“Sacrifice of personal desire is the very first thing that a monarch must learn. You must serve the nation, for the result of the opposite can only be disaster.”
- Princess Luna, Personal Journals (Vol. 2)
“So I came here, you see, alone and unwanted. Of course none of this was here then, but I built it. All so that when this day came, I could finally stop my mother from stealing the throne of the country, and claim it rightfully for myself.”
Seraph had been animated as he told the story, occasionally unable to sit still as he shook his hooves to emphasize his anger, and to Luna it had seemed as if it all had happened only yesterday, such was the blaze of fire in his face. The scars were evidently still very fresh, even though it had been nearly twenty years. But then, it was not just Seraph that had suffered. The whole country had been forced to endure years more of Discord’s reign. When Luna thought about it, she could feel that same fire burning in her. How much grief had Terraria caused through her arrogance? And now she was coming, coming to take the crown that she sought, and it was up to her and Seraph to stop her.
“And Atlas really just did nothing?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat. The two of them had retired back to Seraph’s apartment, after hours spent working down in the factory. Just as in the city above, it was impossible to tell time down here, but from the tiredness that was settling into her limbs, Luna guessed that it had been nearly a day. Seraph, though, looked just as bright as ever. It was as if his anger alone was sustaining him.
“You and he were close, weren’t you?” Seraph was sitting back, looking at her coolly. His eyelids were drawn down, and he paused a moment, calculating. Suddenly the family resemblance between him and his sister dawned on Luna. “You must have thought him strong, as I once did. That his convictions and ideals would compel him to always take the side of justice, and of good. I’m sorry that you had to find out his true nature this way.”
“No matter,” she replied. “I suppose that I was bound to find out eventually. It’s not important. What matters now is that we make sure the tyrant falls, and when he does, that the crown is returned to the proper hooves.”
“There we are! The fighting spirit of the true Resistance!” Seraph sat forward and clapped a hoof down on the table between them. “Now, you’ve told me everything about what you’ve learned, about unicorn magic and pegasus magic. Once upon a time, the Resistance had a third course of study, which you missed out on. Would you like to know what an earth pony can show you?”
Luna remembered her studies under Aqua. “It’s not… something learned in a classroom, is it?” she asked uncertainly.
He let out a hearty guffaw. “I can tell that you didn’t appreciate my sister’s methods. Don’t worry, my lessons are much more hooves-on. Shall we?” He pointed towards an ornate set of wooden doors that were across the room. Luna had noticed them before, since their ornamentation stood out boldly in the otherwise spartan apartment. Whatever was behind them, she assumed, had to be something of great value.
Seraph unlocked the door slowly, with a reverence that Luna hadn’t seen from him yet. Down below, while they had been working, the earth pony had moved with swift, almost chaotic ferocity. Here, though, he moved calmly and deliberately, and even took a deep breath before pushing the door open. It took Luna a moment before she understood what it reminded her of: it was exactly how Celestia always acted before she stepped into a library.
Beyond the door’s threshold was a large, open chamber, lit only by brightly burning torches set into its rear wall. Two short benches ran along the back of the room, now empty of course. On the left wall were a few training dummies, each well-worn by practice. And on the right wall was displayed the most diverse assortment of weaponry that Luna had ever seen. There were swords of all sorts, some long and some short, some graceful and thin, others seemingly too heavy for a single pony to lift. Some of them Luna recognized from Aqua’s history books, wing-blades for pegasi and dagger-meshes for unicorns. Some others though were so outlandish that Luna had no idea how they were to be wielded.
Seraph walked forward until he reached about the centre of the room, then turned around to face her. “Earth ponies, you know, have always been the disadvantaged tribe. The unicorns and the pegasi are born with all the power, and so it is perhaps unsurprising that the first smiths and forgers were earth ponies. It was only with weapons like these that we could even the odds.”
Seraph inhaled deeply once more, then closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. When he brought his gaze back up to Luna, his face was clear and focused. “Having grown up in Eridian, I expect that you are somewhat familiar with unarmed combat?”
Luna felt a ripple of nervousness course through her. “Celestia protected me when I was young,” she said. “When I got older, we survived with our wits, not with our strength.”
Seraph’s eyes stayed on her, sizing her up, investigating every corner of her body. Luna felt exposed under his stare, just as she always had whenever Aqua asked her a penetrating question. She took a few more steps into the room, watching the Master of Fire closely. The floor underneath felt like thin cloth stretched over wood, sturdy and springy at the same time.
“That may be,” Seraph said, “but I’ve never met a street urchin that didn’t know how to handle herself in a fight, even if she might not know it.”
Seraph moved fast, lunging forward with a quick right forehoof. By the time that Luna had time to think, she had already ducked underneath it, and stood once more facing him. Seraph was grinning.
