• Published 24th May 2019
  • 9,912 Views, 1,521 Comments

Luna is a Harsh Mistress - Starscribe



When Celestia banished Nightmare Moon, she didn't go alone, but with her loyal army. Now they're trapped in an alien environment, with tensions high and the air running out. If they don't work together, their princess will soon be alone after all.

  • ...
25
 1,521
 9,912

PreviousChapters Next
Chapter 45: Desperate Fate

Silver Star advanced slowly, creeping along the back of the crowd. This was the moment he declared war on Flint and probably her whole army as well. In a city that has done almost nothing but prepare for a war for the last century. But what good would all that preparation do when the ones they were fighting were in their own streets?

The shelters weren’t armored fortresses, their doors were only thick to hold all the heat in. That’s why they needed guards.

Silver hesitated, taking aim. He’d like to think he’d never killed anypony before—but living at the bottom, fights over scraps probably had ended in death for somepony. If you didn’t eat, you died. At least this time he was surrounded by evidence of the evil these ponies were doing. If these soldiers were good, they’d let them in. They’ve already killed people. They’re here to watch them die.

He fired. The crowd screamed, seeming to come to life for the first time. They jerked away from the noise as a unit. A second later there was another crack of sound, and one of the soldiers fell. These were metal bullets after all—flexible air-armor didn’t stand a chance.

The soldier still standing spun on his hooves, raising his rifle and searching for the danger. But by the time he did, Silver had his rifle trained on him too, and fired. Metal clanged as his second shot went as wild as the first, straight into the shelter door. But another moment later, and the second soldier dropped.

Not cleanly dead either, but clutching at a slow drip of red from inside their armor.

Silver slung his gun again, striding through the panicked crowd and shoving them forcefully out of the way. He could’ve used magic, but it seemed like the drama would serve a little better. He took hold of the handle in his mouth, and yanked, pulling the shelter doors open. “Ponies!” he yelled, turning towards the crowd. Loud enough that they stopped moving. “Take your loved ones inside. You won’t freeze tonight.”

“Bastard…” someone croaked. The soldier, glaring up at him with pain on his face. “You’re… insane. Stealing a gun, attacking us. W-what… do you think will…”

Silver glared down at him, lifting the rifle again and reloading, plain for every watching pony to see. He’d missed twice, but somehow he didn’t think that was likely this time. “Giving them a better chance than you did,” he said, pressing the gun right up against the soldier’s chest. In some ways it was probably a kindness—a quick death, rather than freezing and bleeding to death at the same moment.

But surrounded by the bodies of innocent ponies this soldier had killed, Silver wasn’t thinking of mercy. He fired, again, and this time the soldier stopped moving.

He turned back to the crowd, who had fallen deathly still now. Even so, he could see the way their eyes darted towards the open door. Heat radiated out from inside, turning the ice just outside to vapor on contact. “Go in,” he said, a little louder this time. “You don’t have to freeze.”

The crowd moved. Many were too weak to make it on their own, and needed the help of the ponies around them.

A handful of ponies lingered near him as the crowd emptied. They were wrapped in sturdy coats, though against the lunar night they still wouldn’t be enough. “What alicorn are you?” one asked. “Nightmare Moon has a son?”

Silver’s eyebrows went up, momentarily confused. But then he glanced over his shoulder, and saw the inflated wing-covers. Empty perhaps, though that wouldn’t be anything they could see. With his horn and magic, it was a natural enough conclusion. “Somepony has to do something about this,” he answered, noncommittally. “It’s me.”

“Us,” Magpie corrected, striding up beside him. “I’ve seen fillies shoot straighter than you.”

Silver ignored her, and apparently these ponies did too. There were four of them here, young and strong. Looking into those faces, they didn’t seem so… defeated.

“Just them?” the same pony asked. A sturdy-looking bat stallion. Strong enough that he could’ve been in the army, if he wanted to be. “What about the other shelters?”

“That’s where I’m headed.” Silver lifted the two fallen rifles in his magic, offering them to the waiting ponies. “Fight with me?”

They did.

