The Best-laid Plans of Mice and Monarchs
The sky outside Princess Celestia's bedroom was absolutely breathtaking this evening. The Princess of the Sun made a mental note to thank the Canterlot Weather Patrol for their attention to detail as she strode out of her chambers onto the balcony. They kept the skies clear in the east every morning and the west every night as a standard procedure for her to work her magic freely, but they had really outdone themselves this time.
Celestia took a moment to enjoy the serene beauty of the lands to the west of Canter Mount before channeling energy through her horn. She probed up with her magic, up along the special connection she held with her charge before finally taking ahold of the orb of fire floating above her. She gently began coaxing it to sleep for tonight, nudging it lower and lower in the sky.
A loud clattering echoed from behind her. Surprised, she turned around and called out. "Hello? Is somepony there?"
"Tell me something," a humorless voice emanated from the darkened room behind her. Celestia stiffened, releasing the sun as she did so. The crimson star gently floated just above the distant horizon, bathing the central Equestrian forests and Canter Mount in pinkish light and long shadows. "Does it bother you?"
The Princess of the Sun glared into the darkness. "Who's there!? Show yourself!"
The ominous voice drifted out from the shadows once again. "Does it keep you up at night, to see how completely you've failed in your duties?"
Celestia tensed for a moment, then relaxed as recognition flooded through her. She rolled her eyes and abandoned her aggressive stance. "Good evening to you too, Sister. You could've knocked."
"Look! Just look!" Luna ignored her elder's snide comment as she trotted out onto the balcony. She gestured upward, drawing Celestia's attention to the evening sky. There, hanging above her setting sun and plainly visible in the maroon evening sky, was a darkened orb, framed in shadow except for a brilliant crescent of silver along the edge closest to the sun.
"You raised it early," Celestia stated in surprise. "I... I can't remember how long it's been since I've seen it like that."
"Because you never once, in a thousand years of shepherding both your sun and my Moon, thought to do anything except keep them on diametric opposite sides of the planet!" Luna groused. "You may be our ponies' shining light, Sister, but an artiste you are not."
"I could never hold a candle to you, Lulu." Celestia teased, then frowned as something occurred to her. "You told ponies you were planning this, right?"
"Of course I did," Luna scoffed. "Heavens forbid the more superstitious of our lot fly into a panic. I sent an emissary to Twilight and asked her to spread the word. Seeing as she's anointed herself the Princess of Education as of late, she is in an excellent position to assure our ponies that my beautiful waning gibbous is not in fact a sign of the end times."
"Isn't that a waxing crescent?"
"Oh, who remembers? Which is exactly my point! The night sky is a canvas, Sister. While you have my thanks for taking custody of it during my exile, a little variety wouldn't kill you."
Luna had spent centuries by Celestia's side, and even longer watching her sibling from afar. They'd grown up together, learned magic and discovered the true extent of their powers. They'd forged a new nation from a half dozen quarreling settlements, then stared down the Master of Chaos himself and sent him packing, all as a team. As a family. When Luna lost herself to the Nightmare, she often tracked Celestia's every move from her lunar prison, plotting a revenge that thankfully never came. Friend or foe, Celestia had been her one constant in a lifetime stretching over a millennium. Luna knew her sister better than anypony.
So it surprised her that much more when, instead of the exasperated eye-roll she'd expected, Celestia offered her a sad smile.
"It wasn't that I'd forgotten, Lulu. I... well, here, take a look for yourself."
Celestia lit her horn. Golden magic swirled around the two sisters, coalescing before them into a shimmering image of the moon. Unlike the moon above them, her projection bore an unmistakable pattern of darkened craters across its surface.
"I missed you, Sister."
Luna stared, taken aback by the image. She'd known on an intellectual level about the Mare in the Moon, the magical side effect of her imprisonment inside her own heavenly charge. She'd just never actually seen it with her own two eyes before. "It's scarred... defaced." Luna lowered her head. "Celie, I don't understand. Why would you keep such an ugly reminder of my greatest mistake above our citizens every night? Surely you could have turned it so they could witness the Moon without that terrible blemish."
Celestia sighed. "Lulu, I just told you. Those craters weren't just blemishes to me, they were you. After we abandoned Castle Everfree, they were all I had left of you."
"...Oh..."
