Russia: Most Honorable

They must hold in their head every person and plan and possibility, and combine it into one glorious execution.

[It's an interesting quote, isn't it? It's from 2045, near the start of the Third World War. A European General was asked how the ECA's military theorists were more valuable than nuclear weaponry, and he responded with a lengthy speech that included this. They say the whole room was in tears by the end of that speech- likely an exaggeration, but it does capture the atmosphere at the time.

Ten days later, that very building was the site of a bloody four-way battle. The ECA lost.]

Warehouse 15, Sector 4, Stalliongrad Industrial Complex. August 7th, 2045. 3:46 AM

"Hatch is closed, get us out!'

Rujy glanced back from the passenger seat at the front of the Mauler. All eight soldiers- the three medics, two infantry, and three VDV soldiers- were securely fastened into the seats lining both sides of the back compartment. Princess Luna had been unceremoniously dumped upright on one of the seats.

The gunner of the Mauler stood in the tiny aisle between the seats, operating a heavy autocannon on top of the Mauler.

There was a tap on the armoured side door of the vehicle. Sliding open the lock, Rujy swung the door open to reveal the Nightguard Corporal. She was breathing heavily, with a small trail of blood lining her side.

"You're injured," commented Rujy, looking around for the Royal Guard unicorn who had healed the medic captain. He was busy fighting off three void ponies at once, hurling pieces of burning debris at them using telekinesis.

The Corporal shook her head. "I'm fine. Just focus on getting the Princess out of here. I'll cover you and provide directions. Move out when I give the signal."

Rujy noticed a black shape sneaking up behind the Corporal. He raised his pistol. "Hey, watch o-"

The Corporal had already noticed the void pony, and spun around to stab it in the neck. It dissipated immediately.

"On my signal." She rushed off to join the rest of the ponies, still ferociously fighting what seemed to be an ever-growing wave of void ponies.

Rujy pulled the door shut. He reached for a handheld speaker wired to the radio set.

"Is this tuned to the command frequency?"

The driver nodded distractedly, his eyes focused on the various camera feeds in front of him, displaying different angles of the vehicle.

Pressing the transmit button, Rujy spoke into the speaker. "This is Alpha. Blue Fang, Mechanic, come in."

Two different voices responded at once- Captain Rolan and Captain Artimey.

"Go ahead, Alpha."

"What the hell are you doing, Rujy? Get back here to safety!"

"Change of plan. We're going through the hole in the wall- which I assume was your doing, Blue Fang?"

"Yes. We moved a team of combat engineers onto the catwalk to plant the bomb- they had to retreat immediately, though. Where do you plan on going, Alpha?"

Captain Artimey's voice was completely calm despite the chaotic shouting and gunfire filtering through the radio.

"A Nightguard safehouse. We're getting Princess Luna there, and in exchange the Nightguards will explain... all of this."

The transmitter was silent.

"Blue Fang? What's your situation?"

"We're still holding. Mechanic's Maulers are definitely helping, but we're unable to push forward."

"Continue holding as long as possible. Load up the wounded and valuables in case you need to retreat. The moment you think you're getting overwhelmed, pull back."

"Roger that, Alpha. Good luck."

"Good luck, Alpha." Rolan added too. Rujy blinked with surprise. Captain Rolan wasn't the kind of person to make such comments, especially not to Rujy.

"Thanks. Alpha, out."

Rujy hooked the speaker back in its slot just in time to be tapped on the shoulder by the driver.

"Lieutenant Colonel, the Nightguard is waving at us. Should we move?"

Rujy glanced at the rear camera feed showing the Nightguard Corporal urgently waving her hoof at the APC. He nodded silently.

The driver carefully shifted the APC through the large hole in the wall. The sides scraped against the edges of the hole, but it made it through.

Outside was a huge asphalt apron with carefully-laid rows of warehouses. There was a large alleyway between each warehouse, giving plenty of room for the Mauler to maneuver. Orange-red light from the fire illuminated a small crowd gathered outside- mostly earthponies and unicorns in orange or green industrial vests- being kept back by a single Royal Guard.

The Nightguard Corporal rushed ahead to speak to the Royal Guard, while the Mauler idled on the asphalt. Rujy watched the crowd carefully through the camera feeds- there were only about two dozen of them, whispering among themselves and staring at the Mauler.

"Gunner, check rear! Fire at will!" shouted the driver suddenly. He was looking at one of the rear camera feeds- it showed a mass of void ponies filtering out through the gap in the wall. The Royal Guard and Nightguard ponies were stuck fighting deeper inside the warehouse.

The gunner reacted instantly, spinning the turret around to face the void ponies.

"HAHA, take it!" The 30mm autocannon began firing shells at the void ponies, ripping straight through them and decimating their ranks. The void ponies fell instantly as the wave was quickly turned into a trickle.

