“I don't want to offend you, ma'am,” Lyra said slowly, “but there are a few problems with sending me on a stealth mission.”

“Such as?” Luna sat down on the hard, smooth obsidian on which her army's command tent had been pitched.

“For one, I'm green. Like, really green. They'll see me coming miles away. Plus I've got these loud clippety-cloppers.” Lyra knocked her forehooves together. “And lastly, I'm not actually a ninja.”

“I do not know what a 'ninja' is,” said Luna, “but rest assured, I have considered potential problems, and I have solutions for them. Be seated, and I shall explain.”

Lyra sat as well. She fidgeted a great deal more than Luna, who sat with serene stillness, except for the constant waving of her tail and mane. First, she explained her meeting with the diamond dog party, and what was wrapped in her cloak in the corner of her tent. Luna told her of the threat that had been made, and how marching on Dragon's Hoard now with the whole army could result in a massacre of the slaves residing there. Lyra turned a more vivid shade of green as red fury rose to her cheeks as well.

“The solutions to the problems thou mentioned are quite simple,” Luna said. “We shall color thee with charcoal. Wear a cloak, and utilize a horn-light suppression spell should it become necessary to use magic. As for thy hooves, wrap these around them.” Her horn sparkled, and a patch of large green jungle tree leaves floated over to Lyra.

“That's seems simple, I guess.” Lyra felt the leaves with the back of her feet. They were very soft and smooth. “I was expecting some fancy spells and such.”

“These are valuable magic conservation tricks, particularly necessary for young conjurers such as thyself, that were taught to me by... by someone I cared for.” Luna's eyes fell, the sorrowful expression clashing with the power and aggression conveyed by her black-veined silver armor.

Lyra thought it best not to touch that one at the moment, so she instead redirected the subject. “But I've still never done anything quite like this before. Yes, I did sneak into the Headmaster's office at Celestia's school, but my life wasn't in danger, not to mention the lives of others.”

“That is merely a question of proper training,” said Luna, lifting her head back up after a few more seconds of brooding. “Time is short for us, but providing proper one-on-one training will not take much objective time.”

Lyra swallowed and clenched her abdomen, not out of fear, but to harden her resolve. Dream training was never easy, but it was powerful.

“There is one issue without a simple solution, however,” Luna said with a weighty frown. “The spell training would require much practice, even within thy mind. Too much. There is a speedier alternative, and that is to target thy arcanolimbic system.”

Lyra could have sworn she would never hear that word again after leaving Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but she did vaguely remember it. “The neural structure that binds strong emotions with certain spells, right? The thing that gives us an affinity for spells related to our special talents?”

“Indeed,” Luna answered, a measure of impressed satisfaction in her voice despite the frown. “'Tis good to know that Celestia's curriculum hath not devolved completely into useless, coddling nonsense.

“Yes, if I impart to thee powerful, recent memories which involved my use of these particular spells, then thy system should build the requisite connections. It would only be temporary, but it should allow thee to master this magic in short order.”

“I've never heard of that.” Lyra's eyes were practically glowing with wonder, and her tail was almost wagging. “It sounds fascinating! When do we start?”

“Hold a moment,” Luna said gravely. “I have done this but rarely. The results can be unpredictable. Moreover, the memories that are surfacing regarding these spells... some of them are of a disturbing nature. Thou mayest briefly feel some measure of what I felt, and think some of my thoughts. They may change thy opinion of me irrevocably.” Luna's frown twisted into an expression of apprehension, perhaps of fear. She stood expectantly before Lyra. Her gaze had a distant sadness to it.

“If it means preventing the diamond dogs from killing their captives,” Lyra said without hesitation, “then I'll do it. This is too big not to.” She stopped for a second. Her body was at steady attention, but her eyes flickered with brief uncertainty. “But why me? There have to be ponies in the army you trust more than me. And I know for a fact that there are more powerful unicorns out there.”

“If power and trust were all that this mission required,” Luna replied, flicking her hoof aside, “then I would simply do it myself. This will require finesse, and I am not subtle. Also, as a matter of fact, there is no pony in this army whom I trust more than thee. I do not know if thou wilt stay loyal to me personally, but that is not the kind of loyalty I truly need. Holding to virtue and principle are what is needed. I choose to believe that when the time comes, thou shalt display that loyalty.”

“Okay, then.” Lyra bowed her head as she thought over the words of high praise. “I'm ready.”

“Excellent,” said Luna as she stood up and stepped closer to Lyra, until they were inches apart. Luna's telekinesis quickly and efficiently divested Captain Lyra of her cloak and armor, which was then stacked and folded neatly in one corner of the tent. From across the room, a black lump began to levitate off the floor. It floated over, and Luna gave a questioning tilt of her head. Lyra nodded her final assent, and the charcoal began sliding across her coat at Luna's command.

As the work of altering Lyra's appearance continued, the two of them locked gazes, and Luna's horn began to glow with a smoky white aura, flecks of gold swirling within it. “The first spell I have to teach is an invisibility enchantment. 'Tis best used on objects, but it is possible to use it on other living things, and even thyself for extremely brief periods.”

Luna dipped her head, touching the tip of her horn to the tip of Lyra's. Hers, in turn, began to glow with golden light, and random spurts of images, emotions, and thoughts were pushed awkwardly into her mind.

She saw Luna in the ruins of her ancient palace alongside Zecora. For fractions of a second at a time, Lyra felt the heartbreak Luna experienced at seeing her home in such a state. It felt like it had been only days since she had slept, ate, and played there, but now it was a ruin. She also felt flashes of Luna's curiosity and attraction toward the strange zebra. The most crystal-clear experience in the memory, though, was finding where Luna had hidden her old store of treasures in a shroud of invisibility. Lyra actually felt as if it were her own horn dispelling the magic around the ancient chest. Then there was a murky pang of confusion, despair, and rage when the armor, cloak, jewel, and journal inside, the only material objects Luna had specifically wanted to save before becoming Nightmare Moon, turned out to have been ruined.

