Renaissance Pony

by Dafaddah

Light and Shadow (part 1)

Renaissance Pony

Chapter 20: Light and Shadow (part 1)

by Dafaddah

Globe spanning editorial team: Microshazm and SecondLaw

---

Celestia awoke with a start, surrounded by rubble. She gasped as she recalled the searing pain of being struck by a thaumic blast emitted by Luna... and then darkness. Struggling to get up, she heard a triumphant laugh from somewhere above her. In the semi-darkness she recognized where she was: the floor of Everfree Castle’s throne room. The last few minutes snapped back starkly into her awareness. The haughty laughter, the sneering challenge, and the cold slitted reptilian eyes that no longer held any hint of her sister. She also remembered crimson stains on stone steps, and the look of despair on Platinum’s face as she cradled Clover's bloody head in her forelegs.

With a pang of contrition Celestia realized that Luna was right: she no longer had it in her heart to kill another, even in defense of Equestria. It had been the same with Discord, until fate had gifted her with an unexpected option to deal with him. And now, she could see only one way forward that did not involve the end of the Equestria for which she had striven all these centuries.

She looked up towards the gaping hole in the ceiling, just barely able to make out the moon eclipsing the sun. "Oh, dear sister. I am sorry, but you have given me no choice but to use these." The floor next to her split with a clang and the storage vault of the Elements of Harmony rose into view.

She felt a strange numbness in her barrel, as if a great weight had settled upon her heart. It took her a moment to realize what it was. Is this how loneliness feels? she asked herself in thought. Oh Luna! Tonight we both commit treason, and our sentences await us.

She gathered the Elements of Harmony to her and flew up to end her sister's rebellion, along with her own happiness.

---

- One month after the disappearance of the Crystal Empire -

At the eastern edge of the Plaza of the Celestial Vault, Luna stood alone upon the raised platform. Her breath was a plume of pink and gold lit by the last rays of the setting sun. As usual, several hundred ponies had come to watch her raise the moon. A good turnout, yet still far fewer than came every morning to her sister’s sunrise ceremony. She knew she shouldn’t let this bother her. But it did.

Luna scanned the gathered herd. Every evening was another stark reminder that Celestia remained the more popular of the two sisters. Yet tonight, there were a few more ponies in attendance, a few more brave souls that had had enough of Celestia’s indecision and pandering to special interests. A few more subjects that had chosen to 'support the Moon'.

The thought brought the barest shadow of a grin to her muzzle. After the Crystal Empire debacle, when Luna had first declared her intent to convince Equestrians to end her sister’s reign, there had been disbelief, then concern, and then anger... towards her. Some ponies began to openly deride her cause, and seeking to belittle her refused to call her Princess Luna, choosing instead a name meant as an insult: Nightmare Moon. Luna was more than a little proud of her office of Guardian of the Night, and refused to take umbrage at the intended slur.

When the news of Sombra’s curse and the resulting disappearance of the entire Crystal Empire became widespread, all that had changed, and Luna made sure every single pony in Equestria learned of the truth: that her sister had had the power to kill Sombra, but in the ultimate moment had let Sombra slip through her hooves.

The furor over those events in the north motivated several prominent ponies of the Equestrian Assembly, mostly unicorns and a number of pegasi, to publically announced their support of her claims. Then it was discovered that all the earth ponies who had emigrated to the Crystal Empire had disappeared along with it. This tragedy touched in a very personal way their relatives still in Equestria. In the months since they had come to blame Celestia for the loss, swelling the ranks of Luna’s supporters.

Luna had felt the momentum beginning to shift in a her direction. Wishing to further show disdain for her sister’s diarchy, she had publically renounced her title of princess, and on a lark openly adopted the name Nightmare Moon. The move had garnered her both sympathy and even a few more followers among the more rebellious elements of Equestrian youth.

Luna rose to stand her hind legs and spread her wings. The herd before her grew quiet.

“Ponies of Equestria!” she declared in the fading light. “Verily my friends, count yourselves fortunate that ye be here this hallowed dusk. For this night, ye be in the very cusp of history, a history ye hold and will fashion in your own hooves. In years future, ponies will hearken to these storied times, and listen in wonder to tales of the founding of their Republic and that for which it stands: the right of all ponies to govern themselves.” Applause, and some cheering greeted Luna’s words. Of course, the masses had yet to fully grasp the breadth of her vision and to share the unbridled joy she felt at its prospect for Equestria. To nudge them in the right direction, she had a little surprise for them and Celestia in tonight’s speech. She grinned in anticipation.

”Many of our fellow ponies have yet to reckon that the time of monarchy is past, and still cannot even imagine a future where all ponies will stand as equals before the law. But we of the Lunar Republic Party, we know different. The scales have dropped from our our eyes, and we rejoice, for the days of domination by a privileged few are counted, and the time for all ponies to stand wither-to-wither is nigh. The time for insecurity and fear of that with lies upon our frontiers will soon end, and the time for justice fair and swift in a strong Equestria lies within sight of us all.” The cheering was much louder this time.

