The individual Lunar Guards, persecuted and leaderless, reintegrated into Equestrian society as though they had never left. The majority of them were reservists, with families and day jobs the return to. The unusually long absence was explained any number of ways, and the news of Nightmare Moon's return was as much a shock to them as it was to anypony else. But they held onto their armor, hidden but ready, in case that call for justice ever rose again.
The full-timers, even Luna's personal guards who were familiar faces around the castle, knew they needed to disappear as well. Most simply created new lives for themselves, finding new jobs, some even starting families. A small group of those who worked at Camp Blacklight were able to forge new identities and join the Equestrian Royal Guard. Though unconnected in this new environment, their superiors all noted how quickly they adapted to military life, and their remarkable all-around proficiency. Promotions were recommended in almost all cases.
The dead presented a more difficult problem, especially where reservists with families were concerned. The Lunar Guard leaders agreed that their fallen comrades deserved full military rites, but secrecy still had to be maintained. Because Camp Blacklight had been discovered, it would not be safe to bury them there, in case their graves were discovered and their identities with them. Instead, the surviving Guards found a clearing deep in the Everfree Forest during their return, mustered as best they could, and held a mass military funeral. The fallen were buried in their armor, hooves across their chests and weapons at their sides, following Guard tradition. Their families were not notified, to protect both the survivors from discovery and the families themselves from the shame and suspicion that would follow if the circumstances of their loved ones' deaths were made public. There was speculation, of course, but little more came of it. However, one week later, every fallen Lunar Guard's family received a moon-blue rose on their doorstep.
"Alright, stallions, let's start pulling this place apart!"
In the wake of Nightmare Moon's unsuccessful revolution, one of the first orders of business was the investigation, then destruction of Camp Blacklight. Well-built as it was, it was an enemy military installation, and too remote to be useful to the Equestrian Royal Guard. Any records or documents would be recovered and sent to Military Intelligence in Canterlot, and any useful equipment would be salvaged by the Corps of Engineers. The rest was to be brought down and sold for scrap. Leading the operation was First Lieutenant Wild Card, a pegasus with a penchant for gambling. He hadn't seen any action five days ago in the Battle of Canterlot, but this was the next best thing: knocking down the enemy's fort! But before he got to start wrecking things, those egghead MI ponies and engineers had to grab anything they thought was useful. And here came one now, what did she want?
"Sir, the, uh, door on the command center won't open."
"What?"
"We've tried forcing it, but it just won't move. We think it's locked."
"Of course it's locked, you civvie! This is a frickin' military base! Let me show you how we handle locked doors around here."
With a huff of irritation, he marched her over to the command center door, stepped up to it, then turned away.
"Watch. You raise one hoof, then... buck!"
With a sharp kick, Wild Card did indeed force the door to open. However, in the split-second he had to be proud of himself, he did not realize that forcing the door open had triggered an enchantment on it, though he momentarily discovered what the enchantment was connected to. Before his hoof even hit the ground, a blast of fire roared out of the building, engulfing him instantly. Several more jets of fire shot out the windows, accompanying the sound of a ground-shaking explosion. The ground shook once more alongside another boom as the side wings of the command center burst out in flames. The roar and tremors continued as other buildings across the camp exploded, flinging shrapnel-like splinters and flaming logs everywhere. The Guard's salvage team was trapped in the middle of Tartarus, and more ponies fell with every blast. By the time the sequence of explosions had ended, every building in Camp Blacklight had either been blown up, burnt down or crushed by flaming debris. There were no survivors.
Weary from at least three days without sleep, Celestia struggled to contain the damage done by she and her sister's last confrontation. First she had to tend to the wounded and dead Royal Guards, then try and round up the escaped Lunar Guards who participated in the rebellion. Wonderbolts would need to be posted around the Everfree to spot escapees and guard Luna's hidden base from civilian eyes. Then there was repairing the damage to the Palace, completely rebuilding Canterlot Tower and recovering the Elements of Harmony. Twilight and her friends would need counseling, Twilight especially, and then there was Nightmare Moon's revenge threat to worry about. It was a difficult and taxing situation, and there did not appear to be an end in sight yet. Presently she was engaged in a discussion with Penstroke, her chief Royal Correspondent.
"The news media wants an answer, Princess!" There's too much for us to pretend it never happened, and if we don't give them something, they'll start speculating, and then..."