Lyra shuddered like she had been jolted by an electric shock when Luna cast the illusion spell on the chest again. It was a rush of power that she had never experienced before. A new sensation, like a strong itch, tingled at her horn.

“Art thou well?” Luna asked in the present, with genuine concern. The piece of coal had stopped moving for a minute, but now it resumed its steady rhythm, each stroke moving Lyra's minty green hair closer to black.

“I've never been better,” Lyra said as a big grin spread across her face. She choked back a giggle as the charcoal reached a ticklish spot on her belly. “What's next?”

Luna quirked an eyebrow up at the other mare. After a moment of studying her expression, Luna nodded. “The second spell induces sleep. With difficulty, I have cast it upon large groups before. Thou art skilled for thy age, but I would nonetheless not recommend attempting the spell on more than one target at a time. Art thou ready?”

This time, the Queen imparted to her a memory that hit closer to home, and gave her a stronger arcanolimbic reaction as a result. She saw Luna on the road, surrounded by a group of royal guards, including her uncle, who was then just a sergeant. Luna's frustration, loneliness, disappointment, and pride mingled with Lyra's own shock as Luna used the sleep spell on the unsuspecting guards. Then, after a brief but tense magic duel, she felt Luna cast the spell on her own uncle.

Luna did not speak. Instead, she waited silently, watching Lyra's reaction carefully. The only sound in the tent was the charcoal brushing softly through her mane.

“I see what you mean,” Lyra said in a small voice. Belying her quiet words was the gold-tinged magical aura that had now surrounded her entire body, which she was staring at in awe. “That wasn't easy to watch. But I feel like I could put a whole pack of dogs to sleep!”

“That feeling will not last,” said Luna, pulling her horn away for a moment. “Take care, lest thou become overconfident. Remember, thou shalt be alone out there. Conservation will be critical.”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand.” Lyra resisted the urge to press their horns immediately back together and resume the training. “Oh, what about a flight spell next!?”

“A flight spell?” said Luna. “We are underground. What purpose would that serve?”

“You never know,” Lyra responded.

“That would be too much of a drain for too little gain,” Luna said. She winced after a fraction of a second as she heard the words out-loud.

“Aww.” Lyra groaned in almost-childlike disappointment. “Oh well. Anyway, I'm ready for more when you are, ma'am.”

The other royal eyebrow raised this time. “Do not rush me, Captain,” she said with an outward thrust of her jaw.

“Sorry,” Lyra muttered, looking down, but still twitching and glowing.

“The third enchantment will enhance thy senses,” Luna went on after a short glare. “This particular memory may cause some pain in addition to the swell of confidence thou art apparently experiencing. Please, do not...”

“Do not what?” Lyra's mouth fell into a worried, sobered frown.

“Nevermind.” Luna shook her head, then leaned it forward again to bring their horns back together. “Thou shalt be fine. Let us resume.”

Lyra now experienced Luna's memory of her second visit to the huge lake in the middle of the Everfree Forest. With the enchantment Luna had placed on her senses, Lyra saw, smelled, and felt Zecora walking beside her. In Ponyville, she had never given the zebra much thought, herself, but seeing her through Luna's eyes made her breathtaking. Zecora seemed flawed but noble, wise, and kind. And a passionate kisser, apparently... until the rest of the memory slammed into her. Lyra smelled and tasted the poison that Zecora had applied to her lips, she was nearly blinded by the underwater cave suddenly being lit up with mystical light, and she was overwhelmed by the despair that had taken Luna when her apprentices imprisoned her.

Lyra felt a strange tugging sensation in her mind. She realized that Luna was trying to end the memory, but Lyra was unconsciously pushing to see more of it. Her innate curiosity was enough for her to catch a few more minutes of the scene, and to hear the conversation they had. She heard their mutual vows not to kill any ponies in pursuit of their goals, and Luna was preparing to make a second vow when the link cut abruptly.

“Oh, Luna,” Lyra whispered, “I'm so sorry.” As their heads drew apart again, Lyra lowered hers to wrap around Luna's neck.

Luna's eyes went wide and her body stiffened in reaction to the sudden hug. “This is—this is not appropriate,” she said quietly. Because her ear was pressed to Luna's neck, Lyra could make out a small, choked sound coming from inside it.

Lyra stepped back slowly, her eyes downcast. “I'm sorry, ma'am. That stuff with your students is really heavy, and I can only imagine what that's like, but I do know how it feels to care deeply about somepony, but not being sure if you should, and—“she glanced up to see the look on Luna's face“—and I'll shut up now. Right after I say that even though what she did was wrong and hurtful... I know love when I see it. You shouldn't let her being a zebra, or a mare, stand in the way of that love.”

“That will be quite enough!” Luna shouted as she slammed a foot onto the earth, causing a small quake that split the stone beneath them. The dark lump of coal clattered to the floor as Luna briefly lost control of the levitation spell. Lyra flinched and flattened her ears. “This is a war, not a counseling session!”

Lyra did not dare lift her eyes, but she could see and almost feel the intense glare the Queen was giving her. She gave a small sound of surprise when she felt Luna's horn touch hers again.

“The final spell alters sound,” Luna told her before lifting the charcoal back up and preparing to initiate the psychic connection again. Her tone was short and clipped. “It can be extremely potent, because it can change entire conversations to innocuous babbling, or create silence where there is tumult. As such, it requires an equally potent memory from me. Art thou prepared?”

