Mirrored Lunar Prophecy: Part 2
Luna was trapped. The fall crippled her wing and flight was now an unachievable feat. As she crouched in the ruins of a long forgotten castle, the hoofbeats of the soldiers became more and more distinguishable. Examining her surroundings, she realized that Celestia was intent on stopping her from returning to her place on the throne. A thousand years had not allowed Celestia to forget, and much less to be more reasonable with anypony, and she seemed to be an even more ruthless and selfish tyrant. The ponies that searched the barn wore the golden armor of the Equestrian Guard and the cerulean robes of the Mage Guild, and they seemed intent on capturing Luna. As the guards drew nearer, Luna ran up into the abandoned stone fortress, ascending its tall spires as she prepared for what she knew would be the third greatest challenge of her life.
Twilight swiftly led Rarity and the ground forces in pursuit of Nightmare Moon. Despite not seeing where she landed, the pegasi guards did, and they directed the search from the sky. Before long, the group stumbled upon Rainbow Dash, who after a minute’s recovery proceeded to take flight once more and reveal the approximate location of Nightmare Moon.
Now, as she approached the grim and moss covered ruins of a presumably once great building that had long been forgotten in the mist and darkness of the Everfree Forest, Twilight sensed darkness itself would confront her here.
“Wait! She’s in here!” Twilight exclaimed as she halted to an abrupt stop.
“How do you know?” Asked Rarity.
“I don’t…not for sure, but it feels…dark.” Replied Twilight.
“Well, I’d expect an evil villain to hide in such a miserable place, it practically screams Nightmare Moon.” Rainbow Dash boldly, yet somewhat arrogantly said, before rocketing into the old ruins.
Just as the rest of the group entered, a shout arose in the old and broken halls and corridors of the ancient place. While everypony else looked around in fear and gripping anxiety, Rainbow Dash blasted through a rotting wooden door and tumbled down the staircase, her defiant gesture to the fear that took hold in the others now somewhat tainted.
“She’s…uh…up there!” grunted Rainbow Dash, her pride wounded more severely than her head.
As a couple of the pegasi guards attended to Rainbow Dash, Twilight led the others up into the higher floors of the dying ruins and entered a macabre old room, discovering Nightmare Moon in all her nocturnal glory. Despite her graceful and powerful appearance, the words that Nightmare Moon said shocked Twilight; they were words with a tone and a message conveying a sense of desperation and urgency.
“I shall not allow Equestria to fall into such hatred so easily!” Shouted the Alicorn.
“What? You’re the one trying to bring out eternal night in Equestria!” Retorted Twilight in an angered and slightly possessive tone.
“I try to save Equestria! My Sister deceives you when she talks of working to bring about the good of all!” Cried out Nightmare Moon.
“Don’t believe her lies! She’s the enemy of the Princess! She’s obviously trying to trick us!” Rainbow defiantly stated as she flew into the room, “Celestia should have locked her away for more than 1,000 years to stop her eternal night!”
“I do not seek to bring Eternal Night upon the land! Crops would die, and the land would freeze! I seek only what is good for Equestria! I have fought for such good since ascending the throne with Celestia long ago! It is she who seeks to enslave the freedom off all to enforce her plans!” Nightmare Moon boldly and powerfully shouted, the black sky above the old ruins thundering and flashing as if Nightmare Moon symbolized the rage of nature.
The words spoken by Nightmare Moon, until this point believed to be evil incarnate, affected the observing ponies differently. Applejack had never admired Celestia’s rule, though among the Apple family, dissent led to time behind bars, and she was careful to appear as Celestia’s faithful and proud servant at all times. Now, the words of Nightmare Moon broke the prison she had constructed inside, and her rebellious feelings emerged at the revelation of Celestia’s lies. Rarity had no qualms about Celestia’s rule, but she was a privileged sort, as a mage, and did not feel the hardships that others such as Applejack did. Yet, Rarity was a pony that had a strong sense of decency, and the words Nightmare Moon spoke pierced her heart and filled it with doubts about the true nature of her Ruler. Rainbow Dash was not moved at all, being a Royal Guard that was forever loyal to the Princess of Equestria, and one who had heard many traitors make such claims in the past. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, unseen and unknown by both sides, were also questioning what they had heard. Could it be that Celestia’s loving and caring motherly persona was indeed a shadowy façade? Twilight was unmoved by Nightmare Moon’s claims. Surely her leader, her mentor, her Princess, would not deceive her. As it happened, however, events would unfold that changed the minds of each of the ponies present.
