Moonrise

Luna, Selenite and Rarity had picked a suite in one of the nicest hotels in Baltimare, as befitted a princess. The living room was strewn with Rarity’s things, from sewing machines to fabrics to garment plans to mannequins; she’d practically turned the place into a workshop despite them only planning to be there for a few days. A panel of fabric lay on her sewing table, part of another outfit for Luna, this one in lighter lilac tones which would be complemented by a flower garland. Not as majestic as the one she’d worn at the rally, but breezy and suitable for festivals like the Summer Sun Celebration where she wouldn’t be the center of attention.

Rarity had immediately set the panel down on the table when Luna had finally awoken from her twelve-hour sleep, leaving the delicate lacework she was doing half-finished. Luna had exhausted herself with her healing magic, but Rarity had expected her to awaken refreshed. Instead, she looked like death. Selenite was circling around her, looking distressed.

“Ah Luna, you’re awake!”

“I am, yes. I shall be returning to bed shortly; do not trouble yourself, Rarity.”

“But there’s so much to do darling! We had a very big night and we have to, ahm...”

“I’ve arranged a meeting with you and the mayor to deal with CAN, as well as with the police chief,” interjected Selenite, “I’m going to coordinate with the local batpony community leaders, see what we can do and…”

She trailed off, seeing that Luna wasn’t paying attention. She’d walked into the kitchen and gotten herself a pineapple from the minifridge in their suite. Then she started mozying back towards her room, taking a bite of the pineapple as she went.

“Luna darling, is something the matter?”

“Nothing is more the matter than it usually is. Leave me be.”

Luna shut the door behind her, leaving Selenite and Rarity dumbstruck.

“I don’t know what’s wrong,” said Selenite, “You read the morning papers right? Everything is going better than we could have planned for, but Luna…”

“It was a little appalling what happened last night, perhaps she’s rattled?”

“A little violence never rattled her, not when it turns out alright in the end. She’s not rattled; she's despondent.”

“Despondent you say? Well I know how to handle that.”

Rarity levitated a stack of newspapers in front of her and marched up to Luna’s door.

“Rarity what are you doing?” hissed Selenite, “You can’t just barge into her room, she is the princess-”

Rarity barged into her room.

Luna was a barely-visible lump in her blankets, lying still and making no noise. In her fussiest voice, Rarity scolded:

“Come now Luna, what ever is the matter? No no, don’t tell me. I already know. You have decided you are a failure and should wallow in pity, is that right?”

Selenite hovered outside, glancing in but not daring to cross the threshold of Luna’s room as Rarity continued.

“I will take that silence as a yes. Darling, I know all too well what it’s like to want to be alone-”

“So leave me,” came Luna’s voice, muffled and miserable.

“Not until I’ve read the morning paper to you, Luna. You didn’t screw up! Here, I have the Baltimare Express, the Baltimare Enquirer, even a copy of the Manehattan Times I had teleported to me by a friend of mine. Your words are there, verbatim, on the cover of every morning edition, alongside a single photograph of that poor batpony the anarchists targeted.”

The photograph had been snapped at just the right time: somepony had taken a picture, just as the mob had dragged the batpony into the alleyway on the way to their guillotine. She was screaming in the photograph, and even in black and white Rarity could see the tears streaming down her face. It was a disturbing photo, but it was sure to drum up sympathy and alongside Luna’s words it painted an unmistakable picture. Rarity tried to show it to Luna, but the princess had her face buried in her covers, so Rarity made an exaggerated sigh and read the column from the Manehattan Times out loud.

“After giving a little rundown of the events and reprinting your words to the mob word-for-word, the front page of the Manehattan times has this to say: ‘While the majority of the violence seemed to be perpetrated by fringe groups and details are still emerging as of publication time, one thing is abundantly clear. The brutality in Baltimare proves that we need friendship between the four tribes now more than ever.’ The four tribes, Luna, they’re already saying four tribes! Anyways, then they say ‘It also vindicates Princess Luna’s previous calls for us to reach out to our batpony neighbours, as well as her more recent condemnations of inaction in the face of what is clearly a crisis in the making.’ See Luna? You have to stop thinking you’ve made a mess of things even when you really haven’t!”

Luna’s head peaked out from under the covers.

“That’s… really what they said?”

“Oh Luna darling, that’s what they’re all saying! I’ve already received a telegram from Hoity-Toity asking how he can help, I expect by tomorrow I’ll have a whole stack of them! Fancy Pants was already onboard, but now he’s issuing a grant for Light Narrative to set up a studio in Canterlot itself. Even one of the communist rags, the PON party newspaper, has spoken favourably of your intervention and condemned CAN as violent extremists.”

“Rarity, I yelled at everypony; they do not like it when I yell. Twilight told me not to yell, but I got so angry when I saw what was happening that I couldn’t help myself… Why have they not ridiculed me again?”

“Twilight doesn’t know the first thing about drama!” Rarity exclaimed, “She always tries to make rules, rules, rules, but it’s all about context, dear: context and presentation! At a press conference, shouting will get you nowhere, but at a riot? Darling, a little bit of divine wrath was exactly what was called for. Oh the way you punctuated your excoriations with that thunderclap, it was magnificent. Simply magnificent.”

