Lunaverse: Galaxy Rangers - The Forbidden Symphony

by Rixizu

Chapter 10

The Forbidden Symphony
Chapter 10
by Rixizu

“How is she, doc?” Lyra fidgeted as the doctor entered the waiting room. The rest of her friends, save Trixie who had vanished, sat with her. After Octavia had collapsed, Lyra had ridden on the ambulance to the hospital. A sickness bubbled in her chest worried this might be her mentor’s last night living.

“She’ll recover.” Doctor Bleeding Heart said. “Miss Octavia pushed her body too hard and didn’t eat and sleep properly. We want to keep overnight for observation, but she’ll be strong enough to leave tomorrow morning.”

“That’s a relief,” Cheerilee said, “she looked worse than she was.”

“And her condition?” Lyra asked.

The doctor’s face fell. “I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about that. There are experimental treatments, but the odds of them succeeding are slim. Not helped by the fact that your friend has refused to try them.”

Lyra blinked. “What?” Even if there was a remote chance, why would her mentor waste it? Octavia was barely in her thirties. Didn’t she want to live?

The doctor shook his head. “She’s told me it isn’t worth the effort. Maybe you can talk some sense into her?”

Lyra’s body sagged. Octavia was impossible to convince of anything. Her stubbornness would get her killed. “How long does she have?”

“A year at most.” The doctor replied. The knot in her heart twisted harder. Bons gave her a comforting hug, but thankfully Lyra didn’t start crying again.

“Can I go see her?” Lyra asked.

Doctor Bleeding Heart nodded. “She’ll need her rest, but you can speak with her for a couple of minutes.”

Lyra waved her friends goodbye and followed the doctor into the small clean hospital room. Her mentor had tubes connected to her everywhere. She still looked weak, but stronger, thank Luna. The doctor shut the door behind him giving them some privacy.

“Hey,” Lyra kept her voice gentle.

“Oh, it’s you,” Octavia said and Lyra winced from her mentor’s tone.

“Just here seeing how you’re doing!” Lyra said with forced cheerfulness.

“Get out.”

“I was really worried about you after you collapsed.” Lyra pretended she hadn’t heard her friend’s objections. “I super glad to see you’re okay. And hey, you're looking better! In a mo, you’ll be in tip-top shape!”

“Get out, Lyra!”

“No, I’m here to see you!”

“What, so you can spit in my face?!” Octavia glared, the hate in her gaze made Lyra take a step back. “Laugh about how you stole my glory! My moment of triumph that…” Her words cut off too angry to speak.

“I…” Lyra didn’t know how to respond and she sagged into a nearby chair. Why had she done it? Upstage what was meant to be her teacher’s last great performance? Had she wanted to do the impossible and show up everypony by playing the ultimate unfinished piece?

“Yeah, I messed up,” Lyra said honestly, “I’m sorry. I was a foal and didn’t realize what you were trying to do. I was just so angry at you for not telling me about your condition. I wasn’t thinking straight. I just wanted to show you what I could do. It was like the symphony was pushing for me to play it. No, that makes no sense. Nevermind. That’s stupid.”

Her mentor stayed silent for so long Lyra was been certain Octavia had fallen asleep. “It was lovely,” she eventually whispered.

Lyra started surprised by such a frank admission. Octavia stared out the window towards the night sky. There weren’t any stars because of the light pollution, but the moon shone vivid amongst the blackness.

“I loved the part about the moon watching over dreaming ponies.” Octavia continued. “I trained you well. I can take some comfort that I’m being replaced with a pony better than myself.”

“Or, you could take those treatments and teach other ponies,” Lyra suggested fighting back the urge to shake her mentor into seeing sense.

Octavia scowled. “The doctor told you about that? It doesn’t matter. I don’t fight for impossible causes. I’m finished and I might as well admit it. I was foolish even attempting the Symphony for Moon and Sun. I’ve already long run my course.” It shocked Lyra how fragile and defeated her teacher looked. A stiff breeze might break her.

