Escape
Prince Blueblood walked down the halls of the castle, a neutral look on his face as he made his way to its lowest levels. It was there that the top magical minds in Canterlot toiled with their experiments. Personally, Blueblood despised having to go to them to check up on their progress. He was a prince and his subjects should come to him to report their findings, not the other way around. Yet he knew that every second counted while trying to understand Lunar technology. He also knew that if anypony saw one of these unicorns then their curiosity might get the better of them. That was something that Blueblood didn’t want at this moment.
Once the prince had reached his destination, he opened the door with his magic and walked inside. Once there, he took in his surroundings for a moment. There were several chalk boards around the room with various magical circles on them. Along the walls were beakers full of odd chemicals that seemed to coat the room in an odd odor as well as several shelves holding thick books on magic. Tied to the ceiling by string were many oddly shaped objects that confused the prince.
On the opposite side of the room were several ponies gathered around a long, wooden workbench. And on said workbench was the Lunar tech. One of the armors looked like it had been opened up so that a few of the unicorns could examine the inside. The other unicorns were levitating several objects like teeth and diamonds around the second armor while taking notes.
As Blueblood approached then, the lead unicorn turned around with a frown on his face. When he saw it was Blueblood his eyes widened and he hurried over to greet him in the middle of the room. Blueblood knew that this was Spell Matrix, a light blue unicorn stallion with a red and black mane, who kept things running smoothly down here. He had seen this stallion talk to Celestia several times in the past about various magical improvements that, at the time, he cared little for.
“My prince,” said Matrix as he bowed low to the ground. “It is an honor to see you this day. How may I help you?”
Blueblood displayed his trademark smile, pleased by this display. “I would like a progress report, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course sir,” replied Matrix as he righted himself up. “We have had to work slowly since we don’t want to damage the armors that you obtained, but we just finished opening one up and are running several scanning spells on it. The other we have been doing scratch tests to see how hard it is. So far nothing we have has scratched it, not even dragon’s teeth and those are powerful enough to cut through diamonds. Whatever this metal is, I doubt it exists naturally. That creates a huge problem if you wish to recreate it.”
“Naturally,” said Blueblood with a sigh. “I will admit that I am…disappointed with that. However I am sure you can find a decent substitute if you can’t recreate it yourself. I have the utmost confidence in your abilities after all. Now, with this in mind, will it affect the deadline that I set?”
“The end the of the week?” asked Matrix to which Blueblood nodded. “Well, to be perfectly honest, we will need more time. As I said we have to work slowly while examining the armors and if we rush we risk losing both of them before we can come to any firm conclusions on how they work. Something I know would most likely upset somepony like yourself.”
“Well spoken,” said Blueblood with a light chuckle. “So, how much more time will you need? Two weeks? A month?”
“Longer, I’m afraid,” replied Matrix who suddenly looked nervous. “As it stands right now, I’d say anywhere between the next fifty to a hundred years. Give or take a decade.”
Blueblood’s jaw dropped, nearly touching the ground as he did so. Several of the finely combed hairs in his mane came undone as he shook his head back and forth. ‘This can’t be right,’ he thought to himself, trying to calm the rising panic in his chest.
“I-I must of misheard you,” said Blueblood as he used his magic to wipe away the cold sweat on his brow. “I could have sworn you said fifty to a hundred years.”
“I’m afraid you heard correct,” said Matrix calmly.
“IMPOSSIBLE!” roared Blueblood, losing his cool as he stomped on the ground in rage while more stands from his mane became undone. This surprised the other unicorn, causing him to take a step back while his associates turned to watch as Blueblood pointed a hoof at them. “You are all some of the greatest magical minds in Equestria! Surely minds who understand the ways of magic can figure out something so mundane.”
For a moment, Matrix stood there while Blueblood began to pant. Despite his anger, Blueblood could still read the other pony very well. From the way he shifted and the look in his eyes, the prince could tell that Matrix was thinking about how to phrase his next few sentences so as not to anger him further.
“I am honored that you think so highly of our skills,” said Matrix after a while, his words were slow and peaceful in order to invoke a calming presence. “However, while magic and science are somewhat linked, I’m afraid that this simply goes beyond what any of us have ever seen before. I’m going to be completely honest here: we don’t have any idea what we are looking at. We have no idea what powers these armors nor how any of the parts inside work or what they even do. I dare say that we don’t even know how to turn one of these things on. The science on display here so just so much more advanced than anything anypony has ever seen before that we will need decades just to figure these things out and understand what we are dealing with. And even then, we still might never be able to make armors like these because we don’t know how they made everything so small in order to fit it in. Now, if we had a scientist from the Republic or even one of the ponies who owned one of these armors to explain what does what then maybe, maybe, we could speed this up. But as it stands, my good prince, we are doing the best we can do right now.”
“There has to be some way of speeding things up!” yelled Blueblood. “What about a duplication spell or one of the time based spells in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing? Or bits! Yes, I’ll give you all the bits you need to make sure the work gets done faster!”
Spell Matrix raised a hoof to stop him. “I’m afraid none of those are a real option,” he said. “In order for a duplication spell to work properly, the more difficult the object you wish to duplicate the more magic will be needed as well as very high level of magical proficiency. There is also the matter of knowing exactly what you want to copy and how every part of it works. For those reasons we haven’t even tried to make a copy of one of these armors to increase their number for study. As for time spells, they are also very tricky to use and consume an insane amount of magic. If we could find a spell that would allow us to slow down time in a fixed area, it would most likely take all of us working together to keep it running with no time for rest. And even if it were possible to keep it running we would need a constant supply of food coming to us as well as various other ‘personal items’. As for the money…well let’s just say that you could throw all the bits you have at this project and it won’t get done any faster.”
Blueblood stood there, listening to all of this. One part of his mind took all of this in and understood what they were saying. That there were limits to what they could do and there would be no quick fix. However, there was another part of his mind that was not so understanding. This part reminded him of the mess they were now in due to all the promises he had made. If the other nobles found out about this then his reign would be short lived.
And that was something he could not have right now.
“I see,” snarled Blueblood as he lost his composure. “Well then, perhaps a little motivation might help. Either have your work done by the end of the week or else I’ll have your families become ‘guests’ of the castle.”
“But my prince,” began Matrix. However, Blueblood was no longer listening. He stormed his way out of the room, cursing as he did. He knew this was very undignified, but right now he was in such a rage that he did not care. He walked up several flights of stairs, stomping his hooves like a spoiled colt throwing a temper tantrum.
He then spotted a single guard standing idly in the hallway, causing his mood to darken further. ‘Where the buck are all the guards?!’ thought Blueblood savagely as he moved towards the other pony. ‘Stareye, you have one bucking job! I am getting tired of your constant failures. I need some good news and soon or else I might do something that I’ll regret!”
“You there!” yelled Blueblood at the guard. Said guard jumped a little, startled by his prince’s tone before saluting him. “I want you to inform as many guards as possible to bring me Trixie at once!”
“Yes sir,” said the guard as he ran off to do as he was requested. As he did, he passed by Majesty as she walked towards Blueblood with a look of concern on her face.
“Prince Blueblood, what seems to be the matter?” she asked.
Blueblood looked like he was about to yell at her, but stopped himself. Right now, Majesty was his top supporter. Taking out his anger on somepony like her might feel good right now, but he might lose her trust as well as support which could spell doom for him. So instead he took a deep breath as he slicked back his mane with his magic.
“There has been a…problem with our plans,” he said as he did his best to remain calm.
“Oh dear,” said Majesty as she moved to his side. “Why don’t you tell me all about it and perhaps I can help make it all better.”
-x-
Elsewhere, Stareye laid in a large tub full of hot water and bubbles. His eyes were closed, still savoring the massage he had just received. Next to the tub was a tray of the freshest, ripest fruits as well as a bottle of champagne. A feeling of complete relaxation and bliss filled him. ‘I deserve this,’ he thought. ‘And the best part is that the military is picking up the bill.’
“Excuse me, High Commander sir,” said Boot Licker, causing Stareye to groan as he opened an eye.
“This had better be important,” said Stareye as he used to magic to pick up a strawberry and bring it to his mouth.
“I am so sorry to interrupt your bath, truly I am sir,” said Boot Licker quickly. “But Bitsworth is here and claims that he needs to speak to you.”
Stareye let out an exasperated sigh before he ate his fruit. “Very well,” he moaned. “Let’s just get this over with. I have enough stress as it is.”
“Of course you do High Commander,” said Boot as he quickly walked over to the door and opened it. As soon as he did, Bitsworth entered the room while holding a large stack of papers.
“High Commander, I have reports from almost every unit in the Guard saying that they are heading for the capital as we speak,” he said as his eyes scanned through the papers. “The only one that has yet to be accounted for belongs to a Major Blazing Glory. Apparently, from what we have gathered, Princess Celestia sent his unit somewhere before we sent the Equestrian delegation on some top secret mission. I’m afraid we won’t be able to get in contact with them until they are finished.”
Stareye let out a whining noise. “Do I really need to hear all of this?” he asked.
Bitsworth did his best not to roll his eyes. “I am sorry sir,” he said calmly. “But I would hate it if something like this were to come up in court and you would be unable to answer like before.”
For a moment, Stareye remained silent while feeling a slight surge of rage. The humiliation he had received thanks to Hot Pants still stung. That mare had made him look like a fool and then tried to publicly challenge his decisions. If it were up to him he would have her whipped and thrown in a cell for the rest of her life. It was only because of Blueblood, something about her being Fancy Pants niece and that doing that to her wouldn’t help bring him to their side, that he was unable to.
“Very well,” said Stareye as he waved a hoof. “Continue.”
“Yes High Commander,” said Bitsworth as his focus returned to the papers. “Recently, we received word that Prince Blueblood wishes that the mare Trixie be brought to him. I need your permission to use several of the guards in the Canterlot grounds to find her.”