As Nightmare Moon finished speaking, Rainbow was preparing to pounce and capture her and Twilight was thinking up a rebuttal, but before either could finish, something most unexpected broke the tension. A wall of the ruins, cracked and old, broke down and revealed a secret room. The only object in the room was a stone pedestal with a shining round stone sitting atop. The brilliant light given off by this stone artifact blinded them all, as their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness of night, but when Twilight recovered, she knew exactly what it was. It was an ancient artifact, one of great power, and mentioned often yet seldom discussed.
“The Element of Honesty!” Twilight exclaimed in both shock and revelation.
Her newly discovered revelation, however, was ignored by all except the midnight colored pony who stood still in the center of the room. She clearly read the surprised expression on the lavender unicorn’s face, and saw that the light of knowledge illuminated her eyes. This was the chance she had been waiting for.
“Please help me! Tell them the truth!” Nightmare Moon’s words were taken in the worst way for herself and Twilight.
“You’re in league with her?!” Rainbow exclaimed as anger rose within her.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong! She’s not the villain!” Twilight desperately tried to explain after having realized that the Element of Honesty had revealed itself only after the truth was spoken.
“Twilight has sided with Nightmare Moon! Get her!” A Guard cried out.
“No wait!” Was all Twilight could get out as chaos erupted across the room.
Four guards tackled Twilight to the ground as three more leaped to capture Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon was able to evade the Guards and escape out a window, and the guards looked blankly at Rainbow Dash for instruction as she yelled at them to give chase. Frustrated enough already, Rainbow flew out the window in another pursuit of Nightmare Moon and the guards began to drag the unconscious Twilight back to Ponyville. Rarity looked upon the lavender unicorn she was glad to say she thought of as a friend, or at least something close to a friend, and after a few seconds, went after Nightmare Moon with the others. The other guards celebrated and cheered at their victory and left Applejack alone. She wanted to leave all this madness behind, but cooperation was the best way to avoid trouble, and she was sure to be questioned. Rather reluctantly, Applejack followed the Guards, but on her way out, she stopped to observe the so called “Element of Honesty”. It had ceased to glow and shine, and was now nothing more than a dull rock in an equally dull and even more depressing castle.
“Maybe…” Applejack didn’t finish her thought out loud because nopony was there, and because she wasn’t sure if anypony would hold it against her if she was questioned and overheard. Better safe than sorry. Applejack went out of the old ruins and followed the Guards who left an obvious trail in the dark and disturbing place known as the Everfree Forest. Soon, she heard the shout of the pegasi guard captain, Rainbow Dash.
“OK Nightmare Moon! I want answers! Now!” It was definitely Rainbow Dash.
“Firstly, I am not Nightmare Moon. I am Princess Luna…at least…I once was…long ago…before my 1,000 year punishment for defying the evil goals of my sister. Secondly, due to my position, I will not obey your behest, nor kneel before you as a monk with his hassock!”
"Keep lying traitor. You'll rot in Tartarus for your crimes!"
"Thou must hear my story, please... more than 1000 years ago, my sister and I rose to the thrown after freeing this land of chaos. My sister wished to bring order and harmony. But as time went on... she began persecuting "dissidents" for promoting disharmony in our land, and order became more important to her than friendship. I confronted her, but she only saw me as a traitor to her cause. I was banished to the moon, a cruel bower worthy of my actions. The Element of Honesty that you saw tonight... your unicorn friend saw that it proved my truthfulness. I am sorry that things turned out the way they did, but I assure you I mean thee no harm."
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment Pinkie Pie jumped out of the bushes nearby.
"Wow! You're really a true Princess. This is so exciting! I met Celestia's sister, who is really Nightmare Moon, but she isn't evil!" Pinkie turned back to the bushes. " Isn’t this so exciting, Fluttershy?"
"What in tarnation? Applejack said as Fluttershy stepped out of the brush, surprising Rarity, who jumped back, not realizing the yellow pegasus was even there at all. "Who are you two?" The farmer questioned.