“See? You’ve got it in you. Now let us see what else you’ve got.”
And again, quick as lightning, he came at her.
Celestia sat in silent contemplation as she absorbed the implications of what she had just heard. All of the things that she had thought she knew about the Resistance had been cast in a new light as Atlas had told his story. But each new detail, unexpected though they might have been initially, quickly slotted into its proper place. Looking at the completed picture now, there was only one thing that didn’t make sense.
“Why didn’t you tell me all of this in the first place?” she asked, looking pointedly at Aqua. Atlas was still staring despondently at the ground, reliving his own demons. His partner, though, had enough of a hold on herself to answer.
“There are a few reasons for that,” Aqua said, her eyelids drawn down in thought. “Firstly, the story of that night is a closely-guarded secret within the Resistance. Terraria would have been furious with us if it got out. Second, Atlas and I have both spent years trying to come to terms with what we did. Trying to pretend that it never happened was the easiest way to forget.”
The white unicorn placed a comforting hoof on her husband’s shoulder. With an effort, Atlas raised his head and looked into her eyes. “We were trying to run away from our responsibility,” he said, “just as we did that night. But we can’t avoid this burden.”
Aqua nodded, and slowly the two of them came together into a tender embrace. Celestia wanted to say something consoling, to reassure them that their hearts had always been in the right place, but decided now wasn’t quite the time. After an instant, Atlas opened his eyes again, and released his wife. He turned once more to Celestia.
“There was one other reason why we deceived you, a plan which unfortunately ended up turning against us. Twenty years have passed since that parting, and in all that time, we’ve come no closer to the victory that then seemed so close. That is, until we met the two of you.” He gave Aqua another meaningful look. “Luna and you were truly powerful, both of us knew it as soon as we met you. That’s why we pursued you so doggedly in Eridian. You were the first real hope that we’d had for years.”
“But we were both frightened that history would repeat itself,” Aqua said, nodding as she continued. “We feared that ponies with as strong of hearts as yours would follow the same road as Seraph, and once again leave us adrift. We thought that maybe, if we painted him as a traitor, it would bind you and your sister to the Resistance.”
“That, in the end, is why we lied to you,” Atlas continued, his eyes searching her for signs of forgiveness. “If we had known that this was how it was going to end up, we would have left you to your own business.” He stopped, and bowed his head low again, silent. Aqua too seemed to have nothing more to say.
Celestia wasn’t sure how to respond. “But surely things aren’t so bad as all that. If we are the fulfillment of Terraria’s Prophecy, then—”
“Terraria is a fool! Her words aren’t worth the air that takes them to your ears!” Celestia’s head jerked up, for the outburst had not come from Atlas, but instead it had been a voice she had never heard before. Aqua’s brow was stormy, and her normally crystalline eyes shone as with inner flame. “Her Prophecy does exist, but she takes great liberty in its interpretation. I tried to trust her, I tried to believe that she really knew what she was doing, but the events of the last few days can only mean that Seraph was right.”
Celestia tried to get her head around this latest development. “But then there was no need for the Resistance to choose one of me or Luna?”
Aqua sighed. “No. Atlas and I knew immediately, as soon as you restored the Sun and the Moon, that it was you and Luna, together, who had the power to unseat the King. I think that the rest of the Resistance knew it too. But Terraria had already confirmed the two of us, and we foolishly hoped that maybe both of you would stick around, even if only one of you could be a Triumvir.”
Celestia thought back to their year spent apart, and the past few days that she had spent with Luna. They had been happy days, overall, but always the spectre of that decision had hung over them. The necessity that one of them rise over the other one had been the spike which had driven them apart, the wedge that forced them to work against each other, when in reality they should have worked together from the start. And now… Her thoughts turned once again to Luna.
Celestia looked up, and saw a mournful sense of recognition in Atlas’ eyes. Finally, she understood the expression that she had seen on his face that morning, when he had first heard of Luna’s disappearance. It was the pain of reliving the darkest days of his past, the despair at knowing that Equestria’s one chance at freedom had once again slipped through the Resistance’s hooves.
“Yes,” he said with a sullen nod. “Luna was very likely our only chance.”
Celestia caught the meaning hidden in the choice of words. Of course she had thought the very same thing that morning, but for some reason hearing Atlas say it outright brought things into sharper focus. She blinked back a tear that was trying to form at the corner of her eye. “You said that you thought there was a chance…?”
“A day? Alone behind enemy lines?” Aqua caught herself, and instead she tried on a consoling smile. “I know that it’s difficult to accept, but it’s simply impossible. If Seraph couldn’t make it, then neither could she.”
Atlas took a deep breath. “Aqua, Seraph is alive.”
