//------------------------------//
// Chapter 78 - Counting Coup 
// Story: My Family and Other Equestrians 
// by Blade Star 
//------------------------------//

The Summer Sun Celebration was now only a couple of days away. Very soon, both princesses would descend on Ponyville; one to lower the moon, and the other to raise the sun. It’s a massively important event for Equestria and for the princesses, Celestia in particular. Nightmare Night was the day Luna and the nightmarish creature which took her form, were banished to the moon, to return in a thousand years. The Summer Sun Celebration celebrates Celestia’s victory. Far and wide everypony is happy, it’s like Hearth’s Warming, New Year’s and the Equestria Games all rolled into one.

But dear Luna, do I dislike it!

Celestia may have redressed this event as celebrating Luna coming back, but it doesn’t change its original meaning. For a thousand years, this was the day ponies cheered at the prospect of a mare being imprisoned in a place far worse than even Tartarus itself. A lot of ponies overlook a key detail in the Mare in the Moon story. They believe that in banishing Luna to the moon, she was placed on its surface and contentedly roamed around.

Wrong! If you read the text it says ‘in’. She was banished in the moon. She was locked away in complete nothingness for a thousand years. Regardless of the revised meaning, I find it difficult to cheer about such an occasion. Yes, Luna was not herself, and yes the creature that took her form was a threat. But even Tirek has the luxury of sensory perception. Such a punishment would have driven anypony else beyond insane.

Nonetheless though, this year Ponyville was once again to be the centre of proceedings. I just wish Luna had her own day, where everypony comes to watch Celestia lower the sun, and see the moon take to the skies. It undermines the supposed balance of the diarchy.

Preparations had been a little haphazard mind you. Twilight and the girls had to briefly leave for a couple of days. After studying her new castle, Twilight and the girls managed to set something off, the end result was a table top three dimensional map of all Equestria appearing in the centre of their chairs. This map sent them to an area of Western Equestria, where they discovered a truly messed up situation. 

Of course, they managed to get away alright and resolved the whole situation, but this whole ‘equality’ thing stank of Orwellian thought. In Starlight’s case, according to AJ, it was very much that some were more equal than others. She’s a mix of misinterpreted communism and cultism. More importantly, she’s still on the run.

Then of course, there was the issue of Twilight’s castle. I mentioned before how she and Spike were struggling to adapt, but it soon came to a head not long after she returned. Luckily, with help from AJ and the rest of her friends, it has started to become more like a home. Even better, the girls removed the husk of the old library at last, turning it into a chandelier. I always disliked going past that in town. It reminded me of what I, and everypony else, had lost. 

But I’m going off on a tangent a bit, aren’t I? Back to the matter of the Summer Sun Celebration. Whilst I didn’t fully approve of it, I was content to help out. AJ and the rest of the Apples enjoyed the festivities, so it seemed a shame to drag them down. Besides, if Luna had a problem with it, she certainly would have made it known. It’s been five years now; five times, without issue, she has lowered the moon to great fanfare, to make way for the dawn. So, I will do all I can to help. That doesn’t mean I have to do it with a smile. 

Unless of course, Luna orders me to smile. 





“How many more bales do ya think we’re gonna need, ‘Jack?” I called out. Applejack looked up from her own work, setting down the hay bale that was balanced on her back.

“Ah reckon bout four more on each side, Bones,” she replied. “Those chariots take a heck of a long time to stop when they’re loaded up accordin’ to Rainbow.”

The two of us were a little ways outside of Ponyville, but off Sweet Apple Acres. With both princesses’ attending the celebration in pony, there was a lot to be done. For us, the various chariots needed somewhere to land that was safe and organised. So, we were setting up a makeshift runway just outside town. This way, both the official dignitaries and the Royal Guard detachment that would accompany them, would have somewhere to land and store their kit. The two of us were laying out large hay bales on each side of what would be the runway, whilst Big Mac, using a pony powered cutter, trimmed the grass to better suit the chariot’s wheels. 