“You never shy away from yelling at us during training,” Selenite chimed in, finally overcoming her hangups and crossing the threshold into Luna’s room, “And it works. See, it’s all about when you’re soft and when you’re hard. Like in your book.”

Luna was silent. Rarity and Selenite glanced at each other, trying to anticipate what she’d say next. At a nod from Rarity, Selenite finally spoke after several tense seconds, saying something she’d wanted to say for a long time:

“My princess, I understand that you’ve made many mistakes, and that makes you think you can never do anything right, but that isn’t true. You didn’t screw up: your words and the horrible things that happened last night have finally shaken Equestria out of its complacency; you’ve gotten ponies to actually give a damn for the first time in centuries. Rarity believes in you, I believe in you, so many thousands of batponies believe in you. So Luna, can you please trust us and believe that you’re worth believing in?”

Luna remained silent for a few more seconds.

“Thank you,” she finally said, still not showing her face to the ponies, “It is… difficult, but I will try. If time remains before this appointment with the mayor however, I really must sleep. I spent all of last night battling other ponies’ nightmares, for that is the one thing I… the one thing I thought I was able to do. I told you to leave me be so that I could wallow in misery, but I do genuinely need sleep.”

“I’ll wake you in a few hours,” said Rarity, leaving the room.

“Sleep well, your majesty,” said Selenite, bowing as she left.

***

After Luna had awoken from her much-needed rest, she launched into a flurry of action: she’d had Selenite give her a crash-course on Baltimarean politics, issued a royal decree banning CAN as a terrorist group, met the mayor to make sure that ban was actually enforced and that the victims of the riot would have help getting back on their hooves, then accompanied Selenite to liaise with some of the thestral community leaders she’d been talking to. It was the longest any princess had been in Baltimare in 12 years, and it was creating quite a hubbub. There were only a couple ponies left she needed to meet at this point, and the one she sat in front of now was probably the most important piece of the puzzle: police chief Lavender Berry.

“I would like to apologize again for my department’s failure to prevent the events of last night,” Berry said, ignoring the black coffee in front of him. His desk was immaculately organized, as was every other part of his office, but the sheer quantity of files, cork boards, cabinets and bookshelves made it cramped, especially for one so large as Luna. With his one good eye, the brown-coated unicorn regarded the princess with a stare as glassy as his other eye, which had a milky white patch in place of a proper iris and pupil. Despite its blindness, his bad eye stayed perfectly focused on Luna as he continued:

“I misjudged the situation, I am afraid. I was under the impression that the most likely threat would come from large numbers of TER-affiliated trade-unionists picketing your speech, not from anarchist radicals accosting batponies on the way to see you. I am afraid I underestimated the extremism of CAN, something I thought impossible at the time.”

“Selenite has suggested to me that you couldn’t have prevented the attack even if you’d guessed correctly at where the threat was from,” Luna said, sipping her own coffee. It was the most horrible stuff she’d tasted in a while, but she figured with the way this campaign was shaping up she’d have to get used to bad coffee. Berry’s good eye wandered slightly, his blind one remaining fixed on Luna.

“I am afraid your head of security is correct, your highness. My department has been most understaffed as of late, thanks to the efforts of CAN’s allies in TER. Had it not been for IES, we would not have arrived in time to save that poor thestral’s life, I am afraid.”

“I have already spoken to the mayor. He’s promised to increase your budget to hire new officers. Now I must ask, what are these acronyms? You are the expert on these groups, I take it?”

“I am. I’ve been monitoring those groups for some time. CAN stands for the Confederation of Anarchists, TER for the Trades of Equestria for Reform, a sort of radical trade unionist group with considerable influence over the various unions in Baltimare and ties to CAN. IES is Internal Enforcers of Security, a Stallionist group under the auspices of the larger Stallionist PON, the Ponies Organization of the Nation, which seeks to get those other two groups under control. IES hates the anarchists at least as much as they hate the monarchy.”

“So all these groups are communists. Excellent; perhaps we can ban IES as well. I presume TER is too influential to ban outright?”

“Yes, TER is too influential, and I am afraid I must caution against banning IES. IES is highly disciplined, and nopony knows who their leader is. Hunting them down would stretch my department even further, and they would resist violently. Your highness… may I speak freely?”

“Of course; you are the expert out of the two of us.”

“A rise in Stallionism at the expense of the… other groups,” he said the last words like he was describing some bloated pustule, “Would not be a bad thing. IES are...”

“IES are thugs.”

“True, but they did save that batpony’s life. And they do a lot of work to keep the anarchists in check. Stallionists are quite a different breed from anarchists, your highness. They take inspiration from Stalliongrad, which is a country of laws, albeit communist laws. They are procedural, and detest chaos. I could not ask for a more well-behaved group of dissidents and rabble than the Stallionists. There is also the issue of PON, a more moderate Stallionist group who would be radicalized if we banned IES after they did what was by all accounts a heroic rescue.”

Luna considered. The unicorn was right: coming down hard on everypony involved would muddy the message and overextend Berry’s police. From what little she’d heard of Stalliongrad however, she didn’t want to give their agents free rein over Baltimare.

