Luna found herself standing in the centre of Valley Dale's town square yet once more. It was where she had met Mayor Wind Chill, where she had performed her famed magic show, where she had almost died during her battle with Overlord Reverberating Infamy and his cadre, and now it was where bade her final farewell to the Mayor, along with the rest of the town.

The funeral held for the collective victims of the Las Pegasus raiders was an intensely emotional affair. Dozens of ponies were dead, hundreds of ponies had lost a close friend or family member and thousands more had been traumatised.

The sheer weight of grief and mourning at the occasion seemed to possess an almost tangible weight in the way that only a tragic, mass-casualty event can. A suffocating miasma that hung over the gathering like the morning mists hung over the surrounding valleys.

The town's market square had largely been repaired, or at least had the rubble removed and the surrounding buildings brought to a state of acceptable appearance. A half-disassembled stage, left over from her magic show, had been repurposed to act as a platform from which ponies from the town could give eulogies for their deceased friends and family members.

A large proportion of the town gathered in a crowd before the stage. Due to Valley Dale being founded on an industry of dyes and textile manufacturing, nearly all of its residents had at least some access to clothing. As a result, the congregation of assembled ponies were a veritable sea of black clothing, as nearly all had chosen to wear the colour of mourning.

The striking contrast of the sight, especially compared to the colourful and joyous population that prided themselves on the vibrantness and artistry of their fabrics mere weeks prior, disturbed Luna in a very profound way.

She stood in the crowd to watch the grim procession out of a sense of obligation. She had failed that night and many who were being mourned might have still been alive had she made different choices. A large, black overcoat which had been generously donated to her by a local tailor, allowed Luna to blend in with the crowd. For once, she did not want to be the centre of attention.

However, it was the last speech of the procession that broke Luna out of her malaise and caused her some concern.

“...I don't know if I'll ever live up to her legacy but that won't stop me from trying.” Windy's speech ended on a note of finality.

Applause might have broken out if it had been an occasion any less sombre. Luna was impressed by how emotive and eloquent the young pegasus was as she extolled the well-lived life of her “beloved” mother and lamented the tragedy of her passing. It was the exacting combination of melancholy and solemn, yet sprinkled with just the right amount of hope and optimism.

The alicorn easily saw why Wind Chill was so confident in her daughter's future success as a political heir. The girl possessed a veteran politician's aptitude for charisma…

…as well as their capacity for manipulation.

Every aspect of Windy's speech had been carefully crafted and curated to be exactly what the audience of the town's denizens wanted to hear. From a mournful recounting of entirely fabricated anecdotes of cherished foalhood memories to tastefully inserted jokes that Windy didn't find funny in the slightest.

It reminded Luna of her sister in a way. How Celestia was able to don the mask of a “perfect princess” who was able to do or say anything to optimally appease a crowd of onlookers. However, whereas her sister retreated so deeply into her mask that it was difficult to tell if anything other than emptiness dwelled within, Windy's eyes were alive with emotion that bubbled just underneath the surface. A dark fire of intense and wild determination that appeared totally divorced from the calm and polished prose that emerged from her lips. A far cry from the grief-stricken and broken look that Windy's eyes had possessed only days earlier.

This was one of the reasons why Luna decided to void the previous agreement that she had made with the filly and take her as an apprentice immediately. Windy was a talented, driven and ambitious young pegasus, yet those qualities could just as easily lead her down a road of destruction if she wasn't carefully guided.

Luna’s own relentless quest for vengeance against Tirek had resulted in the deaths of many innocent lives and might as well have cost her own life, had Celestia not interceded at the last moment with the aid of Scorpan.

Windy, a filly brimming with potential and ambition, had been shackled her whole life by the social structures that had been imposed upon her. However, now that those limitations had been violently removed with the death of the one pony who had the singular foci of stability in her life, she would either soar to unimaginable highs or she would die at a young age. There was no in-between and Luna didn't trust the pathetic cadre of pampered and witless “elites” that made up Windy's extended family to properly nurture her potential.

However, the former princess was still left with the question of why Windy was putting on this farce. She was leaving the town soon and if her presumably prior voluntary pariah status was any indication, she couldn’t care less about what the inhabitants of Valley Dale thought of her.