“Ponies of Equestria! We call for the end of the rule of Princess Celestia and of her weak-kneed, bumbling Solar Empire!” The ground fairly rumbled as the herd stamped their hooves enthusiastically. There was also open laughter at her usage of the term Solar Empire, just as Luna had intended. Two can play at that game, sister dear! she thought.

”So, comrades, I implore you, seek your fellows and speak unto them of our Republic and the glad tidings it promises for them and their families. Show them the concern our party holds for their welfare and that of their kith and kin. Invite them in warmest friendship to attend the rallies of the New Lunar Party, and united, let us bring into being that which we hold as our highest ambition: a new Republic of Equestria, which will live forever as a beacon to all nations, a shining example of those qualities that are the manifest destiny of pony kind.”

With her last pronouncement, the sun slipped below the horizon and the moon rose quickly to take its place. The cheering was loud and wild, and went on unabated for several minutes, as Luna painted the heavens with stars, comets and nebulae. It was another masterful show of the beauty of the night.

To her immediate left and right, squads of unicorns and pegasi in the uniform of the Lunar Guard held their right forehoof to their barrel, the salute of the New Lunar Party. Luna had forbidden anypony to bow to her, calling it a symbol of repression by the monarchy.

There was a not inconsiderable number of Lunar Guards present. Their numbers had more than doubled when Sombra’s troops, almost to a pony, had asked to join her cohorts after their former master’s banishment. Many of the attending ponies made the salute as well. With a solemn expression, Luna raised her forehoof to her chest. Starting from her left she rotated slowly, making sure everypony present felt she had saluted them directly. Then she departed from the stage, head held high.

---

- Three months after the disappearance of the Crystal Empire -

"I just don't understand it, Platypuss," Clover complained to his wife. Princess Platinum smiled at her husband and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Despite there being no servants in the royal apartments of House Unicorn, he blushed. It thrilled her that after almost fifteen years of marriage he somehow still found ways to sneak a bit of affection in their conversations.

“As well as you know him, my love,” she teased, “it does appear the Maestro can still surprise you every once-in-a-while!”

“Still, how could he speak that way to Princess Celestia?” He sat on his haunches and crossed his forelegs together over his chest. “He told her right in front of me that she was being a foal, and that she shouldn’t trust Princess Luna with access to the Elements of Harmony.”

Seeing how upset he was, Platinum sat down and leaned reassuringly into the green unicorn. “My poor sweet Clover.” Her breath was hot on his cheek. “He was feeling angry and not a little hurt by having to give up the Element of Magic and delay the research he has been doing on the Elements, even temporarily. He claims to have almost completed the spell needed to enable the Elements themselves to seek out the best candidates in all Equestria to bear them.”

Clover’s breathing slowed as the comforting warmth and scent of his special somepony cast their own special spell upon him. “Well, it's not as if he was making much sense. How can objects be made to seek out specific ponies based on their destinies, when the first thing the object does is change that pony’s destiny radically? Wouldn’t the object then reject the pony, because his or her destiny is now different? But then, if the pony is rejected and his or her destiny is not changed, then they become the perfect candidate again. The logic seems so... circular.”

Platinum chuckled. “The Maestro has been telling me of this new form of spellcasting he has devised. He calls it recursive thaumic construction. I don’t think anypony truly understands what he is doing anymore. I certainly don’t!”

Clover put a foreleg over her withers and hugged her tightly to him. “Aye, love. But it produces such incredible results.” His smile died on his lips. “Can it only be three months since we returned from the Crystal Empire? How everything has changed! Luna has done everything in her power to belittle and besmirch both Princess Celestia and Starswirl’s research on the Elements. This latest ruse of Princess Luna, proposing a common storage for the the Elements so their power can never be abused, is nothing but pandering to her own supporters.” He lay his head atop hers, and felt a tickle on his neck as she flicked an ear. “But Princess Celestia had no choice, else she would be made to look like the tyrant her sister accuses her of being. How could he then turn on her so heartlessly. Truly, Platypuss, I saw the sorrow in her eyes. Perhaps...” he hesitated.

“Perhaps what, love?” she prompted.

“The last time I saw that look on a princess, she was mourning her father. Perhaps you could seek Celestia out. I have a feeling she desperately needs a wither to lean on and mmmmfff...”

This time it was Platinum who interrupted his words a long, passionate kiss on the lips. When finally they came up for air he smiled down at his wife. “What was that for?”

She gazed up at him and held a hoof to his muzzle. “Every day I count myself the luckiest mare in Equestria. And as well as I know you, my love,” she teased, “it does appear that you can still surprise me every once-in-a-while!”

---

- Six months after the disappearance of the Crystal Empire -

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” As he trotted past his parlour door Starswirl glanced at the bowl upon the room only table. He nodded in satisfaction. It had been filled with fruit in the early evening, as per his instructions to the castle staff. He rarely bolted the door until moments before going to bed these days. Many of Luna’s supporters had taken to living on ‘Lunar time’, so late evening callers to the Minister of Science were far from rare.

He opened the door. Inches in front of his muzzle was a dark blue plastron sporting a crescent moon. He glanced upwards and gulped.