“How about this, your highness,” suggested Berry, snapping Luna out of her thoughts, “You ban CAN, we do what we can to undermine TER, and we leave PON and IES alone. In fact, I’d recommend issuing a pardon for the IES members picked up at the riot, considering they were protecting their fellow ponies when my officers were sadly unable. It would also drive another wedge between them and the other factions. Once the referendum passes and I have some more officers we can turn our attention to PON and IES.”

“I have to admit,” Luna said, “I do think it’s fair to let the IES ponies go. I’ll speak to the mayor and see if I can get the charges against them dropped. Between the three of us I’m sure we can make it happen, and if that stalls out I can issue a royal pardon.”

“Excellent. There are two more things. First, my department is sorely understaffed, and even with increased funding the amount of procedures we have to go through to hire a new officer can take months before they are even put into training, thanks to TER’s meddling in politics. Similarly, our ability to procure certain equipment, including tear gas to disperse riots and the equipment needed to operate in the jungles around Baltimare, is severely restricted due to more meddling. I believe that in the next few months, Starry Glory’s Duskfall Defence Army will try something.”

“Is that a thestral group?”

“It is. I don’t take sides, your highness, I am a police officer. Glory’s DDA is the most dangerous group in the region aside from CAN, and they have allies among the gangsters within the city although their main operating base is somewhere out in the jungle. With the current procurement restrictions, we would be unable to respond if the DDA disrupted the referendum.”

“Why would they do that, if they’re a thestral group?”

“Glory’s… fanatics… they believe the Southeast is theirs by some ancient right of conquest, and they want to see everypony else here from the citizens of Baltimare to the Neighua of the forbidden jungles gone. They couldn’t care less about your campaign, except as an opportunity to exploit.”

Luna stiffened. Ancient rights of conquest, not ancestral homeland. Had they truly not forgotten, after all these years? Of course not. The Night Guard had boasted often of their families’ martial heritage, or of how they’d kept “the old ways” alive through the generations. But to see those “old ways'' turned into a rallying cry for an extremist group… Luna shook her head. It would be for the historians to count the ways Equestria was still paying for Luna’s mistakes. If she tried, she would never be able to stop, and she would never be able to heal those wounds.

“Of course, chief Berry. I will meet with the mayor again, see what we can do to cut a bit of the ah, red tape.”

“Thank you very much, your highness. My department will not allow another incident like this to happen. Now, I am afraid I have an anarchist to interrogate. We believe we’ve identified the pony whose idea it was to murder that poor batpony in the first place, and I intend to see to it that she tells us everything she knows.”

“Best of luck, Lavender.”

***

The days and nights after the riot had been a blur for Selenite. Meeting with the mayor, the police, the Night Guard, Luna… she was dead on her hooves, but before the princess departed Baltimare, she had one last pony to meet.

Clementine Dewdrop was her name. She’d been in the Baltimare General Hospital for the last three nights, convalescing from the injuries she’d suffered in the riot. Selenite held a cluster of lilacs in her teeth, walking slowly into the ward where an earthpony nurse attended to Clementine. She was a large batpony, almost the size of Bipen, with an orange mane and dull yellow coat which made the source of her name obvious. She looked small though, covered in the hospital blankets, a cast wrapped around her left wing. Batpony wings were even more delicate than pegasus wings, and to have them bound up and dragged along the ground… Selenite was glad they’d gotten to her when they did.

“Clementine Dewdrop?” Selenite said as she set the flowers down on the bedside. She noticed a trio of violets had been left in a vase; evidently someone else had already visited Clementine.

“Yes, that’s me. Are you with the press?”

“No, I’m Selenite, Captain Selenite. Would you mind giving us some privacy?”

The nurse nodded, departing.

“You’re with the Night Guard, right?”

“I am, yes.”

“What do they want with me?”

“Oh, I’m not here on Night Guard business. I just… wanted to say I’m sorry. It was my job to make sure nothing bad happened at the rally, and I failed.”

“We knew what we were getting into. They really hate us here. There’s no way we were going to make things better without at least some of us getting hurt.”

“You’re right, I guess. Is your wing going to be alright?”

“Yeah, I should be flying in a week or two. Hey, Selenite… I don’t want to be rude, but I’ve had quite a few visitors. I’ve become a bit of a celebrity and I don’t like it. Do you have anything you really want to ask?”

“No, I don’t. I think I’ve said what I needed to say. Just know that if you need any help, like if there’s any kind of treatment you need, that costs something, just send a telegram to the Lunar wing of Canterlot castle. Let them know who you are, and it’ll reach Luna, and the princess will take care of you. Don’t you worry.”

“Thank you,” Clementine said after a moment, a weak smile crossing her lips, “Actually, there was one thing I wanted to ask you. I don’t remember it that well, but… was that Luna I saw, conjuring those thunderclaps and the healing wave? Or was that…”

Selenite sighed. Of course. She felt a twinge inside her, seeing the confused emotions play across Clementine's face.

“It was just Luna, Clementine. The sun still comes up every morning, doesn’t it? I haven’t seen her that angry since… well, ever. But that wasn’t Nightmare Moon.”

Clementine looked relieved, but a little crestfallen.

