War of Another World's Conquest

by bearcat

for the NLR! -- wait,what?

Spark Impulse carefully brought the wagon to the ground just before the sand turned to scorched feed bags and rotting bodies. Three demigods against zealous terrorists, and it had been a slaughter like he had never imagined.

The feydaykin with a cutie mark of a burning quill climbed off the flight wagon and quickly scanned the devastation before them. Milky red-orange eyes, slightly darker than his orange tinted offwhite coat panned across the devastation again. Spark watched his ears twist. He smelled a detection spell fade a moment after the orange pony's horn glowed a faintly.

"She's not here." he accused. "Why'd you stop if you didn't see her majesty here?" The slightly insane caster's eyes never left the broad swath of carnage just to impugn Impulse's honor.

"I'm tired, and we're clearly pretty close. Also, if there are survivors, you know they get freaky about fliers. I don't want to get shot down and pardon me for not trusting your shield spells, seeing as I'm not the love of your life."

"It's not like that." Still in that demanding and accusatory tone; still not looking away from where her majesty had been sometime in the last hour.

Spark Impulse couldn't smell any spells coming from what used to be a veritable enemy city, but he'd also figured their caster rate was way lower than a third, as a random sampling of ponies might be. Uncertainty called for grounded travel.

Spark Impulse set about dragging the wagon back to the edge of the forest. "Still not getting shot down for you. Said that when you talked me into this. Summon us some rations and we'll look by foot." Of course he didn't really expect whatshisname to create wholly from thought a bag of oats, but was pleasantly surprised when he felt a rapid fire series of teleportation spells dissipate. It meant he'd won the argument.

Spark turned back from securing the wagon to find a goodly pile of dried, forgotten sand-dune grass next to the feydaykin..As a soldier he was accustomed to such hardships as mediocre rations. This was wartime, after all. He expressed his gratitude to the insistent caster and tried to tactfully imply he'd forgotten his fellow soldier's name.

"You're useless" the unicorn said around a mouthful of 'hay' "Shadow Orange. Family all orange growers except momma messed around with a unicorn. Disowned me youngish but I'm an Orange." He never looked far away from the smoking ruin. Obviously hadn't looked up, as Spark had already found a speck that was almost assuredly one of their majesties. Spark wanted to needle this zealot just a little longer, to see how long it took to find his liege floating up there in space.

"I remember you saying you tested seventh strongest in your first year at the academy." The name Shadow floated back now. Unfortunate as it implied wickedness, but was meant to imply dilution. A mere shadow of his purer parents.

Many soldiers in her royal guard had stories about rejection, Spark mused. Maybe Celestia had a soft spot, made when she rejected her sister all those years ago.

The faintest whiff of strong, strange magic came to him. While Shadow was reciting his honors rolls classes from before he was knighted as a royal deathpony of Celestia's elite, the feydaykin, Spark watched as the specks that were clearly full sized alicorns accumulate in one spot, off in the distance.

The darkest, that would be Luna, dropped a gray mass that could be assumed to be the new guy with the un-pony name. The gray mass flared his wings and tried to fly. His wings appeared to be on fire. Smoke trailed him, and now Spark could see tiny embers spread across his wingspan.

Spark almost buckled at the sight. A pegasus' wings were incredibly sensitive; to fly with coals tied to them ...

As the coals ignited into open flames, Shadow finally looked up. Utter confusion contorted his never very comely features. Spark, for his part, lifted his muzzle and sniffed carefully for magic. There was flight magic wafting by but it was old now; probably Luna dragging the unlearned demigod into the air for his first lesson.

"I think that sight means they've won." He said hopefully. Flight lessons would have been put off, until there were no combatants, he reasoned.

Shadow had only eyes for the alicorn he'd already died for. "She's coming in too! Oh Celestia why have you not written of being set on fire?!?"

Spark watched the single mindedness of his companion and wondered if it would be unsafe to travel the intervening devastation with his companion, but worried more what would happen if he tried to stop Shadow. "It's because her wings aren't on fire. Just the new colt-god-thing." Taking a last mouthful of grass, he added. "Either teleport or we walk to water's edge."

