Luna's body was glistening with sweat, despite being surrounded by dark, smooth marble and having walked deep into a subterranean dungeon. The entire weight and heat of the sun seemed to be bearing down on her as the vast celestial machinery struggled to resume its natural course across the sky. Though she knew exactly how to keep the moon in place, the effort of doing that and simultaneously holding the sun through sheer force of will was causing her to furrow her brow and glare at everything around her. That was just as well, she mused, for she was about to face something far mightier than a star.

As she pushed open the heavy stone door that led into her sister's prison cell, Luna had to forcibly remind herself of that fact when confronted by the sight of Celestia's condition. She was sprawled on a pile of simple white cushions which Luna had provided, spread wall to wall, except for one corner where an odorous hole had been left. Their fabric, along with Celestia's coat, was stained with dirt and blood. Celestia's tail was completely still, the sparkling magic of her very essence beginning to fade from it. The same had already happened to her mane, which was now muted and matted around her face. Framed by the coarse strands of messy green, pink, purple, and blue hair, Celestia's eyes were wide open, and they looked ready to burn a hole in one of the walls. She did not so much as blink when Luna entered the room.

A blast of heat like the opening of a furnace hit Luna as soon as she stood in Celestia's presence. Despite the anti-magical green slime dripping from her scorched horn, the former Princess of the Day was leaking pure power. Millenia of pent-up solar magic was escaping, trying to find its way back to its master. Luna let it go; she knew Celestia was not controlling the magic consciously. It was only her defensive spells completing their final unraveling. The magic's return would make the sun more difficult to control, but it was easier to deal with a powerful but inanimate object than with an ancient and crafty pony. Her sweating intensified, now dripping off of her body and landing on the cushioned floor, causing tiny pink rivulets of grime to slide across the pillows.

“Where is the rest of the Royal Guard?” Luna asked, watching Celestia's unmoving eyes. There was a tiny lump in her throat, but her question barreled right past it. Though they came out forcefully, her words still sounded so strange to her. Her tone seemed to transform until it became calm and soothing in a way it never had before. It reminded her of Celestia's voice, and that reminder made her scowl even harder.

“I sent them out to deal with some military threats to Equestria,” said Celestia, her speech cracked and dry. Luna had provided plenty of food and water, but the heat seemed to be drying Celestia up like a desert. “Just like you wanted, Luna.”

“Prevarications and equivocations,” Luna said, adjusting the new, thick silver crown on her head so that her sweating would not make it slip down in-regally. “That is where most of them have gone, and I am surprised and grateful that thou finally tookest my advice to heart, late though it was. But several units are unaccounted for. 'Tis only a matter of time before I find them. Make matters easy upon us all and tell me now.”

Celestia's answered by closing her eyes. Combined with the rigid hold she was keeping over her facial muscles, this rendered Celestia completely unreadable to her sister.

Luna reached out telekinetically, her blue aura now tinged with bright silver and golden rays that considerably brightened the dank cell, and took hold of Celestia's front leg, which had been broken during the battle. Celestia winced, but did not resist, as Luna carefully lifted it up and placed a pillow underneath for more elevation. She was tempted to wrench the leg right out of its socket for a moment, and that moment made her stomach turn.

“When I find them, they will suffer worse fates than this if they have been plotting sedition against me.” Luna found her speech again becoming gentle and calm, though her mind was filled with vengeful images of traitors locked in dungeons. She would have to figure out what was wrong later. For now, she shrugged it off.

“In any case,” she continued, sighing heavily as she breathed the hot, dry air around her, “I come hither also to tell thee that in three hours, I shall be taking the court to our ancient palace. My allies will have finished restoring some of its glory by the time we arrive. I sorely wish that thou couldst see it first, but thou art surely aware that we must transport thee in secret. I am sorry.”

“My sister,” Celestia said softly, opening her eyes and finally turning them to look at Luna. The Queen's lip shook, and she tried to force the lump in her throat down deeper. “Those 'allies' of yours have to be stopped. I recognize them now. They used to be students of yours, didn't they? I thought they all lived out their lives and died in Tartarus centuries ago, but it seems I was mistaken...” Celestia lifted one of her feet and used it to carefully rub her parched, red eyes. “I don't care what happens to me, but you have to do something about them before it's too late. Can't you see that?”

Luna's horn crackled to life with even brighter magic, casting a spell over the room that made Celestia look around in puzzlement when nothing visibly changed. The sound coming out of the room, however, was being subtly altered.

“I know that they need to be stopped.” She turned away so that Celestia had to strain to hear her shaking whisper. “And if a certain someone holds my love as dearly as she claimed, stopped they will be. Unless and until she makes that choice, however, I must stay here and limit the damage they cause as much as possible. I have bound them to oaths not to kill ponies, and—”

“Why?” Celestia said, as much a plea as it was a question. “Why are you doing all of this? This is your home!”

“This was my home!” Luna retorted, whirling around with her wings outspread. “Now it is a broken, hollow shell of its former glory. I have no place now and, unless I make one for myself, I never shall. Thou shalt never understand that... but my students do. As evil as they are, at least they know what I have been through. What I yet suffer even now...” A pair of tears broke up the determination in her eyes, before evaporating in the high heat of the cell.

“I shall be much aggrieved to see them go,” she went on, “but justice demands it.” She sniffed her nose and stiffened her neck.

“If justice demands it,” said Celestia, “then why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you help me stop them?”

“Because I promised them lives of peace and comfort, free of thy reign,” Luna answered. She stared hard at an empty stone wall as several more tears turned to vapor before her eyes. “I made no guarantee about the length of those lives, save that I would not end them myself. And that is a promise which will kill me if I do not keep it.”

