The Lunar Revolution

The Lunar Revolution

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Chapter Six: War Stories

Salvatrice awoke. She didn’t open her eyes; she was still a little tired. Then she did open her eyes.

“Hey there, sexy.” Regent said with a smile.

Salvatrice screamed, jumped and fell of the bed. Regent leaned over the edge and looked at her. She groaned, and looked around.

“About time you woke up,” Regent said.

“Why? What time is-” she noticed that it was 2 in the afternoon. “Why didn’t you wake me up? What if we missed something important?”

Regent lay on his side with his head in his right hand. “We didn’t. Nightmare’s planning on a ‘surprise’ for Celestia’s meeting with the Tribes.”

“Don’t we have a mission?”

“Nope. We’re getting a day off. Chrysalis wants time to help the Changelings integrate into our society.”

Salvatrice nodded in understanding, and then remembered that he was still in the room, despite the hour. She asked, “Why are you still here? I was sleeping, but you didn’t have any reason to stay.”

“You looked so pretty and peaceful while you were asleep, and I wanted to savor the moment before you woke up and began to talk. Guess what? The moment’s gone.” She rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Now that I’m up, let’s go.”

They left the room, to their usual hangout. Regent had discovered the place while hunting for manticores. Quite a ways from the Lunar Army’s camp, it was a large cavern, with a hole in the ceiling that allowed light in. There was also a pool of mineral water Regent and the others in his team often went there to blow off steam and relax. Even now, as they went there, Ezekiel, Rune, Atsuko, and Xenophon were relaxing in the pool along with Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis. Ezekiel and Xenophon were in swim-shorts, Rune and Atsuko were in bikinis, and Nightmare and Chrysalis were in one-pieces.

“Sup guys,” Regent said. “When did Moony find out about this place?”

“Find out? I made this cavern in my battle with Celestia, a thousand years ago. This pool was previously ice, which she melted when I dodged her blast. In turn, I made the hole in the ceiling and the entrance.”

“Interesting.” Salvatrice similarly stripped and entered the pool. Regent didn’t remove his clothing; he merely sat at the edge and dipped his feet in.

“Aw, come on, man.” Xenophon said. “Take of your shirt. Show us them wings! And show Rune them abs!” He joked.

“Aw, okay, sur-NO. I won’t.”

“Come on dude, you can show us your wings. We’ve been your friends for like, ten years now.”

“No man, I made a personal vow never to show my wings to anyone. Not until I face…” he grew quiet. They all stopped talking, respecting his secrecy. After they relaxed, Salvatrice spoke up.

“So, how did this war really start?”

“What do you mean?” Nightmare asked.

“Everyone in this room hates Celestia. But you can’t really expect me to believe that this whole army joined you because they supported Luna’s relationship.”

“Yeah,” Ezekiel said, “I’ve been wondering about that too.”

Nightmare Moon looked at Regent. “I thought I told you to tell them the cause.”

Regent rolled his eyes. “Buck you, I do what I want.”

She sighed. “All right, I guess I have to do everything. Gather ‘round, children, tis time for a history lesson. The first war between Celestia and Luna started when our parents died.”

“STOP!” Ezekiel put his hands up. “How could you remember what happened, when you only came out after Luna saw Dante get stabbed?”

               “I was born at the same time that Luna was. I was there from the beginning. The Moon has many phases, but two main ones; the New Moon and the Full Moon. Luna represents the Full Moon, when it is brightest- and I have to admit, she is the smarter between us- and I represent the New Moon, when it is darkest. I represent Luna’s anger, her rage; which is why I only came out when Dante was stabbed. Even in the war, she still loved her sister.

“Anyways, the war really started when our parents died. Alicorns come in two types; immortal, and invincible. Our parents were the latter. Undefeatable in combat, but claimed by senescence. Luna, Celestia, and I are the former. We cannot die of natural causes, but we can be slain in combat.”

“Isn’t Cadence the immortal kind?” Rune asked. “What’ll happen when Shining Armor gets old?”

“Shining Armor is immortal.” Regent interjected. “There are ancient ways, considered forbidden, that allow other races to become immortal.”

