Sun & Moon Act II: A Crown Divided

“The calm before the storm. Even now, centuries later, the impression made by those days has not diminished.”

• Journals of High Princess Celestia (Vol. 3)

Celestia could maybe have returned to Harmony Tower after her encounter with Solaris on the hilltop. Given the magnitude and complexity of the spell that she was about to cast, a full night’s rest would have done some good. But at the same time she could feel the minutes and seconds as they ticked by now, each one edging Equestria closer to its end. There would be time for sleep once the country was safe. Every hour that she wasted could potentially be a life unnecessarily lost, and Celestia refused to have that on her conscience.

So rather than returning to the warm kitchens and soft beds of the Tower, Celestia instead flew to her other familiar point in the forest.

The ruined Citadel of Everfree may not have looked anything like it did when she had last been here, but at least she knew that it was in a safe part of the forest. With luck, it would remain quiet and private over the course of the days that she would need. Plus, what remained of the old towers would offer a good vantage point over the surrounding area.

With the darkness of the Hill behind her, she touched down on the roof of the old Unicorn Tower. Once upon a time, the tower had been capped at its four corners by tall spires, each one adorned with a sculpture of a different celestial body. Two of those had long since fallen, their twisted metal laying treacherously about the open roof. But there was plenty of space to work in, and from up here Celestia could even spy the open plains to the forest’s north.

The night was quiet here, and that was a relief, a stark contrast against the tempest that she had escaped after her encounter with Solaris. Even then, Celestia knew that after tonight, no matter how far she flew, she would never be free of that storm. There was a dark corner in her mind now, the place where she kept the magic that she had stolen from the old King. If she didn’t dwell on it, she could almost forget that it was there, but when she focused her attention inward it was unmistakable. A shadow, billowing just out of the range of her vision, cold as ice and yet still hot as a flaming ember. Whenever she drew on her magic it was there, a raging inferno and a blinding blizzard, battering against its restraints, seeking to be let loose upon the world. Luckily Star Swirl was still there to keep an eye on it.

For what it was worth, she could feel the old wizard’s magic just as well, an invigorating chill like a crisp breeze on a winter morning. And his presence didn’t intrude on her perception unless she allowed it to. In this case, this proved to be something she needed, as there were still questions left unanswered.

What happened to him?

Solaris? he replied. A great many things. Some the results of his own schemes, some the usual dangers that used to follow the King in those days, and some plain old bad luck. He was a brilliant stallion once, a cunning leader and a stalwart friend. But when Aurum died all of that changed.

Aurum. The name she remembered from Star Swirl’s memories, and even as he said it now Celestia could feel some warmth come through his magical presence. Who was she?

His daughter, Star Swirl replied, the eldest of three. But she was the only one he loved. A radiant beauty, a gifted sorceress, and more than a worthy Queen. His words hitched there, interrupted by a sudden shock of melancholy. If she could have seen his face, Celestia knew that there would be tears gathering in his eyes. Here, he finally said again, it will be easier if I just show you.

There was a bright flash in her vision, and suddenly Celestia realized that she now had access to all of his memories, like books lined up on an endless shelf. Some were rimmed with gold, their covers animated in starry patterns mirroring his cloak, and somehow Celestia knew that these held spells. They sat alongside mundane memories of simple times, in plain linen jackets. For an instant Celestia wondered about the golden tomes, knowing that just like the books on the shelves of his cottage, these very likely held untold magical secrets, but there could perhaps be time for that later. Instead she searched down the shelf, until she found the book she was looking for, shining with a light as bright as its namesake.

Flipping through the pages, an image quickly formed of the old Princess.

A tall, slender unicorn. A china-white coat and a golden mane, deliberately arranged in long tresses that swept down to her shoulders. Bright, curious eyes and a kind, gentle smile. A note of firmness about the brow, the beginnings of the rapid aging that Celestia knew came with responsibility, and hours of conversation, mostly about untold political topics that Celestia could never hope to grasp.

