//------------------------------//
// The Offer 
// Story: The Lunar Apprentice 
// by NightmareDash 
//------------------------------//

Gliding over the Everfree Forest, Rainbow Dash ducked in and out of clouds. With the threat of Discord eliminated, she finally had the chance to do some flying. Twilight had commissioned her to gather some data on Everfree climate patterns, and it was simple enough work to keep her out of Twilight's Egghead Zone. Basic observations, like cloud movement, rainstorm severity and frequency, and air temperatures. For this, Dash wore a set of thermometers and assorted weather-gauging equipment, and checked them periodically. All in all, it was mundane work, but she was getting paid, so she couldn't complain. But her night was about to take a radical turn.

As Dash climbed upward for high-altitude observation, the dark monochrome of the evening was broken by a bright glow in the clouds. She turned from her instruments to the colorful lights imprinted in the sky. They made a familiar shape: her cutie mark. Power-diving below the cloudline, she found a disturbing source for the image. She could see a colorful fire, burning below her, looking exactly like her cutie mark. Her curiousity piqued, Dash descended even further to investigate. The fire did not appear to be consuming the trees, and it wasn't spreading at all. She couldn't feel heat coming off of it either. Even more mysterious, a black-cloaked pony was standing in a clearing, at the tip of the lightning bolt.

Dash dropped into the clearing, suspiciously eyeing the cloaked figure. She was a regularly sized pony, but her coat was a tone darker than Dash had seen in anypony. But somehow she looked familiar. Shrugging her hood off, she instantly became recognizable: Princess Luna.

"Princess Luna? What are you doing here? What is this?"

"I discovered you were in the area, and needed a way to signal you. I'm glad to see it worked."

"But setting a fire in the Everfree Forest? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"Be calm, Rainbow Dash. There was no risk to anypony. Observe."

Luna dropped her cloak and spread her wings. Her horn began to glow, and a second later, she released a radial burst of energy. It felt like a wind blast to Dash, and it quickly snuffed out the large blaze. She then heard a series of cracks, and looked to her side to see her instruments broken, frozen at their present readings. All she could see now was nondescript forest; no trace of the previous fires. 

"Cool tricks."

"Thank you. They came to be useful during celebrations before my absence. They complemented my stunt flying very well."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You used to be a trick flyer?"

"Indeed. 'The Angel of the Night' they called me. Celestia may have been older and stronger in magic, but I could always outclass her in the air. I'm sure you would have loved to see me during one of my flights."

"Are you kidding? One of the princesses of Equestria, doing stunt flying? I would die to see that."

"I will not ask so much, friend."

Luna leapt up in the air, and cruised skyward. She spiraled horizontally, leaving a twisted column of dark energy behind her. She pulled upward, bringing herself back around and turning the column into a loop. She then pulled out, and with a sparkle of her horn, the entire loop vanished in a neon blue flash of light. Luna returned to cruising, but broke from the path, quickly angling herself straight upward. She accelerated, forming a bullet-like mach cone in the sky. A second later, the air around her exploded in a blast of luminescent blue light. Dash followed Luna's expected path with her eyes, but saw nothing. She scanned the air, but still could not spot her. 

"Impressed?"

Dash whirled around, frightened by the voice behind her. Luna had arrived without any kind of sound or signal.

"Holy... how did you get there?"

"One of my best tricks, Rainbow Dash. I could use the darkness of the night, in tandem with my speed and a touch of magic, to seemingly disappear. What you just saw was called my 'Darkblast'. It's very similar to your Sonic Rainboom, only with darkness instead of color."

"Very cool."

"I could probably teach you how to do it."

"Disappear? I thought you said you needed magic to do it."

"Yes, regular magic does help. But there's something even you don't know about your flying: when you do a Sonic Rainboom, or I do a Darkblast, we are actually channeling magical energy."

"Magic? But I'm not a unicorn, I don't have any magic."

"Rainbow Dash, everypony has an amount of magical energy within them. The only difference is that unicorns have horns to focus that energy. Earth ponies, though they don't know it, can use that energy to become stronger or faster when working. And pegasi, like you, can channel it through their speed. As an alicorn, I have access to all three forms. But I can teach you to use your speed to create magic that a unicorn could never match."

"No way. That is so buckin' cool."

"I could teach you how to concentrate your Sonic Rainboom into a single force, capable of vaporizing steel through pure energy. Or how to phase through objects at high speeds. Or, as you just saw, the disappearing trick."

"You could? So I'd be, like, your apprentice?"

