The War of Moon and Sun

1007

January

It was a calm winter morning over Canterlot.

The pegasus weather team had just finished a light snowfall, and the roofs of the houses and the royal castle were covered in a bright white blanket. The translucent, almost weightless clouds parted, revealing a pale blue, clear sky.

Obeying the magical power of the white alicorn on the castle’s upper observation deck, the sun slowly rose over the capital of Equestria.

Celestia smiled faintly as she gazed out at the majestic city perched on a narrow mountain platform – and the vast expanse of snow that stretched from horizon to horizon.

She had ruled this land for more than a thousand years, rising and setting the sun every day and, until recently (relatively), the moon as well. And she always tried to do her best, so that her subjects had nothing to blame her for and nothing to doubt her for. It was necessary to maintain the image of a wise and impeccable leader who loves and, no less importantly, protects her homeland.

However, there were also many mistakes that had accumulated over such a long period of time.

No matter how hard the Princess tried, she couldn’t keep up with all the challenges that plagued Equestria. With the return of her Night Sister Luna, Celestia had an assistant she could count on, but the two of them weren’t enough.

Still, the alicorn’s gaze was not one of worry, but of good and confident hope.

After failing Sunset Shimmer and many others before her, the Princess had finally managed to raise a worthy student who taught the ponies a new kind of magic: friendship. And though Celestia, like every alicorn, was immortal, she felt that one day she and Luna would have to retire. It was as if the Night Sister had no particular desire to be in charge of an entire country for the foreseeable future, and in light of the past, the Princess herself was a little wary of leaving Equestria in Luna’s care.

Fortunately, she now had a suitable candidate to replace her – Twilight Sparkle.

Though the former unicorn, now the alicorn and the Princess of Friendship, was unaware of the plans for her, and if she had known, her excellent student syndrome would have sent her into hysterics, Celestia knew that when the time came, Twilight would be ready to rule.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the soft tap of hooves on the marble floor.

“Good morning, Sister,” she said to Luna, who had just stepped out of the door. “Though I think I’d better wish you a good day’s sleep.”

With a graceful clatter, the smaller, dark blue alicorn princess with the flowing, star-spangled mane came and stood beside Celestia, also looking out over the beautiful lands around them.

“I have never understood why Hearth’s Warming is celebrated a few days before the actual end of the year,” Luna said. “It is more important from a calendar standpoint, marking the passing of an old life and the coming of a new one. But for some reason, ponies prefer to pay far less attention to it.”

“As you know, history chooses the dates, not us,” Celestia said with a smile. “Hearth’s Warming Day is needed by the ponies as a symbol of unity and good faith, and unlike New Year’s Day, it has its own history. But I understand you, Sister. And now, as I stand here above all of Equestria, my only wish is that all ponies have a year of love and peace.”

“Thou knowest that’s true not for all of them,” Luna said seriously.

“Yes, unfortunately,” her Solar Sister sighed. “But what can I do? Those you speak of have chosen their own fate, and I don’t know if the ponies will forgive them for their past crimes. But I can wish them happiness, too. That there, in their mountains… or in any city of Equestria, they may know that those who live now don’t bear the sins that prevented their ancestors from living in peace with the three kinds of ponies.”

“I am glad thou realizest that, Sister. Though I think thou should use some of thy power to push E.E.A.[1] to soften that page in the history books.”

“I’ll do my best, Sister. But the ponies must be able to decide, too. Otherwise, our will would have no value to them.”

“A will hath no value if it is not carried out. After all, art thou a Princess or a part-time cleaning lady?”

Celestia laughed, gently covering her mouth with her hoof.

“Your thoughts are very amusing sometimes, Luna. Maybe we should spend more time together. How about we take a little vacation and go to the Crystal Empire?”

“I do not mind,” Luna smiled. “Even we need a vacation from time to time.”

The two alicorn sisters looked down on a land that had enjoyed a peaceful life for over a thousand years.

The future seemed to be bright.

March

Six ponies were sitting at Sugarcube Corner, eating donuts and chatting animatedly.

One of them, a lavender alicorn, was recognizable as one of the now five pony princesses of Equus. However, aside from her wings, there was nothing else to distinguish her from her friends, and she listened to the pink earth pony’s passionate story along with the rest of them.

The dining room of Ponyville’s main candy shop was nearly full. Equestria Daily had recently published an article about the beginning of a ponitical reshuffle on the continent, and many took the opportunity to discuss the latest news over a cup of tea and a cupcake. And if you listen to the shrill platter of the pink narrator, you’ll get a first-hoof account of what happened, so to speak.

“…And I be like, that’s it, this time they’ll definitely reject, and we’ll no longer be such friends as we agreed before…!” she chattered, pausing only to swallow another donut. “And Chief Thunderhooves tells me…”

She tried to imitate a low voice, “We understand that you only wish us well and want to build a… (I forgot the word, some kind of) relationship. And so…” – the pink pony shut her eyes with happiness and spread her front legs – “…we accept your offer to become part of Equestria!”

Her friends responded to the end of the story with an interested cheer – as did the customers at the nearby tables, who could hear everything.

“Well done, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight Sparkle said as Pinkie munched on the five donuts in her mouth at the same time. “The Princesses and I are very grateful for your successful negotiations with the buffalo. Now there’ll be one less potential problem, and… as Princess Celestia said…” Twilight thought for a moment, “…the national focus can be turned to further development.”

“Oh dear, how much we can talk about ponitics,” the white unicorn smiled coquettishly and fixed her curly dark blue mane. “That’s not why we’re here.”

“That’s right, sugarcube, we’re just happy to be together again,” the orange earth pony in the cowpony hat nodded and took a sip of cider from a wooden mug. “Twi, I hope the Princesses ain’t gonna give us new jobs anytime soon? Otherwise, we gotta do something with what we already have.”

“Yeah, like dispersing clouds,” the blue rainbow-haired pegasus added, looking at her neighbor with a sneer. “Or climbing down into someone’s cellar for cider…”

“A-and I… I still have to look after the animals,” whispered the yellow winged pony with the butterflies on her cutie mark. “I-I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry,” Twilight waved her hoof. “We had a successful Winter Wrap Up recently, so other than the School of Friendship, we won’t be distracted from our regular routine. But who knows – they might need Pinkie to negotiate again…?”

“Well, I’m always ready!” Pinkie said with a grin up to her ears.

“Anyway, this year should bring only good things. And I’m sure we’ll get through it all together. Because friendship” – Twilight winked, and everypony smiled happily – “is the most beautiful magic, and we carry its light into the hearts of all creatures, not just ponies! And no matter what happens,” she looked up dreamily, “friendship will finally win.”

June

Bright sunbeams shone through the office windows and cast sharp, square reflections on the paper, causing her to look up at the sky and distracting her from her work.

Princess Celestia sighed and set aside the stack of papers that required her careful attention.

Equestria was experiencing an industrial boom, with factories and plants springing up all over the place and more and more products being traded. This included weapons, which had recently reached an unprecedented level thanks to the geniuses of the Technology Council. The Princess herself was amazed at the way these pieces of metal accelerated by gunpowder gases… ah yes, bullets – pierced through what sometimes even a precisely focused magical strike could not. The crafters assured that this was far from the limit and were already designing real cannons – like the one Pinkie Pie used to shoot confetti, but much more powerful. And more destructive.

The risks were high, but Celestia realized that progress was unstoppable, and so she tried to control everything, both in economy and in ponitics. After all, weapons weren’t toys; one little mistake could lead to them being used.

And today’s news wasn’t good. A large shipment of the newest rifles Lily and Lavender, which had been a breakthrough in the development of military technology, simply disappeared without a trace in the vast expanses of the country. Four Stars Company, which had transported the shipment, denied all accusations; according to the waybills they had provided, the weapons had been delivered to Whinnyapolis and received by the local military – but according to the inspectors, they had never appeared in the warehouses.

The investigation had to be launched, and Celestia really didn’t want to do that. Her head was already full of other things, from dealing with diplomatic issues with the dragons to preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration. Luckily, the sovereign was surrounded by plenty of ponies to take care of that.

The Princess was already writing her highest resolution on a separate scroll when the office door suddenly opened and familiar silver slippers clattered across the shiny floor.

“Luna?” Celestia turned to her sister who had entered. “Is something wrong? I’m just a little busy right now…”

“T-Tia…” the dark blue alicorn began stammering, looking not very confident, but serious. “You know, I’ve been on the sidelines most of the time since I got back – behind the scenes, so to speak… Anyway, I… I think it’s time for me to take some real responsibility.”

“Sounds wonderful, Luna. We were always meant to rule together!” the Princess tilted her crowned head slightly. “Did you… did you want to tell me something?”

Luna nodded.

“Thestrals... that’s not right, Tia! There are more than three kinds of ponies in Equestria, and we must, just must, finally recognize the fourth!”

Celestia raised a hoof to speak, but her Night Sister continued, “Yes, I know about the efforts to integrate Batponies into society – think of the same educational reforms… but all that is not enough! Thestrals are still looked down upon in many places, and I think we have to change that.”

Luna sighed and bowed her head.

“I know that some of them won’t even join the others and want to stay in the mountains, but… they were my little ponies, and I failed them.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, “I must do the right thing. Equestria will be a comfortable home for everyone – or no one.”

She glanced at her sister again, and now there was a glint of determination in her green-blue eyes.

“After all, it shouldn’t be much more complicated than with griffins or hippogriffs! What do you think, Tia?”

Celestia was silent for a moment, pondering her answer.

Now she understood why the Princess of Night had not been herself for so long. Once Nightmare Moon’s guilt complex had been cured, the memories of the dark times would not go away; instead, Luna had been tormented by the fate those ponies had suffered as a result of her banishment. And even after her return, many remained filled with mistrust.

But the main problem wasn’t even the Batponies. It was the Equestrians themselves. Despite their best efforts to gradually promote the idea of equality (the School of Friendship was very useful in this regard), something about the Thestrals seemed to frighten the other ponies, and the “nocturnal tribe” could only count on working as couriers, loaders, cashiers… or – a happy exception – as guards for their returned Princess.

And indeed, Celestia shared her sister’s goals. She just wasn’t ready to put them into action yet. But if Luna were to get involved herself… well, it might work.

“You can do this, Luna. I believe in you.”

Canterlot’s Castle Square was filled to overflowing. Even though it was still early morning by the clock, many ponies – thousands upon thousands – had gathered beneath the castle walls to watch their princesses lower the moon and raise the sun.

Summer Sun Celebration. Like Hearth’s Warming Day, one of the events that united Equestria’s three races. Nopony knew exactly how the thestrals felt about it, but it was common knowledge that the griffins and hippogriffs, for example, had their own analogs for the holiday. The yaks and dragons, on the other hoof, didn’t give a damn about the summer solstice.

There was a steady murmur of voices in the crowd, and those gathered – mostly unicorns, but also pegasi, earth ponies, and even the furry ears of thestrals peeked out somewhere – were talking quietly, discussing the upcoming event and the latest news from the Canterlot Times and the Equestria Daily.

“…Are you going to the Crystal Fair?”

“Of course! They say it will showcase the latest achievements from all over Equestria…”

“…The dragons refuse to give up their land to us…”

“Well, that’s reasonable: after all, they’ve been living there for thousands of years…”

“But it’s against the ideas of Harmony! Do they refuse to accept the terms of peaceful trade and mutual aid…?”

“…I can’t wait to see the stands with new military equipment at the Fair! If we could get it to the dragons, they’d give in to us.”

“Have you read A.K. Yearling’s new Daring Doo book…?”

“…Why do we even need their wastelands? Don’t we have enough land of our own? Let them live in their enclave like buffalo until spring.”

“There are a lot of useful resources there that the dragons themselves don’t use much. And we could use them for industry…”

“Pfft, we Pegasi don’t need anything but clouds…”

“…I wonder what Princess Luna’s speech tomorrow will be about…?”

“Quiet, quiet! They’re coming!”

The guards on the palace balcony sounded their horns, and the three Equestrian Princesses stepped out of the gilded doors: Celestia first, with a gentle smile on her perfect, wrinkle-free face; Luna, as serious as ever; and Twilight Sparkle, as proud and joyful as ever.

The ponies in the crowd squealed and clapped excitedly, greeting their rulers.

After waiting until everypony had made enough noise, Celestia raised her hoof, and the din began to die down. Everyone held their breath. A miracle was about to take place before their eyes.

“Greetings to all who have come to the Summer Sun Celebration today,” the white alicorn said. She didn’t raise her voice, but somehow, magically, it could be heard in every corner of the square. “As always, we are gathered here to bid farewell to the shortest night and to welcome the arrival of the longest day of the year. To watch the sun rise over Equestria. The coming of day symbolizes the triumph of goodness in the heart of every pony, and we are happy to see that year after year we succeed on this path.”

“But we must not forget the night,” Luna continued, stepping forward to stand beside her sister. “The fact that it has to be gone for a while is unavoidable, a law of nature that ensures the stability of the universe. And soon it would return with the next moonrise. After all, everything needs its own time of rest.

“Harmony means balance in the world and in the souls of those who have walked this difficult path,” Twilight said, standing on the other side of her mentor. “And if we all adhere to the principles of friendship, known as the Elements of Harmony, we can remain ourselves even in the face of external changes that affect everything around us. For friendship –” she pressed her hoof to her heart “– never changes.”

There was another loud ovation, but this time Celestia didn’t interrupt it.

To the cheers of the crowd, the reigning sisters stepped forward and tilted their graceful heads. Their horns both flashed brightly, Celestia’s glowing yellow and Luna’s cyan.

And following the magic of the alicorns, the night light in the west began to sink below the horizon, and the day light illuminated the lower edge of the sky in the east.

A new day had begun. Slowly, but inexorably, Equestria took another step into its future.

The Royal Auditorium was gradually filling up with stylishly dressed ponies. Most of them were members of Canterlot’s high society – who apparently had nothing better to do that evening – but the first few rows were reserved for the press: the discreet clothes of the journalists contrasted sharply with the pompous attire of the nobility.

Luna pulled back the curtain and sighed heavily. Even from backstage, it was exciting to watch all the ponies who had come to hear what she had to say. And what would happen when she stepped up to the microphone, standing alone in the middle of the stage…

By the way, it wasn’t her whim at all. Luna could speak in her Royal Canterlot Voice, which would reach the ears of even inattentive listeners, but Raven, Celestia’s personal secretary, had convinced the Princess of Night that an event of this magnitude should be broadcast on the radio at a volume comfortable for ordinary ponies. Two pegasus technicians worked on the other side of the stage to ensure Luna’s speech could be heard at every corner of Equestria.

Celestia was strangely absent. Since she had given her Night Sister complete carte blanche for the time being, she had decided to remove herself from the Batpony initiative, and Luna understood her perfectly well. After all, it was time to do something for the good of the country on her own.

The huge clock under the ceiling showed six o’clock in the evening. Catching the pale unicorn entertainer’s gaze, the Princess nodded nervously and shifted from leg to leg. Everything inside her felt like a knot, making it hard to breathe. The points of her prepared speech flashed through her mind.

Now the blue alicorn understood Twilight in those moments when she panicked about Celestia’s next task. Who would have thought that the second most important pony in Equestria would feel the same way.

A white unicorn in a tailcoat stepped onto the stage and his technicolor voice was heard.

“Ladies and gentleponies! Her Highness Princess Luna!”

That was it. No turning back. The only thing left to do was to go out there and say everything that had been building up in his soul over the past few months. What had been random, unconnected thoughts had now formed into something that would change Equestria.

The Princess of Night took one last deep breath and stepped out from behind the curtain. A stomp of cheering applause rang out through the vast room.

The ponies waited. The ponies believed her. And no doubt, they wanted to hear what she had to say.

Slowly, as if walking to the scaffold, Luna walked up to the microphone and tapped it with her hoof. An unpleasant beeping sounded in her ears, confirming that the equipment was working.

The time had come.