Perhaps she wanted to end her time in Valley Dale on a high and mend broken bridges with the town that she had kept at hoof length and treated with barely concealed disdain for most of her life. Maybe it was a peculiar way of honouring her mother by finally utilising her lessons on politics and social manipulation to their fullest potential.

Luna didn't know. Even though she could probably read Windy better than most ponies the young pegasus knew, there was still so much going on inside the filly's head that the former princess couldn't even guess. She had a depth to her soul that belied her age.

“That was a very brave and impressive speech by Wind Scale.” Remarked Nurse Loving Care as she walked up alongside Luna. She lightly dabbed the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. “I never knew that she was so close to her mother.”

Luna resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Their relationship was certainly a unique one.” She remarked dryly. However, the veiled sarcasm was not picked up by the nurse.

Loving opened her mouth to respond but before she could utter a word, the guard tower's bell by the main gate began to toll loudly, forcibly ending the conversation early.

Clang Clang Clang

(Pause)

Clang Clang Clang

Whatever message the pattern in the ringing was supposed to convey was clearly important as the ponies assembled in the town square broke out into whispered murmurs.

Luna struggled to pick out a single common thread in their reactions though: Some ponies seem excited and hopeful, some seemed uncertain; some seemed to wilt in fear and dread.

Nurse Loving's expression darkened and she flicked her tail in annoyance. “After more than two weeks of being forced to fend for ourselves, now they choose to send aid.”

Luna tilted her head in confusion. “Who?”

Loving raised a hoof to point in the direction of the main gate. “That sequence of bells announces the arrival of representatives from Fillydelphia: Maybe soldiers, maybe diplomats; maybe both.”

The disguised alicorn nodded in understanding. Fillydelphia was the regional capital of the area, as well as an Old Town that claimed legal dominion over the surrounding sector, including Valley Dale.

With the recent political tensions, it's not difficult to see why some ponies would not look forward to a visit from their overlords, despite the aid that they may offer.

Luna exhaled with exasperation and a small amount of dread. Her actions in the Battle of Valley Dale will no doubt mean that any representative will wish to speak with her. It's precisely the sort of confrontation that she had been hoping to avoid. It's why she had wanted to leave so soon after the magic show and why she wanted to depart with Windy as soon as the funeral was over.

However, it was too late to leave now. It would only make her a more suspicious character if she were to flee as soon as the Fillydelphia representatives arrived in town.

Her disguise had been sufficiently effective so far but it wasn't foalproof and the more scrutiny she attracted, the more likely she was to be discovered. Luna had no choice now but to confront the delegation and hope that she could fool them into letting her go on her way.

The majority of the assembled mourners began to disperse. Many had jobs to return to, families to care for and there was still much work to be done rebuilding. Few had any interest in politics, so were even less likely to stick around to greet the representatives.

Windy descended the stage and trotted against the flow of the crowd to Luna's side, as though she had guessed that the former princess would be at the centre of whatever was about to unfold.

The distinctive drum of marching soldiers soon made its way to Luna's ears. The clink of iron-clad hooves stamping down in rhythm was a familiar sound to the former princess. It didn't take long for the awaited column of two dozen soldiers to make their way down the main road which connected the main gate to the market square.

Judging by their lightweight leather armour, most of the soldiers seemed to be a detachment from some sort of regional, light infantry brigade. An ornate, diplomatic carriage was pulled by a quartet of burly earth ponies.

It was a pretty standard affair in Luna’s mind. She was very used to receiving noble delegations from Equestria’s various Old Towns. It was even possible that she had seen this specific carriage before.

The carriage eventually stopped in the square and the earth pony soldiers began to unhitch themselves. The rest of the group started to mill around, performing their assigned duties, such as unloading supplies or setting a protective perimeter around the carriage.

However, three soldiers broke away from the rest and walked directly towards Luna. For them to pick her out of a crowd so quickly, it was likely that they had inquired about Starry's appearance from a local Valley Dale pony on their way through the town.

It was intriguing and slightly disconcerting that they didn't even bother with the pretence of this being an ordinary visit, such as waiting for the acting mayor to greet them. They were here for her specifically, making her job deflecting their attention impossible.

Luna didn't allow the worry to bleed through to her features. She kept an expression of calm indifference, as though the events unfolding before her were mildly entertaining, but ultimately not worth her attention. Her best strategy was to play up the role of a nonchalant mage.

