1st day of Moon's Rising
454 Years after the Defeat of Discord by the Sisters

Captain Morning Glory walked through the manor, stepping around the puddles of drying blood. The bodies had been taken away, though there was some argument about how many of them there were – some had been so mangled that it was difficult to tell which body parts belonged to which victim. He looked out the window, past white curtains stained with a splatter of crimson, at the rising sun.

“Captain,” Celestia said. She hadn't been behind him a moment ago, but she certainly was now. “I apologize for not being here sooner. I had important business to take care of that couldn't wait.”

“Like raising the sun?” Morning Glory asked, watching the solar disk continue to rise over the city.

“Exactly so,” Celestia said. Morning Glory turned to look at her. She almost seemed like a ghost, between the somber expression on her face and the way she seemed apart from it all. The Princess appeared to be glowing, not leaving a trace of her presence in the grizzly scene, as if the horror couldn't reach her.

“I'm sure you've read the reports,” Morning Glory said. “Over two dozen dead, including a foal. It looks like they were some kind of cult or secret society.”

“They called themselves the Anti-Lunar United Group,” said another voice. Morning Glory frowned as he saw a pony he hadn't met before looking at the blood splatter on the walls. “Rather a dull name, but it does describe them well.” The mare glanced at Morning Glory. She was an earth pony, with a light brown coat and piercing yellow eyes, wearing light armor, a padded coat with brass studs and plates over the most vulnerable spots.

“This is Sirocco Mandala,” Celestia said. “I don't believe you've met. She is the head of my personal intelligence organization, the Solar Circle.”

Sirocco sighed, looking to the side and trying to hide her annoyance. “And as I've said before, Princess, our best asset is secrecy, and telling everypony who I am and that such an organization even exists defeats the purpose.” She fixed Morning Glory with a serious look. “You're not to say anything about this. As far as anypony is concerned, the Solar Circle doesn't exist, understood?”

“Yes,” Morning Glory said. “So I take it you have some insight on this?”

“We had an agent on the inside,” Sirocco said, “Her name was Hurricane Flash. Not a full member of the Circle, but trusted. This couldn't have come at a worse time. She had inside information about some large operation the ALUG was planning. Now whatever information she had is lost with her.”

“So this wasn't your doing, then,” Morning Glory said, turning away from her. Something about her gaze made him feel like she was thinking about how to take him apart, dissecting him layer by layer as she looked at him.

“Of course not,” Sirocco retorted. “We don't solve our problems with violence like this. Once we had the information we needed they would have been quietly arrested and dealt with professionally. This is just a mess.”

“How many ponies were involved?” Celestia asked. “With this much carnage, the guards had to be badly outnumbered.”

“One,” Sirocco said, running her hoof across a white sheet that had escaped the rain of gore. “All of the wounds on the bodies were made by the same weapon, aside from a few odd darts which we recovered. The wounds do not correspond to any standard-issue weapons from the Solar or Night Guard, nor do the darts. Most of the dead were killed with a single attack.”

“So you have no leads,” Morning Glory said.

“I wouldn't say that,” Sirocco said. “It's well known that Luna has a group of elite soldiers that use non-standard equipment. I believe you're quite familiar with them, having served as a liaison with her forces during the war.”

“The Lunar Dragoons.” Morning Glory braced himself and faced Sirocco again. She was much closer than he'd remembered, right in his face. He flinched, taking a step back. “I met a few of them. They were used to break up enemy lines and as an independent assault unit.”

“Indeed,” Sirocco said, unblinking. “I would think this is the work of one of the Lunar Dragoons. Which means Luna found out about this organization. I find it distressing that she resorted immediately to wiping them out instead of coming to Celestia with this information. Don't you find it distressing, Captain?”

“I- yes.” Morning Glory quickly agreed.

“Exactly. Because she didn't share this information, we lost one of my most valuable operatives, and my friend.” Sirocco nodded, turning her back on Morning Glory.