“She’s not coming back, Clementine. And if she did… well, we should cherish our princess,” Selenite said, at least as much to herself, “I know she hasn’t done everything we hoped she would, but you have to understand she barely even spoke the language when she returned. A lot has changed in the last thousand years, and she… she has a lot of guilt over what happened back then. She couldn’t help us the way we wanted her to; she needed to help herself. But now she’s back, she’s really back, and she’s ready to lead us again. We have a princess, Clementine. All the other ponies take it for granted, but now we have a princess too.”

“It was pretty amazing to get to see her. And yeah, I guess you’re right, I just… I wish she had finished helping herself a little sooner. It’s been really hard these past couple years. It’s… strange. You talk like she’s a normal pony, but she’s not, is she?”

Selenite smiled.

“She is. But… she’s also not. You would have to have been around her for a long time. There’s so many sides to her. There’s the pony, the princess, the moon…” Selenite trailed off.

“And the Nightmare.”

“And the Nightmare.”

There was a long pause, both batponies staring out at the setting moon.

“I think you had better go. You look exhausted, and I bet the princess will be needing you soon. Besides, I’m supposed to go to sleep once the moon sets.”

“Of course. Remember, if you need anything…”

“The princess will help. Goodbye, Selenite. Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

***

After that, the three departed Baltimare and made their winding way across Equestria; they planned to stop at each major city in Equestria as well as several large but isolated thestral towns to rally local organizers, coordinate with them, and take their suggestions for how to make thestrals feel welcome in broader Equestria. The referendum would give them a mandate to implement legal changes, as well as cause a few immediate changes, but its power would be mainly symbolic. The three got most of their more concrete ideas from talking to organizers, and they had all kinds of suggestions.

The organizers ranged from wizened moonspeakers, to young and idealistic activists, to sympathetic lawyers, to angry tenants, to batponies who’d made it into more traditional spheres of organizing: one of the most helpful was Fructose Lemon, a thestral who’d become vice-president of the Tall Tale electrical worker’s union. Unlike in Baltimare, the trade unions in Tall Tale didn’t see batponies as presenting a zero-sum competition but as fellow workers and had actively worked to provide job training, educate thestrals on their labour rights, and to unionize as many as possible. If the other syndicalists across Equestria could be swayed to be more like Tall Tale and less like Baltimare, he explained, they could do immense good.

One by one, the organizers told the three about their hopes for the future, from symbolic concessions to legal changes to the institution of new cultural and educational events to economic reforms: when a lot of thestrals spoke about what made them feel excluded, it was as much about housing and work as it was about being formally recognized as a fourth tribe. Many of the ideas were unexpected to Selenite, who had been living a rather privileged life as one of the princess’ retainers. Many batponies also shared their feelings, how hopeful they had been feeling in the last couple weeks since Luna had exploded onto the national stage.

Luna, for her part, mostly demurred from such praise, but the change which had come over her was palpable: between Rarity’s encouragement, Selenite’s speechwriting, and the confidence her ponies placed in her she had come to speak confidently, and had grown more comfortable in the public eye than ever before. Sometimes conciliatory, sometimes angry at stories of injustice, it seemed Luna was able to get through to ponies like nopony else could, whether in person or on the radio. At each stop, support swelled, and the three heard stories of ponies reaching out to their batpony neighbours, inviting them to community events, tenant union meetings, town halls, inviting their foals on play-dates. Across Equestria, batponies found themselves treated like friends and neighbours rather than outsiders for the first time.

After visiting Stableside, Rockville, Las Pegasus, Tall Tale, Whinnyapolis, Vanhoover, and Bales, they had wrapped around and come to Manehattan. Its large batpony population and the cosmopolitanism which defined the city meant there were many ponies sympathetic to batponies and willing to help; indeed it was one of the few places where most ponies truly saw thestrals as neighbours like any other. At the same time, Manehattan was a place of massive inequality, lax labour laws and generally fragmented social networks, which meant that many batponies were economically depressed, and their communities heavily policed.

***

“And… I think that does it,” yawned Rarity, “Darling, I have gone over this speech three times; I don’t think we’re going to get it any better than it already is.”

“Are you sure?” asked Selenite, her eyes closed, “I feel like it needs a bit more… a bit more…”

“More oooooomph,” chimed in Luna, half asleep on the hotel bed in Manehattan, “It needs so much more oomph at the end.”

“Hmm… show them what true friendship is, perhaps? Fight for thestral friendship? Fight anypony who would dare call this friendship? I don’t know, Lulu, maybe…” Rarity trailed off, “Maybe we should talk about this in the morning?”

“It is morning,” said Selenite, glancing at the grandfather clock in their room, “11:15 to be exact.”

“Oh, you know what I mean…”

Rarity had initially had a difficult time adjusting to the nocturnal nature of her two companions, but over the course of the campaign their sleep schedules had blended together into a swirling haze of coffee, impromptu naps and sudden collapses. Rarity and Selenite had gotten used to wrapping blankets around each other, or around the princess on the rare occasions when she fell asleep at a desk, but this time it seemed the three of them had all reached their limit at about the same time. After a few more half-hearted attempts at revision, Rarity and Selenite sauntered off to bed, actually making it for once rather than falling asleep in their chairs like usual. But it wasn’t their own beds which they wandered into but Luna’s, and when they realized their mistake they heard a soft cooing from the princess and decided to stay.