Between us, we’d created a fairly wide runway about two hundred and fifty metres long. Now, that may sound short, but it was more than enough room for pegasi to land safely. After all they are, in effect V/STOL flyers. I hauled the last of my bales into position and let it drop to the ground with a soft thump. I don’t know how Applejack can manage two at a time, earth pony or no, she is exceptionally strong. And yes, I must admit, physically, she is stronger than me. But I still have magic on my side, so she doesn’t boss me around too much. 

The two of us met up at the end to admire our handiwork. Big Mac promptly joined us as he finished his own task. 

“Well, Ah ain’t no pegasus pony, but Ah reckon that ought to do it,” Applejack commented. “What do y’all reckon?”

“Seems good to me, AJ,” I replied.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac added in his usual way. 

“We best be getting’ back to the farm then, Ah s’pose. There’s still a heck of a lot on the farm that needs doin’.” Since we would all be staying up all night on the day of the celebration, we would be doing a half day, so we wanted to be on top of everything before then. 

It wasn’t that much of a walk back to the farm, we had been quite close to Fluttershy’s cottage, but the outlying orchards were still well within sight. Then again, you can, if you squint, just about make out the farm from Canterlot. 

Whilst preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration took a high priority, we did have normal work to do. Chief among which was planting a few new trees in the west orchard. These weren’t saplings of course, it was far too late in the year to plant them, all of those had been done during Winter Wrap Up. No, these were, I suppose you could call them juveniles. They wouldn’t be producing fruit for another year yet, but they were ready to be planted and go on to form a new section of the orchard. Crucially though, these were a new variety of apple trees. Braeburn had brought a couple with him when he came up for the reunion. These Appleloosian reds had fared well in the dry, arid landscape of the frontier, so it was expected that they would thrive here in the interior, with a much more temperate climate. 

A batch of fifty of these young trees had been shipped up here by rail and now needed to be planted. The farm doesn’t have that much in the way of greenhouses and everything pretty much shuts down for the winter, so we needed to get them into the ground quickly. 

Now normally, this would have meant a whole lot of digging holes in the new orchard to plant the trees in. Applejack and Mac of course, could do that sort of thing with little trouble, but for me, as a unicorn, it could get quite tiring. Luckily though, our previous round of trial planting had left us with an excess of holes. 

Twilight, in an effort to avoid her new castle, had insisted on digging far more than AJ previously needed. Around fifty or so extra planting spots were now available. As it was getting on the for high summer, there hadn’t been that much in the way of rain so the holes were still ready to use, rather than being filled with mud and dirty water. All we had to do then, was plant them, and with my levitation spell, that was simple enough. 

We had to do it all in batches of course, using the carts to ferry the new young trees from the barn, where they had been stored with a small water supply, to the orchard where they were to be planted. Given that these were more than just saplings, we could only take about four at a time, so most of our work was spent going back and forth between the farmhouse and the planting ground. It would take an hour or so to get everything done. Plus we’d need to keep an eye on them all to ensure they were properly taking root and not coming down with anything, we were putting them in an unfamiliar environment after all. 





Carefully easing it into the large hole Twilight had previously dug, I settled the latest tree into its proper place, making sure it was growing straight and was in deep enough to properly take root. With than done, using a shovel held in my magic, I covered the roots with earth and settled it in its new home. Satisfied, I took a moment to breathe. 

Naturally, that was when Discord turned up. 

In the form of a serpent, Discord dropped down into my vision, his tail allowing him to hang from the tree branches. I should be used to his ways by now, but still, due to his recent break from pranking everything that moves, perhaps I’ve grown complacent. In any case, I leapt back with a startled whinny. 

“Discord!” I exclaimed. 

“Care to try an apple, dear boy?” he asked, using his abilities to cause the young tree to suddenly bear a single red apple. I responded with a deadpan.

“Firstly, put the tree back the way it was, these are young’uns. And secondly, if y’all are gonna try and steal stories from religion, try on somepony who ain’t an atheist and get it right. The snake tempts the woman first.” I then tapped Discord on his flattened arrow shaped head with the shovel. That caused him to return to his usual form and unceremoniously drop from the tree. 

“Ow!” he complained, rubbing his now sore head. For a moment, I actually felt guilty. 