She whipped her head around. “What? But that’s impossible! How could he have lived?”
Atlas closed his eyes again, and solemnly began the tale. “For three years, as Chaos Reigned, I tried to live without knowing, like you, my love. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t sleep without being sure. Because if he was still alive out there, then that meant there was still a chance to make something good out of my life.
“So I followed him, as soon as the storm cleared. I knew that he would come to Eridian, so I traveled there first. I spent some weeks lying low among the crowds, searching every alleyway and slum for signs of my old friend. I had almost given up, when one day on a whim I ventured up, into the old city. That was where I saw him, with his head held high, among the traitors.” He looked up again, deep into Aqua’s eyes, almost challenging her to believe it. It took a moment, but then the slimmest of smiles came to her lips.
“Why did you never tell me?” she whispered.
Atlas reached up and caressed his wife’s cheek. “I always wanted to, but I couldn’t. If Terraria had ever found out…”
“Of course,” Aqua returned. “He had to stay dead, for all of our sakes. But all this time he’s been alive. And if he could make it—”
“Then maybe Luna could too,” Celestia finished for her. The thought flashed through her mind, bringing with it an immense sense of relief. If there was any chance, Celestia knew, then her sister would have found it. It meant that there was hope still, hope that she could apologize to Luna, and heal the rift that should never have grown between them.
“What good will that do us, though?” Atlas asked, clapping his forehead with a hoof. “Tomorrow morning Terraria is going to march us right into Discord’s throne room. We won’t have any time to find them.”
“Maybe we won’t have to,” Celestia said thoughtfully, drawing the attention of the two Masters. The hope that she might see Luna again had brought with it a feeling of mental clarity. Celestia just knew that Luna was out there, trying her best to do what she knew was right. And that meant that Celestia needed to do her best too.
“Seraph is a member of the court now, right, Atlas?” The pegasus answered her with a quick nod. “So we’re not going to go in stealth. If we make sure that all of Eridian knows we’re coming, then my guess is he’ll find us. We can only hope that Luna comes too.”
Atlas and Aqua both leaned in towards her. “You have a plan?” Aqua asked.
Celestia smiled conspiratorially. For the first time that day, she felt like she was back in her element. “Yes, I believe that I do.”
Hours later, Luna had locked herself into a trance, the trance of complete control over her body and her mind. Rapidly she had acclimated to Seraph’s instruction, learning to stay low, to make use of her momentum and her mass to catch her opponent off-balance. Now the Master of Fire stood at the front of the room, between the two torches, watching her practice with a hard smile on his face.
“Good, very good, my student,” he said, raising a hoof to signal her to stop. Dripping with sweat, but flush with pride, Luna brought herself up to attention. If there was one thing to be said about combat training, it was an excellent outlet for her frustrations and uncertainties.
“You’ve learned quite quickly,” Seraph stated. “It is as I suspected. Your fillyhood was difficult. Evidently it taught you lessons that you later forgot. But with how short our time is, it is good that we can now get to the truly important work.”
The earth pony started walking over to Luna’s right, towards the wall that was decorated with weaponry. “Normally,” he continued, “an acolyte would have to train for weeks to reach this step, but our time is regrettably short. The presentation of your sword would usually be your induction into the Order, and normally I would make it myself, customized to your fighting style and proportions.” He reached up and unhooked a long and ornately decorated blade from the wall. Holding it tightly in his right hoof, Seraph inspected its length.
“Based on what I can tell, something of this sort should work for you. Not too heavy, optimized for a pegasus’ agility and speed.” He looked up at her darkly. “May it drink the tyrant’s blood within the fortnight.”
As he stepped once more to the front of the room, Luna felt her excitement ebb away. Unarmed combat for personal defence was one thing, but a weapon like that could only serve the purpose of death. “Why is it necessary?” she asked timidly. “A sword is no use against Discord, else you could have personally destroyed him ages ago.”
“True,” he said, “and I would have. But you forget that we have other enemies besides the tyrant. There are other obstacles which will stand in our way, and they are much less resistant to force.”
“They are powerless without him, though,” Luna insisted. “With the King destroyed the citizens of Upper Eridian will have no choice but to surrender.”
“Their surrender is worthless!” Seraph snarled, swishing the sword from left to right in front of him, at just the right height for a pony’s neck. “What right do any of them have to expect forgiveness, after they’ve spent their lives perpetuating the whims of their master? There is only one just punishment for their treachery.”
The words resonated around in Luna’s mind, and there was a part of her that agreed, a section of her heart that was bright and passionate, just like the fire that shone in Seraph’s eyes. But there was another part of her heart, a part from which she heard Atlas’ voice drifting up through her mind. “You and I are special, Luna,” it said, “in that we are capable of facing our fears and pushing past them. It’s for that reason that we are the ones who must take the fight to the King.”