“Sound alteration is actually my specialty!” Lyra managed to beam in spite of what she had just experienced. “Did you know I got my cutie mark by mimicking my music teacher's voice to the Headmaster? I wonder if he ever figured out it was actually me talking from the other side of the door. Really saved my skin from expulsion there. Wait, of course you knew that. Well, here's a more recent one.” The memories Luna had given her did not hurt quite as much as she babbled about her past, so, as Luna stared in disbelief, she continued.

“A while ago, Bon Bon decided to try her hoof at acting, and she wanted me to change her voice for the part. We nailed it, and she was great, but the spell, ah, lasted a couple weeks longer than I was going for the first time. We laugh about it now, but she wasn't too happy with that at the time...” She glanced at Luna, saw the slight doubt there, and glanced away, chuckling quietly. “That was a couple years ago. I've improved it a lot, I promise.”

“Be that as it may,” Luna said as her doubtful frown lifted slightly, “more fine control of thy specialty would be most advantageous, would it not?”

Lyra gulped, nodded, then felt another surge of energy enter her body with the touch of Luna's horn, even more powerful than the ones before.

She saw Celestia lying on the floor of a prison cell—mangled, dirty, and bloody, hardly at all like the shining beacon of warmth she had been when Lyra had seen her up close last, years ago.

When she had finally been discovered falsifying records to show that she was actually enrolled in Celestia's school, the Princess herself had stepped in to prevent her immediate expulsion. Lyra's parents had come to pull her out anyway after hearing about the scandal, but she would never forget Celestia's words to her before that.

“Such tenacity,” she had said with a smile full of overwhelming grace. “Temper it with a touch more wisdom, Miss Lyra Heartstrings, and you will go far. ”

Now there she was in Luna's memory, a hollow shell of the glorious monarch she should have been. From the conversation that followed, and the bewildering array of Luna's emotions that assaulted Lyra's mind, it quickly became obvious that Luna herself had done this to the Princess, and was keeping her in this dungeon. Lyra was filled with horror, but the memory was so intense that she was unsure how much of the horror was her own, and how much of it belonged to Luna.

Through it all, Lyra did manage to notice when Luna cast the sound alteration spell. It was difficult, and would only work for a brief time when used for this purpose, but... why had Luna cast it? The only things they talked about were some vague words about Luna's ancient apprentices needing to be stopped, and some stuff about Zecora. The confusion lingered as Luna withdrew from her in the present.

Lyra was stock still, searching her feelings carefully. It was hard enough simply to differentiate which ones were hers, but once she managed that, her terrified eyes closed, and she breathed a long sigh.

“I get it now,” she said in a hushed voice. “You played me.”

“Pardon?” said Luna. “I do not understand the expression.”

“You tricked me,” Lyra said. She was still glowing with light, and her body was brimming with power, but her tone was distant, wounded. “Used me. Bamboozled me. You strung me along long enough to know that I wouldn't refuse this task, no matter what I learned. You took advantage of my curiosity to see your memories, and my conviction to do what's right. Now, if I succeed on the mission, you get the slaves freed, and then you can deal with me at your leisure. Plus, while I'm gone, you can move against my uncle without having to worry about which side I'd land on. And if I fail, the only pony besides your apprentices who knows the truth about Celestia will be dead. Half the reason I left my family was to get away from games like this...”

“Attend carefully to my words,” said Luna as she began to pace back and forth across the tent. She continued her work disguising Lyra, now working her way through the long strands of the Captain's tail. “I shall not dignify most of that wild speculation with a response, but I absolutely must say that I do not wish to see thee fail. If that happened, I would be forced to take drastic action to secure the safety of the slaves.”

“What 'drastic action'?” Lyra began to edge away slowly, but Luna altered the course of her pacing to block the exit.

“Art thou familiar with siege warfare?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Lyra reluctantly stopped backing away and stood her ground. “Cutting off a fortress or city's supplies until they surrender. It was used a lot in the old days, and it's still pretty common outside of Equestria.”

“Then thou hast not seen it as I have.” Luna's gaze drifted far away, and her voice grew deeper and darker. “'Cutting off supplies” is a rather sanitary phrase to describe forcing the population into starvation and into the desperate, vile acts which are often committed as a result. The morale of the defenders must be driven down to convince them to surrender as well. Diseased corpses are dropped on the population, captured enemies are killed outside the walls, they are bombarded with spells day and night...”

“Even if that weren't horrible,” Lyra said as Luna stared off into space, continuing to mouth silent words to the air, “wouldn't that just make the diamond dogs kill all their slaves? Then even if we—if we do all that, we'll still have failed.”

“Indeed,” said Luna, forcing her eyes shut for a few seconds. She shivered almost imperceptibly, then reopened them to look at her Captain, her eyes focused again. “That is why I developed a different way, long ago. Some would call it better, some would call it worse, but all recognized its effectiveness.”

Right in front of the flap in the campaign tent, Luna's wings fluttered out to full length. She began stretching, unfurling them far enough to loosen her muscles. Lyra's thoughts were no longer about escape, though. Her ears were pointed forward, completely focused on what the Queen was going to say.

“With the help of the finest students of my Academy,” Luna said, arching one wing over the opposite shoulder, “I constructed a ritual that could reach into large groups of minds and inflict upon them such horrific dreams as can only be imagined. Those most affected, the soldiers and rulers upon whom my wrath was focused, often became catatonic with terror. If they did not, they still felt it every moment, whether they slept or not. Either way, fear spread like fire. The longer they waited to surrender, the more anger, hate, and guilt I felt, and because the ritual was specifically designed to be fueled by those emotions, their dreams also worsened with time.”

Luna stretched her other wing in the same fashion as before. “The castles and cities I conducted this ritual upon gave themselves unto me with nary a drop of bloodshed. Word spread, and before long, others surrendered without my army even having to march upon them. They were eager to avoid the fury of the moon-marked mare who spread horror in the wake of her dark night.”