Shadow Orange leapt out at a very brisk trot into the enemy camp-city. Spark Impulse inwardly groaned, having hoped they could avoid this. He could not abandon his fellow soldier. Not here. No matter how insane the orange pony might be.

|----| |----| |----|

Celestia angled down, and immediately saw the problem. Some of Prince Jack's feathers had been set on fire by the pyrotechnic display from a moment ago, and the glowing embers were flaring into new candescence by the bellows-like action of his wings. She assumed he could feel it but his flight, unsteady as a new flier was wont on his first trip under his own power, was still straight and true. She felt Luna send to them both an apology, and Jack sent back a spell that would flatten the ground and then plow it up a little. Land soon Celestia interpreted. Indeed his flight path would barely reach the sand before intersecting bodily with the horizon.

The young stallion alicorn didn't make it. Celestia saw him flatten his wings when he was still forty feet in the air and easily sixty feet from the shore. He plummeted and splashed into the sea with no more grace than a newborn foal.

She and her sister glided gently to the shore and waited. Trying to appease the sense of guilt she saw on Luna's face, she spoke. "At least the water will put the fire out. He'll be able to reach the ground after only swimming ten or twenty feet anyway."

Not looking away from her flight-student, the deep blue alicorn replied "I should have checked his wings as I had seen the fires started during that fight, Celly." Luna squinted, her lips pursed tighter. "And he's not using any magic at all, right now. He could raise the sand, or levitate himself, or even teleport this far." Luna struck a forehoof against the beach, the strain evident in her voice.

"He's never seen a teleport spell, Lunadeer. Probably doesn't know what they look like." But just as she said that, she felt a teleport end as a pony appeared behind her not fifteen feet away.

Both sisters whirled at the intrusion, still on high alert despite the fact the war appeared to be won, and over.

Behind them now, Prince Jack, Regent of the Rocks Beneath Your Feet, called out wearily, fatigue nearly driving his voice to sergal-levels of scratchy depths. "Feydaykin! They live, and there is now no fight. You may stand down." His splashing footfalls had the rhythm of the end of a 10-day forced march; still plodding but very short, and very slow.

"Shadow! I didn't send for you. Yes as Prince Jack says my sister and I are untouched. How did you get here? Is another guard..." She looked up, and saw her magic sensitive pegasus guard watching the six conquered sergals who were drawing in the sand, presumably trying to indicate they were not at war with the Celestial Guard any longer. "Just the two of you here?"

Looking at the lone pegasus surrounded by pony eating monsters, Luna blurted out "Your over-zealous-ness could get you both killed, you know."

Shadow Orange snorted his disbelief and proudly declared his loyalty. "I go where I am needed and useful. That is ever at my Princess' side. It is so, and your lack of faith shall not sway me, your highness."

Celestia was about to interject something to lighten the tension between her sworn bodyguard and her sister, when Prince Jack, who had finally arrived at the shore's edge, did it for her.

"Then feydaykin, with you standing guard now, I may sleep." And with that, he collapsed to the sand, very gingerly folding his charred and cindered wings. He tried to fold his head too but failed; his nose just smacked into the sand. He didn't draw power to heal himself as he surely had seen the princesses do, he did not use his imported magic either, he simply slept.

Again, as when the sergal Jack had accidentally elevated himself to Regent, Luna had a face that put Tia in mind of how she'd expect her to look if someone came to a formal party, drinking longface island iced tea, out of an undecorated beer stein, and was starting to get tipsy for it.

"I'm sure he's got a reason. Maybe he has actual limits or something. Wouldn't be the first time an alicorn ran out of steam." Actually it would, and Luna's sidelong look askance at Tia said as much. Remembering what the Prince said at the farm, she added "He pony, now." Luna raised one eyebrow.

Shadow carefully interjected "If he's not moved he'll drown, your Highnesses." And indeed the stronger waves were still covering his nostrils for seconds at a time, and the tide had only just turned.

Tia knew Shadow Orange was strong but wasn't sure if a unicorn could actually levitate an alicorn, even unconscious. Especially one connected to the rocks, and thus the ground.

Tia guessed Luna still felt guilty as it was her that began trying to levitate the sleeping prince. As soon as his body was free of the ground however he snapped to wakefulness. His struggling broke the admittedly very underpowered spell, and Jack splashed back into the rising waters.

"Luna" the prince said, then stood carefully, shaking the sand out of his mane. "You have a fan club of some renown."

Shadow Orange interjected "My liege Celestia is not without loyal subjects. Of what concern is this, now?"

