“A man with nothing to die for has even less for which to live.”
― Margaret Weis
This night in Equestria was rather strange. The weather factory at Cloudsdale had a catastrophic failure when a mail-pony accidentally put her parcel for the manager down on the control console. Several buttons were pressed, one of which was the controls to the lightning generator to start producing at 300% the standard rate. This overloaded the capacitors, which led to an explosion of lighting. At the same time, the cloud machine was switched to producing towering cumulonimbus clouds instead of the fog that was scheduled. The explosion of lightning infused the cumulonimbi clouds to bursting with energy. The clouds destroyed half of Cloudsdale before they were successfully contained. Hundreds were injured, and valuable machinery was irrevocably damaged. By some miracle, there were no deaths. Cloudsdale is currently hovering near Los Pegasus for repairs.
However with the weather factory out of commission until late fall at the earliest, this summer was going on record as one of the hottest in Equestrian history. The Four Cardinal Wind Factories had to be shut down, for fear of spreading a massive wildfire in the kingdom. Several towns in the more remote parts of the kingdom were also under water bans. Farms had to have massive amounts of water escorted to them from by royal guards to ensure that this year's crops didn't fail. Wild animals were more aggressive than usual, the diamond dogs started siphoning water from reservoirs, and heat stroke incidents were at an all-time high.
It wasn't all bad for everybody. Manehatten had recently installed a massive number of a new invention from Unbelievably Wealthy (cousin to the Rich family), air conditioners all over the city. With everypony trying to beat the heat during the day, this summer was spent partying during the slightly cooler night. Something they did anyways, but now they were doing it even harder with beach bashes and concerts at the park. Flim & Flam's Imported Crystal Empire Crystal Water sales were through the roof. Princess Luna was able to finally get more contact with the citizens of her kingdom and get to improve her image for the common pony, along with improving the image of her Nocturnal ponies with Celestia's Diurnal ponies. Discord was having the biggest pranking spree since the unrecorded Discord palooza.
Such is the setting for when this story begins. On a normal summer night during a strange summer in Equestria...
One would think that taking a shower would help make this heat less oppressive. Cursed heat, why must you be so cursedly pervasive?
Stepping out of the shower, Luna dried herself off with a quick spell. By the time she walked out to the balcony, Luna was already sweating. However, with her favorite Caberneigh Sauvignon red, her mood simply couldn't be lowered, even with the perspiration that wouldn't admit defeat. While she didn't get drunk, she did enjoy the flavor and the texture greatly. Resting on her balcony, she took small sips of the wine, letting her taste buds revel in the sensations that it brought.
Feeling her creative impulses beginning to rouse, she decided that this would be the night which she reorganized the stars. Guiding her magic with old measured practice, she began moving the diamonds that lit her sky. Not thinking, just letting her magic and instinct paint on her canvas. This was something she always enjoyed, something that not even her sister could do. She even started humming a little tune while she shifted the stars. She made sure to leave the four Cardinal Stars alone. Too many ponies depended on their position for business and navigation.
All across the kingdom, all the ponies stopped to watch the heavens shift. Several proposals were made on the spot, taking advantage of the magic that this display brought them. Some stars exploded like the most brilliant fireworks, others streaked across the sky in zig-zags. All the while, Luna hummed a tune and drank some wine.
Finally the spectacle ended, and the ponies went back to their lives. Luna was admiring her work, for she did not often perform her favorite pastime. The astronomy ponies always complained about her messing up their charts. However, these were empty grumblings, since every new version of her sky immensely boosted the sales of star charts. Some collections were even beginning to take shape, along with new backgrounds for calendars. Still, she had agreed that shifting the stars too often would cause too much confusion for everypony. Thus she had agreed to wait at least ten months in between her bouts of "redecorating". Secretly, Luna didn't mind too much. The Stargazer's magazine had made a contest to see who could best guess what the new constellations were with a picture contest every time this happened as well, the winner getting a year's free subscription. She had begun getting mail from all manner of citizens trying to guess what constellations she was painting in her sky, even after the contests ended. Luna kept her favorite guesses in a drawer in her writing desk.
This is my best work yet, she thought proudly. Nexius and Calissandrus look lovely together, and Regius makes the perfect arrow-tip for that Minotaur archer. Luna hummed to herself, silently thanking the wine for helping her make a new and wondrous sky for her little ponies. She was gazing around, when she saw a bright star that she didn't remember put there.