“You used that against ponies too, didn't you?” Lyra asked. Her tone was not judgmental. She was too awed to feel much of anything else at the moment.

“Yes,” Luna replied, keeping her wings spread but relaxed as she finished her stretching. She turned her head from side to side, staring at each feather as she spoke. “My sister and I were wise and virtuous, but we were not perfect. We made mistakes as rulers. After enough years had passed for the memory of Discord's suffering to become history, those mistakes began to take root in the hearts of many in our realm.

“There were a series of revolts against our rule. In order to spare her the pain of forcing them back into the fold, I willingly took the duty upon myself. Those rebellions may have been small, but they were the first times I sacrificed my virtue and principle upon the altar of 'the greater good.' How could we protect our little ponies, I reasoned, if they did not obey our commands and contribute to our coffers?

“So the rebels fell, many bearing mental wounds for the rest of their lives. I saved thousands on both sides from death, but was that the story they told?” She chuckled, coldly and bitterly. “No, they told their children to beware the Princess of the Night, lest she descend from her frozen palace on the moon and break their minds to her will.

“The griffons and other enemies of our nation were the first to call me Nightmare Moon. At first, I bore the title proudly, because it meant they feared us, enough to avoid war when they otherwise might have fought. Who can say how many more deaths my fearsome reputation prevented? But hearing my own citizens refer to me as Nightmare Moon was the greatest pain I had ever felt.”

Tears started to brim at the edges of Luna's eyes, but she wiped them away with a snarl.

“The very same ponies to whom I had devoted lifetimes of struggle, service, and sacrifice, for whom I had shed countless tears and drops of blood, for whom I had killed, called me a monster and a tyrant. I, who had risked my life to free them and keep them safe, who had founded a worldwide martial order devoted to virtue, I, a monster!” Luna was pacing again, more quickly this time, raving as the river of power in her hair swept through the air, creating the illusion of a swarm of comets inside the tent. “After only a couple of mortal generations, they refused to leave their homes at night, and they shut their windows from the bright glow of the moon and stars, no matter how beautiful and comforting I tried to make the sky. After that, 'twas only a matter of time before darkness consumed me.”

Lyra sat down heavily to keep from toppling over. She stared at the smooth black floor and contemplated teleporting away. She eventually shook her head. The charcoal was going over her coat for a third layer, and over the course of Luna's speech, it had begun grinding into her skin slightly unpleasantly. Luna did not seem to notice.

“And the students who helped you make that ritual were the ones I saw in your memories, right?” Lyra asked, after a flash of insight.

“It took over a dozen ponies to craft that arcane working,” Luna said, slowing her pace and wiping some spittle from the edges of her mouth, “but yes, those four were among my assistants in the endeavor.”

There was a silence that felt a great deal longer to them both than it actually was. To Lyra's surprise, Queen Luna broke the silence first.

“I blamed them for what I had done,” she said in a small, wooden voice, “even though they were only assisting with what I had ordered them to do. I threatened them, I cursed them, I hurt them...” Luna bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, breathing hotly for a few seconds before she could resume speaking. Lyra shifted her body slightly so that the edges of the charcoal would not pierce her skin under the increased pressure.

“I was trying to drive them away. But no matter how much I abused them, they stayed close. They considered the fault to lie with Celestia. They said that her misrule had caused the rebellions. They said that she had used me to stop the revolts, knowing that her hooves would remain clean if I took the blame. I tried to believe them. I wanted to, and I also did not want to. That contradiction caused a rift in my soul, and through it the demon was able to tempt me. The rest... well, the result was plain enough at the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville, three years ago.”

Another long pause began. The two of them listened to the sounds of the camp. It was bustling with the activity of soldiers gathering their gear, and the barking of their superiors repeatedly telling them that this or that item was too heavy for a forced march. Whispers hung in the air as well, mostly audible only to Luna, about what was going on. It seemed no one nearby knew precisely what had happened yet, but they were already directing each other to the squad that had gone on the diplomatic expedition with Luna.

Lyra let out a grateful sigh as the pressure of the coal stroking decreased. Luna quietly directed her to close her eyes, and then blackened her eyelids as well. Lyra blinked, wrinkled up her nose, then sneezed violently directly into Luna's face. The Queen flinched with surprise, but before Lyra had time to become properly mortified, Luna laughed softly and set the piece of coal—now much smaller—aside.

Lyra sighed again, taking advantage of the drastic decrease in tension to voice her mind again. “So, on top of everything else I just learned, I also have to succeed, or you'll use a spell you made with the creators of all of the monsters in the Everfree Forest to unleash pain and death on an entire city.”

“Not death,” Luna corrected, wiping her face off with the back of her forefoot. “I can shield some from the worst of the ritual, especially ponies, as I know their minds better, but those whom I do not shield may perhaps wish for death. They will have nary a thought to spare for killing slaves when the nightmares come to them.

“I have developed a vast reservoir of the emotions that fuel this spell. Though I am stronger and wiser than I once was, I... I am afraid of what it may do, to them and to myself.”

Luna turned away and strode to the sack she had taken the charcoal from. Digging through it with her hooves, she pulled out a cape of a deep black hue. Walking over on her hindlegs, and carrying it in her forelegs, she draped the cloth over Lyra's body and tied it around her neck with a deft telekinesis spell. The cape was light and smooth to the touch, and within it were sewn many pockets of various sizes and levels of concealment.

“I have set more than far enough down this path over the last several years,” Luna said as her hooves adjusted and smoothed the cape. Then she took up the jungle leaves she had shown Lyra earlier and began tying them to her feet. “I take full responsibility for the fact that, in the end, this is my choice. But I am asking for help. I cannot forge the best possible path alone, as I once thought I could.”