Rarity knew she’d made the right decision when she felt Luna’s wing drape over her, soft and warm. It gently pulled her in, pressing her to Selenite as the feathers tickled her coat. Rarity wrapped her legs around the tiny batpony, holding her close as Luna embraced them both with her wing. Selenite let out a tiny, high-pitched sigh, pressed in between Rarity and Luna, burying her face in the Princess’ starry mane. Rarity felt that same warmth inside her that she felt after drinking a mug of hot cocoa and swaddling herself in a fluffy blanket after a day at the spa, and let that feeling overtake her and slowly ferry her off to sleep. With the princess of dreams holding her through the night, Rarity dreamt of floating castles and of white feathers falling like snow.

***

Selenite was the first to awake. Snuggled against her princess, the warm feathers and Rarity’s legs cradling her, she felt like a foal again cuddled up against her mother and father. It had been so long since she’d seen them; she had to add Fledermaus to the stop list even if it wasn’t a very important town, just to tell them how much had changed. Feeling Rarity shift behind her, she pricked her ears and heard the tiniest gasp from the unicorn. Ever so slowly, not wanting to wake the princess, Selenite turned in bed. Rarity started retracting her legs, but Selenite held onto them and faced her friend. The dressmaker's eyes were wide when Selenite met them, but her shock softened when she saw the warm smile on Selenite’s face.

“Good evening,” Selenite whispered. She drank in the scent of Rarity’s rosewater perfume, coming so close she could feel Rarity’s breathing and hear the beating of her heart.

“Good… evening.”

“I don’t think you realize how special last night was,” said Selenite, “Or how special you are.”

“I, ahm,” Rarity stammered, “I don’t know what your customs are but I regularly share a bed with my friends, I just…”

Selenite shook her head, softly speaking into Rarity’s ear and wrapping her legs around her: “Not me, Luna. She can dispel other ponies’ nightmares and give them the sweetest dreams like she just did for us, but she has terrible nightmares of her own. Other than one time with her sister, she’s slept alone until tonight. She barely ever touches anyone, and she's always scared. Luna’s changed so much since meeting you, she’s becoming more alive, more like…” Selenite trailed off.

“More like her old self?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know Nightmare Moon of course, but I always knew there was something wrong with Luna. The way she recoiled, the way she always waited, blamed herself… I’m not sure she even wanted to be happy. I tried so hard to reach her, we all did, but we never could. I guess being her sworn protectors, there was always some distance… I don't know.”

“Darling are you asking me something?”

’“No. I’m… thanking you. For being you.”

Selenite squeezed Rarity a little tighter, feeling a rush of affection for her.

“Just being near you is all we needed. Thank you.”

***

Rarity had never much cared for Prince Blueblood, not since his behavior at the Grand Galloping Gala a few years ago. So far as she was concerned, when she thought of him at all, he was one of the few ponies in Canterlot who managed to strike that delicate balance between aristocratic fop and ill-mannered boor, tied together with unmatched self-importance.

So when he’d invited her to tea with himself and Chancellor Neighsay at the exact time Luna would be giving her speech, she’d almost dismissed it out of hoof. Who cared if they happened to be in Manehattan; she had nothing to say to Blueblood and she was surprised he even remembered who she was. Then she’d remembered that Neighsay was a very influential pony with power over the education system, and given that was one of the main institutions she and Luna were going to have to change it would be best to get him on their side. Why this scholarly pony was hanging around with a nopony like Blueblood, Rarity would never know, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet with Neighsay. But when she met them for tea that afternoon at a small yet chic cafe, something told her they weren’t there to make friends.

As he floated a cup of tea towards her, Rarity realized she may have underestimated Blueblood. First of all, he would never have poured her tea at the Gala. And there was a certain expression on his face that she couldn’t quite place, but had a hardness to it that she’d never expect out of the foppish prince. He wore a simple vest, white and golden-yellow, with a small red rose on his lapel. Neighsay sat back, slowly sipping his own tea and not looking directly at her. As she sat down, Blueblood cleared his throat and spoke:

“Rarity,” said Blueblood, his voice as pompous as ever, “I’m so glad you could join us; I’m afraid we got off on the wrong hoof all those years ago, but I thought I’d reintroduce myself.”

Rarity couldn’t shake her suspicion, but she extended a hoof out across the table and he shook it.

“I’m Prince Blueblood, and this is my esteemed compatriot Chancellor Neighsay of the Equestrian Education Association; one of the finest sorcerers in all Equestria and a close advisor to Princess Celestia.”

“Charmed, truly!” chimed Rarity.

“As am I,” said Neightsay, his gruff voice contrasting with his sweet words, “It is so fortunate that I have an occasion to meet the designer of some of my favourite outfits.”

“Which of course would imply that the purpose of the occasion is not to meet your favourite fashion designer?”

“Excellent attention to detail,” Neighsay said with a wry smile, finally setting down his cup and making eye contact, “I see you’re all business today, Rarity.”

