//------------------------------// // Intermission: Cover Stories // Story: A Circle Has No End: Volume I // by Gladi Writes //------------------------------// The last week for Queen Luna had been brutal. Everything was going right to pot, all over Equestria. Malgavian had reported that apparently Archer had managed to extend his treason as far as Waylay Island, and that the Wonderbolt Fleet was steaming back home silently. She had postponed today's security briefing so that Field Martial Armour could arrive, along with Princess Twilight Sparkle. She had some news for them, and it was going to break their hearts. It needed to be done however. Outside that meeting room, Luna waited for her sister- always the first to arrive. It was time to create a cover up, for a cover up, to hide the truth. She paced as she considered her plan. Tell the population the war was going well, and that the military buildup on the continent was a drill. Tell the military leadership the war was failing, and to put all effort into preparing for invasion. The true purpose was not a drill, nor was it preparation for invasion. She needed the military at full readiness, Mezza Luna and Archer still both remained at large, and the Hollow Shades had gone silent. Entire company sized units of Night Guards had been seen moving, but by the time her loyalists could arrive they vanished. The purpose of the military build up was to prepare for civil war. Luna sighed, she had been on the other side of such a battle a thousand years go. Back then it was her, using the cover of night and her fanatic Night Guard to strike at the government. It only took three days for her to secure every major city, Celestia barely had a military at all back then- that was Luna's job. It was a quick coup, but she lost in the end anyway. For the better, as she had learned since then. Luna knew how Mezza Luna thought, how she planned, and how she would act. She had set a trap for her, using the bait of a meeting of changelings next week. That target was far to sweet for her to pass up, and it coincided with the day the Magnificent would finally come home. Mezza Luna thought it had been destroyed, she was in for a surprise. She paced back and forth before the door to the room, deep in thought. When all this had started she had expected to be fighting one enemy, on one front. Now she had to manage the traitorous elements in the Night Guard, discontent within the civilian population that was building over some damn manifesto, and-of course- the actual war. "Luna, you're going to dig a hole in the floor," Celestia said, startling Luna with a hoof on her shoulder. Luna turned and smiled, it was good to have her here, now. The one pony in the world she truly trusted. "Sister... you remember in our youth, we used to... talk?" Luna said, and her eyes began to shine dimly. Like this? Luna cringed at the effort, Telepathy was hard- especially to one whom hadn't done it for so long. Celestia's eyes came aglow as well. Why? Everything I am about to say is a lie, to you I entrust the truth. The fleet is victorious, and they are coming home. Her eyes hear everything, and the Magnificent is my instrument of Half Moon's destruction. Trust me. Luna's eyes stopped glowing, and a hoof shot up to her forehead as a fire burned in her head. "I trust you," Celestia said simply, and pushed open the door. She took her sister under her wing and led her inside. Luna nodded, and shook her head to clear it. "We're getting too old for this, we can't save them forever," Luna said, and took her place at the end of the long table- beside her sister. She may be Queen, but she still loved, and respected Celestia. "We won't have to, you're not the only schemer around here," Celestia said, smiling warmly- as always. Luna relaxed, her sister had that effect. Equestria might rapidly be falling apart, but Celestia's smile could calm her even so. Luna took a moment of her time to embrace her sister, and as she released her the newest addition to the nation- Duke Wildcard- strode in. He had the swagger of a pony that had more wealth and power then he knew what to do with, hopefully he would prove a better leader for his people then Chrysalis- which wasn't a very large challenge. He probably weighed as much as her anyway, Luna had reminded him of his boot camp appointment every night for the last week, which appeared to greatly annoy him- which greatly amused Luna. "Good evening Duke, you look well," Luna addressed, smirking. Wildcard bowed, just enough to call it that, and took his own seat near the end of the long table. "Good evening, I have to say I'm worried why you've called us all here, I've never known something like this to be good if it's in secret," he said. Astute as always, which was perfect. "You'll find out once the rest arrive, but you are... on the right track," Luna said, and put on a face of cold stoicism. Wildcard settled in, Luna let his mind run wild with possibilities. He was smart, even if a bit full of himself- amongst other things. A few minutes of silence later his wife, First Class, arrived and ambled over to her seat beside Celestia. Luna had, by this point, pretty much put management of Equestria in her hooves, and she was incredibly capable at the task. Recruitment was up 50%, she had reformed the farms into a more efficient collective- except for the holdout in Ponyville, and she had seen the old trains replaced by Crystal Imperial trains. One day she was going to run the country for real, everypony saw it. "Good evening your Highnesses," she said, and then smiled across at her husband, "Wildcard." "First Class," He said, bowing his head- notably lower then he had done so for Luna. "So, big secret meeting, I don't suppose we won the war?" First Class asked. "No." The Zebra Ambassador- a rarely seen figure in the castle, always watching from the sidelines- arrived next. Luna and Celestia both stood and bowed, they desperately needed Zebra support in the south, so all efforts were made to show their respects. "Good evening, Ambassador Vizitane," Luna addressed. He nodded, and took his seat beside Wildcard- whom barely noticed him. "Good evening your Highnesses, I don't suppose you're going to ask for our aid again? If so I have some news for you," He said. "And what would that be?" Luna asked. He sat back in his chair, and stretched his back and arms. "As of oh.. 1600 I think? Our forces crossed the Dune River, and have directly engaged the Saddle Arabian 'self defence' forces that annexed the port of Kazahkbarad. We're at war, your highness, and we aim to win," He explained. "We killed every last one of them by 1800, Saddle Arabia is going to burn for disrespecting the Empire," He gloated. "What does this mean for your