Tia felt Shadow tighten just a little bit, stiffen his stance in her peripheral vision, as Jack looked only to Luna and explained. "I have felt, and where they passed stone cliffs, heard echoes. They march on Canterlot now, these ponies of the New Lunar Republic. They say that the early rise of your moon is the sign they long sought; that the stars have aided your escape and now come to aid your ascent."

Tia quickly looked at Luna for her reaction. Thankfully all Tia could see was confusion and disbelief. Stone cliffs, hmm? She felt out for her sun, and followed its gaze to Canterlot. The foothills blocked the lower reaches of the path ponies would ascend. "Lunadeer can your moon see the start of that road? I can't see it this late in the day."

Tia felt the deeper reaches of Equestria, the magic that was as vast as the ocean and slow to shift its path as cold molasses, reach out and touch the moon. She felt the ebb and flow of waves of magic as Luna asked the magic around her, and it bumped into the massive ball of dirt that was her namesake, and the wave of magic roll back faster than a single piece of anything physical could reach it. The propagation of these waves would reveal to the one who controlled the moon ... "No Celly. Much too soon all the mountains are in my way."

Shadow was too quick to fight, having fought so hard these past few days. "Then we must to Canterlot, to stop this rebellion now. I shall not allow the royal sisters to be separated again so long as I walk Equestria's soil"

All of which was politely interrupted by Jack. "They are your subjects, Luna. If you have not intended to incite a war for the New Lunar Republic, than you have but to tell them, I would assume."

Then Jack looked at her, and his ears flicked and twisted as he considered the strategic ramifications. Tia politely awaited his opinions before choosing her actions. Which would she was already sure of, mostly. To fly home by as circuitous a route as need be so these poor ponies who seemed to hate her rule would not be incited to further emotional distress. Let them plan their silly war; Lunadeer would just tell them to wait longer. She hoped.

Heaving a deep sigh, Prince Jack continued finally, the ocean waves beginning to get her own gold plated shoes wet as they lapped past his hooves. "If you two are indeed no longer at odds with each other, I would truly believe the best and longest way to quell this uprising is to go together. Luna" He turned his head towards Tia's sister, who still held an air of skepticism about the whole affair. "you must do most of the talking as they're your followers. But if you" He turned to Tia now, ears erect and yellow eyes piercing her with his determination. "if you are supportive of your sister, these ponies will see there is no tension to exploit. I hear, occasionally, that they believe." he closed his eyes, looking like he was going to collapse again. Speaking with his eyes still closed, his head drifting to a neutral position, "that you two still fight, still hate each other."

He opened his eyes, and looked up at the darkening sky. "Can you duplicate my jet flight spell? My native magic trickles in like a tiny leak in a thin pipe. And without that I don't seem to be able to direct even the unicorn magic that some sergals wield. I must sleep to heal now, and wait to cast any magic."

Celestia regretted the place in her mind she filed this tidbit, but it was one more weakness in case he needed to be defeated one day. Either princess alone, or both together for sure, could simply outlast him. She tried to look concerned while gauging whether, right now, she could successfully kill him with a single strike, whether magical or physical.

Shadow, bless his hard and bitter heart, was way ahead of her. "He is still immortal, is he not my liege?" Meaning, Tia heard, 'I could take him myself, but he'd just be banished and no more'

Briefly Tia tried to imagine where a unicorn would banish to, especially to banish a regent. To your bedroom ... for 1000 seconds!

Lunadeer seemed to know ... her look of self righteous disbelief told Tia as much. "Are you as helpless as a foal then, Prince Jack?"

In answer, the regent walked slowly past them all; silent, head down, eyes closed, and did not stop until he was at the other gathering some distance off.

Whereupon he collapsed again, and laying flat on the sand, slept as his new-found subjects protected him.

Tia tried to mentally recreate the unending power she'd seen as they flew here hours ago. "Lunadeer why did he need to use three spells? The prince had said he would need to extend his hooves"

"Balance, Celly. He started by attaching a continuous push-spell to his spine. But that is well above a pony's center of gravity thus he needed two smaller spells, down very low, to have the resultant force push as against the ribcage height."

On the subject of magic, Shadow Orange was very quick to make suggestions about how to ephemerally attach a push spell to a whole pony's body. Spell modified, the princesses prepared to leave.

"See everyone to Canterlot, Shadow. I hope there will be no fighting but I dare not make more assumptions." Tia also suggested he leave Jack, with some basic instructions. No telling how long he'd need to sleep. "In fact, once Spark has taken you back to camp tell him to walk in with Jack. He'll be too worn out carrying you all day to be in fighting form anyway."

