Chapters The Lunar Castle Conference
Nightmare Moon is sitting at the head of a large table silently watching the other occupants who are also watching her. Even tho the room is brightly lit the atmosphere is very serious. They are sitting in one of conference room of the newly restored Castle of the Two Sisters which is now called the Lunar Castle.
Nightmare Moon has just defeated Equestria and formed the Lunar Empire, but even tho the fighting was very intense and bloody and many ponies and batponies have lost their lives, now they have to face the real challenge that is rebuilding the damage done and building their new society where both ponies and batponies can live in peace.
Which is why everyone is gathered here, to discuss how this goal can best be achieved. There are many different ponies and batponies present, all coming from different government branches. There are representatives from the military, the civilian government, of industry and infrastructure and many more.
Nightmare Moon takes one final look at everyone present and then calmly but deliberately begins to speak.
"Mares and stallions, ponies and batponies, I have brought you all here today to discuss and plan the future of our new great empire. We have won the war but there are still questions that remain. Firstly how do we improve the living conditions of our batpony citizens. Secondly what do we do about those who still cling on to the old ways and oppose my rule. And finally there is the problem of Stalliongrad having taken over a large stretch of land along our border. So how do we solve these problems?"
The following silence didn't last long.
"I now how to solve the first problem." A greenish blue batpony with a neatly brushed white mane spoke angrily. It is Starry Glory, a batpony and former writer. He believes passionately in the batpony cause and before the civil war he wrote many pamphlets and speeches denouncing Celestia's rule.
"The only reason our enemies still think they can win is because their goddess." He spits that last word with venom. "Is still alive. As long as she lives they will maintain hope and never give up. So we execute publicly so that all her followers realise that the time that we batponies allowed ourselves to be oppressed are well and truly over! Then we will force the ponies that have profited from our labour to pay back every bit and take back the land they have stolen from us."
Some in the room cheered whereas others remained silent. Meanwhile nightmare Moon's eye twitched. She didn't show it but she was getting tired of this discussion.
When it became obvious that Equestria had lost the war Celestia had decided to surrender to in her words "spare her little ponies from dying needlessly". For her crimes against the batponies Nightmare Moon decided to sentence her to a lifetime jail sentence. But ever since that moment there where those that thought that this punishment was too lenient but she just couldn't bring herself to harming her big sister.
Before Nightmare Moon could speak up however someone else starts speaking.
"No. Now is the time for reconciliation. Only together can we build a better future for everyone."
Rarity speaks with passion. Back when Luna took an interest in the deplorable situation of the batponies and tried to reform Equestrian society, Rarity was one of the few that supported her. Even when Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon Rarity remained loyal to her and as a reward Nightmare Moon made her governess of the Crystal Empire.
Again the room was divided with some of those present expressed their support for Rarity's statement while others remained silent.
The voices are silenced when a female voice with authority started speaking.
General Stars Whirl a dark grey unicorn with a wild white mane was a captain in the Equestrian army but when Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon she and Starry Glory founded their own state called the Disciples of the Night and rose up against Equestria.
Stars Whirl is a devout follower of Nightmare Moon. Soo much so that she organised the Disciples of the Night as an army with a state with the sole purpose of serving Nightmare Moon.
After a short pause Stars Whirl continues.
"We need a united country if we wan't to stop Stalliongrad from rolling over us with their army. They have already taken over the border provinces and there is no doubt in my mind that they wan't to spread their revolution even further. We cannot afford to divide the empire. The Lunar Empire is more important than righting the historical crimes against the batponies."
Nightmare Moon sighs, she thought that this might happen. Even tho everyone present was devoted to her and her cause there was a lot of disagreement about how their goals should be achieved. She is about to intervene to stop this discussion before it gets any worse when Starry Glory speaks up again.
"We have been oppressed for thousands of years and now when we have finally managed to break our chains you wan't to tell me that we can't get what we deserve because you are scared of Stalliongrad. Well let me tell you, what's the point protecting us from Stalliongrad if we destroy the whole reason for our uprising in the first place? There is none and you are a coward if you hide behind Stalliongrad to justify doing nothing!"
"I am not a cow-" Stars Whirl sounds absolutely livid but before she can finish her sentence she is cut off.
"SILENCE!!!" Nightmare Moon's loud voice echoes true the chambers.
"I see we are not getting anywhere today. We will continue this discussion tomorrow and hopefully it will be more constructive than today." She says while glaring at Stars Whirl and Starry Glorry.
"Good day to you all."
With that said Nightmare Moon leaves the chamber.
She moves straight towards her room. It is only midday but she is already exhausted because of all the bickering. She had hoped that everyone would stay united after the war's conclusion but it seems that winning the peace is going to be a lot more difficult than winning the war.
Author's Note
I will try to make regular updates but at the moment I am busy with school and my internship so I won't make any promises.
Reminiscing About a Long Gone Past
After walking for a bit Nightmare Moon reaches her chamber and collapses on her bed. The entire ordeal during the conference exhausted her.
"Why can't those fools just work together. Just look at how far we have already come." She whispers to herself as she looks though her window. Outside she can see Canterlot. Nightmare Moon can't help but reminisce about the events leading up to her transformation.
3 years ago
Luna is determinedly galloping through the hallways towards the dining room holding a rapport firmly in her magic. Luna's heart is beating so fast it could burst out of her chest. She has just read the content of the rapport and she must share this with her sister.
Inside the dining room Celestia is devouring a large stack of pancakes like she hasn't eaten in days when Luna bursts through the door. Luna tries to speak but she is too much out of breath that she can only pant and point her hoof at the rapport.
Celestia smiles at Luna. But when she sees Luna's distressed expression it immediately falters, if Luna is upset then this must be important.
"Breath Luna. Calm down and tell me what's going on, I have all the time in the world for you." Celestia speaks calmly.
Luna takes a couple of deep breaths and begins to speak.
"Sister, have you read this?" Luna speaks sadly and she places the rapport on the table.
Discrimination of batponies in Equestria it says on the title.
Celestia sighs. She had tried reforming Equestria's society to be more inclusive towards batponies in the past and made several laws banning discrimination, but batponies are still looked down upon by the majority of ponies. Celestia had also tried to really integrate batponies in Equestrian society but these efforts had failed because many of the nobles feared it might cause a rift.
"Batponies earn 30 percent less than regular ponies working the same job and that is if they even are accepted, because batponies also have a lower chance of being accepted for jobs even if they fulfil all the requirements. They also suffer more harassment than re-"
"I know Luna." Celestia interrupted sadly.
"If you know then why aren't you doing anything about it!" Luna answered surprised.
"I have tried Luna, I have tried so hard. But I just can't seem to make it work, everything I tried failed. I simply can't fix this problem Luna."
Celestia is holding back her tears when delivering that final line. She doesn't wan't to break down in front of her little sister. But suddenly she feels something warm around her. Luna embraces Celestia with one of her wings.
"I know sister. You would never allow such injustice to exist willingly. But now that I know this I can't sit by and do nothing and unfortunately even if you don't wan't it you are correct in you observation that you failed. So please, allow me to try and solve this." Luna continues with determination in her voice.
"Maybe I will fail just like you, maybe Equestria is simply not ready to accept batponies as an equal species. But maybe I can also succeed maybe I can bridge the gap. Regardless of the outcome tho I simply can't live with myself if I didn't atleast try to solve this problem."
Celestia looks Luna in the eyes and can clearly see the determination burn within them. She has never felt so proud of her little sister. She always worried about Luna not being able to fit in. But perhaps now is the time for Luna to really take her place at Celestia's side as ruler of Equestria.
"Ok Luna. If you really wan't to do this then I will let you. But I won't have you go on this adventure on your own. You will need someone to stand beside you, someone who knows the modern world. I am sure that the Elements of Harmony will be willing to help and it certainly won't hurt your chance at success to have some celebrities standing beside you." Celestia speaks.
Tears of joy start to form in Luna's eyes. Finally she can really contribute something to Equestria. She hugs Celestia tightly.
"Thank you sister. Thank you soo much." Luna squeals with joy.
"Whatever happens Luna know that I could not be more proud of you." Celestia answers with an equal amount of happiness.
After this intimate moment Luna goes back to her room and grabs a piece of paper, quill and ink and vigorously begins to write a letter to Twilight Sparkle, asking her if she or any of the other elements would be willing to help her with her reforms. After a couple of minutes the letter is finally finished. Luna picks up the letter with her magic, focusing on where she want's to send it and suddenly the letter is engulfed in a fire and disappears.
Luna spends the next several hours nervously waiting, first just laying on her bed but later she starts to pace around the room. After what are just a couple of hours in reality but to Luna felt like a thousand years, a green flames appears in the middle of the room which quickly extinguishes leaving only a letter floating in the air before gravity finally manages to get a hold on it and it falls down.
Before it can reach the floor however, Luna catches it with her magic and quickly floats in towards her. She then rapidly opens it and happily starts reading. After reading the first few lines however her smile begin the falter and her expression becomes more serious
"I received your letter princess Luna and passed the request to my friends. Rainbow Dash says she can't come because she is busy training for the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy informs me that she really can't leave her animals behind, Pinkie Pie really wanted to come help you but she has to babysit for two foals, Applejack is busy working on the farm and I can't help you either. Rarity however want's to help you, apparently she has made enough bits that she can close her shop for at least a couple of months. She will come see you tomorrow."
When she reads that last sentence Luna's smile instantly comes back bigger than it was before.
"Tomorrow we shall lay the groundwork for a new and better Equestria." Luna whispers to herself, her smile not leaving her face.
Back in the present
Nightmare Moon happily looked out of her window thinking back to happier times. Her smile disappeared however when she realised she hadn't magically traveled back in time and was still in the present. She got out of her bed and wen't to the door. There was somepony she had to see.
Author's Note
A very quick new chapter. In the future the time between chapters will be longer and might vary from chapter to chapter because I am busy with my internship. I had already begun writing this chapter and didn't wan't to leave you with just 1 chapter with a 1000 words so I decided to try and finish this one today.
Nightmare Moon slowly descends down a long flight of stairs. After several minutes pass she finally reaches the bottom as she enters a large room she is confronted by a cool breeze of air. There are only a handful of candles that don't even produce enough light for the entire room. The darkness in the room is so oppressive that one could almost reach out and grab it. It doesn't bother Nightmare Moon however, her eyes are just as well suited for nighttime use as they are for daytime.
This part of the castle used to be a wine cellar, back when it was still the Castle of the Two Sisters. Now it serves as a prison. Nightmare Moon's glum facial expression changes into a small but honest smile when she remembers all the times she used to sneak inside and secretly get drunk with her sister.
After a short walk Nightmare Moon reaches a large door guarded by two batpony soldiers. The door itself is made from thick steel plates with enchanted gems attached to them that absorb magic. As Nightmare Moon approaches, one of the guards opens the door and Nightmare Moon strolls inside.
