"Wait for it. . . wait. . . . . DROP!"
Six pegasi dropped from a single cloud and soared out into a cloudy night sky. Flying as a coordinated team, they maneuvered in almost perfect unison. At the head of the V-formation, Rainbow Dash was enthusiastically instructing her friends in aerobatics.
"Starry, tighten up! Stratus, don't flap so hard; you'll wear yourself out sooner. Just glide."
They operated like a well-oiled machine, each one adjusting themself to maximize speed, agility, and performance. And Rainbow Dash was at the head of it all. A set of five pony mannequins had been set up in a clearing below, leading to the next phase of the exercise.
"Targets below! Blow 'em up!"
On cue, each of her squadron (including Nightshade, behind her) pulled from their belts a small metal orb, no larger than an orange. They then hurled them down towards the dummies. A second later, the balls exploded, blasting the targets about the range. One was even ripped in two. As the group flew past the smoldering debris, Rainbow Dash turned her eyes downrange.
"Nice hit, Shadowbolts, but don't get cocky! We're coming up on another round! Light 'em up!"
This clearing was larger, and the mannequins weren't lined up, but scattered almost randomly. The V-formation of Shadowbolts dipped to mere hooves above the treeline, and each pony pulled out a small, torch-like device. Aiming the wider end of the weapon towards their target, they each gave a solid squeeze on the handle. Five solid blasts of sound followed, and as the Shadowbolts returned to cruising altitude, their targets began to bleed through their buckshot-spray wounds. Dash had to admit, the unicorn engineers and chemists developing these things were geniuses. But, as a joke among the squadron went, these strafe-run practices were as dangerous for the flyers as for those on the ground; often they were half-training, half-testing for the weaponsmiths. And besides, Dash always preferred the personal touch of hoof-to-hoof combat.
"Alright, Shadowbolts, eyes below! We've got one more wave! This time it's two each! Slice and dice!"
In the upcoming clearing, a set of ten targets had been set up, paired and spread out. Each Shadowbolt flicked out twin combat knives from their foreleg belts; a soldier's last resort for self-defense. If there was a weapon each one needed to be deadly proficient in, it was this one. They descended on their targets, breaking apart to take them on individually. Stratus (predictably) rammed a blade into the throat of the first mannequin he could find, then launched over it to land a downward stab in the head of the other. Charger cleverly bucked one over, then slit the throat of the other before returning to stab the first in the gut. Starry somersaulted in midair over her first target, quickly spinning as she landed to stab it in the flank. She then moved into a forward roll, and with a single beat of her wings, launched up over the other mannequin, bringing her second knife into its cheek as she passed over. If that pony had one skill in combat, it was her gymnastics. But Dash's attention had been taken towards Blueball, who always had an interesting way of doing this part of the exercise. As soon as she made it to her first mannequin, her hooves entered into a series of lightning-quick slashes and stabs, and a second later, the target's head literally fell into small pieces on the ground. Second, she leapt to the other and planted her knives in its shoulders, just above the forelegs. Her crackling electrical mane then loosed itself across both of them, showering the field with a blinding neon-blue burst of light. Seconds later, she stepped away, the light ceased, and all that was left in front of her was a pile of smoldering ash. But noticing that Nightshade had just reached her targets, Dash redirected her attention; Nightshade was always the best at this, even better than her. Nightshade launched her left-hooved knife up into the first mannequin's neck, then spun to stab her other knife into its side. Using leverage off that move, the right-hoof knife, removed from its initial wound, was then thrown towards the other target, embedding itself in its skull with unerring accuracy. And now that the last one was down, Dash could clock the exercise; she quickly clicked the stopwatch button and read the time.