"You're right, at first our ponies did fear your shadow, the ones who remembered our battle. They worried you would return to conquer. But over time, memories fade to stories and stories to myths and legends. Those ponies' descendants saw your shadow as a herald to the end of arduous workdays, a respite from the summer heat, even a delightful campfire tale for foals as I'm sure you remember.
"As for myself, when I looked up I never saw a tyrant." Celestia blinked back a few tears. "I saw my little sister. My sister who was hurting and I'd been too wrapped up in my own politics to see it. My sister I'd failed.
"Maybe it was selfish of me, but I couldn't turn you away. It felt like banishing you all over again. I'd look up at the moon and I'd see you, and I'd remember that this wasn't forever, that we'd be together again someday. And I hoped that maybe, if you were looking down at Equestria, you'd see me and know how sorry I was. How much I missed you."
The image flickered and faded. A few tears Celestia hadn't quite been able to hold back rolled down her cheeks. Luna gently brushed a wing along her elder sister's muzzle, catching the tears in her feathers.
"Sister... thank you. T'was my own jealousy that caused this mess, I never should have caused you such hurt to begin with." Luna looked back up at her Moon, the real one, brilliant and clear of the scourge of darkness that'd marred its surface for so long. "But it's over now. We're back together, and that's what matters." She let herself smirk a little. "You know that those marks weren't really me, correct? I was magically bound within the moon, not on its surface. I could see you just fine no matter which face you pointed at the planet."
"Of course I knew, Lulu." Celestia rolled her eyes. "Just let me have this one?"
"As you wish, O mighty knower of all the heavens." Luna bowed in an overly flamboyant manner reminiscent of noble-ponies of days long past.
"Must you ruin the mood every time we have a heart-to-heart?" Celestia sighed. "Still, it's nice to know you were looking down on me, that I wasn't the only one. I'm touched."
"Don't be. I spent most of that time plotting your downfall. And of course how I was going to redecorate Canterlot Castle after I'd overthrown you, as befitting of a proper villain. The most important part of establishing a thousand-year reign of darkness is, after all, thematic color coordination."
Celestia snorted. She couldn't help herself.
"Yessss, muahahaha!" Luna continued, rearing up and waving her forelegs about. "Dark curtains everywhere! Not a peep of sunlight shall enter these halls! The indigo tapestries shall reign forever!"
Celestia covered her muzzle with a hoof to hide her laughter. She continued to giggle as she wiped her eyes. "Yes, of course! How could I forget? All marble floors must be replaced with obsidian! Swap out the gold ornaments for silver! Let the renovations BEGIN!" She tried her own hoof at an evil laugh, which while still falling short of the standard was better than what Luna had expected.
Luna smiled as the room quieted down. "All joking aside, you have my eternal gratitude for stopping me, Sister. You always made the better chessmaster, and steering Twilight Sparkle down the path of friendship so she could wield the Elements properly was a work of true brilliance." She remembered that fateful moment when the rainbow had stuck her, and how afterwards she'd finally felt free, free of the corruption that'd gnawed at her soul for over a thousand years. "Not saying it didn't hurt like a motherbucker, but it was certainly preferable to exile. I am truly thankful."
"Chessmaster?" Celestia replied in surprise. Luna perked up, curious as to what her sister meant. "Lulu, I have a bit of a confession to make..."
"Sunset Shimmer," Celestia chided her personal protege. "I have heard that you're not getting along well with the other students. We've talked about the fact that personal relationships--"
"Personal relationships? Who needs anypony!? The most important thing in life is to be the best!" Sunset groused as she trotted alongside the Princess of the Sun. She'd heard this lecture more than enough times already. Why was her teacher so insistent about her wasting time with something like friendship? She should be happy Sunset had aced her midterms with flying colors!
"Sunset, we've talked about friendship and its importance before, and we've discussed that you need to start opening yourself to new friends. And remember that talk we had about humility?"
"I remember how boring it was..." Sunset whispered under her breath.
Celestia frowned. Sunset was the pony who would rescue her sister from the Nightmare, she was sure of it. Sunset's abilities, her intelligence, her fearlessness, even the timing of her discovery all pointed to the fact that she was the pony to fulfill the prophecy and help her usher in a new Equestrian golden age. But true friendship was needed to light the spark that would reignite the Elements of Harmony, and Sunset's understanding of friendship was progressing at a frustratingly slow pace.
