Luna Nos Custodit

by Tsuguri

Rainbows End

OK, I think it is time I started putting in some author notes.

First off, a big Thank You to all of the people who have rated my story so far, even those who gave me a thumbs down. However, going forward I would really appreciate it if you would also tell me WHY you are giving me the rating you are. Love it or Hate it, it is all fine buy most importantly tell me why. I will never be able to grow and change as a writer if nobody ever talks to me about what I am doing.

Thanks for Reading!

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Turning her gaze back towards her viewing orbs, the Princess of the Night regarded them with a cold stare as she stayed seated in her chambers. "Are these reports accurate Lieutenant?"

One of the dark-coated faces replied, "Yes your Highness. The smithies are now fully concealed and operational. We have had a few scouts poking around but we remain undetected. Once our supplies are stocked we can begin full production."

Noting the nervousness in his voice the Princess pressed harder, "And how long until we can start producing arms we can actually use?"

The guard subtly bowed his head at the reprimand, "That remains to be seen Highness. We have the means and ability but we still lack the required skills. There are only so many blacksmiths we can use. And while the Apples are an industrious bunch, they have never had these skills before. It will all depend on how quickly they can learn."

Luna nodded in understanding and acceptance of the facts. Truth be told they were extremely fortunate to have the skills they already had. The skill of weapons forging was almost a lost art and highly controlled. To find several smiths who knew the art and were not under the command of her sister was a most fortuitous occasion. Turning her attention towards the other sphere she addressed the proud face, "And you my Marshal, how are the troops fairing?"

"Highness, I will admit there is some restlessness in the ranks but we all understand why we must wait. And even the most vocal realize that the time we wait now is nothing compared to the time leading up to it. We will wait and hold the line, and when the time comes, we will be ready."

"Your words are both welcomed and appreciated Marshal. Continue to tell the troops that the time is coming when I will be rightfully reinstated and their return is near."

"Luna Nos Custodit." Both voices chimed in unison before they faded, leaving the orbs looking as clear glass once more. Hanging her head and closing her eyes, Luna contemplated all of the various delays she had suffered. In truth she knew she was actually further along then she should have been, but it was still not fast enough. Not if she was too... A small noise at her door made her raise her head and magically pull the doors open to find her sister standing regally on the other side.

A small note of worry crossed her mind but she did not let it in her voice, " Eavesdropping is not becoming of you sister."

"Nonsense, I had just arrived and was preparing to announce myself when you noticed me." Princess Celestia remarked as she strode into her sisters chambers and sat on a cushion next to her. Luna regarded her sister cautiously as she started to levitate her orbs back towards their place on the wall. "My, two viewing orbs at once, what would be the occasion I wonder?"

Luna's voice grew slightly chilled at the teasing tone of her sister, "Since I have yet to be fully reinstated as a Princess I have had to make do using unofficial message traffic. I don't have the proper authority to be handing out proclamations and decrees yet."

"Now now, no need for that little sister. You know if I could have you would have been fully reinstated the very night after your return. But this is beyond just my control. The council must also agree unanimously and not with just a majority. The holdouts are shrinking and as time passes they will have no choice but to accept it. Either that or commit political suicide."

"I know this. But they will also hold out as long as they can." Her wing feathers ruffled at the thought. "I am sure our dear nephew will help to hold them together until the very end."

"Let us not start that again." Celestia pleaded. "I know you have misgivings about Blueblood, but he is our nephew and as such his voice carries a good deal of weight."

"You know I have never truly believed him to be of our blood. He is not even an Alicorn for Discords sake."

"Luna! Watch your language!" Celestia was shocked into shouting, her own feathers now standing on end. Luna had the sense to at least bow her head at the rebuke. After both princess had composed themselves Celestia continued, "Now please trust me that I did confirm his pedigree before I admitted him into the castle and that after the many long centuries his side of the family has merely lost their wings."

"Yes sister. I do trust you." Luna replied while thinking, 'However I do question just how much you did before trusting him.'

