//------------------------------// // Looking Back and Forward // Story: Fractured Moon // by DefiantPosition //------------------------------// Rarity is slowly getting out of her bed. She didn't sleep all night out of fear of soldiers barging into her room and arresting her for treason. "How could I have been so stupid to trust Stars Whirl! I Should have known that she wouldn't be willing to join." Rarity thinks. Yet it isn't just her own fate that concerns her but also that of every pony and every other creature that isn't a batpony. Rarity knows that once she is gone then there will be no one left to oppose Starry Glory and his genocidal ideas. But even though Rarity knows than she can be arrested any second she does not regret her decision to oppose Starry Glory, only that she failed so soon. As Rarity looks at the sun slowly rising through her bedroom window for what could be the last time, she thinks back to the events that brought her here in the first place. 3 years ago Rarity was nervously walking back and forward in one of the many rooms of the Royal Castle in Canterlot. When she heard that Luna needed help to solve the issue of batpony inequality she of course told Luna that she would gladly help her. After all what kind of lady would abandon a princess during a time of crisis. And luckily she had made enough money to be able to leave her shop for a while. But now that Rarity was actually here she was becoming more and more uncertain about this whole endeavour. After all she didn't have any experience with these sort of things. Yes she and her friends had saved Equestria on multiple occasions but in those cases there was a very clear enemy that needed to be stopped, Instead of actually changing the hearts and minds of ponies. Then of course there was the issue of the nobles, merchants and industrialists that needed to be taken into account. Rarity doubted that they would just allow the batponies that served as their cheap labour the be treated equally without a fight. "Oh why did I have to be the Element of Generosity." Rarity laments to herself. Before she had a chance to continue her lament, the door opened and Luna strolled inside. Rarity tried to bow as was required by protocol but before she could do so she was wrapped in Luna's magic and was pulled into a big hug. "Thank you soo much for helping me Rarity! You don't know what it means to me. Nopony else wanted to help and for a moment I thought I would have to do it all myself!" Luna spoke enthusiastically. "Don't worry I may not be the Element of Loyalty but I will always help a friend in need." Rarity replied. After a couple of seconds Luna finally released Rarity from her magical grip. At that moment Luna felt like nothing could go wrong. "You and I Rarity, we are going to do great things together." A week later "Ugh those damned nobles only care about their own wealth!" Luna yelled while collapsing in one of her chairs. Rarity sat behind her bureau, sadly looking down at the unsigned paper before her with titled Covenant against the mistreatment of batponies. Rarity sighed deeply. "I thought for sure that we could convince Blueblood of the necessity of addressing this issue. He may be an arrogant prick but I also thought he cared about Equestria. It seems I am not as good at judging characters as I thought I was." Rarity said while slumping down her chair. The meeting had exhausted her immensely. Even though Blueblood agreed that the treatment of batponies was horrible and that something should be done about it, he refused to do anything himself saying that now was not the right time to divide the country and the nobility. What's the point of protecting Equestria if the Equestria they are protecting is not worthy of being protected? "It isn't you fault Rarity you did everything you could. The problem lies with Equestria." Luna stated. "Don't say that Luna! I can assure you that the majority of ponies agree with us. Celestia also supported your decision. It is just those nobles that keep sabotaging our efforts." Rarity spoke fully revitalised. She still had faith that the majority of Equestria was good. Before Luna could respond however the door opened and in walked a batpony who Rarity had never met before but knew by reputation, Starry Glory. He is a batpony extremist who just got released from prison for trying to start a race war between ponies and batponies. Rarity wondered why he was here but she knew it couldn't be anything good. Starry Glory casually strolled inside and took a seat. "I take it your endeavour hasn't been going to well?" He asked. "What are you doing here!? We don't need the support of a murdering mania-" Rarity tried to reply but was interrupted by Luna. "That is enough Rarity!" She spook firmly like a parent scolding a child before turning her attention to Starry Glory. "Are you just here to gloat on our recent failures or do you actually have something meaningful to add to the discussion?" Luna asked. "Do you know the definition of insanity? It is doing the exact same thing over and over again expecting different results. You are not the first creatures to have tried this approach, many have come before you and just like you they also failed." Using his wing Starry Glory took a folded piece of paper out of his saddlebag and placed it on Luna's desk. "Perhaps it is time we try a different approach? Think about it." He said before standing up and leaving again. Luna immediately unfolded the piece of paper and placed it on her desk. Rarity also got up and walked over to luna's desk to see what was on the paper. It was a map of an Equestrian Army armoury apparently located near Canterlot. On the map where multiple markings with texts along side them like "possible entrance", "guard patrol route" and "guard tower". Rarity was suddenly hit with realisation. "That maniac wants to break in and steal those weapons! We can't do this, violence is never the answer! If we do this then the only thing we will achieve is creatures dying for nothing." Rarity yelled. She grabbed the map in her magic and threw it in a nearby bin. "That is not the solution Luna. I am going to go to bed now but tomorrow we will continue to do this, the right way, without violence and trust me we will win, it may take weeks or even years but in the end we will succeed." After Rarity was finished she also left, leaving Luna behind. As she was doing so however, in the corner of her eye she could see Luna grabbing the the map with her magic and lifting it out of the bin. Present Rarity was crying on her bed. That monster took Luna away from her, filled her mind with lies and propaganda. It was a public secret that Rarity had opposed to civil war and only supported Luna and Later Nightmare Moon because she didn't want to abandon her at such a critical moment. Rarity once again looks outside at the peaceful Crystal Empire. She decides to make a promise to herself. "For as long as I am alive I will do whatever I need to do to protect Nightmare Moon from Starry Glory and his vile followers." Suddenly there was a knock on the door and her assistant came in with a radio message that just arrived. "Report to the Lunar Castle tomorrow at twelve o' clock. Nightmare Moon has scheduled a meeting about the Lunar Empire's security forces."