink, blue and green mane staring straight back into her eyes, a flash of green emanating from her horn.
“Farewell gullible Celestia” cackled the other white alicorn “I’m sending you to the sun!”

Too late Celestia recalled Sunchaser’s mention of the shapeshifter backstory that the imposter had told.
“It’s you …!” she gasped, wide-eyed with the realisation that she had been deceived and disappearing in a flash of green magic as the shapeshifter laughed insanely.

“The Princess is dead” affirmed the new Celestia “Long live the Queen!”

4 The Deception Begins
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

4 The Deception Begins

Staring down over the edge of the cloud, the white alicorn watched as the dark blue Princess led one of Celestia’s chariots up towards the cloud she was on. She allowed herself one more throaty cackle before flexing her majestic white wings and setting off to intercept the party coming towards her.

Luna looked up and was confused. Why had her sister left the clearly exhausted Sunchaser to come down and meet her?

“Sister, Sister!” called the white alicorn “Something terrible has happened – Sunchaser vanished as she lay on the cloud recovering! I feel so awful, as if I am responsible … I just don’t know what to say; one minute she was there, and the next she had gone. I’m so, so sorry …”
“Do not blame yourself, Sister” calmed Luna “There is strange magic afoot. If you will allow, I can cast a spell which may reveal what has happened.”

The shapeshifter thought fast, realising that Luna would probably be able to detect the fresh residue of the magic she had used only a matter of minutes ago.
“Sister, I … I’m not feeling so good” she acted “I … I don’t know what’s wrong, but I suddenly feel dizzy …”
“Sister, we must get you to the Royal Physician without delay!” instructed Luna rallying to her sister’s aid “It is lucky we have a chariot here for you.”
“Don’t … don’t leave my side, Luna …”
“Of course, Sister” replied Luna, now suddenly feeling concerned for her safety; such a request had never left her lips before, so her need was clearly great.

“Sirs!” she barked to the charioteers who had parked on the cloud “Celestia is unwell and I think it has something to do with the strange magic we have seen this morning. I must stay with her in the back and comfort her.”
Both charioteers looked at the Princess of the Night and then at each other, both poised resolutely for whatever duties they had to perform to protect the Princesses.

Luna did not want to catalyse any further mishaps with the magic flying around today and elected to carry her sister manually to the chariot rather than use a levitation spell that would have been considerably easier. Celestia was her sister and even though she had sent Luna to the moon for a thousand years, the bond was very strong and she lovingly carried the much heavier pony over to the waiting chariot, gently resting her down before climbing in herself and giving the order to go.

The white alicorn suppressed a malevolent grin as Luna fussed over her and reassured her that she would soon be receiving the best medical attention in Equestria, never leaving her side for an instant. For some reason, Luna found her energy depleting in close proximity to her sister, but put it down to yet another effect of the weird magic that had been in evidence this morning. At the same time, the white alicorn almost purred with the love she was drawing into her veins.

The charioteers made a perfect landing with no hint of a bump, coming to a stop in the courtyard of the Royal Castle as close as they could to the infirmary. Despite her sudden tiredness, Luna sprang out and hustled the orderlies, demanding the immediate presence of the Royal Physician and ordering in no uncertain terms that he was to be pulled from his bed if it was necessary. She was a whirlwind of activity, but once everypony had been alerted to the medical emergency and for whom their services were required, she returned to supervise the white alicorn being unloaded from the chariot, casting a protective eye and daring anypony to face her wrath if they caused any further harm. Whilst she had once craved Equestria for herself, she knew now this was not the right path and would forevermore be prepared to fight to the death to protect her sister.

A crowd soon formed as would-be helpers jostled amongst each other to offer their services, none remaining unmoved by the sight of Princess Celestia, their brave defender, being handled from the chariot. Sure, they knew she was immortal, but what if the prophecy was wrong? What if they were watching the last moments of the Sun Princess? No matter what hardships she had faced, nopony had ever seen her fail to carry herself with regal statesmanship; this was surely a constitutional crisis unfolding before their eyes!

A blanket was thrown over her white body and a drip plunged into her foreleg with an orderly carrying the attached bottle aloft as she was manoeuvred carefully inside, ponies scuttling in every direction. With the body gently placed on an operating table, the Royal Physician, still in his nightshirt was seen to force his way through the crowd.

“Only those on the Resus Team with me, everypony else OUT!” he demanded, then adding in a much more reverential tone “Except for you Princess Luna, if you would like to stay.”

She looked into his eyes and knew that her hanging about would only complicate matters, so out of respect for the job he had to do, she filed out with the others, the Physician giving her a grateful nod of thanks as she departed. As Luna watched from the viewing gallery, she sensed that something was wrong, but couldn’t put her finger on it. Whatever it was, it was going to bug her for some time to come.

High above Canterlot a cloud coated with magic residue dissipated, removing all evidence of what had happened.

***

Luna was kept busy with taking on responsibilities for controlling the disparate functions during both day and night; keeping oiled the mechanisms that allowed ponies’ daily lives to progress smoothly. Controlling the sun and moon was the easy part; moreover it was the politics of holding Court that really dragged her down. She was an artist, not a politician and found it difficult to decipher the hidden meanings behind the words and actions that appeared so positive on the surface, but yet were barbed with unannounced and unintended consequences. She developed a much more acute respect for her sister’s abilities now she was the one upon whom total responsibility fell, very much as Celestia had for a thousand years without her support, and this was only the first day.

As Luna turned day into night, she felt drawn between the two emotions of wanting to do a beautiful job of painting the night sky, yet also craving a few hours sleep. In the end, her nocturnal body clock prevailed and she carried out the roles of both sky artist and dream walker, but neither to a degree that satisfied her own personal standards.

Soon it was time for dawn and she set about nudging the moon down to rest, rest she had not had herself, before raising the sun for the daily rituals of courtly life to begin over. She was tired; her body conspiring with the worries she had for her sister to leave her exhausted with a full day of commitments ahead.

Word had been relayed every hour round the clock to advise that her sister was making a steady recovery, but only now was she finally allowed to go visit. The Royal Physician had, of course, granted Luna access at any hour as she chose, but she waited out of professional courtesy to be summoned at a time that suited both him and his patient.