"Thank you. Now as I said, they will come around in time. Most of them are just still cautious about your temper. Your little tantrum last Nightmare Night is their main source of concern. If you can just keep from passing any more proclamations without cause and without the authority to do so they will come around in time."

'Yes, time. The one thing you are growing preciously short on dear sister.' Luna thought, while outwardly she replied , "As you say sister. However in regards to my other request.."

She never got to finish as Celestia entered full ruler mode and cut her off, "No! That is one issue I will not address. Their crime was not against the land but against me personally. As such it is my sole discretion regarding their fate."

"But surely It has been long enough. The Night Guard only acted out of loyalty. When will they be allowed to be reinstated?"

"When their sentence is complete. Their loyalty may have been towards you, but you were not here. And as such it was treason towards me. Be content with the number I allow you to retain now."

'Be content with a small platoon, when I used to command battalions.' Luna fumed in her mind, but once again all she could do was bow her head.

"Thank you." Celestia said as she calmed herself down into her sisterly self. "Now I know even with so few numbers you have also been quite industrious lately. I was hoping we could share dinner tonight and discuss some of your recent investments."

"I see our nephew's spies are also keeping him well-informed." Luna hissed. "However I must decline. I have more meetings I must attend to tonight after I raise the moon. Perhaps tomorrow? Then I can give you a full accounting of my dealings."

"I am looking forward to it." Celestia replied as she started to rise and leave the chamber. "Now if you will excuse me your Highness, I have other matters I must attend to."

"Of course your Majesty." Luna replied, finding some small comfort in one of their old games while she magically closed the doors behind her sister. After they were soundly shut she resumed her pondering. 'I am disallowed my full resources and time is starting to run short. No matter how well concealed we remain we cannot stay hidden forever and sister is still too strong to confront fairly. I will need to enlist even more aid and with someone whose loyalty to her will not be a problem.'

**************

"You've got to admit that this was an awesome day." They fastest flyer in all of Equestria said to herself. There was no other pony around to hear her comments as she lounged on her cloud rousing from a slight nap and seeing the sun slowly start to set. "Plenty of downtime to work on my moves and get my wingpower up even higher. Next Best Young Fliers competition everypony else should just stay home. I'll have it in the bag. Why Twilight won't even have to..." She trailed off here, remembering her friend. Still no sign of her after all this time, not even a single strand of hair or hoof mark.

Rolling over onto her stomach, Rainbow Dash surveyed Ponyville. "We don't even talk about her anymore, do we?" She continued, "Not that we've had much chance to talk lately. Pinkie's still combing the forest and Applejack doesn't have much time for us any more either." Thinking back on her friend, she started to ponder. Ever since she became the Head of the Family Applejack was always working. During the day she was either in the orchard or in her office, answering letters or receiving family members with 'important' business. At night she was either someplace else or asleep, recovering from the long day and preparing for the next. She seemed like she was handling things OK though. On the few occasions they were able to get her away and share some time together eating or just catching up, she seemed like she was still the same old Applejack just with new responsibilities. However, Dash couldn't shake the memory of the one time she caught her unawares.

Rainbow Dash had stopped by the main house uninvited to deliver an invitation. However the sight of Applejack when she had opened the door had stolen all of the her excitement away. She looked awful. Her mane and tail were ragged as if they hadn't even been brushed all day; she was covered in dirt, leaves, and what looked like soot; her eyes were red and irritated as if she had been crying; and her breath had just the hint of hard cider to it. "Hey just thought I'd... Oh my gosh! Applejack are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Dash. Just a long day. Did you need somethin'?"

Rainbow Dash hardly believed her but she was able to stammer out, "Well, just letting you know that Pinkie is out of the forest and is throwing a party this weekend, something about filling her party quota and wanted to see if you would come."

"Alright, I'll see if I can make it." She had started to close the door before Dash put her hoof in the way and prevented her from doing so. "Was there somethin' else?"

