Opening

"Careful now, Twi," Applejack warned as Luna rose from the pile of volumes,
"Y'all wouldn't want to hurt the Princess, would ya?"
A look of worry crossed Twilight Sparkle's face. She hesitated.
The brief hesitation was enough. Luna's horn shimmered. And Twilight suddenly
lost the ability to move. Though she told her limbs to walk, they were
stationary. Silent.

A slight smile crept across Luna's face as she assumed a regal pose.
"Now, Twilight Sparkle, can we have a mature conversation without violence?"
Twilight was incredulous. "How- How are you doing this?" she asked through
gritted teeth, "The amount of power- how...?"
Luna's face broke into a grin. "Even with all your studies, you have never heard
of Zodiac magic?" Luna didn't seem very surprised. On the contrary, she appeared
to be rather pleased. "My sister must have been thorough, to keep such a secret
from you."

Twilight racked her brain. Zodiac magic? She had no memory of this type of
sorcery. Perhaps it was from before Nightmare Moon was banished.
"You could never match the power of a Zodiac Mage," Luna scoffed. Twilight fell
to the floor in a jumble of legs.

"Now, lets talk, shall we?" Luna said, stepping forward, "Like I said before,
Equestria is in danger. But unlike many of its former foes, this threat comes
from within. For the second time in history, Equestria is going to war with
itself."

Gasps were heard from the six mares. Rarity collapsed melodramatically, landing
comfortably on Twilight's couch.
Luna's words once again puzzled Twilight. The second time? Though she was well
versed in Equestrian history, she had never read anything that referenced a
civil war.

"Is there a revolt going on?" asked Rainbow. She smacked her fist against her
palm. "Do you want us to crush it?"
"No, Rainbow Dash. That is exactly the opposite of what I want."

Twilight Sparkle was aghast. "Princess Luna," she asked, amazed, "Are you saying
you support this?!"

The dark pony looked into the young unicorns eyes. "Of course I support it. I
did start it, after all."

The six ponies were once again shocked by Luna's revelation.

"But, Princess..." Applejack looked up at the royal figure. "Why?"
Luna responded. "Because this way of life is obsolete. Outdated. Dead.
Twilight, Name three countries other than Equestria."
This question took the pupil by surprise, but she answered quickly, "The
Commonwealth of Glascow, The United Federation of Girrafrica, and The Republic
of New Zebra."

Luna nodded. "All nations on the Equestrian peninsula. Now what is Equestria's
official title?"

"The Solar Empire of Equestria."

Luna glared at Twilight "Empire. Not a Democracy, not a Republic, an Empire. It
doesn't even have a constitution!" Luna's rage was building. "It is tyranny,
plain and simple. Celestia has absolute power. Her will is law. She is, for all
intents and purposes, a goddess," Luna spat. She glared at the mares before her.
"Ponies are going to be oppressed."

Twilight spoke up. "But Celestia has never harmed another pony! She hasn't
oppressed anyone!"

Luna turned on the student, her fury overcoming her demeanor. "And what about
when Celestia dies?! Who can assure us that she will not be replaced by a cruel
dictator?!" Luna stepped back, regaining some of her calm. "The point is,
Twilight, ponies have no say in their government," Luna said shakily, "Celestia
won't even let ponies choose their own jobs!"

"Hey! That's not true. I chose to be on the weather team." Rainbow shouted.
Luna turned to her. "And what if you wanted a different job. Say, shoe-making?"
The cyan pony snorted. "That's ridiculous! I can't make shoes! And even if I
could, shoe-making is lame."

Luna was silent for a moment. Her expression seemed... Troubled. Sad, almost.
"Did you know that Spitfire is a painter?"

Rainbow was startled. "A painter? C'mon, Princess, no Wonderbolt would ever do
anything that lame."

"But she does. She's rather good at it, too. When she speaks about her passion
for art..." Luna's voice trailed of wistfully. "Spitfire loves painting with all
her heart and soul. But she isn't as good at painting as she is at flying." The
anger crept back into Luna's voice, "So she is forced to fly, to do tricks for
the enjoyment of others. Do not mistake me, she enjoys flying, but she loves her
canvas infinitely more."

For the first time that night, Rainbow was speechless. Spitfire, Captain of the
Wonderbolts. An artist? But Celestia wouldn't let her? Could it be true?
"Don't listen to her, RD!" shouted Applejack, "She just wants to take over
Equestria. All she cares about is power. She doesn't want what's best for
anypony but herself!"

Much to Rainbow's surprise, Luna nodded. "Yes. I do want power. And I have the
means to achieve it. So why shouldn't I take it? Nothing holds me back." She
leaned in close to Rainbow and whispered, "What is holding you back?"
The limited roster, Rainbow thought, that's why they won't let me join the
Wonderbolts. She told Luna this.

