~Prologue.~
It had been a late summer day when the war had come. Cloudsdale had fallen in a matter of hours. Shifting from the rubble, two young orphan fillies emerged from the wreckage of their homes, dark clouds drifting off into the sky. Smoke trailed up in the air like a horrid snake, twisting and swirling higher.
There were mangled remains of adults and children alike, scattering the burned streets and ruined allies. It was deathly silent as the two fillies stepped out into the street. “Oh my.” The mild yellow pegasus squeaked, turning her muzzle into her friend’s side as tears rolling down their cheeks.
“C’mon Flutters, we gotta move.” The ruffled cyan pegasus mumbled, drawing her friend’s attention away from the massacre.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, lifting a wing over Fluttershy’s gangly frame. Limping, she led the yellow filly through the ruin and wreckage until they reached what could only be presumed as a small group of adults as they shifted rubble and pulled corpses from their graves.
A magenta mare rushed over to the two fillies, checking them over for injuries. There was nothing but silence and the occasional rumble as more concrete and clouds crashed back to the cloud and pavement below it.
The moon hung in the sky, the milky orb opposing the bright sun as a shadow descended upon the group.
That day, Cloudsdale vanished.
The young cyan pegasus darted through the purplish and vibrant bracken, heading towards an unmarked destination. The mare slipped through the trees and fauna, jumping over loose logs as her breath became colder.
The mare pulled onto a rope, looping her hoof into the cord. She flew upwards as the weight from the other end fell to the ground, blending with the environment. The mare climbed up the old tree until she reached the top.
The young pegaus glanced across the treetops and at the sky above. The familiar divide between the sun and moon as they both hung in the sky was an ever-present reminder of the time she lived in. She released a sigh, shifting in her padded armour.
After a moment of rest, the figure jumped to the next tree, sliding down until she looped a hoof around a thick branch. It clanked as her pulled body up and upon it. The cyan mare kicked it firmly down, her body toppling a little as it rattled. She skillfully guided her body into the hatch below as she used the other branches to guide herself.
The hatch snapped closed behind the mare as she stood in inky darkness for a moment. She traced a hoof along the cold and metallic wall until it reached the light switch. The round lightbulb above flickered on with a magical zzap, bathing the room in a stark white light.
Following a series of winding tunnels, the mare darted deeper and deeper into the maze of tunnels until she emerged in a large open area, magical bulbs glowing around the mare in the centre as she pointed a hoof at another group of soldiers before they saluted and darted away.
The dark blue mare turned to look at the new presence in the room, releasing a smile as she trotted over. The mare’s flowing nighttime mane was cut short, a crown sitting neatly behind her horn. A pair of folded wings rested beside her silver armour as the light glinted off of the shiny material. “Rainbow Dash. What do you have to report?” She said, addressing the cyan mare.
Rainbow dipped her head, bowing before smiling. “Nothing so far, Luna. The Everfree Forest has just repaired itself on the south side after last month’s fire.”
“Ah. That’s wonderful. ‘Tis a shame that it was ruined in the first place. Very well, you may return to your post.” Luna nodded, hair bobbing along with the motion.
“As you wish. Oh and Luna?” Rainbow Dash had turned to leave but paused, turning back slightly. “Has Flutters recovered yet?”
“She has not, unfortunately. I have sent troops to gather more supplies from Miss Zecora and they should be back this evening.” The ebony alicorn frowned, flicking her wing slightly.
“Oh okay. Well, thanks for informing me.” Rainbow Dash gave a brief salute before turning back towards the gaping tunnel.
Stalking through the underbrush, Rainbow Dash paused, wing hovering over a bush as her ears flicked and scanned for noise. The cool air nipped at her coat as she released a sigh, running a hoof through her cropped mane.
Paranoia was a thing she could never seem to shake.
She was glad in a sense that she wasn’t on the front line anymore. Luna had pulled her from it after the last battle. With a scoff, she turned to look at the ruins in the heart of the forest. Dark and ancient cobblestone rose upwards, a crumpling cliff holding up the ruins as plantlife clung to it. Rainbow Dash had heard stories about it since her fillyhood, the old castle the only reminder of what was before the war.
As she stood there, something flew through the sky as it crashed into Rainbow Dash. In a flurry of colours, Dash was tossed around until she crashed into a tree with a loud thunk. A second pony let loose a groan as she shifted off of the pegasus slightly, mumbling something under her breath. “Owww…” The mysterious mare grumbled, placing a gilded hoof up to her head. She shifted her bangs out of her face, her lavender coat covered with small nicks.
Rainbow Dash recoiled slightly, letting loose a yelp. “What the actual bucking-?!” Dash spluttered out. The other mare screamed in response as she pulled back as well.
The Solar Princess had crash-landed into Rainbow Dash of all ponies.
“Get away from me! L-Lunar scum!” The Princess snapped, flicking her wings as she charged her horn. Dash pushed her hoof forward, hitting the mare in the head as it disrupted her magic flow. “Ow! How dare- Hey!” She screamed as Dash tripped her over, pinning her to the ground. “What’s the big idea?!”
“I thought that the Princess of the Solar Empire was supposed to be impossible to catch.” Dash hummed.
“You must release me this instant!”
“Yeah, no. I don’t think I’m gonna do that.” Carefully, she removed one hoof, pressing the centre-piece of her armour, a gilded moon, as it glowed with magical energy.
When she noticed the mare below her attempting to struggle again, she slammed her hoof down against the outstretched lavender wing. “I wouldn’t try that. You know that your quite lucky to have crashed into me of all ponies. Anypony else would have, oh I dunno, murdered you on the spot.” She grinned slightly. That statement alone seemed to have quietened the Princess’s struggling.
“What are you going to do to me?” She whispered, paling.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out, young one.” A third voice said, emerging from the woodland as a trio of unicorns followed swiftly behind. Luna trotted forward, a scowl on her face. The unicorns all lit their horns, grasping the lavender mare in a tight embrace of magic. One pushed a magical inhibitor on the alicorn’s horn as she continued to protest.
“How dare you?! My mother shall have your heads!”
Luna frowned further, pure malice filling her voice as she snapped at the young mare. “Take her to cell block two. NOW!” The unicorns scampered off, the Princess’s angry shouts slowly fading off.
Luna fell to her haunches, resting her hooves in the grass as she looking towards the castle ruins. “I had hoped to never meet her offspring.” Her voice was but a mere whisper as she bowed her head. It was solemn and sad, regret littering the ancient alicorn’s words. “But I am glad that it is thou whom she crashed into, Rainbow Dash. The others would have… well, you know better than I what our soldiers do.”
Rainbow Dash sat down beside her, resting a hoof on the mare’s leg. “It was unexpected. I thought she was supposed to be untouchable but we captured her without much resistance. Do you think it’s a trap?”
“No. I do not think it is a trap, Rainbow Dash. A tyrant she may be yet she would never send her own kin to do her dirty work. Especially her own daughter.” Luna’s short mane flowed with the breeze as she raised her head. “I trust you to keep her presence a secret. I shall have a word to the others once this is sorted.”
“I will never let you down, Luna,” Dash responded with a grin. “For the moon.”
“For the moon.”