"Millennia ago, Luna and I harnessed this sword out of our combined might," Princess Celestia's voice rolled against the high winds along the Noble Jury's top deck. "It was meant to be a symbol for Equestrian sovereignty. The harsh winter brought upon by the windigoes had just come to an end. The three races of ponies had at last come together, and as our blessing to pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies alike, we crafted this blade. My sister forged it out of pure moonstone, and I imbued it with strong solar magic."
The Sword of Solstice glowed with bright golden pulses, matching the tone of the regal alicorn's voice.
"But not long after the unification of Equestria, a new threat had come upon the land. It traversed the air above like a gray phantom, carrying with it boundless tempests and maelstroms. My sister and I endeavored to banish it from the Equestrian skies, but we found the task far more daunting than we had originally imagined. Whatever possessed this flying bastion of evil, it was empowered by pure chaos energy, the likes of which we hadn't fought since our first brush with Discord. It became clear to us that this structure was older than even the alicorns, belonging to an age when the very foundations of the worldly plane were first set into motion. We considered using the Elements of Harmony to banish structure, but the cost of such a mighty spell would have been far too great. Equestria was a new, struggling kingdom, and there were still many threats from all sides. Our subjects needed our constant intervention to survive in this new age. Alas, when Commander Hurricane of Pegasopolis proved that she had found a way to steer the threat out of our skies, we greatly admired her courage, and we gave her our blessing..."
Rainbow Dash nodded, gripping the sword while most of the Jury stood at a distance watching. "You gave her the sword," Rainbow said.
"Yes, and with it we gave a piece of our power... my power. That is why many of Clover the Clever's later texts speak of a prolonged winter following shortly after the unification of Equestria. I had to make the days shorter for the span of half-a-decade to compensate for the energy I had donated to Commander Hurricane. Still, she and her fearless brigade deserved no less. Hurricane was embarking upon a long and dangerous quest that—quite frankly—none of us knew the outcome of."
"And... you were able to speak to her?" Rainbow asked, blinking across the golden light at Bellesmith, Pilate, and Kera. "Just like how you're speaking to me?"
"Indeed. We had long made our commitments to the Equestrian homeland. Still, that didn't change the fact that we cared very deeply for Hurricane and all of the pegasi soldiers who accompanied her on her mission. When she left, we waited patiently and in earnest for an update. Sporadically, every few months, she would communicate with us. The task was difficult—from what we understand—because the Sword of Solstice requires direct sunlight in order to open a channel of communication with me. Constant storms and cloud cover made this impossible, so Hurricane would have to risk a great deal of turmoil just to get word through."
"Uhm... h-how long did you keep hearing back from her?"
"Honestly, Rainbow Dash? Not as long as either my sister or I would have wished. In less than the space of six years, Hurricane ceased speaking to us altogether. We assumed the worst, and it broke our hearts. Three times over the next millennium, we sent aerial expeditions out in a desperate search for Hurricane and the accursed sky structures that she had piloted away. It wasn't that we had expected her to somehow still be alive, but perhaps there could be survivors of her brigade—or at least a sign of what happened to her to end the communication. However, after the third expedition ran into trouble with another kingdom—nearly costing the lives of everypony in the search party—we decided that it was no longer worth sending expeditions out in hunt for a deceased hero."
"That at least explains how the legend of 'Stratopolis' got proliferated so broadly," Pilate said.
"Stratopolis...?"
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "Celestia, is talking to you like this having any—I dunno—bad effect on you maintaining the harmonic field around the chaos rift?"
"No, Rainbow Dash. Fear not. This is a very simple communication spell. If nothing else, the burden lies on the enchantment that was placed on the Sword of Solstice ages ago."
"Ah, okay..." Rainbow smirked, her tail flicking. "That's a good thing, cuz I've got a lot of stuff to talk to you about."
"As I am beyond enraptured to hear. I wish I could express how overjoyed I am at having a chance to speak with you so soon. At first, my heart leapt at the possibility that somepony in Commander Hurricane's bloodline had finally grasped the sword once more. But knowing that it's you, it's an even greater blessing than I had at first anticipated."
Belle smiled, leaning in to nuzzle Pilate as the couple watched the exchange.
"Well, I'm just sorry it's not anypony from Hurricane's brigade," Rainbow Dash muttered.
"As it possibly couldn't have been. I do understand, Rainbow. It has been many, many eons and I doubt any one of them would still have stuck to such a chaotic post."
"It's... it's a lot less cheerful than that, Princess Celestia." Rainbow gulped. "Hurricane... uhm... she and her party didn't last long after piloting Strato—err... the 'chaotic structures' out of Equestria."
Silence... and then: "I see..."
"You'll be proud to know, though, that they gave their lives defending the rest of the world from something far nastier than even you or Luna could have imagined. In fact, my friends and I barely got away with our skin intact. But... y'know..." Rainbow smiled nervously. "It's a good thing. I mean, a lot of good has come out of this. I know it's hard to believe, but you can totally kiss that evil floating city good bye and—"
"Queen Chrysalis..."
Rainbow blinked. "...what about her?"
"Did you run into Queen Chrysalis, Rainbow Dash? Or perhaps her older and wiser sibling, Tchern?"
Rainbow gawked at the other jurists, then stared at her reflection in the sword. "Well... yes. I mean, pretty dang much, yeah. Ahem..." She leaned forward. "Why do you ask?"
The broadcasted voice carried warmth—almost a ringing quality. "Somehow, I knew, Rainbow Dash." Pride resonated warmly from the blade. "I knew that you had a hoof involved in it..."
"Involved in wh-what?" Rainbow bit her lip. "Your Highness... h-has something happened in Equestria since we last talked?"
"A most remarkable thing indeed. In towns all across Equestria, sparse numbers of citizens suffered fainting spells. When they came to, they... weren't quite the same as they once were. For a brief moment, dismay and confusion swept the landscape from Appleloosa to Canterlot. A few panicked parties even thought that the landscape was suffering a full-on invasion. However, the citizens came across as entirely harmless. Luna, in her infinite wisdom as Equestria's chief ruler, calmed everypony, then gathered the altered citizens in question together... to protect them. Over the past few days, they've been recollecting long-lost memories about who they are and where they came from. We now have nearly five hundred ponies—a new and tiny demographic—who have been added to the cultural fold of Equestria."
Rainbow Dash exhaled. "Changelings..."
"If you have indeed stumbled upon Chrysalis—and now these shape-shifters have been freed from whatever previously bound them—then I can only imagine that, someway and somehow, you have done a good and harmonic thing over there, Rainbow Dash. Perhaps, for the sake of these timid citizens under Luna's charge, you could do us all a favor and illuminate the situation?"
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. She smiled warmly. "You do love your illuminations, eh, Your Majesty...?"