"Yes, in a sense. Somewhat like your friend Twilight is to my sister. Except I would actually teach you, rather than leaving you alone, to hopefully discover and figure out for yourself. It would be, how you say, hooves-on training."

"It sounds like a great opportunity, Princess Luna, but I'm not sure I can. I am in charge of Ponyville's weather, after all, and I don't have time for an all-consuming pursuit like Twilight."

"Nonsense. You certainly possess the natural talent, and I'm sure you will learn quickly. And you will train at night, when nopony really cares about the weather. We can work in peace, and I will be able to teach you when I'm at my full potential. But I sense you require further convincing. Come with me."

Luna motioned her deep into the forest, and looking carefully, Dash could see a pathway leading through the woods. Luna led the way, guiding with sure hooves through the trees and brush. After about a minute of walking, Dash spotted an encampment further down the path. It was a group of wooden buildings, surrounded by odd structures and what looked like an obstacle course. The entire area was teeming with ponies, most maneuvering about the course, some doing workouts and exercise drills, and others at target practice with horn-based magic and bucked projectiles. Dash noticed that all of them were wearing the armor of Luna's guards, though only the few in charge had the signature draconic appearance. 

"This is Camp Blacklight, the training center for all of my prospective guardsponies. Each one endures rigorous physical and mental challenges before being admitted into our ranks. Here you can see the baracks, armory, and training facilities. Deeper in the woods are other challenge courses, as well as a few other buildings. Camp Blacklight also acts as the headquarters for my guard force as a whole, and we have a command center deep in the forest. Celestia has yet to discover its existence. In fact, you are the first non-guard or guard-prospective to have laid eyes on it."

"Whoa, this is cool. Looks pretty tough."

"Yes, unlike my sister's 'welcome-with-open-arms' approach with her guards, we accept only the best. And anypony that's willing to work for it, we can make the best. We train at night, to be better prepared for stealth operations. We teach paramilitary skills, espionage, field leadership, sabotage, so on so on. The kind of shadowy business Celestia frowns upon. If Equestria, or more specifically I, were to come under threat, this group is the only line of defense we'd ever need."

"Dang, these guys are good. And they're loyal to you?"

"Exactly. Not Equestria, not the princesses in plural, but me, Princess Luna. In fact, when I first became Nightmare Moon, some of them even tried to assassinate my sister. Of course, those few are long gone, but now that I'm back in Equestria, I've wasted no time restarting the program. I've almost raised an army, you might say."

"Assassinate Celestia? You guys are hardcore. One question: why are you showing me all this?"

"Simple, Rainbow Dash. I would like to put you in command of them."

"Whoa whoa whoa, what? You want me to command your army?"

"Yes, if you become my apprentice. You see, as royalty, I often get bogged down in beauracracy and political red-tape. I can't lead my soldiers in the field, or I risk a massive scandal. I've needed somepony for a while who can be in charge directly, somepony with a quick mind and decisive leadership. Somepony like you, Rainbow Dash. Of course, you would learn with the rest of the recruits, and we would teach you all of the skills we teach them. But while they drill and march, you would be with me, and I would show you how to use your inner magic through speed. And you would lead them in battle, in command of the most powerful force in Equestria. And believe me, battle will be coming. And there is one group in particular I would like you to lead."

Luna pointed to the sky, and following her hoof, Dash caught a glimpse of a group of pegasi flying in perfect V-formation. They each left a dark trail of clouds, sparkling with lightning. Their colored flight-suits were all too familiar to her.

"Hang on a buckin' second. You want me to lead the..."

"Yes, Rainbow Dash. I call it the Shadowbolt Program. Over the past few months, I've been training an elite flight team to surpass the Wonderbolts in terms of aerial skill. What you saw when I was Nightmare Moon was my memory of the team from before my exile. They've been around as long as the Wonderbolts, and have always been better. And believe me, you are more than qualified to lead them. You'd even get their uniform. Not your homemade version from Nightmare Night, mind you, but high-quality fabric, enchanted to make you even faster. I mean every word I've said tonight, Rainbow Dash. All of it will be yours, if you become my apprentice. Have you made your decision?"

"Almost, but there's one thing I'm wondering. What will Celestia and Twilight think? And how will this affect our whole "Elements of Harmony" club?"

"With what I can teach you, you would be able to use all the Elements together, even without the others."

"Not even Twilight can do that..."

"Yes, and as for my sister and your friend, think nothing of it: they never have to know."

"Then I'm in, Princess Luna. When do we start?"

"Immediately, if you wish. I will introduce you to the staff at Camp Blacklight. And please, now that we are on a less formal level, call me Luna. I believe we can both benefit very much from this partnership."