28th day of Frostfall
454 Years after the Defeat of Discord by the Sisters

Luna lounged on her black couch, sipping moonshine. She’d been drinking steadily since she heard the news from Maria Lulamoon. She’d managed to keep herself from tearing anypony apart so far, so she felt she was handling it well.

“They’re working with the griffons, Luna.” Maria repeated. “You need to do something about it.”

“I should throw it right in that smug Ambassador’s stupid beak!” Luna yelled, leaping to her hooves. “No, no. I’ll wait for the next meeting, then I’ll do it while my sister is there, so she can see just what kind of two-faced chimaeras these griffons are.”

“You can’t confront him without proof,” Maria said. “And no, my word is hardly proof. I’d rather not get involved at all. We agreed to stop seeing each other because of politics, remember, and the last thing I want is to get on their bad side when I have foals to think about.”

“I apologize,” Luna said, settling back down. “I don’t wish to put them in danger.”

“Good,” Maria nodded. “Now, what I can tell you is that I know when the next big meeting is. I’ve been invited, but I think I will fail to attend. I have a feeling something untoward might happen there, you know.”

“If it doesn’t, I’m sure I can arrange it,” Luna noted.

“I was hoping you could,” Maria said. “I’d hate for them to get rid of my favorite princess.”

“Send the Centurion,” said a deep voice at the window. Luna didn’t react, but Maria almost jumped out of her skin as a black shape drifted into the room, Hungry Ghost’s armored form, the cloak around him fading into the shadows around him and making him one with the darkness.

“Oh, it’s you,” Maria said, putting a hoof to her heart. “Either you’ve gotten better at sneaking around or I’ve gotten worse at listening for it.”

“Both,” Hungry Ghost said. He was quiet for a moment, the silence growing awkward until he spoke again as if realizing that some kind of greeting might be in order. “It has been a long time.”

“Did you miss me too?” Maria grinned. “I know you liked having me around, at least a little.”

“I tolerated you,” Hungry Ghost corrected.

“Close enough,” Maria shrugged.

“Pallas Athene is badly injured. Again.” Luna said. “She needs to rest. While she is strong, such accumulated injuries with no chance to rest will quickly result in her becoming useless or dying.”

“This mission should not be difficult,” Hungry Ghost said. “More importantly, it will demonstrate her loyalty to you above all else. We have discussed the next step for her, and this is a perfect opportunity.”

“The next step for her?” Maria asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going to turn her into one of your little cadre of monsters, aren’t you?”

“The Dragoons are not monsters,” Luna retorted. “They are my most loyal soldiers, with as many boons as could be piled on them. I tried to explain this to you when you were offered the honor.”

“She has earned the right,” Hungry Ghost said. “I knew she would.”

“We will… discuss it,” Luna said. “First, Lulamoon, I wish to have details of what these conspirators have said and what they plan.”

“I can tell you that after what I saw. I’m not going back…”

22nd day of Frostfall
454 Years after the Defeat of Discord by the Sisters

Maria sat in the cafe, sipping at the tea she had been given. It was a powerful blend, with the spicy, peppery undertones of the southern farms and the scrublands there. Such tea was currently in vogue, served with plenty of milk and honey for those whose delicate palates couldn’t handle even a tiny amount of spice but wanted to appear fashionable. Maria was drinking hers with no such adulteration. She was no stranger to exotic tastes, and found it warming and pleasant against the chill in the air.

“Ah, Maria,” said a cultured voice from behind her. Maria stood to greet her guest, giving the mare a polite smile.

“Countess Flare. I was beginning to think you had become too busy to make our appointment,” Maria said, gesturing to the chair across from her. The Countess pulled it out with magic and sat, Maria sitting after the other mare had made herself comfortable.

“I wanted to make sure we could speak in privacy,” Flare said. “There was always the chance that I was being followed, or that you were.”

“I see,” Maria raised an eyebrow. “If it was that worrisome, why have a meeting at the cafe at all? Wouldn’t your home be safer?”

“It would be, if I did not own this cafe and trust every employee implicitly,” the Countess replied, as Maria poured her some tea. The Countess added milk and honey without even tasting it first, using so much that it was barely darker than the mare’s own off-white coat. “It’s useful to have a few safe places in the city, you know. Places I can take potential business partners and people of interest.”

“I see…” Maria frowned.

“I’ll keep this brief. We’re both busy mares.” Flare sipped her tea, adding more honey after grimacing. “You’ve kept it hidden quite well, but I found out about your little secret. You and Luna used to be together, quite intimately.”