Silver Star expected resistance to mount as he moved from one street shelter to the next. There had to be ponies watching him, even if his first attack had been so unexpected that nopony could react in time. But by the time he’d reached the fourth of the six street shelters, there weren’t any guards at all, just a crowd of baffled ponies and an unguarded door.

His little rebellion had grown to about a dozen ponies by then, those strong enough to keep fighting despite the bone-chilling temperatures. Mostly earth ponies, though not all.

“This isn’t good news,” Magpie whispered, as they reached the fifth shelter—which also looked like it had just been abandoned. “They’ve already figured out what we’re doing. They’re reacting.”

Silver opened the door, repeated his speech—though it was less dramatic without the fight. Ponies were still eager to rush into the heat, but without any of the instant wave of loyalty he’d gained. Even so, his crowd of resistance ponies grew. Just… without any new weapons taken from dead soldiers. “Why would they pull back?” Silver asked. “Wouldn’t they want to mobilize enough soldiers to stop us? They can’t be about to let us have what we want.”

Magpie shook her head. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but I know it isn’t good. I’d expect them to send out more soldiers too, while the mob is too weak to fight back. They can’t expect to win against everypony, now that we know they’re trying to kill us. Not knowing what your enemy is planning is the worst position to be in, that’s why Luna created us in the first place. Too bad you un-created me, eh? I could sneak in and listen to what they’re planning.”

“Excuse me,” said Nidus Opera—the name of the first bat who had joined them. He’d personally killed at least one soldier so far, with the bayonet. “What are you, Magpie? Did the prince summon you to fight? Or… I guess his mother did?”

“No,” she snapped. “Well… kinda. I guess he did, inadvertently. Ask him what the buck I am, I don’t even know anymore. I was a Voidseeker. Now I’m just annoyed.”

“She’s called a crystal pony,” Silver supplied, as the crowd flowed past them into the shelter. “I think. We’ve been going back and forth saving each other’s lives for the last few weeks. But she was one of Nightmare’s Voidseekers. Now she’s something new. My friend.”

That caught her off-guard, enough that whatever quip she’d been preparing died stillborn. She just glared in his direction. She was largely silent as they finished the last few shelters. Eventually they’d finished, and the moaning on the streets of Moonrise had fallen silent.

Silver took his little rebellion into the last shelter they visited. When he left, there never would’ve been enough room to bring in nearly two dozen unassigned ponies into a single shelter. But now… there was enough empty space that they could even claim a few tables in back, near the heat-vents.

There was no contest for them, since even here the ponies seemed to understand exactly who was responsible for their safety. There were probably at least twenty ponies on Silver’s side by now. Quite a few, though it was hard for him to imagine fighting all of Moonrise with an army of twenty.

“I didn’t know there were stallion Alicorns,” an earth pony named Rictus said. “That just passes from mother to son?”

He waited to make sure everypony was close enough to hear before answering. He didn’t want to answer more than once. It could be useful to have the whole world thinking I’m an Alicorn. But it’s easy to prove that’s false. Or the princess could think some rival somehow got into her home and is fighting her for control.

“I’m not an Alicorn,” he said. “This armor was made for them, that’s why it has wings. I’m just a unicorn. But I wanted my enemies to think that I was.”

“It worked,” Magpie muttered. “Those soldiers practically wet themselves. But you won’t be able to get away with a stunt like that against a real army. Unless you want to try and bluff our way all the way to the princess. Doesn’t seem likely, Silver.”

He could sense their disappointment. A few of the ponies on the remote edges even retreated—maybe they were going to abandon him? Better now than during a real battle.

“My cause isn’t any different,” he said. “The way ponies are treated is unacceptable. I’m here to overthrow General Flint, and make Nightmare Moon see how her citizens are being treated. She won’t want it either.”

Ponies shifted uneasily muttering to one another. The instant symbol of authority was gone, he couldn’t blame them for their lack of faith.

“I ain’t fighting for no unicorn nobody’s heard of,” said one. “You’re on your own.”

More ponies stood, over half the little group. Once the crowd started moving, it was soon joined by even more.