Scrunching her face in annoyance, Luna looked through her telescope towards the north, where the errant star burned, like a searing indignation on her work. Looking up, she tried using her magic to make the star move to a proper place, only to find that her magic didn't work on it.
"I swear, if this is a prank from Discord, I will buck him into next summer. The night sky is MINE ALONE."
The royal Canterlot voice was beginning to creep into Luna's speech from her outrage at this infringement on what was hers. She began to cast the spell to remove the blemish from her work, only to find that it did nothing, no matter how much magic she put into the spell. This only lead to her getting more upset as she began to pace and try again and again to remove this stubborn light, always to no avail. Stomping her hoof only lead to cracking her balcony.
"Oh not again. The royal stonemason is going to have a conniption from this. Tis no fault of our own, this curs'd light won't go aroint! It hath the audacity to disgrace mine night, and anon it hath the gall to. . . come. . . closer?"
Doing a double take, and a triple check with her telescope, the light was indeed getting larger and brighter, and heading directly for Canterlot. Luna's eyes grow wide at the realization. The princess of the night took a deep breath, and formulated a quick response. She teleported to the guard house. Since it was nighttime, the Nocturne were the ones on duty. At the pop from the teleportation, every head snapped to Luna, with every golden set of eyes went wide at the princess's appearance.
"Night Guard, the city is under attack! From the north, a strange star is falling from the sky. I want you to start assembling every saberhorn in the guard, and start casting a barrier around the city. I shall join you after I awaken my sister."
There was no hesitation. Every guard in the barracks began to scramble like a well-oiled machine. The captains were setting up rally points, designating messengers, and sending out reinforcements for the patrols in case a panic broke out. Luna knew she did not need to stay, her Nocturne were well honed and disciplined, and this was the first disaster facing the capital at night. They would do their duty.
Nodding to herself, Luna teleported to Celestia's chambers and roused her from her sleep the fastest way she knew how; flipping Celestia's mattress.
"Sister! Sister wake up, something is coming towards the city, and we believe it to bring ill tidings for our citizens."
Celestia was instantly awake, even with the abrupt disruption of her pleasant dream.
"What is it Luna? What's going on?" she asked, while rubbing rheum from her eyes and retrieving her shoes and torc with a quick spell.
Luna merely pointed out the window at the large ball of light that was growing ever brighter and closer to the city. Celestia stared in confused awe at the sight. A quick look at Luna told her all that she needed to know. This was something foreign to the night sky, something Luna didn't have any dominion over. Celestia quickly put on her golden garments and the two sisters teleported to the battlements, where a Nocturne guard promptly saluted.
"Your highnesses, I am Captain Crescent Fang. All of our saberhorns have been assembled in the courtyard, awaiting orders."
Luna looked down to her Night Guard, giving her a nod. "Excellent work captain. Have them try to scry what that object is before it gets closer. We must know what it is we are dealing with."
With a crisp salute, the borealis captain flew off the wall and started shouting orders. Luna always admired the Nocturne military discipline. Watching them drill was one of her favorite pastimes, and it filled her with pride knowing that they-
"Sister, did you sense anything strange before you saw this object falling towards Canterlot?"
Shaking her head, partly to answer, partly to snap herself out of her reverie, Luna sighed.
"We were simply rearranging the stars, dear sister, when this light appeared from the north. At first we thought it to be a prank from Discord, though we are beginning to doubt that. Its path and speed are constant, as is its light. Were this Discord, it would be dancing across the sky and telling jokes and other such random nonsense."
He also has yet to appear and rub it in my face about how I couldn't stop him or fix it. That being loves to gloat.
Celestia couldn't suppress a giggle listening to Luna be so matter-of-fact about the ultimate being of chaos. Luna raised an eyebrow at this, but the captain landed next to them with another salute.
"Reporting in, highness. The saberhorns can't get a clear scry on the object. Something is interfering with their magic. From what they could gather, it isn't metal and it isn't a spell. Whatever that thing is, it must be fireproof, because they also couldn't feel it get any smaller as time passed. By our estimation, it will hit the city in about fifteen minutes."