“It’s not that much of a secret,” Maria sighed. “But it was a long time ago.”

“Yes. And it ended. There are even suggestions that it ended badly.” Flare sipped at her overly sweet tea. “Luna has hurt a lot of ponies, you know. You aren’t alone. Though you are perhaps her only lover, at least that we know of.”

“I’d really rather not talk about that,” Maria said.

“Let me make this short, then. I’m a member of a private club,” Flare said. “We’re working to push certain reforms through the government. Recent changes have made this rather difficult.”

“You mean Luna is keeping you from getting anything done at court,” Maria clarified.

“I’m sure you’re aware of… how much harm she can do. She certainly caused a lot in your own life, no? You were her hoofmaiden until she tired of you.”

Maria was quiet for a moment, as if considering her options. “...What kind of reforms?”

“Ones you would find pleasing. Preferential rights to the nobility, that sort of thing. The important thing is that it would make life more comfortable for me. For both of us, in fact.” Flare put her cup to the side, letting it go cold, or at least colder than it had already been with all the milk she’d used. “I want to extend an offer to join us at our next meeting. As somepony who has been personally wronged, you have a right to be with us before we… make our petition.”

25th day of Frostfall
454 Years after the Defeat of Discord by the Sisters

Maria adjusted her white cloak. It was utterly inappropriate for any kind of serious secret society, but there were limited options available when your opposition represented the forces of darkness and the night. Still, it made stealth all but impossible at the one moment when Maria really, really didn’t want anypony to see her.

She knocked on the door, paused, then knocked two more times. For some reason the group had adopted a secret knock. It didn’t make much sense to Maria, since it would be safer to simply use a scrying spell on whomever was knocking.

The door opened, and a pony in a golden mask and white cloak was in the doorway. It would have concealed their identity quite well, if they’d bothered disguising their mane or coat colors. It was obviously Flare, though since she was hosting the meeting at her own home, it was hardly a surprise.

“Welcome, supplicant,” Flare said. “ Join us.” The unicorn stepped aside, letting Maria in, shutting the door behind her and locking it securely. Maria glanced around at the hallway, white sheets hung like tapestries against the wall, displaying a stylized solar symbol.

Flare led Maria through her manor, to a meeting room well away from any windows. Maria felt alarm at the sheer number of guards the Countess had on-staff. She’d only gotten a glimpse, but it had to rival the number at the palace itself, though they were mercenaries instead of the army.

Inside the meeting room, eleven others were already waiting. Maria took an open seat when it was offered and looked around the room. She could only positively identify a few of the ponies. Golden Showers, Tequila Mockingbird, and Sloe Gin weren’t even trying to hide themselves. She was sure she’d met the others.

Her blood ran cold as she looked across the table at someone who clearly wasn’t a pony at all, the beak a dead giveaway even if the talons resting on the table wasn’t.

“A griffon?” Maria whispered.

“The griffons have legitimate grievances against Princess Luna,” Flare explained. “Her aggressive trade policy ultimately kept them from getting the aid they needed to avoid the famine currently striking their lands, which led to the war. All of the blood spilled stains her hooves.”

“We are prepared to give you significant aid,” the griffon said. “We don’t expect the peace talks to get anywhere. The Ambassador is doing his best, of course, but any real progress is being blocked by the twin Princesses. He isn’t aware of it, but he’s just here as a distraction. Honorable griffons like him are useful for that, and if he does make real progress, well, we won’t be displeased.”

“What kind of aid?” Maria asked, feigning excitement.

“They’re prepared to hire a number of private military organizations to assist with our efforts,” Flare said. “They understand that having griffon military units in Equestria is politcally problematic, but we do need some steel backing our words or they’re useless.”

“So… mercenaries,” Maria mumbled.

“They’re professionals,” Flare assured her. “Easily the equal of any Equestrian military unit.”

“We don’t have time to sit around and discuss our plans with your new acquisition!” Golden Showers snapped. “Luna killed my son! We need to bring her down before she decides having all our heads on pikes is the easiest way to solve her problems!”

28th day of Frostfall
454 Years after the Defeat of Discord by the Sisters

“It certainly would solve a lot of my current problems,” Luna snorted. “She is correct to worry. If I thought I could get away with it, I would have a great number of problems solved that way.”

“In one week, they’re going to execute something called Operation Stardust,” Maria said. “I don’t know the details. I’m still too new for them to want to discuss it with me.All I know for sure is that it’s going to be more than just some protest or demonstration.”