“If y’all are gonna stick around at least lend us a hoof,” I replied. Discord grinned to himself.

“But of course, happy to help out a friend.” With a snap of his talons, every single hole was filled with the new trees we wanted to plant. On the downside of course, there was the tiny issue that they were now sentient, and, judging by the way they started snapping at Winona and the birds nearby, carnivorous. 

Based on my past experience with Discord, this was nothing new. Sure I was panicking and quietly having a nervous meltdown inside my head, but it was hardly beyond his norm. However, what was unusual, assuming anything the physical incarnation of chaos does can be deemed usual, was his reaction. 

“Oh horseapples!” he exclaimed in annoyance. “Hang on, hang on, I’ve got it.” Snapping his talons again, the carnivorous trees were promptly replaced by the Appleloosian reds I’d been planting. All of them, all fifty trees. Had Discord just done something, nice? Out of the goodness of his heart? I looked at him with a bit of confusion. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t complaining, but I’d expected him to react in a completely different way. Normally, when I tried to tell him off, he’d either bugger off and leave me to it, or he’d simply undo whatever he had done. This was the first time he’d not only undone his usual tricks; which were apparently this time, an accident, but also actually helped out. 

“Discord? You…feelin’ okay?” I asked, perplexed. 

“Sorry, Blade Star. Force of habit. They should all be back to normal now, or at least they should be herbivores.”

“Discord, Ah’ve known ya for almost a year and this is the first time Ah’ve ever seen ya do something like this. Now what’s goin’ on?” I demanded.   

“What? I was just being a friend. I was helping your old man out with a few things in Canterlot and thought I’d drop by.” Okay, this was now officially weird. I backed away a little, slowly. 

“Discord, do me a favour and hold still for a minute will ya?” Before he had a chance to reply, I hit him with a disruption spell. I know I should have taken the more logical conclusion, but Discord being so helpful had rattled my brain a bit. The dark blue wave of magic quickly washed over him, dispelling nothing. It did however, cause him to splutter. 

“What d’ya do that for?!” another voice called. It was Applejack, returning with a now empty cart. “Bones, the apple trees they’re....” she paused to look at the completed orchard “Planted?” Discord meanwhile, who was completely unphased by my spell, was dusting himself off. I quickly realised my response was a tad excessive. 

“Oh, er, sorry. Just thought ya were a changeling or something, Discord. What’s got you actin’ this way anyway?” For the first time, Discord looked quite hurt. 

“We’re friends, I know I might joke around, Blade Star, but I do like to help friends out every now and again.” He had an agenda, he had to. This was the guy who owns the long game. 

“Did Fluttershy put you up to this?” I continued, interrogating him. 

“No, she didn’t. I came to help of my own free will. Frankly, it wouldn’t hurt you to say thank you, would it?” 

“Ah may not always like that overgrown sidewinder, Bones, but he’s right,” Applejack added.

I realised I was being unnecessarily harsh towards him. I tell him off when he annoys me, and now I’m on his case over being nice. Talk about a double standard. Given that he seemed so earnest, I decided to drop it. 

“Alright. Thanks for helpin’ out, Discord. Ah appreciate it.” Discord, in his usual over-the-top way, bowed.

“You are quite welcome dear boy.” And with that, he vanished in a flash of light. I turned to Applejack, who was equally confused.

“What the hay was that about?”





By early evening, with darkness quickly falling, we had all assembled near our new ad hoc runway that Applejack and I had put together. Anytime now the first group of guards would be arriving by air, followed by the princesses and a further contingent of guards that would make up the QRF. They would all land and stow their kit here, as well as setting up something of a base camp. The princesses meanwhile, under escort, would go to town hall to prepare for the coming dawn. 

As a high profile event, security was taken very seriously by all, particularly in light of the significance of this town and its connection to the celebration. After all there are still some bigoted ponies out there that refuse to believe that Luna has changed. Even though we had built the runway for them, we still had to keep well clear of everything. With any luck though, at some point I would have a chance to talk to Luna face to face, possibly Celestia. 