This room is even more dark. But this darkness is not merely oppressive, it is almost sentient. Nightmare Moon can feel it grabbing hold of her and trying to drain her magic. Fortunately she is immune to it's effects because she made this herself to prevent the prisoner from using her magic to escape.
Nightmare Moon however is here for a reason and it isn't to test her security systems. She focuses on her horn, a small star appears at the tip of it. Then Nightmare Moon releases her spell and the star shoots forward and rapidly expands, driving away the darkness and lighting up the whole room in a magnificent white light.
At the end of the room, behind bars lays Celestia, the once proud princess of Equestria is laying curled up on a pile of hay that acted like her bed like a beaten dog, her rainbow coloured mane being the only colourful thing in this dull brick room. Nightmare Moon rears up on her hind legs and then violently stomps on the floor, the sound reverberating through the room.
"Wake up sister! We have much to discuss." Nightmare Moon announces matter of factly.
Celestia makes no effort to move.
"Why do you continue to come here?" Celestia speaks softly, her voice sounding just as broken as her appearance.
"Because even tho you committed many crimes against the batponies and you rose up against me when I tried to fix it. You are still my sister, and nothing would please me more then to have you at my side" Nightmare Moon answered kindly.
Now Celestia does move. She slowly stands up and looks at Nightmare Moon, her eyes radiating sadness.
"All I ever wanted was for my little ponies to be able to live their lives in peace and I have given everything to make this dream a reality. Yes I have made mistakes, the treatment of batponies being one of them. But!" Celestia's expression suddenly chances to one of absolute disgust.
"I have never been cruel, I never resorted to violence to solve my problems I never murdered those who opposed me, even when the communists in the north rose up and founded Stalliongrad and I was fully justified to resort to violence, I didn't."
Celestia moves even closer to the cell bars, her expression not changing.
"I will never sit by your side because you are not my sister! Luna cared about Equestria, about friendship and harmony. Luna would not lock me up in her personal recreation of tartarus."
Now it was Nightmare Moon's turn to glare.
"How dare you claim to not be cruel when it was you and you alone who imprisoned me on the moon for a thousand years!" Nightmare Moon all but yells.
"I only did it because it was necessary! And I have always regretted having to do so." Celestia says while breaking down in tears.
Seeing her sister in such a state, Nightmare Moon calms down.
"That is right sister, you did it because you thought it was necessary. Just like I know my transformation and revolt where necessary and how my Lunar Empire is necessary. The only difference between us is that I don't regret it because I know I am right. And I only put you in here for your own safety, there are those in my court that would rather see you dead. But if you repent and denounce the harmonic ways that have brought so much suffering to the batponies, then I can get you out of here." Nightmare Moon almost pleads.
"I won't do that. I will happily admit everything that I did wrong. But supporting harmony and friendship isn't one of those. And for as long as you take the place of my loving and kind sister, I will never even want to stand near you. And don't even get me started on your gang of violent thugs who don't know love, only death and destruction. I will never work with those who want to undo harmony. " Celestia speaks with a heavy amount of defiance in her voice.
After she is finished, Celestia turns around and lays down on her bed, her back pointing towards Nightmare Moon.
"Why can't you be proud of me! I am finally standing up for myself and making a difference, just like I did when I first approached you about the batponies. Fine, if you wan't to spend the rest of your life rotting away in here, then so be it!" Nightmare Moon shouts angrily.
Then she turns around and starts walking outside again. She doesn't see or hear it but behind her Celestia is quietly sobbing in her corner. As Nightmare Moon leaves the light slowly fades behind her. When she leaves the cellar she is suddenly confronted with her tiredness, she yawns loudly and decides that she has done enough work for today and needs to have some rest.
Author's Note
Another very quick chapter, the next one will probably be ready next week.
Cracks Underneath the Surface
Back in the conference room Rarity is watching as Nightmare Moon is trotting away. She quickly packs all her stuff and begins to leave the chamber. Most of those present have already left the room and Rarity has to quickly speak with someone and this might be her only opportunity to do so because she spends most of her time in the Crystal Empire as its governess.
Rarity is galloping through the hallway looking for her target but she can't find her anywhere. "She can't have left already can she?" Rarity thinks. She quickly continues her search. Luckily the element of generosity has some luck at the entrance General Stars Whirl, commander of the armed wing of the Disciples of the Night, and the one Rarity ones to speak with is about to enter her car.
"Do you have to leave already? I was hoping we could speak. I was told you where interested in buying a new dress." Rarity says while putting on the most innocent smile she can manage.
Stars Whirl raises an eyebrow. She most definitely isn't interested in dresses, everyone knew that, and although Stars Whirl had never met Rarity personally she did know about her reputation. Apparently Rarity had been able to proof that Wind Rider a former Wonderbolt had framed another Wonderbolt, whose name Stars Whirl forgot, for a crime she didn't commit by simply hearing about a cake or something like that.
So surely someone as smart as Rarity would know that she didn't like dresses. "So either Rarity is really stupid or she doesn't want to say what she wants to talk about in public." Stars Whirl ponders.
"Sure why not I. How about we take a nice stroll around the premises" Stars Whirl answers in as sweet of a voice as she can manage.
The two mares begin their walk around the castle. The Everfree forest used to be a terrible place with many monstrous creatures wandering around, waiting to pounce on any pony or other creature that dared to enter. There where even stories of the trees absorbing residual magic and becoming alive. But when Nightmare Moon decided to turn the Castle of the Two Sisters into the new capital she expelled the residual magic and had her armies drive away the animals.
Now the Everfree forest is a place of peace and calm with only the sounds of Owls and Nighthawks filling the air. After a nice and peaceful walk, Rarity and Stars Whirl reached a bench along their path. The general sits down while Rarity first takes a good long look at her surroundings before sitting down herself.
"So why are we really here?" Stars Whirl begins.
Rarity takes a deep breath and looks Stars Whirl straight into her eyes.
"Starry Glory is an out of control fanatic who if given the chance will ruin the Lunar Empire and our empress. We need to make sure that cannot happen."
Stars Whirl is completely stunned when she hears Rarity speak. Yes she also has her doubts about her former colleague but she is also a loyal soldier.
"What you are suggesting is treason!" Stars Whirl hisses.
"Is it really treason to protect the Lunar Empire? Besides I am not going to have him illegally assassinated or something like that. I am just saying that we need to keep an eye on him and be ready to warn and protect Nightmare Moon if he tries to take control himself." Rarity answers without a hint of doubt in her voice.
"No Rarity, we either stand together or not at all! We may not like him but if Nightmare Moon has faith in Starry Glory then I will trust her judgement. Besides, we can't just spy or plot against someone simply because we don't like them." Stars Whirl says stoically while standing up.
As she is walking away she can hear Rarity pleading to her.
"But what if you are wrong? You know just as well as I do how much influence the batpony supremacists have in the government. What if he decides to enact all the speeches he has written about cleaning Equestria of the pony filth?. What if he decides that he is right and Nightmare Moon wrong!"
But Stars Whirl doesn't listen and as she leaves Rarity's field of view, Rarity realises she has made a huge mistake.
"I really thought Stars Whirl would understand." She sadly thinks to herself.
Rarity had heard of Starry Glory long before the civil war. He was featured in almost every newspaper in Equestria when he wrote a book called: The Free Thestral Empire, in which he called for the foundation of a new country only for batponies. In this new country of his the entire pony population would be forced to leave or be expelled with violence. Because of this book he was sentenced to a three year prison sentence.
When the civil war began and Starry Glory and Stars Whirl founded the Disciples of the Night in the southern jungles of Equestria, it didn't take long for rumours to start trickle north about how Starry Glory drove away the original pony population in favour of batponies and how he tried to have everypony who he deemed supporters of Equestria killed, it was only due to an intervention by Stars Whirl that he didn't get his wish.
Rarity gets up and slowly slums back to her car. She knows she is done for, Stars Whirl will report this conversation to Nightmare Moon, Starry Glory will find out about it and push for her removal from office or possible even have her executed. Nightmare Moon won't be able to resist out of fear of losing the support of the batponies and then there will be no-one standing between Starry Glory and taking over control of the Lunar Empire.
Rarity gets in the backseat of her car and tells the driver to go to the Canterlot airbase. From there she will take a flight back to the Crystal Empire. As the car begins to move a small smile appears on Rarity's face.
"At least I tried doing the right thing." she thinks.
Author's Note
With this chapter the introduction phase is well and truly over and it looks like tension is rising.
A Split in the Road
At the Canterlot air base Stars Whirl is waiting on her plane to take her back to the Disciples of the Night. The words of Rarity are still stuck inside her head. "What if I am wrong?". Stars Whirl likes to thing that she knows Starry Glory well enough since they fought together in the civil war but she would be lying is she said that he wasn't an extremist.
Everyone knows about the infamous incidents like when Starry Glory wanted to, as he put it "rid the land of Equestrian filth" but there where many other smaller and less infamous incidents. At one point Starry drafted an order that said that said that all non-batponies should be evicted from their homes and put in camps to be observed to make sure that they weren't spies.
When Stars Whirl found out about this she had managed to subtlety dissuade Starry from going forward with his idea, on the grounds that they didn't have enough staff to conduct such an operation.
But even if she doesn't like Starry's political ideas that doesn't mean he is a danger to the Lunar Empire as Rarity put it, right? It were days like this that almost make Stars Whirl miss the civil war. Back then everything was simple, there was an enemy to shoot at, territory to take over, the enemy could always be trusted to shoot back.
There was no scheming behind the curtains or difficult political questions that required one to placate all sides involved. All she had to worry about is how to keep the Lunar Empire safe.
Stars Whirl uses her magic to grab her watch, the sooner she can leave this place of political intrigues and go back to just doing her job the better. But she has no such luck her plane won't arrive for another half hour.
As Stars Whirl puts her watch back in her pocket she is interrupted by a voice from behind.
"If it isn't the great general Stars Whirl, fancy seeing you hear."
"Oh no." The grey unicorn whispers, she has to stop herself from letting out a deep sigh.
"Starry how are you doing? I thought you would be gone by now." She speaks kindly while putting on the best fake smile she can manage.
"Oh things couldn't be better. We are at the verge of achieving greatness, all of our dreams are about to come true." He speaks enthusiastically but his eyes convey something more sinister, like a cat getting ready to pounce on a small bird.
Stars Whirl knows Starry isn't one for small talk. He only does things with a purpose so if he is speaking to her he must want something, and Stars doesn't wan't to spend half an hour listening to his rambling.
"I am guessing you aren't here to just ponder about the future together, aren't you?" She asks politely.
Starry's smile quickly disappears and is replaced by a very serious look.
"You are correct, although it wasn't just a thought when I said we are on the verge of greatness. We are, but now I find myself in need of help to clear the few remaining obstacles on the road."
"And what exactly are those obstacles?" Stars Whirl asks but she already knows she is not going to like the answer.
"Even though we have won the war and defeated Celestia's armies there is still the enemy within. Ponies sitting in their homes wishing for Celestia to return to power and there are also those who have the will to act to restore this dream." Starry Glory speaks.
