//------------------------------// // Luna's Letter // Story: New Lunar Republic - Setting the Scorching Sun // by Word Painter //------------------------------// **** CHAPER UNDER REVISONS **** Luna gazed up into the night sky. Her face contorted in a look of concentration as she elevated the stars into a beautiful array. Orion's belt had been particularly tricky lately, and It took all of her attention to get the three stars to line up just right. Luna was so enraptured by her task that she failed to notice the station that had quietly trotted up beside her. "Um, princess?" the stallion said timidly Luna jump and loosing her lazer-like focus and, the three stars she had finally gotten in place fell from their perfect alignment into a scattered mess. Luna turned around, suppressing the flash of annoyance at the interruption of her work. Luna always had time for her sisters ponies. "What art thou doing in my chambers?" Luna half-wisperd not wanting to draw attention to her balcony. "I have an important message for you, and it's crucial that you hear me out," the stallion replied a look of stony determination set on his face. The use of the more common dialect of the working class caught her attention. She turned around, facing the stallion, the starry night sky momentarily forgotten. "What is so important that you saw it fit to disturb my labors?" Luna asked. The mare looked the station up and down assessing him with a carefully practiced eye. He seemed tense but steadfast, his hooves planted firmly but his eyes betraying just the shadow of worry. Never the less he stood his ground giving the air of a pony who could stair down a cockatrice if needed. "Before I go on, I have to ask you an important question," the stallion said, his voice darkening. "Do you approve of what your sister is doing to Equestria?" Luna paused for a moment, face blank and unreadable, before she queried, "Dost thou accuse my sister of some wrongdoing?" The stallion did not seem perturbed by Luna's response, but instead just asked the question again. "Do you approve of what your sister is doing to Equestria?" Luna thought about all the harsh rules Celestia had put into place, along with the expanded royal guard, which had had its name changed to the Solar Army. "No," she said. "No, I don't." The stallion smiled and asked, "If you could stop her, would you do it?" Luna thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, but only in a way in which the citizens of Equestria won't be hurt." The stallion was practically beaming as he said, "Well, I represent a group of ponies who would like to dethrone Celestia and put you in change of Equestria." Luna was taken aback. "Everypony thinks I'm a terrible ruler, and everypony is right. I can"t run the royal guard -- I mean, the Solar Army-- for a day, let alone a country, forever," she said, flustered. "Everypony?" the stallion said, "or your sister?" Realization hit Luna like a ton of bricks. "She was always the one that denied me a job . . . " Luna started in a soft voice, but as her anger grew, so did her volume. ''She was the one who removed me from my royal guard duties. She Is The One That Said Nopony Loves My Night! SHE IS THE ONE WHO TOLD ME NEVER TO DREAM WALK AGAIN!!!!" Luna turned her attention back to the stallion. "I'm in," she said. The stallion smiled and handed her a note. "Welcome to the Moon Cult," he said, before he opened his wings (which Luna had not spotted before) and flew off. Luna opened the note and read: Next Tuesday morning at four o'clock The basement of Sun Stiles, 234 N Ray Street Password: eclipse Luna thought about her sister and all she had done, and swore to herself that she would go. Meanwhile, In Celestia's Chambers…. Celestia paced back and forth in front of a large pin-board covered with pamphlets. Some were on simple things, like the the new curfew, and others were on more important things, like creativity and other qualities that were not allowed in her kingdom. She smiled. "Now, what should my next pamphlet be about?" She thought to herself for a moment before grabbing some red and black pens and starting to write, a smile forming as thoughts became text. When she was finished, she put a picture of herself on the cover, standing tall and wearing her heavy metal chest plate and helmet. The helmet cut off into a crown around her brow. A normal pony's hair would be trapped under the helmet, but not Celestia's -- her fiery mane went through the helmet, making her look that much more imposing. And to Celestia, imposing was good. Imposing meant respect, and respect meant obedience. Then, on a whim, she wrote one word on the bottom in big white capital letters: OBEY. Then she put away her supplies and went to go get the pamphlet copied. **** Luna stood there in her room as a moment of empowerment engulfed her. That moment was sadly short lived, as the realization about what she had decided to do hit her like a train. She was going to plot against her own sister, against Tia. But then again, "Tia" wouldn't treat ponies like this. Heck, she hadn't heard Celestia call anypony "My little pony" in years. Eventually Luna got herself so worked up that she decided to take a walk. She trotted to the door and threw it open, eager to get into the fresh night air. As she did, she heard a large bang and the door bounced back into her face. Luna carefully opened the door a second time, and found Celestia standing there with a large red mark on her nose. "I'm so sorry, Tia, I didn't mean to hit you!" Luna cried, cheeks as red as the ink of the pamphlet that was smeared on her sister's snout. "First off, you didn't bow, second off, you hit me in the face with a door, third off, NEVER call me TIA AGAIN!" Celestia bellowed, using her Canterlot voice to its fullest extent. "Now, LEAVE ME!" Celestia screamed, slamming the door back in Luna's face. Luna stood there, shocked, saddened, and disappointed . . . but also with a new resolve.