“Princess Luna, what a... pleasant surprise!” he said. Eyes wide, he sketched a bow and stepped aside, inviting the princess to enter with a hoof.

Luna stared at him for a moment, her expression unreadable. She blinked once, and said: “Call me Citizen Luna, or if thou preferest, Nightmare Moon.” Grinning, she entered his apartment. In silence, he followed her into his parlour, where she sat down without being invited. He took a seat opposite her, forehooves on the table before him.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit... Citizen Luna,” he asked.

“I wish to discuss two issues with thee Starswirl. Both are matters of loyalty.” She tilted her head to one side and regarded him intently. As he waited for her to continue, she levitated an apple from the bowl on the table. Taking a bite, she chewed for a moment. The half eaten apple floated between them. She swallowed.

“I am sure thou art aware of the politics that stand between my sister and me. At our last face-to-face meeting I departed in haste and failed to seek your thoughts on the matter. Despite your obvious feelings of gratitude towards Celestia, you have frequently demonstrated a genuine independence of thought and a willingness to express it.” She took another bite of the apple. “Of late, my sister has been actively thwarting my plans to reform the government of Equestria. She lacks the resolve to take the actions needed to protect Equestria and its ponies from a world full of predators and worse. I possess no such qualms. The Republic I propose will without a doubt become the strongest nation in the world! My cause is just, and if only a few more key members of the Equine assembly join me I will have the votes needed to overturn the Hearth’s Warming Accord and declare the Republic.” She let the apple core fall to the tabletop. “So now, Minister Starswirl, I have come seek thy succor in mine august enterprise. Will thou join the Republican cause?”

He tried to read Luna's intent in her expression, but was unable to see anything there other than detached patience. Her very formal tone, however, sent a shiver up his spine. He glanced around the room, searching for something, anything with which he could distract the princess. "I thank you for your calling on me personally, Citizen Luna. I suspect everypony in Equestria must be aware of the Lunar Republic party and its objectives by now." He took a deep breath, and hoped it wouldn’t be his last. "But I must reply that my sympathies have not changed, and that I continue to support Princess Celestia's policies and her continued rule of Equestria.”

There was nothing overt in her reaction, but he nevertheless felt a chill radiate from the princess of the night.

“So be it, then. As I said earlier, I have one more matter of import still to discuss with thee.” Another apple apple levitated from the bowl.

“Has my sister ever told thee how the Griffons, Diamond Dogs, and Dragons came to Equestria?” She arched an eyebrow.

“Prin... er, Citizen, do you mean that they were not always here?”

Her smile grew feral. “Indeed not! I can see that Celestia has been most parsimonious in the information she has provided thee. Perhaps she does not trust in thee as much as thou thinkest.” She took another bite of her apple while he squirmed in his seat. “Then again, this involves her greatest follies.” She laughed, and leaned conspiratorially towards him. “You see, she collects orphans. She brought them to this world when their own were doomed!” Luna leaned in even closer. “She let these sentient predators in and created the greatest threats known to the very existence of the pony race, as an act of generosity!” Another two bites and the second core joined the first on the table.

Starswirl eyed the princess cooly. “Such is her nature. And her generosity is a trait I much admire.” He hesitated. He had had few dealings with the other races of Equestria, but his natural curiosity had turned each of those instances into moments of great wonder. Learning of Celestia’s courageous role in making them possible only increased his gratitude towards her and lent him courage. “Wonderful are the works of Nature. If you think it would be a criminal thing to stand idle and let a single individual die, then reflect how much more criminal it is to let an entire race become extinct. For indeed, one who does not value life, does not himself deserve it.”

“Thy concern for life warms the heart, Maestro. It would appear that my sister has also neglected to mention the wars ponykind has fought with her... guests, nor of the thousands, nay, countless ponies that they have killed?” Her eyes narrowed and another apple flew up. “And this is not to mention the hordes of vermin they brought with them: the fleas, the parasites, the parasprites and worse.” She took a bite and slowly chewed as he digested what he had just been told. He suddenly realized why the princess had broached this topic.

“I know what you are getting at, Citizen Luna.” He bit out the words. “The humans are...”

“...the next in her long list of follies, yes,” she interrupted. “These humans she so admires on her travels to thy world. Do you know what thy race have been up to these past years, Maestro?” She took another large mouthful which she deliberately masticated and swallowed.

He stared at her sullenly, refusing to take the bait.

“I remind thee that time flows not apace between our cosmos and that of humanity’s. More than a century has passed in thy world, relatively to the last twenty in Equestria. Expansion, conquest, war, slavery, Starswirl, all on a scale never seen in Equestria. Humanity spreads like a weed. Still worse, your race is a clever one, as thy example so fittingly illustrates, Maestro, and thou art but one of many.” She took a last bite and deposited the third apple core onto the table, a cold gleam in her eyes.

Some books popped into existence above the table and fell upon the cores, crushing them. Sticky juice and the remains of the fruit spread from under the stack, leaking from his table onto the floor below it. He looked at the title on the uppermost of the books. It was Latin. This was a book from his homeworld.

“Principia Mathematica” he read. “Who is this Isaac Newton?”