“You're going to have someone kill them, then?” Celestia inquired, without the shock or horror that Luna was expecting, that she was feeling herself. It was only a quiet, simple question.

“If that is what she chooseth to do,” Luna replied.

“What if she does nothing?” Celestia said. “You're putting an awful lot of power in a single piece.”

“'Tis true that she hath betrayed me,” said Luna, her face falling into a blank expression, “and given me up unto darkness as a sacrifice. But, as ridiculous as it may seem, I have to believe that our time together meant something, over the months we traveled alone, the victories we achieved, the thoughts and feelings we... we...”

Luna's blurry vision lifted to see Celestia's eyes staring wide, her face downcast, her unbroken foreleg twitching slightly as if to reach out and comfort her younger sister. Luna huffed and flexed her wings before folding them back up at her sides smartly. “Be that as it may,” she said, “if I am wrong, then Twilight Sparkle and her friends will convince her to do something, or they will take matters into their own hooves.”

She raised her head higher, drawing attention to the mirror-like shine of her simple metallic crown. All traces of the powerful crown jewel bound to it were hidden in its construction. “Besides, with the new authority conferred upon me by control of both the day and the night, I can more effectively limit the excesses of my apprentices. They have become long-lived, but I do not believe them to be truly immortal, and so I shall outlive them.” Luna glanced around fitfully, then shook her head. “That is all I can say. I can keep the spell of secrecy up no longer.”

Celestia pressed her muzzle into the nearest pillow, facing away from Luna. “Thank you for the warning,” she said. “Three hours should be enough time for me to pack.”

The edge of the younger sister's mouth twitched as she set her jaw tightly. “Dost thou think this a jest?” she asked through grit teeth.

“No,” Celestia said. “I was just trying to lighten the mood a little bit.”

Harsh words started to come forth, but died on Luna's tongue. She sighed and lowered her head, asking quietly, “Is there aught I can bring for thee, my sister?”

“No, thank you,” whispered Celestia.

The final shred of magical luminescence in Celestia's tail dissipated, and the temperature in the room started to fall. Queen Luna turned to leave. She paused at the doorway for a fraction of a second, long enough for her heart to sink at the realization that her sister was not going to say anything else to her. But what should she say? Luna chided herself. I no longer need her approval for anything. Cease acting like a child.

After exiting the cell, she closed the door with a controlled, steady kick from her rear leg. She refused to allow herself to look back as she ascended the long, hidden stairway back to the palace, where a considerable amount of damage control and intrigue awaited her attention.

Queen Luna, after having summoned a brief magical rainshower and a brush to restore a small semblance of proper cleanliness to her coat, stood as still as the statues that surrounded her on the manicured grass of the palace's courtyard. She regarded the assembled members of the Royal Guard, about a dozen in all from both Night and Day, with a slow, steady gaze, holding the eyes of each one in turn for several seconds. They endured it silently, and, except for the ones who had come back from a mission minutes earlier, they wore their polished armor, some white and golden, others silver and black, perfectly. They held their chests out firmly, even under Luna's intense scrutiny.

“We are given to understand,” she said, her slightly amplified words causing the grass and leaves around her to sway gently, as if in a steady breeze, “that the diamond dogs have taken a great number of our citizens into bondage in recent months. Is this so?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said a guard in the front rank, one of the ones whose armor was dented and covered with dirt.

“Your Majesty,” Luna corrected, as her voice, subdued yet powerful, blew through the hair in his mane.

“I'm sorry?” he asked, glancing at the soldiers around him, who offered no help.

“The proper appellation for a queen is 'Your Majesty',” Luna said. “Please see to it that thou and all those under thy command remember this. The same goes for all of you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they answered in unison.

“Very good.” She smiled at the guard, looking him directly in the eyes as she did so. She saw his mouth move slightly as if to smile back, but he managed to check it and keep his face still. This one must be a fresh recruit. Is the situation truly so desperate that they must have raw soldiers lead missions?

“Now then, thy mission was to rescue some of those taken captive, was it not?” He answered in the affirmative. “How many didst thou save?”

“Four ponies, Your Majesty,” he said, drawing his pose up a little higher, “and two cows.”

“That is a great relief. And how many diamond dogs didst thou slay?”

The soldier frowned a little, one hoof almost starting to dig into the ground underneath him. “That was not within our mission parameters, so we—”

Luna raised a hoof. “We desire only the answer to our question,” she said,“not an explanation.”

“None.”

“Very well then.” The Queen put her hoof back down, turning the motion into a step to start strolling side to side in front of her soldiers. She moved slowly and deliberately, with a supernaturally soft step, each hoof landing on the grass so lightly that the blades bent back to their normal, upright positions when she stepped off of them. Her eyes scanned the massive clouds rolling in in the distance from all directions.

Why was she so calm? This latest evidence of how far the Royal Guard hath fallen should be filling me with rage. Yet... It was her voice, she realized. The sweet resonance of her speech was soothing even her tumultuous emotions. She could still feel the emotions, and give them voice if she chose, but her instinct now was to exhibit perfect control.

“We are not going to reprimand thee for following orders,” she said, paying close attention to the way each syllable washed over her heart and cast a cool balm over its wounds, “but in the future, that will not be acceptable. From now on, we are going to truly fight those beasts, not simply delay their evil.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” spoke another guard within the ranks, whose voice sounded strikingly familiar, “we don't have the forces to conduct a war. We're barely holding together as it is.” The speaker was a rust-colored unicorn with yellow eyes.