Shadow looked properly abashed. She hadn't said anything about it but she could have given instructions directly if he'd stayed at camp. Shadow was the only guard with her today that could fire-write. His impetuousness should be addressed Tia thought to herself. "Shadow if the situation changes I'll write you a letter via fire teleportation. You're the only one here who can do that; do you understand?" Her sycophant nodded. Hopefully that would do it.

Her zealous vassal turned to run back as the regents discussed whose idea had more merit; go together, or leave Luna to do this solo?

- = - = - = - = - = - = - = -

Twilight was whining. She knew that, actually, but she couldn't stop herself. "Celestia's going to confront a bunch of ponies that hate her. As strange as that statement sounds it's true and I need to be there for her."

"You said that, milady." Sprintpoint's wide, musclebound form was pulling the chariot as fast as he could, treetops of the Everfree forest whipping by far below. Indeed what sparked Twilight's comment was the observation that her chariot was ahead of all the rest ... by too small an amount to satisfy her anxiety.

A part of her brain knew she was not only being unreasonable, but annoying and foalish. "I know she's the princess but I'm worried about a fight amongst ponies I mean what will she do? I need to help defend her honor, Sprintpoint. Please."

"You're only worried because you didn't see the swath of death and devastation she and her sister just left." Twilight drew breath but by now Sprintpoint knew her pattern, and had adapted to counter. "And they'll be there together again." Twilight paced once around in the tight quarters, barely able to turn in the small, light craft. Drawing breath again, she was interrupted again. "Probably no bloodshed at all, milady. But I tell you a thing, you're magical, right? A student at the academy?"

"Directly under Celestia herself, in fact. Which is why I'm so"

"So why don't you find a way to speed me up? Here's some basics about flying. The air is slowing me down, right? What I need is for there to be a lot of dense, cold air immediately beneath my wings, and essentially no air, and especially no wind, everywhere else."

Taking a deep breath, Twilight forced herself to notice that her charioteer was not slowed by the explanation; had taken no hiatus in good flying to ask for this help. But still anxiety clouded her critical thinking. "You want me to put you in a vacuum?"

Sprintpoint laughed, not even turning his head to explain her mistake. "And wind up suffocated like that magic-throwing sergal at the apple farm? No thank you, my lady." Still his wings beat a fast staccato rhythm.

"So you need air to fly, but you need to air to not be in your way. That seems sort of an awkward engineering problem, doesn't it?" Still, she started thinking about how to maneuver air. There must be something she could focus on to stop her incessant whining. And pacing.

Sprintpoint nodded. "Regular conundrum, flight is. So, not a vacuum, but how about still air, that merges smoothly with the moving air? Grab the air way out and split it up. Everything that's turbulent squash down, so I can flap my wing over it, and everything that's hitting me should sort of sit there."

When Twilight was a filly she had almost drowned herself making a bubble like she thought Sprintpoint was describing. She'd tried to descend a deep lake, and swam by moving the bubble. But the bubble of air had slowly shifted its oxygen for carbon dioxide, courtesy her lungs. "You're thinking of the air as if it was a giant ocean? As if we were fish inside water made of air?" But that couldn't be right. Oceans of air made her rather strained head hurt, just now.

Sprintpoint seemed enthusiastic, however. "Yes, just so, Twilight! An ocean of air and I'm trying to swim in it. Can you do something like that?" Still his wings beat their rhythm. Twilight wasn't sure if he was talking just to quiet her or if he actually saw himself as a airbreathing fish. I'm not a pegasus. Maybe flight does that to you.

She crafted and cast her spell, careful this time to allow continuous flow of the air inside her 'bubble' with outside air. As with her diving experiment she visualized a teardrop ... a bubble rising only here it was traveling parallel to the ground.

But as soon as it was cast, she could feel the cart speed up. It almost knocked her out of the chariot at first. "Attagirl! My goodness that's quite a spell."

Sprintpoint was only beating his wings half as fast now, but sweating and breathing every bit as hard ... and they were pulling away from the feydaykin, who apparently never thought to discuss flight mechanics with his winged brothers-in-legs.