“Another one gifted such as thou art. Human science advances in leaps and bounds unimaginable in Equestria. Your kind can build the most marvelous things, and the most fiendishly clever and deadly weapons.”

Starswirl scanned a few pages of the tome, his eyes wide as he quickly grasped some of the proofs presented.

Luna looked on as he began turning pages, and chuckled. “Impressive, is it not? E’en more, I cannot help but remark upon those traits humans hold in common with mine own Alicorn race: intelligence, a thirst for knowledge... and enormous greed for power and conquest. Thou art predators of a higher order - as are we of Alicorn blood.”

His ears fell back. He felt the heat of anger rising to his head. “You forget much in your discourse, Luna. Humans also seek beauty, peace, fellowship and understanding. Our ambitions fuel our achievements and lead us to surpass ourselves and improve the lives of all. We say amongst ourselves that poor is the pupil that does not surpass his master. We seek not the estate of the predatory beast, but rather to ever more closely approach our image of the divine.”

Luna snorted. “Verily? Do you know what thy predatory kind would do to our little ponies, Starswirl?” He held his tongue, knowing a trap when he saw one. A brief smile touched her lips, and she continued. “I will tell you, then. You would overrun us and all our defenses. You would enslave our ponies and take all that is theirs. They would be helpless before you! You know this to be true, Maestro.”

He recalled another fact Celestia had told him when she set him on his mission. “But the magic of this world is poison to the human form! That is why Celestia wishes to find...”

“...a way to transform humans into ponies,” interrupted Luna again. “Yes, we have discussed this. Even were they on four hooves, dost thou truly believe that thy kind would be any less formidable or any less dangerous? Tell, me what would humans do with magic?” She placed a hoof on the side of her muzzle, eyes wide in mock perplexity. “Wait, I think I know!” She pointed an accusing hoof at his heart. “They would do as you did, Starswirl. They would change the natural order. They would build colonies wherever they could, and multiply like flies! They would make weapons and conquer whomever opposed them!” She sneered. “Or didst thou think I had not noticed those flying machines of thy fabrication used to war upon Sombra?”

Luna stood, her contempt was evident on her features. She loomed over him like a creature from nightmare. Starswirl cringed, and felt his legs begin to tremble.

“No matter the form, thee and thy kind are predators, and of a potency such as we ponies have yet to face. For the sake of Equestria, I should kill you now, human. But I will not.” Her smile became a gruesome rictus. “This is not because my heart pines still for thine affections, sweet Maestro. Nay, this is because Equestria may need thy knowledge to withstand these humans when the convergence comes. And as thou persists in supporting my sister, I shall place thee in safe-keeping, where thou canst employ thy cunning to thwart my plans.” She tilted her head to one side and again affected surprise. “Oh, my! It appears I have a generous streak as well.”

Starswirl took a step back. “Wait! Luna, I...”

There was a flash of light and...

...Starswirl found himself on a grassy plain. In the distance, he could make out the edge of a forest. The only sounds he could hear were the beating of his own heart, and the wind whispering through the tall grasses. He pivoted around fully twice, trying unsuccessfully to find any other landmark. With a sigh he used his magic to extrude a large stone from the ground. He inscribed it with his cutie mark, two five pointed stars on a spiral swirl, and turning back towards the dark spot on the horizon, began the long trek towards the distant forest. On the way he considered those pages he had glimpsed of Newton’s text.

---

- Seven months after the disappearance of the Crystal Empire -

Sky Blue let go of Summer’s hoof as several ponies entered the shabby apartment. If they had not known the password they would not have made it this far. Still, he eyed them warily as they removed the cloaks that had been obscuring their features and hiding their cutie marks. He bumped hooves with his colthood friend Harvey. He also waved a greeting to Iron Anvil, the Crystal Pony expatriate, and the slight unicorn mare named Filigree. The two were inseparable, having become a couple shortly after the raid on Sombra’s dungeon. The other ponies included Speck and Plow, and some other members of the Overcloud Express he only knew by sight. His uncle Hy briefly greeted each and every newcomer. As Stationmaster, he had been appointed interim leader of the Express a week after Starswirl’s disappearance. Sky sat down next to Summer as Uncle Hy called the meeting to order.

“My friends,” said his uncle, “you have all heard the news that Citizen Luna has proposed a vote in the Equine Assembly to amend the Hearths’ Warming Day accord and thereby severely curtail the role of the diarchy. Every day since, members of the Lunar Republic Party have been holding rallies and marches in support of the amendment.” He paused as one of the attending ponies snorted.

“If only the Loonies didn’t hold their events after sunset,” said Harvey. “These Moon Walks are starting seriously cut into my beauty sleep!” Many of the ponies present chuckled. Uncle Hy’s expression remained grim.

“I’m afraid the actions of the Loonies are becoming somewhat bolder and less of a laughing matter. In the last week I and other members of the assembly who openly support Princess Celestia have been warned to vote the right way, or there would be personal repercussions.” The mood of the audience became noticeably grimmer.

“Aye,” said Iron Anvil. “The word amongst the remnants of the Crystal Ponies is that the Lunar Republic’s methods bear an uncomfortable resemblance to King Sombra’s. Many are preparing to leave Equestria rather than relive that experience.”