The Royal Physician’s invitation had been received during a particularly dull political debate about a proposed new colour scheme for the post boxes in Equestria, a subject that gave opposing politicians the opportunity to make long impassioned speeches that ultimately led nowhere of consequence, but had to be played out anyway. Escape could not come soon enough.

She politely thanked the page who had come with the notification and tendered her apologies to all present, those who had not yet spoken being particularly crestfallen that their well-rehearsed and long-winded rhetorical prowess would not be heard by the Princess today.

Although she wanted to race to her sister’s side, she appreciated that any serious change in her condition would have been met with a much more urgent request for her attendance, so restrained her eager hoofsteps as befitted royalty within the castle.

The Royal Physician stood ready to intercept her and drew the Princess to one side, leading her into his office.
“Your Majesty, the Princess Celestia is recovering well, but rejects even the smallest amounts of food. Not only that, but she keeps making elementary lapses in judgement and comment, almost as if parts of her memory are missing. I cannot be certain how the events you described affected her, but she is not yet herself; however, she is insistent on returning to duty, so I cannot refuse her. I would suggest that you shadow her in her duties, just for the time being to ensure that her recent lapses do not lead to significant embarrassment within the Court and beyond.”

“Thank you; you serve us well” said Luna “The integrity of her judgement has never been called into question before, but none of us knows exactly what happened when Sunchaser vanished.”

The Royal Physician bowed and led Luna onward to where his patient waited.

6 Truth Revealed
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

6 Truth Revealed

As soon as she found out about the accident, Luna sought after her co-ruler, but found it difficult to track her down. Taking this as a sign of personal grief, she thought no more of it, but nevertheless continued until she could meet her in person to express her empathy and solidarity.

Luna also found herself dining alone in the morning and in the evening as the white alicorn nowadays always took her meals in her room. Further, although she gave thorough briefings on events arising during her nocturnal watch, she found that briefings from the daytime, upon which she relied to direct her dream walking activities had been all but reduced to ephemera and tittle-tattle.

In a few days, word filtered down to her from one of her most loyal Bat Pony supporters, General Cimmerian, that Royal ascent had been given to disband some of the more unpopular military outposts, especially across the Badlands. To his finely tuned military mind, this left Equestria, in his opinion at least, dangerously exposed.

Luna’s patience had reached the end of their tether and she stormed into Court whilst the business of the day was in full flow.
“Sister, I mean to discuss some issues with you” she demanded “Now.”
The Court Administrator and the ushers looked at each other and to both the Diarchs in turn, the current petitioner being rendered suddenly irrelevant.

The two alicorns stared at each other, neither saying a word, but behind their eyes, daggers had been unsheathed waiting for the call to arms.
The white alicorn laughed, a wicked cackle containing no love at all.
“Clear the Court” she commanded “Leave my Sister and me to have a little chat.”

Luna bristled, but her rage was tempered by her guilt and respect for her sister, even now.

The Court cleared quickly, everypony present sensing something unpleasant brewing between their two co-rulers. The last time this had happened, Luna had been sent to the moon for a thousand years, and nopony wanted to be caught in a rerun of that episode.

The echo of the heavy doors slamming reverberated around the tall vaulted room and as the last sound scurried for the corners, an eerie silence descended like a thick choking blanket. The two powerful ponies stared at each other, a firmness of purpose burning in their eyes.

The white alicorn rose slowly and deliberately off Celestia’s throne and slowly circled the Princess of the Night.

“What has happened to you, Celly?” she asked, her voice level and composed despite the strong mixed emotions she felt coursing through her.
“What indeed” came the enigmatic reply.

“You can still talk with me Sister” Luna persisted “We can talk this through. I don’t know what has happened to you, but you need to know I still love you and can forgive you …”
“Oh, do spare me!” mocked the white alicorn.

Luna felt hurt and perplexed, but was determined not to show any weakness.

“I can see into your soul” said the white alicorn “I can see your fears, your inadequacy, your pitiful self-doubt writ large!”
“Celestia, snap out of it!”
“And spoil my fun?” she taunted “Where would be the pleasure in that?”

“Tia …” pleaded Luna, desperate to reach her sister.
“A childhood nickname from a grown mare – how pathetic you are!” she ranted “When I was born I was a number in a hive, knowing that I had to strive and show myself better than the rest!”

“Who are you … ?” Luna gasped in horror.

“I can be Star Swirl the Bearded …” she said, suddenly changing her appearance.
“Or your mother …” again, another change.
“Or your imaginary friend …” she said turning into Snowdrop.
“No!” shouted Luna “These images are not real! Who are you?”

The image changed again in front of her to reveal a dark grey alicorn mare with blue wings, mane and tail and a shiny green and blue covering over her body. It wasn’t that which made her look scary, nor the fact that her entire being was shot through with holes making her look moth-eaten, but the worst thing was the malevolent stare from her piercing green eyes.

She laughed scornfully.

“My name is Chrysalis, Queen Chrysalis to you. I am the queen of my hive and it is my duty to ensure that my changelings are fed. In fact, they are coming across the Badlands as we speak, and would you believe it, that flank of your Empire is unguarded. What an oversight.”

“You will not succeed, Chrysalis!”
“Oh, but I already have. You see, I know you are too caught up in your own anxieties to attack me, and even if you did, you would lose. Do you want to be imprisoned in the moon for another thousand years? I have the power, you know.”

“Where is my Sister?” she asked, still sounding resolute.
“Oh, she’s gone to the sun. Poetic justice, wouldn’t you say?” crowed Chrysalis “But don’t worry about her, I sent her at night!”
“You monster!” shouted Luna, her anger starting to overflow.

Chrysalis sensed an attack coming and shapeshifted promptly back into a familiar blind light blue pegasus.
“Please don’t hurt me, Luna” she said in Snowdrop’s delicate voice.
“How dare you desecrate her memory you foul monster!”

Chrysalis just laughed again and turned back into her true form once more.
“Really Luna, can’t you think of a more inventive word? That’s twice you’ve called me a monster within the last ten seconds - you really are frightfully boring you know.”