Hmm. Sunset needed a push in the right direction, something that could show her how bright her future could be, if only she'd drop her silly individualist streak and truly let friendship into her heart. But what? How many moons has it been since Starswirl's mirror was last active? I may have an idea...
"Come, Sunset. Our lesson today will be somewhat different than you're used to. Please, follow me..."
Several Weeks Later...
"She asked me about the mirror again today, Kibitz. she won't let it go."
"Hmm?" Kibitz looked up from his paperwork at his Princess. She sat slumped over in her throne, a nation's worth of problems heavily weighing down on her haunches. "Miss Shimmer again, your Majesty?"
"Yes. I'd hoped that showing her where her life could lead if she'd just open herself to new ideas would bring her around, but she's been more obstinate than ever. And she's becoming obsessed with the mirror. I... I worry that I may have overstepped when I revealed it to her."
"I see." Kibitz chose his words carefully. He didn't get to be the pony the Princess relied on through thick and thin by being a sycophantic yes-pony, or by spouting off whatever nonsense crossed his mind. "And you're absolutely positive that, whatever it is you're preparing for, she is the pony for the job?"
"Yes. She is. She has to be. We're short on time as is, if I had to start all over again... no, Sunset is the pony Equestria needs. I just wish I knew how show her..."
Cryptic as always, Kibitz thought. While the Princess had never in all his years of service specified what exactly she was preparing for, he'd picked up a lot in that time. He knew that the fate of Equestria would one day hang on the actions of a single pupil of hers, and that said pupil would have to know what she referred to as 'the true meaning of friendship.' Kibitz didn't know why those two things would ever be related, but he trusted his Princess and the fact that it was so important to her was enough for him.
Unfortunately for Kibitz, all the trust in the world couldn't show him why she expected that from Sunset Shimmer. Sure, the filly loved Princess Celestia with all her heart and was wonderfully talented, but she had a mean streak that'd kept her isolated from just about anypony else at the School for Gifted Unicorns. Kibitz supposed she'd grow out of it eventually, most fillies her age did, but for the moment he couldn't think of a pony less sociable than Sunset.
"Your Majesty, have you considered taking on another personal student? Entrance exams are next month, I've heard from Professor Inkwell that one of the candidates' preliminary scores nearly match that of Sunset's. Sunset is so brilliant, perhaps it would help her make friends if she had more ponies around she considered equals." Kibitz supplied, leaving out the obvious implications. If Celestia didn't want to see what was right in front of her, he couldn't change that. He could however anticipate his Princess's needs, both present and to some extent future. It was his duty as a royal adviser, after all.
"That... could work, Kibitz. I will speak with Sunset about it, I don't want her to get the--" A loud bang interrupted the Princess as Raven burst through the throne room door with Royal Guards in tow.
"Your Majesty! There's been a break-in at the archives! Somepony's accessed the Restricted Section!"
Celestia stood up with a shot. "Take me there at once! Kibitz, I'm sorry. We'll continue this discussion at a later date."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
Luna stared at her sister, trying to comprehend what she'd just heard. The sun had long since disappeared beneath the horizon, Celestia gently nudging it to sleep as she told her tale to Luna.
"So there it is. Needless to say I must implore you that Twilight Sparkle never, ever find out about this."
"I, what?" Luna paused, collecting her thoughts. "Yes, of course. Irrefutable proof that her mentor did not in fact groom her for her destiny from the beginning but stumbled into it muzzle first? That we owe the fate of Equestria to blind luck and the foresight of a majordomo?" She shook her head. "Poor Twilight would go quite mad."
"Without a doubt," Celestia nodded. "Perhaps the Tree of Harmony saw further than I, but 'Backup Element of Magic' just doesn't have quite the same ring to it.”
She sighed, collecting her thoughts. "I don't know why I couldn't see how Sunset's ambition clouded her every thought. I... I saw in her what I wanted to, and I ignored so many signs that she wasn’t ready. I put the idea of that stupid mirror in her head, essentially taunting her with it. ‘Behold, my protégé! One day you shall be just like the one pony you respect and admire more than anypony else in the world! Now forget you saw it and let us never speak of it again!’”
“‘‘Twas not your greatest moment, in retrospect.”