“I also have a disturbing piece of intelligence,” resumed Uncle Hy. “The word in the Royal Guard is that Princess Luna was sighted in proximity to the Maestro’s quarters on the night he went missing. I now suspect her to be at the root of his absence.”

Summer stirred at his side. “What does Princess Celestia say about this?” she asked. “Surely she knows something.”

Uncle Hy sighed. “I’m afraid the Sun Princess refused to believe her sister would stoop to such tactics.” There was a buzz as several ponies expressed disbelief. “However, there are some good news still. Princess Celestia has given her assurances that she knows for a fact that he is still alive.”

“And just who did she give these assurance to?” asked Filigree, arching an eyebrow.

“Now, let’s not forget which Princess we support here,” gently chided his uncle. “We have these statements straight from the pony’s mouth.” He waved towards the open doorway to the adjoining room.

A pea-green unicorn poked his head in. “She gave those assurances to me,” he said. It was one of the ponies who had accompanied the Maestro to the Crystal Empire, if Sky remembered correctly.

Uncle Hy spoke. “I think most of you have met Clover the Clever, our Maestro’s student. He has informed me that he is personally investigating the disappearance, and I have volunteered the resources of the Overcloud Express to assist him in any way we can.”

Clover walked to stand next to Uncle Hy. “I have a plan to find the Maestro,” he said. “But I will need your help to retrieve him. Princess Celestia has given me a machine which we can use to locate him.” He held up a brass and glass device that looked very much like a compass. “Do we have any volunteers?”

In the blink of an eye every single pony had a hoof in the air, including himself and Summer. She nuzzled him. “I guess it’s time for another adventure!” she whispered to him.

He smiled ruefully. “I just hope this one doesn’t land us in jail like the last one did.”

They snuggled into each other as Clover began presenting his plan.

---

- Eight months after the disappearance of the Crystal Empire -

Celestia had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the Lord Chamberlain of the Equine Assembly approach her throne. The other throne on the dais was empty. It had been since Luna repudiated her status of Princess, claiming a seat on the floor of the assembly instead. She could see her sister eyeing her from the floor, a look of calm confidence on her face. The vote was going to be very close. Since Starswirl’s disappearance several other key nobles supporting her had also gone missing. There was more than a little fear of Luna and her Republican party in the assembly. Celestia hoped ponies would vote according to their convictions rather than succumb to bullying. Never had her promise to uphold all decisions of the Equine Assembly caused her such worry.

The Lord Chamberlain struck his staff onto the surface of the royal dais three times. “The vote has been taken by the Equine Assembly on the question of amending the Hearths’ Warming Day Accord.” The Chamberlain unfurled a scroll passed to him by the chief scribe. “By a vote of one hundred and fifty-two 'yeas', twenty-three abstentions, and one hundred and fifty-eight 'neighs', this assembly refuses the member’s proposal.” In a rare break from protocol, the Chamberlain turned towards the dais and bowed deeply. “Your majesty,” he intoned gravely.

Suddenly the sound of clopping hooves rang out. A single earth pony mare near the rearmost bench of the assembly stood, proudly proclaiming her approval. A moment later many of her fellow members joined her. Seconds later a far larger number of ponies than would’ve been suspected from the vote rose to their hooves and began clopping and cheering. Celestia rose and bowed to the assembly, as the hall resounded with their approval.

When Celestia rose from her bow Luna was gone from her seat. But after scanning the crowd a for moment she saw the unmistakable dark blue of her sister’s back as she moved towards the exit with the upper echelons of the Lunar Party following close behind. At the door, Luna paused and turned back towards the dais. The smile on Celestia’s lips died. On Luna’s face was a look of pure hatred. Time seemed to stop and all sound faded from her perception. After what felt like an eternity Luna finally turned away and exited through the hall, leaving Celestia feeling very alone on the dais. Her heart beating, Celestia sat down on her throne. The ponies of the assembly seemed to recede into the distance, their voices fading until she couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. The rest of the assembly’s proceedings slipped by in a haze.

---

- The night of the vote -

Luna looked over Solar Guard detachment blocking the entrances and surrounding the dais of the Plaza of the Celestial Vault.

“What is this travesty?” she complained to their captain. Her own Thestral Guards formed ranks behind her. They outnumbered the Solars at least three to one.

The stallion stood his ground. “You are hereby advised that the Equine Assembly has declared a curfew in Canterlot. All ponies are to be in their homes by nightfall.”

“Surely this curfew does not apply to me,” Luna declared, venom in her voice. “And how thinkest thou that night shall come without my ministrations? Begone, worms!”

The Solar Guardspony looked back at Luna with contempt. “This curfew has been lawfully instituted and will be enforced for all citizens, Citizen Luna!” There was feral smile on his face.

It only took a moment from Luna to recover from the shock of the stallion’s arrogance and to realize what her sister had done. She sneered. “How dare my sister impose upon my jurisdiction!”

“That is not my concern, citizen,” said the Solar Guard with an answering sneer.