Luna pointed her horn directly at Chrysalis.
“Uh uh” said the shapeshifter shaking her head “If you anger me, I won’t return your sister to you.”
“In case you failed to notice, I am an alicorn and have the power to bring her back myself” said Luna through pursed lips, her eyes narrowed in concentration as a blue aura began to form around her horn.

“Are you certain?” goaded Chrysalis “Because you’re going to look pretty silly if you despatch me and then find you haven’t actually got the power to bring her back yourself. Do you have such confidence in your ability that you know, really know that you don’t need me? I hope for your sake your confidence isn’t misplaced, because if you’re wrong you’ll never see your sister again, and it will all be your fault!”

Chrysalis waited for her words to sink in, then visibly relaxed, adding dismissively “I dare you.”

The anger in Luna’s furrowed brow gradually began to leech away as self-doubt grappled for the upper hoof. Chrysalis smirked, secure in the knowledge that the Princess she had come to know was saddled with a deep rooted insecurity born of having been away for a thousand years and wouldn’t be prepared to risk her only lifeline, her trusted sister.

A blinding flash of light shot from Luna’s horn, the last sight she had of Chrysalis being a startled expression of pure shock just before her mocking green eyes vanished from sight.

“Forgive me, Sister” she whispered as the first of many bitterly stinging tears ran down her dark blue muzzle. All the years she had yearned for fate to hand her such an opportunity it had never been delivered, but now it was the last thing she wanted, she had become the instrument of her final ascent to omnipotent power, and she hated it.

Still with fresh tears rolling down her fur, she ran to the doors of the throne room and banged on them demanding they be opened. The guards had not known what to expect given the tense state of affairs between the two when the Court had been cleared and seeing Princess Luna, readied themselves for further orders.

“Summon the Generals of the Night Guard and the Royal Guard immediately!” she commanded.
The Court Administrator stared at her with his mouth open and froze to the spot. The guards looked at each other fleetingly, standing in stunned stupefaction before one ran off toward the garrison leaving the other stood at attention, aching to peek inside and see what had happened to Princess Celestia, but maintaining his discipline.

“Summon the Royal Cartographer!” barked Luna staring deep into the eyes of the Court Administrator who could tell he wouldn’t be able to duck another command from the Princess “And order him to bring maps of the Badlands at the double!”
In the face of such intensity, he did not bother with the usual Court protocol but turned and ran, never having seen Luna look quite so authoritative before.

Luna turned and walked back into the deserted throne room trying to recall just exactly where she had teleported Chrysalis to, and whether it was even on this planet; her mind had been in such turmoil she had just cast the spell without working out such fine points of detail. At the time, all she knew was that if she caved in now, she would never have been able to stand up to Chrysalis at all, and with the threat of invasion on the borders, Equestria had to act or the ponies who looked to her for leadership would be lost. She knew Celestia would have done the same in her position, but it hadn’t made the decision any easier.

All the same, she prayed hard that she would have the skill to recover her sister at the first opportunity.

Author's Note

The character of Snowdrop appears in SillyFillyStudios fan episode "Snowdrop" and also "Snowy Night" [https://www.fimfiction.net/story/122674/snowy-night] by MariusIoannesP. They are both very highly recommended.

7 Luna to the Fore
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

7 Luna to the Fore

As she waited, Luna recognised that she now wore the mantle of the most powerful pony in Equestria. She wished that it hadn’t been so, but knew that she was unquestionably the best placed to respond to the incoming threat and everypony was counting on her to play her part.

She felt the need for something reassuring and rang for a servant to come from the kitchen. A timid serving mare scampered in and curtseyed repeatedly, eager to please her mistress.
“Please fetch me some cake and a cup of tea, quickly if you can” requested Luna, realising that this was precisely the same crutch that Celestia had always leaned on.

“It must be in the blood” she told herself, shaking her head at the happy memory of her sister that it had suddenly conjured up.

“Your Majesty?” enquired the serving mare, misreading Luna’s brief reverie as a pause before further orders were issued.
“Fast as you can please” she confirmed, and the serving maid ran off as quickly as she had arrived.

Luna looked around. The carpets were starting to look a bit tired and the windows needed a clean. These and other pointless irrelevancies flew through her mind as she tried to focus and pull together a plan.

The serving mare returned with a china cup clinking on its saucer on a salver, accompanied by a large slice of fruitcake. Luna had been so lost in thought, she had completely lost track of time and it seemed like only a minute since she had given her order. She thanked the server and wolfed down the cake, barely taking time to savour the subtle tastes and textures, yet something about actually eating it proved deeply satisfying.

When the generals arrived, Luna with her tea in front of her was relieved to see that it was the Night Guard who joined her first, still feeling a fleeting sense of friendly sisterly rivalry that she quickly crushed as it now felt so grotesquely out of place.

Luna stood before them and calmly explained that she and her sister had been fooled into releasing a shapeshifter, whose armies were now massing for an attack across the Badlands, from where the imposter had recently withdrawn Equestrian guards from their outposts. She also added that the shapeshifter had imprisoned Celestia in the sun and expressed her heartfelt desire that she be released as soon as she could.

Gasps rose from all around the room as Luna gave her short address before handing over to the military. Just at that moment a pair of unkempt looking unicorns in ill-fitting and badly stained robes stumbled untidily into the room clutching haphazard bundles of rolled up maps that jutted out from their grasp in a random selection of highly unlikely angles. The bespectacled elderly map maker stammered something that all present assumed to have been an apology whilst adjusting his glasses, before absent-mindedly prompting his assistant to hang a large scale map of the Badlands on a wall using his magic.

Luna smiled at the comedic value of their entrance, not making the mistake of pre-emptively dismissing their professionalism because of their rather shambolic appearance. She was quickly proven right as the map makers ran their audience through every aspect of the terrain. Some of the military personnel present had visited or even operated in this area, but others hadn’t and after a succinct briefing during which no single word was wasted, all had arrived at a common understanding of how the area could be exploited both offensively and defensively.