“I am pleased that so many ponies have responded to my invitation and are here in this room. But there are many more scattered throughout Equestria, no doubt ready to listen as well. And I ask that you treat my words with responsibility and understanding – for today may be the beginning of changes that will affect the lives of many… if not all of us.”

What the hay am I talking about…? Come on, pull it together, it’s time to get down to business.

“So, as you all know, a little over a thousand years ago, there were some… unfortunate events that seriously affected the land and, among other things, led to my banishment…”

The memory persisted, refusing to resurrect the memories buried deep within, but something inside Luna made her soul twist harder and harder. The Princess couldn’t stop herself – and kept talking. Though a little confused and overly emotional in some places, she was conveying the idea that had been weighing on her for months.

First, she briefly recounted the fate of the batponies after the War of the Two Sisters, making the audience feel sorry for her, then she moved on to the present and described in a nutshell Celestia’s reforms to help the thestrals assimilate into Equestrian society.

“…But all of this is clearly not enough. We cannot claim the triumph of Harmony as long as there is the slightest prejudice against any group and the slightest injustice caused by disliking somepony just because they are different from us. And so…”

Luna took a breath, holding the pause. She glanced around the room and saw that everypony was staring at her, waiting for the main point of her speech.

This was the moment to be as focused as possible.

One by one, she listed the reforms she planned to introduce herself. Change the laws, amend many documents, guarantee all Batponies the same rights to work, education and social security as Equestrians, invest millions of bits in remote regions to develop civilian infrastructure, recognize the self-government of Thestral communities, and seriously change the cultural ponitics by debunking the negative image of the Batponies.

“…and by implementing these reforms, we can invite the Thestrals to become the fourth race of Equestria!”

Finally. The words spoken.

Luna breathed a sigh of relief as she looked out at the excited audience.

“Any questions?”

At once, everyone started shouting, many jumped out of their seats, and the journalists looked as if they were preparing to rush the stage…!

A slight wave of panic surged through Luna’s soul, and the Princess took a step back – but immediately rebuked herself. What do they think they are doing…

“SILENCE!”

The Royal Canterlot Voice had its effect: the room fell quiet in an instant. Or maybe it was the microphone that screamed, causing the pegasus technicians to cover their ears.

“Keep order,” Luna exhaled in her usual tone. “Please… Uh, who is first? Raise a hoof… yes, you,” she pointed at a bespectacled unicorn with a notebook in his telekinetic grip.

“The Canterlot Times. These reforms are obviously going to be very controversial, have you consulted the public?”

“Well… I… um…”

Luna suddenly realized that she wasn’t ready to answer at all. It was a point she had completely overlooked while preparing her program. She remembered the time when she had still been skipping classes, but now it was not her teacher Star Swirl, but the audience.

And the questions were already pouring in.

“The Fillydelphia Today. Shouldn’t there be a vote on granting citizenship to new races in Equestria?”

“Yes, but…”

“The Equestria Daily. If Celestia supports these reforms, why isn’t she here?”

“It’s not really…”

Luna’s eyes darted frantically from one reporter to the other. And there was nothing she could say to any of them.

Really, it was so simple, it was literally on the surface! How could she have missed it?! All it took was a preliminary consultation, a few opinion polls in the newspapers…

But now it was too late to retreat.

“Listen up! Of course, I value every pony’s opinion. A decision like this cannot be made by force these days… We shall… uh…” Her brain caught the word that suddenly popped up. “We shall hold a referendum! Yes, a referendum to accept the Thestrals as the fourth kind… I shall announce the date later… Thank you, that’s all for now! The press conference is over!”

Unable to stand in the center of all those ponies’ attention, Luna galloped out of the hall.

As she ran into the empty dressing room, she collapsed on a chair and wrapped her hooves around her head.

What was she thinking?! What, in Discord’s name, a referendum?! And what if she loses…? The Princess could pass all these laws on her own with the approval of the other diarch – but not after agreeing to seek the other ponies’ opinions. If she tried that – not even Tia would understand her in that case.

She, Luna, wanted to give the Batponies hope – but instead, she only stole it from them.

What had she done…

A familiar dark feeling stirred inside her. She was weak… she needed strength so much…

No! It was not her thoughts. Luna, who was back on Equus, would never think that…!

She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror.

A soft smile touched her lips.

No matter how difficult it would be to achieve what she wanted, she could do it – and bring happiness to those she had once abandoned. But for that, she needed the support of her loyal ponies. Everything was possible with a little cooperation and friendship.

It was decided. She would recruit a team of followers and activists to support her endeavors. And help everyone get used to the idea of a new Equestria of four entities.

July

Millions of lights lit up the evening city. Even though it was dark, the life was still bustling around: the streets were crowded with carriages, and the outdoor cafes were full. So, the six ponies, desperate to find a place to sit down, just kept walking along the wide sidewalk.

“I can’t believe we had to go all the way to Manehattan to get together again,” said the orange earth pony with apples on her cutie mark. “Even though there ain’t no new tasks from Celestia and Luna, it still ain’t feel right…”

“After all, Applejack, it was me who invited you here,” the white unicorn in the elegant hat smiled. “Interest in fashion has grown lately, and it’s getting harder and harder for me to leave my new boutique to go to Ponyville. But it might be a good lesson for Sweetie Belle to stay on her own…”

“We all appreciate your hard work, Rarity,” Twilight said softly, looking less like a princess and more like an ordinary pony without her crown and with her wings folded. “And it was certainly good for us to get out of our homes and meet each other, you know.”

“And remember when we went to the Crystal Fair?” Pinkie said, bouncing instead of walking as usual. “It was just… super! extra! mega! un-for-get-table!”

“Yeah!” the rainbow-haired pegasus hovering above them joined in. “There was everything! Especially those shooting things!”

“It’s called rifles and artillery, Rainbow.” Twilight sighed and shook her head. “I can’t believe that Princess Cadance and Shining Armor allowed weapons to be brought into their lands. And this is after a large shipment went missing recently and still hasn’t been found…”

“I think I saw a changeling near the military salon,” the yellow pegasus said in a thin voice, walking a little behind. “He was looking at the weapons with such interest that… oh…”

“That was Thorax, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied. “The Changeling Charge d’Affaires in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. As far as I know, he’s not on very good terms with Queen Chrysalis, so we’re in no danger from their lands for now…”

“How is Spike?” Rarity asked, changing the subject. “I heard he’s in negotiations with Princess Amber right now…”

“Yes – negotiating the official incorporation of the Dragon Lands into Equestria. It was a mistake to send the ponies there the first time... But Celestia, Luna and I have worked out acceptable terms for them, so…”

“Excuse me!”

A batpony courier on a scooter sped past the six and raced across the crosswalk at a red light, accelerating with his webbed wings.

“Are you blind?! Can’t you see we’re walking here?!” Rainbow Dash shouted after him, waving her hoof menacingly.

“Calm down, sugarcube, he’s doin’ the right thing,” Applejack said.

They stood in front of the crosswalk and waited for the green light to go on.

“No, did you see that…? And what else is this?!”

Rainbow pointed her hoof at a huge billboard with a picture of a happy batpony and a caption that read, “Don’t be an outdated fool: being thestral is so cool!”

“Luna’s been really overdoing it with these furry-eared…”

“Why don’t you like them so much?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh, I’m sorry…”

“Well… they look like pegasi… but they’re not pegasi! That’s not right…!”

“Rainbow, I think you need to reread some of the friendship lessons from our diary,” Twilight said in a calm tone, and the light blue pegasus mare shut up.

Since the lavender alicorn had learned to speak in that voice recently, it meant she was very, VERY displeased!

“I believe in what Princess Luna is doing, and I support her efforts,” Twilight continued. “Anyway, batponies also deserve their place in Equestria. Unfortunately, there’s no time to invite them to the Grand Galloping Gala, but they’ll definitely be represented at the Equestria Games… And I’ll do everything I can to make sure the vote for their rights goes smoothly and fairly. This will also help attract Thestral students to the School of Friendship…”

“Yes, everything must be like at the Grand Galloping Gala!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully.

But no one responded to her merriment.

With one awkwardly dropped phrase, the evening was ruined.

The six friends walked on in silence. And none of them knew yet what lay ahead for them all.

Fireworks exploded one after another, filling the evening sky with dazzling colors. In honor of the grand celebration, Canterlot had decided not to be stingy and to brighten the lives of everypony within sight of the capital. And that sight was very wide…

The ball was nearing its end. Many of the guests had left, and the huge palace hall that had been set aside for the celebration was almost empty – only a few unicorns in luxurious outfits stood in groups, talking quietly about something. Scraps of streamers and tinsel were strewn about, and confetti clung to the hooves. Shards of glass could be seen near the walls.

No doubt, the Grand Galloping Gala was a great success.

The white disk of the moon – seemingly empty without the crater pattern of a horned pony’s head – shimmered brightly in the sky. And that meant the two reigning sisters had done their work for the day.

Princess Luna stood at the tall window and gazed through the thick glass at the luminary she controlled. Whereas before she had found peace in it, now each time she felt uneasy.

Was she doing the right thing, trying to carry out her plans so hastily? Where did this desire to redeem herself for the Batponies come from? And would the Equestrians accept the new foundations?

The dark blue alicorn sighed heavily. Still, the burden of responsibility she had decided to take on was somehow too heavy.

But she will cope. She must. Otherwise, what was she worth as a princess? A mere shadow of her flawless sister – or someone in her own right?

“Luna, we need to have a serious talk,” the familiar calm voice came from behind her.

And there she is, speak of Discord.

“I’m listening, Sister,” Luna replied without turning around. “Has something happened that I don’t know about?”

“More like something that I’m sure you know about very well.”

Celestia stood beside her at the window and looked up at the sky, where the fireworks were still sparkling and hissing.

“I don’t know what you mean,” the Night Sister said softly.

But who was she trying to fool?

“I’m a little uncomfortable with the way you’re building relationships between regular ponies and thestrals. Don’t you think it’s a little… too much? I mean, to push the ideas of equality and the special historical path of the Batponies like that. I’ve heard different opinions, and I’m afraid you’ll turn some of the population even more against the new future citizens.”

“I have everything under control,” Luna replied. “There are competent ponies working with me, experts in their fields. They’ll help organize everything so that nopony can doubt the rightness of the decision.”

“By the way, when do you plan to hold this referendum?”

“Early November, I think. Right after Nightmare Night is over, when we take another step towards the general recognition of Batponies, the public will have some rest and comprehend the changes that are taking place. And once that’s done, we’ll ask for everypony’s opinion. I’ve read the reports, Tia. The polls show that attitudes towards the Thestrals are slowly improving. It just needs… a little more time.”

“Okay, that can wait… What I’m particularly unhappy about is your recent approval of two new military factories in the east of Equestria, Luna. Without my knowledge.” A hoof in a priceless golden slipper poked into the glass. “This is too serious a matter to make such decisions alone. We should work on it together.”

“What’s wrong with increasing the production of weapons to make up for the lost batch?” Luna said nonchalantly. “It wouldn’t hurt Equestria to feel fully protected. And by the way, how’s the investigation going?”

“Nothing so far,” Celestia sighed. “The local military refuse to admit guilt, but they say they don’t know anything. It feels like Discord is back to cause us trouble.”

“I haven’t seen or heard from him at all lately. I think Fluttershy sent him on some sort of pilgrimage through the meta-universes… I don’t know. He’s not coming back for a while anyway. So, it’s definitely not him.”

“Every day I think about a lot of little things like that,” the Solar Princess sighed. “And any one of them could lead to Equestria’s downfall. Do you understand, Sister? I live in constant fear for the fate of all the ponies who depend on me. And I can’t, I have no right to let go of that heavy burden. That’s the responsibility of being a princess, Luna. Not trying to play leader with populist ideas… just imagine – a chief, like in Stalliongrad! Sometimes I think,” Celestia added, chewing on her lip, “that you often don’t fully understand the consequences of your actions…”

“I understand,” Luna said sharply, turning away. “Thank you for your advice, Sister. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“Wait! Luna…!”

But the dark blue alicorn had already flown away, swooping out of the open window on the other side of the hall.

Celestia stared after her, and pain flashed in the snow-white mare’s eyes. It was the same pain that seemed long gone, left in the past.

The peace within the ruling duumvirate had begun to crumble.

August

Misty Flame didn’t have weird dreams very often. Usually, the ultramarine, green-haired pegasus saw friendships that could have been in her life or wishes that were in no hurry to come true. All the things she had missed during her boring days as a corporal in the Equestrian Self-Defense Force.

The pony kingdom had only recently realized the need for a full-fledged regular army – for a thousand years or more, the protection of the country had been left to the Royal Guards. However, they were badly discredited by the massacre they caused in the Severyana region, now Stalliongrad, after the revolution that had taken place there. And so much happened in recent years, including Nightmare Moon’s appearance, the Changeling attack, and even the Storm King’s invasion! – when the guards either didn’t think to get involved or were completely useless. And with the advent of newer and newer weapons, it seemed natural that somepony would use them instead of wearing gilded armor and throwing spears. It was like the Stone Age, to be honest.

Misty had volunteered to join the army, like everyone else: there was no compulsory military service in Equestria. Not out of any personal conviction, but simply as a job. Her salary was enough to support herself and her elderly parents, so she felt secure in that regard.

But she had never tried to serve with all her heart and soul, and she had no such goal. And every day before she went to bed, Misty thought about her life. What was she living for? What sense could she make of her own existence?

And the answer had yet to come.

Now, as she sat on the ground somewhere outside of her hometown and looked up at the stars, Misty thought: maybe there was something up there that would someday come down from heaven and give her life a definite, inescapable meaning. It would give her a purpose that she would be glad to fulfill. The strange phrase sensus vitae came to her mind, as if she had heard it somewhere. Maybe that’s what it is.

Suddenly, something around her changed – the very sensation of the illusory space around her was different. The pegasus suddenly realized that someone was looking at her. And from everywhere at once… and very coldly. Not with disapproval, but rather with a look of concern… but that otherworldly gaze still sent shivers down her spine.

Misty shrugged, trying to ward off the cold, and raised her head again…

And then she shrieked and fell to the ground.

From the dark sky above the pegasus stared the terrifying face of Nightmare Moon!

Misty opened her mouth in a silent scream and tried to crawl backwards, but her body refused to obey.

Her thoughts raced in panic. It’s just a dream, this can’t be –

“Hello, Misty,” the inky black alicorn said, melting through the gloom from the sky to the ground in front of the pegasus. The voice of the “evil goddess” sounded a bit raspy, as if amplified by a megaphone. “Don’t be afraid. Look into my eyes.”

Misty wanted to shut her eyes and turn away – never to see this monster that had desecrated the person of poor Princess Luna again! But the voice reached deeper and deeper into her soul, mesmerizing her, and the pegasus mare could no longer resist its hypnotic call. She found herself looking directly into the turquoise eyes with narrow vertical pupils that were the only thing visible in the darkness, and she suddenly calmed down. Her muscles felt light, and the tension eased. There was no danger at all – why had Misty been worried just now…?

“Good… Don’t be afraid of me – can’t you see who I am?”

Of course, Misty saw. She didn’t know how she could have mistaken Princess Luna for Nightmare Moon! The alicorn must have come to check on her dreams, like she did with her little ponies at night. And what did Misty do in return? No, she was willing to do anything to redeem herself to her Princess!

And the eyes… so beautiful…

“I need you, Misty. I need friends… for that matter, heroes – like you, for example.”

Misty’s heart skipped a beat. A Princess’ friend? A hero? She’d never thought of herself that way! But now that Luna herself had asked her to confide in her, Misty knew that she would do anything for the night alicorn.

But…

Something stirred in the back of the pegasus’ mind.

…had she forgotten something important? Misty tried to remember.

Luna stepped closer. There was nothing else around, and only the regal image of the Princess appeared in the surrounding darkness, as if lit from within.