A feeling of anger such as she had never known began to fill her heart. My sister! she thought. She did this to spite me after we left the Assembly. The areas at the periphery of her vision seemed to dim as her ire grew.

“Raising the Moon is mine!” she growled, and signaled to her Thestrals to take out this insolent pup and his mangy crew.

The Solars barely had time to parse her reply, suddenly finding themselves on the ground with one or two Thestrals standing over them.

Luna laughed. “So it goes for those that dare defy the Moon!” She considered a moment. “Remove their armour!” she called to her troops. “And send the varlets back whence they came.”

She laughed again as she climbed the stairs that led up to the platform atop the dais. The piled Solar armour will be a fitting gift for Celestia when she comes to raise the sun in the morning, she thought. It’s a pity I won’t be there to see her face.

She chuckled again and quickly set about raising the moon and filling the night-time sky.

---

- Twilight, the day after the vote -

“The curfew is rescinded,” declared Celestia simply.

The Solar Guard stared at a moment, and couldn’t prevent a flash of anger from showing before he mastered his emotions. He chewed on his lip a moment, and then responded. “Yes, your majesty.” He signaled the detachment. They assembled into ranks and flew off into the sky in formation, leaving the Plaza of the Vault far below.

Celestia turned to her sister. Luna had arrived moments earlier with her Thestrals in attendance.

Luna glared at Celestia. “Thou showest how meager is thy mettle once again, Celestia. Thou respecteth thine own resolve to honour the edicts of the Assembly no more than thou showeth unto thine own blood sister. If thou thinkest by this act thou has earned our forgiveness, then thou art sorely mistaken."

“No, I did not repeal that law to placate you, but because it was the right thing to do,” said Celestia. Thou. The loss of intimacy with Luna hurt far more than she thought it would. She paused a moment. “The movement of the sun and moon continue to be our exclusive domains, Luna. I only did what was needful to protect the cycle of day and night for all Equestrians. And I came here to ask you to please stop this folly, now, Luna. A... member of the Equine Assembly publicly assaulting members of the Royal Guard. Everypony loses if we cannot maintain public order.”

“I have heard of the other laws enacted after my departure from the Assembly yesterday. That most august body has forbidden any further motions to amend to that blasted accord, and to any assembly of ten ponies or more without permission of the local constabulary. Tsk, tsk, tsk.“ Luna’s smile was gruesome. “I did not imagine thou had the resolve to take such measures, sister.”

Celestia blushed. Too much had happened in the Assembly yesterday. And I only have myself to blame for not paying attention, she thought.

“Luna, listen to me. Tempers are hot and we must prevent this situation from escalating out of control. For the sake of Equestria, I beg of you to stop, please.”

Luna’s expression remained cold. “It is most unfortunate, sister, that we hold very different opinions on what is in the best interest of Equestria. I assure thee, Princess Celestia, that the Lunar Republic party and I intend to continue pressing our suit until it is won.”

It took every ounce of self control Celestia had not to burst into tears. Instead, she sighed once. “Goodnight, Luna.” She jumped into the air and flew off towards Everfree Castle.

Luna looked at the empty field around the stage. There was no point in holding a ceremony. Other than her Thestrals there were no ponies to watch. “Our little ponies will be here tomorrow. Tonight we rest.” She raised the moon and quickly graced the sky with a few simple stars. Then she signaled her guard, and they took off into the sky.

---

- Three weeks after the vote -

Summer ducked as a brick flew over her head. Blue pulled her to his side and sheltered her under his wing.

“You know that feathers aren’t much protection against bricks, don’t you?” asked Summer as the two alternately trotted and paced through the alleyways.

“Do me a favor and just keep your head low until we’re out this maze,” said Blue. He scanned the area nervously. The previous band of Loonies had seemed to come out of nowhere, and everypony knew what happened to Solars caught by Loony gangs. A glance upwards showed there were still some Thestrals patrolling the rooftops, making a flying getaway unlikely to succeed. He and Summer rounded a corner and ground to a halt. A gang of three Loonies blocked their way. They turned back quickly and saw that they were cut off by another four. These are not good odds, he thought, pressing Summer behind him and as much as possible providing her cover with his wings.

The Loonies gangs approached, each from their own end of the alley. “Well what do we have here?” Said a uniformed unicorn. “Looks like a pair of Loony lovebirds. My, it looks like they might have a few too many feathers, dontcha think?” He taunted as his horn began to glow.

One of his companions, a pegasus stepped forward. “Who’s the filly, punk?” he called. “If she’s pretty we might just let you go, if you don’t put up a fight.” He chuckled and several of his cohorts seemed to share his taste in humour.

Sky felt Summer trying to push out from behind him without breaking his flight feathers. “Thunder, is that you?” she called loudly.

The pegasus’s smirk slipped from his face and his eyes grew big. “Summer?” he called.

She finally was able to poke her head out from between Sky’s wings. There was no disguising the rage in her voice. “It IS you! Is this what you do for kicks now? Assault defenceless fillies? Wait ‘till I tell mom and dad! They’ll have you hung up by your pinfeathers!”