“No! Fight on, please!” Lyra grabbed her mentor’s hoof and looked right into Octavia’s eyes. “I need you!”

Octavia turned away. “I’m not you Lyra. I can’t fight monsters or defeat evil. I’m not that strong. No, I am a coward. You were right. I’m afraid of getting close to ponies. I once had a mentor who had his life destroyed because he fell in love with the wrong mare. She deceived, used, and discarded him destroying his career in the process for her schemes. You know how the Night Court is.”

“But what stunned me was what my mentor told me afterward, he didn’t regret it. Despite everything, he still loved her. He told me to continue loving even if ponies hurt me. I thought him a foal at the time, I swore to learn from his mistake.”

“When I see you with Bon-Bon, I… wondered if I was wrong. Then I told myself I was being stupid and you’re the foolish one. Instead, I focused on the only thing I love, music. I believed it would carry me forever, but as you can see, it betrayed me also.”

Lyra didn’t know how to respond. Instead, she held her mentor’s hoof harder hoping it would convey her love. She was the Element of Loyalty, but Lyra figured it went well beyond that. She was also the Element of Love. Didn’t Love and Loyalty go hoof and hoof? They couldn’t exist without the other.

“You’re my only friend Lyra, I want you to know that. I’m still angry at you for showing me up, but I can’t begrudge you when you played something so magnificent.”

Tears welled in Lyra’s eyes. “I’m here for you. Know that, okay? Whatever happens!”

Tears welled in Octavia’s eyes too. She didn’t speak and only nodded holding on tight. The doctor arrived minutes later taking her outside. Lyra swore she’d stay until Octavia left the hospital. Much to her surprise, Princess Luna was in the waiting lobby.

“Is your mentor doing well?” Luna asked.

“She’ll make a full recovery. She was just tired.” Lyra chose keeping her mentor’s condition a secret. It wasn’t her secret to tell.

“Good, the knighting ceremony will begin soon,” Luna said.

Lyra blinked confused. She looked at her dress which wasn’t in the best shape after all the hubbub. “You’re not canceling?”

Luna shook her head. “Trust me. It is vital. Equestria needs to know it has protectors in this dire hour!”

Dire hour? Everything seemed fine to her. Celestia had, supposedly, reformed and they’d beaten every foe they’d faced. Except for that weird evil oceanographer Cheerilee fought, but was she that great a threat? Did it have something to do with that monster that attacked her several days ago? She reluctantly left with the princess to return to the Gala. It was clear from Luna's expression, she wouldn't take no for an answer. She didn’t see any of her friends. There were most likely sent ahead. Lyra gave Octavia’s room another glance before joining the Princess. It took all her willpower to not ditch the princess and run back to her mentor. She told herself Octavia was sleeping anyway and she’d be right back. The princess better have a good reason dragging her away.

---

The corridors were dead silent as they snuck around. Trixie had already ditched her dress storing it in an ornamental vase for later. She didn’t want any obstacles barring her movement. The sound of laughter and music echoed through the empty halls. They came across some bored guards, but Trixie doubted they would notice the intruder even if they stood right before them. She caught one sleeping behind a statue. Trixie sighed. She supposed being an immortal almost unkillable alicorn made Luna a little too overconfident. Sometimes she wondered if the princess hired hopeless cases for her guard because she felt sorry for them.

They soon approached her teacher’s door finding it guarded by one board stallion. To his credit, he stood straight and alert, but it was obvious he’d rather be elsewhere. He yawned and scratched his stomach.

One guard, perfect. Sounded simple enough. If she was Twilight, she’d use a simple sleeping spell, but since Trixie was terrible using that type of magic she needed other means to bypass the guard. Greengrass watched her, interested in her next move.