But Luna shook her head. "No, Rainbow. The Wonderbolts have wanted you for
years. Ever since the first Sonic Rainboom, they have been begging Celestia to
let you join."

W-what? The Wonderbolts asked for me? "Then why didn't I make the team?" Rainbow demanded, "What is holding me back?"

Luna repeated her last sentence. "They have been begging Celestia to let
you join."

"Wait...! You mean..." Rainbow suddenly understood.

"You are an asset to her, Rainbow." said Luna, "A weapon. A tool. She doesn't
want the Element of Loyalty living in Cloudsdale. It would be difficult to
mobilize the Elements quickly if you lived away from the rest. Less convenient."
Luna said all this softly, comforting the young pony. "She does care about you."
That struck something in Twilight. "No!" She shouted, her horn shimmering with
fury, "Princess Celestia does care about us! She loves us! She took me in to be
her private pupil! She worried about me! She made me find my friends!" Her horn
glowed more intensely than ever. "How do you explain that, Princess?" she spat.
Luna did not even look at Twilight. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies
closer." She said quietly.

Twilight bristled with rage. "I AM NOT HER ENEMY!" She screamed.
"Of course not." Replied Luna calmly, "If you were, you would be by her side
24/7. But you aren't her friend either. She sees two classes of creatures:
Enemies and tools. As you said, you are not an enemy to her." Luna stepped
toward the window. "Have you ponies ever wondered why all six of you met?" she
asked, "Do not make the mistake of blaming fate, or coincidence. What are the
odds of all six Elements of Harmony living in the same town? And right next to
the forest that held the Elements themselves? Isn't it a curious coincidence?"
Applejack stepped in. "Luna, ah know what you're implyin' and I don't believe a
word of it. How could she be sure that all six of us would be in the same town?
An' how could she know that we would be friends?"

"Sister always was a master at planning," said Luna, "I rarely could beat her in
a game of chess. Think of the events that made you come here. Rainbow, why did
you come to Ponyville?"

Rainbow Dash thought hard. "Well, I did get expelled from Advanced Flight
Camp... And then I saw an ad for a Wonderbolts show here, and when I got here
there was a house for sale." The memories were becoming clearer with each
passing moment. "It was a cloud house, and it was super cheap. There were three
job openings: Librarian, Weather Team and Animal Caretaker."

Luna cut in, "And you were good friends with Fluttershy at this time, correct?"
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. Fluttershy was kicked out of flight camp too. She took
the Animal Caretaker job, and I joined the Weather Team."
Luna looked at Rainbow. "Who controls the flight camp?"
"The head counselor."
"And who makes the Wonderbolt's schedule?"
"Their manager."
"And who controls Ponyville's real estate prices?"
"The mayor."

Luna nodded once more. "These three ponies all happen to report directly to one
pony. Do you know who that is?"
Rainbow bristled. "Celestia."

"Now hold yer horses, Luna." Applejack stepped in, "I've lived in Ponyville my
whole life. She didn't kick me outta nowhere!"

Luna turned to the stout farmer. "Yes. You were the stationary piece. It was you
who determined the location. If you had lived in, say, Fillydelphia, then all of
your friends would have been there too. Of course, it was rather convenient how
the Everfree Forest was so close by."

"What about me, Princess?" Twilight asked angrily.
Luna looked at the young pupil. "Twilight Sparkle. The final piece. Once you
fell into place, the entire plan clicked. You were the easiest to maneuver. No
guesswork involved, just orders."

"And meeeee?" Pinkie asked happily.

Luna chuckled. "Knowing my sister, she probably would have just told you that
Ponyville had lots of parties."

"Ohhhhhhhh. So Celestia was the pony with the mustache!"

Typical, Thought Twilight, All it would take to convince Pinkie to
move was a party. Then a thought struck her. "Princess," Twilight was
puzzled, but still seething. "Why did you come to us? You must have other
pupils. What makes us important?"

"There are two reasons why I came to you ponies specifically. First," a familiar
case appeared out of thin air in front of Luna. It was a blue box, with gems
embedded in it on all sides. Gleaming gold outlined its edges. "I want to give
you these."

"Princess! Those are the Elements of Harmony!" Shouted Twilight, "You stole them
from Canterlot Tower!"

"These Elements belong to you six. Celestia had no right to hoard them."