"One minute, 19.3 seconds. Nice work, Shadowbolts, six seconds shaved off, time to review. First off, everypony did well with the thunderbombs. Next time we practice, I want us to put some extra work into putting spin on our throws. With the hoof cannons, we still have some room for improvement, but since the tech is unfamiliar, I can understand that. Charger, be sure you point the gun straight at the target until it fires. Your shot went wide because you were trying to pull it out, shoot, and resheath it too fast. Take your time and focus on getting a hit. Let's talk about knives. Everypony got their two kills, but we've got a kink or two to work out. Starry, you're acrobatic, and that's a good skill to have, but when you're in melee combat, focus less on being flashy and more on landing blows. You barely even killed one of them. Blueball, once again your speed and ability to supercharge yourself impresses me. The only thing is that you're lingering too long after the kill is guaranteed; you don't need to literally dice your target's head up or burn them to a crisp, just slash them somewhere vital or give them a second's worth of lethal charge. You'll rack up more kills that way. Other than that, great work, everypony. Nightshade, you want to trade out with me for the next run, you spot, I kill?"
"Sure, Dash. Hey, word of advice, when a spotter pegasus finds enemies at night, they should light them up by dropping a flare. That way other forces can attack, not just the squadron the pony is spotting for."
"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot that. Thanks for the heads up. Now let's go restock the killing fields; I think Unicorn Battery B is due for artillery practice in an hour. Once we're done with that, everypony take two laps on the Timberwolf route to cool down, then we're done for the night."
The six began the long walk to the storage building to get new targets for the range. Stratus, naturally the most athletic of them on his hooves, led the pack, with Charger, Blueball, and Starry following. Nightshade and Dash intentionally strayed behind.
“So, what’s it like being the Princess’s personal apprentice?”
“Actually, it’s really exciting. I don’t know if she told you, but Luna used to be a really great flier. She’s been teaching me all these cool tricks I can do with my speed, and I think it even involves some dark magic.”
“Ooh, living on the edge. Sounds like your kind of life.”
“You know it.”
“But how do you balance it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean balancing being the personal apprentice of Princess Luna, future captain of the Shadowbolts, at night with living in the day as a best friend to 5 of the best-known ponies in Equestria, including Celestia’s apprentice?”
“Well, I guess the recharge spell we get helps a lot.”
“Obviously. . . But be careful. You can’t let either of these lives bleed over to the other. If Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, comes too close to Rainbow Dash, warrior of the night, both will collapse on each other.”
“Yeah, I worry about that sometimes, like if my friends found out what I was doing here, what they would think. But even if they did, we don’t have a lot to worry about; only one of them would actually lift a hoof to fight if they had the choice, two are too naïve to think anything bad about me, and another is too preoccupied with getting her hooves dirty to actually do anything. As for Twilight, she may be Celestia’s personal apprentice, but she’s no fighter. I could take her in my sleep, if I slept anymore.”
“But if there came a time when you had to choose between them and us, could you make that choice? Think about it for a second: would you be willing to leave, even fight against your friends if they came against us?”
The conversation hit a somewhat-natural pause.
“You know… truth be told, that’s a decision I hoped I’d never have to make. And I do care about my old friends. But with them, I feel like I’m always playing second fiddle, like the Elements of Harmony is really the Great and Powerful Twilight Sparkle and her five sidekicks.”
“Funny you should mention Trixie; I think we actually recruited her.”
“No kidding. But what I mean is my normal life has kind of hit a dead end. If the Wonderbolts wanted me, they would have told me by now. My career isn’t exactly full of potential, and to Celestia, I’m just one of the necklaces. But with Luna, I lead an army. I’m getting stronger and faster every night. And I have you guys to hang with. There’s so much I can become here. So yes, I know I’d choose you over Twilight Sparkle any night.”
“That’s great to know. Like you said before, the other 5 are weak; the only real threat they pose is when they use the Elements. And how can they use them against one of their own?”
“Exactly. I was thinking it over after that field strategy class a week ago, and those five are no threat at all, especially if we disable Twilight. Since she’s the natural leader, her absence will keep the others disorganized and confused. But if she alerts Celestia once she finds out what we’re doing, we’ve got a whole different battle on our hooves.”
"So the soldiers aren't Equestria's?"
In the halls of the Royal Palace in Canterlot, a report had given way to discussion between Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia. The atmosphere was fraught with fearful tension.
"No, there are no Equestrian military bases anywhere near the Everfree Forest. The only official presence there is in the few lookout posts we've set up to watch for fires. You said this wasn't a tower?"
"No, none of the buildings were more than a few stories high. Everything was below the treeline; from the air, you couldn't tell anything was there."