Sorry, princess. Trixie spotted a vase on a table down another corridor and used her magic to push it over. The guard jumped in fright at the unexpected crashing sound. He rushed to investigate leaving the door free for a split second. They found it locked, but Trixie’s trusty lockpick made quick work of it and it opened with a satisfying click.

“And how will we escape when the guard comes back?” Greengrass asked an eyebrow raised.

“Let me worry about that,” Trixie replied entering the room. After Greengrass followed, she relocked the door.

“Okay, where is this evidence you promised?” Trixie kept her voice low, though she knew the thick door would drown out most noises.

“Let’s check her desk.” Greengrass pointed to a mahogany desk.

They made their way through Luna’s room. It was clean but had various knick-knacks scattered everywhere. The princess liked technology and gimmicky devices. On one wall was one of those singing basses that warbled various silly pop songs in a terrible tinny voice. Trixie knew Luna loved stupid things like that. She always marveled at the wonders of technology regardless of its banality. The tackier the better. Trixie held out a hoof and stopped Greengrass from tripping the singing fish’s sensor. They moved around it.

“She keeps it on?” Greengrass asked.

Trixie sighs. “Yes. She loves Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Says it helps brighten her night.” She recalls the times she caught her teacher singing the song along with the bass while doing her paperwork.

“Huh.”

Trixie made quick work of the desk’s locks and searched through the random assortment of papers. Luna really needed to do a better job sorting her papers. Trixie kept a lookout for financial papers and soon found an invoice transferring several million bits to Vicereine Puissance for some unspecified reason. Each had Luna’s signature and seal and they were genuine to Trixie’s skilled eye.

“What’s this about?” Trixie gestured at the paper. A pit formed in her stomach. Why would Princess Luna associate with somepony like that mare? She found more papers authorizing personnel and equipment to the Vicereine. Whatever was happening, it was huge and expensive.

“You’d think she’d do a better job hiding her illicit activities.” Greengrass gestured to a missive from Puissance about the progress of a secret project.

Trixie groaned. “Luna is terrible at this cloak and dagger stuff. She’s too honest.”

They found more evidence linking the princess to sketchy business with Puissance. Heck, Luna had set aside more important paperwork for whatever dealings she had with the mare. An important road funding bill laid untouched for giving Puissance some new experimental technology called CRISPR. It made no sense. What was so important that Luna put her focus on this secret project?

The twist in her gut turned harder as the evidence mounted. No mention of donating blood, but she couldn’t deny this collaborated the paperwork Greengrass showed her earlier. Trixie couldn’t deny the ex-duke’s accusations no matter how hard she tried. She wanted to scream and tear apart these papers. It was unthinkable her beloved mother figure could turn so wrong. She wondered if Celestia also had a student a millennium ago. Did they feel the same way when their mentor turned evil?

“Whatever’s happening, I’m ending it!” Trixie declared. “It’s morphing time! Usra!” She transformed into her armor and pressed a button on her morpher teleporting her to her Zord. It left a surprised Greengrass trapped in Luna’s room with no way to escape. Served him right.

She landed her Zord on the outskirts of Canterlot rushing towards the Gala with the evidence clutched in her hooves. She would demand answers from her mentor not caring what type of fuss it would cause. Luna would give answers and Trixie wouldn’t take no for an answer.

---

Ponies bustled as Lyra entered the Gala making way for the princess and her escort. Much to Lyra’s irritation, nopony seemed to care that Octavia had collapsed and an ambulance had taken her to the hospital. They talked and drank like nothing happened.

The Night Court is the worse. Octavia gave her blood and sweat for them and they didn’t even look upset. She waved as her friends approached.

“Can you believe we’re still doing this?” Lyra complained. It physically hurt not being by her mentor’s side.

“The princess just wants to honor us in front of everypony,” Cheerilee said, “no harm in that.”
Bon-Bon nodded. “It’s well deserved if you ask me.”

Carrot Top rolled her eyes. “I guess we have saved the world countless times. Not like the Night Court cares.”

“I’m a little giddy,” Ditzy said, “I’ve never been knighted before.”