The gunner aimed the turret skywards to pick off any pegasi that had snuck by, while the Nightguard Corporal and the Royal Guard mopped up any remaining void ponies. Rujy opened his side door to get a better look.

Most of the crowd had backed off from the fighting, now hovering around uncertainly at the end of the alleyway, but one of the ponies had apparently decided to attempt to fight. He was facing a void earthpony, wielding a sharp piece of debris in his mouth.

"Stay back! I don't want to hurt you!" came his muffled shout.

Rujy turned to the back of the vehicle. "Soldiers, deploy. Deploy right now," he said urgently. This was about to get ugly.

"No, don't deploy. Pass one of the rifles, quickly," insisted the driver. He had seen the civilian pony too.

The soldiers in the back froze, unsure what to do. Rujy gave the driver a quick glare before hopping out of the Mauler, pistol in hand. It still only had one bullet in it.

He quickly crossed the short distance to where the pony was, checking left and right for any more void ponies. He stopped suddenly, taking in the scene in front of him.

The void pony had ripped off one of the earthpony's hind legs, who was now cowering some distance away. Rujy couldn't see where the leg was. The void pony approached the earthpony slowly and menacingly.

Rujy raised his pistol and fired directly at the void pony, just as the Nightguard Corporal swooped down out of the sky to tackle it out of the way. For one, horrible second he thought he had hit the Nightguard, but she was glaring at him with annoyance rather than pain. The void pony had dissipated with the shot.

The Nightguard glanced at the earthpony. "The Royal Guard will help him. We've lost time, we need to move now. Tell the driver to follow me."

He didn't see how the earthpony could be helped by the Royal Guard pegasus, but the Nightguard was right. If they waited any longer, the void ponies could attack again. He nodded and returned to the Mauler.

The driver gave Rujy a look that he couldn't read, but remained silent. The Nightguard had darted out the right side of the alley. The driver carefully followed, slowly at first but picking up speed as they left the alley.

Here was a significantly wider space which the doors of the warehouses opened into. Despite the lights on in each warehouse, and the crates and boxes arranged into pallets everywhere, the whole area was deserted. The Mauler turned left now, heading for a huge gateway set in the wall that Rujy assumed surrounded the area.

On the way to the warehouse they had been hidden inside their vehicles and pony-driven carts, so he hadn't been able to see much. He did know that they were in the industrial area of Stalliongrad, which was separated by walls in huge sectors.

No explanation had been provided for this.

The Nightguard waited at the entirely unguarded gate. Outside was a huge industrial area. Wide streets snaked between tall buildings that whirred with noise and randomly blasted light at the sky. Rujy could see dark shapes- likely pegasi- flitting between different levels of the buildings.

The Mauler stopped at the mouth of the gate, next to the Nightguard. She tapped on the door, which Rujy opened slightly.

"Don't get too distracted, Russians. This is the industrial area- the safehouse is fairly close by. Just follow me down the street and turn left when I do. Stay on the left side of the lane and ignore any ponies; they'll assume it's some new, prototype machine, there's always one being tested here. Don't stop for anything."

"This had better not be a trap," warned Rujy.

The Nightguard snorted. "As if I'm in the state to try anything." She shut the door and bounded down the street.

"Follow her."

The driver kicked the APC into action, sending it at a steady pace down the street. It was similar to an avenue, with cobbled stone making up the road and trees sitting along the median line. They passed the occasional industrial pony- mostly earthponies and pegasi, noted Rujy- but none of them paid the APC too much attention, simply giving the vehicle a wide berth.

They passed several pony-towed carts along the way too, laden with bits of metal and machinery, as well as a large stall selling hot food. Despite the time of day, there was a decent line of customers being served by a weary salesman. It reminded Rujy that he hadn't eaten for a while now.

He leaned back in his seat. "Medics, how's your captain?"

He was surprised to hear the captain himself respond, "Never been better. Well, still hurts like hell, but it's better than being dead." The captain paused for a moment. "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel."

Glancing back in surprise, Rujy responded confusedly, "What for?'

"Getting us out of there alive."

"Ah, thank Captain Rolan and his good men. Without them we'd still be fighting for our lives there- without ammunition."

The driver gave a small smile.

Rujy continued, "Speaking of Captain Rolan- what took your unit so long? We could have used the Maulers a lot sooner."

The driver's smile disappeared, and he shrugged. "Issue with the vehicles." He didn't elaborate.

That was... extremely suspicious. Rujy narrowed his eyes but didn't press the matter. "Are the rest of you holding up fine?"

There was a general murmur of assent from the soldiers.

"Fantastic. Check your weapons and ammo, and keep an eye on the Princess, medics."

"She's still not awake. Probably."