“Ah, Sergeant Heartstrings, yes?” Luna asked, stepping through the parting ranks to stand directly before him. The middle-aged unicorn nodded and saluted. “We apologize for our behavior months ago, when we left thy protection to strike out on our own, rendering thee unconscious in the process. 'Twas a most unchivalrous deed to do.”

She waved off whatever he started to say, not caring whether it was an apology of his own or more disrespect. “Thou dost speak the truth,” she said. “We do lack the forces currently. That is why today, we are sending out a call to arms across this land and raising an army that shall meet us at our ceremonial coronation, where we shall personally equip and train it.”

“An army, Your Majesty?” Gethsemane Heartstrings said, mouth slightly agape along with those of all his comrades. “Equestria hasn't had a standing army since... well, since the time of Nightmare Moon.”

“We are not Nightmare Moon,” Luna said, with a stamp of her hoof which bent the grass underneath all the way down. “Our Argent Army will not bring eternal night, but drive back the diamond dogs and free all of their slaves. Then it will be ready to face whatever other threats wait at our doorstep.”

She cut off the couple soldiers who were about to speak. “We shall hear no more objections. We have considered this subject thoroughly, and it is the best course of action available to us, regrettable as it is. The matter is closed.

“You will send forth our command to all settlements in this realm, then see to it that the requisite number of volunteers, and conscripts if need be, are brought to our fortress in an orderly manner. More detailed instructions will be written to each of you by the next tolling of the bell. Is this understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they replied, as their Queen stepped back to the front of the line.

Heartstrings' eyes were shifting, and he kept opening his mouth, then quickly shutting it again.

“Is there another matter which troubles thee, Sergeant?” Luna asked.

All eyes moved to him.

“Where is Celestia?” he asked, standing at a firmer attention than before. He was surrounded by gazes both shocked and supportive.

“As our announcement explained,” answered Luna, her face a carefully controlled mask of inscrutable peace, “she is taking a period of convalescence from the stress of running this realm.”

“Nonetheless,” he pressed, “it would... greatly ease our hearts, not to mention those of the civilians, if we could only see her...”

“Unfortunately, that is not possible.” Luna turned her back toward them. “We shall see if she will be willing to communicate via letters, however.

“One final order of business,” she said, turning her head back so that they could see her clear, tranquil eyes. “As the co-ruler of a foreign nation, it is improper for Shining Armor to serve as Captain of the Royal Guard of Equestria any longer. We expect a list of possible replacement candidates by the time of the coronation. That is all. You are dismissed.”

She heard their salutes and nodded at them while walking, ghost-like, back toward the palace to begin packing her luggage and writing the necessary decrees. Between the twin effects of her own calming influence on herself, and excitement at the prospect of once again leading an army into battle, these tasks took her much longer than expected. Luna was still fantasizing about standing at the head of a mass of ponies of all breeds, shining with polished steel and unmatched virtue, ready to take on an entire wing of dragons, when the third bell, synched to carefully calibrated hourglasses, rang from the clocktower. Time to depart.

The Everfree Fortress lifted out of the mist like five long, gray unicorn horns pointed toward the darkening sky, one tower on each corner, and one in the middle. The clouds above them burned with illumination from the sun's corona, and the very tips of the 'horns' matched the glow with a magical luminescence from inside their windows. Red and white smoke was billowing out of one of the peripheral towers, which, mingling with the mist of the forest and the stormclouds in the sky, bathed the area in a deep, dark, hot glow for miles.

The sounds of metal crashing against metal echoed in the deep, cloudy fissure in the earth that served as the Fortress's moat.

Deep in the castle's armory, Nickle Waltz and Platina were hammering out the last impurities that remained in Luna's ancient suit of armor. As they finished each piece, Luna levitated the plates to herself and strapped them into place. Slowly but surely, her body was being covered with layers of flowing moonsilver chain and plate metal. The ebony specks in the material swirled and twisted in a scintillating pattern, gradually coalescing into long, inky streams, which Luna stared at closely, following each line's path across her legs.

“Your Majesty,” Platina cut in gently as she let go of a pauldron she was levitating, causing it to splash into the enchanted pool of water next to the forge. The high, vaulted chamber filled with steam, which struggled to get out of the armory's many windows. “Would you be so kind as to heal us? This is hard work with a concussion and several broken bones.” She pointed to the bruises and scars that Celestia's rage had left on them.

“Suffering breeds character,” Luna said, beating her wings forcefully to help cool off the room. “You are doing all the work with your horns anyway. Your own healing spells will suffice.”

The wan, cryptic smile of Nickle Waltz twitched whenever the hammering got too loud, but the two apprentices made no other complaint.

“Pray tell,” said Luna as she buckled glimmering greaves onto her legs, “where is Willowleaf?”

Platina glanced at her compatriot, but he offered no assistance but a slightly wider smile.

“She is...” Platina said, avoiding Luna's firm gaze. “She is... on a date.”

Luna's eyes flashed, and shot over to the other student. “Is that true?” she demanded of him.

He nodded once.

“You mean to tell me,” Luna said, starting to walk around the chamber with her tail swishing against the ethereal currents through which it normally flowed, “that less than seventy-two hours before I am to be formally recognized as Queen of Equestria, one of my most trusted advisers is out courting? And how is that even possible? Her body is a hideous abomination!”

“With a little bit of magic, she cleans up very well,” Platina said as she put another piece of armor in the pool of water to cool off. “While I completely agree with your sentiments, Your Majesty, she's had her creepy eyes on a certain stallion nearby for a long time. I bet the flighty little thing just couldn't wait any longer. You've still got us though!” She beamed at her teacher.