"You look horrible. Are you sure you're OK? Anything I can help you out with?"

"No Dash. It's just been a really long day. And don't you worry, things are startin' to settle down and my job's about to start gettin' easier. I just got to get through a few more things and I'll be just dandy." Applejack offered up a weak smile to go with her words. This did nothing to soothe Dash's worries though, knowing her friends habit of stubbornness. Seeing Big Macintosh enter the room behind Applejack, Dash gave him a questioning look with a glance at his sister. He looked almost as bad, but he seemed less strung out and more alert. Returning her gaze he nodded as if to say 'Don't worry, she can handle it' before heading up towards his room.

"Alright, but if you need any help just let the rest of us know and we'll be here. Deal?" Dash said as she removed her hoof from the doorway.

"Deal." Was the reply before Applejack softly closed the door. Dash stayed a moment longer and could hear Applejack slowly moving away and towards her own rest.

The party itself had some interesting happenings as well. It was a Pinkie Pie Party sure enough, fun games, happy music, and Pinkie Pie running around making sure everypony was having a good time. Sure it was a little subdued compared to some of her previous parities, but with Twilight not there and Pinkie still gearing up to go back into the forest that was to be expected. "Oh sure I'm going back in," Pinkie would say when asked about her plans, "I would have lost my license as a Party Planning Pony unParallel if I didn't throw this one soon though. Also, I need to plan my packing better. Who would have thought that cakes don't sit so well in saddle bags? I was needing a Pegasus resupply every other day! Cookies now, especially sugar cookies, will be much better. Why I should be able to pack a week's worth of them no problem."

The other interesting thing was that Applejack had actually made it to the party. She had even cleaned up and looked like her old self, but it was like she wasn't all there. She no longer seemed to have as much energy as before; and as the party went on Dash noticed her take a discreet sip out of a small flask from her saddlebag. Seeing Dash watching her, Applejack just gave a small shrug before putting the flask away and returning to the party. Dash watched her for the rest of the night, but flask never appeared again. Still, Dash just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with her friend. Once the party was winding down and after she had finished coordinating future supply drops into the forest with Pinkie, Dash approached Applejack and asked about the flask. "Ah shucks, you don't need to worry about that none. Just some old family medicine to help me unwind." While Applejack had glanced away during her answer, it was only for a second though, she reassured Dash that everything was being handled and to not worry.

However Dash did still worry. Even though they had all promised to try and help each other more after the party, they still only rarely ran into her in town and she was always busy. 'Ever since she became the Head, we've been losing her.' Dash thought to herself. 'Ever since I saw her leaving that day with Princess Luna she hasn't been...' " Well speak of the Princess." Dash could just make out the form of her recent thoughts flying over the Everfree Forest. It was obvious she was trying to be discreet as she was flying just over tree top level, was using her own wings and not her carriage, and she only had two guards with her. Most of these sneaky advantages where negated since Rainbow Dash was looking down at her and could easily see their elongated shadows on the tree tops in the fading light. 'Now where are you trying to go all sneaky like?'

Waiting until they were well past her cloud, Rainbow Dash lived up to part of her name and dashed from cloud to cloud being careful to stay hidden and only moving after the guards had already glanced in her direction. This carried on for some time until the guards suddenly slowed and then dove under the tree tops. The princess hovered over their landing zone and seemed to just stare at the horizon for a moment. Wondering what she was looking at, Rainbow Dash risked a quick peek only to facehoof when she realized it. 'Of course, duh. It's night time now and she's raising the moon.' And indeed she was. Dash could just make out the large magical aura around the princess' horn as the moon slowly rose in the sky. Even after the moon was fully over the horizon and her magic dissipated, the Princess hovered a moment longer just watching the moon begin its slow march across the sky. Eventually she too sunk below the trees and was lost to Dash's sight. 'OK now, what was so important that you had to leave the palace early and bring out the moon here? And what does Zecora have to do with it?'