Thus it was that she landed just behind the angry herd, signs hanging from their backs like "for the new lunar republic!" and "the stars will aid her escape" She saw the princess in question, unless these ponies meant Nightmare Moon, along with her older sister, overshoot the herd at incredible speeds. As she was jumping out and profusely, if quickly, thanking her flight escort, she saw them drop and turn, now approaching the herd at speeds rarely seen outside of a wonderbolts show.

Wings flared, wind blowing dust everywhere, the two princesses just barely stopped in front of the crowd, and landed. Luna was immediately in front of the slowing crowd, and Celestia was well to her right. Thinking suddenly of how alone she was, Twilight realized nopony had seen her land; they were too busy watching the princesses.

"Sprint!" Twilight hissed. "Stow the cart. Stow yourself somewhere I think I can blend in and play devil's advocate. Get them to hear the princesses out."

It was a known fact that mob psychology broke down quickly if dissenting opinions were freely voiced. Even if they were also unbelievable, the mere fact that the mob sanctity was broken allowed other dissenters to say their piece. Pieces like "oatmeal are you crazy" granted, but that kind of argument would be better than what she saw in nearly one pony if four. They wanted a fight, even against alicorn regents. Twilight shuddered, even without knowing what precisely had happened at the ocean.

Sprintpoint harrumphed, but started looking at the edges of the rocky path for a place to put the cart which thank Celestia did not have squeaky wheels. Trying as deliberately as possible to not make eye contact with her beloved teacher, she trotted to her far right, to catch up with some straggling ponies there.

"Get a load of this." Said the deep blue stallion, as she caught up to him. "How're we supposed to believe she's doing this of her own free will, hmm?"

Twilight racked her brain for the best reply, but intrigue had never been a strong suit. She had retreated to her books ... and not very many of them history books, at that, when some of her classmates were gossiping ... practicing the very heart of intrigue. Still ... "Actually Tia there is taking a big risk. Banishing is a time consuming process. All Princess Luna has to say is she doesn't want to be here, and we'll all know before the big cheese can stop her."

She hoped she had balanced her emphasis and respect correctly. Call the disliked pony by an overly familiar name, and maintain utmost respect for the preferred underdog. Simple, right? Twilight reminded herself to breathe, almost hoping she'd started a fire already.

The blue pony harrumphed, and did not respond further.

Ahead of them, Luna looked briefly to her sister, who nodded, and gently waved her on. Celestia then stepped farther to Twilight's left, and was no longer facing the crowd. Her body language clearly meant to imply she was not trying to influence Luna's words but the apparent weakness a moment before may have ruined it. Be strong, Princess Luna!

Celestia must have guessed Twilight's intent, for the sisters could hardly have failed to see the cart land in front of them. But while her teacher had yet to look her way, Luna made only the briefest eye contact with Twilight, then scanned the crowd making it look like she was just making it all more personal.

Twilight crowded forward, between a wine colored unicorn mare with bricks as her cutie mark, and she didn't make out the deep gray pegasus' cutie mark, to her right. "She doesn't seem the slightest bit afraid to have big ol' Tia thirty feet behind her." Twilight tried to sound surprised, to help imply the danger Luna would be in if she were being coerced.

Which she was, Twilight suddenly realized. Luna hated large crowds. Nightmare Moon had made some public addresses a few times but relied on a psychic shield of pure contempt to avoid the unreasoning fear Luna, inside her, had felt.. Twilight hoped Luna, being in her right mind, would have better luck, as she started whatever spiel she had planned. "Good evening ladies and gentlecolts." Or hadn't planned. Twilight groaned inwardly, and moved forward to her left slightly.

"I see that a mutual friend of my sister and myself was correct, that you're all my loyal subjects. And hello, but I think there's something of a misunderstanding." Luna swept her eyes across the herd again, and pointed to a sandwich board sitting over a pony. It was one of the stars-will-aid signs. "That sign, and the predictions it's quoting, referred to an evil alicorn named Nightmare Moon."

Several ponies shouted to the effect that she was Nightmare Moon. Twilight's heart stopped for a moment. Luna was incredibly sensitive about her relation to her inner darkness. It was actually true, in a sense. The two alicorns were the same pony.

Twilight didn't want to identify herself but risked it anyway by shouting "Who was at that Summer Sun in Ponyville? This alicorn doesn't look like Nightmare Moon"

Oops. Wrong allusion, she realized.

Four ponies that Twilight didn't specifically remember, as if in that dense crowd that meant anything at all, spoke up in agreement. This was not Nightmare Moon. She would have a deeper blue coat, and black wings. The crowd began to murmur, to mumble ... this alicorn was a stand in, a stooge for the tyrant. Perhaps even an illusion made from whole cloth.