"Interesting. And a group of Wonderbolts reported being ambushed by criminals while on fire patrol in the same area, only a week ago. How did you say you found this base?"
"Well, I had been studying weather patterns in the Everfree Forest, to try and develop some idea of the area's climate. Since nature practically runs itself there, the concept of predicting weather fascinated me. But I needed atmospheric data, and I can't fly, so about two months ago I commissioned Rainbow Dash to gather it. I gave her a set of instruments to wear as she flew around the Everfree, and for a few weeks she turned in data, no problem. But one day she brought the instruments back in; every one had been damaged. She said a patch of turbulence made her crash, but that didn't add up to me. So I took the geo-locator crystal, a tool I had enchanted to record where the instruments were collecting their data, to the last place it marked. That was a meadow in the western quarter of the Everfree, and I decided to venture out there with my friends. I tried to get Rainbow Dash to come along, but she said she was too busy working out. We get to the meadow, and things look perfectly normal, but Pinkie says she's spotted something. We follow her, and she's apparently found an unmarked trail. It's late in the evening by now, almost completely dark. At the end of the trail is where we found the base. It was full of ponies of all kinds doing military drills, weapons practice, and hoof-to-hoof combat. We spied around for a minute or so, then made a quick exit. When we got back to Ponyville, I told the others to keep quiet about it and teleported here to report to you."
"That's more than enough information, Twilight, and I'm glad you brought this to me so quickly. Any army in Equestria that isn't my Guard can't have good intentions. I leave Luna's forces alone, but I've never known her to keep more than a personal guard team. But your story tells me one thing: whatever is happening, Rainbow Dash has a part to play in it. Don't tell her about what you've seen. Tomorrow at dawn, I'll begin mobilizing Guards to raid the compound. It should take only a few days before we have enough force to attack. If this army has anything worse than a decimal out of place on its tax returns, we'll find out and shut them down. Once we know the whole truth, we can deal with Rainbow Dash in regards to her role in this conspiracy. But whatever it is, we will stamp it out before it can gain an inch of ground."
Having made her way to the training field, Rainbow Dash searched for her mentor after finishing cooldown with the Shadowbolts. The traditional bonfire burned less intensely than before, casting an ominous glow across the forest clearing. She called out into the darkness, mindful of the likelihood she simply could not see the princess in the shadows.
"Luna?... Princess Luna? You wanted to see me?"
Before her, however, a completely different figure dropped from the night sky. Her black body and ethereal blue mane triggered an almost primal fear in Rainbow Dash.
"Ahh, Rainbow Dash! It is good to see you! How is your squadron progressing?"
The deepened voice confirmed it for the cyan pegasus; there was no mistaking who she had come face-to-face with. She dropped back into a fighting stance: hooves spread out, wings flared, and eyes on her enemy.
"Nightmare Moon! What have you done with Princess Luna? Wherever you came from, I'm gonna send you back!"
A glare of confusion, followed by a subtle bemusement, came across the villain's face. She closed her wings, and her mane began to expand and swirl around her, like a cloud with a mind of its own. The swirling motion began to slow after a few seconds, and as it shrunk back to normal size, it revealed Princess Luna beneath. Rainbow Dash was unsurprisingly startled.
"Luna? I thought you weren't Nightmare Moon anymore."
Luna chuckled softly.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, only in a technical sense. I'm not sure what my sister told you after you 'defeated' me, but Nightmare Moon and I were always one and the same. I only adopted the new form to better match my sister physically, as well as in presence. In another world, I might never have used it like I did, and Nightmare Moon would simply be Princess Luna in a stronger body. I was in complete control of myself the entire time we fought, though my thousand years on the moon were no great help to my psychological stability."
"But... the Elements... they turned you back to normal, didn't they? If they didn't take care of Nightmare Moon's influence over you, what did they...?"