***********

"Greetings and salutations I give to you. Rest, stay awhile and maybe have some stew." The zebra said as she admitted the princess into her tree home. The guards, Zecora noticed, did not make any moves to enter and instead started a slow patrol around her home's clearing.

"My thanks for agreeing to receive me on such short notice." Luna replied as she entered and surveyed Zecora's home. "I am afraid I will have to refrain from the stew. I have much more work to do after we are finished. It does smell lovely, so please don't let me keep you from your diner."

As she returned to her pot Zecora resumed her sing-song speak, "Much thought and meditation have I given to what you wrote. Tell me why it should be different with you here, at my throat."

Luna watched as the zebra added a few more morsels to the stew and left it to simmer. "Understand me when I say I did not come here to threaten or coerce you into helping my cause. Merely, I am here to clarify in whole words what I could only hint at on parchment."

"Since you are a Princess I gave fair consideration to what you had written. Now please explain and implore but remember, one is already twice shy after only once being bitten."

"In short, I wish to talk about what happened to your homeland." Luna intoned gravely.

An interesting contrast of restrained sadness and anger crossed Zecora's face as she faced the princess head on. "What's done is done and not up for review, now I would explain myself if I were you. But be warned and be cautioned, no tricks and no lies, do not even think of trying to cast a spell over mine eyes."

With a serious but humble expression on her face Luna replied, "I would never dream of it."

***********

'Feathers.' Rainbow Dash thought to herself, 'I had an easier time sneaking up to those Appleloosan Buffalo with Pinkie than sneaking past these guys.' She had to land further away than she had liked and was still only making limited progress past the roaming Night Guards. Even though there were only two of them, they knew their business. They seemed to be able to move around randomly; and there was rarely a time when her approach to the tree wasn't being watched. She probably could have just walked right up and asked them what was going on, but her curiosity and mischievous side had gotten the better of her, and she was determined to pull this off.

Finally her chance came. She quickly zipped across the ground and hid under Zecora's window. Carefully making sure she would be hidden from their view when they returned, she gently raised her head and concentrated on the conversation inside.

************

Zecora's head was slumped down in deep thought and was hardly moving. Not wanting to be a pushy guest, Luna let her think. After a few more minutes she rose up and began to mix the stew some more for her host. 'What kind of guest would I be if I let my host burn her own supper?' she jokingly thought to herself. As she levitated the pot from the flames Zecora's head came up and faced her squarely once more. "If what you say is true, then I fear I have no choice but to side with you. However my confusion compels me to ask, what would you have me do, what would be my task?"

"Things are moving much more swiftly then I had anticipated and I am moving more slowly than I had hoped. My fear right now is that when the time comes to confront my sister we will still be under-prepared. The arms are behind schedule, the number of followers I can call on is limited, and while my own powers are mostly restored they are still only equal to Celestia's so my victory is not guaranteed. I need someone who can help me face her in open battle if need be." At the puzzled look from the zebra, Luna decided to carry on. "I know I can count on any of my followers to help subdue the army or guards if they have to, but they are all still sworn to my sister. They were pledged by their families when they were born and they pledged it themselves once they reached maturity. For the past thousand years she has been all they have known. I need someone who has never sworn themselves to her service and can be counted on to fight and even kill her if need be." A small flash of pain crossed the princess' face as she admitted this, which she hid by stirring the stew some more. A small sound outside a window caused her to glance out, but all she saw was a guard making his rounds.

"If it must be, it must be, though I pray the day never comes to pass." Zecora chimed in, holding the princess's attention once more. "Now all this talk has distracted me from my meal, would please be so kind as to help and pass me a glass?"

"My pleasure." Luna returned as she started to levitate dishes from all over the kitchen. "And I must say it truly does smell delicious. Maybe I can stay for just a moment longer and try some before I leave for my next meeting."