The mapmaker having concluded his presentation, bowed to Luna and retired to stand deferentially by the wall allowing the Princess to take centre stage. Luna, a warrior Princess by nature, slipped easily into her role as Commander in Chief, stepping up to address her audience of the most high ranking Night Guard and Royal Guard officers.

“Sirs, I know not of the scale of the force that awaits us, but I do know that the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance. We have already witnessed the chaos that can be wrought when even one shapeshifter comes among us. I cannot emphasise strongly enough what could happen if any more are allowed to infiltrate their way into Equestrian society and take over key roles in the military or the government. Failure, Sirs, is not an option.”

“It has been a long time since I have led forces into battle, but I will relish the opportunity to show another generation of brave guards what I have shown to generations before, that I will not be daunted in the face of any enemy and I will fight with the courage of twenty soldiers! Who is with me?”

The rousing and succinct speech motivated everypony present and quickly, military planning swinging into action with Night Guards and Royal Guards developing the different strands of a common strategy that would become Equestria’s only line of defence. One voice noticeably absent from the hubbub of the planning meeting was the unswervingly loyal General Cimmerian, who had taken the opportunity for a quick word with his Princess.

“Your Majesty” he said in a voice that was pitched low enough so as not to attract attention, but still carrying more authority than most ponies could ever manage to muster “A word with you, I pray.”
Luna put down her freshly emptied teacup. She could finally understand what it was that had endeared this simple ritual to her sister – serendipity.

“Yes, Cimmerian?” she replied with quiet regality.
“I must object.”

The directness of his statement shook Luna from the adrenalin high she had built up from delivering her motivational speech, and she looked at him enquiringly.

“Whilst we all respect your courage, this is a time to display leadership by staying behind and leaving the fighting to us.”
He watched Luna bristle and continued “I understand that this will not be easy for you, especially given what has happened; we are all eager to defend Equestria from whatever forces are massed against us, but you are too important to be compromised. There are only two alicorns; you are one and you are also the only gateway to the other. If we lose you, we lose both Royal alicorns, and that is an unacceptable price to expect the ponies of Equestria to pay.”

Luna looked stunned. She hadn’t considered that perspective. With nopony able to raise the sun or the moon, there would be perpetual day or night, and either would quickly spell doom for Equestria. She opened her mouth to protest, but the more she thought about it, the more she could see he was right.

“Your Majesty” he said, sensing her discomfort as her mouth moved wordlessly “If you can return Princess Celestia to us, then our need for your safety becomes less critical, but without her, you must be kept safe for everypony’s sake.”

Luna rose, her eyes itching with unspilled tears of frustration and she bit her lip hard to stop herself from shedding them right there and then, upset beyond words that after all she had been through, she could not be allowed to be part of the campaign to defend Equestria in a battle she was more than ready to lead.

She ushered him away with a few flicks of her forehoof towards the planning meeting that had become the centre of attention, grateful that their noise covered the sound of her tears. Only General Cimmerian knew, and he had already turned to join the meeting, not wishing to see his brave Princess cry.

8 Preparing for Battle
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

8 Preparing for Battle

The bitterness of General Cimmerian’s harsh reality had struck Luna hard, pulling out from under her the richness of the revenge she desired so fervently to extract from the army poised to invade Equestria. What good was she as a warrior Princess if she wasn’t allowed to fight?

The competing voices around the planning meeting subsided signifying that a strategy had been agreed and Luna knew that this was the cue for her to step in. General Cimmerian sensed rather than saw his Princess approaching and ushered a respectful path through his military colleagues as she drew near.

Silence fell as he addressed his most respected leader “Your Majesty, we have developed a plan which predicts an attacking army’s most likely tactics and with the help of the Royal Cartographer we have devised a sound defensive strategy.”

There were murmurs of approval all round.

“We do however recognise that our experience is limited to current military doctrine and would appreciate your more experienced eye to ensure that we haven’t missed anything.”

Luna bowed appreciatively to General Cimmerian for having given her a lifeline and enabled her to save face. She listened as the plan was explained to her, demonstrating a quick grasp of the situation and adding a few observations that drew gasps and the occasional facehoof from those who had missed possibilities that stood out clearly to her astute strategic mind.

Having removed any doubt about the worthiness of her military credentials, General Cimmerian then tactfully broached the subject of her own participation, rallying the other generals together to reinforce the importance of her role in directing her energies to retrieving Princess Celestia as being the far greater priority. It still stung, and all present could see how much she was hurting, but equally she was determined to show that she was not attempting to delay bringing her sister back, especially as the return of Nightmare Moon was still fresh in everypony’s minds.

As the generals all filed out, Luna summoned the most faithful of her Bat Ponies.
“Thank you, General Cimmerian” she said, placing a forehoof gently on his shoulder in a display of affection that carried so much more meaning than it appeared to a casual observer.
“Thank you, Your Majesty” he replied, “We are grateful for your patronage, and we will prevail.”

As he turned to join his fellow generals and rally the guards, Luna thanked her stars to have such a dependable ally.

***

Once the army had been mustered, briefed and inspected, Luna gave a motivational speech and sent the combined army of Night Guards and Royal Guards to meet their destiny on the battlefield of the Badlands. She watched wave after wave of winged guards fly out from the garrison in a display of military might, the like of which had not been seen in most ponies’ living memories.

From what Chrysalis had said, the changelings were on their way to Canterlot right now and as such there was no time to generate a force mix at the front line as would have been the preferred option, combining the Bat Ponies’ and pegasi’s gift of flight with the magic of the unicorns and the strength of the earth ponies. Time was clearly of the essence and as such the winged guards were going to intercept their enemy as soon as possible, thereby keeping the hostile forces away from the centres of population.

The unicorns and earth ponies would not be able to keep up with their winged brethren, and as such would deploy to hurriedly create a second line of defence to intercept the attackers prior to their being able to reach Canterlot. If all went to plan, they would not see any action, but that did not detract from their motivation to do whatever was called of them to keep Equestria safe.

Once the last of the guardsponies detailed to intercept the invaders had departed, the organised confusion that had accompanied their last minute preparations evaporated. A lesser number of guards still ran around getting organised; those who had been detailed to stay behind and protect Canterlot as the last line of defence, but there was at least now room to move.