“Look at me, Misty, and heed my word. You must follow some of my instructions…”

Misty nodded, agreeing willingly. Luna’s speech was imprinted somewhere deep in her subcortex, firmly memorized, but still her knees trembled at the thought of forgetting or missing something.

She couldn’t betray the trust of the one she had let into her dream. That would be like betraying Equestria.

The will of the Princess is inevitable. And no matter what, it shall be done.

…The next night, Misty walked through the woods near her military unit to the place Luna had suggested.

It wasn’t that difficult to get out of the camp. Though she had to take off her uniform and let the sentry admire her croup, the goal was achieved: the pegasus was allowed out and even promised to cover her when she returned. No doubt the private had a crush on her – and probably expected more in the future…

Well, I can always blow him off, Misty mentally closed the question and continued through the thicket.

Although it was dark, the corporal wasn’t afraid at all. Even in the city’s twilight, she could see monster shadows lurking behind bushes and trees, but now she was protected. Misty knew that she was being guarded by Luna, and that made her feel safer.

So, she’s probably there…

The pegasus mare stepped through the thicket into a small clearing. Her eyes, accustomed to the darkness, immediately caught a few vague silhouettes looming around her. Were these the ponies that needed her help…?

The light from the lit torch blinded Misty for a moment, forcing her to cover her eyes. When she blinked and looked up again, she found several impressive-looking weapons pointed at her chest. And the ponies holding them didn’t look friendly at all.

Misty held her breath. The numbness familiar from her last dream had gripped her hooves with tenacious fingers…

But she couldn’t let fear get the better of her now. After all, she was Luna’s friend.

And instead of all the things her imagination threw at her, she spoke a code phrase.

“It’s pretty dark out there, isn’t it?”

That was obviously the key to the situation. Relaxed, the ponies lowered their weapons.

“Ugh… don’t scare us like that again, okay?”

A light brown stallion with a dark mane, dressed in an unmarked field uniform, approached her. A rifle dangled from a belt around his neck.

Misty nodded to him with a smile and turned to get a better look at the rest of the gathering in the flickering torchlight.

A pegasus, a unicorn, a couple of earth ponies… and a thestral carefully hiding his glistening yellow eyes from the light. Regardless of their race, they all served Luna as well as she did.

Misty finally calmed down and took a deep breath. She was in no danger among them.

“Welcome, newcomer,” the stallion continued. “We’ve been warned that you’d come. Luna needs our help, and we must all pitch in. You ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

Somehow, she felt she had to answer in that way. This pony fit the role of commander well, and Misty’s military habits were unintentionally obvious.

But apparently, she made a mistake.

“Leave it out,” he said. “We’re all equal before the Moon.” And now to all gathered, “So, here’s our task today…”

An hour later, three trucks rumbled down the rocky road, approaching the gates of the neighboring military base.

The armed earth pony who had stopped them came to the front of the truck. Misty lowered the cab window and the glare of the spotlights mounted over the fence hit her directly in the eyes.

“We’re here for another shipment to Las Pegasus,” she said, holding out a fake bill of lading.

The sentry glanced at the document in the glow of his flashlight, then frowned.

“Weren’t you supposed to be here in the morning?” He reached for his rifle and pointed it at Misty. “Give me the password!”

“63 Bravo April,” she replied.

If only the code were correct…!

The sentry froze.

“This is the old royal password of Canterlot,” he said slowly.

Misty froze in the driver’s seat. This was a turn of events she couldn’t have predicted.

She guessed from the clicks and clanks coming from the back of the truck that her new comrades were preparing for battle.

The sentry clucked his tongue reproachfully as he returned the document.

“’Cause of the increased gun and ammo thefts, we started changing codes more often. Remember that next time, okay?”

Misty let out a sigh of relief and relaxed as they were allowed inside, and the trucks rolled toward the warehouses.

The weapons that were thought to be stolen were actually still here near Whinnyapolis – just passed on to the other hooves. To prevent such a situation from happening again, the military began moving weapons from nearby bases to other Equestrian cities. And the locals (not without the help of dreams with instructions from Princess Luna) decided to pocket those supplies as well. All so that Luna’s friends could begin their training.

The Guards of the Night would be ready.

Misty smiled to herself as the other troopers loaded boxes with rifles and ammunition.

The pegasus’ life now made sense. From now on, she would devote all her strength to serving Luna. And maybe one day she would really become a hero.

September

From the top step of the stairs at Manehattan City Hall, the sea of pony figures densely packed into the square was clearly visible. Here and there were posters and banners that read: “For Luna!”, “Support the Thestrals!”, “Four Races Better Than Three!”, and other such slogans.

The lights picked out her figure in the twilight, standing on the high step above all those ponies. Vendors at the edge of the square were hoofing out free cookies, lemonade, and other sweets – a bonus from the Princess equal to a year’s income erased any resentment about working “for charity.”

Intense music blared from speakers placed here and there. However, the pony now standing in front of the crowd had no microphone, unlike during her speech in the Auditorium.

An alicorn doesn’t need amplifiers to speak to her subjects.

“Batponies today live in poverty in slums and caves, separated from most of the ponies! Equestria, is this friendship?!”

“NO!!!” the crowd shouted.

Luna exhaled through her teeth, filling herself with anger. Lately, when she worked in public, it helped her deal with her excitement and stay focused.

“Now, a Batpony mother is crying because her foal is sick, and the Equestrian doctors don’t know exactly how to treat the Thestrals – and on top of that, they’re charging her higher fees because she has no insurance! Equestria, is this friendship?!”

“NO!!!”

“Today, a batpony who wanted to attend this meeting was detained and investigated by the ponice on suspicion of being a Nightmare Moon cultist! Even though she’s innocent! Equestria, is this friendship?!”

An exasperated sigh rippled through the crowd as volunteers helped the Thestral mare up the stone steps to stand beside Luna. The tiny filly was covered in tears.

“I… I ain’t done n-nothin’ w-wrong in m-my life… I don’t deserve to be t-treated like this…”

“EQUESTRIA, IS THIS FRIENDSHIP?!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” exploded the crowd with the same rage Luna felt at that moment.

The Princess looked around at the thousands of ponies gathered here to support her.

All that remained was to channel that rage.

“I stand before you now, not as a princess, but as an ordinary pony, and I ask for your help! I once made the mistake of thinking that friendship could be commanded! No, friendship is a free choice! It cannot be forced! I need your help, people of Manehattan! Will you help me give the Thestrals a happy future like the rest of the ponies? I’m asking all of you to donate and join me. On November 10th, there will be a referendum to recognize the Batponies as a fourth race, and I’m counting on your votes to support them!”

To the roar of the rally, Luna raised her hoof to the sky. Her voice rumbled like thunder in the midst of a storm.

“We will show Equestria what true friendship looks like!!!”

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” swept through the crowd.

For a while it was impossible to make out anything over the general yelling, but then someone, and then more and more ponies, began to chant.

“LU-NA! LU-NA! LU-NA! LU-NA…!”

Standing atop, the Princess reveled in everypony’s devotion and adoration. What was stirring in her soul was contentedly grinning, taking these emotions for granted.

If I have to, I’ll lead them all, Luna suddenly realized. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so determined. And no one, not even Celestia, will be able to stop us. And one day, I will achieve my goal.

No matter what it will take.

Twilight descended upon the Batpony lands. The sun disappeared behind the unfriendly mountain peaks, and a new, dark “day” came to this gloomy land of caves and cliffs. For the locals, of course, who, as one song goes, “saw a different kind of light”[2] and came out of their houses at nightfall.

After Luna’s banishment at the end of the first War of the Two Sisters, the army assembled by the night alicorn was defeated. The Thestrals had to retreat to the mountains in the northeast and south of Equestria, where they could live away from other races without changing their way of life. As time went on, the isolation they had forced upon themselves began to ease a bit; some of the Batponies found their way to the cities and sent large sums of money back home, and the first seeds of progress slowly crept into their remote mountain settlements.

Luna’s return several years ago seemed to reinvigorate the Batponies, as they became more and more interested in what was going on in the rest of Equestria. Especially in what affected themselves.

And now things were about to change dramatically again.

…The whole village huddled around the old radio. To hear better, some of them had even flown up and were now hovering above the crowd on their webbed wings. Every now and then a curious squeak could be heard. Everyone was excited to the point of trembling at what Luna was saying hundreds of miles away.

“…is this friendship?” (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!)

Flapping her wings, little Night Blossom jumped around her mother in excitement.

“Mommy, Mommy, the Princess is talkin’ about us! Us!”

Moonshine Stone nodded patiently.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But why, why don’t the other ponies wanna be friends with us?” the filly asked. “That’s why Luna’s helpin’ us, isn’t it?”

The dark gray thestral mare couldn’t hold back a heavy sigh.

“Over a thousand years ago, Luna was our Princess. She lived in the night, like us, and she made the night beautiful. She loved us, and we loved her. But we didn’t tell her that. Instead, we complained to her about the other ponies, about how rude they were to us. They didn’t like our night, and they were uncomfortable at the mere sight of our wings. And Luna grew more and more lonely and sad. We let her down, and she turned into cruel Nightmare Moon for a long time. After that, the ponies became afraid of the night and chased us into the mountains, where we’ve lived ever since.”

Night Blossom wrinkled her nose as she thought about what she had heard.

“We gotta help Luna! I wanna see the Princess!”

She continued to jump around, making short, gliding leaps. Moonshine Stone thought it wouldn’t be long before the filly could fly at night.

A sharp ultrasound squeak rang in her ears – all the batponies were cheering unanimously at Luna’s words about the referendum.

“Mommy, will we get to vote too?”

“I hope so, little bat. If Luna really wants to help us, she’ll do everything she can.”

The Princess’ speech was over, and the thestrals began to leave.

“It’s getting dark,” Moonshine said. “Let’s go home. Daddy should be back soon.”

An hour passed. Night Blossom was finishing her lunch, and her mother sat beside her, watching her with tenderness and glancing at the old clock on the wall now and then.

For Luna’s sake, how long can they confer there…

The clock’s hooves came vertical, showing midnight. The door above the dial swung open, and a small spring-loaded batpony jumped out and squeaked twelve times before hiding back inside.

Night Blossom leaned back on her stool, rubbing her stuffed belly with a smile. Moonshine started to put away the dishes, when suddenly the door to the shack opened and a grim-faced blue thestral stumbled in. He dropped the backpack and rifle hanging from his back at the entrance and collapsed tiredly on the couch.

“How went it, Darky?” Moonshine asked, turning to her husband. “What was the clans’ decision about Luna?”

The batpony called Dark Horizons didn’t reply right away.

“We have decided…”

Exhausted from the long meeting, he tried to catch his breath after the long journey.

“…to protect Luna!”

“Hooray!” Night Blossom exclaimed enthusiastically, jumping around the house again. “We will help Luna…!”

Dark Horizons nodded.

“We have agreed to mobilize the clans. Batpony groups will go to the cities to help with Luna’s rallies. Some of us will guard the others…” He glanced at his rifle. “Including myself. And some… will prepare for the worst.”

Moonshine shuddered.

“Is it that bad?”

“Something’s wrong, Moony. More and more ponies are seeing Luna in their dreams. But she’s not well. We think she’s in trouble. Groups of ponies in the cities are supplying us with weapons. Modern Equestrian models…” The thestral smirked, baring his fangs. “If there’s trouble, we’re ready for it.”

“You’ll be Luna’s helper?” Night Blossom jumped up to her father. “Let’s go to town! I wanna see her! Well… please-please-please-please…?”

Dark Horizons couldn’t help laughing at the sight of his daughter’s begging snout, but it was noticeable that a shadow ran across the batpony’s face.

Finally, he said, “Well… hopefully even they won’t dare harm a foal… and it will be good if you meet the Princess. Yes, you can go with your mom.”

Night Blossom bounced happily, trying to fly up again, and turned over a chair in the process.

“Lu-u-na! Lu-u-na! Lu-u-na…!”

Meanwhile, Dark turned to Moonshine.

“We have no right to fail her now. For a thousand years we paid for that mistake. It can’t happen again.”

…Throughout the night, a shrill “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” rang out over the village.

Batponies were preparing for any outcome.

October

The faint flicker of a kerosene lamp illuminated the tent, reflecting off the metal parts of the folding army bunks. A rifle leaned against each of them, and an open box of ammunition lay on the floor near the far wall, probably so that it wouldn’t take too long to prepare the weapon when the time came.

Sergeant Sunrise Specter threw his cards in disgust on the box that had replaced the table.

“Discord, I’d come to this Celestia-cursed batpony land on a goodwill mission, and now it had turned into a search for stolen guns, and on top of that, our little lieutenant won my entire salary!”

The white pony with the dark mane, who wore a patch on her chest with the name Aurora Dusk, grinned softly as she gathered up her bits.

“Whose fault is that, I wondered? And besides, avoiding batponies is just unreal. That’s all anyone talks about in Canterlot these days. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that the weapon was stolen by some overzealous Thestral clan to defend themselves from the wild diamond dogs.”

The dawn-sky colored unicorn nodded sullenly and lay back on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling.

“What the hay… It’s worked fine for a damn thousand years, and then along comes Luna, who, as you can see, just wants to make her mark!” Specter sighed unhappily. “She’s easy to promise – ‘cause it’s not her, it’s poor old me who’s being sent to the mountains where there’s not even a decent bathroom…”

Aurora raised her eyebrows.

“Are you going to vote against it?”

“I wanna hear Celestia’s opinion before deciding. She’s been pestered since summer with questions about what she thinks about all this crap. And she doesn’t say a word!” the sergeant snorted angrily and took a drink from a bottle of cider he had pulled from under the bed. Then he looked at Aurora. “You can’t make ponies friends by referendum, y’know? Batponies aren’t perfect, Dusk. You saw those crazy thestrals in the southern jungle where we had our first training camp! They still worship Nightmare Moon, and some of them, I imagine, may have crawled over here…”

The lieutenant opened her mouth to reply – but suddenly there was a shrill bird call from outside. It was the scout’s signal.

Quickly arming themselves with weapons and ammunition, they jumped out of the tent and made their way through the night forest to where the sound was coming from. They could see nothing at first, but as time passed, their eyes adjusted to the darkness and their ears became more aware of the rustling, occasionally interrupted by the beeping of a scout pegasus perched in one of the trees.

The two ponies climbed up a small slope and stopped when they looked into the gloom and saw something strange.

The batponies – and there were mostly them – stood in a circle in the middle of the clearing where their camp was apparently located. They didn’t need the fire – their eyes seemed to light up the clearing with their own brilliance.

But what the thestrals whispered in chorus made Aurora shiver.

“…Nightmare Moon, the secret queen of Equestria… may the darkness hide us as we embrace your darkness within us…”

Sunrise Specter spat quietly and swore.

“Bucking hay, for real, buck ‘em, the cultists!”

“And there’s a lot of them,” the lieutenant said. “Ten… fifteen… or even more. Against two of us… uh, three, including Skybolt and his sniper rifle.”

“Well,” Specter snorted faintly. “Then we have a chance to die heroes in praise of Equestria while conducting a ‘raid against some illegal units’.”

“We’ll try not to let that happen.”

Aurora straightened to her full height and pointed her rifle at the cultists.

“Stay where you are! You’re being detained by the Equestrian Self-Defense Force! If you have weapons, put them down and get your hooves on the ground! You are surrounded! Resisting is useless!”

Surrounded? Oh, who cares.

A rocket launcher slammed from the side – the sergeant had fired a flare round.

And Aurora certainly didn’t like what the white flash revealed in the night’s darkness.

At her words, the crowd scattered. Some grabbed the rifles lying here and there and took cover behind their tents, preparing to open fire. Others hid further into the forest, and there was no point in pursuing them.

And worst of all, there were not only batponies in the camp.

“Well, let’s play then,” Aurora exhaled, hiding behind a tree.

The first shot went into the sky – a warning one, so to speak.