That isn't good news. Either this is a substance that we don't know about, or it really is a falling errant star. I hope that I am up to the task of protecting our ponies. NO. No more thought such as these. I am the ruler of the night. There is no star that I don't have dominion over. Well, with one exception...
Luna's face remained impassive as she looked down to Crescent Fang again. "Thank you captain. Return and give the order to begin making a shield spell to block the falling object. We shall support the spell should the need arise."
The guard gave another quick salute before she flew back down to relay the order. The shield spell was made in short order; a large arcane tower shield construct with the emblem of the Night Guard in the center, with more magic pouring into from the saberhorns to reinforce and strengthen with several smaller shields overlapping the large one to help absorb as much energy as possible before the impact with the main shield. Celestia smiled at the spell, nudging her sister who was blushing a light shade of red.
"Why so bashful Luna? Doesn't your Night Guards' spell please you?"
"Stop teasing, Tia. We merely are so proud of our little ponies' dedication and efficiency. Not many units can cast that many spells in unison and integrate them into a larger whole."
Celestia couldn't resist a bit of teasing. "Are you sure it isn't because their emblem is your cutie mark with a shield in the background? I know how personal you feel about it."
"Even if we were to feel in such a manner, we would not be so arrogant as to deny our subjects their deep wish to show their loyalty to us, even if it does mean that our beautiful mark is now on every suit of armor and it makes us feel-"
Putting a wing over the ever redder Luna, Celestia nuzzled her little sister. "Relax Luna. I'm only teasing. You always did get stressed out before a big event like this one. You need to relax. Our ponies are counting on us, and we won't fail."
Luna's blush deepened a few shades.
Tia is right. There is nothing that I cannot overcome with my subjects and my sister at my side.
Looking out at the night sky, Luna could feel her uneasiness fade away with the comforting thoughts. So much had happened this night so quickly, she wasn't even aware of how tense she had become, or how nervous she was from this object. It had unnerved her more than she realized, though she pushed these thoughts out of her mind to focus on the task at hand.
Celestia ended the embrace when she saw that Luna had calmed down again. "Luna, what did you mean we will intervene if it became necessary? Would it not be best for us to make the shield?"
Luna's eyes never left the scene of the Night Guard maintaining the shield or the object it was meant to stop. "We wish to give the Nocturne a chance to prove themselves. They have been having...difficulties finding acceptance in some cities. They haven't had a chance to prove themselves to the world, and this is exactly that chance."
Celestia merely nodded. She understood the game of politics very well, and knew about the Nocturne's difficulties with society. Still, she let Luna best decide how to deal with the situation. It gave her sister a goal, while also pushing her to get better at the game of politics. A thousand years had left her a bit rusty.
The falling object, which was once a somewhat brighter glimmer in the night sky was now so bright that it was waking up ponies thinking it was day time. Many of the citizens of Canterlot began to gaze in wonder at the little star so close to the city. The Night Guard were able to convince the ponies that remaining indoors was the safest thing to do. The citizens didn't need much convincing. As the object got brighter and brighter, it also grew steadily bigger. It was always growing brighter and bigger by the minute. The entire city held its collective breath, waiting for the inevitable impact on the shield spell that the Night Guard were maintaining.
Eventually the object became so bright, that the ponies had to avert their eyes away, and everyone braced for impact.
They didn't wait long. A deafening explosion was heard; shock-waves were felt all over the city; the light that was blinding a moment ago was gone, replaced by the darkness of night again. Looking around, everyone saw that the shield spell was still in place, and that there was no apparent damage to the city at all. A rousing cheer was raised by the citizens, praising the princesses and the Night Guard. The celebrations were short lived, as the entire city began to shake as the city began to tilt towards the earth. A deafening cracking sound was also heard as a series of boulders began to fall from above onto the castle proper. Ponies in the city immediately begin panicking and running wild, trying to get out, only to find some of the larger houses had toppled over and blocked their path. Several fires erupted, and the patrols were overwhelmed trying to calm down the citizens.
Celestia wasted no time in catching the boulders and moving them out of the way, but they were only the beginning. Snow and boulders continued to cascade down the mountain, while Celestia used her magic to make sure none if it hit the city, with a giant golden shield. At the same time, Luna immediately used all her strength to grab the base of Canterlot to stop it from being torn out of the mountainside.
"Nocturne, rally to thine liege!"
