My Little Mission:Impossible - State of Grace

State of Grace

by

Lunitaria

1. Full Moon, New Moon

It had been over ten years. Over ten years since her brightest student in memory had first come to Ponyville – found her vocation, and began her lessons not only in magic, but in friendship. Nine years since she had come to her student and her friends for help in desperation at the return of Discord. And five long years, since the rise of a group calling themselves the New Lunar Republic, who had sought the end of her reign. She remembered the tall banners and the armor.

She remembered her own guards standing side by side, but most of all, she remembered Twilight Sparkle and her ever-present friend and assistant Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and even both Pinkie Pie and Rarity standing at her sides before the great court of Canterlot, as the demands were read in the first hours of the evening.

An evening of a full moon. Her guards shouting and snorting, ready to push against the impossible odds. The armored Republican ponies dug at the ground with hooves clad in dark blue steel. The memory grew painful then, imagining the realm that she had worked all of her life to maintain in friendship and peace, now was on the edge of destroying itself. She remembered lowering her head, trying to show her strength as a leader for her people, but not wanting the ponies she had known and seen all their lives bathing the land in the terrible scourge of war.

As the tension built and the Republicans demanded an answer to the questions they had put to her and the nobility of Equestria, the answer came from a source that Celestia had not considered. With a thunderous explosion of lightning, between the two great armies stood the lone Alicorn, Luna, shouting one word with all her strength, so that Guards and Republicans alike pulled away from her. “Stop! I will not have the blood of my family spilled! I will not have the blood of any pony spilled in my name or in that of any name of anyone in the entire world!”

The last two words were delivered with a rear and the infuriated stamp of both of Princess Luna's front hooves and shook the ground and split the sky with lightning, to even Celestia's amazement. “Would you build thine world and thine Republic on the blood of thy own kin? Thine own people? Thou wouldst transform this sacred place that stands at the heart of these lands into a shrine to the murder of thy people!” She turned on the Republicans, one hoof thudding down again, to thunder and a flash of lightning. She glared at them, and not even the tallest and strongest of them could look her in the eyes. “Then let us go within, thine leaders and my beloved Sister's and conclude this darkest hour as civilized beings of reason.

“I shall let no barbarism come of this night. Not in my name,” she turned towards Celestia then, and smiled a little, seeing the shocked expressions of both her and the Guard, “Or in the name of any other.”

The argument between the NLR and the Royalists was, at its heart, a very simple one. Princess Celestia, as benevolent and as kind a ruler as she was in more recent years, was still in absolute control of the entire country. Many ponies wanted more control and a greater voice for building together and establishing something more politically progressive than Celestia's “Mother-Knows-Best” state. The first night was difficult, lasting well into the dawn and beyond it, with arguments and the tension building until a smaller voice piped up, with the help of a purple flash.

A harried and tired-looking Twilight Sparkle walked up and onto the table, speaking so everyone could hear. “Arguing isn't getting us anywhere but angry at each other. There are rules of conduct for a debate, fillies and gentlecolts, and it is about time we used them.” She smiled and floated a sizable tome with her purple nimbus of magic from her ever-present bags. She appointed a neutral moderator with the approval of both sides, and the work proceeded. It was three solid weeks of arguments and counter-arguments over traditions, rituals, land ownership and so on, before an agreement was finally reached.

Celestia sighed, remembering how close they had come to a horrible war that first terrible night, and how her little, or not so little sister had argued for a different solution, which meant assigning the power in Equestria to its ponies, and that both the nobles and the people themselves would bear equal representation. She thought back to the debates and the passions of those weeks that had helped reshape her beloved Equestria. She also recalled the large ceremony attended by it seemed, every pony there was.

She had announced that she would step down from her ancient role in peace, in favor of whomever the Parliament and the Ponies so elected to rule as Prime Minister.

She still felt very bittersweet about it, but it meant she did have time more for her friends, especially her student, who was very saddened by it all, at first. Her ceremonial duties remained unchanged of course, and the joy she shared with everypony that attended the annual Raising of the Sun. Now three years ago, the now Prime Minister Luna appeared at her doorstep with a smile... and a problem. It seems that the change of the regime in Equestria had emboldened a few of their neighbors into espionage, treading into places that the legal restrictions on Luna's power prevented her from dealing with.

“I need your help, Big Sister,” she said with a smile, as they both sipped tea and nibbled sandwiches, “I need the help of someone that can work where the Parliament cannot. I can do a great deal for our people. But spies and worse? I can't do anything about them directly, aside from have them arrested – and there never seems to be sufficient evidence.” Celestia smiled, having thought of this herself, remembering that some neighbors were disinclined to meddle in the affairs of solar principalities, especially when they had had the same ruler for over a thousand years.