“Fine,” sighed Stareye, not really caring all that much. “Is there anything else tedious that you need to tell me?”
“Just several other minor details for the battle tomorrow,” replied Bitsworth in a deadpanned tone to which Stareye responded with a groan. “We need your permission to get-”
“You have it,” said Stareye impatiently. “Do whatever you have to do so that we are ready and don’t bother me anymore. Gah! I feel like I need another massage from all of this stress!”
Bitsworth did his best to hide a smile as he bowed. “I am sorry sir,” he said. “And I will endeavor to ensure that you are not interrupted for the rest of the night.” With that, Bitsworth turned and left the room without another word.
‘I told Hot Pants he would do something like this,’ thought Bitsworth as he exited the building, heading towards the castle. ‘Now we can carry out our plans and that fool will be none the wiser.’
-x-
“Do you see anypony?” hissed Trixie.
“No,” whispered Sunset. The older mare let out a relieved sigh as she walked in front of Sunset and turned the corner towards the castle gardens.
Shortly after Majesty had told her about what Blueblood was planning, Trixie had made a beeline for the back exit of the castle not even bothering to go back to her room for more helpful items instead of the several bottle of alcohol, magical compass, and the dozen bits in her saddle bags. However she had to move slowly, using the filly as her scout to make sure there were no guards. Trixie knew she had to be careful. She didn’t know how far reaching Bluebloods influence was nor did she want to risk being seen.
Slowly the two made it to the doorway leading out of the castle and into the garden. As they walked out, they beheld a true wonder that caused the filly to gap. Various swept walkway allowed easy access to flower beds contains blooming plants of every flower known to pony. Large trees provided shade during the hot days with cute benches for sitting. And beyond that was a large hedge maze that seemed to go on forever. And, at the end of that maze, was a way out of the castle that avoided nearly all of the guards. After that it would be a short five minute trot down a trail that circled back into the city.
Trixie nudged Sunset with some slight force to get her attention before motioning her to follow her into the maze. Luckily for Trixie she knew it by heart, having walked in it many times with the Princess during their lessons. At the time she had believed it to have been nothing but a waste of energy, pointlessly wandering around the maze when they could have been more comfortable inside the castle. Now, however, she was grateful.
‘I wonder if she thought a day like this might happen,’ thought Trixie as the two neared the end of the maze. The light blue unicorn the paused and held up a hoof to stop Sunset in her tracks.
“Check and see if there are any guards,” whispered Trixie as she pointed at an opening that led to the end of the maze. Sunset muttered something to herself about pushy, older unicorns but still did as she was told. Staying low to the ground, the smaller of the two peeked around the edge before quickly pulling her head back.
“There’s a guard there,” she whispered to Trixie.
“Just one?” asked Trixie.
Sunset quickly checked again and nodded. “Looks like he’s reading something,” she added.
Trixie nodded and began to think of what she should do next. One option was that she could try teleporting the two of them past the guard. However, that ran the risk of him seeing the flash and going to investigate. And if she was caught doing that then he might get suspicious. Another possibility was that she could try walking past him and hoping he’d let them pass. However she didn’t like that option any much better than the first. Nor did she think she could take a guard down in a fight. At least not a fair one.
Then, Trixie’s eyes widened as she got an idea. She quickly reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a bottle of brandy. She opened it, took a large gulp, but didn’t drink it. Instead she began to swish it back and forth in her mouth like it was mouthwash before spitting it back into the bottle.
“What are you doing?” asked Sunset as Trixie used her magic to start pulled several leaves and twigs from the hedge next to her. Trixie ‘shhhed’ her as she began to put what she had gathered in various spots in her mane and tale. Once that was done, she began to walk over to the opening while swaying back and forth while wearing a stupid looking grin on her face.
Eyes widening in horror, Sunset raced to the opening, stuck her head out a bit, and watched as Trixie stumbled towards the guard. And it didn’t take long for the guard to hear her coming.
“Miss Trixie,” he said in surprise. “What are you doing here? And what happened to you?”
“Hehe,” Trixie giggled while waving around the bottle brandy with her magic. “Trixie was just out and *hic* about, having a good time. Now *hic* where is Trixie?” Trixie was now close enough to the guard to get up on her hind legs and throw herself onto him, wrapping her hooves around his neck in the process. Trixie let out a loud laugh as she did this, breathing heavily on the guard who scrunched up his nose in disgust.
“Great, she’s drunk again,” muttered the guard as he rolled his eyes. “Ma’am, you need to come with me. Prince Blueblood would like to see you. I’m sure he’s waiting for you back at the castle.”
Trixie giggled. “No,” she cooed. “I don’t wanna. I’d *hic* rather stay here with you.”
At this the guard blushed. “I-I can’t,” he stammered. “You’re drunk. I can’t take advantage of you when you’re in this state! Besides, I’m on duty and I have my orders.”
Trixie threw back her head and laughed. “You’re so *hic* silly,” she said as she brought her face closer to his. “Come on and have *hic* a drink with Trixie. Nopony has to know. It’ll *hic* be our little *hic* secret.”
“Ma’am I-” began the guard but was interrupted as Trixie slashed him in the face with the brandy, laughing all the way. Angered by this the guard threw her off him. “Damn drunk!” he swore as he tried to wipe the liquor from his face. However, his helmet proved to make that difficult so he took it off. Once that happened, Trixie’s eyes narrowed as he got up, turned around, and bucked him in the head. The poor guard fell to the ground with a thud.
“Well that wasn’t too difficult for the Great and Powerful Trixie,” said Trixie as she began to remove items from her mane and tail. As she did this, she noticed Sunset looking at her with an expression that had never been directed at her before.
“That was amazing!” cried the small filly as she raced towards Trixie with a grin on her face. “You totally fooled that guy! And then it was wham!” As she said this, Sunset made a bucking motion.
“I-It was nothing,” stammered Trixie as a blush appeared on her face.
“Where’d ya learn how to do all that?” asked Sunset as she looked up at Trixie.
“Well, to be honest, Princess Celestia taught Trixie,” said Trixie. “She gave Trixie a book about deception and misdirection saying it would be-” A sudden groan interrupted Trixie, her head turning to look at the guard she had just knocked out. “Perhaps Trixie shall explain in detail later.”
With that the two took off in a light trot. As they went down the trail, Trixie felt a rush of excitement. She knew it wasn’t from taking down that guard (well maybe a little), but instead from the performance she gave and the delight she saw Sunset give her after words. Never before had anypony looked at her like that or thought she was amazing. Usually she got snide remarks from ponies asking if that was the best a student of Celestia’s could do. It had been so long since she had heard genuine praise from anypony other that Princess Celestia.
Eventually the trail led the two into a dirty alleyway that nopony in Canterlot would ever be caught putting a single hoof in. All around the pair they saw chunks of half-eaten food that had been thrown away, parts of furniture, and needles. The worst of it was the smell, like somepony had died in here which wouldn’t have surprised Trixie in the slightest. Seeing all of this caused the two to exit the alley quickly and walk onto one of the business streets of Canterlot.
Normally a street like this one would have many of the Canterlot elite strolling down it while carrying their expensive purchases with their noses in the air. However, despite the lateness of the day, the streets were almost empty and devoid of life. Trixie could see that the shops were still open, but nopony seemed to be in them making it feel very lonely. The most likely reason for this was that many of the ponies who lived in this city no longer felt safe after the Lunar Republic took Princess Celestia. This also proved to be a problem for Trixie. While the streets being this empty would make their departure from Canterlot go faster, it also made it more likely that they would be spotted since there was no crowd for them to blend into.
As the two began to walk down the street, Trixie realized that she now had to decide how they were going to get out of Canterlot. As far as she knew, there were only five ways for a unicorn like herself to get out. Around the city there were three roads and near each of there were carriages that a pony could hire to take them to nearby cities and towns. There was also a flying chariot service, however that was extremely expensive. And then, finally, there was a hot air balloon service in the middle of Canterlot. Thinking about her options, Trixie knew that their best option was to get a carriage since the hot air balloon would move too slowly and they would be easily spotted.
Next, Trixie had to decide which road they would be using. To help her decide, she pulled out the magical compass and looked to see which direction the needle was pointing. She then began to walk in that direction, realizing that it was taking them to the eastern part of Canterlot. Here the shops began to get less pricey, there were apartment buildings instead of fancy mansions, and they saw more ‘normal’ unicorns walking down the streets. Not many, but there was a few. Most likely they were returning home from a long day’s work. And, luckily for them, Trixie knew this area since it had the least expensive alcohol in Canterlot!
“Ok,” said Trixie as they neared a cross section. “All we have to do is turn right here and at the end of the road is a carriage station that will take us out of Canterlot.”
“Looks like we’re home free,” said Sunset happily as they turned a corner. And saw that, down the street were three guards walking in their direction, their eyes locking onto them.
“You just had to say it didn’t you,” sighed Trixie as she turned around…and spotted two more guards heading towards them.
“Freeze!” yelled one of them. “In the name of Prince Blueblood you will come with use! If you don’t we will be forced to use magic and bring you in!” As the guard said this, they began spread out a bit to form a perimeter around them.
As they did this, Trixie looked down the street they needed to go. There was a furniture store, then an ink store, an accountant, a book store, a jewelry store, and then finally a store that nopony should ever bring a filly to. Trixie then began to take several deep breaths as she went over the spells she knew, quickly thinking of the best combinations she could use. A smirk then graced her face as she got up on her hind legs, her forelegs reaching for the sky.
“You think you can catch the Great and Powerful Trixie?!” she yelled with all the flare she could muster while her horn glowed from underneath her hat. “Behold as the Great and Powerful Trixie dazzles you with the greatest magic shown to her by the Princess herself!” She then began to talk in a lower voice so only Sunset could hear. “Whatever you do, stick close to me.”