Luna turned and struck out for the throne room with renewed purpose; she was going to get her sister back, but first there was something else she craved. Approaching the large double doors, she caught a look of quiet trepidation on the faces of the guards, although it was masked to a degree by years of training and professionalism.

She suddenly realised that they had seen what appeared to be her and her sister go into the throne room under somewhat less than cordial circumstances, but only she had emerged. Following this, the Night Guard and the Royal Guard had suddenly been mustered and despatched, reducing the military strength in the garrison; it was understandable that they should be concerned, especially with the recent history surrounding her actions as Nightmare Moon.

“Sirs, I sense I owe you an explanation of what has been happening, but first” she said, turning to the Court Administrator who had returned ready to attend his Princess “Send for Spell Nexus, the headmaster of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and as many of his top spellcasters as can be mustered.”

He bowed and trotted off as fast as decorum would allow to follow his mistress’s orders.

Luna went on to brief the guards and request their heightened vigilance until such time that the changeling crisis was past. Going on to request access to the throne room, Luna saw the expressions of the guards change to ones of relief and renewed focus, and strode through into the large deserted gothic styled room that would generally have been such a centre of courtly activity on any other day.

She stopped and looked around, taking a moment to reflect upon how much had happened in such a short time and how much her world had changed from being perfectly happy in the role of ruling Diarch with her sister, to being thrust into a position of sole responsibility for the safety of Equestria against the threat of invasion. She rang for a servant from the kitchen once again and then absent-mindedly took a slow meander around the room, looking at it from unusual angles and taking in points of details so often overlooked, while she rehearsed her next steps.

Serendipity; that was what she needed right now.

A polite cough from the doorway punctured her reverie and she turned to see the same timorous serving mare she had met earlier waiting to take her order.
“Oh, hello” she said, clearing her head “Please would you bring more tea and cake?”
“Yes, Your Majesty” she confirmed, bowing reverentially.
“Thank you” replied the Princess, realising that she was developing a snacking fixation just like her sister, her dear sister whom she wanted more than anypony else to share this tea and cake with right now.

Orders for tea and cake had become an established tradition since the founding of Canterlot, and generations of pastry chefs had become adept at keeping a fresh supply ready so that they could provide a near-instantaneous turn-around at any time of day or night. So it was that the serving mare returned at a speed that made Luna think for a second that perhaps the kitchen staff were using a time distortion spell.

The gentle suffusion of the cake’s rich taste and crumbly texture combined once more with the sensitive aroma of the tea to create a perfect oasis of calming the middle of her fraught schedule, giving her just enough time to compose herself before the next challenge had to be dealt with.

A knock at the door by the Court Administrator announced the arrival of the scholarly unicorns as Luna had requested. She surveyed the empty plate, wishing for just one more bite, and put it down with a barely detectable pout, taking a sip of cooling tea to console her loss.

“Spell Nexus” she called amiably walking over to greet her guests “I am so pleased you were able to come at such short notice.”
“Your Majesty” he responded giving a deep bow “It is our humble pleasure to serve …”
“Come now, we know each other better than to be slaves to such stiff formality” interrupted Luna “I have a problem and I need help from the best; formal protocol will only impede what we need to achieve.”
“As you wish, Princess” he acknowledged with a twinkle in his old eyes.

“I will cut to the chase. A shapeshifter worked her way into our confidence and despatched my sister to the sun. In turn, I banished the shapeshifter, but her armies are advancing through the Badlands and I have ordered a combined force of Night Guard and Royal Guard to intercept.”

There were gasps all round.

“You will understand there is an urgent need to bring Celestia back from her imprisonment and I would like you to work with me to make this happen as soon as possible.”

Author's Note

The character of Spell Nexus is drawn from the excellent "Past Sins" [https://www.fimfiction.net/story/41596/past-sins] by Pen Stroke.

9 To Recover a Princess
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

9 To Recover a Princess

“It would help, Princess, if we knew when and from where Princess Celestia was banished” stated Spell Nexus “Perhaps there may be some residue we could collect that would give a lead as to what type of magic she used?”

Luna giggled, much to the consternation of the greybeard unicorns present. Had such a fatuous sounding response come from any of their students, they would have been given very short shrift indeed, but as their patron was Princess Luna, then things were by necessity a little different.

“My apologies good Sirs. Having thought this through, I believe the spell to have been cast on a cloud high above Canterlot. I can neither see you flying up to a cloud, nor the same cloud still being there, so I am sorry to advise that this avenue of enquiry will be fruitless.”
A ripple of understanding coursed through those present, one or two polite guffaws rising to counterpoint the absurdity of the situation.

“Very well then” said Spell Nexus “We shall proceed along the lines of the spell that were used to …um …”
“There is no need to be bashful about my past, dear friend” said Luna with a disarming smile “I assume you mean we should base our working on the branch of magic that was used to banish Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. That does at least have the benefit of having been properly documented, I trust?”

“Yes Princess. We are, I believe, all familiar with that particular magic, are we not?” he said casting his eyes around to receive a volley of nods affirming his supposition. He continued, "Whilst it is acknowledged that all alicorns have the potential to cast a Banishment spell, it is the particular individual's experience and magical prowess that determine over what range it will be effective. You, for example, Princess, would be able to banish somepony clean out of Equestria and round the other side of the planet with ease, but significantly longer distances such as to the moon and even the sun can be expected to require some additional magical assistance."

From out of thin air, Spell Nexus summoned a board upon which he magically wrote a sequence of operations along with their associated incantations. Firstly he wrote down the original spell cast by Celestia that had involved the Elements of Harmony, and then alongside it he wrote a modern derivation of the spell that could be cast without the need for any artefacts. The sage old unicorn painstakingly created a step by step guide, noting comments and contributions from others as he progressed. It took some time, but eventually all unicorns present were happy that it should work. This revised version had the potential to be cast anywhere, which was presumably therefore akin to the magic Chrysalis had used.