“Then leave a message for Celestine Grace, Luna. You don't need to tell me anything more than that. She will handle the rest.” Luna gave her a smile and a giggle, “Celestine? Not much of a pseudonym, Big Sister.” She winked, “But I'll do exactly that. And have the information passed along to someone who I think you'll approach in the first place.” Celestia chuckled at this. If her own name was an obvious one, Twilight Sparkle being connected to her was an equally obvious conclusion.

She had approached each of them in turn, not sure of anything about them, beyond their friendship with one another. Twilight as always was more than willing to take time from her studies (She was already in the more advanced classes of magic, a fact that always made Celestia smile) so she could help her mentor in any task she could think of.

Applejack was every inch as willing as Twilight Sparke had been. Pinkie Pie, once she could be reached between parties practically guessed the entire operation from Celestia's first appearance at her doorway, which in itself was something that had made Celestia simply stop and stare.

“Please,” Celestia had thought, “Don't let there be another Pinkie Pie in the world...”

It had not taken Rainbow Dash long to finally join the Wonderbolts, or make rank among them, once she had grown a little from the brash and vain pegasus pony she had been when Twilight Sparkle had first written about her, years earlier. Rainbow had taken to wearing a blue overcoat with room for her wings when not on duty, and her eyes seemed a bit more ruthless than Celestia remembered, from seeing her broad smile after the downfall of Discord.

Unsurprisingly, her answer to Celestia's request was simple and to the point. “Just lemme at'em.” Her final two meetings, she had been far less sure of, however. She decided on visiting Rarity, who had moved to a large boutique in Manehattan by this time. Her shop was bustling as always, scissors and cloth and jewels zooming around and fitting themselves into masterpieces of fashion. At the sight of Celestia, they all froze at once and Rarity gave her a low, formal curtsy, despite the events of recent years. After this, they simply hugged warmly while Rarity shouted to her various assistants to continue their assigned tasks.

She and Celestia entered a small, but actually magically-sealed room, to Celestia's surprise. “Oh! 'Twas a gift from Twilight Sparkle, for my birthday. It allowed any conversations that needed to happen in quiet about a new design to go without somepony peeking in on it, you know how sneaky the other fashionistas can be.” She mock-swooned and rolled her eyes, to Celestia's amusement and mild annoyance. “I will need your help, Rarity...” she began, before telling her of the possible troubles and risks involved.

Rarity's response was nearly astonishing in its strength, “So, I am going to use my mm... feminine wiles and (she fluffed her mane a little while saying it) charms in order to protect Equestria? Marvelous! Simply marvelous. Do let me know when you need me. It sounds positively simple compared to keeping up with the Manehattan fashion wars.” She giggled softly and smiled. Celestia embraced her and then commissioned an unlikely sort of line of wear, more drab and dark then Rarity expected, but it did seem appropriate.

Her final recruit in this new enterprise was Fluttershy, who proved a little more difficult to find. She was now in charge of a large private nature preserve, created for the protection of very unusual animals and creatures that were harmless enough to Fluttershy herself, but could be potentially very dangerous to any ponies that happened across them by chance. She found herself in the far western reaches of Equestria, among high mountains with snowed peaks, near Lake Tahoof and standing before an arched gateway ringed with butterflies, painted and not, certain that she had found the very place she had been looking for.

She moved towards it, and saw that there was a distinctive purple radiance all but crackling over it. She closed her eyes and her long horn glowed, and a smile spread across her face once again, as she recognized Twilight Sparkle's talents at work. A sound very like a large bell tolled and the magic of the archway shimmered, and Celestia stood and waited. A few moments later, the familiar form of a yellow pegasus appeared from the air, looking at first a little angry, but then very pleased as recognition crossed her face. “Oh! It's you Princess!” She curtsied low as Rarity had done, as Celestia shook her head and smiled, “It's just Celestia now, dear Fluttershy. And I need your help.”

For the sixth time, she explained what was needed, this time to a slightly nervous Fluttershy. “Ohh, I don't know how much I could help and all. And I have the Preserve to work with. But, if you need my help, I'd be glad to!” She smiled warmly. Celestia smiled back, but her tone was more serious. “I do not want to keep you from work that cannot go on without you, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded, “I can take some vacation time – the tenders and feeders are all kind ponies, who are used to working with the animals. I want to help you, I really do.” Celestia nodded again after a moment and told her the set of instructions to follow, once contacted.