“Of course I'll still do it, but, with all due respect, I'm not sure I'll be doing it for you, ma'am. I... I need time. To think. I'm sorry.” Lyra stared at her hooves, which had also been colored black.

Luna frowned deeply, but no angry reprisal or bitter rant came. “Think if thou must,” she said in a much quieter voice than Lyra had expected, “but do not let it distract thee from thy mission.”

“What should I do, exactly?” Lyra said as she investigated the various lumps and protrusions in her pockets. “What are my objectives?”

Luna's tone slipped into a military briefing style, which she welcomed with a tiny flutter of her wings. Lyra imagined that Luna much preferred this subject over the previous one. “The first objective is reconnaissance, to determine the location and disposition of the city's slaves. The second objective is to move as many as thou canst out of the city, or to a central location within if evacuation is not possible.”

Lyra thought for a second, then shook her head. “I'm really going into this blind, huh?”

“Not entirely. I have not been to this place for an entire age, so I am not able to divine every last detail of the area, but my scrying spells have produced some fairly accurate ground-level maps of the area. There is one in thy left middle pocket.

“Aside from that, much of the reason I am assigning this mission to thee is that I trust thy judgment.” Luna tried to give Lyra a small smile, but the latter mare continued to frown deeply. “Thou art greatly talented in the areas of adaptability and speedy decision-making.

“We will not be able to communicate over this distance, but the mental connection we shared today will allow brief signals, which will be experienced as small pulses in thy horn, to be sent back and forth. Once the objectives have been completed to thy satisfaction, send me one such signal. If completing them becomes impossible, send me two. If there is an emergency or a significant change in the tactical situation, send me three signals in rapid succession. Likewise, I shall send thee a signal when I am to begin the ritual. Thou hast twenty-four hours from thy departure before that happens. Questions?”

“That's really all the time you can give me?” Lyra chewed her lip.

“I dare not risk longer,” Luna replied. “That may even be too long, since the army is not moving from this location until this mission is complete. The diamond dogs will surely notice that we are not retreating entirely. Moreover, I am unsure that our psychic connection will last much longer than a day. Thus, that is the timetable with which we must work. Is there aught else?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Good hunting then, Captain.”

“'Good hunting'?” Lyra's face twisted. “That's a bit macabre for a stealth mission. I don't want to kill anyone if I don't have to.”

Luna laughed and managed a bigger smile this time. “Of course. The rules of engagement for this operation are entirely at thy discretion. 'Good hunting' is merely what soldiers used to say to one another rather than 'good luck', for the latter phrase implies that anything but the warrior's strength and skill are necessary.” Luna stopped for a moment and regarded Lyra's expression solemnly. “That being said, I would encourage thee not to hesitate to kill, should it become necessary. Mayhap thou art thinking that they are only defending their home, but do not forget that their home is built upon a system of suffering and oppression.”

“I... I'll keep that in mind, ma'am.” Lyra saluted and turned to go, but she stopped at the tent's flap. “I actually have one more question, ma'am. Why am I going alone? With such a risky operation, it seems like it would be a better idea to send more than one pony, so they can watch each other's backs and fill gaps in each other's skills.”

“It also introduces more risk of detection,” Luna said immediately. “Listen, Lyra. If thou hast no faith in my honorable intentions, then at the very least, have faith in thyself. Steel thy soul with conviction and courage, and thou shalt accomplish great deeds. We can do this if we work together, and then justice will be done.”

“Yes ma'am,” Lyra said, then stepped out into the muted silver light of the camp.

She was accosted almost immediately.

“Captain Heartstrings, is that you?” said a shocked voice from around the corner of a nearby tent. Brandywine Breeze stepped into view, mouth gaping.

“Maybe,” Lyra muttered, walking briskly toward the camp's exit.

Ensign Breeze fell in slightly behind her. “So you're a ninja now?”

“I guess so.” Lyra glared at the ground in place of glaring at her subordinate.

“That's so cool,” Brandywine said. The two of them made their way through dozens of ponies who were rushing about to prepare for the march. Lyra tried to lose Brandywine in the crowd, but the pegasus was too nimble and determined. “So what's the word, ma'am? Are we rushing in to give those damned dogs what they deserve? Or does the Queen have something else in mind?”

“I'm not at liberty to discuss the Queen's plans, Brandy,” Lyra said, channeling Luna's memories to muster up a small bit of ice in her tone.

“Okay,” Brandywine said with a dejected sigh. “Just tell me we're not retreating. We can't retreat after they cut off that poor slave's head! After all we've done, we can't run back home with our tails between our legs!”

“Brandy!” Lyra shouted, causing the Ensign to stop in her tracks. “I can't do this now. Also, stop spreading rumors when you don't know what's going on!” Lyra reached the first of the perimeter checkpoints and showed the guards her rank insignia, a circle of five silver stars, which was now pinned to the inside of her black cloak. They looked shocked, but waved her through anyway. Brandywine, whom the guards crossed their spears in front of, was shouting formal apologies at her, but the young Captain Heartstrings was already tuning her out. Her eyes, along with her thoughts, were locked on the darkness that yawned like a great, grinning maw before her. She swallowed hard, magically stretched her every sense out, then ran into the abyss.

Luna sat still, mulling over the conversation. One detail in particular stuck out: that Lyra said she was being sent away so that Luna could move against the other Captain Heartstrings while she was gone. That child hath been around far too many nobles for far too long, she thought, shaking her head, but I should check on him nonetheless. Once I see Blueblood again.

She made her way back to her private tent, noting with satisfaction that the soldiers were gradually becoming more organized. But there was a tension there as well, because they had received orders to prepare to move quickly, but no orders about where or when to move. Luna did her best to present an air of confidence and reassurance to her warriors, but it was too early to tell them what was happening. She did not yet know herself where she would order the army.