“But...” Morning Glory put in, immediately regretting it as Sirocco spun back on him, not quite glaring but with an almost unearthly force to her gaze. “But you weren't sharing information either. As you say, I've worked closely with her forces for some time. I can assure you that Princess Luna wouldn't have done this if she knew it was already being handled. You can't accuse her unless you're willing to take the same blame.”

“My plan would have ended with ponies in prison and this Operation Stardust of theirs stopped before anypony even knew about it,” Sirocco hissed through clenched teeth. “It is not acceptable to slaughter ponies wholesale. You say I should have tried to stop this by sharing information? This should never have happened no matter how much information Luna had. That she ordered it when she clearly didn't even have all of the facts only makes it worse!”

“Sirocco Mandala,” Celestia said quietly. The earth pony stopped talking at once, freezing in place. “Captain Morning Glory isn't entirely wrong. However, Captain, Sirocco is correct that this entire event was unacceptable. Ever since Luna has returned, there has been a rising tide of violence.”

“And she caused almost none of it,” Morning Glory pointed out.

“I know,” Celestia sighed. “But even if she didn't order it, if this is the result of her coming back to the city... if she was not my equal I would order her out of the city for her own safety, along with her supporters, to give me time to make everything safe again.”

“So what are you going to do?” Morning Glory asked, looking around. “You have to do... something.” The slaughterhouse surrounding them made his argument for him.

“I'll talk to her,” Celestia said. “Until I do, nopony is to take action on this. Let no word escape to my ponies yet. Sirocco, you are to use whatever leads you have left to investigate this Operation Stardust and attempt to stop it before it starts. Captain Morning Glory, I want troops at every street corner until this is resolved.”

“Yes, Ma'am,” Morning Glory said. He started towards where his soldiers had set up a command post outside the manor, though it felt less like he was going to do his job and more like he was running from Sirocco and the way every motion she made seemed a subtle gesture that she knew he was hiding something from her.

“I killed a foal,” Pallas said, looking down. Midnight-blue wings wrapped around her in a warm embrace as Luna comforted her. “I didn't even know she was there until it was-”

“Shh.” Luna stopped her, kissing Pallas' forehead. “You have done only what I ordered you to do. I am sorry I gave you such awful orders, but you are blameless in following them. You are one of my most loyal, most trusted friends, and you have done nothing but prove that again and again.”

“I didn't think...” Pallas started. She lowered her head and just nuzzled into Luna's neck, tears running down her face. She'd intended to go and see Luna as soon as she woke up, but her nightmares had called Luna to her, and the Princess had already been there when she'd finally awoken from another vision of watching that filly die. Bianca had left to give them privacy.

“By your actions, an organization that would have killed many ponies and misled many more with lies has been stopped, permanently. I am proud of you.” Luna smiled and settled down on the bed next to Pallas, lifting the thestral's chin so they were facing each other. “I have been giving you these duties not because they are easy, but because they are hard, and I want to see you become the pony you were always meant to be. Not a mere soldier like the griffons you defended this land against, nor a wastrel who sits on their haunches like the ponies of my sister's Solar Guard. You have led ponies in life and death, fought on the bloodiest battlefields of this past war, and you have never faltered. You have initiative and drive and I know you can recover from this, because you are strong not just in body but in spirit.”

“I don't feel strong right now,” Pallas whispered.

“You're tired,” Luna said. “I will make sure that you have no more nightmares while you rest. Tonight, you will be given a great honor.”

“A great honor?” Pallas asked. Luna stood up and let her go, gently pushing her back down into bed and pulling the blanket over her with her magic.

“You will see,” Luna teased. “It's something you deserved for some time. I promise you'll like it. But rest for now. Though it is an honor, it is also a responsibility, and I would have your head clear so you can make a decision you will not later regret.”

“I've regretted a lot of decisions lately...” Pallas sighed.

“You've done nothing to regret. Even if you always make the correct move, you can still lose the game in the end,” Luna said. “Sometimes circumstances aren't what we want them to be. Now be quiet and rest. You will need it.”