The leader of the trio came to a stop a dozen or so hoof-lengths away from her. “Are you the one that they call Starry Night?” He asked in a polite, friendly tone.

“I am,” Luna replied guardedly. “And you are?”

The pony grinned at the confirmation. “I am Lieutenant Swift Guile and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance.” He answered with a small, respectful bow of his head.

Luna took a moment to examine the Lieutenant; he was a tall pegasus with a slender build, yet muscularly toned. Not in the same way that the muscle-bound brute, Thunder Hoof was. Nevertheless, it was a powerful, athletic build, similar to Luna's own stature back when she directly commanded Equestria’s armies and actively trained.

While his fellow soldiers, who flanked him on either side, slouched in fatigue from the long march that they had undertaken, the Lieutenant held nearly perfect military posture. Although, unlike the stiff, ramrod bearing of her sister’s Solar Guard, Guile had a certain looseness to his stance. A quiet confidence and readiness that belied his relaxed gait. It reminded Luna of the predatory prowl of a leopard. Sleek and subtle muscles flowing effortlessly over one another as he moved yet coiled tightly, as though prepared to explode into action at any given moment.

Guile's coat was a dark midnight blue that contrasted sharply with his short-cut silver mane. His emerald-green eyes held a deep cunning to them that examined the disguised alicorn as though he was mentally picking her apart, trying to find a weakness or angle of attack.

Had Luna still been a princess, she might have strongly considered Guile as a candidate for the Night Guard and recruited him. However, she is no longer a princess and Guile is now a threat to her. He's dangerous, she could feel it.

The disguised alicorn was still calculating a reply to the Lieutenant when Windy interjected. “Normally when Fillydelphia sends representatives, they send a diplomat, not just guards. So why are you speaking to us?”

The officer glanced at the young pegasus and gave a coy smile. “A negotiator was indeed dispatched,” he conceded. “However, he unfortunately died of illness on the journey here. It must have been the floodwaters in the lower valley, they spread all sorts of dysentery and other plagues.” He continued, his shoulders slumped and his tone laced with faux sadness.

Straightening his posture once more, Guile pointed a hoof at himself. “Luckily, I am more than qualified to carry out our assigned task.”

Luna wasn't a gambling mare, but she would have bet every Bit in the Everfree Castle treasury on his ‘explanation’ being a fib. A deliberately poorly concealed lie.

“And what is your assigned task?” The former princess asked as she probed for more information.

The Lieutenant reached into his saddle bag with a wing and pulled out a scroll. The parchment was rolled and sealed with a wax stamp. He then held it out for Luna to take.

“I was entrusted by my liege, Lord-Duke Pale Scepter, to deliver an official summons to a Legacy Mage by the name of Starry Night.” He enunciated in an official tone, not dissimilar to the Royal Criers that Luna and her sister used to frequently employ.

However, unlike the criers, who treated the content of their given messages with the utmost seriousness, Guile's tone had a light undercurrent of playfulness to it. As though going through the ‘official’ motions of delivering the summons was part of an amusing joke that only he understood.

Taking the scroll with her magic, Luna contemptuously broke the seal and read its contents.

By Order of His Grace, the Honourable Lord-Duke of Fillydelphia, Keeper of the Ancient Traditions, and Guardian of the Sacred Lineage,

To the Legacy Mage Starry Night, who shall be known henceforth as the Summoned,

It is hereby decreed, by virtue of sovereign will and noble right, that you are summoned to present yourself before the august court of His Grace, Lord-Duke Pale Scepter, within the grand city of Fillydelphia. As soon as physically possible, under the eyes of the Realm, you are to appear with neither delay nor excuse, so that you may render yourself subject to His Grace’s will and receive such directives as shall be imparted unto you.

This summons is given under seal, bearing the authority of the noble house of Scepter, and is to be obeyed with the utmost swiftness and reverence. The path to this noble duty is laid before you, and to ignore or defy this order would be an affront to both honor and law.

By the grace of the heavens and in the name of the great and ancient bloodline of House Scepter, we do issue this proclamation.

Let it be known: those who honor this summons honor the legacy of the realm itself.

Given under the Seal of the Lord-Duke of Fillydelphia.

The parchment almost caught fire within Luna's magical grasp as she read through its contents. She restrained herself though, not wanting to give Guile the satisfaction of seeing her upset.