“Do we need to go on stage?” Raindrops looked uncomfortable going before so many staring ponies.

“You’ll do fine,” Lyra replied giving her friend an encouraging smile.

Everypony started as Twilight teleported next to them. “Have you seen Trixie? I can’t find her anywhere.”

“In a bar, no doubt,” Lyra said not hiding her irritation at her friend. Trixie hadn’t even seen her perform the Symphony.

Twilight nodded. “I looked in the closest ones, but…”

“I’m here,” Trixie said, appearing from nowhere, “are they beginning the knighting ceremony already? I thought it wasn’t for another hour? Have you seen the princess? I need to talk with her right away.”

Lyra stomped over to the Red Ranger getting into her face. “Where have you been?” Scandalously, Trixie wasn’t wearing her Gala dress which earned her some glares from the other party-goers.

Trixie backed away surprised by the vitriol her friend spewed at her. “Did something happen?”

“Yes, a lot actually,” Lyra replied, “while you were off bar-hopping my mentor Octavia got sent to the hospital!”

“Oh dear, is she alright?” Trixie asked, voice full of concern. Her eyes widened in surprise when she got a closer examination of her friend. “Lyra, have you been crying?”

“Yes, I have!” Lyra spat. “Octavia is dying!” Trixie opened her mouth and closed it several times unsure how to appease her livid friend.

“She didn’t know.” Cheerilee put a comforting hoof on Lyra’s shoulder. “She’s just as concerned as everypony else.”

It still doesn’t give her the right to ditch her date. Lyra opened her mouth to tell Trixie this, but the Red Ranger interrupted her.

“I wasn’t bar-hopping if that’s what you think. I was doing Ranger business! And I’ve uncovered something terrible!” Trixie waved some papers in the air.

“Really?” Lyra said voice doubtful.

Carrot Top perked up. “What is it, another Night Court plot?” She looked around the Gala expecting to find enemies everywhere.

“Kinda,” Trixie replied. She froze mid-conversation as the princess entered.

“There you are!” Luna said. “Good. I feared you ditch the Gala, again. Now we can begin the knighting ceremony and make history!”

“History?” Lyra blinked. What the hay did that mean?

“Hold on-” Whatever Trixie was about to say was interrupted as the princess used her magic to push them on to the stage. She dropped her papers and they flew away forgotten. Even Carrot Top found herself on stage and tried and failed to free herself from the princess’s powerful telekinesis. The Rangers awkwardly waved to the staring ponies below.

“These ponies have time and time again protected Equestria from its greatest threats with unmatched bravery and courage,” Luna said to the crowd, “which is why I am honoring them with the title of Dame and all the rights and privileges that come with such a title.”

Carrot gave an angry cough, but Luna ignored it. The princess drew a sword. Its design was intricate with symbols depicting all which stood in her domain. The princess only gave honors with this sword once every few centuries. Despite the strangeness of the situation, all the Rangers, except Carrot, kneeled to receive the blessing. Luna used her magic to force the farmer into a kneeling position. After some struggling, Carrot gave up and complied. It didn’t stop her from searching for some opportunity to escape however and her eyes darted like a wild trapped animal.

Geez Carrot, is it that bad to become a knight? It was a wonder the Scorpio Ranger didn’t transform to escape. Much to Lyra’s confusion, Trixie wasn’t beaming with smug satisfaction despite wanting this very thing her entire life. Instead, she had a subdued and pained expression. She wondered if someone had switched Trixie with an imposter. It was the only way to explain the Red Ranger’s strange behavior.

One by one Luna gave each Ranger her blessing with a tap on each shoulder and Lyra’s heart soared. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected such an honor. Her exhilaration dampened when she realized how much she wanted Octavia to be here to watch the ceremony. She’d be so proud. Why hadn’t she convince the princess to hold off the ceremony until her mentor was feeling better? It felt like another terrible betrayal.