Then, abruptly, the pictures stopped, and the next page felt very cold. She could feel the sadness radiating off of it like a fine mist that made the paper damp, and so she put it back on the shelf and let Star Swirl have his mental space back again. What happened to her?

Star Swirl sighed. Aurum died in a tragic accident while traveling with a friend. Solaris believed that she had been assassinated, and blamed everypony else for it. It broke him, obviously. After that he was never the same. I had hoped that it was only a process of grief that he would eventually get over, but as you now know, his is a spirit shattered beyond repair.

The malevolent magic in the back of Celestia’s mind swirled in her vision, maybe reacting to Star Swirl’s thoughts. Then she felt a coolness on her forehead, and the shadow disappeared.

I can hold him with a little effort, Star Swirl said. I’d imagine you’re going to want your mind to be clear for what’s coming next.

The spell, yes. Unclasping the satchel at her side, Celestia withdrew the stack of parchment that she had drawn up the night before. Each page detailed a particular weaving, one set of prior elements that would be bound together to create something else.

In order to get a sense for the spell’s structure, she would first have to arrange them all out to form the full Swirl diagram.

The old wizard whistled in her ear once she had finished up the first row, with fifty pages across in total. My, what a sight that is! How many ranks?

Six, Celestia thought back. A spell’s rank was the number of intermediate stages in the casting process, from the initial magical energies all of the way down to the finished product. More ranks meant more different energies could be combined together, but more power was needed at the start so that the threads would be strong enough to hold together in such a complex weave. Five ranks was generally considered to be the highest number that a single unicorn could manage, and even that number was only attainable by a legendary few. Celestia personally had never tried anything higher than four.

Somehow she got the sensation that the old unicorn was nodding in understanding. That explains a lot, then. And what’s the purpose?

Celestia paused in arranging the pages. As each rank progressed, they got narrower, the energies combining together with each other until only a few were left. What that meant was that arrayed on the roof was now a triangle of parchment, ending in a point where the final spell would come together.

The purpose is to break the cycle of pony history, she thought. The animosity of pegasus versus earth pony versus unicorn is the only constant across centuries of different governments, countries, and rulers. Whether it was the Unicorn Kingdom, Discord’s age, or this one, it always ends the same way. The three tribes at each other’s throats, ready to destroy the others as soon as things start to fall apart.

This spell will put an end to that. It will give everypony a part to play in the system of the nation, a part that they can’t help but honour. It will create a stable society, without the rifts of tribalism. When I came onto the throne, I thought that I had healed the divisions in the country. No doubt the Kings and Queens of your time felt the same. Indeed I had only applied a bandage the same way any unifying ruler had done before. This spell will be the thread that binds the country together permanently, once and for all.

There was a silence from Star Swirl’s corner of her mind, and so Celestia got back to work arranging the pages. She would have to start by dry-running each individual construction to be sure that she had them down. Once she started the full spell, she would have to cast the whole thing without pause or else be forced to start over again from the beginning. Equestria didn’t have time for her to make any mistakes.

Then she felt Star Swirl’s spirit rouse itself again. Ambitious, the old unicorn mused, and audacious. Even as my kingdom came to its end, I doubt that I would have tried something like this.

There was a waver in his voice, maybe a note of admiration, maybe a note of trepidation. Celestia couldn’t quite tell. But she had gone through too much to do anything now except press on. Your kingdom ended in fire and blood, Star Swirl. I will not let the same fate befall Equestria.

The march from Canterlot had been tense, but Luna had expected nothing less. She had instructed Swift to keep the ‘militia’ in the middle of the formation, as tight and organized as he could, in the hope that anypony they encountered on the road would have to deal with a vanguard of regular Guards first. More importantly, it also meant that she could have the maximum number of eyes watching the irregulars while still doing their own jobs. She even kept one of the pegasus scouts in the air to watch over them at all times, but so far at least Swift had managed to keep them in line.

That was all well and good as they’d passed through the Canterlot foothills, but now that they were out on the open plain, she could only guess at what would happen.