Luna barely heard the comment, suddenly mesmerized by flashes of dreams and glories long gone as she held her old helmet in a forehoof, turning the light, ornate, deceptively strong bucket of metal around slowly. It looked so much like the one she had worn as Nightmare Moon—but not for long. With her royal crown held in a levitation field, she coaxed its materials to expand wide enough for her to place it around the helmet's crest. Shrinking the regal band back until it fit perfectly, Luna smiled slightly and marveled at what a difference a hard-fought but ultimately symbolic ring of metal could make. She sighed deeply as she went back onto her hind legs, using her hooves instead of her magic to place the helm, the final piece, upon her head.

She smiled triumphantly at her companions, both of whom had gone pale, eyes wide. Her smile vanished.

“What is the matter with you?” Luna asked, dropping back down to all four legs.

“Y-You look...” Platina started to say, the usual perfect poise of her voice shaking.

“Terrible,” Waltz finished with a gasp as the gelding instinctively tucked his tail between his legs.

“Good,” said the Queen, fully extending her wings and advancing toward them slowly. Her slim body loomed larger under the bulk of her armor, as though she had grown to fill it up. The helm shrouded her face in shadow, except for the faint gleam of her placid blue eyes from deep inside the darkness.

They went down on their knees, shaking and touching the tips of their horns to the ground. Stepping between them, Luna wrapped one wing around each of them, and pulled their bodies close into a feathery embrace.

She closed her eyes, fighting back tears of sorrow and shudders of revulsion alike. “I love you,” she whispered. She wanted it to be a mere lie, only a manipulative gambit to keep them under hoof, but as soon as the words came out, she realized that they were also true. Seldom in her long life had Luna hated herself more than at that moment. She had given her love to worse candidates though. They may have created the Everfree Forest and all the monsters in it, but at least they had stayed loyal to her. The same could not be said of a certain zebra she had recently met.

“Thank you,” said Luna. She felt the pressure of choked-back sobs coming from their bodies as she cradled them against her shining armor.

“Tell me,” she spoke again gently, “how did you manage to make your lives endure so long?”

There was a long and significant pause, into which she inserted, “Please.”

“We each did it a different way,” said Platina. She brushed her muzzle against Luna's soft, dark feathers, leaving a couple of them slightly damp from tears that had finally forced their way out. “We didn't really share how with each other, either.”

“Dost thou wish to tell me in private, then?” Luna asked. She used her wing to deftly wipe her apprentice's face.

“No, it's fine,” she said. “You both deserve to know. I—I discovered, or rather, I perfected one that somepony else discovered, a way to significantly lengthen my lifespan with blood magic. Every ten years, on a full moon, I used to bathe in the blood of other ponies.” She flinched and tried to back away from Luna's wing hug as she finally told her secret. The Queen shot her a steely look, but tightened the hug just enough to provide reassurance, without making it seem like the embrace was a prison. Platina relaxed, but only a little.

“Luckily for me,” she continued, “the blood of non-speaking animals works just as well, although I need more of it in that case. I can live for at least a few more decades without breaking my promise to you.”

“I see,” said Luna, her voice flat and calm, though her heart felt like it was burning. How many ponies hath she murdered to preserve her existence over a thousand years? “And what of thou, Nickle Waltz?”

“I sacrifice pieces of my mind,” he said simply, as if it were an easy and obvious thing to do.

“What?” Platina and Luna both asked simultaneously.

“The pieces of my brain that I need less than others can be re-purposed and reassigned as they decay,” he explained. “I won't be able to live much longer with this method, but I'm just happy it will have been long enough to see you given the respect and authority you deserve, Luna.”

“That explains so much,” Platina commented with a chuckle. Luna remained quiet and contemplative, but did turn her head to stare down at Nickle Waltz. His mysterious smile disappeared as he stared back into her eyes.

Luna lowered her neck toward the floor and sighed. She blinked slowly and deliberately. All was silent in the room, except for the roaring fire of the mystic furnace that they had neglected to put out when the work was done.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves running through the refurbished halls of the palace came to Luna's ears. She perked up and caught snippets of giggling.

“Hello everypony, sorry I'm la—“ Willowleaf's voice stopped abruptly, followed closely by her legs and her huge, malformed grin, as she skidded to a stop around the corner and saw the scene in the forge. “Wow,” she finished, her hazel eyes looking dumbstruck at Luna's fully armored form.

“Platina was correct,” Luna remarked, lifting up her wings and beckoning the new arrival to the group hug with their tips.

“Correct about what?” Willowleaf said, hesitating, with a suspicious glare at the pony in question, who only smiled at her in response.

“Thou dost clean up well.” There was no sarcasm in Luna's tone.

Willowleaf looked down at herself, smiling bashfully. Some of the illusions she had cast on herself were beginning to wear off, showing glimpses of her true corpse-like form, but what remained showed a glowing pony in the prime of her youth. Her leafy green mane was tussled coquettishly, and she was not wrapped in her apprentice's robe, revealing well-brushed, sleek, smooth brown hair, particularly around her namesake cutie mark. Her long, verdant tail had been swaying with excitement, but now it was perfectly still.

The material components of the spells she had worked upon herself were starting to come undone, leaving a small trail of twigs and grass in her wake. She frowned as she watched the pieces of her disguise fall off.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said as she prostrated herself before the Queen.

Luna cleared her throat, then curled the tips of her wings forward again. “Come join us, Willowleaf,” she said, a request more than a command, but still one the apprentice felt compelled to follow. She stepped forward, and Luna stretched her wings out wide so she could encompass all three ponies. “The work is done, and we were speaking of other matters. I realized that I have come to love you three, just as before, and I wished to know how you have managed your long lives. Wilt thou tell me?”