We neither heard nor saw the first group of guards as they made their approach. The four bat winged thestral guards only made their presence known when they made a sudden low pass over the field. In the darkness of the night, even with the moon nearly full, they were all but invisible to the naked eye. I could understand how the Moon Shadows had been able to slaughter a solar regiment three times their own number so easily. 

The group promptly touched down with near perfection and hastened over to Twilight. Bowing to her, and making Twilight blush adorably, they reported themselves. I recognised the leader’s name.

“Your highness, Swift Wing reporting. With your permission we’ll set up an overwatch position for the other guard groups.” Swift Wing was one of the few thestral guards I knew well, although it had been several months since we last spoke. He still owes me twenty bits from that card game at the officers club back in Canterlot. 

With Twilight’s consent, the four guards took off again and disappeared into the night once more. Wherever they went, I knew that they would be watching all of us closely. Following them, a contingent of Celestia’s guards landed and performed the same function for their own comrades. Two more flights of pegasi and thestral followed and set up a perimeter around the runway. It was then that the princesses arrived. 

Celestia and Luna, both in their chariots pulled by their finest guards began to descend from the clouds. Celestia’s ornate golden chariot glittered like the sun that the pony within commanded, a bit ostentatious if you ask me though. Luna meanwhile had her own more gothic style of vehicle, though with many ornate features. Like Luna herself though, they were more subtle than her sister’s. Each princess was accompanied by a guard, Celestia by Shining Armor, in full regimental outfit, and Luna by her own guard captain. Both princesses landed together, the two duos of guards performing a textbook two by two formation landing. 

The assembled ponies of course began to cheer, shout and take photographs, despite the dark conditions. Everypony, myself included, was glad to see the two diarchs that kept this country going. Twilight happily bounded over to her former mentor, as happy to see her as she ever was. As a princess, she was somewhat exempt from usual security restrictions (a foolish move if you ask me). After conversing for a few moments and hugs being exchanged, the two princesses addressed the crowd. 

“Thank you all for your kind welcome,” Celestia began. “I am so glad to have the opportunity to return to the town that saw my dear sister returned.”

“As am I,” Luna added, thankfully not using her Royal Canterlot Voice. “My sister and I both owe this town a great deal. We hope you all enjoy the festivities tonight and in the morning. We shall both see you all then.” With that, the guards escorted the princesses through the assembled crowd toward the town hall. As soon as they were out of sight everypony relaxed and began to talk amongst themselves, including the remaining guards. 





Whilst a number of guards were required to look out for the two princesses and perform the duties of a security detail, the majority of the guards who had arrived in town now had some free time on their hooves. Unless something happened that required a full brigade strength response, their duties would merely be ceremonial when the sunrise came. Just as authority passes from Luna to Celestia with the dawn, so too does the defence of Equestria pass from one guard regiment to another. A fact that the Lunar Guard likes to point out to their counterparts; they’ve never been caught napping. 

As was to be expected, many of these squaddies made for the Tavern. Of course, they were on duty, so alcohol was out of the question, but there was still a chance for merriment. Whilst everypony else had dispersed, I caught up with Swift Wing, who had returned from his earlier reconnaissance mission. 

“Swift!” I called from across the street, catching his attention. “You and your boys headin’ to the Tavern?” Swift Wing trotted over, smiling.

“Blade Star!” he greeted, offering me a hoof. “I thought that was you down there. How’s life been treating you?”

“Ah’d say it’s been treatin’ me mighty fine, Swift. Mighty fine. So what are you guys up to then?” Swift Wing’s grin became more cunning. 

“We’re heading down to the Tavern to make a few plans. Me and some of the other guys have come up with an idea to pull one over on those Bright Lights.” I was of course slightly confused.

“Er, come again, Swift?” 

At that moment, we reached the familiar building that was Ponyville’s only purveyor of aqua vitae. The noise coming from within was certainly a lot louder than normal, presumably due to the place being significantly fuller than usual. Heading inside, we found the place packed like a sardine can, hot as the deserts of Saddle Arabia and loud as a battlefield. Normally, the Tavern was an odd mix of a pub and a dive bar; quiet, cosy and flowing with booze. But right now, it was as packed as a club. I could see the familiar form of Berry Punch desperately trying to keep up with orders at the bar. 