contribution in the south?" Luna asked, worriedly. "That means we're going to do what we always have, and defend Snowy Cove. No more, no less, just as promised," he replied. Luna glared at him. "You promised you would attack with tens of thousands!" Vizitane laughed. "Your highness, please- if it isn't written, it never happened. The only thing written is our promise to defend Snowy Cove." Luna wanted more then anything to strike the insolent zebra, sneering defiantly at her. Her sisters hoof on her shoulder calmed her, and she remembered that he was right, and at the very least the Zebra's defence of Snowy Cove had split the southern forces in two. Almost immediately afterwards Princess Twilight arrived. She had been working on some project out in Ponyville, it was costing thousands- but she had the right to do it. Something about radio waves... "Good Evening, Princess Twilight," Luna said, and pleasantries were exchanged as she took her seat. She seemed off in another world, probably continuing her project even here. Finally, Field Martial Armour arrived- his wife was staying in the Crystal Empire. There was a rumour going around that they were going to attempt to secede, the fact the Crystal Imperial Legion hadn't been deployed yet- instead being kept for 'home guard'- was a rather chilling sign of that possibility. Even so, Armour as as loyal as they came. He sat beside his sister, and finally Luna began the meeting proper. Luna took a deep breath, and spoke. "I have called you all here tonight because I have some bad news, in fact I dare say this news is terrifying, and it will force us to change how we think about this war," Luna said, and paused to allow some time for their minds to draw conclusions. "The Magnificent has been lost, along with the entire expeditionary fleet. There were no survivors," Luna said. The audience gasped, Celestia as well. "Luna, this can't be true- Spitfire wouldn't let this happen!" Celestia exclaimed. "Spitfire is as mortal as any of us, as far as we can tell she was ambushed on her way to Waylay Island by a fleet of griffon ships- all armed with missiles. There was no escape, but her last transmission did say she got most of them," Luna said, and stood. "We need to prepare for the worst case scenario. We need to prepare for invasion." Armour stood up, and looked at her with the fierce eyes of a warrior. "We can strengthen the coastal defences, fortify the home guard and redouble our efforts making new weapons. When they come, we'll put them through a meat grinder- inch by inch," He said. "I can complete my radar project, and with it we can see them coming from hundreds of kilometres away," Twilight suggested. "Good," Luna said. "Devote any and all resources you need, nothing must be spared to defend Equestria. We had hoped to avoid this scenario, but here we stand. "Armour, I want the bulk of your forces redeployed to Filly Delphia- tell the public this is a drill, the announcement will be made in two weeks," she ordered. Armour nodded, and left the room. "Twilight, continue your research. If this thing really can do what you say it can, it will give us an important edge," she said, and Twilight departed as well. "Wildcard... do as you said you would, and take control of the changelings in Equestria. They could be an important asset," Luna said. "... and you're still due at bootcamp in a week and a half," she added. Wildcard groaned, and slid out of his chair. "I'll get it done, I should be all set next week, " He noted, and left, closing the door behind him. "Now, Vizitane..." Luna said, and sat back down. Vizitane hadn't even fidgeted. "It's a lie," He said. "The Magnificent is steaming back home right now," he said. Luna couldn't hide her shock, and glanced at her sister. How could he possibly know? He tapped on the table to get Luna's attention back. "The Magnificent had engaged with Saddle Arabian forces on Waylay Island a week ago, they had an air squadron there as part of a deal they made with the griffons. The only reason they aren't at war with your right now is because we took advantage of their deployments pointed at you to declare war on them," he said. "Believe me, had we not been so aggressive over the last few weeks the Magnificent really would be lost, they had an entire fleet out there- but were afraid to commit," he added. "Wait wait wait, hold on- you're telling me Saddle Arabia wants to pick a fight with us now?" First Class asked. Vizinate nodded respectfully. "They do indeed, and why wouldn't they? Combined with the griffons they could wipe you off the map," he said, and crossed his arms. "Still not satisfied with our 'contribution'? The Empire moves when it satisfies the Empire, and I promise you keeping Equestria safe satisfies us greatly," he said. Luna was utterly taken aback by all of this. Thankfully neither First Class nor Vizitane were likely to be security leaks. "I misunderstood your position, I apologize," Luna said. "I accept your apology," Vizitane said, and got up to leave, "and I assure you that when the Zebra Empire expands across the entire continent, and across the seas, there will forever be peace between our peoples. Remember that," he said- quite ominously, and left the room- pausing to bow towards First Class. Luna fell back, and sighed deeply. "That was unexpected," she said, and glanced over to First Class, expecting some sort of interrogation. "Oh no, don't think I'll argue. If you're covering this up, I'm sure you have a good reason," She said, and paused to consider. "Ah! I've got it!" She exclaimed. "You need to raise the home guard, to counter Mezza Luna, but you don't want anyone thinking you suspect your own Night Guard of being, how should I put it... totally insane? So tell everyone the Magnificent was lost, and when she comes back not only will the armies be marshalled, but she'll be here to drop hell on Half Moon," she said. "That's why you want troops in Filly Delphia- it's south of the Hollow Shades, that must be their stronghold!" she added. "I had noticed they had stopped paying taxes recently, I was going to bring it up tomorrow." Luna gave up, and just slunk into her chair. "You really are First Class, I swear, you're going to run the country someday." First Class blushed, and then stood with her chest stuck out. "First Class, first Prime Minister of Equestria," she declared. "Prime Minister?" Celestia asked. First Class looked back at her. "Of course! Democracy is the way of the future. we could only ever follow yourselves as monarchs, you saved us from Discord after all. If anyone else is to lead, they must be elected by the people," she said. Celestia glanced back at her sister, a wide grin on her face, and a glow in her eyes. You're not the only schemer.