“Surrender! Drop your weapons and you will be spared!” she cried out, even though it was too late to hope for their sanity at this point.

Bullets rang out as a reply. The cultists fired randomly at the troopers.

Celestia, please protect me, the lieutenant thought and, aiming into the darkness, pulled the trigger herself.

A few minutes later, it was all over.

Staggering with a hastily bandaged leg and croup, Aurora paced back and forth, searching the remains of the camp. Most of the cultists had managed to escape. Those who hadn’t, or wouldn’t, now lay breathless, unable to take Nightmare Moon into themselves. At least Aurora wished they weren’t.

In addition to weapons, some papers were stored in one of the tents. Sitting on the dirty mattress and groaning in pain, the lieutenant began to look through them with a flashlight.

Standing at the entrance, Specter spoke in a low voice.

“We can tell the clans about this – they’ll find the escaped thestrals… But what surprises me is that there were also earth ponies, unicorns, and even pegasi here. Do they all support Nightmare Moon? How’s that, Luna buck them all, even possible…? And why did they fight? Cultists don’t usually battle the military, but rather flee…”

“Actually,” Aurora’s voice was strangely flat and seemed to be about to break, “it’s much worse than that.”

The unicorn turned to her and noticed a detailed map of the area on the floor, with colorful arrows drawn. The white pony stared at the huge piece of paper with round, horrified eyes.

“On referendum day, they plan to attack en masse and take over Whinnyapolis…” she muttered, turning to Specter. “The mountain passages are full of these cultists! We have to do something! We have to… alert the command! Sound the alarm…!”

“Where’s the guarantee that the command’s not in cahoots with them?” objected the sergeant. “No, that’s not an option. We have to look for support among our own, among those we can rely on.”

“Then… then we should warn Princess Celestia! Immediately…!”

The unicorn shook his head.

“We won’t have time. Yes, we do have a few weeks to spare… but what’s to stop them from attacking sooner and, for example, disrupting the vote? There’s not much Batpony support in town… They’ll just bury the whole thing. But no matter how hard we try, the Princess won’t be able to give the order to get here in time. We should stay here and hold off the cultists. We can hold them off long enough to defend the town until reinforcements arrive from nearby areas.”

Aurora rose to her hooves and approached her subordinate. Looking into his eyes, she said, “We must warn Celestia. Otherwise, things will definitely get out of control.”

“You understand that it’ll be your decision, don’t you?” Specter replied. “Someone has to stay and defend the town.”

The lieutenant looked away and sighed.

“You’re right, Specter. Someone has to... I’ll leave that to you. And I –” she looked at herself critically and shook her bandaged leg where the flesh had been crudely severed by a bullet “– will have to run to Canterlot as fast as I can.”

The sergeant wrapped his front leg around her shoulders.

“You’ll be all right,” he whispered in her ear. “We’ll find a way to keep Equestria safe. I promise.”

November 3

Princess Celestia was busy with paperwork.

A thick stack of documents floated in the alicorn’s telekinetic field, and a bright red phoenix quill punched out an elegant signature. However, her personal secretary, Raven Inkwell, a white earth pony with glasses and a strict haircut, was standing by with the next batch of papers.

That’s the main drawback of absolute monarchy, Celestia thought, continuing the same routine that had become automatic over a thousand years. You have to do everything yourself and make decisions all the time. On the other hoof, there are two advantages: you can broaden your horizons, and moreover, if you want to do something well, do it yourself…

“Princess!”

A sharp shout from the doors of the throne hall snapped the ruler out of her highest thoughts.

Magically pushing aside the papers, Celestia saw a guard standing on the threshold, two others on either side of the doors glaring disapprovingly at him. The one who had run into the hall was clearly very agitated and worried about something.

“What happened?” the Princess asked, frowning. “It must be something very serious… right?”

“Your Highness,” the guard said after catching his breath. “This morning, a patrol found a wounded pony in the uniform of an Equestrian Army lieutenant near Canterlot. She has been treated and now requests an urgent audience with you. She says she’s been traveling for ten days from Whinnyapolis to deliver a message…”

“Bring her here,” Celestia said and turned to Raven, “We’ll continue this later. You may go to lunch.” And again to the guard, “What is her name?”

“Aurora Dusk, Your Highness. I’ll fetch her right a–”

“Princess Celestia!”

The white unicorn in gilded armor turned to the door and saw Aurora enter the hall. She was breathing heavily, the unwrapped end of the bandage on her leg dragging on the floor behind her.

The alicorn stood up.

“I’m listening to you, my little pony. What did you want to tell me?”

…The seal, floating in a magical glow, dipped into the ink and lowered itself gently onto the note.

Luna put aside the paper, in which she had asked Prince Blueblood to help ensure that the thestrals would be allowed to do military service as equals to the other ponies, and began to hum merrily, turning the pen with her telekinesis.

So much had been accomplished, but how much remained to be done…! The reform campaign was not easy, but necessary. And most importantly, Luna knew that she was finally doing something worthwhile besides watching dreams and the movements of the night luminary. Or rather, correcting the mistakes she had once made.

And this knowledge filled her with peace and confidence. She was even sleeping better lately…

Luna burned the note with magic, sending it to Blueblood, and headed for the exit to check out the kitchen before dinner and maybe even steal a piece of her sister’s cake…

Suddenly, the doors to the office swung open, and two gray thestrals in purple armor, who had been guarding Luna’s chambers, entered, moving backwards. A dozen of Celestia’s guards – led by the Solar Princess herself – were advancing on them with halberds drawn.

Luna froze. She hadn’t seen her sister so angry since her banishment.

“T-Tia…?” she said. “W-what’s going on…?”

“The stolen weapons have been found, Luna,” Celestia spoke. It was obvious that she could hardly contain herself. “Nightmare’s cultists near Whinnyapolis used the Canterlot codes to trick us! The royal codes! Right now, they’re preparing for the return of Nightmare Moon! With our codes!”

Luna let out a gasp. Her legs jerked up and the night alicorn flopped onto the patterned carved stool she had just gotten up from.

What Tia was talking about simply couldn’t have happened! It was… unthinkable!

This puts an end to all my efforts…

“Sister, I would never…”

Luna suddenly stopped.

Or would she?

She remembered her recent peaceful dream – but not what she had seen in it.

There was a subtle, mocking irony in it: the one who was supposed to guard the others’ dreams couldn’t control her own.

Celestia’s face softened a little.

“Probably not. But we cannot risk Nightmare Moon’s return. I’m sorry, sister, but you’ll have to stay in custody until we get to the bottom of what happened.

“And yes,” she added as the guards encircled Luna, “your referendum has been postponed indefinitely. Sorry, but that’s what we have to do. The safety of everypony comes first right now.”

Luna suddenly noticed that there was one guard less. Besides, she remembered the appearance of the one who had apparently escaped! And why did she feel like she knew him…?

Like so many others whose images began to pop into her head.

In the back of her mind, the things that had been bothering her for the past few months stirred again.

What did I do wrong…? Luna thought absently as the escort led her through the corridors of the castle. Or is it not me, but… something inside me? But… how is that possible? I believed it would never happen again…

The dark blue alicorn sighed heavily.

All right. If I have to defeat Nightmare Moon within myself, then I will. And one day, I will finish the reforms. And bring happiness to the Batponies.

November 6

The gates to the palace were locked, and that was the only thing that kept the ponies that had crowded into the square from rushing in. Guards were lined up on the walls, equipped with firearms because of the state of emergency. So far, no one had taken off to try to get into the citadel from the air.

Banners and flags were raised over the square – but not like during the Games or even the recent pro-referendum rallies. Now the banners carried the image of Luna instead of the symbol of Harmony, and the slogans had been altered to: “Stop the Tyranny!”, “Free the Princess!”, “Where Is Your Friendship?!” – and all that sort of thing.

And it wasn’t just Canterlot. All over the country – especially in the east – ponies were gathering, marching, and blockading government buildings. Most of the protesters were thestrals, but by the hour, more and more earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi were joining them. The news of Luna’s arrest had blown up the society like a real bomb.

A year ago, such a thing was unimaginable. But now it was reality.

Half of Equestria demanded Princess Luna’s return and a referendum. The story of stolen weapons and Nightmare Moon cultists was seen by ponies as a convenient excuse to roll back the changes that had already begun.

Others hid in their homes or fought back against the protesters. Many ponies didn’t care about the fight, and millions still disliked the Thestrals and supported Celestia. The only thing they wanted was order.

One of the guards on the wall squeezed his eyes shut. The noise, the crowd, the shouting… It was all a reminder of the past that he wanted so much to forget.

The Changeling invasion of 1002… The magical shield has fallen. The shape-shifting bugs are in the palace. Celestia is defeated and Luna is somewhere not here. The changelings surround him, snickering, ripping the weapon from his hooves… They put him in a disgusting cocoon, and the stallion struggles, but can’t escape… And the nightmare continues.

Something hit his helmet and the guard opened his eyes. And his breathing immediately became more frequent and nervous.

Bottles and cans flew at the guards, eggs and rotten mangoes – the favorite fruit of the city’s batponies – smashed against the white stone walls. The roar of indignation in the square grew louder; it seemed that the crowd would soon become so angry that they would indeed storm the gates.

This could not be allowed! That… would be unthinkable…!

The hoof clenched on the trigger of the rifle.

The rumble of gunfire was deafening. Almost inexperienced in shooting, the guard marveled at how loud this new weapon was.

Then, as he realized what he had just done, he broke out in a cold sweat and his legs began to shake.

The shouts of the crowd turned from angry to frightened. Pushing and shoving one another, ponies began to flee from the square. And on the cobblestones in front of the gate lay a bleeding batpony with a hole in his chest.

In a matter of hours, the news would spread like wildfire across the land. A royal guard, charged with keeping order and protecting Equestria, as they would say – especially in the east – had “cold-bloodedly shot” an innocent protester.

And many will know. Even with their prejudices, they’ll know that it was not harmony. It was not friendship.

And they’ll take to the streets again, marching together against injustice.

Luna was crying as she lay on the floor of her chambers, which had been transformed into a luxurious, well-guarded prison. Celestia and Twilight stood nearby, looking sadly at the Night Princess.

The dark red sunset cast a bloody glow through the tall windows. Outside, the din of the crowd continued for the third day in a row.

“It was all me…” Luna said between sobs. “All the time. Nightmare Moon inside me… was c-collecting an army while… while I slept peacefully!”

She looked up with her reddened eyes.

“Sister… Twilight… please do… anything! I don’t want any more ponies to suffer! Please…!”

“It’s not your fault!” Twilight replied eagerly, shaking her head. “We’re going to fix this. We’ll gather the Elements of Harmony, draw out Nightmare Moon’s spirit, and banish her from your mind once and for all! It’s going to be okay, Luna, you’ll see.”

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire came from the street, and the tone of the screams changed.

Twilight and Celestia froze, stunned, while Luna began to tremble again, barely holding back sobs.

“What have I done… WHAT HAVE I DONE?!”

Abruptly, she pulled her hooves away from her face, feeling a familiar wave of darkness rise from within. One that had been gathering strength for a long time – and now was finally powerful enough to break through.

No! This can’t be happening! Not again…!

“Please help me!!!”

Luna stretched out her hoof to her elder sister and her apprentice.

“Oh no…” Celestia whispered as she stepped back, creating a magical shield around herself and Twilight.

She’s realized what’s happening too!

The darkness was seething, bubbling up inside her – and it looked like it was about to overwhelm her. In a panic, Luna tried to suppress it by turning to her own good memories…

But it was already too late. The process had gone too far.

The sobs gradually turned to agonizing coughs. The darkness came flooding back, and in the next instant, the Princess’ eyes saw the world in a different way.

Nothing held her back anymore. She was free! Free…!

She laughed, and her laughter echoed throughout the bedroom. Her body felt an unprecedented surge of energy – and the Princess was ready to use it!

“Luna, no…!” came the cry of a small lavender pony from behind the shield.

Twilight… Sparkle, it seemed. Oh yes, Luna remembered that little upstart, who had gotten more attention from her sister in a few years than she herself had gotten in all her life…!

However, a new, cooler mind told her that dealing with the two of them was disadvantageous. If she entered the fight now, she might as well lose. Again.

And she couldn’t afford to lose! Not after her people had had their dreams taken away and their nascent hopes trampled into the dirt.

But she knew where to go. Knew where she could get support.

With another wave of eerie laughter, she turned to the window and with a single burst of magic blew it out, along with a huge chunk of the wall.

Fresh November air rushed into the bedroom. She opened her eyes and saw the rapidly darkening sunset sky for the first time.

Celestia had already set the sun down. Then it was time to raise the moon.

Laughing, the Princess spread her wings and flew outside! Her horn lit up with a turquoise glow, and a bright white disk began to creep out from behind the horizon.

Night was coming. Her night! Hers, and nopony else’s!

And from now on, the night would last forever!

The protesters, who by now had almost completely left the square, roared with joy. Batponies by the dozens soared into the air to defend her escape.

“You idiots, this is not Luna!” Celestia yelled from the castle.

The guards on the walls began firing. But the Princess of Night didn’t care.

Surrounding herself and her ponies with a shield, she flew away, heading for Manehattan.

Batponies were flying with her. Her loyal warriors. Her new army.

November 7

“…ponies of Equestria! A thousand years ago, I committed a great evil and was banished to the moon by my sister, who made every effort to return and restore my identity. In doing so, she saved me, and I am indebted to her.

“With an unspeakable sadness in my heart, I must now repay that debt. Celestia, terrified of batponies and imaginary threats, went mad, had me arrested, and ordered the guards to shoot at the crowd of protesters outside the palace. Celestia is no longer the kind sister I once knew – she has become Daybreaker, a cruel monster of fire and fury!

“From Manehattan, I work to defeat my sister and put an end to her madness, just as she did for me long ago. I call upon all ponies who love peace and order, be they thestrals, pegasi, unicorns or earth ponies, to join me in defending our nation and restoring a new Harmony!

“Together, we will build a free Equestria, where tyranny and treachery will not exist, where all ponies – regardless of race – can feel needed! Join me in fighting back against those who would take that dream away!

“Starting tomorrow, everything will change. We will turn a new page in history, and we will begin it by fighting the Solar Dictatorship. Fight for your future, ponies! It belongs only to you –”

Celestia’s horn glowed, and the radio went silent, stopping the broadcast.

The two princesses, of Sun and Friendship, stood alone in the throne room. Even Raven, that omnipresent white shadow, was not there now.

A diffuse pale light shone through the stained glass: the pegasi had clouded the sky on the ruler’s command. Not only as a sign of mourning, but also because the moon had not yet descended.

One thing was good: the people of the capital were no longer in protest. Anyone who opposed the authorities had left the city the night before. And the Batponies had to do it in an orderly fashion. There was no guarantee that they wouldn’t storm the palace again.

With her eyes wide open, Twilight breathed heavily, coming to her senses after what she had heard. Celestia looked sadly at her apprentice, seeing her in agony.

Suddenly, Twilight gritted her teeth and frowned.

“It’s her who’s gone mad!” the lavender pony shouted, using her magic to pick up the radio and throw it across the room at the wall.

The receiver shattered into many pieces.

A guard peered into the room at the noise, but the look Celestia gave him made him disappear behind the doors.

“How dare she…” Twilight muttered, turning back to her mentor. “HOW DARE SHE?!”

“It’s my fault,” Celestia said with her eyes closed, and Twilight’s anger was blown away. “I should have paid more attention to what was going on. I was so caught up in other things that I missed the moment when I should have stepped in.”

“P-Princess… No, you couldn’t have known! This… this is just a mistake! If we go to Manehattan, we can, uh –”

“And how will they let us in?” Celestia turned and walked over to a stained-glass window depicting the six ponies, the Elements of Harmony. “Luna had gained too much power in Equestria. Now half the country to the east of us is out for blood. Our blood, Twilight. Of course, there are still some ponies out there who are still sane, but their voices mean nothing now. I fear even the power of the Elements will not be enough to sway the minds of millions like Luna did.”