Easing our way through dozens of guards of both varieties, as well as the Tavern’s beleaguered regulars, the five of us managed to find a free table towards the back. Since I was the lone civvie, I opted to get the first round in, getting a whiskey for myself, and some ciders for the on-duty soldiers. 

“Now, what’s all this ‘bout a plan, Swift?” I enquired over the noise. We all huddled closer to hear each other better. 

“Well, you see, Blade Star, me and some of the other guys were planning to have a little fun at the expense of these bright lights.” He gestured to the guards in the armour of the Solar Guard that filled the small pub. “Just a little something to keep them on their hoof tips, and to remind them not to mess with the Lunar Guard.”

Despite Luna having returned five years ago to this night, there was still the occasional bit of friction between both halves of the Royal Guard. Both sides had had a thousand years to vilify the other and paint history in the way they desired. As a result, in addition to the normal slurs that guards may throw at each other, both sides sometimes refer to the other as ‘rebels’. Both sides, to this day, claim that they were in the right. 

The issue stems from the thestrals not knowing about Nightmare Moon. All they heard on that darkest of days, was that Luna had been defeated and banished to the moon. As a result, they fled Equestria in a self-imposed exile and only returned when Luna did. Of course, when they heard of Nightmare Moon, they were outraged. To a thestral, that mare is the anti-Christ and hated more than anything else. They despise her for taking Luna’s place along with a whole slew of other vaguely religious sounding arguments. Until that day, five years ago, they believed things happened quite differently. 

While records on both sides are sketchy at best, the thestrals saw the war as a coup by Celestia to take power for herself, since they did not know the extent of Luna’s corruption. Upon leaving Equestria and setting up in the mountains, the senior guard commanders declared themselves to be a provisional government, and the Equestrian government-in-exile. Of course, everything changed five years ago tonight, and they quickly fell into line with their princess, reaffirming their loyalty to the diarchy, which they always claimed to have defended. 

Anyway, to get to the point, since each side regards the other as the reformed bad guy, there is still the odd bit of distrust and conflict. Most of it is just the typical odd camaraderie between soldiers though. Each side likes to show it can outperform the other and based on what Swift Wing had told me, tonight was to be the turn of the thestrals. 

“Alright, what are ya plannin’ to do then?” I enquired. Swift looked around before replying. 

“Do you know what counting coup is, from Buffalo culture?” he asked. I nodded. Whilst I’m not overly familiar with the buffalo tribes, I do know a little bit about Native American practices. A coup was a deed performed in battle. Often it involved touching an enemy and escaping unharmed, or taking horses or food from their camp without being detected. Counting coup was the winning of prestige by such acts, each one being indicated by wearing a feather. 

“Okay, so what’s this got to do with this here plan of yours?” 

“We’re gonna pull off a coup, Blade Star. We just need to think of something to take.” Looking over at me, he saw my disapproving look. “Oh, we aren’t gonna steal anything, we’ll give whatever it is back to them in the morning.” My glare softened. 

I always considered myself a staunch supporter of Luna, and since it was all only going to amount to an overblown practical joke (and therefore did not technically count as a coup), it didn’t seem too risky. The whole point of the exercise was to get away without being caught. And it would be an opportunity to test my own magic ability too. 

“Alright, I’m in.” 





The five of us; me, Swift Wing, and his three friends left the Tavern and headed back to the farm. The Royal Guard encampment was nearby, just a ways outside the farm. Plus, I needed to pick up a few things. When we got there, I quickly grabbed the confederate jacket Rarity had kindly made me and threw it on. 

Hey, if I’m going to be a partisan ranger, I might as well dress as one. The others all had their armour, which made them indistinguishable from their counterparts, but in the event we were caught, I would surely be recognised. The jacket’s tail hid my cutie mark nicely, but for good measure, I dug out a black bandana from one of my drawers and pulled my hat down low. 

“Alright fellers,” Swift Wing said as I returned. “Let’s get to work.”