In the end the strategy that had come out of the meeting between Steel and Line had been a hybrid of their two priorities, hopefully striking the right balance between dividing up the work for speed, while also keeping the wagon trains as well-guarded as possible.

What that meant was that Luna was now at the head of two regiments currently joined up, and heading south to the little town of Southoofton. Once there, one of the Captains would take half of the force back east, through the cider country around Las Pegasus. Her detachment would continue west, through the old farming country along the Everfree River. The irregulars would hopefully stay with her, providing an extra shock factor for what was sure to be tough country.

With all of her heart Luna wished that the farmers would comply without incident, but she had strapped on her sword as she left the palace anyway. It had been three hundred years since she had last taken the ornately stitched scabbard out of storage, but somehow the blade was still as bright and keen as it had been when she’d received it so long ago.

Luna too still remembered the forms that she had been taught, three centuries ago when the Order of Fire had forged this sword with the intent of drawing Discord’s blood. She had managed to avoid using it then, and would do everything in her power to avoid using it now. Yet still she knew the chances of that happening were miniscule.

In the end, it had only taken two days for the regiments from the rest of the country to get to Canterlot and get assembled. General Steel had taken the northern prong of the operations, and another one of his generals the central one to Manehattan. With haste, Steel had assured her that the whole operation could be completed in time for Harvest Moon, slightly more than three weeks away. Then the accountants would take a full inventory, and with any luck the supply would stretch out long enough to get something else into the ground next year.

What countryside the army had passed already wasn’t giving her any hope, though. Naturally she hadn’t been expecting lush grasses and crops bent over from the heavy weight of their grain, but she had certainly been hoping to see at least something growing along the shoulders of the road that came out of the mountains. There was the odd clump of grass here or there, barely enough to support a single pony’s light snack on a day trip, but so far that had been about the extent of it.

She wasn’t quite sure what upset her more: the paucity of the harvest, or the very real chance that blood would be spilled over what little there was.

The maps suggested that the army should have been able to reach Southoofton by dusk, and indeed it was as the Sun was dipping down to the horizon and casting the countryside into a bright shade of orange that Luna spied one of the advance teams on the far horizon. The guards’ armour was lacking its polished sheen, no doubt the work of the constantly blowing dust out here in the plains, but more importantly, the wagons they were pulling were still completely empty. Luna called a halt to the advance before trotting out to meet them. Swift flew up and stuck to her side like glue.

She gave him a puzzled look. “What of your command, Lieutenant?”

“Heart can handle them. We are in dangerous territory, Your Majesty. I would not have you go alone anywhere in these parts.”

“I can handle myself,” she replied, fully prepared for anything that came. “We have scouts to let us know if any threats are around.” One look revealed that he wasn’t about to go back, and so Luna let the matter go. He was still one of her personal guards after all.

The advance team all stopped as they approached. None of them looked injured, nor as if they had seen any fighting. It was difficult for Luna to read their expressions, but the fact that they hadn’t gotten anything could only mean one thing.

As they approached, the magistrate leading the team drew himself up straight. “Hail, Your Majesty Queen Luna,” he intoned, sounding tired but still putting in the proper respect.

“At ease,” she replied. “I see you have met with little success. Is it resistance, or is there simply nothing to find?”

“Resistance,” he said, grim but not overbearing. “Southoofton’s harvest is not much, but it is not nothing either. Unfortunately, the townsfolk have pooled their reserves, and were determined not to give up a single seed. Come, up ahead one can get a very good view.”

Luna followed him, and indeed only a few yards on the countryside fell away a bit. A mile distant, the road passed over a small wooden bridge, originally built for the Everfree River, but hardly necessary this year. The water was so low that the river could be forded essentially anywhere along its length.

On the far side of the bridge was a tiny collection of wooden buildings, maybe only a dozen, arranged in a rough square around what would normally be the village green. The place was completely deserted.

Separated from the town by a few hundred feet on all sides she could see isolated farmhouses, most in poor states of repair, with shutters hanging loosely from the windows and paint peeling to reveal the bare wood underneath. Each of them appeared deserted too. The scene was eerie, as if the whole countryside had been abandoned days ago.