Magpie smacked one hoof against the table, loud enough that the entire shelter fell silent. “After what we did, do you really think you can just hide? They were already going to let everypony freeze to death. You think they won’t put you right back out into the cold? If we lose, everyone dies. Silver Star was chosen by the god of Vanaheimr, sent here to save you all. Do you want to live or not?”

Silver waited, hoping he didn’t look too desperate as ponies decided how to react. Strong-arming them wouldn’t work—and would probably only make things worse. Every pony fighting with him had to choose, or else they’d break at the first sign of trouble.

“Ponies have fought before,” he said. “We won’t be the first ones.”

“They died,” Nidus said darkly. “Almost all of them. Anypony they could find. I think somepony must’ve… cracked under interrogation. Can’t blame them—the things they did. I could hear the screaming halfway across the city. What makes you different, Silver Star?”

“I’m not going to sneak around in the shadows and quietly plot,” he answered. “I’m going straight to General Flint. I’m going to kill her and take her place. Then I’ll up the rations, end the mandatory work details, and build more shelters.”

“Flint isn’t the reason things are like this,” Nidus countered. “I’ve been there, colt. I’ve seen life in those towers. Lord Regent is the one who decides what his generals do. Flint doesn’t act this way because she’s stupid, or pointlessly cruel. She’s doing what he orders. Everything in Moonrise has to be ready for the invasion. Anypony who isn’t preparing to fight in Equestria is a waste of resources.”

There were a few mutters of assent. Even Rictus stayed to hear his answer, watching closely. They all were, now.

“Then I’ll have to replace the Lord Regent.” Silver glanced briefly to the large pouch on his armor, and very nearly lifted the gun from inside to show them. An Alicorn weapon would go a long way to proving his legitimacy, but it would also mean his enemies would discover he had it. “Anypony can challenge their superior, it’s how the army is always run. Tell them, Magpie.”

“Since the Lunar Rebellion,” Magpie echoed. “I’ve seen half a hundred upstarts dead doing it, but plenty of Nightmare’s best generals got into power that way. She wanted the strongest, who could command fear from their inferiors. The princess will allow a challenge to any authority but her own.”

“So all you have to do is kill the Lord Regent?” Nidus asked. “The greatest warrior of our generation. I couldn’t do it.”

“I can,” he said. It didn’t feel like Silver’s own will moved his tongue in that moment. But he agreed. “The city must survive. If it fails, then the legacy of its progenitors is destroyed. The ancients did not overcome half the galaxy and cross the unfathomable abyss for their children to suffocate on a barren moon.”

Nopony seemed to know what that meant. Silver felt their staring eyes on him, though he couldn’t tell if they were awed or frightened of his insanity.

He wouldn’t get to find out, because at that moment somepony yelled. “The vent isn’t warm anymore!”

Everypony turned, even the vast majority of creatures who’d just been huddling together trying to get warm.

Silver rose, striding the short distance to the heat vent. It was closer than he’d ever been during the night, close enough to see the large heatsink and slow-moving fan blowing over it. He stuck his face right up against the opening, closing his eyes and letting the breeze wash over him. It only took a few seconds to confirm the story.

They stopped the heat.

“We’re not even worth fighting!” somepony yelled. “They’re not going to fight us fairly! They’re just going to let us freeze!”

“Makes sense.” Nidus didn’t rise from his seat. “We’re beneath them. Those few guards—they were probably just to save them the inconvenience. The heat system is old, and not many ponies know how to make it work. They’d rather just leave it alone. Why come out and put more soldiers at risk when they can just wait for the cold to do it? They’re safe in their fortress, while we weaken and die.”

Magpie rose, making her way over. She rested one hoof on his shoulder, surprisingly soft despite the suits between them. “You must’ve known this could happen.”

He nodded. “I didn’t think… but I didn’t think they would be willing to murder so many.”

“We can’t just sit here and wait!” Rictus called, stomping towards him. “You wanted to be our leader, unicorn? Time to lead.”

He closed his eyes, waiting for the Polestar to drop back in and take control. It would know what to do. It could lead him to victory.

Nothing happened.

He waited a few more seconds, conscious of the eyes on him. Ponies were starting to whisper. That desperation would turn to anger if he let it. They would blame him, even though they’d been just as doomed before him.