“And now, all know the protectors of our land,” Luna said, “they know our heroes and should tremble.”

Er, what now? The Rangers exchanged a look. The crowd’s enthusiasm had damped at this strange comment, but they put on eager faces to hide their confusion. Best not argue with the princess and her strange fancies.

“Stand heroes.” Luna floated her sword into a salute and the Rangers did so to the applause of the crowd. Pinkie shot streamers into the air and Rarity hooted. Shining beamed proudly of his sister. Tears were in Lyra’s marefriend’s eyes. Bons had never been so proud.

“Yeah!” Snowflake bellowed.

“Congratulations!” Celestia broke into applause.

“Now, before I conclude this ceremony, I have an important announcement.” Luna sheathed her sword into a scabbard on her side. Everypony calmed down and watched with a curious interest. Tonight would prove an entertaining night. This announcement was unexpected news.

“I am formally dissolving the entire Night Court and removing the titles of all its members,” Luna raised her voice so even the most distant corners heard her decree.

Ponies gapped not sure they’d heard their princess right. They opened and closed their mouths several times before daring to raise an objection. Trixie’s eyes were wide as dinner plates unable to move or even speak.

“Surely, you can’t be serious, princess.” Prince Blueblood said.

“I am quite serious,” Luna replied, “you shame the Night Court I formed millennia ago. You don’t deserve the power I have granted you.”

“S-she can’t do this, right?” One noble shouted. “It’s against the law!”

“I am the law.” Princess Luna stood strong and proud. “You only have power because I granted it to you.”

“Lulu,” Celestia said her voice gentle but firm, “you can’t just uproot the entire foundation of your government on a whim. What would you replace it with?”

Luna gave her a sister an evil smile. “I’m glad you asked, sister. From this day forth, the people will decide their leaders. Instead of a duke or baron ruining a providence, it will be an elected governor instead. Elections will begin in one month. I expect candidates to come forward for candidacy by the end of the week. To be fair, I will not bar former Night Court members from running in the election. Ponies will decide if you are worthy of leading them. Each term will last for eight years.”

“You can’t do this!” One noble shouted and the entire crowd broke into angry protests. The nobles were becoming an angry mob. Lyra could only stare overwhelmed by the rush of new information. Much to her surprise, instead of being devastated, Trixie wore a firm frown her eyes filled with determination as she stomped towards her teacher.

“Princess, I must protest also,” Trixie said, “I understand wanting to fix the Night Court, but...”

“Silence!” Luna shouted amplifying her voice with magic. Its might threw everypony off their hooves. Lyra cried out in surprise as the powerful force threw her off the stage and she landed face first onto the marble floor. “I am the law. The Equestria you know is gone, finished, over. Reborn into something greater! From now on it shall be known as the Lunar Republic!”

Ponies screamed as dark figures broke through the windows. Much to Lyra’s horror, she recognized them. Their heavy armored boots stomped over the broken glass and ponies departed in terror as they approached. It was the monster that attacked Lyra days ago, only now there were hundreds of them looming above ponies in their glimmering dark armor and ponies cowered before them.

“I too shall be reborn!” Black mist surrounded the princess, engulfing her with crackling magic and energy. Cackling laughter came from the darkness and a sudden gust blew it away revealing Luna’s new terrible form. Her coat was pitch black and her mane flowed wildly sharing the beautiful starry blackness of space. She wore a light blue armor with a crescent moon on her crest.

“You shall now refer to me as, Nightmare Moon! Queen of the Lunar Republic!” Luna threw her head back and laughed with unrestrained laughter that brought a chill to the ponies in the room.

Lyra took a step back as Nightmare Moon sent a cold stare their way. “I offer you a choice Rangers, my knights, and heroes. Join me and bring my Republic into a bright new era, or get crushed like all that dare oppose me!” The armored monstrosities closed in on the Rangers ready to crush them to death if they dare resist their new queen.

End of Part 1