She glanced at her apprentice, and Twilight was horrified to see the pain in her mentor’s eyes.

“A war is coming, Twilight. A great war. One we haven’t seen in a thousand years. And unfortunately, there’s no way to avoid it. And the military factories my sister has built in the East – I admit, without a second thought – will help her cause us great trouble.”

“But we can’t just sit around and do nothing!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’m going to Ponyville right now! We’ll gather all six… along with Starlight – and figure out what to do! Shining Armor and Princess Cadance will do the same. And you can gather the Pillars of Equestria! I’m sure Star Swirl will be able to tell us someth–”

She paused, noticing that Celestia had grown even sadder.

“Wh-what’s… with Star Swirl?” The white alicorn didn’t answer, and Twilight’s face fell again in horror. “No… no… no, no, no, no…!”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Celestia sighed. “The news came this morning… Star Swirl was killed by an agent of Hiropterra on his vacation on Mount Aris. A Batpony cook slipped him a poisoned fugu fish… The authorities of Hippogryphia sent their condolences and sentenced the killer to life imprisonment under water, but… Star Swirl can’t be brought back. And the others… I don’t know where they are.”

She lifted her gaze to the lavender pony. There was only acceptance and determination in her eyes now.

“Nopony can help us, Twilight, except ourselves. Go to Ponyville and bring your friends to me. Anyone else I need, I’ll write to them myself. It’s time to gather the team for the great battle.”

Hooves in blue metal slippers clattered across the shiny black stone floor. The large desk in the center of the room was littered with drafts, plans, and notes. An upturned coffee cup lay orphaned on the edge.

A bluish glow engulfed the trash and hurled it with a powerful toss against the far wall. An inky black alicorn in shimmering blue armor stomped nervously, and the sound echoed through the hall.

A meeting with a group of activists loyal to her had just ended, where they had outlined a plan for the new state. Luna hadn’t expected to have so many things to work through. A whole day wasn’t enough time to discuss even half of them. After all, Celestia was in charge of most government affairs in Canterlot, and she had more experience with that.

But I’ll manage, the Princess told herself, looking out from the skyscraper at Manehattan’s business district. I must make it through. It’s the only way I can prove that I’m better than Celestia. Batponies should be rewarded for centuries of isolation.

She remembered flying here this morning. The thestrals who had accompanied her had grown tired along the way and had each descended to their own village. She let them go – they had done more than enough.

The whole city seemed to have come out to greet the Night Princess. Traffic was blocked as she marched through the wide streets, showered with moonflowers and night lilies. At the mayor’s invitation, Luna stayed in a new high-rise, unofficially named Tenpony Tower. The skyscraper in the heart of Manehattan had only recently been built and wasn’t yet fully occupied. So far, only radio was broadcast from here.

But when the Princess disappeared into her new tower, those who opposed her return raised their heads.

Ponies took to the streets with banners reading “Down with Nightmare Moon!” and “Hail Celestia!” and were mercilessly paddled by the ponice. Here and there, Luna’s supporters clashed with those who opposed her – of which, by the way, there were still many. And with each passing hour, the situation just got more and more heated.

Meanwhile, the radio and postal pegasi were constantly bringing news of which towns in Equestria had recognized the rule of the Lunar Princess. In other words, the revolution had already won there. So it would win in Manehattan too. Just needed a little more time.

Luna started towards the door to inspect her quarters on the floor above, when suddenly the intercom on the wall came to life.

“Your Highness, you have a visitor.”

Luna stopped and thought for a moment. She didn’t want to see anypony right now, but… There was still a break, so she could give the visitor some of her precious time... besides, she might even be well entertained.

But it wouldn’t hurt if she played it safe.

“Who?” asked the Princess, telekinetically pressing the answer button.

“A unicorn mare. She says she’s on important business. We searched her, but all she had with her was a briefcase with some documents. No storage, combat or tracking amulets. No explosives or weapons in the briefcase either.”

“Put a ring on her horn and let her in,” Luna ordered and stood in front of the entrance, ready to meet the unexpected visitor.

The door opened and the guest entered the meeting room, carrying a rather large briefcase in her teeth by the hoofle.

She was a light orange pony with a red-yellow mane and a cutie mark in the shape of a fiery sun. She looked familiar to Luna, but the recent transformations had clouded the Princess’ memory, so the visitor’s name didn’t come to mind.

The unicorn set the case down on the wall and bowed low, crouching down to the very ground. The magic-blocking ring on her horn made her look even more submissive.

“Stand up,” Luna said. “And tell me your name, child.”

“Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer,” the unicorn replied, rising. “I’m honored to be here, Your Highness…”

“Let’s do without that. I don’t like idle chatter. So why are you here?” The Princess raised her chin, towering over her guest. “What is this important business that has brought you to me?”

Sunset Shimmer smiled.

“I just want to help you win. That’s all.”

“Really?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “And why would you want to do that? Other than to avoid incurring my wrath on future vanquished, of course?”

“I have my own score to settle with Celestia,” the unicorn replied, “so we have what you might call a mutual interest. With my help, you can consolidate your power – and pave the way for all your plans to come to fruition.”

“You mean the Thestrals, whose rights I fought for were recently trampled upon by my beloved sister?”

“And not only them.” Sunset glanced at the pile of papers near the far wall. “May I?”

Waiting for Luna’s slightly surprised nod, the unicorn crossed the room, picked up the pile of discarded notes with her teeth and walked over to the table. She spread them out and gazed at the Batpony activists’ mouth-written scribbles.

“The New Lunar Republic? Not bad – at least lets everypony know who they’re dealing with… But…” Sunset looked at Luna with a smile. “You do realize that it’s not enough, don’t you? You need a clearly organized structure and with it symbols that represent your power.”

“We are working on that,” Luna said, tilting her head and looking at her interlocutor with interest. “Or do you have your own suggestions?”

“If I may…”

Sunset went back to her briefcase, took something out and put it on the table.

Luna came closer. In front of her lay a purple shoulder band with a white moon painted on it – as if at the end of its cycle on a clear night.

“The ponies are wearing them all over the city now to show their support for you,” Sunset said. “You are a symbol to them. And what better symbolizes a pony than her cutie mark?” The unicorn glanced at the Princess’ flank, where the same image had been placed. “So in a way, we have no choice. But it wouldn’t hurt for the state to have a real coat of arms, so to speak.”

She pulled up a briefcase and began to take out the sheets of paper.

On them were sketches of what would be the emblem of the New Lunar Republic. One of the drawings caught the alicorn’s attention – the one with a vertical horn and wings spread out to the sides on a dark background.

Luna touched the sketch with her hoof as she looked at it.

“Excellent choice, Your Highness,” Sunset said. “I’m sure your followers will like the new flag. Now,” she sat down in one of the chairs, “we can get down to the essentials.”

“You have a plan of your own?” The Princess arched an eyebrow. “How could a pony like you know enough to figure that out?”

“I was actually Celestia’s personal apprentice before Twilight Sparkle, in case you don’t remember. And as for the plan…”

The unicorn jumped down from her chair and began pacing under Luna’s intense gaze.

“On one of the worlds, some time ago, there was a state whose authorities wanted to build a perfect society – in their own way, of course… just like you. But failure awaited them: crushed on all sides, they lost their war…”

“Lost?” the alicorn frowned. “Why do you suggest we become like the losers, then?”

“They lost,” Sunset continued softly, “because they made some serious mistakes. For example, they underestimated the spirit of the people of one of the countries they attacked… But we’ll come back to that. Well, they wanted to establish the dominance of a superior race everywhere, and they pursued their ponicy accordingly. You have Batponies as that race, don’t you?”

She pointed with a hoof at a note titled “Benefits and Privileges for Thestrals,” then sighed and sat down again.

“But since there are several pony kinds in Equestria at the same time, such a racial division would be difficult and, more importantly, dangerous to enforce.” Sunset pulled a few more pieces of paper out of her briefcase. “Actually, I see two main options here. The first is that you can still give Batponies more freedoms than others, justifying it with the fact that they’ve been oppressed for thousands of years… but in this case even your most ardent supporters may have questions. The second is that even if everypony is equal in law, in life Batponies will turn out to be… a little more equal. And then the benefits to them as compensation for oppression will be taken for granted by the rest. And with dissatisfied ones it will be possible to do… some educational work. After all, a little chaos gives you even more control over society… if you know what I mean,” the unicorn added, smiling ingratiatingly.

Luna seemed lost in thought.

“I wonder…” she murmured finally, pushing back her chair with magic and sitting down next to Sunset. “But to build such a society, we must first ensure its safety. I need an army, Shimmer, not idle talk!” The alicorn leaned her black muzzle toward the unicorn. “Destroying Celestia is the most important thing right now – because she would surely strike first!”

“If you put your emotions aside and think rationally, you have a good chance of starting the fight on your own terms,” the unicorn shrugged. “I’ve read the reports on the wartime industry… and the part that recognizes you is doing much better than Celestia. And as for the army… just look around!” Sunset waved her hoof at the panoramic window. “Thousands of ponies will be happy to fight for you! At the same time, the disgruntled ones can be sent to the front. So you will win anyway.”

She slid another sheet of paper to Luna.

“I’ve prepared a rough description of what it might look like. As you can see, it’s pretty simple in general terms…”

The Princess ran her eyes over the lines.

“Equermacht... Pegasenwaffe… Lunenerbe, Lunabwehr, Gestapony… What do these names even mean?”

“Well, I could say that they’re based on the words of an ancient griffin dialect – the Wingpony language spoken by Pegasi and Batponies thousands of years ago was closely related to it,” Sunset said, clearly holding back a smile. “Or – that they’re just the names of the power centers of the regime we’re going to cosplay. But whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. After all, we can easily cover up what all these units will be doing with new and unfamiliar words.”

“So… and what else is this…?”

The unicorn followed Luna’s gaze, which stopped on a two-letter abbreviation.

“Ah, that… You’ll need extra troops to keep order, right?” The Princess gave a slow nod. “I’ve been trying for a long time to find a suitable acronym that would sound impressive and mysterious at the same time, and the name itself would be clear in spirit, but not in essence. And why the ‘Lunar Division’… just sounds good to me. What do you think?”

“I like it,” the night mare grinned. “Do you have anything else to offer me?”

“Just… a few ideas you might want to consider. The rank system in the army, for example, could be combined with the Changeling system to confuse the other Equestrians and see how the bugs themselves would freak out.” At this point, Luna laughed out loud, and Sunset continued, “And it would be a good idea to have separate ranks for the LD to differentiate them. There will also need to be new military uniforms and insignia…”

“I’ll take care of that. What’s next?”

“Why don’t you think about changing your title?” Luna froze, and Sunset hastened to explain, “It’s just that, you know… the title of Princess and the use of ‘Your Highness’… well, let’s just say it refers to the days of the former Equestria. With which, for the record, we are on the verge of direct war. So… it would be hard to understand if you were holding on to the past.”

“That makes sense,” Luna said.

“I’ve also prepared some options here…”

“Eqführer… Horsehoofer… Horsecoacher… Do you want me to break my tongue?”

The alicorn looked at Sunset with displeasure.

“Of course not!” the unicorn shook her head. “You are free to decide as you think best.”

“Thank you for letting me,” Luna replied sarcastically and thought for a moment. “Horsecoacher… I think that’s good enough. Anything else?”

“You have the whole East almost from Canterlot on your side now. The ponies, including myself, have recognized you as their new supreme leader… But perhaps it would be useful to enshrine that in law? Arrange an election, and then not even Celestia can challenge your right to rule.”

“What’s the point of an election if I know that even here, not everyone is for me?” Luna said sharply, pointing at the street. “Would there be a riot if that were the case?”

“And that’s where the mechanisms I told you about come into play,” Sunset smiled again. “You have the absolute support of the Batponies, which means that their votes will definitely be more important to you. And if we stick to the concept of racial division, it wouldn’t hurt to rank the opinions of the other races according to how much they support you. So let’s say that the vote of a thestral counts for five, a pegasus (since they are the closest to the Batponies genetically) counts for three, a unicorn counts for two, and an earth pony has no change. Futhermore, you can persistently convince them to vote for you, because there will be no other candidates. And who needs an unrecognized, rebellious state without a legally elected ruler?”

The unicorn suddenly became serious.

“Though all the Batponies’ current merits lie in the fact that they happily jumped on your support for ‘Luna’s cookies’ at the rallies – and you can’t forget that even for a moment. Once something goes wrong, out of control – and it will be extremely difficult to restore everything. If it doesn’t happen at all that everything crashes down.”

“Don’t worry, child,” Luna said. “I shall do everything I can to prevent that from happening. My ponies will be kept safe. My enemies will curse the day they dared to oppose me.”

Suddenly, she frowned.

“But even with all the advantages, if I fight Celestia, I might lose. I need something that will allow me to win no matter what!” She leaned over to Sunset, fixing her eyes on her. “Do you have that, my little pony?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the unicorn replied without flinching. “Oh, I mean, sorry… Horsecoacher. How dare I come here and give you advice without having something really valuable in return?”

She opened the briefcase and tossed the remaining papers on the table.

“These are blueprints for weapons and technologies this world has never even dreamed of. With them, you can not only defeat Celestia and take over her territories, but also dictate your will to the rest of the world. When the current threat is over, of course.”

Sunset’s hoof came down on a stack of blueprints and technical instructions.

“Even if Celestia had a cadre of the best engineers, it would be at least fifty years before they could understand these inventions, much less replicate them.” The unicorn’s grin turned sinister. “But we won't give them that much time.”

“Should I ask where you got all this stuff?” Luna snorted ironically.

“You can assume that I, like Daring Doo, raided the tomb of an ancient mad scientist. Or, for example, that these notes were left to me by myself from the future, using a time travel spell. In the end, it doesn’t matter how I got them. What matters is how we can use them now.”

“That’s fine. But you’re not just showing me this for no reason, are you?” Luna looked down at her guest, as far as her height allowed. “What do you want for your help?”

Sunset looked pleased, as if the conversation had gone exactly according to her own script.

“I’ll give you all this work of my own free will. And in return…” She pretended to think. “Your favor will be enough for the beginning. And when things settle down here and the war with Celestia is in full swing,” Sunset looked up into Luna’s eyes like a suckling foal, “I’d like to be one of your generals. To be on your team and to help direct the course of events is all I desire.”

Nightmare Moon’s grin turned satisfied.

“You shall have what you ask for, child. Serve me faithfully and I won’t neglect you. I give you my word. The word of a lunar alicorn.”

Sunset bowed her head with a smile.

“It’s my pleasure to serve you, Horsecoacher. From now on and forever. After Celestia, I realized I needed a new mentor. And I’m sure there’s much I can learn from you.”

Some hours later, Sunset left, leaving Luna alone. The unicorn didn’t take the case, explaining that she trusted the new ruler and believed in her kindness and generosity.

Well, well, the Princess thought to herself as the door closed behind her guest. You can play around if you want to. The alicorn looked at the papers that had been left behind. I hope you’re not deceiving me, because if you are, I shall decide your fate. In the same way that you yourself have suggested how to deal with those who don’t want to bow down.

Luna rose from her chair and walked to the window.

The sky was already darkening, and the moon disk that had remained there since last night was becoming more and more visible against the background. It will be necessary to put it down in the morning, the alicorn sighed. I have to follow the rules so the disasters don’t destroy the world before I can take it over.

A fleeting wish touched her soul. Turning her head, Luna’s gaze stumbled upon a tall cabinet in the corner that held a record player. After levitating the paper envelopes with records, the princess chose one, placed it on the rotating disc and set the needle to the soundtrack.

The hall was filled with the sounds of Neighthoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Luna had always loved this music – it reminded her of who she was, and she felt a strange unity with the old composer’s work, which was written as if about her. Especially when she listened to it in the silence of the approaching night.