The drilling began not a week from the last meeting with Fluttershy. She arranged for them to rendezvous at a residence she had acquired through an alias, in the southwestern town of Trottance. She had a large white house standing not too near any other houses, not a mansion or a castle as she had once lived in before, but a comfortable house of leisure. It was a house that could belong to any well-to-do stallion or mare looking to relax and enjoy the sight of the rolling hills.

She had long words with Rarity about the subject, and through her contacts, was able to arrange for furnishings and supplies that would be associated with the house. She had kept her old couches, however, since they were made for her large and lanky form, and were both comfortable and familiar. The first drill ended poorly, when Rainbow Dash caused a sonic rainboom and wound up smashing her way through a large bay window and scattering furniture, glass and Pinkie Pie about the room.

The second and third drills were not much better. The second ended within minutes of Celestia invoking the first signal charm, causing the image of Twilight Sparkle and Spike to turn into purple and green marshmallows and explode violently onto every surface in Celestia's front room. The third went awry when Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack began arguing about the placement of folders and the appearance of the images of themselves, to the embarrassment of Celestia herself, and her student silently but firmly batting her own head against one of the living room's walls.

There were three more attempts, each of them growing more professional and less comedic with the completion of the dry runs they arranged. Twilight had suggested that Celestia visit an ordinary place to pick up the correspondence and materials needed for the mission, and that there were many such places that somepony like Celestia could go.

The seventh dry run was as clean and free of blunders and unintentional slapstick as Celestia could ask for, having each of the team members arriving in relatively short order, without long delays or any real difficulties. Strangely, it was the relaxation that really made it work – they were getting comfortable meeting in this way, and even the normally overenthusiastic Pinkie Pie had managed a somewhat more serious demeanor, though she was obviously enjoying it.

The eighth was as easy as a well-remembered song. Twilight had grown formidably as a magician over the years, and she rarely repeated mistakes. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had learned to compliment each others' natural tendencies for celerity and energy, managing to arrive nearly at the same time.

Applejack and Rarity made their own ways in, and Twilight brought Spike, now a little larger than the tiny dragon assistant who had warned Celestia about Twilight's fears, now years ago. Fluttershy had become a faster flier in recent years, and she had gained somewhat more comfort speaking to her friends.

They were ready.

On the ninth of April, nearly eleven years after the return of her beloved sister Luna, Celestia checked her daily correspondence. There were the usual mix of scrolls and envelopes, and also a simple envelope sealed with wax, addressed to “Celestine Grace.” She opened it there on her doorstep, horn glowing, smiling as she looked through her other letters, taking them all back inside, and casually hurling the letter (which was blank) into her hearth-fire.

She went to the tennis courts in Trottance, moving with ease, even through the odd gasp at her identity. She arrived wearing an outfit appropriate for tennis and carrying a modest dufflebag. She picked up a rental racket with the number 42 in hoof-drawn ink on the butt, then found herself a supply closet and closed the door, setting the dufflebag down and popping the end neatly off of the racket. She had to smile at the simplicity and elegance of it, pulling the scroll forth and setting it down, putting the end back on the racket snugly, before touching the scroll's seal.

It opened with a soft piff, and three images leapt into the air, hovering in surprising color, though appearing to be made of smoke. The left showed a scruffy right profile of an earth pony that had a wild mane and a serious expression, while the center showed a glamorous facial shot of a unicorn with a rich purple coat and horn, with a thick and wavy silver-white mane and a pearly smile. The right image was of a pegasus stallion's profile, showing the left cheek and a scar skipping from a strong high cheekbone to a jaw, the eyes glaring angrily at something off to one side.

The mane seemed to have been cropped very close to the hide, and was of a charcoal color. A stallion's strong baritone voice spoke then, unfamiliar as yet to Celestia: “Good morning, Ms. Grace. The stallion on the left is Drake Forester, an animal trainer who has been confirmed as working for a neighboring power that has designs on our border. He has been rumored to be able to train live animals to attack, and he has more than three times been seen in the company of a young adult dragon. The filly unicorn in the center is Prestigia Digita, a trained magician that has shown formidable skills in both elemental and illusion magic.

Last, is the pegasus Shocker Blaze, a trick flier with proven aerial and ground combat experience. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, will be to successfully gather evidence on these three ponies, proving that they are involved in a plot to compromise a senior Parliamentary official. They must be detained or deported from Equestria by the conclusion of your mission. As always, should you or any of your IP force be apprehended or detained, the Foreign Secrepony will disavow all knowledge. This scroll will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Celestine.” The scroll disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving the three hovering images printed and ready.