Spell Nexus ran through the two spells side by side, stroking his beard and nodding before announcing that he was satisfied. Next he magically extended the levitating board by one more panel and in a few intense minutes he had reversed the banishment spell, turning it into a releasing spell in a form that all could see and understand.

“Princess Luna; the spell is, as you can see, not especially demanding. However, …”
She always hated when somepony said “however” as it always implied a hidden catch that could foil even the simplest and best thought through of plans.
“… we are only unicorns; the finest unicorns in the kingdom, I grant you …” he added with his impish smile “… but unicorns nonetheless, and this requires us to work through you as the bearer of alicorn magic.”
Luna nodded. She had been expecting this.

“How long before you can start?” she asked tentatively.
“We’re ready when you are Princess” he said, his watery old eyes peering fixedly at her over his glasses.
“Very well. I am yours to command.”
“Good. I want you to focus your aura onto the sun and simply open a channel of magical energy without compromising it with any other thoughts. We will then fill that channel with the releasing spell and, if everything works according to plan, Princess Celestia will be returned to us.”

“And if it goes wrong?” she asked.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it” he said breezily.
“Begin?” she asked.
“Begin” he confirmed.

Luna walked over into the sunshine and closed her eyes, lowering her head so that her horn pointed through the window. She stood with her legs apart and braced as she drew her thoughts into focus and conjured a blue aura to form around her horn. Once the aura had built up enough energy, a blue stream of magical power headed straight towards the sun.

Immediately, the other unicorns directed their power towards her and one by one she accepted their magic until she was awash with spell crafting energy. It felt like she was holding a hosepipe and somepony else had turned the tap on, the force of the water making it difficult to keep the aim on target, but she knew she had to for the sake of her sister.

An overwhelming vision of gold grew larger in her consciousness and she held on, maintaining her unfaltering aim for as long as she could until she was unable to keep her psychic lock any longer and was blasted backwards with the residual magical energy, falling over unconscious.

She felt a gentle nuzzle bringing her round. A familiar voice, but she couldn’t place it.
“Lulu, Lulu darling, thank you” came the caring feminine voice “I love you little sister.”

“Sister?” she thought to herself “Then this must be …”

She struggled to open one eye; everything was a blur of large abstract colours, but there was some gold glinting against a white background and a familiar comforting smell.

“Celly … ?” she enquired, daring for a moment to believe that it was her sister next to her.

“Yes Lulu, you released me” said Celestia tenderly “I love you, little Sister.”

Struggling to bring the image in front of her into focus, Luna reached out and embraced her sister, totally unable to hold back the happy tears of their reunion. She buried her muzzle into the comforting soft white fur and held her tightly, sobbing with the purest delight, never wanting to let her go again. Celestia for her part gave up any pretence of maintaining her regal composure and wrapped an affectionate wing around Luna, allowing her own tears to run freely at the joy of her release thanks to her sister’s undeniable love.

“Sister” said Luna, struggling to compose herself “Our work is not yet done.”
"What is required from us?” asked Celestia, gently refurling her outstretched wing.
“The combined might of our Night Guard and the Royal Guard go to fight a changeling invasion force approaching from the Badlands. I believe that is where we should be, if you feel strong enough.”

“If our armies need us, then our position at their head” stated Celestia emphatically “Where is the shapeshifter Sunchaser?
“I have banished her” said Luna, then adding as an afterthought “But I am not sure where to.”
“So, she may have rejoined her army then?”
“Possibly, but I also have reason to believe that the members of her army have similar shapeshifting abilities, so we must be on our guard. I also do not know whether they are drawn from tribes with different abilities such as earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi, but consider it would be wisest to assume the worst.”

Celestia took this all in and called for the Clerk of the Court to have battle armour for her and Luna to be brought to the throne room immediately. As he sped off to do her bidding, she turned to thank Spell Nexus and the other unicorns present, remembering each by name and making sure that each knew how much she recognised and appreciated their contribution in helping bring about her safe return.

As she finished, two armourers accompanied by four young pages arrived at the doors to the throne room carrying two sets of battle armour, one gold and the other black. She dismissed the unicorns and summoned the newly arrived party to enter, all of them looking a little surprised at being asked to dress the Princesses in the throne room instead of somewhere more traditionally appointed for the purpose. However, time was of the essence and neither Princess wanted to incur any more delays than was absolutely necessary.

Once they were both kitted out, each looked the other up and down.
“It is like old times, Sister” said Luna, with a proud smile forming on her face.
“Indeed” concurred Celestia “May we prevail once more.”

With this they strode out onto the balcony and Celestia sprang into the air followed half a wingbeat later by Luna.

10 The Badlands
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

10 The Badlands

The Princesses flew out away from Canterlot, both speculating about the strength and the nature of the threat that awaited them, but also confident in themselves and their sister’s abilities. They had both led armies in the past, more times than either would care to remember, and always it had been side by side, the Yin and the Yang of Equestria in harmony. Today was no exception.

They approached the Badlands, but nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.
“Sister, look!” shouted Luna suddenly “A dark cloud on the horizon!”
“That’s no ordinary cloud Luna” replied Celestia “That, I believe, is where we should be heading.”

As they drew closer they could see the grey Bat Ponies in the purple armour of the Night Guard and many different coloured pegasi in the predominantly gold armour of the Royal Guard, with different coloured crests representing their individual units spinning through the air in dogfights and locked in brawls on the ground. Their opponents appeared to be distinctly evil looking dark grey creatures with both wings and horns. Celestia gasped; surely they weren’t all alicorns – were they?

There were definitely more of these evil looking part insectoid, part pony creatures than there were Equestrian forces, so the Princesses split up and started firing off spells from their horns to bring down the attackers and even up the numbers.

As soon as the Bat Ponies and pegasi saw the Princesses, their hearts leapt and morale redoubled immediately, the two graceful alicorns flying into the midst of the fighting and firing off volleys of yellow and blue magic into changeling concentrations and physically ripping others off Equestrian combatants when they looked to be in trouble. Even then, the numbers were still against them.