Luna flared her wings wide; the crowd hushed almost instantly. Twilight feared the worst. That a line had been crossed and they all were going to die, right here. Twilight would never even get to say goodbye. She desperately looked for her mentor's eyes, tried to will Celestia so she could mouth an 'I love you' or something else appropriate for your last words ...

Princess Celestia was grinning her trollish grin. Still not looking at the crowd, Twilight saw her pretend she was examining her hoof but knew, somewhere inside her, that the motion was directed discreetly at her. "stay put" the hoof motion said.

And with that she could breathe. Luna was practically shouting to fill the lull, before somepony filled it with their own words. "I am Princess Luna, Regent of the Moon and immortal co-ruler of Equestria with my sister Celestia, whom you see to my right." At this she sort of lost focus, her face screwed up in confusion. She turned to Celestia and asked so quietly Twilight had to strain to hear Luna quickly whisper "Are we actually immortal, Celly?"

Princess Celestia's eyes glowed with an ear to ear grin, but the lips were tightly pursed into almost normalcy. Almost. Celestia shrugged, and Luna looked back to her loyal subjects. "Anyway I don't answer to Nightmare Moon and you should all be thankful. If you want a tyrant to rule with selfish lack of concern look for her on the throne. But I will not be among those who will call for her return."

Twilight, sidling forward another row, mumbled to the ponies in front of her "Maybe she learned something useful during her exile."

The urine-stain yellow mare to her right, while Twilight was trying desperately to think of some other name for that unfortunate coat color chose instead focus on her brilliant blue-striped red mane, took Twilight's comment another direction entirely. Shouting at the tall pony addressing them, "So was it even you who that all-white flying freak banished? Who spent the time on the moon? But you're another pony, you just said."

Twilight could almost see the strain on Luna's face, not to look Twilight in the eye. She hoped the herd would see it as determination to address the seriousness of the question. "It was I. I remember those thousand years as clearly as the years before, when I still was Luna. And if any of thee be descended from those ponies I wronged by jealously and rage, than I apologize to thee in proxy of thy many-times-great grand dams and grand sires. Most of whom I am ashamed to say I wronged, by murdering them. So I doubt many of thee are related at all."

Some stallion far to the right of the herd shouted "What of the moonrise? The stars have aided your ascent! Now is the time for battle my lady!"

Luna winced at the mention of more battle. Hoping to forestall another murmuring session Twilight tried to give Luna the main stage again. "Why! Why did you raise the moon early?" Twilight shifted forward within the herd, making sure everypony could hear her.

Luna saw who had asked, and blinked. She was either at a loss either for words or was as bad as Twilight at intrigue and subterfuge. Several other ponies took up the cry of "why?" and a stallion near the front even shouted "Have you not called for us? There are hundreds more my liege!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, feeling pretty certain this was probably way more than half of the Nightmaremoon party's whole roster right here. For all of Equestria if not farther.

"I was in a battle." Almost a whisper, but the crowd quieted to hear their herd-proclaimed leader speak. "I was about to fight the most horrible monsters I've yet seen set hoof on Equestria's soil, and I was afraid I was going to die." After a false start on her next sentence, she instead flared her wings again. This time Twilight saw Luna's horn glow, and felt certain she was calling down lightning to kill some pony. So everyone would know what it was like to see death. To be dead. Twilight scurried away from that terrible gaze.

And as Luna folded her wings the magic student suddenly understood that a fear aura had brought this unreasoning fear of death. Luna was explaining again, "And when you're afraid you don't always make the best decisions. I wanted to raise the moon one last time. I wanted make sure I didn't have to stop fighting just to cast such an un-battlelike spell. And as my sister had not yet set the sun to bed, so too would some young filly somewhere not yet be in bed and perhaps" Luna took a shuddering breath as a single tear began its descent down her face, that old fear of being forgotten and ignored still gripping the regent. "Perhaps that filly would see the foal's moon and know happiness, instead of the misery that war brings."

Luna hung her head, and someone in the front row, now just a few ponies to her right and one row up, shouted angrily "So, what? We just go home, your majesty?"

Twilight tried to head this one off too. "There was a mistake; her majesty just said the moon thing was nothing about you all all." The stallion whipped his head around, and this time she thought she recognized him from the Ponyville Summer Sun Celebration crowd.