“That’s putting it mildly. I had no idea she’d call my bluff... I refused to take any action for weeks, even after she ran. I just kept telling myself she’d find some way back home, even if the portal was closed, and I’d hug her and tell her how sorry I was. The clock was counting down to your arrival and I couldn't even admit my mistake. Were it not Kibitz's badgering--and, upon reflection, a magically grown dragon punching a hole through the roof of my school--I would have never even met Twilight Sparkle." Celestia shook her head at her sister's odd look. "A story for another day, dear sister."
"While your choice of protégé may have been questionable at one time, your selection of castle employees is certainly beyond reproach. Perhaps we should revisit the staff union's request for a ping-pong table in the break room." Luna mused. "Regardless, your protégé still saved Equestria and rescued me from the clutches of the Nightmare. That it was not the one you expected is of no consequence. You merely backed the wrong horse, so to speak. You've ruled for a thousand years, it was bound to happen eventually."
Celestia sighed in frustration. "Eventually? Lulu, try constantly."
"Oh?" Curiosity peaked again, Luna settled in. "This I have to hear..."
“Your Majesty,” the griffon diplomat spoke with a sense of urgency that, while not quite in the realm of pleading, wasn’t far off. “I ask you again to please reconsider.”
“I’m sorry Garrus, but I’m afraid my answer will once again be no.” Princess Celestia slowly shook her head apologetically. “We can offer funding or ponies for an expedition, if it would be helpful.”
The griffon perked up at the slim ray of hope. “These ponies, how soon can they deploy?”
“I can’t say for certain without conferring with Admiral Fairweather, but I believe we could muster a reserve legion and have them aboard a ship by the end of the month. They’d likely arrive in Griffonstone before Winter Wrap-Up.”
“No, no, no, that won’t be nearly soon enough! The unrest grows every day, there has already been one attempt on the King’s life! Please, your Majesty! A zeppelin like the one rumor says your navy constructed could make the journey an a matter of days, not months! And once it arrives, it could simply fly over the Abyss and—“
“Ambassador!” Celestia cut the griffon off before he could finish. “As I have told you several times already, I am not at liberty to discuss such things! Military secrets are classified for a reason. For me to reveal such secrets to another nation, even one a trusted one such as Griffonstone, would betray the trust my guardsponies have placed in me and possibly put their very lives at risk.”
The diplomat opened his beak to protest, but thought better of it. While ponies as a whole were easily persuaded -- they were a herding species after all -- nocreature in their right mind would try to intimidate the Sun Princess. His kingdom was on its own.
Celestia saw his downcast expression and placed a hoof on his shoulder as some small comfort. "I'm sorry, Garrus. I bear no ill will towards Griffonstone or King Guto, but what you ask for... if we did possess such a vessel as the one you describe, I could not simply order it halfway around the globe on a moment's notice. Too many lives hang in the balance." For a moment her eyes wandered across the meeting room to a map of Equestria and the lands beyond, where they settled on the mysterious Badlands to the south of her kingdom. "I'm sorry I couldn't do better, but Equestria has its own problems."
The griffon refused to meet her eye, shrugging off her reassuring hoof. "I understand, Your Majesty. I served my time in uniform too." He stood from his chair and graced Celestia with a short bow. "I'd like to humbly request your leave, if you'll allow it. I should return to the king and relay the news to him."
"Of course. I shall instruct Admiral Fairweather to call upon reserves to deploy as soon as possible. And Garrus?" Celestia called out to the griffon as he turned to leave.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"I know how important the Idol of Boreas is to Griffonstone, but it is only a symbol. The pride and strength of the griffons comes from within yourselves, not from a piece of treasure. I have faith that your people will persevere through these troubled times."
"That makes one of us, your Majesty," the diplomat replied as he left, shaking his head slowly. "That makes one of us."
"Seems like a rational decision," Luna nodded once her sister had finished the story. "You were more than generous with him, even today it would be difficult to justify the use of a flyer carrier to find a simple golden statue."
"King Guto was assassinated two weeks after that conversation." Celestia sighed. Bitterness laced her words. "Our expeditionary legion arrived to find the kingdom in chaos, tearing itself to shreds. Griffonstone fell into an economic depression it has yet to fully recover from in nearly six centuries. It appears the Idol of Boreas was more vital to Griffonstone's prosperity than I first assumed.
"When we were fillies, things were so much simpler. Easier. A small city and a few outlying settlements to preside over, nothing to it. But these days? Even my smallest missteps can bring dire consequences, yet I've been sitting on the throne so long that ponies don't even recognize I'm as fallible as any of them."