Nightmare narrowed her eyes at Regent. “You seem to know a lot about magic, for one who doesn’t use it.”

“Knowing the enemy is half the battle. Weren’t you telling a story?”

“Very well. Now, if we can have no more interruptions, can I continue?” no one spoke up. “Thank you, now if-”

“Who is there?”

“DAMMIT! Ugh, come out please?”

The sound of squeaking wheels was heard as a woman in her mid-forties entered the room.

“Hey there, Trixie.” Regent said. “Have any trouble getting here? More importantly, does EVERYONE know about this place?”

The blue-haired woman rolled her wheelchair towards the pool. She was in a one piece. “Trixie discovered this place years ago, after being exiled from that hick town, Ponyville. Trixie comes here every once in a while to rejuvenate herself. What are you talking about?”

“Nightmare Moon was explaining the origins of the war.”

“Weren’t you supposed to explain that?” Regent sighed and slapped his forehead. Trixie levitated herself out of the chair and into the pool. “Well then, don’t let Trixie’s entrance stop you.”

“Alright, no more distractions? Anyone? Anyone have to eat, anything?” No one spoke up. “Alright, now if I may continue. Before the first war, Equestria was an extremely authoritarian government; more so than now. Then the humans came. They told our parents about equality and freedom. Our parents, who were actually opposed to the authoritarianism but didn’t know of an alternative, liked the idea immediately. Celestia, however, disapproved. She believed that, as an Alicorn, she was destined to rule above the peasants. The war started when our parents, Solaris and Selene, died of old age. Immediately, Celestia staged a coup; our parents willed the Kingdom to Luna. Prior to their death, Celestia spread rumors about how Luna’s moon-raising schedule would give her no time to attend to her subjects; and she was, to some extent, correct. But at that time, Luna and I had reached an agreement. Luna would attend to the daytime subjects, and I would raise the Moon.” It was clear that Rune had a question, but she held her silence.

“After a few years of combat, Celestia gained an ace in the hole. Celestia had six original generals then, like she does now. But unlike now, four of them left; two who would join me, and two who formed the Peace Corps. The humans remained in neutral territory for a year, but then everything changed after-” she paused, clearly remembering something traumatizing. “-after the founder of the Peace Corps was executed. For refusing to give a mercenary and mass murderer food. After that, Dante and Megan joined us. And with their help, we got so close to victory. But Luna gave up a chance to attack and finish Celestia out of fear, and to accomplish her dream of becoming human like him. I told that girl, and she didn’t listen. And Dante paid the price…” She sighed, and buried her head in her hands.

Regent spoke. “You seem very distressed about the idea.”

She looked at him. “Do you know how hard it is to see your other-self flirt and fall in love, and not be affected? And gradually… I fell for him too. Have you ever loved someone, but they didn’t know of your feelings? Even worse, they didn’t know you existed? His supposed death affected me more than it did Luna- at least she got to spend time with him! At least she got to talk to him, to-” she stopped. After taking a moment to compose herself, she continued.

“Anyways, a thousand years later, after I was defeated and Luna was ‘restored’, I fell into her deepest subconscious. Once out of the public eye, Luna was imprisoned, and poorly cloned for any public appearances. While imprisoned, she used the Discord situation to escape and attempt to make herself human. She failed, but the attempt had a timed affect; she didn’t immediately transform because she set the timer wrong in her haste. So after she was recaptured, the chamber was left open, and after the Apple Event, the machine powered up. But with nothing in the chamber, the properties for transforming the subject were released into the air; which is why most of Equestria was affected. For some reason, only the sentient creatures were affected. Well, the sentient creatures, minus the dragons for some reason.