The cello softly played a gentle melody, as if drawing the canopy of the dark sky, and it was echoed by the short notes of the lyre, so similar to the sparkling stars in the darkness. Two great performers, Octavia Melody and Lyra Heartstrings, joined together to let everyone see this calm, majestic picture in their imagination.

As she listened to the music, Luna looked up at the city – her city – and watched the action unfold beneath the skyscraper windows with the frightening and yet exciting name “revolution.”

More and more ponies came out onto the wide street. Some of them were carrying flaming torches, and the pavement, on which the carriages could barely pass, seemed from above like a cluster of bright lights. And in their glow, the homemade banners and flags appeared more and more clearly: pro-Luna on one side, Harmonical on the other. Only occasional shouts came through the thick windows, otherwise it was quiet. And only the measured sound of the sonata occupied the Night Princess during these minutes.

The pensive and slow first movement was over, giving way to a second, more cheerful and brighter one. Luna imagined that at this very moment her light was emerging from the clouds and illuminating the whole world – and everything around was glistening in its pearly pale radiance.

Meanwhile, the crowd on the street finally started moving. The two camps came together closely, but there had not yet been any hoof-to-hoof fighting. The shouts grew louder and angrier; the ponies argued verbally, occasionally trying to tear off their hooves or damage each other’s flags. And the ponice watched from the sidelines without getting involved. Purple legbands could be seen on the sleeves of some of them.

The record was finished on one side, and Luna turned it over before putting it back into the player.

Now the third, her favorite part, was about to begin. “Nightmare.”

A few seconds of hissing – and then fast, nervous passages burst into the space of the room. The sonata was written for piano, but Octavia’s skill allowed her to draw out the restless ascending arpeggios perfectly. On the linking motif and the second theme, Lyra joined in, weaving the tense tinkle of her strings into the melody. And it really sounded like a surreal dream in which the listener had to run away from the night monster in mind.

And that monster was her, Luna. Or rather, her current identity. Nightmare Moon.

Luna laughed.

Let her enemies fear, for her friends know that they are pure before her!

…Meanwhile, on the street what the last movement of the sonata represented began.

A thrown torch set fire to the banner of the two alicorns – and the ponies went wild. Luna’s supporters, along with the ponice, attacked those who were for Celestia. Hooves, clubs, and baseball bats were used; white jets of tear gas exploded here and there. Some ponies set fire to others and continued to beat them down, ignoring the fire. Those who couldn’t get up or move were trampled and even jumped on to finish them off.

Insanity reigned around Tenpony Tower.

The main and secondary themes followed each other as the battle raged outside. Pistol shots cut through the noise a few times, adding some terrified screams to the cacophony of the battle.

By the time the less epic but more disturbing middle section began, Luna’s opponents found themselves almost surrounded in the center of the street. And the crowd, with the support of the ponice, began to push them slowly but steadily toward the opera house building, which was to the left of where the night alicorn was watching the fight.

Luna curled her lips in a grin, revealing her fangs.

With each passing minute, what was happening became more interesting.

Defenders of Harmony had no choice. With kicks, clubs, and volleys of gas, they were driven into the theater. Some of Luna’s supporters broke away from the crowd to go around the building and lock the back door for their enemies.

Celestia’s followers tried to force their way out, but their laughing opponents blocked the doors with a heavy van. From the inside, powerful blows struck the barrier, but the wagon only swayed in place.

The main theme of the finale was back. And as if on cue, bottles of flammable mixtures and torches flew into the windows of the theater! The crowd roared with joy as they saw the flames bursting out of the building.

The stream of shells did not stop. Meanwhile, a bonfire was burning in the middle of the street, with flags of united Equestria, posters of the Solar Princess, and even a few charred corpses. The ponies were destroying the symbols of their former state with a kind of mad fury.

Those trapped in the theater threw themselves out the windows and jumped from the roof – only to be brutally killed by rioters and ponice down below. Pegasi tried to carry earth ponies, and unicorns tried to float through the air – but they were all cynically shot down from the ground, preventing them from leaving the battlefield.

The fire quickly engulfed the entire opera house. Even from here, on the twenty-eighth floor, the screams of ponies being burnt alive could be heard clearly.

A satisfied smile froze on Luna’s face.

The finale of the “Moonlight Sonata” was now approaching its coda.

Inside the opera house, something collapsed and powerful jets of flame shot out of the windows. The crowd greeted them with a cheerful roar.

“LU-NA! LU-NA! LU-NA!”

The final chords sounded, and the player fell silent, ending the record.

But the ponies gathered below didn’t leave. Amidst the garbage, blood and corpses, burning flags and banners of the former, peaceful times, they celebrated their victory.

The moon had risen fully over Manehattan.

Tomorrow will be a new day. A day when Equestria will tremble.

As the new ruler was later told, there was one district in the city that had turned completely against her.

Bridle Beach was populated mostly by Stalliongrad immigrants, as well as northeasterners who had moved to Manehattan after the revolution of 995 in Severyana and wished to remain in Equestria. However, they felt close to the seceded communists and supported Starlight Glimmer’s ideology of Equestrian socialism. Therefore, when they realized what was happening, they strongly opposed the sole authority of the Lunar Princess.

The rioters who attempted to attack were met with fire from rifles and machine guns left over from the residents’ fighting past or purchased from smugglers. Fierce urban fighting broke out on the outskirts of Bridle Beach and continued throughout the night.

Luna’s followers suffered heavy casualties, and the alicorn ordered them to retreat.

But nothing was over yet.

The area was cordoned off, and only the rare supply trucks were allowed to pass through the barriers. The ponies who had stood up for their freedom were effectively trapped in a ghetto with no way out.

And no matter how long this precarious balance lasted, one day tensions would rise. And then everyone would be in trouble.

Both the locals – and those who would come to kill them.

November 8

Early morning, the Equestria Daily’s Manehattan office was quiet and empty.

Despite the rioting in the city, the paper had managed to produce and sell double its circulation yesterday. The new edition had been printed by nightfall, and right now foals and batpony carriers were delivering it to the mailboxes of subscribers and selling the fresh copies, still warm and smelling of ink, on the streets.

In the common area of the newsroom, only a couple of bored reporters were on duty, and a little lemon-cream pegasus with a nametag around his neck that read “Featherweight, junior intern” was scrubbing tables of spilled ink and coffee. And from an office in a side corridor came the editor-in-chief’s snoring.

The rest of the staff went home, trying both to avoid inadvertent mess and to get as close to the scene as possible so that they would have something to write about in the next issue. So, in a way, it was much safer to stay in the newsroom.

At such moments, bad writers like to insert phrases like “Nothing foreshadowed disaster” and so on. And if it had been an article in the same EqD, it would have been either on the front page or near the end, in the column with all sorts of nonsense.

However, the sleepy peace of the morning shift was rudely and unexpectedly interrupted.

Out of nowhere, some sort of company appeared at the door of the newsroom. A tall stallion swung the front door open with his hoof, shattering the glass as it hit the wall. The mare reporters froze at their desks, mouths agape, and a rag fell from Featherweight’s tiny hooves.

A group of ponies entered the room. And that would have been fine, but the sudden guests looked… rather sinister. They were all dressed in dark jackets and cloaks, and wore black caps without cockades, looking like ponice officers. But most importantly, each of them wore the familiar “lunar” legband on their sleeve.

A well-groomed gray earth pony with a dark mane, in which a resident of even the remotest town would have recognized the unsurpassed cellist Octavia Melody, stepped forward. And it was even more unimaginable to see her in the “uniform” of Luna’s follower.

“Where is the boss?” Octavia asked demandingly and gave the trio a stern look.

The mares were still in a stupor. Only Featherweight, shrunken, pointed his hoof in the right direction without a sound.

“Come on,” Octavia waved to her companions, and they all moved toward the door, which was padded with reddish-brown dermatine.

After waiting for their group to disappear into the hallway around the corner, the little pegasus spread his light wings. He flew up and peered through the observation window under the ceiling of the office, which had been installed during the last renovation.

From here everything could be seen and heard clearly.

A square-faced white unicorn, dressed in shirt and tie, slept at his desk with an unlit cigar between his teeth – until the leg of Octavia’s mighty companion kicked the locked door, leaving it hanging on one hinge.

“Huh? What?” the editor-in-chief looked up sharply and blinked.

“Are you the boss here?” Octavia asked him.

“Y-yes, and… what? Who are you?” the unicorn frowned. “I’ll call the ponice right away…”

“By order of Her Excellency Immortal Horsecoacher Luna, all print media on the territory of Manehattan, including your newspaper, are transferred to the ownership of the New Lunar Republic,” said the earth pony, as if she was reading some kind of manual in her mind. “In addition, the name of the Equestria Daily is officially changing to the Equestria Nightly. From this day forward, all issues must be published under that title.

“And while we’re on the subject of issues…” Octavia shook a large stack of sheets from her discreet but spacious bag onto the table, which was littered with scraps of paper and cigar ashes. “You will print an emergency edition today where you will publish all these documents.”

“W-what’s in them?”

Dumbfounded by such pressure, the editor-in-chief just floated along.

“Horsecoacher Luna’s decrees from today. First, the formation of a New Lunar Republic in the territory under her control. Lunarchy is declared as the state system, official religion is the Night Cult. Supreme governing body is the Lunar Chancellery, government membership will be determined later. The bit remains the monetary unit, but the gold standard is removed – paper money is now permitted.

“Second, the Republic declares war on the outlawed government of the so-called Princess Celestia.” At Octavia’s words, the unicorn’s eyes bulged, and Featherweight’s own jaw dropped. “To wage the war, it is announced that the NLR Armed Forces have been created, consisting of a land army – the Equermacht, an air force – the Pegasenwaffe (including the Shadowbolt landing parties), a navy – the Coltsmarine, and special forces – the Lunar Division. As such, all members of the Equestrian Self-Defense Force within the Republic must swear an oath to the Immortal Horsecoacher. Disobedience will be considered treason and punishable by death.

“Due to the declaration of war, any positive mention of Celestial Equestria, as well as the Crystal Empire and Stalliongrad, is prohibited. Citizens must destroy or turn in to the ponice all hostile symbols they have. The ideologies of Harmony and communism are outlawed from this day forward.

“Furthermore, Batponies are granted all the rights and freedoms of the Republic’s citizens. Attacking or insulting a thestral is considered an extremely serious offense. Any discrimination is forbidden.

“Instead of the canceled referendum, on November 17 there will be held elections with a progressive voting system. All the details are in the text of the decree.” Octavia hoofed at one of the papers. “There are also a few other decrees, such as the nationalization of the spaceport being built near Hoofington and things like that. Try to make sure that all these documents are published without distortion. Otherwise…”

She slowly pulled her cello bow from under her cloak, and in a flash, she was behind the editor-in-chief’s back, causing Featherweight to blink in surprise.

“The Republic doesn’t like to be spoken of in an inappropriate tone,” Octavia muttered and ran a tense hair along the neck of the stallion, who let out a startled yelp.

A red streak was left on the unicorn’s skin, oozing drops of blood.

Leaning down to his ear, the earth pony added in a whisper – Featherweight could barely make out the words, “Lest it be like your last issue.”

With a commanding shake of her hoof, one of her companions pulled a folded newspaper from under his jacket.

Leaving the editor-in-chief to come to his senses, Octavia walked over and unfolded the publication, then read aloud with expression.

“…By calling on the people of Manehattan and the neighboring provinces to side with her against Celestia, Luna effectively declared the beginning of a civil war not seen in Equestria for over a thousand years. On the one hoof, it was hard to avoid in light of recent events, but on the other hoof, such drastic decisions have led to chaos and social instability…”

Octavia crumpled the paper and threw it away. Then she leaned down right up to the unicorn’s nose and slapped her hooves on the table.

“From now on, you must write as you’re told! It’s articles like this that cause instability and chaos and turn the ponies against the new, righteous system! And you cannot fail to see that! You have a responsibility to form opinions that will influence society!”

She drew back and lifted her chin, looking down at the editor. He was squirming in his chair and seemed willing to do anything to keep away from her.

“Think about that when you’re doing the next issue. Please.” Octavia looked at the mess on the table and wrinkled her nose. “And clean this place up. It’s disgusting to look at.”

Her group headed for the office exit. Featherweight dashed from the window back into the hall, grabbed a rag, and began scrubbing away the stubborn ink stains again.

The reporters were already scribbling in their notebooks, but they stopped and eyed Octavia warily as she and her companions passed. The cellist stopped for a moment and turned to the mares. They drew frightened smiles onto their faces.

Without a word, Octavia turned and walked out of the newsroom. Her companions followed her out of the building. The tall pony who had kicked in the doors was the last to leave, carefully closing the door behind him.

The little pegasus sighed, dropped the rag, and floated to a chair with a flap of his small wings. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper, took a pen between his teeth, and began to write in uneven, jumbled script.

Featherweight had to warn his friends in Ponyville.

November 9

Since its founding, Ponyville had been considered a small town, despite being less than fifty miles from Canterlot. The settlement wasn’t taken seriously enough by the mostly earth ponies who lived there, and for a long time it was almost cut off from the bustling social life of Equestria.

But all that changed when Twilight Sparkle first came to Ponyville. The town grew and got stronger, and thanks to Crystal Castle and the Friendship School, it became a new, albeit not the largest, center of power in the country. There, under the influence of the magic of friendship, the Harmonical ideology has been perfected over the past few years.

And so far, the news “from the mainland” had been delayed. Not everyone in Ponyville had a radio, and news on paper had yet to be delivered.

But sooner or later, they would arrive.

“What the hay?!” Applejack exclaimed, hoofing the newspaper that Sweetie Belle was floating in front of her. “Did Luna fall out of the apple tree?”

“I don’t really know what’s going on,” the filly with the curly lilac-pink mane sighed. “But… Rarity is in Manehattan right now! I don’t want anything to happen to her…”

She sobbed, and Applejack pulled her leg over to her and hugged her tightly.

“Don’t worry, sugarcube; I’m sure she’ll come back to us. Or we’ll go there and rescue her.”

“And Babs Seed too?” Apple Bloom looked up at her sister, standing beside Scootaloo.

“O’ course! She’s part of the Apple family, too! And we…”

Applejack paused as Rainbow Dash flew toward them, leaving a rainbow trail behind herself, and collapsed on her hooves, trying to catch her breath.

“This is… disaster…!”

“Hush, hush, sugarcube,” the orange earth pony cut her off, a little scared. “Y’mean all the crap that’s goin’ on in Manehattan…?”

“No!” Rainbow shouted, and after catching her breath, blurted out, “Soarin’s been arrested!”

“What? Wait, he’s your…”

“Yes, buck, yes! He was on vacation in Fillydelphia, and he got caught ‘cause he’s a Wonderbolt!”

“Wait, how did you know that?”

“Spitfire told me, and she was told by the pegasi who just escaped from there!” Rainbow stomped angrily. “Shit, why does it have to be like this and not the other way around?! At the worst possible time…!”

“Watch your language, Rainbow,” Applejack frowned. “Not before the foals…”

“Hey, we’re not little kids anymore!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “We already have our cutie marks!”

“I see,” the earth pony’s voice rang metallic. “But now… if there’s really a war, you’ll have to be taken away from here. And that’s out of the question,” she cut off the objections. “We don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“But… what if something happens to you?” Sweetie asked.

“We won’t let that happen,” Rainbow replied, and ruffled Scootaloo’s purple mane. “’Cause we’re the coolest team of heroes in Equestria!”

“If it really comes down to a big gunfight, bein’ cool won’t help us at all,” Applejack argued. “Someone’ll have to make armor so we can protect ourselves…”

“Then we need cooler weapons so we can attack the enemy first…!”

“Are you seriously goin’ to kill other ponies?!”

Rainbow froze for a second with her mouth open, then charged back.

“Hey, I didn’t say that! I meant…”

“And I think that’s exactly whatcha…”

The two friends continued to argue, ignoring everything going on around them.