Suddenly, Luna froze. There were no royal guards posted outside her tent. Now that she thought about it, she had not seen any royal guards at all in the camp, and when she had loudly summoned “Captain Heartstrings” earlier, only Lyra had appeared. That could have been a coincidence, but maybe not. She dashed inside quickly, no longer concerned with appearances.

It was empty. He was gone.

Luna whirled around and ran up to the nearest pony, a yellow-haired earth pony who saluted and came to attention immediately at her approach, despite the watery redness in her eyes and the grinding of her teeth.

“Engineer Bright,” Luna said after a fraction of a second to recall the soldier's name, “hast thou been on duty here long?”

“Approximately three hours, ma'am,” she replied.

“Where did the royal guards posted outside of our personal tent go?”

“Approximately one hour ago, I saw Royal Guard Captain Heartstrings approach. He conversed with the two guards posted there, and the three of them left, along with Prince Blueblood. I assumed it was under your orders, ma'am.”

“Which way did they go?” Luna demanded, her voice shaking.

“Up the northeastern tunnel, ma'am,” said Engineer Bright.

“I see.” Luna gave the soldier a salute. “Carry on.”

She ran at the fullest speed she could manage in the dim, crowded camp. The northeastern tunnel was the rearmost line of defense, and back in the direction the army had came. If he is hurt... Luna growled and used her wings add more speed to the run.

Luna slowed down as she neared the guardpost there, calling out to them before she reached it. “Lieutenant Apple, hath a group of royal guards come this way?”

“Yes'm,” a green colt drawled. “They headed back up about an hour ago, I reckon.”

“Curse their hides!” Luna yelled. She started to continue straight past the checkpoint, but something stopped her.

“Did ya not want 'em to leave, ma'am?” Lieutenant Apple asked. “I apologize if'n that's the case. I take full responsibility for the mistake.”

“No, no,” said Luna. “That is, I mean to say, yes, I did not want them to depart, but there is no way thou couldst have known that. I shall not punish thee. All I command is that thou and thy company mention nothing of what you have seen here to anyone save myself. Is that understood? Good. Resume thy post, Lieutenant.”

That was when Luna realized what had stopped her from dashing off after Blueblood right away. If she left the camp now, discipline might break down. An unorganized, chaotic herd of ponies would be a much easier target than a strictly regimented encampment. But if she did not leave, she would be losing the only true piece of leverage she had over a sizable portion of Equestria's political and physical power. With House Blueblood opposed to her rule, Equestria would be severely weakened, whether they openly rebelled or not. He was... too important to her for her to just let him be taken away.

Her teeth ground harder as her head turned back and forth between her army and the pathway along which the guards had taken her Prince-to-be.

At a careful gallop, Dragon's Hoard was only a few hours away. For Lyra Heartstrings, they were long hours. Not only did she have to extend her sight and hearing down every twisting branch of tunnel to make sure nothing more dangerous than a batmole was lurking about, but her head was also swimming with thoughts.

Lyra was forced to concede that her uncle may have been right. Luna was insane. But then, thinking back on the experiences Luna had shared with her, still fresh in her mind, Lyra wondered what pony would not be. She must have gone a little crazy herself to be doing this mission. Was it contagious?

Celestia had not given up her throne willingly. Luna had overthrown her. She may have been forced into it, but the fact remained that the Princess whom Lyra had received so much wisdom and clemency from had been betrayed and locked away. Now she was working for the Princess—the Queen, legitimate or not—who had done it. How could she justify that?

A quieter thought, which she tried to suppress, came to her then. Why had Celestia not done anything about the diamond dogs before? True, it was only since the changeling invasion that their slave raids had become a significant problem, but that had still given her months to respond. Moreover, the raids had still happened occasionally for as long as Lyra could remember.

That was the thought that echoed in her mind as she began to smell something awful. Sulfur mixed with burning hair was wafting up from the downward-sloping tunnel. She drew part of the cloth of her cloak over her face to try to shield herself from the worst of it. Lyra also imagined that she had well and truly completed the ninja look now. She almost laughed, but doing anything but breathing in short, controlled bursts might have resulted in vomiting.

As she was about to reduce the power she was putting into the sense enhancement spell, she started to make out the beginnings of the “suburbs” of Dragon's Hoard. There were wooden shacks and cloth-draped holes in the obsidian walls, the same kind of shelter the underclasses had used outside of Barkstone. Lyra carefully watched and listened as she slowly drew closer to them. Only a rare animal or two stirred inside them, but Lyra searched each one anyway. Caution was more important than speed at the moment.

At last, she laid eyes on the city itself. Her golden eyes peeked out from behind two long, pointed spears of obsidian that stuck straight up out of the ground, and surveyed all that they could from her vantage point about a hundred yards away.

It was like looking at a huge black crown resting on a dais several miles in diameter. The walled city, with sharp-angled towers protruding at varying yet symmetrical heights almost to the roof of the enormous cavern, was surrounded by a deep, unnaturally smooth moat. Or at least it would have been a moat, if it were not empty. As it was, it was just a very deep, very wide pit. There was one drawbridge made of steel in sight, currently raised. The bottom of it was blackened and warped, as if it had been exposed to high heat on a regular basis. The entire city was lit by red light emanating from magma-filled tubes that lined the streets. The light, and the long shadows it cast on the huge obsidian cavern, was constantly shifting as the molten rock flowed through the pipes. Lyra would have applauded the ingenuity on display, if it did not look so darn... sinister.

Lyra drew out the map of the city and studied it for the third time, frowning at it. Considering the fact that Luna had said she had not done the best job with it she could have, the level of detail was astounding. It included not only every street, but every alley and alcove as well. Luna's educated guesses as to the uses of some of the larger buildings had been elegantly written in the margins of the parchment as well. She even included the educational factoid that the magma pipes were also used to provide heat for the underground metropolis. However, the map had one crucial flaw. It stopped at the city walls, and thus entirely neglected the gigantic pit that encircled them.

