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// Prologue - Tea for Two 
// Story: No Light 
// by Vargras 
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Tea for two — never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed that such an inconspicuous term would cause her to be so afraid. To any other pony, an invitation to have tea with Princess Luna seemed like a rather lovely state of affairs, especially after her thousand-year absence. Few ponies ever got to have any personal time with the Royal Sisters, and to have a chance at such a thing seemed like it would be sure to make one's day.

Captain Procella, of course, knew otherwise. Despite being one of the many bat ponies or, as she would be quick to correct, 'opliptera', the captain had managed to make a bit of a name for herself. Built just as thinly as their pegasi cousins, she wasn't exactly an intimidating figure to begin with, but she more than made up for that with her demeanor, something which had quickly allowed her to advance through the ranks. With a huff, the mare muscled her way past a pair of royal guards and simply proceeded onwards, leaving them with nothing to look at but a charcoal coat and a light gray mane as she disappeared down a side passage.

As captain of the Night Guard, she had grown used to these little meetings, and what appeared to be a simple social visit was, in actuality, both something more and something that lacked a clear definition. Tea with Princess Luna could be a debriefing, or it could be an assignment. Tea with the Princess held the potential of either a promotion, or something far worse. However, several years spent in the employ of the Royal Sisters had allowed Procella to wisen up — by now, she certainly knew what to watch and listen for. The oh-so-subtle changes in body language, those faint inflections in speech — each of them a hint, a way to read the Royal Sisters and know how they felt about every little thing they said or did.

Given how the invitation had been worded, Princess Luna was... displeased, though 'impatient' might have been a better word. The why wasn't the question — Procella knew that answer already. The Princess of the Night wished to know the results of the latest mission carried out by her own Night Guard, something she had every right to know. If anything, it was the how, and the captain was rather hesitant to talk about that. With a sigh, the mare ducked down another side passage and approached a pair of unassuming doors, slate blue eyes looking up to inspect them. Despite being of medium height compared to most other ponies her age, the doors themselves still managed to tower above her. Even after seeing them before, they were just as intimidating as ever. After glancing about to make sure the area was clear, she cracked one open and slipped inside, quickly shutting it behind herself.

Past the doors was a very small room—the former war room of the castle, fallen into disuse due to the countless truces and peace treaties that had been arranged over the years—with a map of Equestria covering the entirety of the walls. At the center of the room was a table and two seats, and in one of those seats, Princess Luna herself. The dusky alicorn eyed her visitor carefully, taking a sip of her tea and setting down the cup before gesturing towards the empty seat. "Sit."

Procella quickly made her towards the empty seat and did as told, sitting down and facing the Princess from the opposite side of the table. And then, she waited — hierarchy dictated that, with Princess Luna grossly outranking her, she ought to speak only when spoken to. The captain stared at the Princess of the Night, occasionally glancing downwards at the cup of tea in front of her, only to direct her attention back towards the alicorn. The magically-lit candles which dotted the room served only to make the experience all the more unsettling for her. The blue light they had the tendency to create had always been too eerie, too... wrong, and in such a light, it made Luna herself seem more terrible than Procella thought possible. 

But perhaps that had been the intent, to weaken the resolve of any others within the room, and to make it clear that this was her domain. Regardless, the Princess found her captain's lack of comfort to be somewhat amusing, a faint grin spreading across her face. Rather than speak to her guest, Luna turned towards the vast map that lined the walls of the room, and appeared to study it for several moments, eyes darting here and there as she charted out... something. She soon spoke once more, staring at Procella out of the corner of her eye. "Not in the mood for tea, captain?"

"No, milady."

"Business as usual, then."

"Yes, milady."

Princess Luna slowly nodded and levitated her cup up once more, giving it a sip before turning and narrowing her eyes at the mare. "Well?"

"Oh!" Procella momentarily panicked and quickly hopped to her hooves, running over towards a spot on the map and clearing her throat before pointing at an area with her hoof. "Well, we... we moved along to the designated area, as you ordered."

"Trotsdam, which has been a fairly active area as of late."

"Correct. We arrived not long after midnight and immediately began a sweep of the area. All citizens asleep, so no interference from any of them."