At that moment, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy walked up to them. The pink earth pony looked stunned by the news – her round eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, but her mane was still sticking out like cotton candy instead of a pink waterfall. The yellow pegasus, on the other hoof, was rather dazed, and her legs nearly tangled as she approached her friends. She even seemed to have forgotten about her wings.

“Look what I found today!” Pinkie exclaimed, and literally out of nowhere she pulled out a piece of paper that floated to the ground. “It was taped to the door of Sugarcube Corner! Can you imagine…?”

“Well, well…”

Distracted from fighting Rainbow, Applejack adjusted her hat and pulled the piece of paper toward her. The rainbow-haired pegasus glanced over her shoulder and began to read as well.

The paper was scrawled in uneven mouth writing.

Joyn the squad to fight on Louna’s side! Down with Canterlott teranny!
Death to Celestia! Louna the Best Prinsess!

What stood out was that one sentence was spelled correctly.

“Bucking crap!” Applejack blurted out. “What the hay is this piece of dung?”

“I think I saw Pipsqueak this morning,” Sweetie Belle thought. “He was just walking around town and posting something.”

“What a lousy asshole! When I find him, I’ll smack his butt personally…!”

“If only Discord were here now…” Fluttershy sighed.

“That’s right,” Rainbow nodded. “I’m sure he wouldn’t have let this happen!”

Suddenly, a pink flash of magic flickered near the group of mares, causing them to look away from their conversation.

“Twi!” Applejack turned to the lavender pony and pretended to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “Whew! Maybe you can at least help us figure out what’s goin’ on here! Y’know already…?” She pointed her hoof at the newspaper.

“Unfortunately, I do,” Twilight Sparkle replied dryly. “I was in Canterlot at the time. I’m afraid we’ll have to go up against Nightmare Moon again. But she has a whole army now.”

The Princess of Friendship looked around.

“So, where’s Rarity?”

The mares looked sad, and Sweetie Belle seemed to be holding back tears.

“Right,” Twilight lowered her head, but looked back at her friends. “Princess Celestia wants to meet with us. With anyone who can help in the war. I teleported to you directly from Ponyville Station. The Canterlot Royal Express is waiting for us.”

“A… war?!” Fluttershy was horrified and pressed her hooves to her face. “You mean… it’s… serious?”

“Much more serious than you think. Equestria is facing something truly terrifying. Not even the Elements of Harmony can help us.”

“Wait, are we just gonna leave our marshmallow there?” AJ waved her leg, probably in the direction of Manehattan. “How long can she last without us…?”

Twilight went over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“I’m sure we will come up with something. But… if you remember, Rarity is very strong. Just think of her adventure with the diamond dogs… Believe me, she can get through anything. And maybe she’ll try to get out on her own.”

“You’re right, sugarcube. We’re all just a little on edge right now.”

“I understand,” Twilight nodded and turned. “Let’s go. Time is of the essence. We should be in Canterlot by tonight.”

The five friends left, leaving the three Cutie Mark Crusaders on the half-empty street.

“Should we go too?” Apple Bloom suggested. “Let’s sit in our tree house and think about what to do with all this, okay?”

“Wait,” said Sweetie Belle, pointing to Pipsqueak’s note. “It also says…”

Indeed, a breeze blew the paper over, revealing the writing on the back.

“Meetting to night at the CMCs house,” Scootaloo squinted, reading the small, jagged letters, and got indignant, “Hey, what’s that Pipsqueak doing?! This is our house, not his! We should go over there and teach him a lesson, and then make sure nopony comes to our house…!”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Sweetie said. “What if we hide and watch them? Then we can find out what Pipsqueak is planning.”

“I like that,” Apple Bloom replied, and looked at the little pegasus, “Come on, Scoots! We have to find out what he’s up to!”

“All right,” Scootaloo said, as if reluctantly, but she pulled her orange hoof forward anyway.

The other two, yellow and white, tapped on it from two sides.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, let’s go!”

Evening was gathering over Ponyville, filling the sky with the dark purple syrup that was always the color of the sky here. Silence had fallen over these peaceful places in the heart of Equestria – but now there was something ominous in the stillness.

An expectation of terrible future disturbances.

But the three young fillies sitting in the bushes in the woods not far from town, gazing out from their hiding place at the cozy little treehouse, didn’t care about all the adult fears and worries. They were much more interested in what was going on at their headquarters.

“That’s it, nopony more coming!” Scootaloo whispered loudly. “Let’s see what’s in there!”

“Let’s wait just one more minute,” Sweetie said. “What if somepony’s late? Pipsqueak didn’t say any specific time…”

“But what if they’re already on the meetin’?” Apple Bloom protested. “We’d miss everything!”

“Alright, let’s go,” said the little unicorn, and the three fillies cautiously peeked out from behind the bush.

When they saw that nopony was around, they immediately climbed up the steps and went to the window in the side wall.

The room was lit by a dozen lanterns that the foals had brought with them when they gathered. In addition, a kerosene lamp on a small stand shone with a steady amber glow. From the outside, this strange mix of technologies looked rather unusual.

However, the attention of the CMCs was drawn to something completely different.

To the cheers of the crowd, Pipsqueak – a brown-haired colt with a red pirate bandana and a patch over one eye – came to the podium. The fillies noticed, however, that the bandana was now a purple shade, and the patch bore Princess Luna’s cutie mark instead of skull and crossbones.

“What does all this mean?” Scoots whispered indignantly.

“Quiet,” Apple Bloom snapped at her. “It’s about to start!”

Coughing dramatically, Pipsqueak spoke.

“As president of the school, I’ve decided to call together everypony who cares about what’s going on in Equestria. Celestia has done a very bad thing to Luna, even though she did nothing, and to those ponies who supported Luna!” He slammed his white hoof down on the podium, causing the lamp to shake and sway. “We can’t just watch this and do nothing!”

“Yes! That’s right…!” shouted the crowd.

“We gotta… help Luna!” Pipsqueak proclaimed after a pause.

Many stamped their hooves in support.

“Help?” Scootaloo frowned. “How, I wonder, he’s gonna do that?”

“I told you not everypony was here yet!” Sweetie Belle spoke up.

All three turned to see Cosy Glow approaching the house.

The little pegasus raised an eyebrow, surprised to see the Crusaders standing at the window.

Apple Bloom pressed a hoof to her lips, please don’t give us away.

Cosy Glow nodded with a smile, then went up the stairs and into the house.

The three fillies were back at the window, watching the meeting.

A white, dark-haired pegasus came out of the crowd of foals and asked, “But the adults say it was Luna who did some bad things and even turned into Nightmare Moon again. Why are you so sure that we should help her?”

“’Cause she’s the best princess, Rumble!” Pipsqueak roared, suddenly harsh. “Luna comes into our dreams and saves us from nightmares! She raises the moon and gives us advice to keep us from being afraid! And all you get from Celestia is sunshine and new taxes, that’s what my dad says!”

“Yeah, Princess Luna helped me once by telling me in a dream that everyone has fears and that Rainbow Dash would help me deal with them…” Scootaloo muttered, but stopped talking when Apple Bloom poked her in the side.

Meanwhile, Pipsqueak continued.

“It’s time for Celestia to leave the throne and go to the moon herself! Only her sister is worthy to rule Equestria! Death to Celestia! Praise the Moon!”

And he clasped his right front hoof to his chest and threw it upward.

Several other foals repeated his gesture.

Rumble was still in place.

“But you’re blaming Celestia – this is wrong! Why’s she the only one at fault? And she’s a princess, too. She meant well, she just couldn’t do it this time…”

“She must pay!” Pipsqueak stood his ground. “She ordered her guards to shoot the batponies! And we don’t need anyone supporting Celestia! They weren’t invited here!”

“Then we should think about who’ll be the new president of the school!” Rumble said and headed for the door.

Once outside, he spread his little wings and flew away, not even looking at the lurking Crusaders.

“Anypony else wants to go?” Pipsqueak asked. The answer was silence. “Then let’s get on with it. Luna has declared war on Celestia, and I think it’s right! We must fight those who wants to keep the tyranny of Canterlot! And so,” he banged on the podium again, “I propose that we form a warband to fight on Luna’s side! Tomorrow at dawn, I want all of you to meet me at the bridge – with full backpacks! We’ll cross the river and go to Manehattan, and then we’ll join Luna’s army along the way! Well, who is with me?”

The ponies cheerfully yelled in support of his words.

Cosy Glow caught the stunned looks of the three fillies in the window – and with a wicked grin, she called out, “And the Crusaders are listening in!”

Everypony immediately turned to the window, but nopony was there.

The three friends were already running through the forest toward Ponyville.

Now they had something to tell their elders.

November 10

The throne room of Canterlot Palace was truly a work of art. The stone walls looked gray-blue in the dim light of the morning sky through the stained glass windows, and the marble floor shone as if it had just been scrubbed by an army of maids. But if the rumors about where guilty guards went to be demoted were to be believed, that might have been true. Carefully arranged flowers hung from the wall caddies between the windows, giving off a faintly pleasant scent.

The throne itself, a high-backed seat upholstered in red velvet, with a smaller one to the left, was still empty. Divine sisters didn’t have to be on time, and Celestia followed that principle: if you want to subdue someone, make them wait.

Along the sides of the red carpet that ran from the high, patterned doors all the way to the throne, ponies crowded in. They had all been summoned to decide how Equestria should proceed in the new, changed circumstances. In the front rows, of course, were the five bearers of the Elements of Harmony, who, in their youthful determination to save everything around them, had imperceptibly overshadowed all Canterlot’s nobility. As a result, some of the glances they received were filled with irritation and jealousy. Understandably, the fate of the Sixth Element was not inquired about.

Finally, the clanking of weapons and armor came from the corridor: the guards outside were saluting, at the same time warning those inside of the royal person’s arrival.

The guards inside waited a few moments, then synchronously opened the doors with telekinesis, and one cleared his throat and announced, “Her Highness Princess Celestia!”

Everyone bowed respectfully as the white alicorn, accompanied by her “shadow” Raven, entered the hall, her gilded hoof slippers clattering. The ruler looked sad and haggard, as if she hadn’t slept much in recent days, but her mane was neat and shiny as ever, and her lilac eyes looked forward with determination and dignity.

Celestia walked up the steps and sat gracefully on the throne, then looked around at everyone, and a soft but sad smile appeared on her face.

“Stand up, my dear ponies,” she said. “Now, as you know, Equestria is going through a difficult time. I would even say the most difficult in the last thousand years. And I have gathered you here today to assign each of you a role that I hope will prove suitable. After all, we all have a stake in making sure that the land can endure.”

Raven hoofed the Princess a scroll, which immediately hung in the yellow glow of magic.

“So, let’s start with you, the keepers of Friendship,” Celestia said, looking at Twilight and her friends. “Each of you has a special talent that will help you in your new position.

“Twilight,” she turned to the Princess of Friendship. “I was impressed by your determination to learn magic when you were just starting out. And now I ask – not command, but ask – that your magic once again be used to defend Equestria. We need new, powerful spells, both for defense,” the alicorn paused, “and for offense. And in a form that can be used by non-unicorns as well.”

“Is there really no other way?” The lavender pony looked up at the ruler. “Magic is not only spells, but also the power that unites us all. You remember how many times it was the power of friendship that saved Equestria! And....” Twilight looked down. “I can’t leave my School…”

“You have the right to stay in Ponyville. I will personally see to it that you get all the help you need. But about the School…” Celestia sighed. “I’m afraid we will have to suspend classes for the duration of the war.”

“No.”

Twilight gritted her teeth and spread her wings belligerently, and the other Elements stood side by side with her.

The white alicorn raised an eyebrow. At that moment, it seemed like she was seeing her pupil for the first time.

“The School of Friendship will work,” Twilight said, pressing each word. Astonished whispers rippled through the room. “Because if it doesn’t, we can’t win. We must have something of value to share with others. And that’s what the school will do as long as it can.”

“I object!” stomped the hoof of an old unicorn in a dark red mantle. “This is too dangerous! We cannot expose the students to such a risk!”

“Let me remind you, Chancellor Neighsay, that Friendship Schools are not under the authority of the E.E.A.!” Twilight Sparkle replied defiantly. “However, I realize what a responsibility that is, and –”

“And I think – no, you don’t!”

“Quiet, ponies,” Princess Celestia said softly, and the bickering stopped. “I can see that you both have good intentions. But it’s getting a little dangerous in Ponyville right now. Just fifty miles to the east, Luna’s followers are already gathering. We may have to evacuate the schools to the west to safer areas. Not just Twilight’s school, but the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns as well. That will be up to you, Chancellor,” she turned to the stallion. “Do you have any suitable options?”

“I have already thought about it, Your Highness,” Neighsay tilted his head. “I can suggest Littlehorn, a small village in Little Pony Valley, not far from Ponydale. It has everything we need: nature to play in, friendly locals, and a few old homesteads to stay in.”

“Thank you, Chancellor,” Celestia nodded. “Proceed immediately.”

The unicorn bowed silently and walked down the carpet path through the crowd and out of the hall.

“All right, Princess,” Twilight said. “But promise me that the School of Friendship will return to Ponyville as soon as possible!”

“I promise,” Celestia replied, then shifted her gaze to another pony. “Applejack. I know you’re doing a great job on the farm, but right now I need you to be my coordinator in another area.”

“Your… what? And… you’re suggestin’ I leave my farm?!” The earth pony frowned. “Not just the farm, but my family too, huh?!”

“No,” the Princess covered her eyes. “I just want you to be my special representative to the Technology Council, which develops weapons for the army. You are to organize their work in general and report to me on the results from time to time. Dr. Hooves,” she looked at the brown stallion in the green tie, and he bowed with a smile, “our chief designer, will assist you in everything. By the way, Doctor, how is your family?”

“Thank you, Your Highness, they are fine,” he replied. “I was about to take Ditzy and Dinky to a safe place, but they want to stay. Dinky is getting ready to enter Princess Twilight’s School, and if it moves, I think I can convince them.”

“Then you are welcome to Littlehorn. I’m sure they will love it there.”

Doctor bowed his head again, smiling.

“Pinkie,” Celestia said to the pink pony of the Mane Six. “I suggest you join the secret service that is being set up in Canterlot. Your ‘Pinkie Sense’ could be a great asset to us in detecting and thwarting any insidious plots against Equestria.”

“I’d love to, Princess, but…” Pinkie put her hoof to her mouth and turned. “Who’s going to organize the parties, so the ponies don’t get discouraged? And how will Mr. and Mrs. Cake manage without me…?”

“I think your friend Cheese Sandwich would be happy to take over your duties. However,” the alicorn said seriously, “war is no time for parties. And don’t worry about your familiars; we will find ways to support them in the hard times ahead.”

“Then I don’t mind!” Pinkie cheered and even jumped up and down. “You’ll see, Princess, I’ll be the most mega-vigilant, ultra-secretive, super-smart secret agent in Equestria!”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” Celestia laughed. “I’ll tell you more: the agency will be called the Secret Military Intelligence League of Equestria – S.M.I.L.E. for short.”

The pink pony gasped in excitement.

“This is… so… cool!”

Joyfully, she jumped again.

Celestia closed her eyes indulgently and turned to the blue pegasus, who was standing there as usual, looking a bit perplexed.

“Rainbow. I wish I could offer you a new and important mission… But you seem to be doing well at yours. And I’m so glad you’ve been able to reach your goal and find your calling.”

“I… that’s… thank you, Your…” Dash was clearly confused.

“Captain Spitfire.” While Rainbow recovered, the Princess unmistakably spotted the head of the Wonderbolts in the crowd. “A major confrontation is coming, not only on the ground, but in the air as well. The country is already building planes, but they still won’t replace Pegasi. Increase enrollment at the Academy; cut back on weather teams if you have to. We need every pegasus who can stand up for Equestria.”

“Yes, Your Highness! Will do!” saluted a yellow-haired pegasus mare in a blue tunic and dark glasses.