She turned to the magistrate again. “Resistance, you say? Where are all of these ponies if they intend to put up a fight?”

He produced a brass spyglass from a belt across his shoulders. “Take a look over to the west,” he said, pointing in the mentioned direction. “Along the curve of the river’s bank. There’s a large farmhouse that way, and it’s the only one that isn’t deserted.”

Looking west was difficult with the Sun just now falling over that horizon, but it didn’t take Luna long to find the estate. The sunlight even helped, as the first thing that jumped out to her were the many glints off of the sharpened tools that the ponies down there were carrying. Shovels, pick-axes, hoes, anything that could take an edge, and it looked like everypony down there was carrying one.

The estate she could see was circled by a low curtain wall, made higher with an improvised barricade, and manned even now by a dozen sentries. Inside the compound were maybe seventy more. None of them had the look of professionals, but the rabble of unicorns behind her was proof enough that when it came to fighting it was the thought that counted more than anything else. “How did they take the order?”

“There’s a big fellow down there,” the magistrate answered, his detached and professional tone adding to the disquiet in her mind as Luna continued to survey the estate. “He’s probably the stallion that owns the land, and in any event he’s the one rallying the defense. We took no chances. They’re just farmers, of course, but they felt like cornered animals to me. Unpredictable.”

Luna sighed. This was the first town, and already things weren’t looking good. Still, she had an opportunity yet to forestall the need for any fighting. “Get back to the army and have them set up camp,” she told the magistrate. “On this hilltop here, in full view of the town. In fact, light a few extra fires once night falls.” She waited for the salute of affirmation, then turned to Swift. “I’m going down to see if we can negotiate.”

Swift nodded, perhaps having anticipated such an action. “This is exactly why you need a personal guard. The ponies down there are ready to fight, and any one of them could try for you if they felt they had the advantage.”

The sword felt heavy in its loop across her shoulders, bouncing gently as the two cantered together over the rough earth. “They’re just farmers. Even ten of them wouldn’t have an advantage against me. But would you prefer that we hang back and attack en masse at dawn?”

“Do you honestly believe that’s not how this is going to end?”

While Luna couldn’t honestly say that she didn’t think so, she gave him a reassuring nod anyway. “I have to try. If they will not give in, then we will have to fight. But I will do everything I can to avoid that.”

Crossing the bridge, the two continued through the town, following the rough track that took them down into the valley where the estate was located. The air seemed closer now as they neared their destination, even the light whisper of the breeze overhead carrying a note of caution. With nothing else to say for the moment, Swift fell into stride beside her, the sandy hairs of his mane flowing out gently as they ran.

When they passed by a few more fields, he spoke up again. “See the stubble? These ones at least had something taken off of them.”

He was right. The fields here were just as bare as all of the others, but they also bore the telltale sharp stalks of grain that had been cut with a scythe only days before. All of the harvest had been cleared off of them, though, beaten out on the threshing floors and presumably stored in a bin on the estate. “There may be value in this expedition after all,” she said hopefully.

“It also means these ponies have something real to fight for,” he said back. “Especially if the whole town is going to try living off of it.”

Around a gentle curve, the estate appeared in front of them. The curtain wall was made of stone, only reaching up five feet or so, so clearly more for decorative purposes than defense. The rough wooden barricade on top added five feet more though, enough to look imposing and give an earth pony with a long weapon a good advantage.

There were three sentries up on the wall already, clearly expecting them. The one in the middle was even holding a crossbow that looked to have been dredged up from Discord’s reign, though Luna didn’t doubt that it could still put a bolt through her heart if aimed well. The other two each carried broad axes, slung over their shoulders and sharpened to a silver shine. They unslung their weapons as she approached.

“Away with you, Canterlot scum!” the one in the middle cried, leveling his bow on the outside of the wall. “This property is closed to your kind. Tell your Queen that if she wants any of our grain, she can damn well come here and get it herself!”