"Merely weakened me to the point where I could no longer hold that form. Don't let Celestia fool you, that's all the Elements are: weapons disguised as jewelry. Sometimes they throw in a showy touch, like turning Discord to stone, or sending me to the moon. But they have no use beyond attacking an enemy. At least, that's the only use she lets them have."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, that's a long story, going back to the beginnings of our rule. After we brought down Discord, Celestia, being the oldest, naturally took to politics. Technically I was her equal in authority, but we both knew she was the dominant one. While she ran Equestria, I was given time to pursue other interests, like science, foreign culture, and the arts. I took particular interest in studying magical artifacts, including the Elements of Harmony. What I found was that when combined and channeled by powerful magic, the Elements were a wellspring of limitless power. With them, you could not only vanquish an enemy, but also accelerate the growth of crops, manipulate the weather on a massive scale, or even change a pony's species."
"You mean like giving a pony wings, or a horn?"
"Exactly. I shared this with Celestia immediately; I made all sorts of plans to use the power of the Elements to turn Equestria into a paradise. But she soon told me to throw them all out; the Elements would remain locked in the vault until a time of national crisis."
"What? Why?"
"According to her, Equestria wasn't ready for that kind of power. She said it was too risky to attempt. But I knew it was just because she feared such reform would loosen her grip on power. I threatened to take my finding public, and around that time, according to prevailing history, I grew jealous of the attention Celestia was getting. You know the rest, I trust."
"You mean you got banished to the moon for trying to improve Equestria?"
"Well, there were other things. There is some truth in the 'jealousy' story; I was upset about the lack of attention my night recieved, but there was never a plan for 'eternal night'."
"But when you came back, didn't you say...?"
"Like I said, I was partially insane at the time. But that is unimportant. All I did was mention the possibility of reversing night and day during the winter and fall, so that ponies would be active during the night, and sleep in the day. But with the power of the Elements, it wouldn't have meant end of the world; crops would gain strength from moonlight, not sunlight; ponies would become naturally nocturnal, et cetera. In short, nothing would've changed, except that ponies would live their daily lives under the beautiful starlit skies instead of a single blazing sun."
"That doesn't sound so wrong..."
"There was another issue. Remember how I said I studied foreign cultures while Celestia ruled? Well, when I was studying Gryffanian culture, I came across a concept called democracy. It's a style of government where common ponies vote for their leaders instead of them being appointed. Complete democracies elect every position from national executive to local sheriff. But by allowing the ponies to choose their own leaders through voting, it ensures that the government works for them, not against them. My idea was that while Celestia and I would remain supreme rulers of Equestria, lesser positions, such as ministers, ambassadors, and parliamentary representatives would be filled by popular vote."
"What are parliamentary representatives?"
"Oh yes, you wouldn't know about Parliament. The way it used to work was that Celestia would appoint representatives from the population centers of Equestria to work together in a large group called the Parliament, each representative trying to advance the interests of their region. Things such as new taxes, foreign treaties, and declarations of war could only go through with a successful vote in Parliament. Of course, Celestia disbanded the Parliament just before my banishment."
"And I take it she didn't like the idea of democracy, either?"
"Not in the least. She dreaded the possibility of losing power once she had it, including the power of appointing government officials. For all her great qualities, I was never sure whether she was simply that attached to her power as monarch or if she had a pathological inability to trust other ponies. I now understand it is a mixture of the two."
"So let me get this straight: because you're the younger sister, Celestia ruled Equestria practically without you. Because you never got to be involved in running the country, you found not only ways to use the Elements to improve Equestria, but also a better and more fair style of government. When you tried to do something with your discoveries, Celestia shot you down every time, and when you asked for a chance to be appreciated, she took the opportunity to send you to the moon."
"The end is a little more complicated than you make it out to be. That fateful evening was the occasion I threatened Celestia that I would share my findings about the Elements with the public if she would not let me use them. Celestia knew this could incite rebellion if it was discovered she had intentionally withheld such potential greatness from them. She told me I would be imprisoned for treason if I opened my mouth about the issue. She threatened me not as a sister, not as a friend, but as a common criminal. All she saw in me was a threat to her continuing reign over ponykind. And that was the last straw. In the minutes that followed, I became Nightmare Moon and we engaged in an epic battle across Canterlot. In the end, she got her hooves on the Elements of Harmony and banished me to the moon."
Everything Rainbow Dash thought she knew about Equestrian history had just been turned on its head.