“They must plan to overthrow the government,” Hungry Ghost said mildly from where he lurked in the corner, almost invisible in the shadows. “Without knowing what their plan is, the only option is to strike at those in charge of the operation.”

“But I can’t identify all of them,” Maria pointed out. “And I don’t know if that even represents everypony involved at that high level. It’s possible there were others who didn’t attend. That’s why I suggested something terrible might happen at the next meeting.”

“It would disrupt their command structure,” Hungry Ghost shrugged. “It’s the obvious plan. With less than a week to go, no doubt much of the preparatory work has already been done. It’s possible that even if all of them are killed, their plan will still be executed.”

“You could, you know, take them prisoner,” Maria snorted, raising an eyebrow. “It’s a pretty common thing to not just execute criminals on the spot.”

“I could,” Luna agreed. “The Solar Guard would have more expertise, as they tend to do more policing than the Night Guard. I could simply turn this information over to my sister, in fact, and allow her to deal with it. And you know what would happen?”

“...She’d probably ask some of them politely to speak with her, then try to convince them not to commit treason,” Maria said, sighing.

“That does sound about correct,” Luna nodded. “And she would, at the same time, prevent any harm from coming to them. She’d keep them safe and secure, and at the same time make sure they were also made safe, in the sense that they would be unable to harm anypony else.”

“Do you want them stopped, or just punished?” Maria asked.

“If they were just trying to overthrow my rule, I would have them tried in public,” Luna said. “Believe it or not, but that happens once every generation or so. Often those involved aren’t entirely wrong - I admit my sister and I sometimes miss social changes, and we need to be reminded from time to time that the rules of society have to change as that society evolves. A century ago, we had a wake up call about serfs and the way the nobility was treating them, and we had to institute sweeping changes to give the average pony rights which are now taken for granted. Two centuries ago, male ponies weren’t even allowed to vote. Go back a century further, and slavery was legal in Equestria.”

“And in this case?” Maria pursed her lips.

“In this case, we must take swift action to avoid a civil war,” Luna said. “The last thing Equestria needs is to be broken apart because the rich want to become richer. They’re just being used as tools by the Empire to weaken us from within, no doubt.”

“They’ve done this before,” Hungry Ghost said.

“The North Zebrican campaign,” Luna nodded. “Yes. They supplied arms to several warlords in the area, causing open war t break out, then entered the region as a peacekeeping force.”

“They could easily do that here,” Hungry Ghost said. “The treaty negotiations aren’t going well, then this Operation Stardust is executed, and they’ll be waiting like vultures.”

“Maria,” Luna said. “I want you to go somewhere safe. Somewhere well away from this. Tell only those you trust most. Get your family away from the city.” Luna tapped a hoof on the couch she reclined on, thinking. “I must take action.”

“Killing them won’t stop their ideas,” Maria said, as she walked towards the door. “You can’t cut an idea with a blade.”

“How are your wounds?” Luna asked, as Pallas entered her room. The big thestral looked around at the shadows, ears twitching. After a moment, she focused on the Princess.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Pallas said. “Breezie dust heals burns really quickly, but it takes a while for hair to grow back. My coat is going to be patchy for a while, but the shorter manecut isn’t bad.”

“Breezie dust?” Luna smiled. “I see. That does explain how your wounds were healing so well. I was going to ask if you had troll somewhere in your ancestry.”

“No, your highness,” Pallas said, returning the smile a little.

“I need you for a special mission,” Luna said. “How would you like to get revenge on the ponies who tried to kill you and Bianca?”

Pallas blinked and straightened up, nodding.

“Good,” Luna said, starting to pace in front of her. “In two days, a secret group of traitors will be meeting. Among them will be Golden Showers. I want her eliminated, along with everypony else there. Do not allow anypony to see you.”

“I’m not invisible,” Pallas frowned. In fact, with her size and her usual style of fighting, she was almost as far as one could get from invisibility.

“Then I suggest leaving no witnesses alive,” Luna said. “Mare, stallion, or foal. This is not an official operation. I do not intend to involve my sister with it. For that reason, you are not to be identified by anypony. If you accept this mission, you will be operating above the law, on my will alone. Do you understand?”

Pallas snorted. “Luna, you know I’d do anything for you. And this is something I want to do anyway. I’m going to make her pay for what she did.”

“Good,” Luna smiled. “Remember that this is about sending a message. No one can defy me and try to harm my ponies and get away with it. No one.”