Stars Whirl frowns. Here it is again. Starry Glory's endless obsession with the internal enemy always seeing pony spies around every corner. Whenever something goes wrong it is always the fault of regular ponies, never can something happen by accident, it is always the ponies who did it. Sometimes Stars Whirl wonders if he actually believes the words he says or if he knows it is nonsense and is just looking for an excuse to kill regular ponies.
"And how do you plan to stop this problem?" Stars asks, it getting increasingly difficult to keep her polite tone.
"During the next meeting I am going to submit a proposal to Nightmare Moon to change the Night Guard from just being her bodyguards to also being an intelligence service with the means and authority to protect the Lunar Empire from those who wish to destroy it." Starry Glory speaks with passion.
Stars Whirl attempt at staying polite fails. Again, another one of his plots against non batponies and to no doubt facilitate his batpony supremacist ideas.
"And naturally you would want to be put in command of this reformed Night Guard?" She states bluntly.
Luckily for her Starry Glory is too busy fantasising about his organisation to notice the rude tone of Stars.
"Well it is going to be a batpony exclusive unit so it would make sense for their representative to assume control but of course it is Nightmare Moon's decision."
Having found the strength again to act polite Stars Whirl asks the question that has plagued her since the beginning of this conversation.
"So why are you telling me all of this?"
Starry Glory quickly glances around to make sure that there aren't any creatures eavesdropping. When he is sure he steps closer to Stars and begins to whisper.
"I realise that my ideas are not very popular among some circles. Rarity is going to downvote my ideas no matter what they are because she only care about maintaining the status quo and keeping batponies weak, and many in the military establishment will not tolerate any proposal that takes power away from them or even just gives power to other organisations."
Stars Whirl rolls her eyes at this. Starry really loves to just ramble on and on about how everyone was against and how he was the only one who was right. Stars isn't sure if he really thinks of himself as a misunderstood prophet or if he just loves to hear himself talk.
"And while there is no doubt in my mind that Nightmare Moon will see the necessity of my proposal and support it regardless of what other creatures say, it is going to be a lot easier to convince her if I am not the only one supporting it. And if there is one thing I know about you, it is your absolute loyalty to the Lunar Empire and Nightmare Moon so if there is anyone who would see why my proposal is necessary it is you."
Stars Whirl feels really drained after Starry finishes his speech. This was not an uncommon phenomenon, almost all of their conversations had this effect on her. She really just wanted to go home.
"I can't say at the moment. I need some time to think about this, there are many aspects I need to take into account." She answers as kindly as possible although her eyes betrayed her tiredness of this situation.
"I understand. I look forward to hearing your answer." Starry Glory answers although he doesn't succeed in hiding the disappointment in his voice.
After saying goodbye Stars Whirl walks away, her plane has just arrived. As she takes her seat she realises that Starry is getting more and more ambitious with his plans. But does it warrant what Rarity is suggesting?
She doesn't know the answer. Maybe after a good night sleep everything will become clear.
Author's Note
I have decided to remove the violence and death tags because even tho there will be violence and death at a later point in the story, it isn't the main focus of it.
Students Follow Their Teacher
Nightmare Moon wakes up after a good and long sleep. Slowly she get's out of bed and makes her way to the balcony to raise the sun. As much as she would love to have the night last forever, she has learned about her previous at conquering Equestria and unfortunately for her most creatures and plant life require light, and she has no intention of being a queen of ruins and corpses.
But that doesn't mean that Nightmare Moon doesn't promote nightlife. In fact she has implemented many policies to make nighttime activities more appealing, like giving tax reductions to businesses that are are open after sunset and subsidising nightclubs.
As she stands on the balcony she takes a good look at her empire. Even in the darkness Nightmare Moon can clearly see the skyline of Canterlot in the distance. It all looks so peaceful, no evidence of the civil war remained. The view reminds Nightmare Moon of what she fought for and what she is still trying to create, a better world for all creatures.
But this better world Nightmare Moon is trying to create is encountering some small bumps in the road that could if left unchecked turn into insurmountable mountains. Ever since Nightmare Moon took over Equestria she hasn't had a lot of time anymore to travel into the dream realm, but every once in a while she takes some free time to take a quick look into the dreams of her subjects to identify possible treasonous thoughts.
Last night Nightmare Moon discovered that there is a lot of distrust between three very important members of her administration. And that Rarity of all creatures even tried to spy on Starry Glory. "Why would Rarity think that his course of action is in my best interest?" she wonders. It bothers her that for the life of her she can't seem to find an answer.
Worst of all is that Nightmare Moon knows she can't just fire them both because she considers them very close friends and because such a move would alienate large parts of her population, and although she is the strongest alicorn even she can't fight an entire nation by herself. Also technically speaking they weren't plotting against her but each other. So she has to find a more subtle way of dealing with them. But how?
"It will have to wait for later." Nightmare Moon thinks to herself as she focuses her magic on the sun. Controlling celestial bodies is a very difficult task even when one has a cutie mark for it. They are not only very big and very far away, they are also out of view so one needs to have a very good understanding of where they are.
Nightmare Moon closes her eyes and thinks about where she left the sun. Once she finds it she slowly but firmly releases her magic. Her eyes are still closed but she can feel it traveling over the horizon and grabbing the sun. Slowly but surely she lifts the massive object above the horizon, at first it travels slowly but as it gets momentum starts moving faster until it reaches the correct spot in the sky at which point Nightmare Moon let's go of her magic.
As the sun illuminates the landscape Nightmare Moon is suddenly hit with an idea. "Of course! My sister must know how to handle these kind of issues. She has governed these lands and the creatures who live here for thousands of years. Surely she must have encountered similar problems." She realises.
Nightmare Moon doesn't like the prospect of visiting Celestia again. Especially not to ask for help as it would basically be her admitting defeat to her sister, admitting that she can't handle being ruler. But Nightmare Moon also realises that if she doesn't solve this problem than there wouldn't be anything to rule over. Begrudgingly she has to admit to herself that it is better to admit being a bad queen than being no queen at all.
Nightmare Moon begins making her way down towards Celestia's private prison. She is completely lost in thought, a single question keeps lingering in her head. How am I going to ask her? Before she has a chance to answer that question she is confronted by the doors to Celestia's prison being right in front of her.
The guards open the door and Nightmare Moon nervously walks inside. She starts sweating profoundly and it suddenly feels like it is a hundred degrees Celsius inside. There are soo many other things Nightmare Moon would do rather than being here, like becoming a living pincushion for Rarity, but she knows that there is no turning back, she has to do this.
When Nightmare Moon is inside she charges her horn for a light spell but before she releases it Celestia speaks up.
"I see that the great and benevolent Nightmare Moon has decided to grace me with her presence one again. For what have I earned this great honour?" She spits with enough venom in her voice to kill a full grown dragon.
Nightmare Moon shuffles in place not quite having figured out what to do yet. After what feels like several hours Nightmare Moon is finally able to formulate a respons.
"I need you help sister." She simply states.
Celestia's ears perk up but she continues to stare at the wall instead of Nightmare Moon.
"And why would I help you destroy that what I have build?" She answers still sounding angry but with less venom than before.
Nightmare Moon takes a deep breath before answering.
"Because if you don't then many innocent creatures could die."
This seems to have catched Celestia's attention because after hearing those words she stands up and faces her corrupted sister. The look on her face is one of both anger and sadness. After remaining quiet for about a minute Celestia begins to speak.
"Fine. I will help you, but not because of you, but to save my ponies from whatever you did that caused this." Celestia answers.
"Some members of my government are distrusting of each other which is already a bad thing, but one of them for reasons unclear to me has somehow decided that in order to protect me she needs to spy on her colleagues. You must have dealt with similar situations. How did you solve it?" Nightmare Moon asks having decided that being honest probably has the highest chance of giving her the answer she needs.
A huge frown appears of Celestia's face.
"You really can't see why your followers behave this way? You are more gone than I thought, if there was even a small part of Luna left in you then you wouldn't need to ask me this question." Celestia speaks sadly.
"I never had to deal with those kind of issues because I always taught kindness and peace to my little ponies, so with a few exceptions that is how they solved their problems because that is how I taught them to solve them. You on the other hoof have taught them violence so violence they will use and unless you change you teachings no creature can change that." Celestia finishes.
Nightmare Moon snaps, a part of her is even screaming for her to kill her sister right there right now. She comes to her sister for help she even admits her failure and all Celestia does is insult her and blame her for what are clearly Rarity's and Starry Glory's actions.
She violently stomps her hooves on the ground shaking the entire room.
"I will not tolerate your petty insults! If you refuse to help then I will do it myself and I will do it better than you ever did!" Nightmare Moon yells before storming out of the room.
As she ascends the stairs a part of her wonders why she keeps up with Celestia's behaviour or why she even keeps her down here. Killing her would not only be the most practical solution considering Starry's continuing campaign to punish her for her crimes, it might also finally teach Celestia not the disrespect her. But every time she thinks of doing it there is this quiet voice in the back of her head pleading her to not do it and for some reason she can't help but listen.
There is of course still the issue of Starry Glory and Rarity. She didn't get the answer she needs so now she has to do it all herself. Suddenly Nightmare Moon's serious face turns into a small smile as she keeps ascending.
She has an idea.
Author's Note
A longer chapter than usual but I had more to tell this chapter.
(edit: spelling)
Rarity is slowly getting out of her bed. She didn't sleep all night out of fear of soldiers barging into her room and arresting her for treason.
"How could I have been so stupid to trust Stars Whirl! I Should have known that she wouldn't be willing to join." Rarity thinks.
Yet it isn't just her own fate that concerns her but also that of every pony and every other creature that isn't a batpony. Rarity knows that once she is gone then there will be no one left to oppose Starry Glory and his genocidal ideas. But even though Rarity knows than she can be arrested any second she does not regret her decision to oppose Starry Glory, only that she failed so soon.
As Rarity looks at the sun slowly rising through her bedroom window for what could be the last time, she thinks back to the events that brought her here in the first place.
3 years ago
Rarity was nervously walking back and forward in one of the many rooms of the Royal Castle in Canterlot. When she heard that Luna needed help to solve the issue of batpony inequality she of course told Luna that she would gladly help her. After all what kind of lady would abandon a princess during a time of crisis. And luckily she had made enough money to be able to leave her shop for a while.
But now that Rarity was actually here she was becoming more and more uncertain about this whole endeavour. After all she didn't have any experience with these sort of things. Yes she and her friends had saved Equestria on multiple occasions but in those cases there was a very clear enemy that needed to be stopped, Instead of actually changing the hearts and minds of ponies.
Then of course there was the issue of the nobles, merchants and industrialists that needed to be taken into account. Rarity doubted that they would just allow the batponies that served as their cheap labour the be treated equally without a fight.
"Oh why did I have to be the Element of Generosity." Rarity laments to herself.