Despite knowing that she needed to keep things calm, Luna couldn’t stop her temper from lighting itself at his words. Obviously she shouldn’t have expected respect from any pony willing to defy the rule of law, but still she hadn’t anticipated such viciousness.

She took a step inward and declared, “You speak to Queen Luna, sir!” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Swift tense up, and immediately she forced herself to take a deep breath and drop into a humble bow. “I have come to negotiate,” she offered in a quieter voice. “In the hope of avoiding any unnecessary conflict. Tell me, are you the pony in charge of this estate?”

The two ponies with the axes had jumped a little at her declaration, but the one in the middle was only silent for a moment before raising his bow. “No, but I can take you to him. So long as you surrender your weapons here.”

The two other guards gave Luna and Swift a quick once-over, and they made no attempt to disguise their wonder as they took the ornate scabbard that held her sword. At least she didn’t have to worry about it being used against her; the sword was balanced for a pegasus and would be useless to either of them. Then the leader led them inside, and Luna got her chance to take a better look at the grounds.

She had seen most of it already in the spyglass, but up close she could at least get a feel for the ponies milling about the compound. They wore their improvised weaponry awkwardly, like the honest workers that they were, yet even so the faces that she saw were hard, the glares determined.

The estate was a large one, with two stories that she could see were in the process of fortification, the windows boarded up and improvised firing positions being constructed on the balconies. Their guide led them up to the wide veranda, where a big pony with a wide-brimmed hat was waiting, relaxing in a cushioned rocking chair. He rose to meet them, and Luna saw that same determination in his eyes, though there was an undeniable satisfaction there too.

The sentry stepped aside, offering a deferential bow to the one in charge. “Cotton, this is Queen Luna. Here to negotiate.”

Unfazed by her title, Cotton sized her up for a moment, his big eyes taking in the entirety of her form. Then he motioned to the side, where a few more chairs were clustered around his own. “Come, sit, my dear. If you’re here to talk, then let’s talk.” The rural twang in his voice grated in Luna’s head, but she stayed quiet and took a seat. Swift apparently decided to remain standing.

“It is my understanding that you dealt with some of my guards just recently, Mr. Cotton?” she asked to start.

Despite the rather tense situation, Cotton remained rocking his chair, investigating some caked dust on his hooves. “Yes, ma’am, I did. You then should have heard from them what we had to say.”

“The same as I believe I just heard from your sentries. That our ‘kind’ are not welcome around here. That my declaration, necessary to ensure the survival of this nation, will be openly defied here in Southoofton.”

A negotiation like this would work on a sliding scale, from entreaties to threats. Obviously as soon as things started getting heated, there was the chance that Cotton would just throw them out, but at the same time she also had to make it clear just who he was dealing with. “Such defiance carries a certain amount of risk, you know.”

He let out a big sigh, letting the air flap his lips loudly. “Listen here, Ms. Luna,” he said irritably, “I didn’t ask you to the Harvest Dance, so maybe we can talk straight and avoid all your political mumbo-jumbo. You’re going to talk a lot of nonsense in the hopes that us country-folk get lost in your fancy words, but here are the facts. You’re here to say that me and everypony else in this town are treasonous fools for daring to disobey your orders. That we ought to surrender the produce of our land to your collection agents, trusting in your assurances that we’ll get any of it back, let alone enough to last the winter. And, finally, you will tell us that there is an army of Royal Guard camped somewhere over the hill, and if we decide to persist in our defiance, they will come in here and take it all by force. Now, did I save you some time?”

Luna took a subdued breath. That he already understood so much of the situation explained his sense of satisfaction, and clearly he had some canned response ready to go, so why not let him keep talking? “Enough that I only need to ask you what you wish to say to those demands.”