"We'll question them later" Rainbow interrupted, "I've got a question for Nightmare Moon Princess here: If you're not bringing about Eternal night, then why isn't the sun up yet?" The other ponies looked around. Rainbow was right, it should have been dawn already.
" I... I know not. But this is not my doing. It is my sister who controls the rising of the sun..." Luna stammered.
"She has a point." said Rarity, "Celestia can choose not to raise the sun just as easily as Nightmare Moon could refuse to lower the moon."
The tide of thought was turning. The more Luna (for that was her true name) spoke, the more the 5 ponies around her began to believe her story, and the more they resent the ruler who had deceived them for so long...
Twilight woke up dazed in a prison cell. She was not sure where she was, as the cell appeared to be underground and had no windows. On the walls were "inspirational" posters that Celestia made the guards put up everywhere in Equestria: "Obedience brings Harmony", which depicted a smiling Celestia whose eyes followed you around, "Celestia: Defender of the Day" which depicted a stylized Celestia defeating Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony, and "Benevolence is helping the Unfortunate", which depicted orphans surrounded in the feathery embrace of Celestia's wings.
A lone Guard stood outside the cell bars. "Alright traitor, Celestia should be here to see you shortly. I wouldn't want to be in your hooves. I just can't believe it... a big shot like you... and you threw it away for disharmony."
"I'm wrongly imprisoned, I did nothing wrong!" Twilight frantically exclaimed.
"That's what they all say..." the Guard sighed as he walked away.
Some time later, Twilight heard hoofsteps approaching her cell. As far as she could tell, she was the only prisoner here, which meant this was probably the ponyville jail, since ponyville had a surprisingly low dissident rate. As the hoofsteps got louder, Twilight braced herself for the confrontation she would soon have.
"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful- or so I thought, student" Twilight looked up into her mentor Celestia's eyes. The look on her face was so calm, so compassionate, that Twilight knew she was not the one at wrong. Celestia would never, ever lie to her. It was obviously a misunderstanding.
"I'm terribly sorry about the misunderstanding Princess, but-" Twilight began.
"Misunderstanding?" Celestia spoke, cutting her off, "You attacked several guards, resisted arrest, confessed to being in league with an enemy of Equestria, and you call that a misunderstanding?" Celestia was no longer the benevolent mentor, she was now the enraged ruler and reprimander of wrongdoers.
"It was a mistake. I only said that Nightmare Moon was telling the truth!" Twilight cried.
"And you believed that traitor's lies? I'm ashamed of you, Twilight Sparkle. You had held such promise..." Celestia truly looked regretful.
"She was telling the truth! The Element of Honesty revealed itself at her words!" Twilight was desperate, she had to get her Mentor to understand.
Suddenly Celestia took on a new look, one of intent, command, and... greed. "The Element of Honesty? Where? I command you to reveal its location!"
Twilight would ordinarily have readily complied, but she was no longer sure if she should trust Celestia anymore. She stalled.
"Uh... Uh... I don't know, it was all so fast, there were more pressing matters..." she stammered
"More pressing than an Element of Harmony? What could be more pressing than the Elements of Harmony? You... you're in league with her aren't you? You've made a pact with Nightmare Moon not to reveal the Element of Honesty's location! I knew you were a traitor to harmony."
"Celestia, no! I've done nothing wrong!"
"That's Princess Celestia to you. You shall have a public trial at the Ponyville town square today, at noon, at least, if there is a noon." Celestia turned and trotted away, leaving Twilight and her broken life in the small cell of Ponyville's jail.
"I thought I knew you, Princess. But it turns out, it was all a lie..." Twilight sobbed to herself.
“I am glad you have chosen to believe me and follow me in this quest to defeat my sister,” Luna thanked the ponies gathered around her, “but it will not be an easy task. We must be cautious and alert at all times in order to defeat her once and for all.”
“I agree... and I think I know who might help us... we should make an effort to rescue Twilight from imprisonment.” Rarity told the others.
“I almost forgot the guards seized her!” Rainbow chided herself lightly and tapped the side of her head with her hoof.
“Knowing how strict Celestia is, I don’t reckon she has much time to wait. I think Celestia’ll want her gone as soon as possible.” Applejack announced as the others began to talk amongst themselves quietly.