Rarity smiled. “Oh I wouldn’t quite say that, I’m never all business except the night before a fashion show. There’s always time for pleasantries and fun in my life.”

Blueblood chuckled, then took a sip of tea. Rarity took a sip as well, savouring the delicate flavours of the brew: nutmeg, a little vanilla, and even a pinch of hazelnut over a smooth black tea base.

“So,” began Neighsay, “I presume you know why we are here?”

Rarity regarded him, seeing herself reflected in his pale turquoise eyes. She decided to waste no more time dodging the issue.

“Of course,” said Rarity after a moment, setting her teacup back down, “You wish to persuade me to stop helping Luna on the thestral issue, isn’t that right?”

“Not so much persuade you to stop as give you some friendly advice on what you’re getting into,” said Blueblood, “And perhaps… get you to adjust your approach a little.”

“Ah, my mistake. Do go on, of course!”

“You see, this campaign,” said Neighsay, “It’s going to blur the lines of who your friends are, I think. You’re going to think that certain ponies are your friends when really they are simply using you to further an agenda which you would never want.”

Rarity suppressed a scowl. It wouldn't do to offend the chancellor, although they both knew that Neighsay himself was exactly the kind of pony he was describing, judging by his behavior towards Twilight when she’d set up her school. Blueblood cleared his throat, then spoke again:

“I don't know if you understand what you're doing, Rarity. It's not about your intentions, it's about what you've unleashed. Mass politics never ends well. Thirty years ago, that kind of politics -where you involve every creature, do radio addresses, marches, politicize everything, rather than letting actual leaders handle it- that kind of politics swept over Griffonia, and they still haven't recovered. Revolutions and wars which left hundreds of thousands dead, kings beheaded... that guillotine that CAN erected was a reference to the revolution in Aquileia where they lopped off their king's head! And now you see it taking root in Wingbardy, with the rise of Beakolini and the fascists with their March on Karthin. Their king should have arrested the lot of them, but he caved to the mob and now the mob is leading them to war. We've even seen it here, with the Severnayan revolution establishing that ridiculous communist breakaway in 'Stalliongrad,' and just last year in New Mareland they broke off from Equestria and become a communist state too!”

“Prince Blueblood, mayhaps you're looking at it the wrong way,” Rarity said, “I don't see how a princess-sponsored mobilization in the name of friendship is going to end with republicans beheading the princesses or communists breaking off from Equestria. I don't know about all this griffon business, but I think the March Revolution as they call it happened because governor Jet Set didn't offer any real solutions to the New Mareland Great Depression, and the communists did, even if those solutions were radical. I think we're in an age of mass politics as you call it, and if we don't get with the age and use it to promote friendship -which has been working, by the way, involving everypony in the process has done more good than any royal decree could have- then we'll get swept away by the tide.”

Blueblood sipped his tea, then scowled at Neighsay as the chancellor snarled:

“You are clearly misunderstanding the intentions of these thestrals! You are also flippantly disregarding the forces you've unleashed by trampling on the roles of educated ponies who actually know how to govern a kingdom. The story of the collapse of Griffonia, from a highly educated scholar to somepony who just admitted she knows nothing, is simple: radical politics and disrespect of tradition destroy societies and bring chaos and death in their wake.”

There was an awkward silence, punctuated by Rarity taking a long, audible sip of her tea. When she finished, she addressed Blueblood:

“Well, aside from concerns about our methods unleashing uncontrollable forces of revolution, you mentioned potential nefarious elements within the campaign? And Neighsay said something about me misunderstanding the thestrals’ intentions?”

“We were referring of course to Luna’s misguided followers, the Night Guard,” Blueblood said, “They have played a very active role in setting this campaign up.”

“Well naturally, being thestrals they would want their kind to be accepted within broader Equestrian society, as I am sure everypony at this table intends as well.”

Blueblood grimaced.

“I am sure everypony here would wish it were so,” Blueblood said, “Myself as much as anypony. I’m afraid Neighsay has made me aware of certain unfortunate facts that make me a little more skeptical about whether that's what the Night Guard really want. You see, their leader, Selenite… she has religious views which are rather unorthodox…”

“Although hardly a rarity among the thestrals!” Neighsay added, “Indeed she represents a bit of a bellwether: a tiny bit more radical than the average, just enough to lead them while not enough to alienate the majority of batponies like that maniacal Starry Glory.”

Rarity remembered that name. She remembered the acid that had dripped from Selenite’s tongue when she mentioned Starry Glory.

“Being as I am rather new to all this,” said Rarity, already suspecting she knew the answer but wanting to hear it from the pony’s mouth, “What religious views would these be?”

“It has come to my attention,” said Neighsay, “That Selenite’s mother was raised at an unlicensed religious academy, an organization which exploited legal loopholes to not be classified as a school and therefore not be under my agency’s supervision. We nonetheless kept tabs on them and eventually were able to have them shut down, as the purpose of the organization was to indoctrinate its students into radical Lunarism, better known as Nightmare Worship. And we have ample evidence to suggest that she raised her children into this cult from a very young age.”