“During the transformation, I awoke within Luna’s subconscious, and the magic involved in the event gave me an opportunity to escape from her mind. And so I did. I formed this body, and woke her up when it was finished. We agreed that I should escape and restart what we began a thousand years prior. And so I escaped. I attempted to gather soldiers;  which was a slow and scathing process, since the only people who accepted me were ‘goths’ and ‘hipsters’. Annoying people… Slowly though, I gained followers, but there was no real combat since they were extremely undertrained. It’s why there was no combat after the change for five years. And then I found you,” She said to Regent, “in the forest. You made it clear that you wanted Celestia’s downfall as much as I, but you made it doubly clear that you wanted to train on your own. And during the course of your training, there were a few skirmishes, which intensified until the First Battle of Appleoosa. I believe that is where we met for the second time, and where you joined us.” Regent nodded. “And that is why this war started. NOW you can ask questions.”

Rune raised her hand. “How would Luna rule during the day, and you at night?”

“When we take turns controlling the body, the other sleeps. It’s like changing not only the mind, but exchanging one body for another. I am physically taller, after all. Using this, we could technically go without sleep for the entirety of our lives. But I suppose, now that we’re separate, we can’t do this anymore.”

Salvatrice asked, “What was the Apple Event? It’s one of the biggest events in Equestrian history, but no one seems to know exactly what happened.”

“Did you expect me to know? I assume someone found it, and inadvertently turned it on, before fleeing in fear.”

No one else seemed to have questions, so they all relaxed and had idle conversations.

Regent stood up. “Well, I’m done here. See ya.” He left the room.

After he left, Chrysalis spoke. “Has anyone ever seen Regent’s left eye?  Throughout all this, no matter what, it always seems covered.”

“Is that even important?” Nightmare asked.

“Actually,” Salvatrice spoke, “Throughout my years with him, even I have never seen it. It’s always been covered by his hair, even during combat. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing; be it a flip, a twirl, even when he brushes his hair to the side, it seems covered by even more hair. I guess it’s just another of Regent’s mysterious secrets. Like what his wings look like.”

“Hey Nightmare,” Rune asked, “do you have a plan for assaulting Celestia’s peace summit yet?”

“Well, even if I did plan something, Regent would probably find some random flaw in it-I’m more of a battlefield general anyway-and make his own foolproof plan. Like usual. So I figured I’d just let him do whatever this time.”

“I see. Well, I guess I’ll go too. Don’t really have anything else to do.”

“Hang on,” Salvatrice said, “I’ll go too. I need to clean up my room.”

Nightmare spoke. “Chrysalis, you should go too and check on your son… I heard he’s been acting like some spoiled child.”

“Ugh, I knew I should’ve thrown him into the forest for his manhood ceremony exam…well, it’s too late now.”

“Trixie will leave as well. She needs to see the chiropractor.”

“All right then. See you later!” Atsuko waved as they left.

As they got close to the camp, they heard shouting. They all sped up, Trixie levitating herself, wheelchair and all, to the area. Regent was staring off against a rather tall Changeling with dark green hair, and bright green eyes. His wings were out, clear and with holes in them. The Changeling was shouting, and Regent was standing there, taking it, with a look on his face that portrayed these words; “I DON’T FUCKING CARE.”

“I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE, I AM THE PRINCE OF THE CHANGELINGS AND I WILL NOT BE DISREGARDED BY SOME PEASANT! GENERAL OR NOT, I AM A PRINCE, AND I ASKED YOU TO GET ME FOOD!”

“Do you see this look on my face? It says, ‘I DON’T FUCKING CARE’. Go complain to someone who does, and get your pompous ass out of my way before I kick it.”

“I AM THE PRINCE OF-”

“I DON’T CARE, YOU WORTHLESS SON OF A BITCH!”

“Hey,” Chrysalis interjected, “I know I’m not exactly honorable, but I don’t think I’m a bitch…”

Regent looked at her. “This is your son?” Chrysalis nodded. “My condolences.”

“ENOUGH!” The Changeling screamed and fire erupted from his mouth. He clawed at Regent, but Regent simply leaned back and dodged it.

“BLACK ILLUSION!” Chrysalis screamed. “I am your mother and you will NOT BE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO ME OR YOUR FATHER! HE MAY NOT BE HERE, BUT IF HE WAS HE’D BE EXTREMELY DISSAPOINTED IN YOU!”