“Yeah, we’ve got to hurry and catch up with Twilight….and maybe bring some mustard…” Pinkie announced as she swallowed a small sandwich whole, licking her lips and confusing everypony to some degree as to how she got a tray of small sandwiches in the first place.
“Yes...in any case, we must be swift to save our unicorn friend,” Luna concured and looked them each in the eye, “this will be a true test of thine prowess and skill, but I need thee to help me rescue her, art thou willing?”
“I know I am.” Rainbow exclaimed and gave a cocky smile.
“And you can count me in too.” Rarity added.
Applejack hesitated for a second, knowing that this sort of action could lead to serious trouble if this act of resistance failed...but that was all assuming that it would fail, and besides, she was knee deep in it already, and she couldn’t let anypony who needed her down, it was the Apple Family way.
“I’m in.” AJ finally told them and smiled.
“Well I’m totally totally in!” Pinkie said, jumping up and down.
“And you, small shy one?” Luna asked and looked down at the slightly shaking mare.
“I….I….I don’t think you’d want me there…” Fluttershy was able to admit and looked down in both anxiety and sadness in her own self believed incompetence.
“I know you aren’t exactly the rough type, sugarcube, but we could use you.” Applejack told Fluttershy with another smile.
“We could?” Rainbow discreetly asked Rarity, who nudged at the daring pegasus with her elbow.
“You have your worths, young Fluttershy, and I would greatly thank thee for joining us.” Luna told her.
“I...I still don’t think I could-” Fluttershy was cut off by Pinkie, who jumped up behind her and put her forelegs around her pegasi friend.
“Oh come on you silly filly! We want you to come with us, and besides it’ll be fun. You’ll have your old Auntie Pinkie Pie by your side the whole time!”
“But...I’m older than you…” Fluttershy tried to respond, but the others all pleaded one last time, and she finally gave in.
“Well… OK... If you want me too... I’ll come with you.”
“Great, now that we’re all onboard, we need a game plan for rescuing Twilight.” Rainbow mentioned as they began to once more converse amongst themselves.
“Well, I figure she ought to be locked up in the basement cells of the Ponyville jail, and being a member of the Apple Family, I happen to know a thing or two about the cells in Ponyville.” Applejack told the group.
“What must we do to free her?” Luna inquired as all eyes turned towards the farmer.
“Supposing that she’s in a basement cell, all we’d need to do is remove a few bricks on the east side, where the basement wall is visible from the outside. It should work fine. Of course, we’d also have to deal with the guards in the cellblock, and that means either a fight or a distraction.”
“I think a distraction would work better, but I’m not sure how complicated it would be to get all of them out.” Rarity spoke up.
“Hmmm...considering the amount of guards inside the cell block, not all too difficult, but there are plenty of others all around, and getting by them is going to be the hard part if you ask me.” Rainbow responded.
“If you went in and told the guards in the cell blocks about a new cupcake platter in Sugarcube corner, I’d bet they’d run for that sweet icing in a flash!” Pinkie suggested and foamed just a little at the mouth.
“Good idea Pinkie, but guards aren’t just going to abandon their posts for...cupcakes.” Rainbow answered the suggestion.
“Actually, the idea it quite good, Rainbow,” Rarity said, “If you go in and make a distraction, we can save Twilight and sneak out undetected if the rest of us stay on the look out for nearby guards.”
“Hold on a minute! I know I’m pretty strong, but I can’t break down the wall by myself. Rainbow Dash is about the only one here I think could handle it...except maybe for you, Princess.” Applejack told the group with concern.
“I will gladly do my part to save Twilight, whatever it may be.” Luna stated firmly.
“OK then, we have us a plan, let’s get to it!” Applejack affirmed as they went off to free their captive ally.
On the outskirts of Ponyville, the small group stopped at the sight of a small gathering in the middle of Ponyville, out by the town hall.
“I fear we come too late.” Luna told the others.
“Oh no…” Fluttershy quietly worried, barely being heard by the others.
“That’s OK...we can still make this work.” Dash told them with a stubborn frown and looked around for a way to get Twilight out.
“I just don’t see how...there are too many guards and far too many witnesses to attempt such a feat.” Rarity replied.
“Oh, I got it!" Pinkie said before dashing off into the crowd.