She waited for Luna's response, but was met with nothing but silence. The smaller alicorn scooted closer and draped a wing around her sister. Luna lit her horn and, with a burst of cobalt magic, summoned a mug full of steaming hot cocoa. Celestia saw the words 'BEST PRINCESS' and a crescent moon emblazoned on the side as Luna offered it to her.
"Heavy is the horn upon which rests the tiara," Luna quoted as her sister sipped from the mug of comfort. "You're not perfect. None of us are. Can you honestly name somepony better suited to wear it than you? And don't even think about it!" Luna cut her sister off as Celestia began to speak. "I've been down that road before and we both know where it ends. I'll rule by your side, Celie, not in your stead. Unless you're serious about the redecorating."
Celestia thought about it. "You don't believe Twilight could do it?"
"Given time, I suppose she could. But right now, with her temperament? We've both seen the way she puts pressure on herself, the nobles would eat her alive. Though I do concede that she is extraordinarily skilled at defeating apocalyptic threats, perhaps even moreso than us, she needs time to grow into politics."
"I've thought the same myself," Celestia nooded. "That poor filly has no idea what's in store for her."
"Nopony ever does. Were we to put her on the throne, tomorrow or in ten years, she'd certainly stumble and fall along the way. Just like you once did, except she doesn't have the benefit of a thousand years of hindsight."
"Some benefit," Celestia grumbled. "Still, I see your point."
"You're not... actually thinking of retiring, are you?"
"No, not at this moment, Sister. In time... well, I don't know if I can do this forever. Who can tell what the future holds?"
"Exactly my point!" Luna exclaimed. "Although, if you're willing to take some constructive criticism..."
"Yes?"
"Next time an armada shows up at the castle doorstep, no trying to defuse the situation. Let's just blast them right off the bat."
"Agreed," Celestia nodded with a smirk. "Ugh, but this brings us right back into my mistakes! If I hadn't sent the Guard after Chrysalis, then they could've helped defeat the Storm King!"
"Yes but the first time she invaded, you didn't send them after her and she ended up invading a second time. Sooo... I guess it's a lose-lose?"
"That is, without a doubt, the wisest thing you've said all night Sister."
"Thank you." Luna giggled. "Luckily, you don't have to bear the burden alone anymore. All four of us signed off on that deployment order." She snagged the mug from Celestia's magic with a flare of her own horn and drained what little contents remained. "Shall we adjourn to the kitchens for more?"
Celestia smiled. "Maybe I spoke too soon. Whatever the future may hold, whatever surprises await us, at least you'll be by my side." She raised herself to her hooves and turned to follow her sister, looking back at the crescent moon one more time before leaving the starry sky behind her.
"So is that a yes on the redecorating, then?"
Yoke Mountain Repository was not your typical Royal Guard garrison. In fact, most ponies had no idea it even existed. The sprawling underground base had begun life long ago as a simple mountain, one of many among the ranges crisscrossing the EUP’s desolate Neighvada Test Site. The local guardsponies noticed the mountain’s isolated nature and cool, dry caverns made it a perfect spot to store surplus field guns and ammunition during peacetime. Ponies were a peace-loving species, but they were also painfully aware of their place on the food chain. Nopony wanted a return to the bad old days when any one of a half-dozen sapient species would equivocate the word ‘pony’ with ‘snack.’ Thus, the Guard needed a place to keep all variety of things that went boom on the off chance they became necessary in the future.
Over the years, what started as a few simple bunkers expanded into a subterranean complex extending deep within the mountain bedrock. The base’s mission expanded as it grew, as it occurred to important ponies that a hole in the middle of a desert a hundred miles from the faintest glimmer of civilization is useful for holding more than a few cannon shells. Nothing changed on paper, of course, and the Royal Guards assigned to Yoke Mountain were under strict orders not to ask questions. There were the occasional rumors. Ponies in black arriving to deliver sealed crates marked for the secure vault would raise eyebrows anywhere, but guards who saw something curious tended to brush it off, choosing not to burden themselves with the secrets of scary ponies. Nosiness had consequences, after all, and most everypony wanted to simply do their time at this hardship assignment and transfer somewhere more pleasant. The ponies assigned to the base simply did their jobs and kept their mouths shut while the brass in Canterlot quietly scratched Yoke Mountain off every map and registry they could find. Time marched on, and the installation soon faded from Equestria's collective consciousness.