Rarity nodded slowly, weighing this. She had fought Nightmare Moon before, and the idea that anypony could worship such a terrible creature seemed farfetched. Surely a few maniacs like Starry Glory, but Selenite? A nightmare-cultist? This sounded like fearmongering, but she decided to ask a few more questions before leaving this unproductive meeting.

“And you believe her mother succeeded in ah, indoctrinating her? And that such a person managed to get into the Night Guard and lead them?”

“At the time we didn’t know of her background,” explained Neighsay, “And even if we did, Luna was rather dismissive of the threat of Nightmarism. I assume she couldn’t imagine how her beloved bats could have turned to worshipping and supporting her evil alter-ego. You see I’d hoped that it was nothing, but we have rather extensive personnel files on her and the other Night Guard at this point, and it seems certain she still holds onto her Nightmarist beliefs. She even agitated against the EEA itself, claiming that enforcing basic school safety regulations were somehow erasing batpony culture or somesuch.”

“You see,” said Blueblood, “I didn’t want to believe it either but Neighsay has been quite thorough. We can let you see the documents if you wish, much of the rest of the Night Guard have similar stories I’m afraid. I’m sure princess Luna’s intentions are good, but she’s being led into believing that the thestral’s plight is far larger than it is and that the fault lies entirely on the three tribes, all in service of a clique who wish nothing more than to destabilize Equestria and Luna herself enough so that their goddess can reemerge. Really, I am sympathetic to the batponies’ cause, but…”

Rarity noticed that Neighsay had tensed slightly. A point of division? These two were far too easy to read.

“Well, I simply wish Luna had issued a royal decree. There’s no reason to get everypony riled up with this referendum. Even if you don’t think mass politics are inherently dangerous, the Nightmarist meddling must convince you that this campaign is a recipe for disaster. Of course, I’m sure it was part of Selenite’s plan to have her panic and do something like that though. What I would want is if you could perhaps talk to Luna, convince her to call it all off and just decree that thestrals will be equal and be done with it.”

“Oh come now, you can’t think that will work; the die has already been cast I’m afraid, and there’s no going back now.”

“Which, unfortunately, is why we’re having this conversation,” said Neighsay, “These agitators represent a clear and present danger to our way of life. I want nothing more than to see thestrals in their proper place in society, but these radicals are using the issue as a means to destroy everything we ponies have built.”

Blueblood winced slightly before adding:

“And by implicating you in it, they hope to prevent the elements of harmony from assembling again! It’s a quite brilliant plan, and I would compliment Selenite if it weren’t so… well…”

“Evil?” asked Rarity.

“Evil? Perhaps. Yes, I suppose that is what it is, isn’t it?”

“I shall have to think on this,” said Rarity, “I would like to see that dossier and information on how you acquired it, of course.”

“Naturally. It is strictly classified, of course. Wouldn’t want to cause a panic; most of the distrust against batponies comes from news of Nightmarist agitation, and to hear that captain Selenite herself was a Nightmarist… it would do immense damage to the status of batponies in Equestria.”

The threat was so plain Rarity almost rolled her eyes. Did this bookworm have no sense of subtlety? He continued on as Rarity finished the last of her tea:

“Now you may decide that Selenite can be forgiven if she renounces her ways, I know you’ve done that many times, but please do be reasonable this time. Even if she needn’t be punished -I am unaware of any actual crimes she has committed- she and the other Night Guard simply cannot be trusted, and you should allow scholars such as myself to provide you a more balanced picture of the thestral situation than extremists like Selenite.”

Rarity nodded, glancing up at the time.

“Ah, I’m afraid Luna’s speech will be wrapping up just now, and I really must meet her back at the hotel. I’ll think on what you’ve said, of course, and I would much appreciate getting to read over that dossier myself.”

“Of course,” replied Neighsay, “Just before you go however, one more piece of information so you do not underestimate the stakes. You may have defeated the Nightmare before she did widespread damage, and you may think you can do it again. But know this: Celestia’s memory of her first coming is incomplete. It was 1000 years ago and it was a very… difficult memory for her. So she only remembers the broad strokes, and the final confrontation. But what eyewitness accounts we have from that time suggest that the alicorn sister’s battle lasted twelve days, and throughout that time the batponies ravaged Equestria in service of their empress. The Longest Night caused such crop failures that if it weren’t for Princess Celestia’s brilliant leadership in the years that followed, Equestria would have starved. Nightmare Moon was around for less than a fortnight and she nearly destroyed us all. Remember that.”

***

“That could have gone better,” said Blueblood after Rarity had left the room, “Although it was a bit of a longshot; she doesn't much like me, and you are just not suited for this sort of tactful persuasion. Still, I thought we agreed I’d do most of the talking?”

“Small good that would have done,” Neighsay scoffed, “She’s completely convinced that the alleged plight of the batponies justifies anything. Now I see that she’d happily let Nightmarists into the halls of power if it meant those creatures could walk among us.”

“Neighsay, I agreed to help you, but I don’t know-”

“No, you don’t know. You’re aware of the national security risk this campaign creates, but you haven’t studied thestral history as I have. They have always been warlike creatures, entirely incompatible with our way of life.”

Blueblood shook his head slowly.