“Welp,” Lyra whispered. “That's a big pit, and there's only one bridge over it. It sure would be nice if I could fly or something. But 'we are underground', she said. 'What purpose would that serve?' she said. Go bite a horseapple, Your Majesty.”

She meant it as good-natured ribbing, and only to herself at that, but just the same, Lyra craned her neck around, expecting Luna to somehow appear and give her a week of armor polishing duty for insubordination. She was about to kick herself for being ridiculous when the gesture actually allowed her to spot some movement at the edge of her vision.

Coming out from another tunnel closer to the drawbridge, a trio of diamond dogs was hauling a cart laden with gems. About five helmeted heads popped up from the wall's battlements and shouted down to the newcomers. She focused her magic, taking great care to control it enough that her horn would not start to glow, and stretched her ears forward.

Lyra did not understand much of the diamond dog language, but there seemed to be a hostility to the conversation of yelps and barks. Definitely something about a “war” and “no refugees.” The dogs who had brought up the cart took a few gems from it and pointed back and forth between the gems and the guards. She heard something about “understanding”, and she could swear she saw one of them wink. This is a heck of a spell, she thought with wonder, followed by an alien up-swell of anger and pain. Too bad it reminds me of Luna and Zecora whenever I use it.

The helmets disappeared. A few minutes later, the drawbridge began to lower. As soon as it thunk-ed down onto the stone on the other side, the three new arrivals hurried across with their cart full of precious stones. It was a good thing for them that they did, too, because it started to rise again before they had made it all the way across.

Lyra slowly released most of the energy she had been funneling into the sense enhancement spell, keeping only enough to prevent any passersby from getting the drop on her. As she relaxed her magical muscles and let go of the artificial emotions that came with them, she began turning her mind to the more mundane task of plotting. She schemed in the dark for several minutes, idly scratching herself as she thought—and quickly stopping herself each time, so as not to ruin her disguise.

Then Lyra stood up on her hind legs and began adjusting her cape so that it covered most of her body, especially her mane and tail. She pulled the hood over her head and, using two twigs from a nearby hovel, created two elongated points underneath the hood, higher than her horn. She gathered power to cast her voice alteration spell, adding some of the arcanolimbic power imparted by Luna to be absolutely sure it was perfect. It made her queasy to recall the beaten image of Celestia that came with those memories, but there was no room for mistakes here. She whispered several tongue-twisters and it took everything in her power not to burst out laughing.

Her preparations complete, Lyra strode out from her hiding place with purpose and confidence, walking effortlessly on her hind legs. Who's weird for practicing that all the time now, Bon Bon? She grinned, and the grin got wider when she realized that Bon Bon would probably answer something like, “Still you, love.” Hopefully followed by some nuzzling and kissing.

Lyra walked right up to the edge of the pit and, before any of the guards could challenge her, she shouted, “I am Rusa Kitanenos, duly-elected King of the Black Mountain minotaurs, and I demand entrance to your city so that I may conduct business!” It was bit of a gamble to say it in Equine, but that was the general language of trade in most of the world.

Also, Lyra's voice came out as a male, boisterous, basso rumble, and she struggled to repress a fit of howling laughter.

Some quick, confused whispering and yipping issued from the guardpost across the drawbridge.

“There's a war on, Your Majesty,” said a nasally diamond dog. “Business is closed.”

“What's your name, kid?” Lyra asked loudly, folding her forelegs over her chest to look important, and to hide her hooves from scrutiny.

“Rufus,” he answered hesitantly. Another diamond dog spoke immediately after him in their language. Lyra could piece together enough to figure out that he was translating their conversation for the others.

“I like you, Rufus.” Lyra laughed heartily, and she threw in a little extra magic to make the laugh echo in the cavern. “You've got a good head on your shoulders, a strong sense of duty. I really admire that, especially considering how rare it is in the brokering business. Tell you what. You let me in, and I'll guarantee you a cut of my profits. Ten percent straight off the top. What do you say?”

There were more hurried whispers, this time between two of the guards—Rufus and the translator. It seemed like Rufus very much did not want the latter to tell the others everything she had just said. Lyra smiled. Eventually, Rufus growled in a low tone, ending their conversation.

“Make it fifteen,” he said begrudgingly. Lyra could not see the guards clearly from her vantage point, but she had the delicious image of him glaring at the translator for depriving him of some of his bribe.

“Fifteen!” Lyra shouted. “So you're a good guard and a good negotiator too? A double threat! We'll have to talk about you joining my team once I wrap up my business here. You have yourself a deal!”

Lyra fought down the urge to do some hoof-pumping as the drawbridge lowered. She strolled across it smoothly, and this time it did not start rising until she was all the way across.

She found herself underneath a high archway made of stone, with a portcullis—currently raised, thankfully—separating the post from the city. There were small stairwells to either side, and there was currently one fully-armed and armored diamond dog waiting at the bottom of each, with more coming down from the ramparts. They eyed her, clearly expecting someone much larger and more bull-like. Enough of her features were covered up that it was still possible she could be a minotaur, though, as long as she gave them no reason or time to think she could be anything else.

They were all wielding bows, swords, metal claws, or some combination of the three, and they all wore heavy plate armor. This was no border-town garrison. Lyra picked the one who had the most decorations on his armor and fixed her yellow eyes on him.

“I know you're wondering where my money is, Rufus,” she said. “A smart kid like you would have to be. To be honest, I haven't made it yet. But my business is making deals happen. Because I'm such a decent guy who just wants everypo—sorry, I spent way too much time in Equestria recently—everyone to get along, they insist on paying me good money for it. You won't regret this, Rufus, I promise.”