“Look around you, friend,” he said grandly, though with a clearly bitter tone. “I ain’t the only pony in this town that’s done the math, and it’s a simple problem to solve. We barely got enough for ourselves when we throw it all together, and even that’s doing a very conservative estimate. I imagine it’s much the same all over. And yet you expect that if you throw the whole pot together suddenly all of them freeloaders in Canterlot and Manehattan will have enough to eat too? It just ain’t going to work. But guess who’s going to get the first ladles of soup when it’s time to start handing them out? Not the poor farmer that worked to make it, I say to you. So like I said, the math is very simple. If we follow along, we starve. If we fight, either we win or we fall, but that’s just the same thing. And I’m willing to take my chances. So too, it seems, is everypony else.”

Luna’s heart sank lower as she heard every word. She already knew that further discussion would be pointless, but she had to try. “You can’t believe that we’d prioritize anypony when it came time to distribute the harvest! I would ensure that everything was divided equitably. I understand why you would distrust the Senate, but I’m the pony in charge now, and you have my word that this process will be fair!”

He only smirked. “Who appointed you, my dear? As soon as that grain has left our sight, it may as well have been thrown off the edge of a cliff for all we know. And if those filthy unicorns in the Senate are okay with you in charge, then I’m afraid we can’t be.”

Well, so much for the entreaties. It was time to try the threats. She leaned forward in her seat. “I see, Mr. Cotton. Then perhaps I ought to explain the other side of the math problem that you mentioned. The side where we compare your bare hundred ill-equipped farmers against the thousand professional soldiers that are indeed camped ‘over the hill’, as you put it. You may be willing to take your chances in that fight, but I know which side I will be betting on, and it isn’t yours.”

She could only hope that the starkness of the numbers would knock some sense into him, but in fact Cotton just shrugged. “Like I said, if we do what you say, we’re done for regardless. The chance may be slim, impossible even, but it’s always been slim, this whole year since the day the crops first went into the field. We never stopped fighting then, so why should we stop fighting now?”

“Then fight with us!” she implored him, her magic unconsciously amplifying her words a bit. A few of the farmers in the yard turned their heads to look her way. “Only together do we have any hope of surviving this winter!”

Seeing that Cotton wasn’t going to budge, Luna decided to try one more tactic. “Maybe let’s look into the future a bit then, Mr. Cotton. Say you have enough to make it through this winter on your own, what then? It would still be months before any of your fields could yield something even if it did rain! What will you do then?”

She let the question hang for a moment, then came at him again, frustration building with each sentence. “You already have your weapons gathered, perhaps you will look at the next town over. They may still have some surplus, but they won’t be sharing. Another fight. When their supplies run out? Another. Don’t you see? In that world you will be no better than animals, scrambling every day for your next meal! Does that sound like the future you want?”

“But there is a chance that we’ll still be alive!” Cotton yelled back at her, shooting up onto his hooves and glaring down. “Much better of a chance than you’re giving us! And I will take that chance if I must!”

“Why?” Luna couldn’t keep her voice down anymore. She got up from her chair and turned around, addressing the ponies standing around the estate grounds, who were all listening in to the exchange by now. “Don’t you see? You’re not clinging to hope, you’ve given up! You’ve decided to throw your lives away on some empty promise rather than trust that we will make this work!” Somepony out in the crowd had to see some sense, had to understand that the only way forward was together. “I will find a way through this! You only have to trust me.”

There were tears in her eyes, tears for the horror of the situation, for her desperate hope that this nightmare could be over. Yet none of the ponies in the yard offered any solace. They only propped their weapons on their backs and carried on, putting up more boards on the barricades, sharpening weapons, stacking spears and stakes by the walls.

Cotton walked up to her side and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Nah, see we’ve all thought of the situation the same. I’m afraid you’re not going to accomplish anything here today, my dear. Come back with your goons and we’ll settle things, at first light tomorrow, or whenever you like.” He motioned to the stallion with the crossbow. “Mister Linseed! Show our guests out.”

When Luna and Swift were back on the other side of the wall, their weapons returned, the pegasus shrugged. “I’m sorry that it didn’t work out, Your Majesty.”

“So am I,” she said morosely back, her tears drying under the heat of the Sun. “So am I.”