It would be inappropriate to say that Celestia went looking for Luna. The Princess of the Day had much more sophisticated methods of finding what she needed. She closed her eyes and touched the castle's wards with her magic. They lit up in her mind's eye with a golden pulse of light, instantly reporting on the castle and its contents.

The wards were almost self-aware, centuries of advances in magic layered on one another into a web of perfect awareness. Or almost perfect. Everything seemed to be working, but it couldn't find Luna. She hadn't left the castle, either, as part of the warding kept track of when ponies entered or left the castle.

Celestia settled down and considered her options. She could ask the Solar Circle to find Luna, though it would be annoying having to wait for them to locate her sister. She could more directly ask Star Swirl for his assistance with a scrying spell, and she could trust him to be discreet.

“Are you looking for me, sister?” Luna asked, amused, from behind her.

Or she could turn around and smile and try not to show how annoyed she was. Celestia turned calmly. “Hello, Luna. I was hoping we could speak in private for a few moments.” Annoyingly, she still wasn't showing up on the castle wards. Without doing something rude like touching her, Celestia couldn't be sure if it was actually Luna or some kind of simulacrum.

“I assume this is about Countess Flare,” Luna said, pacing around Celestia and circling her like a shark. “I heard she encountered some sort of unfortunate accident.”

“She was murdered in her own home, Luna, along with dozens of others.” Celestia sighed. “And I know you almost certainly ordered it.” She watched her sister's expression. The smile never faded.

“I took care of that little problem, yes,” Luna admitted. “I won't lie to you and say I know nothing about it. She was working against me, and had to be dealt with before she became a larger problem. You chastised me for the way I dealt with Duchess Golden Showers, but she drew a much more interesting prey into my net. It worked out quite well, in the end.”

“Are you even aware of what happened?” Celestia said, starting to lose her temper. “Your agent killed dozens of ponies! In my city!”

“Our city!” Luna hissed, stopping where she was. “Ours! Are you starting to forget that I'm your equal as well?”

“That's not what I meant,” Celestia said, closing her eyes and trying to compose herself. She had to explain herself to Luna before this went even more poorly. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, only to find herself alone.

Pallas wasn't sure where Luna had taken her. She'd been blindfolded, then felt the world drop away from her in a sickening sensation. It was probably for the best that she'd missed a meal, because she would have thrown up if she had anything in her stomach left to try and make an escape. She'd been left standing in a room, too hot to be comfortable, and ordered not to remove her blindfold. It had been what felt like an hour now.

“Centurion Pallas Athene!” Luna snapped. Pallas flinched, coming to attention. “I have brought you here to this place to bestow a great honor upon you. You are blindfolded because you do not yet know the nature of this honor, and it is something that must be accepted of your own free will. You may refuse, as others have done before you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Princess,” Pallas said. The way their voices echoed, the room had to be quite large. Part of the palace, then?

“Good. What I ask of you will not be easy. You are accustomed to following orders, and you have seen for yourself how difficult that can be when orders and ethics seem at odds. A soldier follows without question, and that is what makes an army powerful, that it can act with the single will of its commanders, it is what makes an army different from a rabble of malcontents or a horde of barbarians.”

Pallas listened as Luna paced, getting a sense of the room from the way Luna moved through it, her steps landing with the heavy tread of an armored horseshoe.

“You, however, have become as deadly as an army on your own. You have killed hundreds, and you have proven that you can operate alone in enemy territory without support. You have defeated spellcasters, swordsponies, and even monsters in my name. I am proud of you.” Luna stopped, directly before Pallas. “You are as a powerful beast, barely bound into service. You have earned your freedom, and I would offer it to you.”

“Freedom?” Pallas frowned.

“Ah. I can tell you do not understand.” Luna laughed a little. “Freedom from the structure of the army. From the chain of command. I would ask you to operate only under your own orders, with my only directive being to do as you see fit. The honor I offer you is to join the others whom I have offered this gift to.” Luna took a deep breath. “Centurion Pallas Athene, I offer you membership in the Lunar Dragoons.”