“You will see when it comes time to act. They will rally around their Nightmarist 'brethren’ and they will do everything in their power to destroy you for doing what needs to be done to protect Equestria.”

“I’m sure aunt Celestia will bail me out. I do have that asset if nothing else.”

“If we fail, there will be very little Celestia can do to protect you. You’re no longer dealing in court gossip, Princeling: you’re in high politics, and high politics is life and death.”

“Speaking of which, I believe I’ll start mobilizing the army right about now. I still can’t believe Aunty made me a general, but I suppose we can make an asset out of it.”

“Quietly, Blueblood. We don’t want to pour more fuel onto the fire.”

“I’ll trust you to ensure my precautions are unnecessary. Still, when the time comes I’ll move my troops to the Fillydelphia-Baltimare rail junction. That way we can reach Baltimare in time to secure the city if the worst should happen.”

***

“So, how’d your little meeting go?” Inquired Selenite that evening, after Rarity rejoined her companions at their suite in the Manefair Hotel.

“Oh it was quite unproductive. It seems the EEA will be a roadblock, as will prince Blueblood, for all he’s worth.”

“Hah! I could have told you that from the beginning; the EEA hates change of any kind and they’ve had it out for thestrals for a while. You know for the longest time we weren’t allowed to hang upside-down in EEA schools and grounds? Just because we can do it and the other ponies would bonk their heads if they tried. Not that they stop pegasi from lounging on clouds or unicorns from using magic…”

“I’m worried it’s more than that, Selenite. He seemed… how shall I put this? Chancellor Neighsay seemed most determined. And there was another thing...”

“Tea?” asked Luna, wandering into the hotel bedroom with a piping teapot held in her magic.

“Of course!” said Selenite, “Rarity was just talking about some bad news she got while meeting with Neighsay. Believe it or not, the EEA is being intransigent!”

Luna chuckled.

“Right now I’m just glad the rally went well,” Selenite said, “I was approached right afterwards by this one pony, Flowing Current, offering the help of a big group he’s part of, both to get ponies out to vote yes and to help local batponies feel more a part of their communities.”

“The end certainly did have some oomph,” said Luna, pouring some tea for each pony, “I was almost worried I had overdone it. I almost wish you’d been there, Rarity, although the EEEEs coming from the thestrals were quite loud.”

“Oh Darling I’ve more than gotten used to that,” Rarity replied, “However there is something more than just intransigence from the EEA-”

“What, do you think we’re going to get an actual ‘No’ side? I was wondering when they’d find some pretext,” drawled Selenite before sipping some of her tea, “You see Rarity, nopony wants to come out and say that they’re against the existence of batponies, at least not now that that kind of attitude is associated with extremists like CAN, but there are ponies who don’t want us around, or at the very least who benefit from us as a source of ununionized labour or as poor tenants to fill up slum tenements. So of course they’ll find something to latch on to…”

“Yes Selenite, you’re very smart,” said Luna, “Now can you let Rarity tell us exactly what’s going on?”

Selenite gave a smug little grin and sipped more tea. It was flavoured with the same lavenders Luna liked to arrange around Canterlot, probably dried by Luna herself after they had been out for a night or two. Selenite had to make sure the next dress Rarity made for Luna had a flower theme: flower arrangement was hardly the most important thing Luna did, but she’d always seemed quietly content while doing it, even when she was otherwise in her darkest moods.

“Selenite, I’m afraid Neighsay has threatened to go after you personally.”

Selenite tensed up.

“Go on,” she said, her eyes narrowing.

“He claims that he has enough information to prove that you… Oh how do I put this?” Rarity took a long sip, and Selenite felt her heart start to beat faster and faster. She knew what was coming, and she tried to think of something, anything to say, but her tongue had turned to stone. Luna broke the silence.

“I believe I know what you are going to say Rarity. Know that I trust Selenite.”

“Of course darling, I know how crafty Neighsay can be and I don’t believe a word of it, but the other ponies…”

“That’s not what Luna means,” Selenite said, her voice barely a whisper, “But please. I need to know what’s coming.”

“Well, Neighsay says he has gathered enough evidence to prove that you, as well as your entire family, are Nightmarists. He tried to use it to persuade me to leave the campaign, and when I refused… He told me he’d show me his dossier, but I don’t believe him. I believe he is planning to leak it to the press.”

After a long silence, Selenite slowly put down her cup.

“My family too?”

“He did speak of them, yes.”

Selenite nodded, then slowly stood up.

“Please excuse me,” she said, “I must write a telegram. To warn them. Then I will need some time alone- Princess Luna, please defer to Tempest Wind if you need anything from the Night Guard in terms of our duties as your security detail as I may be… operating at a reduced capacity. Rarity… thank you.”

Author's Note

As you may be able to tell, I'm adjusting some of the timelines of when exactly things happen in EAW, largely because of the different pacing requirements of a long narrative story with a relatively limited cast of POV characters as opposed to a strategy game. Next chapter's gonna be a bit weird, consisting of a series of radio broadcasts to give y'all a snapshot of wider Equestria during this period, and will more or less be happening in the same timeframe as Ch3 except towards the end of Ch4. It should be out in about 2 weeks, since now that my exams are done I can work on this a lot more. See you then!