The brightness of Luna's teeth shone out from the semi-mystical shroud of her helmet, like gleaming rows of bone in the darkness.

“I'd rather not,” she said, rubbing her foreleg with her hoof and biting her lip.

“Is it truly something so terrible that we cannot speak of it?” Luna asked. “Remember, I vowed not to harm thee.”

“I think it is, yes,” said Willowleaf, staring at her rapidly deteriorating appearance in her reflection on Luna's armor.

“As thou wilt,” Luna said. After a minute of silence, she released the three ponies from her wings and stepped back, regarding them solemnly. “So, I take it since thou hadst time to socialize, that the preparations for the arrival of our guests are complete.” Willowleaf nodded. “Excellent. I command only that thou and thy fellows wait in the shadows, attending to any problems that may arise, until after the ceremony is complete. After that, you are free to pursue whatever diversions you wish, provided they are in keeping with the oaths we have made. I cannot give you much direction beyond that, but I do wish to say that it is my hope that you will try to live the peaceful lives you could have had, if you had never come to my Academy.”

“That's the plan,” said Platina. “Let me tell you, partying is going to be much easier without Celestia around to recognize me.”

“We have a queen for the first time in literal ages,” Willowleaf said, the remnants of her lip curled into a sneer, “and you're going to spend the time partying? Really?”

Platina snorted and gaped. “You're one to talk. You blew off working on Luna's armor so you could go get laid!”

“It's not like that!” Willowleaf stamped her hoof. “We haven't even kissed yet.”

“Like he could! You hardly have any lips left, dear. He's going to find that out eventually.” Platina smirked as Willowleaf fumed. The illusion spell automatically brought a blush of anger and embarrassment to her fading, ethereal cheeks.

“Shut your pie-hole, Platina! You—“

“Enough!” Luna shouted, silencing the pair instantly. “Now, remember that, though your lives are your own, you are still citizens of Equestria. As that land's ruler, I may require advice or other brief assistance from time to time. If you are going to partake in such revelry, make sure that it does not stray too far. I may have need of you again. Farewell for now.”

She motioned for them to leave with a mighty sweep of her wings, then turned to extinguish the forge. Luna listened to them bow and scrape their way out of the room and disappear into the caverns of the fortress. After they were out of earshot, she used her telekinesis to bring over the tattered moonsilver-thread cloak she had discarded while being equipped. She sniffed back a single tear and drew it back around her body, fastening the purple and silver patchwork of fabric, courtesy of Miss Rarity, to her collar.

Once the cape was donned and the mighty magical fire was extinguished, she flapped her way up to the highest window in the room and squeezed out of it. As she flew up to the top of the tower, she savored every breath of fresh air. The armor was enchanted to become lighter when worn, so she could breathe calmly and easily while flying straight upward. Luna landed precariously at the tip of the restored spire.

Her eyes scanned the horizons. Many dark clouds were coming toward the forest, while the rain and lightning bottled up inside them were being held in by Luna's will, waiting to be unleashed upon her enemies. Their color was diminishing the harshness of the crimson glow that permeated the sky, giving the trees and the plains far in the distance a muted, magenta tone.

Also on their way, she saw, were trails of ponies, escorted by her winged Royal Guards of the Night, just in case any beasts had slipped through her massive purge of the woods. There were not many arriving yet. Luna knew that fear, uncertainty, and sheer distance would keep many citizens away, even with the fake letters from Celestia she had sent across the land, but she could not afford to wait. She would have to make do with whoever came.

Over the next several “days”, most of Queen Luna's time was spent greeting and reassuring her guests. It took each group of arrivals some time to adjust to her imposing figure, but the armor, shadowy helmet and all, was an important part of her image and her message. She welcomed farmers, merchants, travelers, militia, weatherponies, and townsfolk of all trades. Several thousand occupied the huge mustering grounds and rooms of the fortress, with only a few needing to stay in tents on the periphery. Only a fraction of them were recruits for the army, but Luna smiled with them all, spoke with them, and provided them with food and amenities just the same. She would have recruits aplenty soon enough, she reminded herself.

The principal nobility of Equestria came as well, except for one one glaring absence. Luna talked to many members of the Houses Heartstrings, Aurora, Noctis, and even the young Sparkles, but nowhere could she find any of the nobles or bannerponies of House Blueblood.

“'Loyal to the last drop', indeed!” she muttered their motto, scowling. Standing at the edge of the misty chasm around the castle, she found a large, conveniently located rock and kicked it into the gray abyss. The loyal, hoof-picked members of the Royal Guard that she had enlisted to work the crowd carefully directed the general public's attention away from the scene.

“Some of us still are, Your Majesty,” a familiar male voice said from off to her side. He was wrapped in a cloak, with the hood drawn over, but her keen eyes clearly saw the lustrous blonde locks of mane, the deep blue eyes, and the long, rugged scar that hid underneath.

Luna's wings immediately flew out and lifted her straight toward him. She grinned as she landed face-to-face with Blueblood, the force of her flapping blowing back his hood. “Blueblood the Younger!” she cried. “How farest thou?”

“No!” he cried, hastily drawing his hood back up. “The crowd must not see me! Not like this!”

“Wherefore not?” she asked, placing her forehooves on his shoulders. “Thou art a warrior and a hero. We should be celebrating thy arrival!”

“Yes,” he said quietly, his eyes shifting around quickly, “but I can't let just anypony see my face like this. And besides, I'm not technically supposed to be here at all...”

Luna raised a quizzical eyebrow, realizing in the brief pause how close she had come to him and his face. He hadn't shied away from her touch at all, but she nevertheless withdrew, feeling some color rising to her cheeks. Thankfully, it was well-hidden by the dual protection of the shadow of her helmet and the dark hair of her coat.