The hum of insectoid wings that pervaded the conflict was unnerving to pony ears and would have spooked all but the most highly trained and well-disciplined of ponies. They all felt the same subconscious fear, like they were going to be stung by a giant swarm of bees and there was no doubt that the omnipresent buzzing made it difficult to concentrate and focus on the combat, but everypony in the thick of the fighting had to beat that fear in their own way if they wanted to stay alive.

When on the ground, the guardsponies had the opportunity to eye their attackers more closely as they moved in for hoof to hoof combat. Every one that got into this position felt the same shudder as they regarded the moth-eaten appearance, the fangs and the opaque light blue eyes; then there was the unearthly hiss these creatures made, a stark reminder of the disparate evolutionary path that their kind had followed.

The battle raged and eventually it could be seen that the tide was starting to turn in favour of the Equestrian forces. Then the changelings unleashed a particularly unpleasant weapon; they shapeshifted into replicas of Bat Ponies and pegasi!

Instantaneously, the guardsponies found themselves fighting their own colleagues. All were disorientated; some paused in their combat while others disengaged completely, but everypony faltered to some degree suddenly gifting the changelings an advantage that they were swift to capitalise upon.

Luna gasped at the individual transformations happening all around her and flew directly to Celestia’s side.
“Sister!” she called “Look at what is happening! We must cast a spell that reveals the changelings’ true forms or we will lose!”
“Wisely spoken, Sister!” Celestia called back “Quick, follow me!”

The two magically endowed alicorns dove down hard to a rocky promontory and landed beside each other without fanfare.
“What spells do you know?” asked Luna.
“None that seems immediately relevant” replied Celestia “This is beyond anything I have ever encountered. Do you have any ideas?”

“The only one I can think of is Expose Concealed Threat, but I have only ever used that on an individual.”
“That is unknown to me, Sister. What if we combined our power?”
“Very well” said Luna “If you can cast a Banishment spell at the same time, then hopefully the two will combine to our advantage. I have not attempted this before and cannot guarantee personal safety …”

“If we do nothing, the day is lost, Sister” replied Celestia focusing intently into Luna’s eyes with a look that carried the full weight of responsibility for all of ponykind across Equestria. Checking herself, she suddenly realised she was placing an unfair burden on the one pony who had just brought her back from her imprisonment and was still recovering from the effort it had taken. With a mixture of guilt and respect, she melted her expression to one that reflected the true sisterly love she knew Luna deserved and whispered, “I trust you, Lulu.”
“Touch horns, dear Sister, and we shall yet prevail” said Luna, radiating more confidence than she truly felt and adding silently “I pray.”

Any pony or changeling on the battlefield who looked up to that promontory would have witnessed the striking spectacle of two majestic alicorns in battle armour crossing horns, brows furrowed in concentration as their auras merged. A glow began to build, not one on either horn, but from the point at which they were joined, an aura that was neither blue nor yellow, but a rich pink. They could both feel the power building up, but neither was going to back down if this is what it took to protect the ponies of Equestria; something was getting ready to explode!

At an instant, the fighting stopped, the dogfighting, the bloody close quarters combat, everything froze in stunned silence as a bright pink wave of energy blasted over everypony and every changeling present. They all had to close their eyes as the brilliant colour flooded their vision and then just as quickly vanished again.

The guardsponies looked around quickly to ensure that their changeling opponents had not recovered more quickly and were about to deliver a final coup de grâce. But it was not to be; there were none to be seen.

The changelings had been picked up in the rapidly expanding shock wave of pink energy and plucked from where they had been standing, flying or lying and carried away on the crest of the expanding energy wave, blown away to faraway lands before the energy released them, scattered to the four winds.
The Bat Ponies and pegasi, who were still able, all rose to their hooves and looked around before raising a loud cheer accompanied by those in the air who looped and dived in celebration.

Celestia and Luna disengaged their horns and opened their eyes to drink in the sight of ongoing celebrations.
“I think we may have just saved Equestria” said Luna.
“Truly Sister, there is no end to your prowess today” said Celestia in genuine awe of her sister, embracing her as they both watched their triumphant armies celebrating their victory.

“Just like old times” said Luna.

“Amen, Sister. Amen” concurred Celestia.

11 Tea and Cakes
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

11 Tea and Cakes

The reflected candlelight flickered in the highly polished surface of the elaborately adorned dark brown mahogany table. At one end sat a midnight blue alicorn delicately sipping tea, a side plate covered in crumbs by her side, at the other end a white alicorn took a bite from a particularly succulent slice of fruit cake.

“An especially fine tea, would you not agree, Sister?” asked the blue mare “I had the kitchen staff steep it for a further 20 seconds beyond their usual direction as I felt there was more character to gain from the infusion.”

The white pony almost choked on her cake at what she was hearing.

“Since when did you become such a tea expert?”
“I was toying with the idea of 25 seconds, but I felt we were poised on the delicate cusp of starting to make it unnecessarily bitter.”
“Really?” said Celestia “Tell me you’re not a shapeshifting tea expert who has just replaced my Sister.”

“You started me on the whole tea and cakes thing, so I thought I should take the trouble to research it, maybe provide us both with some added enjoyment. But I think what really completes the experience is the cake”
“Now, I can agree with you there” said Celestia.

“Talking of which, please would you pass my slice of triple chocolate and cherry gateau with double cream?”
“There’s only one piece left, and I was rather eyeing it up too.”

“I expressly recall having counted four slices on the way in. I have had one, so therefore you must have had two; it’s mine.”
“I’m sure you must be mistaken, Sister.”

“We have just returned from an epic battle and I believe I have earned my half of the cake” protested Luna.
“That was war. This is cake. It’s an altogether much more important matter.”

“I will trade you for it - a macaroon and an éclair?”
“In your dreams …” said Celestia, suddenly aware of what she had said, and the many little ways her sister could get back at her through the dream realm.

Luna rested her elbows on the table, propped her forehooves together and rested her chin on the top of them, surveying Celestia with a wicked grin spreading across her face.

“In your dreams, you say?” she repeated with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

“On second thoughts, I don’t think I have room for the gateau after all” said Celestia, dreading the revenge her sister could wreak if she so chose. Wearing a clearly pained expression of defeat, she passed the last slice of cake over to Luna who smiled broadly.