“This is your last warning,” said one of the guards, not intimidated in the slightest. “Use any kind of magic and we’ll-” He never got to finish his sentence as Trixie took off her hat as smoke filled the street and overcoming the guards before they could react. Luckily for them, one of the guards knew a wind spell and quickly blew away the spoke. But when it cleared Trixie and Sunset weren’t where they had been. They looked around and saw the two running down the street behind the three guards.
Silently the guards headed after them in full gallop. As they did, they passed the bookstore where two familiar ponies had their faces hidden behind thick books.
“Looks like they took my bait,” whispered Trixie as she glanced up from the book she was holding with her magic. “They should realize that it’s an illusion soon.”
“Then shouldn’t we have gone the other way?” asked Sunset nervously.
Trixie opened her mouth, but before she could say anything they heard a guard yell “It was an illusion! They must have gone the other way!” The two then watched as all five guards ran past the book store in a fast gallop.
“It’s all about misdirection,” said Trixie as she softly closed the book and walked over to the counter to pay for the two. While she had no interest in ‘The Life and Times of Clover the Clever’, Trixie knew that this book store had a strict you read it you buy it policy. Reaching into her saddlebag, Trixie pulled out the bits for her book as well as the tome Sunset had picked up entitled ‘Advanced Magic for the Young Mind’ and hoped she had enough for the carriage ride.
The two then exited the building and made their way to their final destination. While Trixie knew the guards would be focusing their efforts everywhere else, she didn’t want to linger here for too long. Once they got to the carriage station, Trixie had to do a lot of haggling offering up all of her remaining bits and most of her alcohol. And after all that, the farthest that they could go was Ponyville in one of the cheapest rides they had.
Trixie knew that their ride would be poor quality, however despite that when she saw the condition of their carriage she could not hide her embarrassment. The thing had several holes in its sides and the roof had been patched up with several clothes. The wheels were all different sizes making it look lopsided. When they got in the two of them found their seats looked stained and in desperate need of repair. In short, it was the kind of ride that would make any normal pony say that they would rather walk. However, Trixie knew that despite the poor equality, it would get them to their destination quickly.
As soon as they closed the door, they began to move as four stallions began to gallop down the mountain side. As they did, Sunset pulled out her book and began to read it with great interest. As for Trixie, she pulled out her last bottle of whisky.
She was about to open it when she saw her reflection on the bottle and paused. For the first in what seemed like forever, she questioned herself on if she should be drinking like this. She didn’t feel at all depressed like she normally was. In fact, her heart was still racing from excitement thanks to her accomplishments. She knew she should be proud of herself for fooling the guards twice and doing what Princess Celestia asked her to do.
At the thought of the Princess, Trixie’s ears flattened. ‘Trixie gets it,’ she thought as she stared at the bottle. ‘She always believed in Trixie. Teaching Trixie things that she knew Trixie could do well. Showing Trixie things even when Trixie was too stupid to understand. She took Trixie in and look how Trixie has repaid her, by acting like a drunk. Trixie almost messed up the last task she entrusted Trixie with. Well no more!’ And with that, Trixie threw out the bottle without a second look.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” said Sunset.
“Yes Trixie should,” said the blue unicorn confidently. “Trixie is going sober from now on!”
“What I mean is that the seal on the bottle was still intact,” said Sunset. “You could have gotten a refund on the bottle.” For a moment, Trixie stared at the filly with her mouth hanging open and then face hoofed.
-x-
The Equestrians stood there, staring wide eyed at the Lunar soldiers. The three of them stood there apparently staring back. At least, that’s what Applejack and company believed due to the armor they were wearing. It looked similar to the normal armor they had seen other Lunar Guards wearing, but there were clear differences. First of all it looked thicker by at least two to three inches and seemed to be ‘boxier’ compared to the smooth, slim fitting armor they had seen other Guards wearing. The armor also covered their entire bodies, making it impossible for anypony to tell what tribe they belonged to nor their gender. The part of their helmets that should have shown their faces only showed a black void. Behind the three, the ponies in the prison pods watched with great interest as if this was the most exciting thing they had seen in a long time.
Finally, Rainbow could take no more of this staring contest. “Hey!” she barked while slamming a hoof against the bars of their cell. “If you guys are here to do something then do it! If not then get out of here!”
“R-Rainbow, maybe you s-shouldn’t antagonize them,” stammered Fluttershy.
“We need no witnesses,” said the Lunar pony in the middle, shocking almost everypony there. It was the voice. It didn’t sound male or female. An artificial a noise that could never of come from anypony’s mouth. Hearing that voice and not being able to see their faces sent a chill down everypony’s spine, including Rainbow Dash.
“Understood,” said the one on the right in the same false voice. The Guard turned around and moved to the wall. The ponies in the cell held their breaths, watching as the pony pressed her hoof against the wall before a hissing noise was heard. The heart rates of the Equestrians went through the roof as their eyes searched the room for the source of the noise, not realizing that it was coming from the prison pods as the eyes of their captives slowly closed.
“It’s done,” said the Guard after the hissing noise ended. “They’re in VR therapy for the next hour or so.”
“Good,” said the leader as his head turned to focus on Applejack. Said mare felt a twinge of unease, feeling as though the unseen eyes of the pony bore into her core. This didn’t go unnoticed by her friends who moved in front of her with Rainbow Dash in the front of the pack.
Rainbow leaned forward a bit, her wings extended looking like she was getting ready to pounce. Her eyes narrowed a bit signaling to all before her that she was ready for a fight should they enter the cell. The rainbow maned mare knew her speed would be her greatest advantage and hoped they didn’t know about it.
Oddly, the leader seemed to keep his gaze on Applejack, despite all the ponies trying to block his view. The Guard then took a step forward closer to the cell.
“Did you attack Twilight Sparkle?” asked the leader.
Applejack blinked. “No, ah didn’t,” she responded.
“That’s all I wanted to hear,” said the leader while his/her hooves reach up to the helmet. The five watched as the helmet was removed revealing Shadow Blade. Behind him the other two did the same revealing them to be Lightning Dust and Derpy.
“What the…” began Rainbow as her voice trailed off as Shadow pressed a button on his oversized armor causing the door to their cell to open.
“Kind of a boring reveal,” said Pinkie as they began to file out. “I totally saw that coming.”
“Darling, I don’t mean to be rude but what is going on?” asked Rarity.
“We’re busting you guys out of here,” said Lightning as she put her helmet back on. “Now come with us if you want to live.”
“But why-” began Applejack.
“We don’t have time to explain,” said Derpy quickly. “We have to go NOW!”
Wordlessly, the Equestrians followed the three as they headed out of the cell room. Each time they came to a door, one of the three would halt the group and check to see if anypony was down one of the long, seemingly unending hallways before they would then race down them until they had to turn. A few times Rainbow tried to move ahead of them only to have her tail grabbed by Shadow and yanked back. Anytime one of them made a noise the three Guards ‘shhhed’ them.
Eventually, they came to an odd looking hallway. Unlike the others, this one wasn’t as well lit and was covered with dust. It was as if no pony had been down here in a long, long time and had forgotten all about it. The three Lunar ponies also became more relaxed in this area as if they knew they were safe here.
“Here we are,” said Shadow as he stopped in front of an actual door. His hooves moved towards the keypad and pressed in the combination causing the door to slowly open revealing a stairway. He then motioned the girls to head down with him taking up the rear. Not really seeing much of a choice, the mares did as he requested.
Once again, they seemed to walk for hours. As they did, they all noticed that the walls on either side of them were not made of same metal as the hallway but of grey rock instead. They also noted that the lighting in here was even worse, having to squint just to see a few feet in front of them.
“This feels…spooky,” said Fluttershy, shivering slightly.
“Where in tarnation are ya takin’ us?” asked Applejack.
“You’ll see in a moment,” said Lightning. “And once we get there I can take off this damned Gen 3 armor. Seriously, I have no idea how ponies used to wear this oversized piece of junk.”
Soon they came to the bottom of the stairs and beheld an impressive sight. It was a cavern underneath the moon’s surface. Looking around, they could see at least two hundred ponies being able to fit comfortably in here. And with the ceiling being so high up and flat, pegasi and bat ponies could fly around with ease.
Seeing this, Rainbow stretched out her wings and took off, grateful for the chance to fly again after being cooped up. It was just a once around the cave but it gave her a bird's eye view of the place and allowed her to spot something that she hadn’t noticed on the ground. Yes, the place was big, but the spot where she had been standing on was a peninsular outcrop, big enough to support maybe a hundred ponies. The rest of the space was like a deep pit that seemed to have no bottom. Looking down into it sent a shiver down the spine of the Rainbow pegasus and caused her to fly a bit closer to where she could see ground.
As she did this, she also noticed that they weren’t the only ponies down here. Rainbow squinted for a moment as she tried to make out the other two down here as she flew closer. Her eyes then widened as she realized who one of them was.
“Girls!” Rainbow shouted excitedly. “It’s Twilight! She’s here!”
The effect was immediate. Pinkie Pie’s mane, which had been flat, returned to its normal bouncy state. Fluttershy stopped her crying and looked in the direction Rainbow was heading. Both Applejack and Rarity felt their excitement rise as they lead the charge towards the pony who had defended them in the past while calling out her name happily.
Once they caught up to Rainbow, they saw that Twilight was asleep on an old looking cot. A blanket covered most of her body. Around the cot were several bags of emergency food rations, first aid kits, and lanterns. And standing next to the cot, checking to make sure Twilight was alright, was Land Share who didn’t bother to look up as the others came closer.
“I-Is she alright?” asked Fluttershy.
“And why is she here instead of in a hospital?” asked Rarity.