She tossed the scroll to the lieutenant's hooves. “I am not a resident of the Fillydelphian province. I am not one of his citizens. He has no power to compel me to do anything. It doesn't even give an explanation for the summons.” She stated disdainfully.

The pegasus merely smiled. “I do profusely apologise for the wording of the summons, it's wholly unfitting for a mare of your station. However, it's simply the standard template that the clerks use for summons notices.” He stated with an apologetic bow of his head, although the small smirk he was wearing betrayed his true feelings on the matter.

“As for why you have been summoned. My Lord has heard tales of your heroic feats and wished to contract your services for a mission of great importance. You will be generously compensated, of course.” Guile explained.

Luna’s expression soured. This noble thought that she would just sell her power and skills to the highest bidder, like she was some sort of mercenary. “I don't need his money. Tell your lord that I refuse.” She all but hissed in reply.

The lieutenant appeared completely unfazed by her words, as though he had fully expected her to decline. “No, you don't seem the sort to crave wealth,” he conceded. “However, his offer for compensation extends far further than just money. An open ended favour from a Lord-Duke is a powerful thing if you are creative with it.” The soldier continued.

The offer didn't tempt Luna in the slightest. Until a few weeks ago, she had access to more wealth, influence and power than Pale Scepter could ever dream of.

“There is nothing that I need from him.” The former princess declared resolutely.

“Perhaps my lord doesn't have anything that you need, but what about them?” He gestured with a wing to the myriad of collapsed and burned out buildings that surrounded the market square, as well as to the small crowd of ponies who looked on towards their conversion. “Without financial or material support, Valley Dale will take a generation to recover.” He continued to press his point.

Luna’s gaze followed his gesture and she grit her teeth as she surveyed the devastation. He wasn't wrong, Valley Dale was broken in many ways that she alone could not fix.

“No!” Windy said firmly from her place next to Luna. “We are not bargaining chips for you to exploit Starry's selflessness with.”

Lieutenant Swift Guile looked visibly annoyed at the interruption as he turned his head towards the filly. The young pegasus didn't relent though. “My family built this town from the ground up, without the help of Fillydelphia. We'll do it again if necessary!”

A murmuring of agreement and solidarity broke out amongst the small crowd of onlookers. Their gazes held a solemn conviction borne from ponies who had suffered through hardships to get to where they were in life and were prepared to do so again.

Nurse Loving Care chimed in on the conversation for the first time from Luna’s other side. “Besides, we are legally entitled to disaster relief as stated in Equestrian Law. You aren't allowed to withhold it.”

The soldier stared at them for a moment before slowly letting out an amused chuckle. “I'm afraid that it's not that simple.” He said in his characteristically friendly tone. However, now it held an undercurrent of undeniable menace.

“Fillydelphia is a bureaucratic machine. There are so many things to manage. A backwater town like this is hardly at the forefront of anypony's mind. Things like financial aid or permission for the replenishment of Valley Dale's Guard garrison could get tied up in the legislature or the courts for years.” He explained. “I also wonder what will happen when it becomes known to all the various bandits and raiders in the region that Valley Dale is without any protection at all, on account of most of your guards being dead.”

Fearful and stunned whispers broke out in the crowd of ponies. Nurse Loving gasped at the threat, while Windy glared daggers at the pegasus.

Luna’s horn erupted with magic. It swirled above her head and coalesced into a ball of pure magic that grew in size and density by the second. The very air hummed with power as gravity itself seemed to multiply under the sheer enormity of her magic. The traces of Quellium still lingering in her blood caused a vicious migraine to thunder in her skull but the alicorn was too angry to care. Almost every pony in the square retreated a few steps from Luna, even the lieutenant's two companions recoiled.

The former princess took a step forward. “You will not threaten them.” She said softly, almost in a whisper, her tone as hard and frigid as a glacier.

Despite the level of hostility he was being confronted with, Guile never lost his easy-going smile. “Or what?” He challenged with seemingly no fear.

The oppressive weight of her magic doubled. “Or I will obliterate you.” She snarled.

The soldiers flanking Guile went into full retreat, sprinting back to their group on the far side of the market square. However, not only did the pegasus officer not take a single step back, his smile widened in satisfaction. Delighted at forcing Luna to lose her composure and reveal the chinks in her emotional armour.