“My father forbid the entire family from coming here,” he explained, “unless and until Celestia is restored to the throne.”

“He cannot simply decide that!” Luna yelled. “By his feudal contract he owes me his presence and a levy of militia!”

“Oh, I know,” said Blueblood. “That's why I came anyway. You have my support, and the support of those loyal to me. Which, I admit, is not as many as it should be, but I know that I will get what I deserve in good time.”

“In that case,” said Luna, the bright smile returning to her features, “I am doubly happy to see thee! Thou hast my thanks.”

“That is all I need, Your Majesty,” he bowed, grinning back at her.

He oversells the part, Luna thought with some amusement. But even that hath its charm...

“By the by,” she said, “did the old pony couple make it to their lighthouse safely?”

“Of course!” Blueblood smiled, puffing up his chest a little.

“Superb news!” Luna's wings began to flutter again, but she eventually forced them to be still this time.

“Well, they both died not long after...”

“I am sure they passed in true peace. That was a noble deed, good sir.” She lowered her head to peer under his hood, so she could look into his eyes. He met her gaze with the steadiness of a Royal Guard veteran.

“I have another question,” Luna said, lowering her voice conspiratorially. His ears perked to attention instantly. “What will it take to get His Grace, thy father, on my side? What does he care for?”

“That's a tough one,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “He's one of those types that cares a lot about honor and prestige. He loves my mother, and I'm his only child, so obviously I'm important to him too. Other than that, I don't know. Reading, maybe?”

“Oh, that is more than enough,” Luna said, a vaguely predatory look flashing momentarily across her eyes. “I shall come find thee after my speech. We have something important to discuss.”

“I will be looking forward to it with bated breath.” He actually had the boldness to wink at her. After a second to get over her surprise, Luna laughed in a manner that could almost have been described as a giggle, then made her way from the chasm back to the central keep of the castle. She could have just as easily walked there, but she definitely felt like flying at the moment. Many ponies gaped in surprise, making signs of the sun and the moon with their hooves, as she soared above them.

Luna directed her course upward, flying up to perch on the top of the central spire of the Everfree Fortress. From there she peered down over all the ponies who had heeded her call. Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi mingled with each other, most of them oblivious to the fact that they were standing in the very place where Luna and her sister had been born, and where her fateful transformation into Nightmare Moon had taken place. With her wings and forehooves outstretched, she towered over the entire congregation, which was starting to lull into silence even before she began to speak in her new, regal voice.

“Citizens of Equestria,” she addressed, a mystical wind carrying each of her soft but steady words directly to the ears of all those present, “it gladdens our heart to see so many of you here. With a great many evils closing in upon us from all sides, it cannot have been easy to leave your work and homes behind to come here. But it was absolutely necessary, and we shall tell you why.”

Luna walked slowly across the roof of the keep, her eyes gazing down maternally but sternly at her audience as she spoke. “The world doth not care for ponies. We, the Queen, do care, and we care deeply, but it is impossible for us to stand against all foes at once. Many of you know personally what lies in wait out there, and those of you who do not, certainly have friends and acquaintances who do.

“The solution is difficult, but simple. If the world will not care for us as we care for each other, then it will respect us. It will fear us. If we show the diamond dogs, the griffons, the dragons, the Arabians, and all the rest, that we are not to be trifled with, then we shall secure true peace not only for ourselves, but for our friends and children.

“How do we know this?” she asked, leaning over the edge of the precipice to lock eyes with still more of her subjects. The ponies upon whom her gaze fell stood like statues, silent and transfixed as they stared up at her. She amplified the natural awe by causing the sun to brighten behind her, making its corona peek even farther out from behind the moon with a brilliant silver shine. The new waves of light caught in the prism of her moonsilver garments, bathing the crowd in darkened hues of the rainbow. “Because, while it was the Elements of Harmony that ultimately defeated Discord long ago, it was our martial ability that led our army to victory against the forces of chaos. Without us and the many brave warriors under our command, we and our sister would never have been able to reach the lord of chaos in the first place.

“With such a victory secured, even the dragons convened to recognize Equestria as a worthy political entity. You have shown courage and strength of virtue merely by choosing to come here, and these are the foundations upon which we shall build just such another victory, this one even more glorious than the last. With a true Queen at its head, the Argent Army will be invincible.”

Luna paused amidst absolute silence. Not even thunder from the clouds rolling in dared to break the spell. She leaned to an open window nearby and whispered, “Remember, Celestia. Not a word or movement off of the script we agreed upon. Come forth, recite it exactly, and then retire. I shall be watching thee.”

With her head held high, Princess Celestia stepped out onto a balcony near the top of the castle keep. Her injuries had all healed, but her tail and mane had almost completely reverted to the shade of light pink with which she had been born. She graced the crowd with a smile, the sorrow of which only Luna was close enough to see, and they returned the grace with a furious stamping of hooves that would have shaken the foundations of any non-magical castle.

“It is...” she started in the Royal Canterlot Voice, though even its intense volume took several moments to calm the crowd down. “It is with a heavy heart that I recognize the truth of Luna's words. I have loved and guided you all as if you were my own children, but ever since my defeat at the battle of Canterlot, it has dawned on me that love and guidance are no longer enough. You will have to fight if you want our home to survive.”

Celestia's neck tensed up slightly, the muscles working hard to keep her voice from cracking. “And after centuries of watching you learn, grow, and thrive, I realize that that is something I can't bear to watch, let alone conduct myself. My love compels me to leave Equestria. Like I have transferred the control of the sun, so too is this country's crown, and all of its hereditary wealth and titles, now officially remitted to the stewardship of Luna, the true Queen, so that she may lead you where I cannot.