"Oh my... I never thought Celestia could be such a tyrant! And that ponies still worship her today, even though she grabbed power that never should've been hers! But there are two things I still don't get. One, why are you telling all this to me? Two, why were you just Nightmare Moon?"
"Well, the second question will be easiest to answer. Simply put, I love being Nightmare Moon. In addition to the numerous physical advantages, it also improves the strength of my magic. It is in every aspect superior to this meek form; I enjoyed every minute of being Nightmare Moon."
"But when we hit you with the Elements of Harmony and you turned back to normal Luna, you ran to Celestia and begged for her to forgive you. You weren't mad about being depowered, so..."
"Clever acting on my part, Rainbow Dash. I believe I've lost the ability to love my sister, but in any era ponies eat up that kind of mushy apology. But as for why I'm telling you this... how to phrase it? When I fought Celestia the first time, I was being impulsive. I charged her head-on, hoping to overpower her through pure force. I see now how foolish that approach was."
"Wait, you mean you're..."
"Tell me, Rainbow Dash, do you vote for the ponies who run the government?"
"Well, sure. I vote for the mayor, and...um... I vote for the..."
"Exactly. Celestia instituted democracy on the smallest scale possible because she knew other ponies would eventually come to the same conclusions I did. But anything beyond the local level is an appointment by royal authority. Is that true democracy?"
"Well, no. No, it isn't!"
"There's my point. A thousand years or so may have passed, but the same problems that I tried to fix still exist today. The Elements still have as much potential as they did before, if not more, now that they are wielded by true bearers. But no matter the age, Celestia will oppose any attempt to use that potential. Do you remember when you first began as my apprentice, I told you war was coming? This is what I meant; the time has come to bring down my sister, for the good of the nation."
"Wait, overthrow Celestia? Hold on a second, I can't be a part of that!"
"Why not? Can you think of some justification for her abuses of power, something that I could not? Believe me, Rainbow Dash, I tried. I once loved my sister more than life itself; I probed every possibility to find a way to persuade myself that she was doing what was right. But I found nothing. Infinite power has corrupted her, and she must be removed from the throne if there is any hope of redeeming her or advancing Equestria."
"But I'm the Element of Loyalty! I can't revolt against my own Princess!"
"Ah, yes, I was expecting this conflict to come up eventually. What you must decide, as the Element of Loyalty, is what are you loyal to? What is it? Is it your Princess? Your friends? Yourself? Ideally, you'd be loyal to all of these things, but what happens when you must decide between one or another?"
"Gee, I guess I haven't had to make a lot of those decisions..."
"I'd think Discord at least exposed you to the possibility when he force you to choose between your friends and Cloudsdale. You thought that Cloudsdale would crumble if you stayed with them, so you left to 'save' your home. Overall, I would commend the decision, based on what you thought were the facts. But the thing about your friends, Cloudsdale, any of those things, is that they all fall away."
"What?"
"Very little in this world lasts. Entire nations fall, governments become corrupt, ponies die or abandon you, even your own body will weaken over time. I've seen it all in my long life. There is little that deserves your true loyalty. You commit yourself to your friends, a city, or even an entire country, you'll die and be forgotten. You are merely another pony."
"So what should I be loyal to?"
Luna paused for a second, to ponder the best way to put what she would say next.
"As I said, if your true loyalty goes to yourself, institutions, or other ponies, it will fail you in the end; you will still be an ordinary pony, Element of Loyalty or not. But... if you make yourself more than just a pony, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if nothing can stop you...then you become something else entirely."
"Which is..."
"A legend, Rainbow Dash."
"A legend?"
"Yes. You could be the one who brought justice to Equestria, who ended the reign of a tyrant and ushered in a new age of democracy and prosperity. That could be your legend. So I'll ask simply: will you stand with me against Celestia?"
Rainbow Dash took a pause of her own, to think on the weighty decision she was about to make.
"I've stood to defend Celestia plenty of times. But after what you've told me, I'm the one she'll need defense from. I'm in."
"Then welcome to the Army of the New Lunar Republic, Rainbow Dash. Let us return to Camp Blacklight; we must plan our strategy for the coming revolution."