“It’s complicated,” said Shadow from behind them. They turned around to see that he was no longer in the heavy armor. Behind him, the other two mares were struggling to take off the heavy looking pieces of metal. “You see-”
At that moment, Pinkie Pie jumped in front of her friends. “You thought that Twilight was attacked by Applejack, but after an emotional conversation with Scootaloo you began thinking that something was wrong. You then saw that Twilight wasn’t getting better quick enough because she was getting a different type of medicine. So you decided to check on the evidence finding out that some mean pony had altered it and then that same mean pony took it all away leaving you with nothing.”
Shadow stood there, his mouth hanging slightly. “That’s…right,” he said slowly. “Pinkie, how did you know all of that?”
“Lucky guess,” she said with a big smile as she bounced up and down.
“That’s some guess,” the bat pony replied.
At that moment, Land Share cleared his throat. “Well, I’d better get going. I still have another job to do after all.” As he said this, Shadow couldn’t help but notice how tired and drained the senator sounded nor how slowly he seemed to move. He was almost dragging his hooves against the rocky floor.
“Senator,” said Shadow before Land Share had gotten halfway to the stairs. Said stallion turned his head to look at Shadow. “Thank you of all your help. I know it would mean a lot to Twilight.”
A small smile appeared on Land Share’s face. “I know,” he said as he looked forwards again. “Just make sure she’s safe.” And with that he headed towards the stairs and began to ascend them.
“Ok, I can’t wait any longer,” shouted Rainbow, who looked very annoyed. “I want to know right now what’s going on! I mean, why’d you break us out and bring Twilight here?”
“Because she isn’t safe in the hospital,” said Shadow calmly as he looked at the girls as the huddled together. “As Pinkie Pie…guessed, Twilight was getting the wrong medicine on purpose. When we found out we changed it only for the nurse who did so to disappear and the medicine to be changed back to the incorrect one. I can only assume that whoever is doing all this is trying to get rid of all the witnesses in one blow. Twilight is the only pony to see her attacker and prove that none of you laid a hoof on her while also exposing the biggest conspiracy in the Republic’s history. Should she die, then the five of you will die and any proof that could be pointed back to the culprit would go right out the airlock. That’s why we broke you all out as well as Twilight. To keep you all safe until she wakes up and can clear this whole mess up.”
“But don’t you think that you should have, I don’t know, TOLD YOUR PRINCESS WHAT’S GOING ON!” yelled Rarity, her angry voice echoing through the cavern.
“Like we hadn’t thought of that,” said Lightning as she walked over to the group. Everypony’s eyes focused on her and Rainbow noticed, much to her shock and horror, that Lightning’s old wings were gone and replaced with metal ones. Seeing this caused the rainbow maned mare to pale slightly as her wings hugged her body tightly.
“I can just image how that conversation would go,” continued Lightning Dust as her voice began to drip with sarcasm. “Hey Princess Luna. We believe that one or more senators have teamed up with the LBI to frame the Equestrians for the attack on Twilight Sparkle and are poisoning her. We had proof but it’s gone now, but you can trust us.” When she finished, Lightning gave the mares a deadpanned expression. “Yeah, can you see how well that would go?”
“But can ya just get Princess Luna ta see Twilight?” asked Applejack as she stepped forward. “Then ya could show her that she’s not gettin’ the right medicine.”
“I thought about that after talking to Land Share,” said Shadow. “However, it appears that we are a little too late to do that.”
“W-What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy as she gulped nervously.
Shadow gave them an uncomfortable look. “Well, it appears that Princess Luna has already left the Republic. Right now she’s on Crescent Hope heading for Equestria.”
-x-
At that moment, Crescent Hope was in-between the planet and moon. They had been moving for a few hours due to the fact of their extra cargo. It wasn’t the extra three hundred on board the ship or any of the extra weapons they brought along for the battle. It wasn’t all of the extra shuttle crafts that were in the landing bay. No, it was because they were transporting something more important than either of those. Floating around Crescent Hope were hundreds of raindrop shaped crystals, each one of them about the size of a two story building.
On the bridge, Captain Starway sat in her chair as her eyes focused on the screen ahead of her. On it was a display of these crystals, floating in space as they slowly carried them towards the planet to begin Operation: Umbrella. She watched them, keeping an eye out to make sure that they didn’t crash into each other. If even one got damaged then it would be game over.
‘If only we could have fit them all into the ship,’ thought Starway as she quickly rubbed an eye. ‘Then maybe we wouldn’t have to divert so much power from the engines to the tractor beam.’
“Captain,” said a member of her crew, causing Starway to glance in the pony’s direction. “Captain Shining Armor is requesting permission for his shuttle to depart so he can begin his mission. Shall I give him the go ahead?”
Starway let out a sigh. “Might as well,” said Starway. “Nothing else to do right now. While you’re at it, contact the other shuttles and give them clearance as well.”
“Yes Captain!”
A few moments later two dozen shuttle crafts exited Crescent Hope and headed towards the planet. At first they seemed to stick together, flying through space life a pack of wolves. But as they moved closer towards the planet, they began to splinter off in different directions. Heading for different cities in Equestria. The plan had been Princess Luna’s, brought up just before they left. While Crescent Hope set up Operation: Umbrella, the shuttles would go to various cities and towns in Equestria, stealing various foods from farms and warehouses during the cover of night. Then, after dropped their forces off, Crescent Hope would return to the Republic to unload all the food they had gather.
Just then, Starway head the door open behind her. She turned around and, when she saw who it was, she scrambled out of her chair.
“Princess on the bridge,” she said as she bowed.
“There is no need for that,” said Princess Luna before the others could stop what they were doing to pay her respect. “There are far more important matters that must be dealt with.” She then looked at Starway. “Is everything going according to plan?”
“Yes Princess,” said Starway as she righted herself. She then turned to a member of her crew. “Pull up the hologram.”
A second later, a hologram of the planet appeared in the middle of the bridge. Next to it was the Crescent Hope and all of the objects it was pulling. Soon, all across the planet in a grid formation, were red raindrops that were blinking constantly.
“As you can see we have already mapped out where to place the crystals,” said Starway as Luna looked at the images, a smile appearing on her face. “Working around the clock, we should be done before morning. Assuming that there will be a morning.”
“Of course there will,” scoffed Luna. “I will not punish the rest of the planet because of Equestria. Soon I will begin to lower the sun and raise the moon. However…I will admit that I have never done this. I fear that it might tax me greatly. After I am done I will need to rest in my room for several hours.”
“I will make sure not to wake you unless it is an emergency of the highest level,” said Starway.
“Very good,” said Luna with a nod.
-x-
“Oh, this is bad,” said Fluttershy as she did her best to hide her face with her mane.
“B-But you have all this fancy technology stuff,” said Rainbow as she threw her hooves in the air. “I mean, we all saw that thingy that lets you talk to ponies from far away.”
“We do but-” began Shadow.
“Then why don’t you just call up Princess Luna and explain what’s going on?” interrupted Rainbow.
“I-” began Shadow once more.
“A simple call and it over,” ranted Rainbow as she began to pace in the air, not noticing the irritation on Shadow’s face. “Just tell her that something is wrong and she needs to see it in pony. Then take her to see Twilight and boom! Everything is exposed and that way you’re not risking Twilight’s life like a-”
“I DON’T KNOW WHO TO TRUST!” roared Shadow, causing everypony there to take a step back. “You think I don’t know what technology we have? You think that I didn’t consider calling her as soon as I found out she left? Well I did! But here’s the thing, a call like that could be intercepted or blocked. And once that happened the pony who is behind all of this might try something more drastic!”
Shadow let out a sigh, calming down slightly. “Right now, I don’t know who to trust other than the ponies in this room. And until I can get something, anything that could prove that something is up before Twilight wakes up it’ll be my word against the evidence that was provided. And I don’t think anypony will believe me without it, especially after breaking all of you out of jail. So right now, I am trusting the five of you to watch Twilight while I try and get to LBI headquarters and get the evidence that we need. Once I get my hooves on it, I’ll get on a shuttle and head straight to Princess Luna myself.”
“You think they’ll have it there?” asked Rarity.
For a moment, Shadow said nothing. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find it,” he said with a slightly more dangerous tone as his eyes narrowed.
“But what about Scootaloo?” asked Rainbow. “Won’t they go after her?”
At that, Shadow seemed to relax a bit as a smile appeared on his face. “Don’t worry about her,” he said confidently. “Senator Land Share promised me he’ll be keeping an eye on her.”
“Ah, ya sure we can trust him?” asked Applejack, looking a little worried. “Ah don’t want ta bring this up, but that parasprite that Fluttershy brought with her damaged his home pretty bad. For all ya know he might be helpin’ them.”
Shadow opened his mouth, but Lightning’s snickering stopped him. Everypony turned to look at the pegasus and her friend standing next to her. Lightning looked like she was doing her best to keep her laughter at bay while Derpy was smiling calmly.
“I don’t think we have to worry about him,” said Derpy in a reassuring voice. “I’ve known him almost as long as I’ve known Twilight so I know for a fact that he loves her like a daughter.”
“Besides he’s helping us,” said Lightning as she calmed down and then gestured to their surroundings. “He’s the one who helped take down security for a while so we could break you guys out and he smuggled Twilight out as well. All this stuff down here? It’s his emergency supplies. He’s even the one who showed us this place. It’s an old, outdated emergency cave in case a meteor hit the Dome. One of several around Dome Zero that hasn’t been used in eight hundred years. Stars, Shadow grew up in the castle and even he didn’t know about this place until Land Share showed it to him. So I seriously doubt that he’s a bad guy.”
“Lightning’s right,” said Shadow. “Senator Land Share is doing a lot for us. Besides, if he was against us, he could have set a trap while I was break you all out or something like that. Now, I’d better get going. The next part of the plan is about to begin.”
-x-
“SHE’S WHAT?!” screamed Gigawatt, his voice echoing down the halls of the medical wing causing many ponies to stick their heads out of the various rooms to see what was going on. Seeing this, Gigawatt narrowed his eyes before whispering to the LBI pony in front of him. “How can she be gone? Twilight was in critical condition!”