“Thank you, Sister. I’ve missed you” she giggled “By the way, that business about the tea – I made it all up!”

Celestia laughed and Luna joined in, both happy to be back in each other’s company.

5 A Terrible Accident
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A Cuckoo in the Nest

5 A Terrible Accident

“Sister, I am much improved” said the white alicorn sitting up in her bed “I am moved to return to my duties and ease the load that you have been carrying so admirably over the last few days.”
“It has presented no difficulties, Sister” replied Luna, moving in close to show her sisterly affection.

“No, I have been far too self-indulgent and am eager to resume my schedule” she persisted.
“Please, take your time and when you are ready I shall work alongside you until you are fully recovered.”

“I am fully recovered” insisted the white alicorn forcefully, causing Luna to recoil in surprise.
“Then we shall meet at sunrise tomorrow and I will brief you on the night’s events.”

“Very well. I shall discharge myself from this place and return to my private chambers for the night, then meet with you at sunrise as you wish.”
“Yes, yes, of course Sister” confirmed Luna taken aback by her abruptness “Sleep well big Sister. It is nice to have you back.”

The white alicorn said nothing more and Luna saw herself out, still trying to reconcile the harshness of her sister’s tone. She had been warned by the Royal Physician that she wasn’t yet right, and vowed to give her space while she settled back into her role of Diarch of the day. Still she felt a little uneasy, but dismissed the notion as overprotective nonsense - everything was fine.

Come the morning, Luna waited in the dining room for her supper as the smells of breakfast for her sister wafted in from the kitchens. She had ordered the pastry chef to surpass himself in honour of her sister’s return and it certainly looked like he had risen to the challenge. Her favourite tea was also being steeped in readiness for her arrival, the gentle suffusion mingling with the other appetising smells that made their combined mealtimes so magical.

After a slight delay, the majestic white pony swept in and surveyed the scene, taking in the scrumptious spread of all different kinds of cakes and fancies.

“Good morning Sister” greeted Luna “I trust you slept well?”
“Thank you, yes” came the terse reply “I am ready for your briefing.”
“I have ordered cake and the tea is prepared to your taste.”
“I have already eaten in my room” she replied, “Let us continue with the handover.”

At this point, alarm bells were going off in Luna’s head; this did not seem like her sister’s usual temperament at all – far from it. All she could think of was that the stress of Sunchaser’s disappearance must have affected her far worse than she had realised, and blamed herself for not having been there.

All of the serving staff including the Maître d’ felt a distinct sense of unease at the personality change they were seeing play out in front of them, but in accordance with their strict code of deference, nothing was said.

***

Celestia’s Court held its first session in days and as Luna insisted on coming along to assist, the two ponies met each other’s gaze.
“I told you Sister, I am perfectly fine. You fuss too much. Do you not see me as fully recovered?”
“Well actually Sister, you do look fine, but …”
“Then why the mollycoddling? You have worked hard; please take yourself to bed, you have more than earned it. You are just overwrought; some sleep and the whole thing will look completely different, I assure you.”

Unwillingly, reluctantly Luna did have to concede that she was tired, so took the advice. Her sister had always exercised the better judgement, after all.
Luna shot one last glance back at the white alicorn she thought she knew so well and turned to her bedchamber, telling herself she was just a little too tired.

“First petitioner!” announced the Court Administrator “The Apprentice to the Royal Astronomer.”
“Your Majesty, your Majesty!” stammered the excited unicorn “It’s the sun! Something’s wrong with the sun!”
“Clear the Court!” demanded the white alicorn “I will talk with this fellow alone. We cannot have unsubstantiated rumours circulating or there will be panic. Clear the Court!”
The guards did as they were bidden, shepherding out everypony except for the young apprentice before casting a final eye around the room and then closing the doors behind them.

“And what do you think you’ve found?” asked the alicorn with a deep hint of menace completely overlooked by the excited young stallion.
“The sun! The sun has an alicorn’s head on it your Majesty, just like when the moon held the image of Princess Luna!”
“How many others know of this?” she asked.
“Only me! I wanted to alert you at the earliest opportunity!”
"And earn the recognition for having discovered it all by yourself, I suppose?”
“Yes, your Majesty” he confessed, blushing at the abruptness of the observation.

The sunlight streamed in the through the high gothic windows.It was a bright morning.
“Step into the light” said the alicorn conspiratorially.
“You know it’s unsafe to look into the sun, your Majesty?” he said, a tremble of uncertainty entering his voice.
“Oh yes” she purred, “I do know.”

A green aura spread from her horn and the unicorn found his head magically trained towards the sun and his eyelids forced wide open. He tried to scream in horror, but found himself unable to utter a sound. His body shook uncontrollably as he summoned all his physical and magical strength to stop this act of folly, but no matter how hard he tried, it was like his head was held in a giant invisible vice refusing to allow him even a fraction of movement. As he screamed internally, the full glare of the sun drove into his eyes and his sight grew to register nothing but an orange glow and then finally blackness as his eyesight departed from him completely.

High up on Celestia’s throne a white alicorn laughed scornfully, finally releasing her magical grip on the apprentice astronomer and listened to the thump as his body slumped onto the ground. She watched the wisps of smoke rise from his eyes and leered triumphantly.

“I could never allow you to tell anypony else about that, now could I? Surely you can see” she said in mock sympathy.
“Oh, that’s right, you can’t see any more can you!” she laughed manically as the faint trails of curling smoke were the only movement from the young stallion’s body.

***

The court was abuzz with the terrible accident that had befallen the young apprentice astronomer. The white alicorn was distraught, saying how he had looked straight up into the sun even though she had done her best to stop him and that by the time she had reached him, it was all too late.

A terrible accident.

Court had continued, but the white alicorn kept breaking off from what she was doing to dab her eyes and berate herself for the poor young stallion’s fate. Eventually it became clear that very little else was going to be achieved during the day, so Court was adjourned until tomorrow, everypony reassuring her that there was nothing she could have done and she really shouldn’t continue to blame herself.

Such rich emotions to feed off, she thought as she gorged herself.