The EUP's efforts to hide the Yoke Mountain Repository were very thorough, but they were not perfect. Somepony, somewhere, will always remember.
The air inside the cavernous main chamber hung thick with the smell of cordite and a faint tang of copper. The hallways echoed with sporadic weapons fire as the invaders swept the facility of the last few stragglers. The attack came in the early predawn hours, most of the guardsponies caught sleeping peacefully in their bunks as the gas pumped in. The few guards working the swing shift sounded the alarms, but by the time the klaxons blared to life it was too late. Nopony was coming to help them. Still, they bravely stood their posts and fought to the last stallion, a fate which the intruders were all too happy to grant.
Lieutenant Swift Shield struggled uselessly against his bonds as the invaders bustled about around him. He'd been one of the lucky few that were both awake and near their gas masks when the attack started, but he'd only managed to hold them off for a little while before they surrounded him and stuck him down. Injured and bleeding, he'd been unable to fight or flee and the invaders quickly bandaged him and trussed him up before pressing onwards with their assault. A large harpy sat in a nearby chair, keeping half an eye on him as she sharpened a wicked-looking knife. Now that the air was clear and she was no longer needed in the fight, her rifle and mask sat leaning against a nearby wall next to his own shock spear.
Swift glared at the despicable bird. "How could you do this!? You MONSTERS!" He shouted at her with unbridled rage.
"Nothin' personal, kid. Well, not for me. Girl's gotta make a living somehow."
"You'll never get away with this!"
The harpy paused and directed her full attention at her captive. "Really?" she asked with a touch of bemusement. "You're going with that one? Look around you, buddy. We are getting away with this! If you're wondering what 'getting away with this' looks like, well I got news for ya," she set down her whetstone and gestured with the knife in a theatrical fashion. "This is it!"
"My friends will come, and they'll stop you!"
"Yuh huh," she nodded sarcastically. "Which friends would those be? The ones down in the tunnels?" She paused and put a claw to her ear opening. A few distant reports could still be heard, but the fighting was clearly dying out. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think they'll be around for much longer. I wouldn't put too much faith in your buddies from Las Pegasus either, we'll be long gone by the time reinforcements get here. And as for you, well, that's up to the bossmare."
As if on cue, yellow warning lights lit up around the vault entrance and the massive metal doors creaked open. A troupe of creatures marched out from the darkened secure vault. Their faces were all concealed by gas masks and to Swift's horrified realization not one wore the golden armor of his comrades. The leader, a pale yellow unicorn, lit her horn and levitated the mask off her muzzle to reveal the ordinary features of a mare in her mid-thirties beset by a look of iron-willed determination. She shook red and purple curls free and tossed the garment aside. "Listen up, party ponies! I want us packed up and ready to move in fifteen! We're leaving as soon as the crates are loaded so if you don't want to be left behind get your tails in motion! You idiots!" She pointed to a posse of harpies, griffons, and two fish creatures behind her. "get those boxes on the chariot! Posey!?"
"Um, y-yes, Boss?" The earth pony on her left replied hesitantly.
"I need you to gather up anypony still in contact with the stragglers." She said in a somewhat softer tone. "We don't have time to clear out every single guard here. If there's any left, have our ponies fall back, close the blast doors and seal them in."
"O-okay. I can do that."
"Good girl. Jester?"
"Yuppers?" The pegasus on her right bounced in excitement. She cocked her head and lifted one ear in the air like an eager puppy.
"Everything's set? You double checked?"
Jester nodded happily. "Sure diddd!!!"
"I need you to be positive,..."
"Honest! Even triple-checked!!"
"Okay. Got the remote?"
A flick of Jester's tail sent a small plastic square sailing through the air before the unicorn caught it with her magic.
"Faust, Jes! Be careful!"
"Oops, sorry boss!" The lighthearted pegasus shrugged.
"Just go help with the crates!" the leader snapped. She trotted over to the harpy guarding Swift. "How's our guest, Hera?"
"Bit mouthy," the bird replied, "but otherwise no problems, Boss."
The unicorn nodded and turned to Swift. "Congratulations, soldier. It's your lucky day," She said in a tone that suggested he was not lucky in the slightest.