“W-We don’t know?” gulped the LBI pony. “Believe me, we are as confused as you are. We…” His voice trailed off as he put a hoof into his ear, listening in on his communication device. As the moments passed, he paled considerably as a look of utter horror befell him.
“S-Senator,” he said after a while. “It seems that the Equestrians have g-gone m-m-missing.”
For a moment, Gigawatt’s face betrayed no emotion. He just stared at the LBI agent as his words echoed in his head. Then, as fast as lightning, anger filled him. His face contorted in rage as his horn began to glow and lift the agent into the air by his suit.
“HOW COULD YOU LOSE THEM?!” yelled Gigawatt. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS?”
“Senator Gigawatt, control yourself,” said a voice from behind him. Gigawatt turned around, lowering the LBI agent as he did, and saw Land Share slowly walking towards him.
Gigawatt glared at the other senator. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I just came down to check on Twilight and Scootaloo,” replied Land Share, his eyes half closed. “Now, what has you all riled up?”
“Riled up?” repeated Gigawatt. “I’ll tell you what has me all ‘riled up’. Those filthy Equestrians are no longer in their cell and Twilight is missing from her room. I’m willing to bet my seat that she’s been fillynapped by those savages!”
Land Share’s eyes widened slightly. “What are you going to do?”
Gigawatt snorted. “What I have to,” he said with a growl. “I must inform Princess Luna of the situation and sound the alarm. I’ll have this entire Dome searched from top to bottom a thousand times if I have to. And then, once they are found, I’ll throw them out the nearest airlock myself.”
“D-Do you really think that’s wise?” asked Land Share.
At this, Gigawatt narrowed his eyes at Land Share. ‘That’s odd,’ he thought. ‘I would assume that he would want to do everything possible to find Twilight. Shouldn’t he at least be more worried?’
“It’s what I have to do,” said Gigawatt after a while in an even tone. “That is, if we want to make sure Twilight is safe.”
“That’s what I want as well,” said Land Share quickly. He then lowered his voice so that only Gigawatt could hear. “It’s just that I’m afraid that if we sound the alarms then the Equestrians might panic and get desperate. And in the state Twilight is in, it’ll be impossible for her to defend herself. Don’t you think it might be better to let them think we haven’t noticed that they are missing while searching for them?”
Gigawatt blinked before scratching his chin. “You do have a point,” he said.
“And we’d better not tell Princess Luna,” continued Land Share in a low tone. Gigawatt opened his mouth to object, but Land Share continued to talk. “If she came back now, she’ll go on the war path looking for them. She’ll search this Dome until there is nothing left personally and then, if she finds nothing, she’ll go to the next and then the next. She’s stressed enough as it is with the war and coming back here to look for them might divide her attention too much. Or she might put everything else on hold until Twilight is found.”
Gigawatt’s eyes widened. ‘He…has a good point. If we tell the Princess that Twilight is gone then she might put the war on hold until she is found. And that’s the last thing we need right now!’
“I guess we could keep this quiet,” said Gigawatt, trying his best to say it as naturally as he could. He then looked over at the LBI agent he had assaulted. “I want you to get every agent in this Dome involved, but no further. Every room is to be triple checked and I want the anti-teleportation field on at all times. When you find them, report to one of us. Is that understood?”
“Yes Senator,” said the LBI pony as he saluted. Then, as soon as he lowered his hoof, he ran straight out of the room.
“Well it looks like I’ll have to check on Scootaloo in a little bit,” said Land Share with a sad sigh. “I’ll talk with the ponies in charge of our security systems to see how they could have gotten out without being detected immediately.”
As Land Share walked away, Gigawatt began to think. How did the Equestrians break out of their cell without tripping the alarm? And how did they get from their cell all the way to the medical wing without being spotted? The rainbow maned one alone stood out like a sore hoof. Surely somepony should have seen something. And with everypony running down the halls of the castle, getting ready for the war, that should have increased their chances of being spotted. So how did they do it?
A very unpleasant answer came to Gigawatt: somepony within the Republic was helping them.
Gigawatt was about to call out to Land Share to share his thoughts when he noticed something on the ground. Right where Land Share had been standing was a small patch of grey dirt. His eyes darted towards the retreating senator and could see that the bottom of Land Share’s hooves were also grey.
And while Gigawatt began to think about what this could mean, he failed to notice the orange filly who had stuck her head out to see what was going on right behind him.
-x-
It was getting late as Lord North Star began to dress himself for his son’s party. Personally, he would rather spend the evening alone than attend. Not only did Stareye not deserve this promotion, but it felt wrong on so many levels to hold a party like this in the castle while Princess Celestia was being held hostage. The only positive for something like this was that it gave the illusion to the public that everything was running smoothly within the government and thus put their minds at ease. For that reason alone, North Star would attend this little charade.
‘I guess it’ll also help me keep an eye on Blueblood,’ thought North Star as he put on his suit. ‘From what I’ve heard, he’s sending messages to the Griffon Empire and the United Donkey Nation. I wonder what he wants with them.’
Just then there was a knock on the door.
“You may enter,” said North Star. The door then opened to reveal one of his butlers holding a scroll with his magic.
“Sir, a letter just arrived for you,” said the butler as the scroll floated towards his master who took it with his own magic.
“Thank you,” said North Star as he began to read the scroll. After reading the first few lines, however, he nearly dropped it. Whoever this was from was telling him that Blueblood would be unable to duplicate the Republic’s armors within their lifetime. Not only that, he was threatening the families of Spell Matrix as well as the other unicorns who were working on them if they didn’t do the impossible. At the end of the scroll, it told him that the compass was being delayed because Trixie had escaped from Canterlot.
Gulping, North Star lowered the parchment as he took in everything. He hadn’t heard anything about Trixie since earlier this afternoon. Why did the scroll say that she escaped? Did she find something out or was she being held against her will? And who wrote this? There was no name on it that he saw.
‘Something more must be going on in the castle,’ thought North Star as he set down the scroll. ‘And I am going to find out what!’
-x-
At the same time, Cadence and her party had finally landed at the edge of the Everfree Forest. They were all tired from their long flight, their coating damp with sweat. And now that they we on the ground they would finally give their tired wings a well-deserved break. The only one who didn’t look exhausted was Midnight who was sleeping peacefully on her mother’s back.
“My Lady,” said Darkwing. “Our destination is somewhere within this forest. Would you like to wait till morning?”
Cadence shook her head. “No,” she said. “I wish to speak to Lone Wolf as soon as possible. But perhaps we could take a small break. Maybe even head over to that apple farm we spotted coming in and purchase something to eat.” At the promise of fresh apples, her guard began to drool and lip their lips in anticipation.
“If you wanted something to eat you should have done that sooner,” said a cold voice from the tree line. All the ponies there turned and saw Jackal as he emerged from behind a tree, a crud but dangerous wooden spear tucked beneath his wing. And he wasn’t the only one. Four more bat ponies with similar weapons also emerged from the forest looking ready from blood. Quickly they surrounded the tired alicorn and her guards.
“I don’t give my enemies a last meal,” continued Jackal as he pointed his spear at Cadence’s throat.
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And he was promtply blasted away with a pulse of magic because alicorn...........
rubs eyes. False dilemmas played up to seem like actual ones, are still false dillemmas. by no logic would this work. but you probably will force it to.
Welp, it's clearly Landshare that's done this.
Finally a fic that shows that equestrians could just advance hundreds of years in a few days just because they found some advance technology. I always hated it in fics when after only just finding a technology they instantly understand it and can make it better with seeming to take time to understand the basics and equations behind it I also can wait to see blueblood fail and see that threats don't to much when your scholars can't even find the on switch
This is gettin good
nice little chapter, i knew land share would be part of the lunar corruption though im thankful hes not the head of it, might be a chance to redeem him
. i really, really hope you make blueblood suffer at the end of this, or else things would end on a very unsatisfactory conclusion
. fly shining armor, you lovestruck fool, fly!
6293867 what dilemmas?
By god an update and it is a good one can barley wait for more.
6293867 no that has logic to it he knows that he has less chance then a snowball in hell he's probably gonna see how she reacts to the threat if she threatens him down him and his group will vanish like smoke at the first chance they get.
6293917
I know. The idea that ponies living in an almost medival setting being able to understand technology that is almost Iron Man level would be insane! Props to the author and it was nice seeing Blueblood freak out. Not to mention that by the time have have figured that tech, the Lunar's will still be more advanced.
6294036
6293889 I don't know about Land Share. Maybe I'm stupid, but from what it looks like he is giving them a lot of his stuff, helping them hide, and is stalling Gigawatt. Also, the chapter said that he was tired and was dragging his hooves. And given what the poor guy has been through in the last couple of days I can understand him being both phyiscally and mentally exchaused.
Things are hitting the fan. Discord shall be pleased.
6294175 Well, we're gonna see what happens.
6293917
Is it bad that the first thing I thought about when reading the title of this chapter was this?:
Yeah... The time to start learning basic information about the intricacies and difficulties of reverse-engineering highly advanced technology, Blueblood, was probably a while before you based your entire war plan on it...
Aaaand then you order it done in a week. This will not end well, I expect.
Needles? Canterlot has a drug problem?
...Or they could be sewing needles for a joke, but I'm not sure how well that would fit this story. :)
Ah, no Equestrian railways here?
The wheels were all... Wow. How does it even drive straight?
And the end of the chapter. I'm not actually that worried about Cadance... at least compared to a variety of other people. :)
6295356 Trains were recently invented. remember, back in the beginning of the story
YAY Update! And off course to leave it on a cliff hanger.
Yeah Blueblood, the Lunars have had 1000 years to tech up and the freedom to do so. You and your kind stiffled it in Equestria that you are behind the canon version. Add in the fact 8 lunar soliders killed or wounded over 300 of yours before retreating.