"Good."

"Things continued along until roughly three hours after we arrived, at which point we were about..." Procella moved her hoof along the map, tracing a path that lead from the town of Trotsdam to a spot outside the Everfree Forest. "...here. It was at this point that both Sergeant Noctis and Neophyte Lepus began to report feeling... uneasy."

Luna leaned forward in her seat, narrowing her eyes once more. "Uneasy about what?"

"They... they didn't say, milady. Just said that they had a bad feeling about things."

"And you ignored it, didn't you?"

The captain lowered her voice and slowly nodded. "...Yes, milady."

With a huff, the alicorn waved a hoof. "Continue."

"We moved on for about another hour, continuing our route along the border of the Everfree Forest, at which point we were ambushed."

"As to be expected. I didn't send you out there for nothing, after all. Your results?"

"Well, milady, Neophyte Lepus fell almost immediately."

Princess Luna slowly nodded, and though her ears had quickly flattened from such news, she instead remained stoic. "Tell me, captain — did he suffer?"

Procella stared back at the Princess of the Night for a moment, swallowing hard, and carefully broached the subject. "No, milady. It... I'm almost certain it was instantaneous."

"...'Say not in grief: "He is no more." but live in thankfulness that he was'." The alicorn sighed and took another sip of tea, and despite her best attempts to appear calm and collected, her expression had already softened considerably. "'Tis an old saying my sister told to me, one she picked up from the gryphons. I believe she learned it shortly after negotiating the peace treaty with them, which was well over a thousand years ago. Very nice kingdom they have, albeit a little too militaristic for Celestia's tastes. Then again, she was always—"

The captain softly coughed, drawing Luna's attention towards herself. "Milady?"

"I'm... rambling again, aren't I? Apologies, captain, 'tis a—"

"Coping mechanism. I know, milady." Procella allowed the Princess a brief moment of silence, shifting on her hooves somewhat. "When you're ready, milady."

"Right, yes." Luna relaxed in her seat, pressing one hoof to her forehead and waving the other in the direction of the opliptera. "Continue, please."

"As you wish. At that point, myself, Lieutenant Caelum, Sergeant Noctis, and Sergeant Corvus all made our way towards a clearing."

"...I assume you were waiting for the fighting to subside before taking off?"

"Yes, milady. By the time we managed to scare off what was left of the enemy, Lieutenant Caelum was missing entirely. No trace at all."

Upon hearing this, Luna scowled and stared at Procella. "So, on what was to be a routine cleanup job, you managed to lose two of my children?"

"Not... not entirely, milady." The captain quickly trotted along the wall and towards the spot of Canterlot on the map, placing a hoof on it. "We managed to find the lieutenant again, though there's been a... complication, of sorts."

The Princess slowly eased back in her chair, eyes locked upon the opliptera. "Explain."

"The Royal Guard found her wandering the streets of Canterlot, yelling all manner of obscenities. They apparently recognized the uniform, suspected her of desertion, and threw her in the brig."

"I know there's a 'but' in this, captain."

"One of our informants within the Royal Guard evidently stopped by her cell and got a good look at her. They said that it's possible we may have an incident unless it's contained."

Luna let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead with one of her hooves. "...Well then."

Slowly, Procella walked away from the map and towards the sitting Princess, stopping only to stand at attention in front of her. "I... know it's not the news you were hoping for, milady, but... your orders?"

"Send somepony to retrieve Neophyte Lepus, and see to it he receives the honors he deserves."

"And the lieutenant?"

The alicorn sighed once more and shook her head. "...Purge the lieutenant, captain. We can't afford to have an incident on our hooves, especially with her in the Royal Guard's custody. Just be quick about it. It's what she deserves."

"It will be done, milady." Procella placed a single hoof to her chest and took a brief bow before quickly leaving the room, shutting the door behind herself.

Alone again, Princess Luna picked up her cup of tea and took another sip, her eyes darting across the map once more. Her plans, for the time being, were hers alone, but soon they would be made manifest. Until then, she would simply have to bide her time, watching and waiting. A sigh, another sip, and a single line, spoken towards the map.

"As it should be."