“But MO-M! He didn’t do as I commanded! He-”

“I DON’T CARE!”

“Chrysalis, thank you for your input, but I’ve got this.” Regent said.

“Wha-” But she didn’t get anything else out. Regent had delivered an uppercut to Black Illusion, sending him into the air and onto his back.

“Y-YOU PEASANT! You dare to get dirt on me? This is an insult that I cannot ignore! I will end you!” He transformed into a manticore, and shot his tail at Regent.

Regent caught the tail’s point between his index and middle fingers.

“Fool.” He flicked his wrist, and Black Illusion slammed into the ground behind him. The shock of the impact caused him to revert to his normal form. Illusion turned to face Regent, and Regent stepped on his chest. “If you intend to kill me, make sure you kill your mother, Nightmare Moon, and Discord first. All at once. That’s about how strong I am when I’m not holding back, when I play all my trump cards. If you can’t even do that, then you have no chance.” He stepped off of Black Illusion…and turned to face an enraged Chrysalis.

“The fact that you beat up my worthless son is one thing…but claiming that you’re stronger than me? That’s something else. We’re doing this. NOW.”

“All right… Whatever.”

They stood, face to face, and Chrysalis drew her weapon of choice- a rapier, with a pointy end, but blade that grew thicker towards the hilt to aid in blocking. Regent drew his main sword, a generic double-bladed long sword. What made it exceptional was that it was made of the strongest metal alloy known to Equestrians. They faced off. Chrysalis struck at him, using multiple stabs, but Regent simply dodged each one with an impressive amount of speed. He slashed down at her with an overhead strike and she blocked it. But his strength was superior and she began to lower the sword. She jumped away.

“Impressive. But I can’t lose here. It would mean forfeiting my position as Queen.” She gathered her power, and it surrounded her like armor. She charged headfirst at Regent, expecting her armor to protect her as she slashed at him horizontally. But he back-flipped under the slash, and kicked her into the air. While she was there, Regent jumped and slashed at her.

And for the briefest moment, Salvatrice saw, as Regent slashed Chrysalis, a black aura surrounding him.

He landed on his feet, and Chrysalis on her back. He walked over and helped her up.

“I…I can’t believe that I lost. I lost consciousness for only a second…but in a true fight to the death, that’s all it would take for you to kill me. I guess I shouldn’t have held back.”

“No. You shouldn’t have. You might have lasted a full five minutes before I would have had to pull out any sort of trump card.”

“Oh please, at full power I’d wipe the floor with you.” Just then, Nightmare Moon walked into the camp.

“What in my name is going on here?”

“I apologize Nightmare. My son was being a brat and picked a fight with Regent. Regent wupped his ass, and then mine-because I held back.”

“Oh yeah,” Regent said, “What was that about you forfeiting your position as Queen?”

Chrysalis shuddered. “Um, about that, I, uh-”

“I’m kidding. I don’t want to be ‘Queen’ of anything.” He left, and gradually so did everyone else, attending to other business. Only Trixie stayed.

“So,” She said to Chrysalis, “That’s his son?”

“Yes.”

“You could have stayed. Then, at least, my son might still be here.”

“Don’t blame me for-”

“But it is your fault! You left without giving a warning or leaving any indication of where you were going. It broke his heart. Did you know, after you left, he almost committed suicide? I had to knock him unconscious to stop him. And then I got pregnant… He got happy again, but then Twilight Sparkle kidnapped my child. He told me, ‘Please wait, in two more months I will finish my training with Daravoc, and then we can both go after her. You don’t have to do this alone’. But I told him, ‘No. I have to go now, or I may lose her trace’. He asked me if I knew what this would mean between us, and I told him yes, I did. I severed our romantic relationship to try and save our child… Only to find out that Sparkle had killed him. My child, the only Alicorn other than Luna, Celestia, Cadence and Nightmare Moon. And we fought, and she paralyzed my legs.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to him when we find him.”

They shook hands and left each other’s company for other business.

End of Chapter Six.

A/N: Who are Chrysalis and Trixie talking about, and why is their conversation relevant? Find out soon!