Yeah your Royally screwed now.
6295542
Ah, yes, I found it; thank you for the reminder. It was rather a while ago. :)
Yay an update! :D
Woah... what's this!? An original idea!? DEFINITELY gonna read this.
So glad I found this gem.
So many things are going on!
Also what was operation umbrella supposed to do again?
6331186 Destroy Discord it seems. Now think about the amount of power needed to accomplish this and how widespread it would be.
The amount of conspiracies going on! It's so confusing! I LOVE IT!!!!!
When is this story gonna be updated, holy crap I love this story!!!!
6391884
no idea when the next update will be. hopefully soon
6392211 Why, what's going on, life, editing problems?
6393238
Life. Wedding stuff. Also can't get one part of the story to sound right. If I can't figure it out by next week I'm just going to drop it
Ok, so I'm all caught up, and I must admit, I was wrong about how the meeting between Luna and Celestia would play out. I was convinced that the Celestia we would see during that conversation would be a completely different character from the one seen throughout the rest of the story, that was not the case, in fact, to my mind this was the best she has come off in the story thus far, and that this was the first time I felt that I was in agreement with the narrative ie. Luna was the one in the wrong for once. However, and I know many will probably disagree with this, I found Luna's depiction quite jarring when compared to how I saw her throughout the rest of the story, instead of the hyper-competent never wrong Luna I have been complaining about she seemed to be disconnected from reality. She seemed to go from grimly informing Celestia that their nations were at war to quite happily telling her that after the death of half a million equestrians, she will give Cadance her 'rightful' place on the thorn and Celestia will get to be her prisoner while she 'teaches' her how to properly rule. (that really sounds ominous considering what the Republic did to Spike, Sunset Shimmer, and the existence of 'The Light')
Seriously when I read this part I pictured Luna with a creepy smile and twitching eye.After that her mood switched to pure rage when Celestia desperately tried to stop her, all of this less than a day after she tried to kill her sister.
Also, on that note I have to say I was disappointed with the following bit.
After seeing how their fight started and ended combined with how Luna treated Celestia's body in the immediate aftermath of said fight, and watched as her medics left Celestia bleeding on the floor of her ship, her suddenly ordering that Celestia was to be well cared for rings very hollow to me. More than that, I was really hoping you would allow that flaw/mistake to stick, she has let her anger/haltered of Celestia boil for 1000 years (that's seriously not healthy) and has intentionally/accidentally created a equestrian hate cult in the form of the Republic, combined with her supposed anger issues, would it really be so out of character for her to take things too far when she finally got the chance she had been waiting for, for 1000 years? While you have gotten much better at depicting Celestia and presumably other characters you hate, you still seem to be unwilling/able to show characters you love in a truly negative light. For me you have been so tantalizingly close many times thought this story but you always seem to pull back at the last moment.
Some other thoughts, Blueblood is basically Snidely Whiplash at this point, (if anyone gets that reference) which is what I meant in the past when I said he lacked any subtly, you may want to give him a mustache to twirl, although given recent revelations I suppose we were never meant to take him seriously as a villain, but then that just adds to my general disappointment that he was able to play Celestia so completely . You also have me questioning many of my theories (I can say I don't know who is behind the apparent conspiracies in both countries at this point) so good job with that.
6293917 6294175 6295356 6295905
Ya, the time frame Blueblood is demanding is insane, I was a bit worried about that plot point, although now I'm wondering what the point of that whole song and dance was in the first place. Now I assume that this will be way outside of the scope of the story, but when looking at just how fast Meiji Japan modernized after the Americans kicked the door in so to speak (around 40ish years), and the situation Equestria would find itself in should the war actually take place, ie their Military destroyed with them being surrounded by a world that hates them, their government deposed and leader (Celestia) taken hostage, their nation plundered, and a very hostile and advanced power hanging a super weapon over their head (literally), that desperation combined with their greater numbers and resources, I could see 50 years being a decent estimate for Equestria to achieve near or actual parity with the Republic.
6399627 here's the thing Lurker. Luna didn't nessecaryily hate her sister for most of the time. Just didn't agree with her. Any hate showed up when Celestia stupidily changed nothing and even allowed lies to persist. Right now she feels that Celestia can't compentantly lead a nation. She has a point there by the fact Blueblood manage to pull off what he did. This story is showing how important Nightmare Moon was for both of them.
6399627
I agree with Admiral on this one. The story has shown time and time again that the two want to work things through, not just because they are sisters but also for their subjects. I also think that maybe Luna is taking Cadence's words from earlier, about how she just left and did nothing to help her sister, and just going about it in the wrong way. As for Cadence, she has been shown to both us as well as Luna as a character who is trying to work out the problems of Equestria while Celestia sat on her flank and did nothing. So Luna saying she's going to put Cadence in charge isn't all that surprising and makes sense for her character.
On to Blueblood. I think he is more arrogant than anything else. When he began in this story I got the feeling that he held magic and unicorns above all us. That they were superior and all that. And that there was nothing magic couldn't accomplish. That was propably why he put Stareye in charge of the military. He's not evil for evil sake, he seems to be following his own beliefs and is now beginning to panic as his world is beginning to crash down around him.
I started reading this story a few days ago... and I must say I'm impressed.
A lot of references to Space Balls makes some parts funny, but I feel that a lot of of this story was influenced by Mobile Suit Gundam Seed... with the Moon Domes almost exactly like the PLANTS, and the Corps reminding me of ZAFT... The batponies and Luna's supporters bear resemblance to the Coordinators and the persecution they received from the rest of Equestria before they were forced to find refuge on the moon...
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Bah, this is the closest this story has come for me when it comes to showing Luna as something other that perfect so I'm gonna cling to it like a drowning man.....anyway.
I do not by that Luna just developed this level in hatred for Celestia since they re-established contact, keep in mind that she and by extension the Republic have spent the last 1000 years making sure each and every foal learned how terrible everyone in Equestria was and well, learning that in their formative years with nothing to temper that view, well the results speak for themselves. The Republic has built Equestria into a fundamental existential threat to their very existence, when that right now is literal impossible, super weapons from TOMs to the Umbrella have been developed with an 'Equestria first' mentality, thoughts of Discord came latter. Luna by her own words has been waiting for a chance to make war with the ponies of Equestria and she jumped at the chance to start a direct confrontation with Celestia, kept going when Celestia begged for it to end and ultimately went for the kill, that does not come from nowhere.
I want to address the underlined part first, and that is to say that after the last episode any notion I had that Celestia mishandled Luna, or that ponies actually hated her is long gone, as is the idea that Nightmare Moon was somehow a wake up call for Celestia. As for Luna, I don't see it either, she has been consistently proven right throughout the story, so much so that she is pretty much the exact same character she was in the first chapter, the only thing one could say is what Brony-wan said, she is now actively exporting her 'awesomeness'. The question is this, we know what Celestia gains from learning from Luna (a functional brain) but what does Luna gain from emulating anything her sister has done in the last millennium? I'm sorry but the story has gone out of its way to show that nothing of Celestia's way for doing things in this setting has any worth (that may change), I could see Luna taking cues from Cadance but not from Celestia. As for the rest of the quot, I am really, really trying hard to put that aspect for the story out of my mind, its still the worst part of the story for me and the less I think about it the better.
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I may grant you that, only at the very begging of the story, because from were I am sitting Luna's long simmering anger/hated and Celestia's lack of a frontal lobe quickly took over, ie Luna demanding the 'compromise' of giving her smaller population equal representation in the government disproportionate to their actual number, followed by the demand that equestrian society remake itself in I believe 4 years(?) to mach that of the republic, after the whole Celestia mind rape, if there was any desire to actually work together it was gone on Luna's part. Now that she has Celestia completely at her mercy, well time to force the issue i guess.
Either I was not clear or you misunderstood, I was not really worrying about the details of her plan, more her sudden mood swings, as I said, Luna legitimately came off as unhinged to me during that exchange, she went from griming talking about the fact that war was declared to happily smiling as she explained in detail to her sister (who she just tried to kill) how she was going to kill Celestia nephew and remake Celestia's world in her image. She seemed even more ecstatic at the thought of 'teaching' Celestia and spending 'quality time' time with her, to shock and rage at Celestia desperately trying to stop her. The author did a good job in conveying Celestia's growing dread in this exchange that I have to believe that is what he was going for. Its just that that was quite jarring from the Luna of the rest of the story who was I have complained ad-nauseam about being hyper-competent and to perfect.
As a side note I am still holding some hope that magic will actually be a real advantage for the Equestrians, I vaguely recall that Darth said something about Equestrians being better at it than the Republic (could be wrong) I mean we have not see Equestrians use magic against Lunar tech yet (i think) so its possible, but given the general depiction of Equestria and the Republic its a very slim hope.
As for Blueblood, to my mind he was always a cardboard cutout of a character, a straw man if you will, so over the top that I could not take him seriously but for the fact that he kept on besting Celestia, any thoughts I had of their being any depth to him or Stareye being any more than 80's cartoon villains went out the window when they left the wounded soldiers out in the streets, I simply can not take him or his cronies seriously which is causing me a bit of problem reconciling his success in outsmarting Celestia.
You have obviously read the authors other works is this typical of his villains because if so I really think that his something he needs to focus on improving. To try to temper my previous statements I want to reemphasize that from were I am siting this story has been consistently improving. I say this cause I know I can come off as far far more negative than I intend.
6406197 It goes down to this. Luna has spent the last 1000 years growing as a character because her ponies are full of free thinkers. In addition she is aware of her flaw and took steps to negate it. I think she always had an underline anger in regards to her sister. Whenever Celestia asked for a reunification she responded with a clear no till recently. While angry with her sister not taking the Hoofshire fires seriously enough she didn't hate her. Gigawatt and his followers do to the degree that they fake evidence and nearly kill Twilight. WIth her effort to actually try to make amends with Celestia all backfire so her leash on her anger weakens. Especially after Twilight's attack.