Before she had a chance to continue her lament, the door opened and Luna strolled inside. Rarity tried to bow as was required by protocol but before she could do so she was wrapped in Luna's magic and was pulled into a big hug.
"Thank you soo much for helping me Rarity! You don't know what it means to me. Nopony else wanted to help and for a moment I thought I would have to do it all myself!" Luna spoke enthusiastically.
"Don't worry I may not be the Element of Loyalty but I will always help a friend in need." Rarity replied.
After a couple of seconds Luna finally released Rarity from her magical grip. At that moment Luna felt like nothing could go wrong.
"You and I Rarity, we are going to do great things together."
A week later
"Ugh those damned nobles only care about their own wealth!" Luna yelled while collapsing in one of her chairs.
Rarity sat behind her bureau, sadly looking down at the unsigned paper before her with titled Covenant against the mistreatment of batponies . Rarity sighed deeply.
"I thought for sure that we could convince Blueblood of the necessity of addressing this issue. He may be an arrogant prick but I also thought he cared about Equestria. It seems I am not as good at judging characters as I thought I was." Rarity said while slumping down her chair.
The meeting had exhausted her immensely. Even though Blueblood agreed that the treatment of batponies was horrible and that something should be done about it, he refused to do anything himself saying that now was not the right time to divide the country and the nobility. What's the point of protecting Equestria if the Equestria they are protecting is not worthy of being protected?
"It isn't you fault Rarity you did everything you could. The problem lies with Equestria." Luna stated.
"Don't say that Luna! I can assure you that the majority of ponies agree with us. Celestia also supported your decision. It is just those nobles that keep sabotaging our efforts." Rarity spoke fully revitalised.
She still had faith that the majority of Equestria was good.
Before Luna could respond however the door opened and in walked a batpony who Rarity had never met before but knew by reputation, Starry Glory. He is a batpony extremist who just got released from prison for trying to start a race war between ponies and batponies. Rarity wondered why he was here but she knew it couldn't be anything good.
Starry Glory casually strolled inside and took a seat.
"I take it your endeavour hasn't been going to well?" He asked.
"What are you doing here!? We don't need the support of a murdering mania-" Rarity tried to reply but was interrupted by Luna.
"That is enough Rarity!" She spook firmly like a parent scolding a child before turning her attention to Starry Glory.
"Are you just here to gloat on our recent failures or do you actually have something meaningful to add to the discussion?" Luna asked.
"Do you know the definition of insanity? It is doing the exact same thing over and over again expecting different results. You are not the first creatures to have tried this approach, many have come before you and just like you they also failed."
Using his wing Starry Glory took a folded piece of paper out of his saddlebag and placed it on Luna's desk.
"Perhaps it is time we try a different approach? Think about it." He said before standing up and leaving again.
Luna immediately unfolded the piece of paper and placed it on her desk. Rarity also got up and walked over to luna's desk to see what was on the paper. It was a map of an Equestrian Army armoury apparently located near Canterlot. On the map where multiple markings with texts along side them like "possible entrance", "guard patrol route" and "guard tower".
Rarity was suddenly hit with realisation.
"That maniac wants to break in and steal those weapons! We can't do this, violence is never the answer! If we do this then the only thing we will achieve is creatures dying for nothing." Rarity yelled.
She grabbed the map in her magic and threw it in a nearby bin.
"That is not the solution Luna. I am going to go to bed now but tomorrow we will continue to do this, the right way, without violence and trust me we will win, it may take weeks or even years but in the end we will succeed." After Rarity was finished she also left, leaving Luna behind. As she was doing so however, in the corner of her eye she could see Luna grabbing the the map with her magic and lifting it out of the bin.
Present
Rarity was crying on her bed. That monster took Luna away from her, filled her mind with lies and propaganda. It was a public secret that Rarity had opposed to civil war and only supported Luna and Later Nightmare Moon because she didn't want to abandon her at such a critical moment.
Rarity once again looks outside at the peaceful Crystal Empire. She decides to make a promise to herself.
"For as long as I am alive I will do whatever I need to do to protect Nightmare Moon from Starry Glory and his vile followers."
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and her assistant came in with a radio message that just arrived.
"Report to the Lunar Castle tomorrow at twelve o' clock. Nightmare Moon has scheduled a meeting about the Lunar Empire's security forces."
Author's Note
I am deviating a bit from what happens in Equestria at War because I think it will make the story more interesting if the characters have a more personal relationship with each other.
Stars Whirl is anxiously pacing back and forwards at the Canterlot airbase. This is the second time within a week that she has been summoned here. The only thing the message said was that it involved the security of the Lunar Empire. Stars Whirl knows that it is probably about Starry Glory's proposal for a new batpony intelligence service.
The general had finally made up her mind. She won't allow Starry Glory's plan to succeed. Rarity was right, he will do anything to further his goals of achieving a batpony supremacist state and putting him in charge of this new, stronger and less controlled Night Guard will give him the power and authority to make his dream a reality.
Stars Whirl train of thought is interrupted as her car finally arrives. She rushes inside and they drive towards the Lunar Castle.
After about an hour of driving they finally arrive at the castle. The place is buzzing with activity, there are many high ranking military officers and their assistant's ponies running and flying around carrying suitcases and stacks of documents. But Stars Whirl can't care less about them, there is only one unicorn that she is currently interested in.
After looking around for a bit and not finding Rarity, Stars Whirl decides to look inside. The foyer continues to amaze her. It is giant as if it is made for large dragons instead of equines, the floors are made of some kind of dark blue crystal that glittered beautifully in both sun and moonlight, the walls are made from the same glistering crystals but this time with a dark blue colour and there are tapestries hanging from them and finally the cathedral like arched ceiling is pitch black with a perfect representation of the night sky on them.
Stars Whirl finally manages to stop herself from admiring the room and resumes her search for Rarity. It doesn't take long before she finds her. Rarity is standing in front one of the tapestries showing Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon.
"Governor Rarity it is good to see you." Stars Whirl greet's the white unicorn.
Rarity is startled and faces the general. Stars Whirl notices Rarity's sad look before she quickly changes back into her normal cheerful expression.
"Excuse me I was lost in my thoughts for a moment. Indeed it is good to see you too general." Rarity says in a friendly tone but her shuffling hoofs betray a sense of nervousness.
"Well I am glad I managed to catch you before the meeting. I want to tell you that I reconsidered your offer, I would love to help you with your dresses." Stars Whirl continues happily.
After hearing what Stars Whirl says Rarity kind hide her happiness. She embraces Stars Whirl in a hug, all the anxiety and fear of the last few days slips away.
"Ooh darling that is just absolutely wonderful. This is going to be really big and I will need all the help I can get." Rarity answers while smiling.
Stars Whirl takes a quick peak at a nearby clock and notices that it is almost twelfths o clock. Both mares make their way to the conference room.
The room is filled with the Lunar Empire's most important individuals, every creature is waiting anxiously for Nightmare Moon to arrive except Starry Glory who he sitting calmly in his chair looking contently. Stars Whirl suspects that this is because he knows his finest hour is about to arrive, in fact knowing him he has probably been dreaming about it all night long.
"Well if he thinks that I will support him he is in for a big surprise." Stars Whirl thinks.
Suddenly the doors open and the queen herself walks inside. Everyone get's up from their chair to bow but Nightmare Moon pays them no attention and immediately sits down and the head of the table.
"Mares and gentlecolts I have gathered you here today to tell you about a new policy that is going to be implemented today concerning the security of the empire." Nightmare Moon speaks steadily
Everyone present is surprised by this except Stars Whirl and soon murmurs erupt inside the room. But none are more surprised by this than Starry Glory. He was supposed to be suggesting this, it was his idea.
Nightmare Moon lifts her hoof and every creature present instantly stops talking. No-one want's to anger the queen. After the room is silent Nightmare Moon resumes her talk.
"Even tho there haven't been any major acts of resistance since I ascended to the throne that doesn't mean there won't be any resistance later down the line and of course there is a real possibility of infiltration by the Changeling Lands and Stalliongrad. I have decided to reform the Night Guard to combat these threats, long have they protected me and there is no doubt in my mind that they will protect the Lunar Empire just as successfully."
Nightmare Moon takes a short pause and quickly glances across the room paying special attention to three individuals, Rarity, Stars Whirl and Starry Glory. These three are as much the cause of this reform as the threat their neighbouring nations. But Nightmare Moon knows that this will solve the problems between them.
"The Night Guard will be responsible for gathering intelligence about and then hunting down all foreign infiltrators and internal enemies. They will receive all the freedom necessary to complete this important task. To make sure that this enormous burden is carried appropriately the leadership of the Night Guard shall be distributed between a council of three creatures and any decisions made will require all three of them to agree to it. I have decided that the best creatures for this task are Rarity, Stars Whirl and Starry Glory. The meeting is hereby adjourned." Nightmare moon finishes.
This time the room remains completely silent, every creature is too shocked to react no one saw this coming. Stars Whirl has to take a couple of second to process what was said. Why would Nightmare Moon do this she wonders. She can understand the necessity of an intelligence service to protect the Lunar Empire but why would she place the three of them in charge? She can't come up with a single good explanation.
Before Nightmare Moon leaves the room she walks past Rarity.
"Rarity how about a nice stroll through the park, we haven't had a proper talk in quite some time now." She asks kindly
Rarity of course accepts and together they leave the room.
As they enter the back yard Nightmare Moon is the first one to break the ice.
"Rarity you stood beside me when no other creature would and you worked tirelessly with me to help me achieve my goals. I can't remember ever thanking you for all you effort so I want to give you this as a thank you for your help then and you continuing help."
Nightmare Moon's horn lights up and with a bright flash of light a bottle of wine and 2 glasses appear in front of her.
"I would very much like it if we share a glass right now the celebrate your new appointment." She continues.
Rarity grabs the bottle in her own magic but when she reads the label she almost drops it.
"You can't possible give me this. This is a Vanhoover from 898, only a hoofful exist, this is priceless." Rarity stammers.
Nightmare Moon laughs, if it was coming from any other creature she would assume that they only said that to be polite but with Rarity she knows it is sincere. It is of course expected from the Element of Generosity to have trouble accepting a gift.
"Your friendship is also priceless so I think it is the perfect gift." Nightmare Moon replies happily.
"In that case I would be honoured to share it with you." Rarity says. Now also smiling.
Rarity opens the bottle and fills the two glasses. Nightmare Moon grabs one of them in her own magic.
"To our friendship!" Rarity announces.
They toast glasses and take a sip.
Nightmare Moon is feeling more happy than she felt in a long while. Yes she takes great enjoyment in reshaping her nation into a paradise where everyone lives happily in peace. But she also misses being with friends, being the leader of a nation is a lonely profession. No wonder Celestia always hanged out with Twilight, Nightmare Moon thinks to herself.
As Rarity looks at her queen being happy she also realises something. Now more then ever she needs my support and I will do whatever it takes to protect and help her.