"Alright. Don't inject her with anything- that didn't go very well last time." Rujy turned his attention back to the cameras. The street had become a lot more deserted, and the buildings here were significantly quieter.

The Nightguard had stopped at the side of the street, and was motioning to an alley on the left. The driver turned smoothly into the alley.

It was much smaller than the other alleys they had passed on the way, but still had enough space to fit the APC. The Nightguard was at the end of the alleyway, apparently motioning at them to drive straight into the solid wall at the end of the alley. Rujy and the driver exchanged glances.

"Should I...?" asked the driver uncertainly.

"Go ahead, just keep it slow. Maybe it's a sliding wall or something. I heard those were common back in Soviet Russia."

The driver slowly edged the APC forward. Rujy tensed up as the front of the Mauler appeared to collide with the wall, but there was no shudder. Instead, it smoothly passed through.

"What the-"

The Mauler made it all the way through, entering a garage-like room dimly lit by an electrical light. Various shelves stocked with mechanical tools and equipment lined the shelves. Rujy opened the door and stared back at the wall. It was still there, as imposing and solid as it should be. A second later, the Nightguard walked right through it, grinning slightly.

"An illusion. It's a solid wall unless you believe you can cross through, or someone else believes that you can cross. Applies to objects as well."

"Ah." Rujy looked around the room. "So, what now?"

"Now, we get Princess Luna to somewhere more comfortable, and wait for backup."

Despite being a tiny, two-storey building wedged between two industrial blocks, the safehouse boasted a small quarters, luxury bedroom, fully-stocked kitchen and dining room, and an armory. Princess Luna had been moved to the king-sized bed while the soldiers squeezed in around the dining table, across from the Nightguard.

"Well... I've radioed for some backup to collect and treat Princess Luna. With luck, we'll be able to deny that any of this happened."

Rujy rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'm still very, very confused."

"I suppose I did promise an explanation." The Nightguard Corporal was busy cleaning and bandaging her wound. She had refused any help from the medics. "Do you want me to explain here or...?"

He looked around at the soldiers surrounding him. He wasn't sure if he trusted the Mauler's driver and gunner or VDV troopers, but the two soldiers and three medics who had fought with him definitely deserved to hear this.

"Explain now."

"In that case... ask away."

Rujy breathed in. "Who was the pony we killed at the farm? Why hasn't anyone mentioned it?"

The Nightguard Corporal blinked. "Straight to the point, eh? Well, if you really want to know, that was Honest Hooves, a vigilante. He tried to assassinate Queen Chrysalis, and managed to kill a couple of her changelings in the process. She got pissed off and asked us to turn him over." The Nightguard sighed. "We're doing our best to avoid another conflict, on request of Princess Twilight, so we agreed to help her hunt down Honest Hooves as long as she did it quietly and without harming anyone else. We couldn't alert the Royal Guard- they'd want a proper trial in court, which doesn't consider changelings to have the same rights as ponies."

"So you found us by pure coincidence?"

"Exactly. Queen Chrysalis personally asked us to forgive you for the murder. Seeing as we can't exactly try you for it, we did."

"I... see." Rujy supposed he was still in denial over murdering the pony. It still didn't feel... real. "So... what the hell happened at the warehouse, with Princess Luna?"

The Nightguard was silent for a few seconds. "...not sure. I've never heard of anything like those shadow monsters. I do, however, recognise her alter ego."

"Her... alter ego?" asked one of the medics.

"Let me tell you the legend of Nightmare Moon, humans." The Corporal had finished bandaging her wound. Her expression was serious.

Throne Room, Royal Palace. A Long Time Ago

Princess Celestia stared at her sister in horror. "Luna, please, see reason. There's no need to fight. I can help you." She stepped forward.

"NOT ANOTHER STEP," declared Princess Luna. She was panting heavily from using so much magic, but her eyes burned with rage. The ethereal glow of her mane and tail lit up the ruined throne room. "Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?"

"No, Luna, I-"

"There can only be one Princess in Equestria. And that princess... will be ME!" She threw her head back and cackled loudly. Her very form shifted- she was now Nightmare Moon.

"You're insane," breathed out Princess Celestia.

"Maybe I am," Nightmare Moon replied. "But once I'm done, our subjects will learn to appreciate the NIGHT as they were meant to."

"Please, Luna. Don't forget your royal duty. You need to lower the moon, and then we can talk about this."

Nightmare Moon levitated into the air, eyes glowing. "My only royal duty is to destroy YOU." She blasted a beam of pure light at Celestia, who rolled to dodge it. The beam utterly obliterated the heavy gold throne, reducing it to a pile of smoking ash.

Princess Celestia sighed. "Then I suppose I have no choice..."

She levitated six crystals from a pedestal in the corner of the room. Her horn glowed as they span around her.