************

Rainbow Dash couldn't move, heck she had a hard time even breathing after almost being found out by her gasp. She was just hoping to get some idea about what the Princess was up to sneaking around and now she overhears her plotting to kill her own sister over dinner! She had to act fast, because no way was she going to let that happen. Luna was right about one thing, the loyalty the ponies had for Celestia was immense. Rainbow Dash remembered the time she confirmed her own vows of loyalty as one of the proudest days of her life! And with being the holder of Loyalty she just had to do something, but what! She had to alert Princess Celestia that's for sure but how? Even at her top speed she was worried about the time it would take to reach Canterlot and who knows what could happen to her on the way. There had to be someplace closer to help than... APPLEJACK! The orchard is just outside of the forest and she now had access to one of the best communication networks in all of Equestria. If something happened to her on the way to Canterlot Applejack would make sure the message arrived anyways.

She glanced around at the guards as she formulated her flight plan. 'OK, speed is now as important as stealth. Stay low to the ground and don't go above the trees, just zip around them. Go too slow and they'll see me, go to fast and they'll be able to track my wind trail. Ready, and, GO.' She zipped out of her hiding place during the one brief instant the guards looked away. She was flying so low she could feel the grass and leaves kicking up against her stomach as she flew as fast as she dared. Never in her life had see tried something like this before; flying so fast and so low, and in the dark no less! However the terror she felt in her gut robbed the experience of any thrill. For if she crashed here then not only was she in trouble but her princess was doomed.

*************

Applejack sat quietly at the kitchen table methodically polishing the metal in her hooves. After a few more swipes of the cloth, she gazed at her refection in the blade before laying it down on the table with the rest of the sample shipment. 'We're gettin' better,' she thought as she glanced over the other blades and armor pieces on the table, 'slowly but surely we're gettin' better. That first batch was a joke. The only usable pieces came from the master smiths themselves, my family's pieces were so substandard that they could only have been smelted down and recast. Now these on the other hoof, you can still tell which ones the masters make but now ya have to look for it.'

Without even looking at it her hoof lightly grabbed her glass and she took a small sip, feeling the warm rush of the cider spread. Big Mac just happened to choose that time to walk in though. Giving the weapons an approving glance before turning a disapproving one on his sister. "Oh lay off of it would ya. Ya know I got it handled."

"Eeyup." Was his only reply while he still looked at the bottle with disapproval. "Oh all right here. Happy now?" She said as she re-corked the bottle and moved it over onto the counter. "Eeyup."

"Good. Now the Princess should be here soon to look over this latest batch. So go make yourself useful and make sure Apple Bloom and her friends stay in their club house. I don't want them bein' exposed to all this." "Eeyup." Was his only reply as he headed out the back door. 'Yah, check the Orchard and keep our sister safe. That will definitely do.' She thought. Thank Celestia she had been able to convince them to hold their sleep over in the tree fort. She had forgotten it would be happening the same night as the latest shipments inspection. After what had happened to Cousin Crabapple she was determined to keep her little sister as far away from the Princess as she could, even if she herself was neck deep in this manure patch.

The thought of that night made her glance over at the bottle on the counter. 'No. I'm right but so is Big Mac, I got this handled.' She thought as she settled for just draining the rest of her glass and resolutely placed it into the sink to wash later. As she was readying herself to polish another sample piece a loud pounding came from her front door. "What in tarnation is this all about." She startled. Quickly she grabbed a table cloth and spread it over the pieces. As she made her way to the front door she called out over the pounding, "Apple Bloom! That you! I done told you I got important business tonight!"

However, when she opened her door it was not her sister she found but was instead knocked over as Rainbow Dash burst into the room and closed the door behind herself. "Applejack! We have a huge problem!"

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Oh boy, my first cliffhanger! Anyways, my muse was being particularly brutal when I was writing this chapter and Good Lord the chapters just keep getting bigger! Why couldn't I write this well when I was doing those papers in college!

Anyways, once I was done writing I realized that I should break this up into two parts. The second chapter is all ready to go, but I want to give you all a chance to comment on this one first. Don't worry though. I'll put it up next weekend. Till then, Later folks!