A Cuckoo in the Nest

by Bronyxy

7 Luna to the Fore

As she waited, Luna recognised that she now wore the mantle of the most powerful pony in Equestria. She wished that it hadn’t been so, but knew that she was unquestionably the best placed to respond to the incoming threat and everypony was counting on her to play her part.

She felt the need for something reassuring and rang for a servant to come from the kitchen. A timid serving mare scampered in and curtseyed repeatedly, eager to please her mistress.
“Please fetch me some cake and a cup of tea, quickly if you can” requested Luna, realising that this was precisely the same crutch that Celestia had always leaned on.

“It must be in the blood” she told herself, shaking her head at the happy memory of her sister that it had suddenly conjured up.

“Your Majesty?” enquired the serving mare, misreading Luna’s brief reverie as a pause before further orders were issued.
“Fast as you can please” she confirmed, and the serving maid ran off as quickly as she had arrived.

Luna looked around. The carpets were starting to look a bit tired and the windows needed a clean. These and other pointless irrelevancies flew through her mind as she tried to focus and pull together a plan.

The serving mare returned with a china cup clinking on its saucer on a salver, accompanied by a large slice of fruitcake. Luna had been so lost in thought, she had completely lost track of time and it seemed like only a minute since she had given her order. She thanked the server and wolfed down the cake, barely taking time to savour the subtle tastes and textures, yet something about actually eating it proved deeply satisfying.

When the generals arrived, Luna with her tea in front of her was relieved to see that it was the Night Guard who joined her first, still feeling a fleeting sense of friendly sisterly rivalry that she quickly crushed as it now felt so grotesquely out of place.

Luna stood before them and calmly explained that she and her sister had been fooled into releasing a shapeshifter, whose armies were now massing for an attack across the Badlands, from where the imposter had recently withdrawn Equestrian guards from their outposts. She also added that the shapeshifter had imprisoned Celestia in the sun and expressed her heartfelt desire that she be released as soon as she could.

Gasps rose from all around the room as Luna gave her short address before handing over to the military. Just at that moment a pair of unkempt looking unicorns in ill-fitting and badly stained robes stumbled untidily into the room clutching haphazard bundles of rolled up maps that jutted out from their grasp in a random selection of highly unlikely angles. The bespectacled elderly map maker stammered something that all present assumed to have been an apology whilst adjusting his glasses, before absent-mindedly prompting his assistant to hang a large scale map of the Badlands on a wall using his magic.

Luna smiled at the comedic value of their entrance, not making the mistake of pre-emptively dismissing their professionalism because of their rather shambolic appearance. She was quickly proven right as the map makers ran their audience through every aspect of the terrain. Some of the military personnel present had visited or even operated in this area, but others hadn’t and after a succinct briefing during which no single word was wasted, all had arrived at a common understanding of how the area could be exploited both offensively and defensively.

The mapmaker having concluded his presentation, bowed to Luna and retired to stand deferentially by the wall allowing the Princess to take centre stage. Luna, a warrior Princess by nature, slipped easily into her role as Commander in Chief, stepping up to address her audience of the most high ranking Night Guard and Royal Guard officers.

“Sirs, I know not of the scale of the force that awaits us, but I do know that the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance. We have already witnessed the chaos that can be wrought when even one shapeshifter comes among us. I cannot emphasise strongly enough what could happen if any more are allowed to infiltrate their way into Equestrian society and take over key roles in the military or the government. Failure, Sirs, is not an option.”

“It has been a long time since I have led forces into battle, but I will relish the opportunity to show another generation of brave guards what I have shown to generations before, that I will not be daunted in the face any enemy and I will fight with the courage of twenty soldiers! Who is with me?”

The rousing and succinct speech motivated everypony present and quickly, military planning swinging into action with Night Guards and Royal Guards developing the different strands of a common strategy that would become Equestria’s only line of defence. One voice noticeably absent from the hubbub of the planning meeting was the unswervingly loyal General Cimmerian, who had taken the opportunity for a quick word with his Princess.

“Your Majesty” he said in a voice that was pitched low enough so as not to attract attention, but still carrying more authority than most ponies could ever manage to muster “A word with you, I pray.”
Luna put down her freshly emptied teacup. She could finally understand what it was that had endeared this simple ritual to her sister – serendipity.

“Yes, Cimmerian?”she replied with quiet regality.
“I must object.”

The directness of his statement shook Luna from the adrenalin high she had built up from delivering her motivational speech, and she looked at him enquiringly.

“Whilst we all respect your courage, this is a time to display leadership by staying behind and leaving the fighting to us.”
He watched Luna bristle and continued “I understand that this will not be easy for you, especially given what has happened; we are all eager to defend Equestria from whatever forces are massed against us, but you are too important to be compromised. There are only two alicorns; you are one and you are also the only gateway to the other. If we lose you, we lose both Royal alicorns, and that is an unacceptable price to expect the ponies of Equestria to pay.”

Luna looked stunned. She hadn’t considered that perspective. With nopony able to raise the sun or the moon, there would be perpetual day or night, and either would quickly spell doom for Equestria. She opened her mouth to protest, but the more she thought about it, the more she could see he was right.

“Your Majesty” he said, sensing her discomfort as her mouth moved wordlessly “If you can return Princess Celestia to us, then our need for your safety becomes less critical, but without her, you must be kept safe for everypony’s sake.”

Luna rose, her eyes itching with unspilled tears of frustration and she bit her lip hard to stop herself from shedding them right there and then, upset beyond words that after all she had been through, she could not be allowed to be part of the campaign to defend Equestria in a battle she was more than ready to lead.

She ushered him away with a few flicks of her forehoof towards the planning meeting that had become the centre of attention, grateful that their noise covered the sound of her tears. Only General Cimmerian knew, and he had already turned to join the meeting, not wishing to see his brave Princess cry.

Comments

[Love able chaos]

Ah no General Luna fine I settle for command in Chief Luna then.

[Bronyxy]

9638357
Tough call - she desperately wanted to lead her army, but Cimmerion's was the voice of reason. That must have stung though ...

[LunaAlpha]

tea and cupcakes now!