“Consider what you are about to do.” He said as calmly as ever. “Murdering an envoy of a Lord-Duke in broad daylight. I want you to just imagine the sort of repercussions that will be visited upon Valley Dale if you choose to do that.”

He was so insufferably smug, Luna wanted nothing more than to reduce him to a bloody smear on the ground. However, she forced herself to take a calming breath and extinguish her horn.

As much as she wanted to call his bluff, she knew that his threats weren't baseless and judging by the growing smirk on his face, he knew that she knew that his threats weren't baseless. A not-insignificant proportion of the court petitioners that Luna would receive every month concerned Old Towns inflicting petty and spiteful retribution upon their rebellious vassals.

If Lord-Duke Pale Scepter was desperate enough to seek out “Starry Night's” aid, then she absolutely believed that he and Guile would grind Valley Dale under the legislative, judicial, bureaucratic, and military boot of Fillydelphia if she didn't agree.

She couldn’t stay in the town to protect them forever. If she fought back and her true identity was ever discovered, it would bring down a whole world of trouble on Valley Dale.

“Fine, I'll answer the summons.” She relented through gritted teeth.

“Starry!” Windy exclaimed in horror and disbelief. “You can't just let him…”

Luna held up a hoof in front of the filly to signal for her silence.

“It'll be fine.” The former princess gently reassured with a look that told the young pegasus that she would explain everything later.

She hated it, but Guile had trapped her. If she wanted to protect this town, then she had no choice but to play along with his game. Although, that didn't preclude her from charging a King's Ransom for her services. If she had correctly guessed Pale Scepter's level of desperation, then she could demand just about anything.

“I want concessions.” She declared, wheeling around to face the silver-maned soldier.

“Name them.” He replied magnanimously.

She met his patronising gaze with one of cold steel. “Valley Dale gets its own charter. It's permanently free from Fillydelphia's control.”

Guile's expression was one of confused amusement. “You realise how Independence Charter's work, right? Valley Dale won't be entitled to any aid or protection. That seems counterproductive.”

Luna wasn't finished though. “Valley Dale gets a charter and enough financial aid to rebuild and unconditional protection until they can fully restore their town guard.” She laid out her demands in full.

Guile's face soured with each subsequent demand, until it resembled a sneer. He quickly schooled it into a carefully neutral expression. “If you can complete your assigned mission, then I'm sure that my liege can accommodate.” He answered coolly.

Recovering some of his confidence upon remembering that he had forced her submission, he regained his smug grin of self-satisfaction. “I'm glad that we have reached an accord. We leave in an hour.”

The lieutenant was about to turn around to leave but Luna spoke up one last time as she started to walk towards him.

“There is one more thing I need before I agree to go with you.” She said, stopping when she came face to face with him. The pegasus stallion almost saw a hint of teal light flickering behind her eyes.

“And what might that be?” He inquired in his usual relaxed tone.

“Personal satisfaction.”

She raised her foreleg before smashing it into the side of Guile's face in a vicious backhoof strike. The lieutenant crumbled to the ground as she heard bone crack.

The rest of the soldiers frantically scrambled for their weapons and charged across the market square upon seeing their commanding officer assaulted.

“No! Stand down!” Guile ordered from his position on the ground.

The soldiers’ sprint halted as they observed their superior slowly, shakily pushing himself up from the ground. He spat blood and broken teeth onto the ground before starting to chuckle.

"I'll let you... get away with that one if it makes you feel better.” He slurred through a fractured jaw. Giving a mirthful, bloody grin. Knowing that despite the personal cost, he still emerged victorious.

His eyes gleamed brightly with triumph.

Author's Note

Finally. I can get chapters written in a reasonable amount of time. Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come after the lull in the past 6 months.

1). I'm very happy with how this chapter turned out. It took me a while plan out the exact wording of the "negotiation" but once I finally started writing, I just kept going. I wrote 3000 words just yesterday.

2). And so we finally meet Lieutenant Swift Guile. I hope you like him, because we are going to be seeing a lot more of him.

I've created a Discord. I'll be posting updates there about this story and any future projects, as well as justing chatting and hanging out with all of you.

https://discord.gg/QhnsC8zNNz

Big thanks to my Beta-readers:
https://www.fimfiction.net/user/803999/FableBitMe
https://www.fimfiction.net/user/644525/History+Student

I love reading your comments and hearing your opinions. As well as interacting with you guys. Leave your thoughts down below.