Author's Note
Another chapter finished. I hope you all enjoy it
Stars Whirl and Starry Glory are sitting in front of each other in one of the conference rooms in the castle. They had send a servant to tell Rarity to come here but she hasn't arrived yet. For the moment the two where content with just sitting and watching each other.
The tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife. Starry Glory has a serene expression on his face but on the inside he is fuming with so much anger he could almost burst. This was supposed to be his moment of victory, with the help of the Night Guard he could have finally fulfilled Nightmare Moon's dream of building a paradise for batponies. But know he is stuck with these two ruthless careerists who only care about themselves and the status quo.
Starry Glory keeps wondering about why Nightmare Moon would make this illogical decision. Surely the only reason she would agree to this is if she was forced by them. It would make sense, Stars Whirl and Rarity both have considerable power in the Lunar Empire.
Meanwhile Stars Whirl is putting a considerable amount of effort in trying not to glare at Starry Glory. She doesn't like it one bit that she has to work with this genocidal maniac. Altho it does give her the chance to moderate his radical proposals so at least there is that.
And of course there is the question of why Nightmare Moon would appoint him on this counsel? Stars Whirl always prides herself on being a good soldier and good soldiers follow order, but she can't stop wondering if Nightmare Moon made a mistake appointing Starry Glory. Stars Whirl suspects that all they are going to achieve is sabotage each other.
Before the intens staring contest between Stars Whirl and Starry Glory could become worse the door opens and Rarity trots inside.
"I am sorry I am late I needed do talk to Nightmare Moon." Rarity says while taking a seat next to Stars Whirl.
When Rarity sits down the silence returns, no creature want's to speak first. After a couple of second Stars Whirl is the one to speak first.
"Nightmare Moon has placed the fate of the Lunar Empire in our hooves. We can't put the security of our great nation at risk because of some personal differences." Stars Whirl says.
"I am going to say the same thing I have always say. We can't protect ourselves from external threats as long as the internal enemy remains." Starry Glory says.
"The hoofful of Celestia loyalists that still remain don't have over a hundred divisions along our border. The internal enemy doesn't have bombers capable of destroying our capital while Stalliongrad has both of these things. They are our true enemy." Stars Whirl speaks.
Stars Whirl is getting more and more irritated at this point. Starry Glory just can't seem to look at the big picture he is always obsessing over the enemy within and creating his batpony paradise and it is driving her crazy.
"Listen! There are actual problems that need to be dealt with and you raci-" Stars Whirl yells but before she can finish here sentence she is interrupted by Rarity.
"Ponies please just calm down before someone says something that they will regret. We all care about the Lunar Empire and Nightmare Moon right?" Rarity takes a short pause while staring at the other two before continuing.
"Surely there has to be a way for us to work together. How about this, we divert our recourses evenly for now between internal and external threats and then depending on how the situation evolves we can change our priorities. Is this acceptable to everyone?" She speaks in her over the top sweet voice.
"No it isn't!" Starry Glory angrily stands up from his seat.
"Now is the time to repair all the damage done towards batponies. What is the point of protecting us from Stalliongrad if our citizens have to suffer the same occupation that they rebelled against in the first place. We need to root out the last remnants of Celestia's followers and return the land that was stollen from batponies. When we have done that then we will have a country worth fighting and dying for and there is no doubt in my mind that our citizens will fight ten times as hard for a country that also fights for them then for any oppressor."
Stars Whirl starts to clap slowly.
"While your speeches are as amazing as ever" Stars Whirl states sarcastically "they won't stop the tanks of Stalliongrad. And dividing our country between batponies and the other pony races will only make us weaker."
"It will make us stronger because it was batpony labour that build this nation, it was me who convinced Luna to allow Nightmare Moon to return and it where unicorns, pegasi and earthponies that tried to stop this. If it where up to you two we would still be in Celestia's chains." Starry Glory answers.
Something breaks inside Rarity. She already didn't like being in the same room as that monster but hearing him brag about Nightmare Moon that is just too much. Rarity cared deeply about Luna and her cause but she was always opposed to using violence to further their goals. The only reason she followed the monstrosity that Luna became was because she believed and still believes that deep down Luna is still in there somewhere and of course because she couldn't bring herself to abandon Luna during those horrible times.
"Well if it is up to you me, Stars Whirl and anyone else who isn't a batpony would be laying death in a ditch by now. I will never allow you to implement you twisted ideas and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that your dream will remain dreams." She yells before storming out of the room.
Stars Whirl sighs. She knew this was going to happen the only thing they all have in common is that they have nothing in common. She then get's up and walks after Rarity. Meanwhile in Starry Glory is grinning, this meeting turned out to be more useful than he thought.
As Stars Whirl runs walks out of the room after Rarity, Starry Glory is sitting contently in his chair this meeting turned out much better than he had hoped. He thought it would just turn into a pointless shouting match which it did but in her anger Rarity said something very important.
"I will never allow you to implement you twisted ideas and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that your dream will remain dreams."
And this made Starry Glory realise something. The Night Guard Counsel is ruled by three creatures and decisions can only be made if they are supported unanimously, but what if the counsel can't come to a decision or more importantly refuses to even do the task which Nightmare Moon tasked them to do.
Rarity had said so herself, she will always vote against his ideas and by doing so she is actively preventing the Night Guard Counsel from doing it's job. During such a crisis it would be very reasonable for Starry Glory or any other individual for that matter to abolish this defunct organisation and assume control himself.
The only thing he needs for this plan to work is to seize the Lunar Castle and arrest Rarity and Stars Whirl before they can stop him. Starry Glory also needs to keep them away from Nightmare Moon. They have already poisoned her mind with this counsel idea and he is sure they will try to turn his queen against him if they get the opportunity.
Starry Glory gets up from his seat, there is no time to lose the future of the Lunar Empire depends on his success.
A short while later Starry Glory has managed to assemble quite a large group of creatures in his office. All of them are
Starry Glory looks at those present, there is a lot of murmuring going on, no-one know why Starry brought them here. Starry Glory can't help but smile. Just a couple of years ago he was just a simple journalist and columnist writing for a small newspaper that no creature would even remember the name of but now he was about to write history.
Starry Glory get's up from his seat it's showtime.
"Mares and gentlecolts I have gathered you all here today to tell you about the greatest threat against our kind since the rule of Celestia. Rarity and her clique of dishonourable opportunists and traitors are refusing to do the job that was given to them by our great ruler Nightmare Moon, and by doing so have betrayed the Lunar Empire and all its citizens. I therefore have decided to remove them from power and assume control of the Night Guard myself."
Murmurs erupted again from the room, something like this had never happened before in the empire and no-one knew how to handle a situation like this. Starry Glory gestures the room the be silent again and continues.
"But to do this, to save the Lunar Empire from those who wish to destroy it I need your help. Only together can we free Nightmare Moon from their influence and when they are gone we can finally shape our nation the way we want to without any pony influence."
Many agreeing voices sounded from the small crowd except for one, general Selenite commander of the first tank division currently deployed in the Everfree forest. While everyone was busy paying attention to Starry Glory she quietly slipped out of the room.
In the cafeteria of the castle Rarity and Stars Whirl are sitting together.
"We need to do something to stop that monster. Maybe we could approach Nightmare Moon? Surely she would understand that this counsel idea of her doesn't work." Stars Whirl asks.
Rarity sighs.
"I am not so sure if even she can stop this, sure she has the power to remove Starry Glory from his position but by doing so she would lose the support of him and all his followers and I am not so sure she would risk her empire falling apart." Rarity answers.
Their conversation is interrupted when a batpony mare wearing an army uniform takes a seat at their table.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Rarity asks.
The batpony looks around to see if she isn't being spied on before speaking.
"My name is Selenite I have come to warn you. Starry Glory is plotting to overthrow you and install himself as leader of the Night Guard and he is mobilising his followers to help him. I don't care about your different opinions I only care about what Nightmare Moon wants and if she wants you in that counsel than I will support her decision, so you have my support if he makes a move."
Stars Whirl is skeptical about the situation. Why would a batpony help them? It could be a plot by Starry Glory to provoke a reaction.
"Why are you helping us?" She asks.
"Why? Because not all of us are like him, most of us just want to live in peace without any violence. Also because I fear that his ambitions go far beyond the you two and the Night Guard, maybe tomorrow I will be branded as a traitor, I doubt even Nightmare Moon would be safe. So I am telling you this for all of our sakes." Selenite answers.
After she is finishes Selenite get's up and leaves, leaving Rarity and Stars Whirl alone.
Stars Whirl slumps in her chair. She wants to be surprised about this development but a part of her always knew Starry was capable of this. Meanwhile Rarity is sitting anxiously. This is what she always feared would happen but she can't do nothing, she has to stop Starry Glory and protect the Lunar Empire and its citizens from his madness.
Rarity and Stars Whirl decide to leave, they have a lot of work to do.
Author's Note
For those interested here are the official portraits of Stars Whirl and Starry Glory from the Equestria at War mod
Also sorry for the delay I was busy with some other projects and I had some trouble figuring out what I wanted with this chapter.
Stars Whirl and Rarity are sitting in Selenites command post in the Everfree forest. The atmosphere is very tense, an hour ago they learned of Starry Glory's intention to stage a coup to take control of the Night Guard. Stars Whirl and Rarity are mobilising their respective forces and trying to convince others to join their cause or at least not support Starry Glory.
Rarity is frantically yelling into a radio. "Field Marshall Damiyan I don't care about the rules! You will march Army Group C south towards the Lunar Castle and you will secure it. If anyone tries to stop you shoot them, do I make myself clear!"
She turns to Stars Whirl. "Ok this is what I got. I can remove one of my army groups along the Stalliongrad border and have it support us. It is two hundred thousand strong but it will take at least seven days before they get here and that is if they don't encounter any resistance along the way. Second Tank Army can reach the Lunar Castle in four days. The Crystal Air Force can provide immediate support. I have three strategic bomber squadrons and 4 tactical bomber squadrons ready to strike against Starry Glory forces near the Lunar Castle."
while this news manages to somewhat brighten Stars Whirl's mood she is still very much concerned about the current situation.
"That is great Rarity but while my three motorised divisions can be here in five days the rest of the Disciples of the Night will take around eight days. That means that for the first couple of days we only have Selenite's tank division in the area. Considering that the Night Guard consists exclusively of batponies they will most likely fully join Starry Glory, which means that he will have around twenty thousand soldiers. And that doesn't even take into account other units that might join his cause."
Rarity notices that Stars Whirl is nervous about the situation. "That may be but we still have to try. We both know what Starry will do if he wins, we are all that stand between him and killing every pony he can get his hoof's on."
Stars Whirl smiles. Rarity is right, Starry Glory needs to be stopped no matter the situation.
Meanwhile Starry Glory is inside the Lunar Castle speaking to, Colonel Speck from the Night Guard.