"Yes, yes, Penstroke, I know. But there are so many details woven together that we have to figure out what we can say without contradicting the obvious or ourselves. We should at least get something on paper, to work off of and improve. Take a draft: Two days ago, the city of Canterlot was attacked by Princess Luna, who had taken the form of Nightmare Moon once more. She was aided by a paramilitary group which she had amassed and been training at an unknown location. Fortunately, the Equestrian Royal Guard was able to rout them and repel Nightmare Moon. We are currently seeking out members of the paramilitary group so that they may stand trial for their crimes. However, we must also report that in her first act of terror, Nightmare Moon was able to deceive and kill Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty."
"So we're covering up Rainbow Dash's actions in all of this?"
"What else can we do? I do not know if Rainbow Dash was acting of her own free will or how Nightmare Moon influenced her, but she served Equestria faithfully several times over. She does not deserve a legacy of ignominy and treason. And if the public hears that the Element of Loyalty could be convinced to betray me, how long before somepony else discovers Luna's subversive philosophy and agrees with it? No, in this case, the truth serves nopony, so we lie for the good of everypony."
"So be it. What will we say about..."
"Your Majesty!"
At that moment, a Royal Guard burst through the chamber doors; it was Marathon, Celestia's personal messenger.
"One second. What news, Marathon?"
"Quite a bit, your Majesty, and little of it good. First, Camp Blacklight was destroyed."
"You mean we demolished it?"
"No, it was destroyed. Somehow, our salvage team triggered a series of explosions that leveled the camp. Wonderbolts spotted and were able to contain the fire, but none of the salvage team survived, nor could we recover any documents or hardware. We believe at this time it was some sort of self-destruct system."
"I understand. What else?"
"Second, a reconnaissance post in the deserts out west reported a horde of changelings was moving towards Canterlot. We don't know for certain what their intentions are, but they're almost undoubtedly hostile. We'll need a shield around the city."
"Shining Armor is still in recovery, but I will let him know."
"With all due respect, your Majesty, we will need the Elements of Harmony to stand a chance at repelling them. What will we do now that the Element of Loyalty is dead?"
"I'm not sure, Marathon. I don't know if the Element will choose a new bearer, and if so, how we may find that bearer. It was luck that we discovered Rainbow Dash in the first place, and we still know very little about how the Elements function. I will let you know when we have a definite answer."
"Thank you, your Majesty. The last news I have to report is that a convoy from the Federal Mint carrying new bits to the Reserve in Appleloosa was attacked last night."
"By whom?"
"We don't know. All of the cargo was stolen, and both Guards and the driver were incapacitated. The convoy was discovered by a hiker passing through the area and the investigation began overnight. But we do have one clue: one of the Guards told us that before he blacked out, he could see a group of ponies 'with coats as dark as the night sky and frightening yellow eyes' offloading the bits."
"The Shadowbolts."
"Mmm. The driver said something similar, but what he noticed about the pony who attacked him was that in addition to a dark coat and yellow eyes, her mane sported 'all the colors of the rainbow.'"
Back home in Ponyville, Twilight rolled out of bed, only to wince as her back right hoof hit the floor. The wound had received proper treatment after the battle, but doctors said it was so severe that it might affect her gait for the rest of her life. They could not do anything about the scar left on her muzzle, either. Maybe that was Rainbow Dash's way of ensuring I wouldn't forget about her. Limping down the stairs, she found Spike boiling a kettle of water for tea. He would get an explanation when the time was right.
"Urghh, what time is it?"
"Little past eleven in the morning, Twilight. You've been practically dead in your room since that Guard brought you home yesterday. Heh, you were so out he had to carry you up to your bed! By the way, how'd you get that nasty-looking scar on your face?"
"Wrong topic. Did anything important happen while I was gone?"
"No, not really. No visitors, as usual, all junk mail, no messages; just three normal days in Ponyville! Except for that extra-long eclipse, that was weird. Do you know what was up with that?"
"Once again, wrong topic. Have we opened up for the day?"
"No, I didn't want to without you."
"Well, we probably ought to do that, then."
Twilight stumbled towards the front door to flip the sign in the window, when she saw a piece of paper that had been slid under the door. It was an annoying form of advertisement, one Twilight was all too used to. Note to self: tell the Mayor there ought to be a law. But when she picked it up and read it, she realized it was no ordinary ad. It was black lettering on white paper, nothing fancy, but in big bold words it said:
E.D.D.
Equestrians Demanding Democracy
First meeting tonight at Sugarcube Corner, 7 p.m.
No more tyranny!
At the bottom of the page appeared to be some sort of crest or seal, composed of a griffon's claw crossed with a lion's paw.