Once upon a time, she would have agreed with Seraph. Anypony who wasn’t willing to fight Discord would have been his ally, and thus her enemy. But nopony sided with the King willingly, they only did it out of fear for what would happen if they didn’t.
Luna looked up into Seraph’s face and slowly shook her head. “I won’t kill them,” she said.
Seraph looked disappointed, though he did not put the sword back. Instead he continued gripping the hilt as he paced a few times at the front of the room. “You may think yourself noble, honourable even,” he said grimly. “But do not kid yourself into thinking there will not be a fight. We are not the only ponies chasing after the crown, and you shouldn’t think that Terraria will be so merciful. Would you allow her to waltz in and take it, simply because she is willing to use force and we are not?”
Luna had forgotten about Terraria. There was no doubt in her mind that the Master of Earth did not deserve to lead Equestria after everything that she had done, but looking at Seraph, who was once again holding the blade out to her, brought Luna to the real heart of the question. Terraria may have been manipulative, but the rest of the Resistance, Luna knew, was noble. Ponies like Atlas, Aqua, even Celestia. True, they were following the wrong leader, but if it came down to that, Luna knew that she could never lift a hoof against any of them. She shook her head.
“You would give it to her?” Seraph was beginning to look agitated. “Why did you come out here, why did you join me, if you didn’t have it in you to do what it takes to set Equestria free? You should be back in Everfree, groveling at her hooves like the rest of the Resistance.”
“You are speaking of two different things,” Luna said, mustering up her courage as she looked Seraph right in the eyes. “When it comes to the tyrant, I will do whatever it takes. But if Equestria is ever to rise again, it must do so unified. You would start a civil war, just to have your revenge.”
“That crown belongs to me!” Seraph roared, spittle flying from his lips. “I worked for it for twenty years, it’s mine! And nopony is going to get in my way, not you, not Discord, not Terraria, nor any of her pawns! I’ll cut them all down if I have to! When Equestria’s future is on the line, there’s no cost that’s too high.”
He stood for a moment there, chest heaving as he recovered his composure. Luna took an involuntary step backwards. Earlier, she had seen that Seraph was a pony dedicated to action, and had thought that he was just like her. When it came to freeing Equestria, any action was better than nothing. But now she saw that this earth pony didn’t care at all for Equestria. His sight was fixed firmly upon the crown, and upon the ponies that had betrayed him.
There was no way that she could stay here, no way that she could follow him in his mad pursuit. But escape from this place would be nigh on impossible. Luna felt a wave of remorse wash over her. In the end, Celestia had been right, just like she always was. In her haste, she had gotten herself into an intractable situation. I’m sorry, Celestia, she thought, I should never have left you.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp rap on the door behind them. Luna dared not take her eyes off of Seraph, since after all he was still holding the sword. His head jerked up toward the sound. “No interruptions!” he yelled.
“Humblest apologies, Master!” came a feeble voice from behind her. “I have a very urgent message from the court, which you absolutely must hear.”
With a sigh, Seraph waved his hoof inward. Luna heard a faint clip-clopping behind her, and then suddenly a small, very well-dressed blue stallion came into view. Likely, he was one of Seraph’s spies in the court. The two of them conversed in hushed tones for several seconds, with Seraph gazing up pointedly at her a few times. Luna took the opportunity to think some more on how she ought to get out of here, but once again came up blank. Something like this was more Celestia’s sort of problem. Once again, the Luna wished that her sister were beside her.
Finally, the spy stepped aside and Seraph looked up, wearing an odd expression. “A white alicorn has appeared in Eridian,” he declared, eyes watching her intently. “She claims to have captured the leaders of the Resistance, and will present them to the court in several hours for her reward.”
Luna’s heart leaped as she heard the news. Celestia had arrived, and with the rest of the Resistance no doubt. If she could get to her sister, then things could still end well. But she couldn’t let Seraph know this. He was still watching her, surely trying to determine if she could be trusted. So she took a deep breath to settle her pounding heart, and looked at him seriously. “Terraria is making her move,” she stated.
Seraph nodded. “Indeed, just as brash and foolish as I knew she would. And that means it is time for me to make mine.” He once again held the sword out to her. “Moment of truth, Luna. Are you going to stand by my side, fighting for justice, or are you going to sit this one out?”
Luna’s eyes darted between Seraph and the stallion standing next to him. He too looked excited, clearly eager to go down to the factory and collect his own weapons, so that he could march with his Order and fight his Master’s fight. This was it, her chance to stop them.
So Luna knelt down before him, and looked up at the Master of Fire in deference. “However I am able, Master,” she said, “I will see that Equestria is returned to its rightful keeper.”