"This is the plan. I have scheduled a second meeting of the counsel in the main conference room, during this meeting I will propose a new plan calling for the arrest of ponies in the area's surrounding the Lunar Castle, that may become threats in the future. This of course will be unacceptable for Rarity and Stars Whirl and they will vote against it. Then we will have our proof that they are not fulfilling the task given to them by Nightmare Moon and have therefore committed treason. You will have your guards nearby so that when I give the signal you will move in and arrest them."
Starry Glory takes a deep breath. This is the most difficult part of his plan.
"When you have arrested them you will take them to the Everfree forest where you will kill them. We will say that they tried to run away. While this is going on you will also secure the rest of the Lunar Castle and place all ministers under arrest. Forces loyal to Rarity and Stars Whirl will undoubtably try to launch a counterattack to retake the castle and we can't have member of the old cabinet running around the place wrecking havoc. Remember we must remove all pony influences to secure our future. In the meantime I will go to Nightmare Moon and inform her of our operation and I will announce the formation of my new cabinet."
"Yes sir, I understand. What forces will we have available?" Speck asks.
"We will have your regiment, but the rest of the Night Guard will surely side with us, and the commander Canterlot Airbase has pledged his loyalty to our cause, he has five fighter squadrons and one close air support squadron. But once I announce my new cabinet batponies from across the empire will rise up and join our cause."
After he is finished, Starry Glory has one of the guards inform Rarity and Stars Whirl of the new meeting before strolling towards the conference room himself.
Stars Whirl and Rarity are still inside Selenites command post when Starry's messenger arrives. When the messenger leaves again Stars Whirl turns to Rarity.
"Looks like this is it. I doubt this will be an ordinary meeting. Is everypony ready?'
"Don't worry I have your backs covered." Selenite answers.
Rarity simply nods yes.
After saying goodbye to Selenite Stars Whirl and Rarity make their way to the Lunar Castle. It takes them about a one hour hike to reach their destination. Stars Whirl's suspicions are almost immediately confirmed by the fact that there is a lot more security present both inside as well as outside the castle.
The door to the conference room is guarded by two soldiers. Rarity and Stars Whirl walk inside where Starry Glory is waiting for them.
"My apologies for the inconvenience but I have a proposal that we need to discuss." He says while looking like a cat ready to pounce on a small bird.
Stars Whirl narrows her eyes at Starry Glory, she doesn't like this but there is no turning back now.
"Lets just get this over with."
Rarity and Stars Whirl sit down. Starry stands up and takes one final look at the door behind which his guards stand before speaking.
"I want to propose a new directive called Directive 07."
The irony of that number is not lost on Rarity and Stars Whirl. 1007 was the year that Luna turned into Nightmare Moon and the civil war began.
"The directive goes as follows. The capital continues to be under threat by ponies loyal to Celestia and the ideology of harmony. Because it is impossible to govern our country without our capital being secure, this threat must be stopped. To achieve this the Night Guard will detain and resettle all pony inhabitants within a one hundred mile radius of the Lunar Castle. These ponies shall be resettled in camps until their allegiances can be ascertained. So what is the counsels decision?"
This is not a difficult question for Rarity and Stars Whirl and they resolutely say no. This is the moment Starry Glory has waited for, het gets up from his seat and looks at the door.
"Then for sabotaging the Night Guard and committing treason against Nightmare Moon and the Lunar Empire I place you under arrest!"
The doors burst open and several armed soldiers storm inside. Rarity and Stars Whirl surrender immediately, they realise that trying to resist is useless, everything depends on Selenite now. The soldiers attach restraining rings on their horns and they are escorted out of the room. As they walk through the castle Rarity notices that they are not the only ones being arrested. There are ponies being locked up in rooms everywhere.
Unlike the other prisoners the two unicorns are being taken outside. Rarity asks where they are being taken but the soldiers refuse to answer. Stars Whirl doesn't need to ask, she already knows what is about to happen to them. They are going to be murdered. The only thing she wonders is wether or not she should tell Rarity the truth. Should she take away her last hope? She decides not to tell Rarity.
As this is happening Starry Glory is making his way to Nightmare Moon. He finds her in front of her office yelling at a soldier.
"What do you mean you don't know! You have ten seconds to explain yourself!"
Before Nightmare Moon has a chance to harm the soldier Starry Glory gets between them.
"Allow me to explain your highness." he says while leading Nightmare Moon back into her office.
Nightmare Moon is fuming with soo much anger she wonders if she isn't secretly Daybreaker. She is just sitting in her office ruling the Lunar Empire and suddenly she hears yelling and creatures being arrested and no-one is telling her anything. If Starry Glory doesn't give her a satisfactory answers she might just throw him out of the window.
"My queen, a group of ponies led Rarity and Stars Whirl have committed treason against you and all of batpony kind. In order to protect you and further our cause I have ordered to Night Guard to arrest these traitors. Instead of surrendering, Rarity and Stars Whirl decided to resist and they where killed during the fighting that broke out."
The news hits Nightmare Moon like a bullet. Her best and only friend is dead? She narrows her eyes at Starry and speaks without even trying to hide her anger.
"What do you mean they committed treason?"
This is not the reaction Starry Glory anticipated. He knew Rarity was close to Nightmare Moon but surely she knew the danger posed to their plans.
He nervously shuffles his hooves before answering.
"Well... They kept sabotaging our plans to improve the condition of the batponies in the empire. And when they forced you to create this counsel for the Night Guard I knew something needed to be done to guarantee the security of the Lunar Empire, so I decided to act."
A single tear escapes Nightmare Moon's eye as she thinks about Rarity's bullet ridden corpse laying somewhere like a piece of trash. Worst of all the reason she is dead is because this no-good buffoon thought it was in her best interest. She stands up and spreads her wings to their fullest, towering over Starry Glory.
"I created the counsel because I wanted you to work together!" Nightmare Moon yells using the full force of the royal canter lot voice.
"And don't you dear tell me it was to further our cause because it was Rarity who stood with me from day one. I kept you around because you said you knew what the batponies wanted and needed. I put my faith in you because you helped me create the Lunar Empire. But if this is how you repay my trust then I am not sure if you are worth keeping around."
Starry Glory gulps. This is not going according to plan
"b-b-b-but they committed treason. I was only doing what I thought you wanted."
He immediately regrets saying that as Nightmare Moon moves the tip of her horn dangerously close to his face, a light blue glow emitting from it.
"The only thing I ever wanted was to build a better world and to be among friends. Since YOU made the last thing impossible here is what is going to happen. You are going to take me to Rarity's corpse and then I will decide how important you are to the Lunar Empire's future and adjust your fate accordingly."
Starry Glory freezes under Nightmare Moon's fierce gaze. He knows he has no other option than to do what she says.
"y-y-y-y-yes m-m-m-my q-queen, follow me" he stammers before quickly moving away towards the door with Nightmare Moon right behind him.
Author's Note
I decided to experiment with a longer chapter so I would like to know shat you think.
View Online
Two Wardens Stuck in a Prison of Their Own Design
Starry Glory is nervously pacing back and forward inside the communication centre of the Lunar Castle. Nightmare Moon had made it very clear to him that she wanted to see Rarity's corpse. This presented a big problem for Starry because he had ordered the Night Guard to just take Rarity and Stars Whirl into the Everfree forest and shoot them, he never specified a specific location. So he has no idea where they are.
He watches outside through on of the the windows, sweat slowly dripping down from his face. Starry had sent a message to Colonel Speck of the Night Guard asking for Rarity's location and Starry is anxiously waiting for a reply. He still cannot understand why Nightmare Moon is so angry at him. Everything he has don he has done to help the batponies of Equestria, this is also the reason why Nightmare Moon accepted his help, why she choose his path instead of Rarity's. Yet now Nightmare Moon is mad at him for that same reason.
But altho Starry can't understand why Nightmare Moon is mad at him he isn't stupid, he knows that making her even more angry will only decrease his chances of surviving this ordeal. He again starts to pace back and forth nervously, waiting for some information he can give to Nightmare Moon. After a couple of minutes that feel like an eternity to Starry Glory one of the radio operators calls out to him.
Meanwhile Nightmare Moon is standing in the hallway. She is completely still, like a statue, but it would be a mistake to think that she isn't doing anything. The all-powerful queen of the Lunar Empire is silent grieving the loss of her only friend. Sure she has colleagues that she gets along well, but they are just that, colleagues, creatures that she has to work with. Other than Rarity there isn't anyone else that she can just talk to.
Nightmare Moon wonders if she ever told Rarity how much she means to her. She did give Rarity that expensive bottle of wine a couple of days ago, but other than that did she ever express her friendship towards Rarity? Did she do anything to help Rarity? She did promote Rarity to governess of the Crystal Empire and she did give her a place on the Night Guard counsel. A slight smile start to appear in Nightmare Moon's face, maybe she wasn't such a bad friend after all.
Her smile quickly disappears as she remembers that Rarity's involvement in the counsel was what lead to her death today. Nightmare Moon stomps the floor violently and gazes angrily at the door to the communication centre, behind which is the one responsible for Rarity's death. Nightmare Moon looks at the floor where a large crack is protruding from underneath her hoof. It doesn't matter anymore, no amount of violence will bring Rarity back. All she can do now is pay her respect to Rarity and give her the proper burial that she deserves. Then she will deal with Starry Glory.
Nightmare Moon's ears twitch as she hears the sound of a door opening. Starry Glory walks out of the room and towards the queen. He is nervously shuffling his hooves, unable to say even a single word. He can't even bring himself to look Nightmare Moon in the eyes, instead they are constantly darting around the hallway, everywhere but her. Nightmare Moon scowls at Starry Glory.
"Well? Are you finally going to say something or will you continue to waste my time." She spits with venom in her voice.
Starry Glory is still unable to look at Nightmare Moon.
Nightmare Moon's frown becomes even more pronounced. She steps closer to Starry Glory and lifts his face up with her hoof, forcing him to look her in the eyes, and she begins to speak in a very soft but also emotionless way.
"You are going to tell me what is wrong right now. If you don't then I will make you suffer more than any creature in the history of this world has ever suffered. Do you understand?"
Starry Glory nods and gulps.
"The problem is that we can't find Rarity's body."
"What!?" Nightmare Moon's eyes widen for a split second before turning into an angry gaze directed at the batpony in front of her.
Starry Glory quickly begins to walk backwards as Nightmare Moon is stepping closer and closer to him. She looks more intimidating and angry than he has ever seen her before. It doesn't take long before his hooves hit a wall and he can't move backwards any more.
"I-I-I have lost contact with the unit that killed her. But I can send someone to go look for them and reestablish contact." Starry stammers.
Nightmare Moon takes a few steps backwards, giving Starry Glory some space.
"We will both go but remember this, if we don't find Rarity's corpse then I will make sure that your's will also be lost forever." She snarls before marching off. Starry follows her very closely.
As the two walk through the forest Starry Glory finds that it looks a lot more intimidating than he remembers or maybe it is just the very angry alicorn walking next to him, he can't tell which. The thick foliage of the different trees and bushes form an almost impregnable wall around him and the branches of the trees arc up above him, trapping him on the ground. He is trapped.