"Uh, Princess? These don't look like the Elements of Harmony."
"Right you are, Applejack. The Elements were originally golden necklaces, and
their power could only be harnessed when they were together. Even then, their
potency was greatly reduced. The sort of magic that the Elements use is
drastically weakened by the presence of gold. I have transformed them for you.
They now posses the power they were meant to have. For the Element of Kindness,"
Luna lifted a cloak from the case, "Fluttershy, I wove your Element into a cape.
The pony wearing it has the ability to stop violence. On a large scale, it will
be ineffective, but with one or two ponies, it could save lives." The cape was
simple, plain. It was a light brown color, with a hood and a clasp to hold it at
the neck. The clasp was a brilliant pink gem shaped like a butterfly.
Fluttershy grabbed it tightly and retreated to the sofa, curled up. She looked
like she was about to cry.

"For the Element of Laughter," Luna pulled a bright pink trumpet from the case.
"Your element has the power to bring laughter to other ponies. Blowing this
instrument will-"

"I don't like it," said Pinkie Pie matter-of-factly.
"W-what?" Luna replied, shocked.

Pinkie turned up her nose at the princess. "I. don't. like. it. You can keep it.
I am not taking that trumpet."
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's a trumpet."
"What's wrong with trumpets?"
"They're boring."
"*sigh* How can I make it less... Boring, Pinkie?"
"I don't know."
"Would you like some other instrument?"
"How about... An ocarina?"
"An... An ocarina? Really?"
"Yes!" Pinkie was squealing with delight, "A bright blue ocarina!"

Luna slumped. "Fine, Pinkie, I'll turn it into an ocarina." And that was that.
Instead of a pink trumpet, a bright blue ocarina hovered in front of Pinkie.

"Yay!" giggled the pink pony, "You're the best!" Before Luna could react, Pinkie
had her wrapped in a tight hug. The Princess hugged back awkwardly, desperate to
be released. After a few moments, Pinkie did just that. As the grinning pony
stepped back, Luna resumed speaking. "For the Element of Loyalty," Luna now
hoisted a gleaming helmet from the box. "With this you can put courage in the
hearts of any pony who is your ally, and strike fear in the hearts of your
enemies." Rainbow took the helmet. It shined in the candlelight. The piece was
quite obviously military grade, meant for somepony very powerful. Yet, it was a
simple headpiece. Two colors, black and gold, made up the helmet's color scheme.
It looked oddly familiar. Rainbow couldn't place her hoof on it, but...

"Hey!" she exclaimed, coming to a realization, "This is the prop I wore on
Hearth's Warming Eve! Commander Hurricane's helmet."

Luna confirmed the blue pony's assessment. "Correct. That is indeed Commander
Hurricane's helmet. But it is no mere replica."

Twilight stared dumbfounded. "But they could never find any artifacts from the
last tribe leaders! Archeologists have been searching for years!"
0Luna wagged her hoof at Twilight. "Haven't I told you about the secrets Celestia
keeps? Now," She cleared her throat, "The Element of Honesty," Before Luna could
retrieve the element, Applejack approached. She walked right up to the Princess,
stuck her nose in her face and said, "No. I ain't takin' anything from a traitor
like you."

"Perhaps you don't understand. This is not a bribe, Applejack."
"I don't care what it is. I won't accept any presents from you!"
Luna straightened up. "Alright then. It is your decision.

Now then, for the Element of Generosity," Luna lifted a familiar necklace from
the case, "I have changed your Element only slightly, Rarity. Rather than gold,
this necklace is made from silver. You did have a certain fondness for it that
had exceeded the others. It's ability is... Peculiar. Dangerous in the wrong
hands. To put it simply, wearing this gives you the power of persuasion. With
the Element of Generosity, you can make anypony give you almost anything you
want. Money, information, a ride to the Gala, or whatever else pleases you."
Rarity took the necklace and placed it over her head. The purple gem glimmered
from its perch inside the golden mesh. Rarity was mesmerized. Though she had
used the Element twice before, she would never quite become accustomed to the
beauty of the lavender gem.

"And finally, for my sister's 'dear' pupil," Luna turned to face Twilight. "The
Element of Magic. The spark that unites the others. I have something special for
you." She gripped the final object with her hoof and lifted it from the
bejeweled case. A long, simple staff. A knot in the top of it surrounded a gem
shaped like an eight-pointed star. "Twilight? This was once the weapon used by
Star-Swirl the Bearded. This staff is soaked in the magic of the great conjurer.
It will be a useful tool to you, if you are predisposed to use it." Twilight
reached out with her magic to grab the horn telekinetically. But she failed to
find a grip. She tried and tried again, but even with her deepest concentration
she failed to find purchase. Luna sensed her frustration. "The staff of
Star-Swirl is entirely impervious to magic of all kinds. Even the most powerful
of spells can do nothing to affect it."

Twilight reached out again, now with her foreleg. She laid a hoof on the
enchanted wood. Instantly, her vision twisted. Her eyes fogged up, and she felt
dizzy and disoriented. With a cry, Twilight Sparkle blacked out.