"What are you doing?" Nightmare Moon sounded genuinely afraid.

"Last chance, sister. End this now." The crystals shone with ethereal light.

Nightmare Moon bared her teeth. "The only way this will end is with your smoking corp-"

She howled in pain as a wave of rainbows flew through the air, hitting her directly. Princess Celestia maintained the flow of magic to the Elements of Harmony, even as tears flew down her muzzle.

She didn't know if they were because of her own pain or her sister's.

Finally, after what seemed like millennia, Nightmare Moon had disappeared. Princess Celestia looked up through the smoldering roof at the night sky. Etched on the moon was now a shadow of a mare, forever howling.

"Your Highness!" shouted a voice from behind. Princess Celestia turned to see a squad of royal guards in white and black livery: earthponies, unicorns, pegasi, and batponies. They were spreading out, forming a protective barrier around Princess Celestia. "Are you alright? Where is Princess Luna?" asked one of the captains.

Celestia took a deep, gasping breath. "Don't..."

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

"DON'T MENTION LUNA'S NAME, EVER AGAIN!" Her voice boomed throughout the city. The force was enough to blast the unfortunate captain backwards.

She stared at him, bloodied and bruised on the ground, then at the sky. Celestia's sister still howled in pain in the moon.

Nightguard Safehouse, Sector 3, Stalliongrad Industrial Complex. August 7th, 2045. 4:20 AM

"So... she's supposed to be trapped in the moon?" asked one of the medics in confusion. He was fiddling around with the contents of a first aid kit.

"Well... not exactly. She broke out a few years ago, although some ponies say Celestia released her. Princess Twilight- well, at the time she was still an ordinary unicorn- fought her off with the power of Harmony, and Princess Luna returned."

"'returned'? And who's Princess Twilight exactly? Weren't there only two Royal Sisters?" demanded Rujy. The Nightguard responded with a weary look.

"If I have to explain every little thing about Equestria, we'll be here forever."

"It's not like you're pressed for time right now."

"If you insist. We think Nightmare Moon is some sort of alter ego or curse or something that causes Princess Luna to have sudden power fantasies. Namely, plunging the whole world into eternal night."

"Ofcourse there's a supervillain here," muttered one of the soldiers.

"As for Princess Twilight, she's a new Princess. All alicorns are considered royalty, of which there are only four in existence. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the original two, and Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance, the new ascensions. They used to be a unicorn and pegasus respectively before they ascended for doing a great act."

"Ah."

"Yeah, it's complicated. Anything else? Backup should be here any minute, so make it quick."

Rujy considered the events of the past day. He had plenty of questions regarding the changelings, Nightguard, Royal Guard, and Equestria in general, but he chose the most pressing one.

"What's going on with you and the Royal Guard? And how did that guy know about Honest Hooves?"

"It's a difficult topic. While Princess Luna was in exile, the Royal Guard gained strength and became the military force of Equestria. They controlled the police, intelligence force, and armed forces. Then, when Princess Luna came back, she formed the Nightguard out of batponies. It's the new intelligence force- covert ops, infiltration, espionage and such. The Royal Guard didn't like that, so we butt heads sometimes over who should take responsibility for what. I don't think they trust Princess Luna either." She stared directly into Rujy's eyes. "I think you can see why it's important to us that we deny what happened. If word gets out that Nightmare Moon is back, Her Highness' reputation will be destroyed."

There was silence in the room as everyone considered the weight of her words.

...
...

knock-knock

"That'll be backup."

???. August 7th, 2045. 8:20 A.M

The Blackbear gunner threw a pebble at the sea. It bounced three times.

"Ah, dammit, I'm bored of this. You guys go ahead, I'll go look for something to eat."

He walked away from the group despite their protests and demands for him to continue playing. The communications officer was sitting on the side of the Blackbear, fiddling with a radio.

"Still not able to contact the main force?"

The officer looked up. "I'm not trying to contact them. It'll give away our position."

"Ah. So what are you doing?" The gunner leaped up to sit next to the officer.

"Just listening to local radio. They have some pleasant music, want a listen?"

The gunner glanced at the radio skeptically. "It's not Chinese propaganda, is it?"

"Nah, comrade. Kind of like what Dedushka sings. Folk music."

"Well, unplug your headphones then. Let's hear it."

The officer did so, raising the volume of the speakers of the radio. The song burst out over the beach- men loosely singing in harmony.

"In fields of toil and sweat, we stand,
Together, hand in hand.
From dawn 'til dusk, we work as one,
For a future, bright as the sun."

"Oh, comrades, hear our song,
United, we are strong.
In solidarity we'll rise,
With hope that never dies."

"We'll raise red banners, bold and bright,
Under the stars, through the night.
With hearts ablaze, we'll march as one,
Until Equestria's done and won."

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