“You will—you will not see as much of me as you are used to from here on,” she went on, glancing behind and up, toward Luna, who motioned for her to finish quickly. “I need time to reflect on the past and the future. Perhaps one day I will return to serve Equestria and the Queen as a Princess, but that day is far off. Until then... until then, remember that I am so proud of you, and I—I... I...” The magical volume of her speech broke as Celestia's body was wracked with a single sob.

Luna joined her on the balcony, pulling her close into a hug that left each sister's mouth right next to the ear of the other.

“How could you do this to us, Luna?” Celestia breathed, another sob causing her to shudder.

“Thou hast made Equestria into a land worth fighting for,” Luna whispered back. “All I am doing is furthering its development into a land that can also fight for itself.”

“The pegasus ponies tried that,” said Celestia. “Constant warfare and oppression were the only results.”

“This will be different,” Luna said, pulling away from Celestia and turning to face the multitude of ponies again, but still whispering sidelong to her sister. “That was when they were a single tribe which knew nothing of true virtue. Now they are part of one harmonious whole. 'Tis glory that awaits us, Celestia, not endless strife.” Luna's eyes seemed to be staring far away, well past the horizon, and she had a hint of a smile on her lips.

“The glory of killers,” Celestia spat quietly as she gave one final wave to her subjects and then exited the balcony.

“Begone, hypocrite!” Luna shot back, her lip and wings twitching as she suppressed her emotions. No reply came from the darkness inside except the descending echo of hooves against stone, making their way back down to the dungeon under the watchful eyes of Platina, Nickle Waltz, and Willowleaf.

“We know that this is difficult news to bear,” Luna announced to the stunned herd, “yet we know that you are strong enough to bear it. Likewise do we know that you are strong enough to join our army. Many of you have come here at the behest of the Royal Guard for just that purpose. However, the more of us there are working together, the quicker and more thorough shall be the peace we earn. Thus do we call everypony here who is capable to come forward to be trained by the most ancient and experienced general and warrior in the world, Queen Luna.”

Luna closed her eyes and waited several seconds. When she opened them again, her heart sank to the depths of her soul. She had not expected most to heed her call, but she had at least hoped to see more than the several dozen volunteers that were raising their hooves or stepping up to the base of the tower.

What did I do wrong? She fretted, looking at the thousands of ponies who remained still, scuffling their feet and looking anywhere but upward. Was it a mistake to bring Celestia forward? Did my words not stir them? As she frantically searched for a way to salvage the situation, there were some cries and a burst of movement off to her left. Luna squinted, making out a small foal pushing his way through the throng.

“I'm ready!” Pipsqueak shouted up at her, swishing around the metal blade in his mouth that replaced the wooden one he bore when he had dressed as a pirate for Nightmare Night. “I'm going to fight for the best queen ever!”

Pip's parents were trying to catch up to him, but Luna was faster. She leaped down from the tower and landed right in front of him, her graceful passing barely rustling the grass underneath her. Her heart jumped back up to its proper place in her chest as she lifted the child up to eye level with her. She smiled warmly at him while he thrashed about in an attempt to display how much his swordfighting had improved.

“Child,” she said, so quietly that only he could hear her. “This means so much to me. That is why I must apologize for what I am about to do to thee.”

“Huh?”

Before Pip's confusion could turn into fear or any other emotion, she took off into the air, with his body held tightly in her hooves.

“Behold, citizens of Equestria,” she said, holding him up high. “This child, too small even to have a cutie mark, is brave enough to fight for peace. Doth he have aught that you lack? Are we to to stand by and have our children fight for us? Come! Let us give young Pip a world in which his courage will be celebrated and honored. Rally to Pip!”

One by one, more hooves raised. More dozens, then hundreds, then a thousand of all breeds and ages were volunteering to be part of Luna's army. She sighed with relief and returned Pip to his frightened parents. She chastened him for taking one of his parents' knives, but told the three of them that he would be a fine addition to the armed forces of Equestria when he was older. His protests that he was ready now were drowned out as Luna clapped her hooves together to applaud the volunteers, resulting in another earthquake of stomping.

When Luna entered the antechamber of her private quarters, she was surprised to find that Blueblood was seated on one of the room's few purple cushions, patiently waiting for his audience with her, rather than demanding that the guards admit him at once. As he scrambled to his feet in order to bow deeply, she took another cushion in the torch-lit, windowless room. She inclined her head and smiled at him.

“Please be seated,” she said. Luna did so first, making herself as comfortable as she could in a full suit of plate and chain metal, magical though it may have been. She regarded him closely, her eyes lingering on the disfiguring scar he had received while fighting the changelings. “Now, I have had some time to reflect on thy father's disobedience. I think I have a solution.”

“What is it?” he asked, with no trace of the normal prickly self-consciousness about his wound now that he was alone with Luna.

“Well, 'tis obvious that thy father cares much for his family,” Luna answered, “so there are two options. The first is for thou to remain here as my hostage. Thy welfare would be dependent upon his behavior. If he is faithful and true, then thy life here will be happy and splendid. If his treachery persists... well, it doth not bear contemplation. While I believe such a course will make him see the light, it leaves a sour and ignoble taste upon my palate.”

“You're joking around with me, right?” Blueblood's eyes flitted toward the exits, which were closed, and, he remembered, guarded by leathery-winged members of the Royal Night Guard.

“Certainly not,” said Luna as she scooted closer. “The second option is considerably less unpleasant, but it requires far more effort from both of us. Become my husband, and the marriage alliance will force the Duke into compliance.”