Realising the severity of his situation and that he may not get another chance to ask, the batpony decides to finally ask a question that has been bothering him from the beginning of this great undertaking of his. Nightmare Moon is stoically looking forward. Starry takes a deep breath before speaking his mind.
"I know Rarity was your friend but surely you of all creatures should know how important it is to prioritise the cause above any kind of personal attachments. After it was you who overthrew you own sister because she was getting in the way of all of our plans. And you made me a part of your cause because you realised that the tools of war are stronger than the magic of friendship and violence was the way forward."
At this point Starry Glory has Nightmare Moon's undivided attention for better or for worse. Yet he can't yet make out how she feels, her face is as emotionless as it can be. Starry realises that he can't stop now.
"So why then are you so angry at me when I am doing the exact same thing as we did three years ago and what you wanted me to do?"
Nightmare Moon stops.
"Don't you dare blame this on me! You murdered Rarity not me!" She yells
Starry Glory wonders if he should continue but decides that since Nightmare Moon is already angry he can at least properly explain why he did what he did.
"But you wanted me to use violence. When I approached you and Rarity that is all I brought to the table, blood and the promise of a new empire, and you said yes. You never stopped me once, you always allowed me to wage war how I saw fit. Because we both realised that we needed to be ruthless to win the war. Never did you cry for Celestia's soldiers dying in the fields and streets of Equestria because they where the enemy. Rarity was doing exactly what Celestia was doing, stopping us from achieving our goals, and I handled her the same way I handled Celestia's soldiers. Yet now it is suddenly wrong. What changed?
"What changed!? Back then it was necessary, we needed to overthrow Celestia because, although it brought me great pain doing so, it was necessary to help all those batponies living in the gutter and being mistreated by their bosses. I choose to listen to you instead of Rarity because peaceful solutions didn't work and I wasn't going to do nothing. But what you did today wasn't necessary and even if it was you should have come to me first, Rarity was my friend and I should have been the one to decide what happens."
Deep down however, Nightmare Moon feels the complete opposite, but she isn't going to give Starry Glory the satisfaction. She is suddenly reminded to what Celestia told her, "You on the other hoof have taught them violence so violence they will use and unless you change you teachings no creature can change that." The words keep echoing through her head. Was Celestia right? is she herself responsible for Rarity's death?
Is this perhaps a cruel punishment by fate? to see the empire that she build tear itself apart and being unable to stop it because she is the cause of it all. Is this also what Celestia experienced with the treatment of batponies? simply being unable to stop it from happening no matter how hard she tried.
It pains Nightmare Moon to realise that right now she just as much of a prisoner as Celestia in her cell. They are both alone and unable to change anything. She wonders if this is way Celestia doesn't break, she may be in the most horrible prison imaginable, a place designed purely for suffering, but she is finally free from responsibility. Whereas she herself living in a luxurious castle is more imprisoned than her own sister.
Nightmare Moon shakes her head. NO!. She refuses to be a prisoner, as long as she lives she will try to do good, she will not sit idly by and do nothing. Rarity would have wanted her to continue and try to make the Lunar Empire a better place for all creatures, so that is what she will do. Nightmare Moon stoically begins to march forward again, looking for Rarity.
Author's Note
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Stars Whirl and Rarity. It is just that I feel like I have neglected Nightmare Moon for quite a while now, so now I am taking some more time to express her feelings and emotions.
After a short pause, Starry Glory and Nightmare Moon resume their search. The batpony isn't paying any attention to his surroundings anymore, he is completely lost in his own thoughts, trying to figure out a way to salvage the current situation. Maybe Nightmare Moon will calm down when this is all over, but then again can he really trust on that happening? It worries him deeply, the future of all batponies rest on his shoulders, if he dies then the batponies will be forever lost. He must find a way.
Starry Glory thinks back to his youth. He was only a young foal when he learned that ponies couldn't be trusted and that batponies needed to fight for their freedom. He grew up in a small apartment in Manehattan with his mother and father, they didn't have much but they did love each other very much and that was all they needed. That was until the owner of the apartment suddenly doubled the rent and Starry's father was forced to work double shifts at the shipyard and his mother had to get a full-time job in a textile factory.
Even he himself needed to quit his school and polish shoes to help his family survive. But even that wasn't enough and soon the owner of their apartment had them evicted in favour of a wealthier unicorn family. Starry's parents would die soon after, all the stress and hardship finally taking their toll on them, and Starry Glory was left behind completely on his own.
He remembers reading the newspapers that where left around the gutter where he was living then, talking about all the wonderful things Celestia had done and was doing for Equestria. Yet he never saw any of those things. He continued working as a shoe polisher and slowly but surely he started climbing up, even tho Equestria and ponykind did everything they could to stop him. His wages would be lower than his colleagues, most of the time when he applied for a job he wouldn't even be invited inside and would be instantly send away. He couldn't even buy a proper house.
That is when he decided to become a political activist. To make sure that no batpony would have to suffer the way he did and to make sure that those responsible for these horrible actions would get the punishment they deserve. He started by just painting slogans on walls, denouncing Celestia's rule and the treatment of batponies. But after a couple of years of doing that, attending meetings with other likeminded and writing flyers for their movement, he eventually became a columnist of a small newspaper in the southern parts of Equestria.
His involvement with this newspaper was cut short tho when he was arrested for speaking the truth about Celestia and her band of thugs. A murderer they called him. Can you imagine that!? the ponies responsible for the death of his parents called him a murderer! The only thing he did was stating facts and offering a solution.
During his prison sentence he came to realise that no amount of talking and pleading would ease the suffering of the batponies. No, hard actions needed to be taken. Some time after gaining his freedom again, Starry Glory found a newspaper mentioning how Celestia appointed Luna to solve the batpony problem. Starry realised that if he could convince Luna to join his cause then he would finally be able to avenge his parents and give the batponies their rightful place in Equestria. So he took the earliest train to Canterlot.
Starry Glory's blood begins to boil, thinking back to his awful youth. But that was then, he has more important issues in the here and now. The Lunar Empire has to be saved no matter what the cost or all of his work will have been in vain. He is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't notice that Nightmare Moon has stopped moving until he almost bumps into her.
In front of them lies a death batpony wearing Night Guard uniforms in front of a hole in the ground. Starry notices that his rifles is still lying besides him. A cold realisation embraces every fibre of his being as an idea forms in his head. As silently as he can manage he slowly picks up the rifle and checks if it is loaded, which it is. No one would know that it was him, he can just say that it where Celestia loyalists or supporters of Rarity and Stars Whirl.
Slowly Starry aims the rifle at Nightmare Moon who is still standing in front of him, completely unaware of the batpony's intention. One pull of the trigger and all of Starry Glory's problems will be gone. He already has broad support from all branches of the government for his coup against Rarity and Stars Whirl, and all of the pony members are currently under arrest. So there is no reason why he couldn't take control of the entire government.
But before Starry Glory can do anything the sounds of gunfire fills the air. Nightmare Moon instantly puts up a powerful shield around herself but Starry who lacks any combat experience can only think of one thing, running away, which he promptly does, leaving his queen to fend for herself.
Nightmare Moon sees Starry Glory running away in the corner of her eyes. After he leaves her line of sight the gunfire quickly dies down. Nightmare Moon carefully scans her surroundings, prepared to blast anyone who dares to show their face. She had fought many battles and defeated many opponents but nothing she had experienced would have prepared her for what emerged in front of her from the bushes.
"Rarity!?"
The black alicorn is completely speechless as her white unicorn friend walks towards her, followed closely by her companion Stars Whirl and another batpony who she doesn't recognise.
"I-I-I-t-t-thought that you where dead." Nightmare Moon manages to stammer out.
Rarity steps forward and embraces Nightmare Moon in a hug.
"We almost would have if we not gotten the help that we did."
A couple of hours ago
Rarity and Stars Whirl are walking through the forest with their two guards right behind them, guns pointed at their backs. Stars Whirl is hastily thinking about an escape plan but the situation is not looking good, she can't use her magic because of the restraining ring and if she tries anything the guards will just shoot her in the back. She needs some kind of distraction.
After several minutes of walking the two unicorns are ordered to stop. One of the guards throws two shovels on the ground. Stars Whirl and Rarity both know what this means and grab the shovels and begin to dig. It takes all of Rarity's strength to stop herself from breaking out in tears and begging to guards to show mercy, if she is going to die she can at least die like a lady, with dignity.
Stars Whirl doesn't have such problems, as a soldier she always knew that dying was a distinct probability and had made peace with that a long time ago. The only thing that bothers her is that she will be executed like a criminal instead of dying in on the battlefield like a soldier. Still she can't help but looking at her surroundings for something that can help her escape. One of the guards is standing close enough for her to hit him with her shovel but then the other guard will just shoot them.
Then when all hope seems lost they suddenly hear a female voice shout.
"Drop your weapons!"
Immediately the guards ignore the order and begin to shoot in the direction of the voice. Stars Whirl doesn't need to think twice and hits the guard closest to hear with hear shovel, knocking him out instantly. The other guard tries to run away but is shot in the back by an unknown shooter.
"I told you I got your backs." Selenite says as she emerges out of the woods followed by a dozen or so soldiers.
"You sure like taking fashionably late to a whole new level don't you?" Stars Whirl teases.
Selenite quickly removes their restraining rings and the knocked out guard is tied up and taken away.
The trio decide to use Selenite's division to surround the Lunar Castle instead of immediately storming it. If they want to avoid Starry Glory panicking and ordering the killing of all his prisoners. But when they reach the castle they see Nightmare Moon and Starry Glory entering the forest. Rarity immediately begins to follow them and urges the rest to follow her.
Present
"We wanted to just capture Starry Glory but when I saw him point his weapon at you, drastic actions needed to be taken." Rarity finishes her story.
Nightmare Moon only partly payed attention to Rarity's story, she is still overjoyed with her friends survival. However this joy is steadily making place for anger and hatred directed at the coward responsible. The reunion between Nightmare Moon and Rarity is cut short by Stars Whirl
"I am all for happy reunions but right know we have slightly more important business to attend to."
On that everyone agrees and Nightmare Moon teleports everyone to the castle.
By this point all of Selenite's forces are in position around the castle. Nightmare Moon doesn't want to take any risks, if given the chance Starry Glory will surely order the execution of his prisoners and possibly her sister. Stars Whirl and Selenite decide that the best course of action is to have their tanks blast holes in the walls and then storm the castle from all directions.
Inside the foyer of the Lunar Castle Starry Glory is speaking towards a large crowd.
"We where cowardly ambushed by thugs loyal to Rarity and her criminal band of Celestia loyalists. Nightmare Moon bravely fought against the horde of pony ambushers but unfortunately there where just too many of them and she was shot in the back by one of them. With her dying breath she urged me to escape and to continue her work."