The pegasus stallion turned a full shade paler. His fellow gang members were divided into two groups: one that seemed amused at his discomfiture, and one that seemed angered by the situation. A unicorn who was part of the second group spoke up. “Okay, so we leave the filly alone.” He grinned. “But her coltfriend, well, he’s gonna have a real bad day.”

They gathered closer to prevent Sky from making a move. At least Summer’s going to get out of this, he thought. Then a flicker above caught his eye. “Twenty-five!” he yelled. Then he and Summer simultaneously hit the ground and held their breaths. Gliding-in without a sound above them, Harvey dropped a cannister right into the middle of the group. A thick white fog spread causing the Loonies to scream and and start coughing. In the confusion, Sky and Summer galloped right out of the alley and then took to the air following Harvey.

Sky looked down at the streets and alleys as they flew. A big section of this neighborhood was Loony territory, and he wouldn’t be feeling safe until he and Summer were clear of it.

Finally, Harvey gave the hoof symbol for a landing. They flew down for a landing.

As soon as they were on solid ground he turned to Summer and reached out. The filly just turned on her rear hooves and stomped away. Before she did he caught a glimpse of her face. She was mad, scared, sad, and ashamed all at the same time. Sky knew her well enough to know when to give her a moment’s space. She would be back in few minutes as soon as she had worked out her mad. Or at least he hoped she did. Hers wasn’t the only family split between the Loonies and Solars. And according to Uncle Hy, the conflict was only getting started.

---

- Two months after the vote -

The wind that blasted through the Triplane smelled of sulfur, vinegar, and... a whole mess of other things Clover simply could not place. He looked at Celestia’s device. Through the glass top he could see its needle spinning randomly. “Not this one either!” he shouted to his crew. “One minute to transition,” he called again. They usually could manage up to a dozen different transitions per sortie, and on a good day managed three sorties. He had lost track of the total number they had tried when they had passed one thousand.

He focused his thoughts on the spell he had read in Starswirl’s journal, used to cross between planes of existence. He pictured the pattern and the equations in his mind, building up his magical potential, and released the spell. A circle of green fire appeared before the triplane and it flew straight into it. They exited the circle from the other side into a sky of pure blue, over a grassy plain. In the distance a forest traced a line of darker green against the horizon.

Clover sighed. At least this was a far more pleasant world than the one they had just left. Out of routine, he began to prepare for the next hop, when he looked down at the compass glass. Its needle pointed solidly to the right of the aircraft. It was a moment before Clover found his voice.

“This is it! The Maestro is in this world!” He pointed with a hoof. “Circle at low altitude. We need to mark our exit point so we can return here.”

He looked towards the forest in anticipation. Maestro, we come at last.

---

- That night -

Luna stood ready to raise the moon, and gazed over the very sparse herd of ponies in the plaza. So few, she thought. Surely the Solars have been intimidating our partisans. Surely this cannot be all who want to glory in the night?

For some reason Luna felt desperation. She decided that it was time to show all of Equestria just what the night could be, and that this time she would put her heart and soul into her nightly ritual.

She took her time with the moon, raising it in infinitesimal increments, letting it sit near the horizon, huge and deep reddish in hue. Only when its disc was fully above the horizon did she begin to paint the stars and cosmos. Eyes closed she imagined swirls of galaxies and nebulas, and bade them to slowly appear upon the firmament. She created high altitude air currents, varying the air density from moment to moment to make the stars twinkle like candles in a summer breeze. She let a pack of clouds fly by high in the atmosphere, periodically lit from within by lightning. SHe closed with shooting stars and a particularly impressive aurora borealis.

It took almost an hour for her to complete her ritual. Suspended above the stage, she slowly descended to her hind hooves and then at last stood on all four. The crowd cheered. Eyes still tightly shut, she listened as the applause died down. Surely this must be my finest creation! she thought. She smiled in satisfaction. I must know what my little ponies think of it! On a whim she decided she would investigate. She concentrated a moment and felt the flux of magic through her horn.

When she opened her eyes she stood just outside of the entrance to the Plaza. Looking down at her legs she saw the pale blue coat she had affected as a disguise. Feeling confident she trotted out to join some ponies returning home from the ceremony. Nopony noticed as she slipped into the edge of the group.

“That was quite a show tonight!” she called out to the unicorn mare pacing next to her.

The mare turned to look in her direction. “Tell me about it. A whole hour wasted looking at a bunch of lights in the sky! I almost fell asleep twice.”

A young earth pony stallion joined the conversation. “Yeah! I’d even prefer another boring speech than having to stand there like a statue until Miss Moon Mare has had her fill. I don’t know about you all but that’s the last Moonrise ceremony for me, no matter how much the parti boss yells at me.” There was a chorus of laughs from the other ponies nearby.

“Hey, them’s big words for a little shrimp like you! The only reason anypony comes to this total waste of time is because the parti goons frog-march us up to the gate every night. What are you going to do? Hide in the bushes when they come for the roll call?”

This prompted another round of laughter. Dismayed, Luna slowed her pace until another group overtook her. This one was composed mostly of pegasi stallions.

“I’m telling you Cloudburst, I have enough of this lame Loonie business,” said one of the pegasi.