The Nocturne assembled ranks faster than any other day in their lives. Every officer assembled in front of Luna, ready to do whatever was needed. Luna was trying to hide the strain from holding up the city, but she still grit her teeth in concentration. She made sure to keep her mental clarity so she didn't fall back into olde speek. Clear minds made clear decisions.
"Listen carefully, that object must have destroyed the pillars supporting the city. They were enchanted to be invisible. The city is in chaos, and sister and I must makes sure the elements are held at bay. saberhorns, your charge is to help us repair the pillars. Boreali, you shall get them to the underside of the city and act as messengers. Nightwalkers, your task is to go into the city and give aide to the citizens. Direct them to the bunker in the mountain, help the wounded, whatever is needed. This is our time to shine, my ponies!"
Every Night Guard present saluted, with a loud "Bound by oath, united by honor!", they split up their forces. Most of the saberhorns left on chariots, the few remaining being the medics. Messengers were designated and flown out to get an idea of what areas needed the most help. The remaining nightwalkers and few saberhorns gathered medical supplies and water. When the scouts returned, they headed out into the city, even the officers went into the field to do their part.
The avalanche finally stopped after some time, and the top of the Canterhorn was barren of snow. Celestia made sure that no more falling objects were going to fall onto her city today, and then flew down and landed next to Luna.
"Luna, what happened? I thought it was going to hit the shield spell and...are you alright?"
Luna was sweating profusely, taking deep breaths. "We are merely holding the city from...*ngghh*... plummeting to the earth, dear sister. Please...*hah*... go to the saberhorns under the city and...*hrk*... aide them with rebuilding the pillars. We can...MAINTAIN... the city until thou hath finished with the repairs."
Celestia nodded once, and flew out of site. Luna continued with her strained spellcasting, putting all her magic into holding Canterlot as still as possible. A few times she felt it tilt ever so slightly more downward, which made her redouble her efforts and pull the city back up as much as she could. All the while, her thoughts were raging in her head.
The star moved! 'Twas nev'r a star, foolish Luna. But of course mine star moving spell wouldn't work on something that wasn't a star. Wherefore didn't it occur to me to think that 'twas something other than space detritus? I was yea told that it wasn't made of metal. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Closing her eyes to fight back tears and to concentrate more on the spell, Luna didn't see the borealis Night Guard returning to the courtyard.
"Princess Luna! Captain Crescent Fang reporting the situation. About sixty percent of citizens have been successfully evacuated to the bunker, those remaining are mostly injured or trapped in debris. The repairs are proceeding quickly. Princess Celestia says they will be done in a few minutes."
Luna could only nod. She would never admit it, but she was bordering on blacking out from the magic strain. However, the city eventually righted itself to its former horizontal orientation beneath their hooves, and Luna dropped to the ground, panting from her ordeal.
"Princess Luna, do you require me to get you any medical attention?"
Finally opening her eyes, they slowly focused enough to see the captain that had been her liaison to the rest of the guard all night. "We...thought...you had...left."
"You never dismissed me, Princess Luna."
Luna couldn't help but laugh. It came out more as some strained wheezes then actual laughter. "Well then, Captain...we would...like thou...to get us water. We are...merely weary from...this evening."
"At once Princess Luna." With that, Crescent Fang silently flew off into the night.
As the Captain flew off, Luna couldn't help but feel that this event was nowhere near over. She would have to organize an expedition into the Canterhorn Caverns to see if the object that had fallen from her night sky could be located. If it was, then...she would deal with it then. Currently, she just wanted to get the glass of water and go to sleep. She didn't have the energy to lower the moon, and she was sure Tia wouldn't mind doing it for her.
By the time Crescent Fang returned with the glass, Luna was already asleep. Crescent put the glass down, and began to stand guard in front of Luna. Still having yet to be dismissed, she began to quietly patrol around the courtyard, ensuring Princess Luna got some rest. While on her patrol, a single black feather landed on her nose. The captain of the Night Guard was no stranger to pegusi, and she had met ponies of all shades of color; however, she had never seen a feather this dark before. It seemed to eat the light around it, and it didn't even have a sheen to reflect the light from the moon. She tucked the feather away in a spare scroll case from her messenger bags. If no other good came of this night, at least she had a new feather for her collection back home.