The periwinkle eyed, dark-green coated stallion certainly recognized Twilight. "You! You're the mistake! You're the tyrant's personal stooge aren't you! Miss too-good-to-buy-commoner-goods! What do you mean by this ruse!" Now whipping his head to bear down on her teacher, he continued his senseless tirade. "Tyrant Tia! What do you mean by planting this spy among us?"

From behind the herd a galloping orange pony shouted "She don't mean nothin' by it! Tarnation is your head made o' brick? She buys mah apples lots o' times!" Twilight nearly leapt for joy like a little filly! She wasn't alone anymore!

Well except for the two princesses but it was hard to feel they related to you. Anyway looking downhill over the crowd Twilight saw Rainbow Dash leap up to awkwardly fly to the front of the crowd. She noticed as Dash did that, that two thirds of the herd was watching the princesses for their response ... but all the pegasi were watching the tell-tale errors in flight. Not to mention the three feathers that drifted into the herd.

Feeling confidence return, Twilight responded to her attacker. "I am indeed the personal protégé of Princess Celestia, and an honors roll student at the Canterlot academy of magic. And I will tell you all without hesitation that I also support fully Princess Luna because she also is a friend of mine.

Of course that was a slight exaggeration as she'd only spoken with Luna a few times but Twilight sensed a kindred spirit, a lover of deep study appreciative of long nights spent in the library.

As Applejack made it around the herd's edge, Twilight saw the damaged hoof had a large boot around it. As her friends gathered around her Twilight told them "C'mon girls I think we need to support Luna just now." and waved them on with her nose.

Surrounded by the element wielders now, Luna sat carefully and regarded her followers silently. Celestia stood, and finally turned and addressed the assemblage. "I recognize many faces in this crowd, and for some I know you have traveled hard and fast on such short notice to be here tonight. My apologies for the misunderstanding but your services are clearly not needed so I would offer instead, one night free at the Inn, and you can return to your normal lives tomorrow. For some, I know you have chosen the nocturnal lifestyle, perhaps to honor my sister and I'm sure she thanks you, but that means your workday has just begun."

Here she looked straight at the front row pony that had accused Twilight of being the tyrant's personal spy. "Brave Runner, is your food wagon nearby? I'm sure you could sell bean burritos and cabbage sandwiches all night. Canterlot's a big town, lots of ponies awake at this hour. Who knows you might even meet friendly faces in the crowd."

Brave Runner shook his deep blue mane and sputtered for an answer. Princess Celestia didn't give him any time to recover, calling for her guard Sprintpoint who was hiding in the rocks behind the herd. "Yes your majesty?"

"Help Brave Runner get his mobile meal cart set up out in front of the Inn, and you can call it a day." Walking over to the earth pony, she summoned a bag that Twilight guessed to be filled with money. "Everyone gets one of something. And you can keep the change if there is any, alright?" The bag dropped in front of the stallion, bits clinking together. Brave Runner stared blankly at his money, looking empty and defeated.

The herd filed carefully past the alicorns, except for the nocturnal neighsayer and the guard, both of whom had run downhill to retrieve Brave Runner's source of income.

All the tension of speaking in front of a crowd suddenly dissipated out of Luna as Twilight heard her sigh deeply, and drop from a sitting to a laying position, curled up in the middle of the rocky dirt road. Looking to her sister, she commented "Have I said how much I don't like doing these public address things?" and now back at her ring of personal supporters "I thank all of thee. That wouldn't have gone so well without thy help. Especially thy poor flight, Rainbow Dash thou wert the epitome of war wounded. Err. I" suddenly blushing Luna looked off at the rocks and stuttered a little, trying to find a way to word that more valiantly.

Pinkie Pie giggled until Rainbow Dash cracked a smile. "That was pretty pitiful wasn't it? You know as successful as today has been and all, I'd really like not to have another like it. You know?"

| | |-| | |/\/\| | |-| | |

Prince Jack walked slowly through the woods, grunting to his tall bipedal companions, finally repeating himself in English. "And that's how Equestria was made!"

Spark Impulse walked close behind the still overtired alicorn, hoping not to get collapsed on again but not willing to rescind his duty either. He watched the feathered rumps twitch as their owners laughed and pointed, their claws waving madly in what moonlight filtered through the canopy.

He decided he was just as glad not to know what their handsigns meant.