Celestia on the other hand had less urge to change. In her mind she was proven right when ponies started to love her sister. When she left it hurt. After that her court was filled with yes ponies and those still smart and corrupt enough to do things on the sly. Remember she thought her words alone will cause ponies to act better. It worked in the past thus it should always work. As a result the issues that caused Luna to leave were buried but not dealt with and reared there heads in the recent days. Heck she started to understand some of Luna's points when she saw how her court acted if she was not available. And note even canon Celestia has a bad track record in judging ponies. Luna, Chrysalis, and Sunset being clear examples.
Blueblood is the product of a corrupted government with now ponies to truly leash it. Thus their arrgance and power grew. Heck Equestria's tech leve is far below the canon because the nobility choked what free thinking ponies left.
Finally I mean it that NMM was a more positive affect on the sisters in this. Celestia is more obvious since banish your sister would make you more thoughtful of what you did wrong. She addresses issues now and seems more ready to act. Luna undoubtedly learn patience while stuck on the moon and since learned how to be more appreicated by the ponies.
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See there is a fundamental difference between our thoughts on the Nightmare Moon situation. I know a lot of the fandom like to assign some form of blame/responsibility for the whole thing to Celestia, either she was abusive, did not pay enough attention to Luna, or worse (Tyrantlestia) I have never bought into that, I don't even think ponies disliked her, so there was never anything for Celestia to be proven right about. Last episode was all the conformation I needed, Luna, is not mentally healthy, I am not saying she is insane or anything but she had and still obviously has issues, I recognize so much of members of my family and even some of myself in her. 1000 years ago she 'felt' ponies did not like her, even hate her despite the fact that they would all have positive associations with her thanks to the whole dream guardian thing. We saw an example of that in Luna eclipsed a ponies and small children having fun enjoying a 'scary' holiday lead her to think they still hated her. (granted Pinkie was terribly written that episode)
She let those issues fester on her own, we saw in the last episode she clearly is not one to seek help her sister or friends in dealing with issues now, I say the same was true 1000 years ago, and as she has done for the past year/s? she probably punished herself for her perceived short comings, and since you cant help someone unless they want to be helped Nightmare Moon was the result. So when you say that the whole banishment thing had a positive effect on Celestia I simply can not by into that notion. That is also one of the reasons as to why I think the whole "Lunar Republic" genre of stories is nearly universal terrible, it destroys Celestia to bring Luna up and usually turns Luna into a one note superhero.
As for the rest of your response, again i don't think we will meet eye to eye, and this is probably me just repeating myself, but in writing my last response to Brony-wan I realized that it really is a matter of degree to which otherwise fine concepts were taken that I had/have such issues with. Celestia has somehow done nothing for 1000 years and ignored race riots and up until recently I would question weather she could actually function on her own, Luna is until recently(?) always correct in everything she does, a leader who has issues with Celestia falls in love at first sight with her, Blueblood is so over the top as I cant take him seriously. Had Celestia been more competent and Luna less so, had Blueblood been toned down and more subtle, and had Equestra been shown to be good at something (at all) and the Republic been shown to be bad at something that was actually meant to be bad I think this would have been much better.
Yes you can justify it with how this story played out but each and every one of those things is (obviously) the result of a choice made by the author. And I realize this is coming off as me being super negative again so I will once again say that it seems to me that the author is making big strides in what I think is the right direction.
As for some specific thoughts, true Luna probably started out 'just' angry, angry enough to cut off all ties for 1000 years, that anger did not go away. Holding onto that anger for 1000 years (again an insane amount of time) is not good, Luna may have held it in check but it was clearly always there hence the whole trying to kill Celestia and relishing the thought of war with Equestria(her words). I don't think you can hold her not thinking Luna would go from moody to trying to kill everyone against her, again personal experience but the way a couple of family members went even though we saw issues, none of use really saw coming (no not suicide), Sunset, did she really misjudge her looking at the progress she made? would say she made some mistakes in teaching her but was fundamental right about her, and ya Chrysalis I cant defend that was just a poorly written episode to sell a toyset.
Legitimate question, did the story say at any point that there was a deliberate suppression of advancements? Because if if did I would be overjoyed, if its just you and the author making the assumption that Monarchy/feudalism slows down advancement well then that wont hold any water for me. But seriously if that is mentioned in the story my complaints about Equestria's lack of tech and social progress will be gone....my issues with the Republic will remain but my issues with Equestria would be gone.
Also I just remember some comments you made on other stories I have read and one I even commented on, you are far more forgiving then I am it seems, so we are probably talking past each other.
6407087 In regards to the blame on NMM It;s a joint thing. All evidence points to Celestia ignoring Luna's troubles or brushing them off as things that would blow over in time. Could have Luna found other means? Perhaps but also look at the ponies reaction when she first came to Ponyville as Luna. She was met with fear. Tantibus was her attempt to ensure that she never became Nightmare Moon again. Not to thrilled with the writers choice in that. Heck Not thrilled with at least half the episodes in season 5 but i understand what they tried to show about it.
We may be more similar then we think. Admittedly if i wrote this story (Note I was more the ready if he did abandon it) I would have made some changes. Down tech the republic a bit and even things out more between the sisters, but as the story is i can she how it can go right now. The writer has stressed early one that like the show the sisters were meant to rule together. Their mom noticed it first and then Celestia. They keep each other in balance most of the time. and after the split Luna showed signs of trying to compensate while everything points to Celestia not. Celestia should have done something but I think her mindset from the beginning was that Hoofshire could have still been a freak accident but on the off chance she would say words at the next Heart's Warming. I don't she knew how desperate the situtation had gotten. and when the Lunar ponies left the issue got buried until it popped up again.
I do beleive at some point it is preciesly mentioned that the nobles slowed advancement more then the Lunar ponies leaving would account for. Probably slowing so they could profit from it.
Note Twilight does point out they are just discovering steam power so no trains yet in this Equestria.
So on the whole I would do some things differently but most of that is nitpicks for me. The question to you is do the pros out weigh the cons? They do for me.
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This is going to be a very long winded way of me saying 'I disagree' so sorry. I don't think the evidence shows that at all, if we take the comics as cannon (tricky at best of times) then then we do have her notice Luna getting moody, but really how many of us have had someone we know get a bit moody or be moody ourselves. With Luna Eclipsed, there are two aspects, the adults who have clear memories of the Nightmare Moon thing, and the children who where just having fun, I have always maintained that if Luna went to ANY other town or city in Equestria the reaction of the adults would been different. A really telling moment is when Luna said said they always have hated her. That never quite sat right with me and made even less sense in her next episode, she is literally chasing everyone's nightmares away in a particularity 'awesome' way since they were small children? ya no one hated her in the past. So cutting out the comics for simplicity sake, we have the outsiders view that she went dark because ponies slept at night, pretty petty right? We have her words that they have always hated her (and in flashbacks loved her sister and the sun) and we have clear evidence that she nightly engages in activities that should make it impossible for anyone to hate her.
So that is what we have up to the mid season break, at the time that episode aired I was binge watching Steven Universe, that show gets surprisingly heavy when it comes to some pretty serious issues one of witch is mental health, the last episode and that show very much let everything fall into place for me. The Ponies 1000 years ago did not hate Luna, Luna hated or disliked herself, and projected those feelings onto others, she was probably ashamed of these feelings and made every effort to hide them from Celestia (like in the recent episode) the feelings obliviously festered and got worse with time to the point Nightmare Moon happened, I view that as the equivalent of a mental break down, at that point Celestia stepped in but again I can tell you even if Celestia was aware ahead of time just how bad Luna was getting you cant help someone or force help people like that till they want it....or get so bad they have to be committed (the moon)
I for the record loved the last episode with the exception of them deliberately keeping Celestia out of it (seriously she needs some episodes). It was about as dark as this show is probably going to get Luna self harming for a year or more(depending on how long you think she has been back) is just such a surprisingly dark choice for her character, her reasons for it don't matter there is nothing healthy about that, her refusal to make her sister even aware of the fact that her issues are for a 2nd/3rd time threatening the very existence of Equestria, her refusal of others aid until it was nearly to late as well as her self loathing for past actions everyone else had long forgiven her for, all brilliant to my mind....Seriously it should have been Celestia helping her forgive herself at the end there.
An observation I have made over the years, people want their dark, tragic hero (Batman) or their dark, tragic princess in this case, they often want characters with dark backgrounds (the gems from Steven Universe) but they often don't want to deal with the issues that would be inherent with such individuals, I get it, people don't want to see how the sausage is made and all that. I know people will disagree but I think its a far better and more interesting for Luna's fall to come from issues entirely of her own making, and look just because things are only in your head does not make them any less real....they are probably more real and damaging.
Here is my issue with this, yes the story has said that several times, in the earlier portions. The problem is that the author had a serious 'tell and not show' thing going on at the start, it has gotten a lot better but from where I have been sitting the story basically said that the sisters needed each other for 'reasons' then spent the rest of the time going into detail about how Celestia did nothing for 1000 years(again so much more damning than anything else) ignoring any and all issues (seriously what did she actually do for 1000 years? play solitaire?), we were made painfully aware and how much of a hole Equestria was. The author made some note saying we would find out that the Republic was not perfect, then never did....until these last few chapters (even then not sure if the republic is suposed to be in the wrong on anything).
Basically after finding out that Celestia was raised and trained from birth to rule and that their Mother thought they needed each other(after Celestia thought mind rape was a good idea) we got 50ish chapters of Celestia showing no ability to do anything except be naive to an insane extent(remember at least 1000 years old) with Luna never failing once....the Gryphon king fell in love at first sight and the immediately shared a story about how older siblings were terrible and they were both awesome. Were Celestia was out played by Blueblood (Ive made my view on him clear I think) Luna immediately grew suspicious of the supposedly flawless tech of the republic. Again recently the story has gotten better about all of this, but and I cant stress this enough it has not shown me anything that Luna can gain from Celestia, Cadance yes but Celestia...there is still nothing there, its only been like one or two chapters since the author has started to turn his portrayal of her around....that's not enough time to right the ship, but I now have hope that he will.