Before he can continue his speech there are several large explosions and one of the walls bursts open and dozens of Selenite's soldiers storm inside, the sounds of shouts filling the castle. Despite being ordered to defend the castle till the end, the guards decide that they are not willing to die for Starry Glory and surrender immediately.
Starry Glory is thrown on the ground, when he looks up his blood begins to boil, his Night Guard soldiers are surrendering without even firing a shot. Cowards! apparently he cannot even trust his own kind to do what is necessary. However when he looks at the front door his blood immediately turns to ice. In front of him are standing: Nightmare Moon, Rarity, Stars Whirl and Selenite. Especially the last one shocks him greatly, how can one of his own kind betray him? That the rest hates him he can understand but not another batpony.
He is engulfed in Nightmare Moon's magic and brought before his queen. Her gaze almost piercing through his soul.
"Did you really think you could betray me and my country and get away with it?"
"No one has ever become popular by doing right thing. No matter what you do to me, the truth will come out one day and you shall be cast aside like Celestia." Starry proudly states.
Selenite can't take it anymore, this maniac ruining the reputation of all batponies. Before she even knows it her hoof hits Starry right in the face.
"You are an absolute disgrace! You complain about all the prejudice against us, yet you make all those stereotypes come true. Because of the likes of you, ponies are afraid of us. But now with you out of the picture we can finally build a better nation than you ever would have, and we will do it together Because we are better than you think we are!"
Nightmare Moon smiles, at least now she won't have to waste her breath at this garbage filled meat sack. She simply hands Starry over to Selenite's soldiers, she will come up with a suitable punishment for him later. Right now she is just tired, both emotionally and physically, all the chaos of the last couple of days have really taken their toll on her. She says goodbye to her friends and heads off to bed, falling asleep immediately.
Author's Note
My apologies for the delay. I was also busy with some other projects and the heat didn't help my concentration either, I will try to make the next chapter quicker.
Nightmare Moon is laying in her bed, warmly tugged away underneath her blankets. She is exhausted both physically and emotionally, first hearing that her only friend died, then finding out that she survived and then having to deal with a coup attempt that she allowed to happen due to her own negligence. This all weights heavily on her mind.
Specifically the last part is bothering her. Can she punish Starry Glory for a crime that he did commit but she herself also allowed to happen? She thinks back to her conversation with her sister a while back about students following their teacher. There really is no major difference between what he did when she first asked for his help three years ago and what he has done now.
However Starry Glory did commit treason against not only her but also the Lunar Empire and all its citizens. And if he had succeeded he would not have stopped killing until the last pony would have died. It would have been the biggest mass murder in Equestrian history. So he should and would receive a punishment, both as an example to others and to satisfy her own desire for vengeance. But what kind of punishment would be suitable for such a crime, would she just execute him and be done with it, banish him to the moon for a thousand years, have him be tortured for the rest of his life or perhaps something else entirely.
She looks out of her bedroom window, her beautiful moon gracing the entire landscape with its light. She remembers being stuck there all alone, hundreds of miles away from any other living being. A small smile creeps on her face, even though by all accounts she should hate that place with every fibre in her very being, she can't help but be amazed by the beauty of her former prison.
Of course Nightmare Moon can't think about her moon without thinking about her sister who send her there. The same sister who despite being completely out of touch of what has and is happening managed to be correct about Nightmare Moon's problems, violence will always lead to more violence. The queen of the night sighs deeply, she knows what needs to be done, it won't be easy and many creatures will hate it, but if there is one thing she has learned these last couple of days is that she needs to take charge herself and not allow others to dictate events.
The following morning Starry Glory wakes up in his prison. The Lunar Castle doesn't have a dungeon apart from the one for Celestia, so they had to improvise for Starry. They had him locked up in a small magazine for office supplies. Starry Glory didn't sleep well, there was no room for a bed and even if there was, he doubts they would have given him one.
Starry thinks about his future, he knows Nightmare Moon will kill him for his actions, she has a knack for violence. Yet strangely he doesn't feel sad about the situation. He has done everything he can for his kind and he is proud that he will be able to die for his ideals. Future generations will write songs about his sacrifice, a misunderstood martyr who fought for batponies before anyone else.
His train of thought is stopped when the door of his prison opens, revealing Nightmare Moon's imposing figure standing behind it. She is as intimidating as always, towering high above every other creature, however in contrast to their previous meeting this time Nightmare Moon seems far less angry, in fact she is smiling.
"I have found a punishment suitable for your crimes."
The batpony suddenly finds himself wrapped in Nightmare Moon's magic, he is slowly levitated into the air forcing him to stand up. Nightmare Moon begins to casually stroll away. It is obvious that Starry Night is supposed to follow her, which he does. Truth and justice are on his side and no punishment can change that. As he follows Nightmare Moon he see's Rarity and Stars Whirl glaring at him.
Nightmare Moon and Starry Glory enter a staircase and begin walking downwards. Very quickly the staircase becomes darker and darker however this doesn't bother Starry and Nightmare Moon too much as they are both nocturnal creatures and there eyes can adapt quickly. Eventually they reach a familiar dark room, the batpony wonders why he is being taken here.
"Why would Nightmare Moon take me to Celestia?" he ponders.
They enter Celestia's prison and immediately Starry Glory can feel the oppressive darkness reaching out and grabbing him, slowly draining away his night seeing abilities, also his wings start to feel weird and when he tries to move them he finds out that to his horror, he can't move them anymore. A tiny part of him starts to feel a little bit sorry for Celestia, being stuck in this place must be a total nightmare. Nightmare Moon uses her magic to light up the room.
Celestia is laying in the corner, seemingly unaware of her two visitors. Nightmare Moon however knows better, Celestia is a very social being, there is a reason that she always referred to her citizens as "her little ponies" she needed them just as much as they needed her, so there is no way she would give up to opportunity to talk to someone, even if it is her warden.
Nightmare Moon takes a deep breath.
"I Nightmare Moon queen of the Lunar Empire and ruler of the moon have decided to give you, Celestia former princess of Equestria and past ruler of the sun, amnesty for crimes committed against the Lunar Empire."
"What!!!"
Starry Glory's voice fills the room but Celestia isn't idle either, within the blink of an eye she is standing upright and staring at Nightmare Moon intensely, her eyes radiating a mixture of surprise and happiness. Nightmare Moon continues.
"However you are prohibited from having any form of authority, you are not allowed to raise or lower the sun, you will publicly accept my rule and You are prohibited from making any political statements."
Celestia can only reply with one word.
"Why?"
Nightmare Moon sighs. This is the difficult part.
"Because if there is anything I have learned from these past few days," she glances at Starry Glory. "it is that you where right , I have set a horrible example to my citizens, so today I will teach them that while violence is sometimes necessary, one shouldn't use it lightly."
She motions Celestia with her wing that she can leave, which Celestia does without question, but not before taking one last look at Nightmare Moon, her expression being one of gratitude but also pride, the same pride Celestia had in her sister three years ago when Luna decided to fight for batpony rights and this all began. It isn't easy for Nightmare Moon to admit her mistakes, particularly to her sister, but seeing that smile again after all these years makes it all worth it.
After Celestia leaves, Nightmare Moon turns her attention to Starry Glory who is still stunned by what just happened.
"So how do you like your new room?" She asks, putting on the sweetest on most innocent voice she can muster.
"Your not going to kill me?"
"No I am not going to make you a martyr for your twisted cause and I am not going to give you the chance to spread your hatred in a public trial. You will simply spend the rest of your life in this room. I will prohibit everyone from even mentioning the events of the last few days, I will write your name out of every book and every picture of you shall be burned. No one will know what you did, no one will know you even existed in the first place. That is your punishment."
Not even being bothered to wait for his reply, Nightmare Moon walks away, leaving Starry Glory in his cell.
As the door closes behind Nightmare Moon, Starry continues to stand, not moving from where Nightmare Moon left him. He can't seem to form a cohesive sentence. There is only one thing on his mind, he has lost, nothing more nothing less, no epic finale or heroic last stand. Just losing.
Upstairs Nightmare Moon is greeted by Rarity and Stars Whirl.
"I am guessing Starry now occupies the dungeon?" Rarity asks.
"Yes it seemed like the best option. By having Celestia alive I can show that we aren't just mindless thugs who only know violence, but responsible leaders who use violence when necessary but otherwise use peaceful measures. Also a reformed Celestia is a great propaganda victory for me, showing than I can even convince the leader of the enemy to switch sides."
Nightmare Moon moves closer to Rarity.
"Between the two of us, it was also nice to see Celestia smile again."
With that the cracks that has seemed unrepairable have mended and the future of the Lunar Empire and it's ruler is as bright as the full moon.
Author's Note
I am soo sorry for the big delay, a combination of severe writers block and having to work on other projects prevented me from writing.
The story is finally finished. I have learned many lessons that will help me write better stories in the future.
I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Nightmare Moon and Rarity are having the time of their lives. It has been ages since they got to spend time together as friends instead of leader and subordinate. But unfortunately it is not to last, a servant approaches the two and tells Rarity that Stars Whirl and Starry Glory require her presence in the castle for the first meeting of the Night Guard Counsel.
As Rarity is leaving Nightmare Moon grabs her shoulder.
"Hey Rarity, thanks for this, it was fun we should to this again some time."
"I am sure I can make some time in my schedule, maybe I can even make you a new dress." Rarity says while smiling before making her way back to the castle.
Nightmare Moon also begin walking back but she smiles all the way, both because of her time with Rarity but also because she knows her plan to mend the relationship between Stars Whirl, Starry Glory and Rarity will work.
As much as she hated to admit it, Celestia did have a point when she said that students follow their teacher. Luckily for Nightmare Moon this also counts for sisters. After her tirade against her big sister she suddenly remembered something, the reason why Twilight became friends with her friends was because Celestia had decided so. She knew about Rarity and her friends and had send Twilight there knowing that the return of nightmare Moon would force them to work together and become friends in the process.
So Nightmare Moon decided that if this method worked for her sister it would also work for her. Of course there was still the issue of how, the three troublemakers lived completely separately a had different jobs which made having them work together more difficult.
However just as she was about to cast away the idea as impossible Nightmare Moon saw Starry Glory's dream about the reforming the Night Guard. While these reforms where necessary for the security of the Lunar Empire it wasn't difficult to imagine that this would only further increase the rift between Starry Glory and Rarity and Starswirl.
So then she came up with the plan to have the Night Guard ruled by a counsel consisting of the three. It would give Nightmare Moon the best of both worlds, a powerful organisation to keep the Lunar Empire safe and by having Rarity, Stars Whirl and Starry Glory work together they would become friends.
"Take that Celestia! I will teach them violence and friendship at the same time." Nightmare Moon says to herself while smiling.
Author's Note
A much shorter chapter than usual. The reason for this is because I suddenly realised I forgot to explain why Nightmare Moon created the Night Guard Counsel in the previous chapter so I decided to write that in an extra short chapter.