“You say it’s old.” Silver turned to Magpie. “Do you remember where it is?”

She nodded. “Assuming they haven’t changed it. The heat core should be… I could point you to it. There’s a tower there now, biggest one in the cave. It has to be fortified, Silver. Those ponies are cruel and evil, but they’re not stupid.”

Silver levitated his stolen rifle off the table—then set it down again, just as quickly. “It’s still warm in here, and every other shelter. We’ve got food, and supplies…” He straightened, marching up to the front of the room. “Everypony who wants to fight with us, eat until you’re full, and rest until you’re warm. Magpie and I will talk to the other shelters. This should… help everypony realize. I know many of you think you’re too weak to fight.”

He pointed at the dead vent, voice echoing through the little shelter. “General Flint hasn’t given you a choice! If you don’t fight with us, we’re all dead! Today, recover your strength. Tomorrow, we turn the heat on. Together.”

He marched towards the back door, as though he was already a lunar general, and his commands would be obeyed. He levitated the stolen gun along with him, almost as an afterthought. “Oh, and don’t open this door again after I leave. Conserve the heat you have left.”

He left, banging the door shut behind them.

Magpie shifted, tossing her gun over her shoulder. “They didn’t waste time trying to kill you. Do you think they might really be about to invade Equestria?”

“I don’t care,” he muttered. “This is our home, Magpie.”

She laughed, her voice bitter and her breath raising no fog of heat. His did, puffing out in front of him in the harsh chill. “No it isn’t. Claustrophobic caverns and constant dimness. Only green is the mold, and the food grows in little boxes. Ponies aren’t meant to live like this.”

How else are we supposed to live? Silver stared at the dirty alleys and concrete sky tower supports, scattered with garbage and the frozen bodies of the dead. A light powder of dirty snow fell from above, dusting every surface with sickly green. “Moonrise could do better. You’ve seen the way the Alicorns lived. Our city should be like theirs. But instead of sending Gatecrashers and growing the Arcanium, we have a Lord Commander who doesn’t want anypony who isn’t making war. He’s the reason we’re like this. We don’t need Equestria if we can make a better home here.”

“Can we?” Magpie whispered, resting the butt of the oversized rifle on the ground in front of her. “This might be a short revolution, Silver. We don’t have an Alicorn, or even any time to prepare. Flint is controlling the terms. She’s forcing us to attack her where she’s strongest. I may not remember much from the war, but I know one thing: every time Luna fought the way her sister wanted her to, she lost. It was only by doing the unexpected that the war started to turn.

“We never stood a chance fighting in formation and marching slowly at one another the way wars had always been fought before. We had to do something different.”

Silver set off towards the next shelter, gun levitated beside him. He expected a counterattack at any moment—but nothing came. He had killed soldiers of Moonrise, and now he crossed the streets without consequence. At least Polestar hadn’t revoked its protection. “They expect us to go straight for the heat core. Otherwise, we freeze.”

Magpie nodded her agreement. “Obviously. Everyone fights for the status quo. Little minds in little boxes.”

Silver stopped walking, dropping the gun. “We can’t win that fight. The heat core… it’s tucked away in the oldest part of the city. There are probably a hundred Praetorian guards between us and those valves.”

“I don’t know what that is, but you’re probably right.”

“Elite soldiers,” he supplied. “Voidseekers without Nightmare magic. They copy your rules, but… I’m guessing they don’t have any power behind it. Still better fighters than anything we have. They’ll kill all of us, and we won’t make it halfway to turning the heat back on. Everypony in the shelters still dies.”

Magpie nodded gravely. “So think of something else, unicorn. You want to pretend to be a leader? Now’s when you get to act like one. What don’t they expect?”

Silver scanned the gloomy streets of Moonrise for inspiration. Could they knock down a sky tower? No, they’d freeze before they did any damage to those foundations. Could they flood the city? No, the water was already frozen.

Then his eyes wandered to the slope, leading all the way up to Central Shipping. It was shut down of course, waiting for the lunar day to send out miners and Dustwalkers again. How many guards did they leave on the airlock?

PreviousChapters Next