“Y-Your husband?” he said, stammering as his eyes widened. “That is... truly flattering, but... I hardly know you, and—“

“Be thankful thou art living in a time and place such as this one,” said Queen Luna. “In others, it was and is common for spouses not even to meet until the day of their wedding. Verily, thou likest me well enough, is that not so? I find myself possessed of a certain fondness toward thee as well. Strong marriages have been built upon far less.”

“Right, but... I don't love you.” Blueblood flinched, but Luna's expression remained relaxed and calm.

She waved an armored hoof dismissively. “Of course not. I love thee not either. Love is not a necessity, Blueblood. I would have thought that even in this permissive age the nobility would understand that. Besides, love may come in time. It has in the past, for friends and acquaintances of mine as well as for two of my previous marriages. At the very least, being confined to my private quarters and my campaign tent would be better than being confined to the dungeon, would it not?”

He stood up shakily, muscles tensing as if ready to bolt. “This is outrageous! I came here to help you, and you're treating me like this?”

“With honor and respect?” said Luna, a frown darkening her features. “Mayhap I have not taken thy feelings fully into account, but this situation is larger than thy selfish feelings. Dost thou think I would not also prefer to marry one whom I love deeply? But I cannot rule Equestria with a quarter of its lands refusing to pay me obeisance! Be glad I am giving thee a choice 'tall!”

“Your Majesty, I think you're beautiful, powerful, and amazing, but I won't be your hostage!”

Blueblood ran to the door. Before the guards had the chance to fully enter the room and seize him, his entire body was wrapped in the swirling blue, silver, and gold aura of Luna's telekinesis. He kicked and struggled mightily, but she lifted him several feet into the air, rendering the flailing of his legs useless.

“If thou dost indeed hold me in such high regard,” she said, rising up and walking forward to stare at him, just out of the reach of his kicks, “then would spending thy days and nights by my side be such a horrible thing?

“Know also, Blueblood, that the title of Prince-Consort awaits a noble of lesser rank who marries a reigning Queen. 'Tis perhaps not as lofty a position as that earned by a true alicorn Prince, but thou wilt have gained the position legitimately, rather than with filthy lucre, rendering far more prestige unto thee than that of the false Princes that now litter this land. Thou wilt achieve more glory and power than thy father could have dreamed.

“If thou wilt not heed thy heart, nor thy reason, then heed thy ambition.”

Luna waited for her guards to secure the manacles around her now-motionless prisoner before releasing him from her magical grip.

“Think well upon my proposal,” she said, then turned to the two guards. “Take him to a suite and see to it that he has every comfort, but do not allow him to leave the room for any reason until we command otherwise.”

They saluted, then dragged a stunned Prince Blueblood down the hallway. Luna quietly shut the door.

A few minutes after Blueblood departed, she went into her sparse, stony bedchamber, where she looked quietly out of its solitary window. She spared her bed, which was more of a large, simple mattress, only a brief glance. Though she had not slept the entire week, no ill effects from sleep deprivation were upon her. She felt tired from the light but constant exertion of controlling the entire sky, but she was not exhausted. Perhaps this was another change that came with being Queen? Either way, she realized with some measure of relief that it was now “noon” of the seventh “day” of the solar eclipse, so she would finally be able to relax somewhat.

Her horn glowed fiercely, creating a haze in the air around it, with bright crescent moon and sunburst symbols forming and superimposing themselves atop her crowned head as she finally righted their respective celestial bodies. Luna lowered the moon, slowly at first, to give her eyes and those of her subjects time to adjust to the sun's returning radiance. The clouds that she had gathered helped, likely preventing a few cases of blindness. Luna's eyes tracked her beloved moon's descent. When it fell below the horizon, she let out a terrific gasp, as though she had been holding her breath for days. She panted for a few moments, then collected herself, stretching and groaning as the sun's great burden finally lifted from her. Guiding it along its normal course would be relatively easy now, she imagined.

After catching her breath, the vast herd of ponies that was still camped all around her castle caught her eye. They were marveling and gasping at the awe-inspiring sign of the sun suddenly returning to its full glory, the moon being drawn back like a veil. Many of the group pointed to the window in which she stood, where both actions had been magically performed by the same single pony. Prayers and exclamations of joy and wonder buzzed in the air.

Her guards gave the assembled ponies several minutes to overcome their terror and awe—and some of the newer guards needed those minutes themselves—then they began organizing the ponies into small squads as she had commanded. The militia from the great Houses and the recruits from today alike were quietly but amiably smiling, laughing, and chatting amongst themselves, despite all that Equestria had been through, despite all that they had just seen. The sight both chilled and warmed Luna's heart, because while it was sorely needed evidence that the sacrifices she was making were worthwhile, these ponies would need to start taking this much more seriously if they were to become a true military force. Luna would have to break them, then construct soldiers out of the pieces.

She searched for Pipsqueak, but could not find the foal in the bustle. She longed to hold him, to laugh and play with him, to tell him everything was going to be alright, as much for her own benefit as for his. Yet, at my first sight of him in months, I used him as a prop for cheap political theater...

“Just as well.” She sighed. “Training this rabble will consume most of my time anyway.” Luna unfolded her wings and took flight out of the window. “Let us begin.”

Author's Notes:

This update was going to take even longer, because it also had sections about what Zecora is up to. But I'm making that its own chapter because a) her part isn't finished yet, while this is, and it's been well over a month since I updated, b) the perspective switching felt like it was detracting from the stories of both characters, despite some thematic similarities linking them together, c) this chapter was getting long enough as it is. So expect an update on the adventures of everyone's favorite zebra within a week or so, which will take place contemporaneously with this chapter.