"First Lieutenant Swift Shield," Swift growled. "Equestrian Royal Guard, serial number four two three nine nine six zero zero four. And that's all you're getting out of me!"
"Riight, I already have everything I need from here." The leader rolled her eyes. "Don't need you to talk, just to do one thing for me."
"I'll never help you!!" Swift cried. "You can do whatever you want, you can kill me, but the Royal Guard won't rest until they've found you and stopped you! Even Princess Celestia herself--"
WHACK
"Oh buck, now you've done it," Hera whispered under her breath.
Swift blinked away the stars from his eyes. The left side of his muzzle stung harshly from the hoofstrike. He looked back up at the unicorn, her expression now one of righteous fury.
"Princess Celestia!? You think Princess Celestia gives one bit about you, about any of you!?!?" She screamed at Swift. "Let me tell you something about your precious Princess...
"Princess Celestia uses you. All of you, from the everyday ponies to you idiot Royal Guards to her advisors and... and the ponies she keeps the closest! You can follow her, you can jump when she calls, you can dedicate your life to her and bow down and give her your everlasting loyalty and you know what she'll do!?"
Swift said nothing as the mare continued to seethe. "She'll lead you along, tell you what you want to hear, what you need to hear, and when she's done with you she'll crumple you up and throw you out without a second thought. So don't tell me that she'll save you, or avenge you, or stop me or whatever it is you think she'll do because she does not care about you...
She paused for a moment to regain her composure. "The good news for you is I'm not quite so heartless. I'm going to give you a chance to live and maybe even save your friends! That is, if you're tough enough...
"Cut his foreleg loose," She ordered. Hera shrugged and looped the knife through Swift's bonds, slicing just enough to free his right fetlock. He flailed at her but she quickly pulled back as the leader swatted his hoof away. "Ah-ah-ah! No touching!" She levitated the plastic square she'd received from her lackey earlier and shoved it into his hoof, squeezing his fetlock around a spring-loaded lever. A small crystal on the top of the box glowed green.
"This is a deadmare's switch. It takes a bit of muscle to keep that lever pressed down, but as long as you do then you're safe. As soon as you let go it sends a signal to a reciever hooked up to... well, I trust you're familiar with the rumors about what your favorite Princess keeps down here?"
Swift Shield gave her a single silent nod from behind his angry glower.
"Good, then I'll leave the consequences for failure up to your imagination. Point is, as long as you don't let go then you, your friends, and anypony else left in this base get to live to fight another day. Based on average response times from the Las Pegasus garrison, you have about forty-five minutes until help arrives. I sincerely hope you haven't been skipping out on your workouts, soldier." She turned and trotted towards the chariots, leaving Swift to strain uselessly against his bonds one more as he squeezed the remote tightly to his barrel.
"How can you do something like this!?" He shouted at her retreating form. "All those innocent ponies!! You're EVIL! YOU'RE ALL EVIL!!"
"I'm not," the mare said over her shoulder. She leaped into the back of the chariot and smacked one of the ubiquitous crates with a hoof. "This is evil. And your Princess kept it locked up underneath your hooves until everypony forgot about it. I'm just the pony who's going to remind her that nothing stays buried forever." She turned to the chariot's pullers. "Everypony on? Good, let's go!"
As Swift continued to shout, the chariots lifted off and stole away into the cool desert night. The leader of the band of thieves clambered over her take and into the chariot's forward compartment with her lackeys. Posey whimpered at the sight of her boss while Jester squeed happily.
"Jes, you set the secondary tripwire?"
"Yesseroonie!" Jester nodded enthusiastically. "As soon as somepony opens the vault door, then SURPRISE!!!" She shouted, causing the others to wince.
"Good. When help arrives, they'll go through the upper levels first. Should be plenty of ponies around for the show."
Posey spoke up, barely able to raise her voice above a whisper. "Um, that seems kind of cruel. You told that poor pony he'd be okay..."
The leader sighed. "Sorry Pose, but it had to be done. By the time they're done clearing the dust to even begin to figure out what we stole, it'll be too late for them to do anything. Besides, he should've guessed we were never going to let him go. If he wants to cling to his false hope, then let him." She turned away to stare at the beautiful crescent moon above them.
"At some point everypony has to realize what a broken promise can do..."
Author's Note
Careful, Celestia. Not every failed project of yours gets a neat little redemption arc like Sunset Shimmer’s.