"What is she doing?" Rainbow remarked to Rarity, "Does that puddinghead even have a plan?"
As the escort of Equestrian Guards (and none other than Archmage Trixie herself) moved towards the central stage with Twilight in chains, Pinkie Pie jumped out of a nearby pony's hat with a handful of pink fliers.
"Wait, before any executions, you have to come to the Sugarcube Corner’s Summer Sun Celebration Super Sweets Sale! Nothing like cupcakes to lighten up a guilty consc- I mean, verdict, right? 20% Off!" Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped in front of the guards and shoved fliers in their faces.
“Quick, while she's distracting them!" Applejack whispered to Rainbow Dash, "Follow me."
The two ponies quietly but quickly galloped over to a stack of crates nearby.
"Rainbow, pretend to fly into that stack while I kick it at them."
Rainbow Dash swiftly flew around a nearby corner and looped back, making sure no pony saw her leave, but that several saw her flying quickly toward the stage area... and right into the stack of boxes. At that exact moment, Applejack used her powerful hind legs to kick the bottom of the stack hard... and right in to the guards who were trying to get past Pinkie's advertising. As the guards scattered before the wave of wooden crates, Rainbow Dash expertly faked a rough landing and a sprained wing, while Applejack quietly left the scene.
Twilight, recovering from the confusion, noticed the pink baking pony in front of her wink, and turned to see Rarity cast a brief spell from the crowd. Twilight felt the chains fall off her, locks opened magically.
"What?!? She had a disabling spell on her!" exclaimed a very baffled Trixie. "Somepony stop her!"
Twilight ran, knowing this was her only chance to escape. She ran towards an alley, only to find her way blocked by a dozen guards. Suddenly, a familiar blue light lit up the area as the guards scattered before energy blasts. Twilight looked up to see Nightmare Moon flying towards her, casting attacks down on the unprepared guards. Nightmare Moon swooped in and grabbed Twilight with her fore legs, flying her away from the center of town. Several pegasi took flight to pursue them, but Nightmare Moon unexpectedly dropped Twilight as she soared over an alley way.
Twilight thought she was dead as she plummeted to the ground, but just before she hit, a yellow pegasus broke her fall and deposited her in a cart filled with hay. Applejack, the orange mare pulling the cart, took off at a leisurely pace.
"Shouldn't we be going faster?" Twilight hissed to her as they rolled along several winding streets.
"Not unless you want to get caught; a running pony is suspicious. Walkers have nothing to hide. Now get down and be quiet awhile." Applejack whispered back.
After awhile, they stopped. Twilight felt herself get pulled out of the hay by several hooves. She looked around to see several dust covered shelves with a smattering of books upon them. Around her were Applejack, Rarity, and two ponies she recognized but couldn't name.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Twilight asked.
"The Ponyville Library, darling." Rarity explained, "Long abandoned, luckily. Celestia decided books were unfashionable."
“And who are you?" Twilight asked the pink earth pony mare and yellow pegasus mare beside Rarity.
"I'm Pinkie Pie and his is my friend Fluttershy." said Pinkie Pie," We helped you escape."
"But why?" Twilight asked aloud, "Why did you help me?"
"We've decided to fight back against Celestia's tyranny, for all the lies she's told us." said Applejack, "We've had enough, and we thought you'd help us."
"Yeah, seeing as you realized Luna was telling the truth." put in Pinkie Pie
"Luna?" said Twilight, puzzled.
"Nightmare Moon, she's really Princess Luna, Celestia's sister." Explained Rarity.
"And we're going to help her regain her throne... would you help us?" pleaded Fluttershy.
"Just you four? Against Celestia?" Twilight said doubtfully.
"Well, there’s Rainbow Dash too, and Luna herself. And we were kinda hoping you would join too." Applejack admitted.
Twilight thought for a moment. She had loved Celestia. She loved her dearly. But now, in the course of a night, it seemed as if her whole world had come crashing down around her. These ponies were her only allies. After a few moments, Twilight spoke.
"I'll help. I will do anything in my power to see Celestia dethroned, and Nightma- I mean, Princess Luna put back in her rightful place." Twilight affirmed and stood proudly with the newly formed alliance. "Even if it costs me my life."
And thus, the resistance was born.
To Be Continued...