“Oh come-on Thunder. You can’t just drop the movement like that,” replied Cloudburst.

“And why not? What I do is my own business!” said Thunder.

“Yeah? And what will you do when the Thestrals come after your family?” asked Cloudburst.

“Those rumours are just that rumours. And if they do come after us, then they’d better be ready for a fight! We’re the Breeze clan and not some namby-pamby earth ponies running at the first sign of a fight.”

His friend had no reply to this. They walked on in silence for a moment.

“And Cloudy, I have to tell you. This Lunar Republic stuff was cool when it started. But... this chasing down Solars is just... not right. It’s gone too far and I’m sick of it. Just like I’m sick of Thestrals giving orders like they run the world, just like I’m sick of this stupid party and its pissant princess pretending to be just a normal pony, and especially with her stupid obsession about the Moon. The sunrise ceremony - now there’s something worth going to. But the moon? Nopony gives a road-apple about the moon anyway, and nopony ever will.”

Luna froze, not believing her ears. None of these ponies actually cared about the very things that she was working so hard to achieve. Everything she was doing was for their benefit, yet it sounded like they were ready to throw it all away and that somehow she was inconveniencing them! The thought made her angry. The more she thought about the more she seethed.

She decided to see if anypony at all had noticed her performance this evening. Changing back into her normal form she took to the sky and flew over the city of Canterlot, much of it still under construction. All of the public places were deserted. Not even a single pony was out this evening. Finally, she found a old stallion sitting at a park bench. She dropped out of the night and approached his bench.

“Good evening!” she said when she stopped two paces away.

“Good evening, young lady,” said the stallion. “A fine moonrise wasn’t it?”

Luna’s heart skipped a beat. “Yes it was,” she said simply.

“Please,” asked the stallion, “could you tell me about it?”

Luna examined the stallion more closely. His gaze was fixed somewhere to her right. She closed her eyes. Of course. He’s blind. “It was... grand,” she said.

“I’m sure it was,” said the oldster. Luna felt herself trembling. Afraid that if she said anything more her voice would betray her emotions, Luna stood in silence a moment, and then with a beat of her wings she ascended into the sky just as the tears came.

You see, none of them appreciate you.

Luna cringed inwardly as she wept. The voice that had so badly harassed her before and during the Crystal Empire affair was back.

They do not deserve you.

“Stop it!” she cried aloud. “Stop. Please.”

They care about you as little as they care about your beautiful night, and they see no value in all the fruit of of your labors. None of them do, and certainly not that traitorous sister of yours.

That only made her weep harder, her tears falling to the earth as she flew in the night.

They will never listen. They will only laugh at you, and call you the lesser princess, and waste your precious night in slumber.

The voice was right. The realization left her feeling as empty as the streets of the abandoned city below. She looked up at the magnificent display she had painted across the firmament. Without a doubt, she knew it was most likely her very finest. She looked back down. The streets remained empty, as she knew they would be until dawn.

Their loss, said the voice. They will see it not, and miss it even less, and then rise in the morn praising the sun’s erasure of your night and bending knee to that selfish, craven mare. In the end, she will betray them with her foalish ideas with even less regret than her loyal subjects show for abandoning your glorious night.

Luna felt anger spread like fire through her veins. She had always thought of Celestia as giving. Only recently had she been able to see the truth, that her sister always took the better leaf, the largest share, and left her only that which she did not desire.

And now she has pushed you out. There is only one way to correct this situation and save Equestria. The ponies are too divided and morally weak to save themselves. They do not deserve your Republic. They would only squander it. Only somepony with an iron hoof can save them from their own folly and your sister’s machinations. And that somepony must be you Luna.

She flew on in silence, and considered. The voice was right.

Yes, I am, said the voice. It is time for you to push back and challenge that usurper Celestia for supremacy. There can only be one Princess in Equestria, and that princess will be you, Princess Luna!

“No!” she replied. “Not Luna. I have renounced that name. The time of Luna and Celestia is finished. Equestria needs a new princess, and our little ponies have already given her a name: Nightmare Moon!”

The idea made her laugh. It felt good to laugh. She flew up to the moon. Her laughter reverberated over the deserted city streets below.

---

- Not too far away, in Everfree Castle -

Celestia had come down from her observatory. She had wanted to see what Luna would do tonight, and she had not been disappointed. This was one of her sister’s most impressive performances in ages. She wished she could have told her. She sighed. Thinking of Luna made her so melancholy these days.

Many of her friends amongst the mortal ponies had tried their best to cheer her up. Platinum in particular had become a friend and a comfort during this discord with Luna. Commander Hurricane and Chancellor Puddinghead had also been by to visit, pledging their support. It was a nice gesture for them to make, but they had no idea how much it hurt to have them remind her of her failure to keep Harmony with the pony she loved the most in all the world.

At least there was some good news on another front. Clover had located the world on which Starswirl was residing. She hoped he would be back in the castle within a day. Tomorrow will be a better day, she said to herself with a sniff, and made ready to sleep.

Author's Note:

I know, a two parter. It just got too long for a single chapter. The rest I'll have in a week or two.