“One more thing. In a war, a special unit may be needed for special missions. In that case, it must be formally part of the Wonderbolts, but at the same time subordinate to me personally. And you, Rainbow,” the Princess glanced at the Element of Loyalty, “I would like to see you at the head of this special team.”

“What? Me?” Dash was still stunned, but her confusion was soon replaced by excitement. “That’s… awesome! I promise I won’t let you down!”

“Fluttershy,” Celestia looked at the remaining one of the friends. “Your kindness and responsiveness have found a place in the hearts of many ponies. And it is important to me that you continue to bring light to this world when darkness rises again. I am offering you participation in the development of healing spells and medicines that will allow us to lose fewer ponies in the coming conflict. Mistress Meadowbrook – sorry, she’s not here right now – and some magicians will help you. Don’t worry,” the Princess added, anticipating the inevitable question, “there will be someone to look after your animals.”

“Well… then I… agree…” the yellow pegasus whispered, shrinking under the alicorn’s kind gaze.

“What about Rarity, Princess?!” Applejack raised her voice. “Is she just gonna stay in Manehattan?! And we ain’t gonna do anything to save her?!”

Celestia straightened and squinted at the orange earth pony.

“Applejack.” The Princess’ voice was icy and sharp as steel. “We are in no position to risk saving one pony. When you go outside, look around. The lives of millions of ponies are at stake right now – many times more than live in your hometown of Ponyville. Most of all, we must keep them safe. We can only hope that Rarity will be strong enough to stay alive, or even get closer to us. But there is not much more we can do at this point. I’m very, very sorry about your friend – but right now,” the alicorn shook her head, “we are not going to save her.”

“But…” Rainbow tried to object, but Celestia cut her off.

“I’m not saying we should forget her! No, not at all. We will return to the question of saving Rarity later, after we have removed the threat from Canterlot… and Ponyville. Do you understand me?” The princess asked insistently.

All five of them grimaced but looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

“Good,” Celestia sighed, glancing at the golden-haired unicorn in his ornate white uniform twitching at her side. “Prince Blueblood, I am entrusting you, as my field marshal, with the responsibility of assembling and training a battle-ready army as quickly as possible. Our Self-Defense Forces are not enough to succeed alone. Get help from the media to encourage the ponies to defend their land. And we should already be planning how to counter the first attack.”

“It will be done, Princess,” Blueblood muttered, adjusting his ornate white cap with magic.

“Let me remind you that war crimes are now punishable in Equestria. Therefore,” the Princess’ tone became extremely harsh again, “no shooting civilians like in Severyana. No plans for bombing or anything else I can’t even find a name for. There are no legal methods of warfare, so we will not overuse violence to solve the problem. Is that clear?”

“Quite clear, Your Highness,” the unicorn replied glumly.

He didn’t even seem to like the fact that he had been dunked headfirst right into his great mistake of ten years ago.

The crowd in the hall began to thin as the ponies left one by one after receiving their tasks. Only the Elements of Harmony and the sullen-looking Prince remained in place, waiting for the most important, meaningful words to be said.

Celestia continued to assign roles. Thus, Hoity Toity and Photo Finish were in charge of designing new military uniforms – winter and summer versions. Rockhoof, the new head of Equestria’s construction department, was to prepare a system of trenches and fortifications near Canterlot. Fancy Pants – to go visit the Crystal Empire. Furniture magnate Davenport – to provide the army with bunks, tents, and office supplies. Filthy Rich, Governor of the Central Bank, to take care of the financial side of things. Inspector Ms. Harshwinny – to check the condition of the war factories. And so on.

Eventually, the throne room was almost empty. Even Blueblood said something about his urgent business and left the meeting. Raven also left, taking a stack of new decrees. In the end, not counting the guards and the Princess herself, only five young ponies remained in the huge room.

Celestia exhaled heavily and leaned back in her luxurious seat. Then she looked at those still standing in front of her and said, “Don’t fail me, my little ponies. The fate of all Equestria rests on our shoulders now.”

“We’ll do it, Princess,” Twilight replied with unexpected maturity in her voice. “Together, with our combined efforts, we will succeed. And we’ll help bring your sister back to her senses when we get to Manehattan.”

“Princess!” came a shout from the doorway.

The white alicorn lifted her head.

The guards, crossed ceremonial spears, were keeping a pair of stylishly dressed stallions in straw hats from entering the hall. These two looked like brothers; one of them, unlike the other, had a moustache.

Although… they were brothers indeed.

“Hey, what are they doin’ here?” Applejack exclaimed, pointing her hoof at them.

“Well, we will find out. Let them in,” Celestia ordered.

The spears went straight up at once.

As the two unicorns walked up the carpet path to the throne and bowed, the Princess was the first to start the conversation.

“Flim and Flam. Adventurers who had swindled half of Equestria in their lifetimes. Let me ask you, how many suspended sentences have you received for your fraud…? Two? Three? And what are you going to do now? It’s got to be something worthwhile, or the guards will have you thrown out of here in no time. So why are you here?”

“Your Highness,” began Flam, the one with the moustache, taking off his hat. “We’re sorry for all our sins against other ponies. And we wish to atone for our past actions by serving for the good of Equestria in this difficult time.”

Celestia’s eyebrow began to rise.

“The more ponies that fight on your side, the better,” Flim said. “But will one army be enough? What if the enemy could muster a larger force?”

“And at that moment,” Flim continued, “here we come.”

“We’re proud to present…”

“…Flim and Flam’s Private Military Company ‘Steel Horseshoes’!” they finished together.

Celestia put her hoof to her mouth and began to giggle. Then, unable to hold it in, she laughed out loud.

The brothers looked at each other. They must have expected something different.

When she had laughed enough, the princess returned her serious expression and took a new look at the uninvited requesters.

“It’s simple: you pay, we recruit ponies and provide them with everything they need, they fight,” Flam started to explain, but with less aplomb. “We take all the risks. All we need from you is support.”

“Financial support, for starters,” Flam said. “We’ve calculated that a hundred thousand bits should be enough to start preparations.”

“So, you are serious about this?” Celestia asked. “And this isn’t just another attempt to make a profit, this time on the state treasury during the war?”

“How could you think that of us?!” Flim pretended to gasp.

The alicorn sighed and shook her head, not negatively, but rather in surprise.

“Well, let’s see how pure your intentions are.”

She stomped her hoof a few times. Raven peeked through the hall door.

“Call Filthy Rich again,” Celestia said. “Tell him that there is another matter that needs his attention.”

Rarity walked shakily into the conference room of Tenpony Tower. The unicorn mare felt uncomfortable: not only had she been brought in under escort, but she was wearing a magic blocker on her horn! And that was after two days under arrest in the devastated Crystal Empire consulate. It was hard to believe it was all happening.

Entering the room, Rarity gasped at the new sight of Luna standing before her. She would have fainted, but for the absence of her favorite couch, the unicorn stood on her hooves, only slightly staggered from the shock, and looked at Luna with round eyes.

“Oh…” she muttered. “I had no idea that everything the ponies said was true…”

“Hello, child,” Luna gave her the sinister smile of Nightmare Moon. “So, we meet again.”

“P-Princess L…”

“Horsecoacher Luna,” the alicorn corrected her with a frown. “Address me properly.”

“What kind of horrible title is that?” Rarity asked, pointing a hoof at Luna. “I see you’ve decided to change everything around here, haven’t you?”

“My new title emphasizes that I control the lives of every pony in this piece of former Equestria. All of them, without exception.” Nightmare Moon leaned forward and stared into her eyes. “And yours as well.”

“But… Equestria has always been the same, ever since it was created,” the unicorn said quietly. “You can’t just go and…”

“That’s enough,” Luna cut her off. “I ordered to find you not to talk about geoponitics.” The alicorn walked over to the desk and touched a stack of papers with her hoof. “I have an assignment for you. A special assignment.”

“W-what is it? And… how can I help you? I’m just a designer…”

“That’s it!” Luna went over to Rarity and looked down at her. “Do you have any idea what a war is? That an army is gathering under my command to march to the walls of Canterlot. That’s many, many ponies – and they all need uniforms. Military uniforms. Lots of military uniforms. And considering it’s winter, a winter edition too.”

Luna levitated the folded sheets, unwrapping them for the unicorn. Rarity gasped again – but this time in amazement. On the sheets were drawn… sketches of clothes. Not very skillfully, of course, and some of them were out of proportion, but Rarity suddenly realized that she could make something out of these sketches. With a little refinement, of course.

“I need several kinds of uniforms, for different troops,” Luna continued. “Simple and uncluttered, in subtle colors, for the infantry. Blue and solid for the navy. Almost the same, but grayer, for aviation. Scary purple flight suits – for the Shadowbolts. And finally…”

She licked her lips as she pointed to one of the sketches.

“…my pride. Black and intimidating, stylish and imposing, terrifying and magically attractive… The uniform. Of the Lunar. Division.”

The alicorn telekinetically tossed the sheets onto the table.

“If you do all this for me, you will not need anything. I will let you join my team – and even give you a position where you can prove yourself. Let’s say,” she pretended to think, “the post of Minister of Information and Propaganda. I’m sorry, but the post of Minister of Culture is already taken.”

“And… by whom?”

“You know her,” Luna smiled. “Octavia Melody. One of my most loyal associates… since the last time.”

“Octavia?!” Rarity stared. “She… really… has become your ally?”

“Oh, and believe me, she is not the only one. Vinyl Scratch, Sapphire Shores, Trenderhoof, Coco Pommel – need I go on?” The alicorn’s grin widened. “Many, many ponies have chosen to join me. Because they realized I was the kind of leader Manehattan’s lands needed.”

“What? And… Trenderhoof too…?”

“You two have some kind of connection? Interesting. So, you will be able to see each other. Perhaps he might even work under your watch.”

“The Ministry of Information?” Rarity wrinkled her nose. “Holy crystals, how ugly. Maybe we should rename it? How about… the Ministry of Image?”

“No,” Nightmare Moon said, obviously amused, and bared her fangs. “There is no need to make references when there are so many of them already.”

“Uh… I’m sorry, what?”

“Never mind. So, what do you think about my offer?”

“And… if I refuse?” The unicorn pointed to the sketches. “What if I don’t want to work for you?”

“Oh, you are brave, aren’t you?” Luna laughed. “You know you are completely in my power and yet you want to be impertinent. Very interesting.”

“Listen… Madam Horsecoacher…” Rarity got a belligerent look. “In case you forgot, I know Princess Celestia personally! I have friends, and they –”

“…can do absolutely nothing about it. You wouldn’t want to be a doormat under my hooves, would you? Or be roasted on a fire like a giant piece of marshmallow? No?” Luna squinted at the horrified unicorn. “Good. Then you will accept my offer. And if you do not, I will make you beg to be allowed to. Do you understand, little pony?”

Rarity stood stiffly, her hoof gracefully covering her mouth, and stared at the alicorn.

“I will give you some time to think. Let’s say a day. We cannot wait any longer: the ponies are freezing – and they can hardly recognize their own. Think carefully, child. You will not get a second chance. Take her away,” Luna said, magically pressing a button on the intercom at the side of the entrance.

“Horsecoacher, there’s a messenger with urgent news,” the speaker said.

“And what else is there… Let him in.”

The door swung open, and a panting pegasus in a rumpled and tattered Equestrian Navy uniform burst into the conference room.

“Mistress… Horsecoacher… A trouble…” he gasped, trying to catch his breath, apparently after a long and dangerous flight.

“What. Happened?” Luna said coldly.

“Your fleet… Admiral Dust Hoover announced that he won’t obey the Republic and took three quarters of the ships from Baltimare! The rest tried to stop them by opening fire but failed! The Admiral’s ships are out to sea, sailing around Equus! What should we do?”

“How dare he?!” The alicorn jumped up. “Fucking traitor…! Fly to headquarters,” she said to the shrinking pegasus. “Tell them to send orders to all our ports to keep their ships out! If they come to shore – fire the main caliber! Let them die on the open sea without resupply! Do it!”

“Yes, ma’am!” The pegasus was out of the door in a flash.

Luna turned back to Rarity and said, “There are no legal methods of warfare, child. So it doesn't matter how far we can go. Because the winners –” she grinned wickedly – “are not judged. And we will win… as soon as we get rid of the traitors. And you don’t want to be one of them, do you?”

Rarity remained silent, squeezing her eyes shut. Tears were streaming down her smooth, white cheeks.

November 12

(Here and below are extracts from articles published in the Equestria Nightly.)

Stalliongrad Moves South

The forces of the Stalliongrad Army, which broke away from Equestria a decade ago, have made a barbaric raid southward into the northern provinces of the newly formed Lunar Republic. The border troops that had sided with the Immortal Horsecoacher were defeated and forced to retreat. At the moment, Trotsylvania, Cumulus, and Mythica are in the “gray zone,” under the joint control of the NLR and Stalliongrad. The Quiet Spaces and Albion have been defended, saving a port in the northeast of the Republic, though ships were ready for evacuation to Fillydelphia.

There has been no comment from Manehattan, but General Secretary Altidiya stated that their sneaky and sudden raid was “a natural consequence of the ponitics of the alicorns of Equestria.” However, she also stated that she had no desire for escalation and was willing to negotiate self-determination for the lands they had taken. However, this is a source of tension that could escalate into a direct declaration of war by Luna against Severyana. We will keep an eye on this development.

*

November 17

Southern War

Lunar control over the southeastern part of Equus has been shaken. To express their strong dissatisfaction with the events in Manehattan, the ponies launched a true parade of sovereignty by seceding from the New Lunar Republic.

In Baltimare, a workers’ uprising with syndicalist slogans took place, resulting in the capture and expulsion of a recently arrived Thestral garrison. The head of the local union, Golden Delicious, took responsibility for the riot.

In the southeastern part of the continent, in the Forbidden Jungle, a group of mercenaries led by the notorious “black archaeologist” Dr. Caballeron seized control of the ruins of the ancient city of Tenochtitlan and surrounding lands and declared the creation of a new independent state of Aztlan with the support of the local population.

In opposition, an entity calling itself Celestial State has formed in the far south. Its leader is a pony who looks a lot like the heroine of the popular Daring Doo book series. Nothing is known about her true identity.

The rest of the southern forests are ruled by followers of the Immortal Horsecoacher. Baltimare, Celestials, and Aztlan managed to push back her regiments in the early days, but they were soon reorganized under the command of the thestral mare Stellar Whirl, who has continued the war against those who challenge the Lunar Republic’s claim to the region.

With each passing day, the instability grows. It is likely that there will soon be other regions that have decided to declare their independence.

*

November 23

Equestria Breaks Apart

As expected, the “parade of sovereignty” did not end in the southeastern lands. Instead, it spread to the western lands under the illegitimate control of Celestia, who seems to be having a hard time adjusting to her new role as Equestria’s dictator.

On Frimaire 13th (November 20th by the old calendar), the Confederation of Southern States was formed, uniting the southwestern provinces. Appleloosa became the capital of the territory; the rebels, led by a certain Braeburn and supported by the local sheriff, took over. It is not known how the buffalo reacted.

On Frimaire 15th, the Las Pegasus authorities announced their secession. The reason given was the unwillingness to take part in a civil war. In response, the ponies staged massive protests demanding their return as part of Equestria.

Finally, today, inspired by the example of Stalliongrad, the citizens of Vanhoover have proclaimed the Vanhoover Commune and their neutrality in the current conflict. They are led by Admiral Dust Hoover, who is moving along the southern coast and happens to be a native of the northwest. He now has about half of the former NLR fleet under his command. The remaining ships are presumably docked at the Spa Islands in the South Sea, under Canterlot’s rule.

No other lands ready to become independent have yet been seen. It can be said that the disintegration of Equestria as a single state has finally come to an end.

[1] The Equestria Education Association, the leading authority on all school-related matters. Managed by Chancellor Neighsay.

[2] «…but those who hide in darkness see the different kind of light…» (Slyphstorm – Soldiers of the Night).