I would not be here if they did not but, for me they are far more than nitpicks. From my memory there is one story that I basically said that there was nothing of worth in it while you only had minor issues with it. Thats what I was getting at, we have two very diffrent scales when it comes to this stuff it seems
6408466 well hopefully our discussion has made the writer think. ANd as a rsult a bette story overall. Though I don't consider the comics canon. Perhaps some elements of them by as a whole nope.
as for blame remeber how Luna was reacted to at the beginning of the Luna Eclipse. She was feared and rejected and she became agnry enough to cancel Nightmare Night. Imagine if Twilight wasn't there to try to help her? I think it was close to what she experienced 1000 years ago.
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Again I don't see it like that. Pinkie (horrible as she was) and the children where playing a game, and as for the adults I will once again say that had Luna gone to any other town or city, or even did not show up acting and looking like a thing out of their nightmares, she would not have gotten the reaction she did, remember when she was not acting so over the top they were fine with her...untill she summoned an army of giant spiders. As insane as it is the whole series has taken place over a year and a bit now, so Luna Eclipes would have been, what? a few weeks after she showed up as Nightmare Moon, showing in the same town acting like that again really is a bad idea, and since no Equestrian Princesses seem to like to tell each other anything I assume she went off half cocked without talking with Celestia about it. As an aside I really think people missed the whole point of that Holiday in general, seems to me it was part of an effort to ensure Nightmare Moon was seen as a harmless mascot of a holiday based around candy and fun, you know make things as easy as possible for Luna to reintegrate, Luna just went about it in pretty much the worst way she possible could have.
Not to repeat my whole post but I don't believe she was ever rejected or hated by others in the past, instead she projected her own fears and insecurities and possible self loathing on others and never sought help either out of shame or as indicated by the last episode a belief that she did not deserve such help. This is not directed at you but there has been a large section of the fan base that has blamed Celestia for all of Luna's problems since day one, we love the dark characters so long as they aren't to dark, that is one of the reasons I was so happy with the last episode. The most damning thing for me when it comes to people assuming she faced rejection/fear/hatred from others is the revelation of her whole dream guardian thing.
6409129 First off I don't by the year thing at all. too much crap has happened not to mention several inconistanties in the show condratict the idea.
as for blame stuff. in NMM case I think there is enough their to say at best Celestia did nothing to really prevent it. Since the EoH shot I will blame more on Luna not looking stuff up And I defiantly blame Luna for Tantibus. Not sure if modern Luna is a good compatison for how she was in the past. She is very changed by being NMM. She made Tantibus to prevent her from being NMM again. The show says that the ponies slept through her night. this points to them not having any night life and considering the likely tech of the time that makes sense. Luna MAY have overblown it but in the end they both had parts to play in NMM.
One thing I want to see happen... if this is all a 'dream'... I wouldn't mind Present-Twilight to meet up with Shadow and hook up (not a fan of FlashLight to be frank) and see what Scootaloo's situation is (Twilight would definitely adopt her for sure if she was orphaned in her own timeline)... and Twilight actually brings forth ideas from her time in the Lunar Republic to accelerate technology in Equestria...
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Sigh it seems once I get going I can't stop. So ya, I agree with the one year being insane but, what can you do? word of god and all that, anything else is unfortunatly head cannon.
This is a key thing, the Luna that appeared in Luna Eclipse was essentially acting like it was 1000 years ago, and given that I am working within the confines of the year, or in the case of the episode a few weeks or months, well that is not really all that long to deal with deep seeded issues, and as far as I can tell she was either not aware of her time as NNM or was unconscious on the moon, so I don't think that caused a huge change in her by itself.
Her reason for making the Tantibus really is not the issue for me, if we go by 'word of god' for how much time has passed Luna has either spent a little over a year or if your right several years mentally torturingr herself.....there is nothing good that could come from that, there is nothing healthy about that no mater what her intentions, that is what finally convinced me she had mental health issues in the past and ultimately suffered a break down. At the same time she did everything in her power to hid her feelings and issues and take all the burden on herself, again Im convinced that is how she went about things 1000 years ago. What is more likely everyone in Equestria including her sister actively ignoring/shunning/hating her (depending on who you ask) or her having issues she did not deal with and spun out of control?
See what it comes down to we are, each of us, ultimately responsible for our own happiness, we can't put that burden on others, yes our fiends and family are always important but, if I hide how bad I really am doing, it is not the fault of anyone else if I do something horrible. That being said, if I am ultimately right (I don't expect the show to actually prove me correct), then the absolute worst you could say is that Celestia did not know just how bad Luna was doing on the inside, but I dare anyone to condemn someone for that.
If for the sake of argument you are right and its actually about a lack of a nightlife and Luna somehow being ignored by everyone despite stopping all there nightmares since childhood, then there is no MAY about it, Luna trying to kill her sister and everyone else on the planet and ANY part Celestia had to play in the NNM incident would be utterly dwarfed by Luna's own pettiness and selfishness.
There are a couple final thoughts I want to put down, I think we have just about exhausted this topic, if not well I always found the circumstances around NNM one of the most interesting things in the show I'm sure there is more that could be discussed. First and foremost Luna's dialog really seems to back up my view of the situation, there is a very telling moment when she is giving advice to Scootaloo, to paraphrase 'everyone has fears but they must be faced or the nightmares will continue' what she says, the tone in which she says it, with the change in background music, all are a big flashing neon sign that tells me, that she let her fears/insecurity/self loathing, consumer her, and by not dealing with them, by you know talking to Celestia or anyone really they only got worse till she had her breakdown. Not to get into detail, but stuff like that, when you have it you definitely project them onto others.
The choice of language here is interesting, this might not be your intent but to me, this says you are barley willing to grant that Celestia, in the best possible case, negligent, and that your only willing to consider that Luna going NNM was possibly and overreaction. I only bring this up because this for me serves as a microcosm of a lot of the fan-base's thoughts on the matter and that is 'Celestia may not be totally at fault...oh who are we kidding its all her fault, and Luna, well shes not responsible for her actions at all, just a poor innocent victim in all of this'. I know from your other comments your views don't mirror this but the language choice was to good for me not to use.
Finally and totally off topic, but now that I think about it, why is Luna, the character who plays to her princess title the most, also the one most associated with democracy/republics in the fandom?
6414890 Well this past season was full of bad writing so thus I throw out the year idea.
On the last one. The only thing I can think for it is fan bias and the origins of Trollestia and the Tyrant from Bird in a hoof. The other I think is they fact that she less commanding then her sister. But grapsing at straws here.
I just have one question... if Oceana is still alive after all this time.... where is Molten?
6451662 he's alive too
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I so want to see Celestia disowning her father... or Luna breaking him atleast
Like this:
As always, good story. You still have a lot of typos that need to be addressed, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the story.
Loved the Spaceballs reference, by the way.
Good lord, this story hasn't been updated yet? When are you gonna continue with this?
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Sorry but I have been rather busy with my up coming wedding, getting a new job, as well as getting ready to move into a new home. Trying my best to get it done with all of this
Very excellent chapters since the last time I read. It's about damn time somepony figured out that it's not just Equestria's government that is being manipulated behind the scenes.
Not to mention that I had my suspicions that Gigawatt was the one behind this treachery. I just didn't realize that he had roped the LBI into this as well. That makes dealing with this conspiracy a whole lot tougher.
The brief conversation between Celestia and Luna showed us that neither side seems to truly grasp the concept of cooperation or compromise. Both of the sisters are so stuck in their own ways and methods of handling things, that it's just making the situation for everypony that much worse.
Individuals need to start figuring out what is TRULY important. That being peace. Not the so called peace by bombing Equestria with Operation: Umbrella. That will not solve anything. Not only will it make who ever survives the attack hate the lunar ponies even more, but it will also make other countries on the planet become wary or suspicious of the Lunar Republic.
So many paths that must end. So much treachery and betrayal. It's really cool to see all this in a fanfiction story. I look forward to more.
- Super-Brony12
P.S. I'm currently going to college at the moment, so I will try to stay as up to date as I possibly can.
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The problem is not just Celestia or Luna...
But it's also the ponies POV and their prejudices that need to be addressed...
This is something that Cadance is doing (by taking a leaf from Luna, she's being there for the bat ponies and actually seeing first hand what is going on... by taking a leaf out of Celestia, she is compassionate and doing her best to find peaceful solutions).
This is something that Celestia should have done in the beginning when Luna left, instead (like her sister) she let her emotions get the better of her and forced that her sisters name be taboo (consequently dooming Luna's followers to be labeled as monsters too) before she could actually rectify this. I suppose this comes from being raised by Molten and taught that her words alone could 'shake the foundations of Equestria'...
Now... Blueblood and his nobles are merely taking over for the sake of Power but Luna's senate actually are trying to do good for their people (but the path to hell is pathed with good intentions)... so I'm curious to see how this will be resolved and if Discord will be the ultimate deciding factor for unity among the Lunar Ponies and Equestrians...
Something I've noticed in this story and with the show for that matter....
When Celestia has a plan, gamble or whatever you want to call it... it's only the ponies who fit into that plan that really matter to her, and the others are just by-products with no real impact...
Meaning that with reaching out for this merger, Celestia only cared about getting Luna (her little sister) and Twilight (a new edition to her plans) with this... and the other ponies on the moon (along with the culture and the technology) would just be left to their own devices (like she has done with the noble court, and we all saw how that played out for her)...
In other words, Celestia has her blinkers in this story and the show, as does Luna unfortunately
Is there a progress report on the next chapter?
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some