“How long will you be staying?” the dog she was talking to asked. Lyra had guessed his identity correctly, it would seem. Another diamond dog who had come down the same stairwell started muttering, but she could not understand him with so little of her mystical resources currently devoted to extending her perceptions.

“Hard to say, especially if there's a war on like you said.” Lyra looked down the wide cobblestone boulevard that the gateway opened onto. There was no one walking on it for quite some distance, and there were plenty of side streets and alleys in view. “I'd love to talk about that more, but I have a meeting scheduled. Can you direct me to the Broker's Guild?”

Rufus gave her some vague directions.

“So how do I get in touch with you, kid? Is this your usual post?”

“Yes,” he said, buffing up a smear on his armor with the back of his paw. “I have the honor of keeping watch over the only way in or out of Dragon's Hoard. Just ask for me when your business is done.”

“Will do!” Lyra flashed him a smile, her white teeth joining her eyes in clashing wildly with her black outfit and body. “Take it easy, everybody!”

She continued her way into the city, upright and proud, past a group of flabbergasted diamond dog soldiers, ready to take on the world. Then she heard a lot of sniffing sounds.

“Wait,” another diamond dog said, probably the translator, since he said it in Equine. “What's that smell? Smells like... coal?”

Oh, crap. “Probably all this sulfur in the air,” Lyra said, waving a carefully covered hoof dismissively, “messing with your noses.”

“You don't smell like a minotaur either.”

“I already told you I've spent a lot of time in Equestria. I go where the work is, buddy.”

She turned to leave again, making it almost to the portcullis before she was commanded to halt. Lyra was preparing to turn around and indignantly claim outrageous discrimination when her ears caught the distinctive sound of bowstrings being drawn back.

“Nut-bunnies!” she cried, with the word “nut” coming out in her macho minotaur voice, and the word “bunnies” coming out in her regular, high-pitched pony voice as she dismissed all of her spells to concentrate on escaping.

Lyra immediately went to all four hooves and dashed for the end of the gateway. Several well-aimed warning shots completely missed her thanks to the drop; they might have hit her forelegs or shoulders otherwise. The diamond dogs shouted, barked, and ran after her. The worst sound, however, was the click as one of them pulled a lever, and the heavy metal portcullis was released. Lyra threw her body into a low, desperate slide, praying to as many stars as she could remember in the microsecond of time she had.

The steel spikes of the portcullis caught the very edge of her cape and a little bit of her mane too. She yelped and ripped both out so she could resume running. The diamond dogs started yelling at each other, presumably because they had just blocked themselves off from chasing her. Still, Lyra had noticed that the gaps in the bars were large enough to fire arrows through, and judging from the sound of more arrows being drawn, they realized it too.

“Serpentine, serpentine!” Lyra reminded herself, and she started zigging and zagging back and forth down the street, making for the second-nearest alley. The nearest would be just what they would be expecting, and right now she needed to do the unexpected.

“It's a pony!” she heard from behind her, in both the diamond dog and pony languages. While her mane was black as night, it was definitely a mane, and her horn was hard to miss. One of the guards began a loud, steady bark, which was soon answered from other locations in the distance, which were in turn answered by more barking farther away. Great, I sounded the alarm already.

Several more arrows whizzed by Lyra, one sailing by right next to her ear and lodging itself in a barrel nearby. They may not be the brightest bunch, Lyra thought, but some of them can really shoot.

She heaved a sigh of relief as that was the last volley they could get off before she turned into the alleyway she had been running for. The alley was lit by only one thin tube of flowing magma, which also did not do as good a job of heating the area as the two huge pipes on the connecting boulevard did. She was between two tall buildings, one that seemed to rise up, fully-formed, from the obsidian around it, and another that was made of bright red bricks. If she remembered the map accurately, the brick building was an apartment, while the other was a military storehouse. They were both probably well-secured now, but apartments, Lyra knew, tended to generate a lot of trash. In fact, there was a large pile of it in this very alley.

She knew it would not matter much, but she still took in a deep breath before diving into the pile of refuse. She positioned herself to have a good, easy view of both ends of the alley, and then settled in to wait. Lyra gulped when she saw, from underneath an inordinate amount of banana peels, that two diamond dog soldiers had entered the alley. As they drew nearer, she gathered energy to ready Luna's invisibility spell just in case, using the strength of Luna's memories of her ancient palace to make sure it would work. She held her breath and her power simultaneously. It would be best not to use such a difficult spell so early in the mission, but things were not looking good.

The sniffing, searching diamond dogs walked within only a few feet of Lyra's hiding place... and kept moving. They were padding along quickly, probably expecting a pony to continue running. Lyra caught a whiff of some old eggs and briefly wished she had done that instead. She knew it was for the best though, because despite some pretty large search parties moving up and down the streets both to her left and right, no one else gave the alley a second glance.

After ten minutes of a true test of her endurance, the alarm barks died down, and the patrols slowed to one every five minutes or so. Slowly, carefully, she took advantage of the lull to bring out her map.

The central slave market would probably be a good place to start. And, of course, it was smack dab in the middle of the city. The smell she was surrounded by dampened her ninja's confidence somewhat, but Lyra picked several possible routes to memorize, stowed the map away, and nodded firmly. She would just need to wait for a gap in the search parties, then she would be off. She was Lyra Hearstrings, and she could do this, even if almost everything had gone wrong so far. Nowhere to go but up.

Author's Notes:

I was all set to put up an informative but apologetic world-building blogpost when I realized, with the help of the illustrious Stryke, that I had enough material for a full-length update already. It does mean this will actually be a "four-part chapter", but I hope there's enough awesome here for you to forgive me a little sprawl. It turns out the characters had a lot more to say than I thought they would in my outline. I love when that happens.