The new moon lay still upon the velvet sky, content to allow the stars to shine in its place. They decorated the night in vivid streaks, smears, swirls and clusters, twinkling serenely in the crisp air. Below, amidst the claustrophobic tangle of the Everfree Forest, figures were assembling before the derelict fortress. Assembling before their leader.
Her mane was like a portal to the heavens, revealing stars obscured by tree and dirt and stone. When observed through its shimmering, shapeless lens, even the stars above took on a clearer, more magnificent visage. It made for an impressive sight as she silently alighted upon the mossy stones, stately and stoic. But they were not the ones to be impressed.
Queen Luna regarded the arrangement of ponies before and below. She calmly studied them, eyes flitting through the ranks, stopping on each and every face for just a moment. Focused. Determined. Committed, every one. A sly smile crept across her mouth, and her eyes flashed brilliantly. Everything was coming together, it seemed.
The preparations had been costly and time-consuming. She had acted the moment word had reached Canterlot, but it almost hadn't been quickly enough. The most expensive reagents, hidden away in dark, far-flung corners of the world, had been required. Some of her most trusted pegasi had been lost securing them, but their sacrifice had been necessary and, it was now obvious, not in vain.
The mages required, sworn to secrecy on threat of eternal banishment, had been harder still. Few in Equestria, or even the world, had the talent and knowledge to accomplish Luna's task. Of those there were, many were either in the employment of her sister or enigmatic, mad recluses. That would not do. Celestia couldn't know of their clandestine mission; she'd never allow it, no matter how necessary.
And necessary it was. Simply evacuating the whole country into the capital was not enough. Her sister, powerful though she may be, was a fool to think Canterlot's ivory towers and golden terraces made a sufficient bulwark against the threat Equestria now faced.
Yes, the militia is numerous and well trained.
Yes, the city is nestled high above the plains below, securely locked in the embrace of the country's mightiest mountain.
And yes, the eldest sister's magic is nigh unrivaled. She has the arcane powers of the six at her side, but it was not enough. Of that, Luna was sure.
And that's where her plan came in. Canterlot may be the only city on the continent that could withstand a siege of this magnitude for more than the twinkling of a star, but standing on a rock to escape a torrential flood will only save you if the waters eventually recede. Somepony has to go to the source. Somepony has to stay the tide, lest her sister's pretty little castle be made but sand and flotsam. Luna blinked. No, not just somepony.
Their elaborate, enchanted armor writhed and flowed like quicksilver. Dulled black with a hint of coal dust, it wrapped each of them in a snug, silent embrace. Countless lattices of ancient magic, stacked mere atoms apart, formed the foundation upon which the metal flowed. The energy rippled quietly beneath the armor's surface, running to and fro throughout the magical threads and bestowing the wearer with power and agility untold.
Each group was formed around a unicorn, psychically tuned to the aura of his or her horn. It allowed them to think and act as a single unit without a spoken word. The unicorns themselves were frightening presences. Forgotten, taboo hexes and dozens of alchemical cocktails, banned from modern civilization, had changed their magic. No longer ethereal, no longer ecumenical, it charged the air around them with a very physical, electric intensity and reeked of copper.
The legends told of stallions, massive and impervious, but not like these.
Of pegasi, faster and keener than the likes of which any living pony knows, but not like these.
Of unicorns, their power and knowledge rivaling that of the royal sisters, but never, ever like these.
Everything was coming together, it seemed.
***
Canterlot, viewed from above, seemed like a colony of ants that had been gouged with a stick. Tiny, frantic figures scurried across the walls and down the streets, carrying satchels of weapons and building materials. The whole city was on lock-down, civilians forbidden from leaving their homes, while Celestia and her protégé, Twilight Sparkle, prepared the siege defenses. Luna watched the diminutive purple unicorn, walking down the main avenue with a veritable cocoon of charts and scrolls and adjutants hovering around her, as she swooped down onto her perch at The Keep.
Against a lesser foe, it seemed, they may have been able to pull it off. Celestia's star pupil was practically running the entire city alone, and scores of Guardsponies were fortifying walls and barring windows like a well-oiled machine. Luna squinted, as another unicorn galloped up to join the gaggle surrounding Twilight. She looked familiar. Rarity, was it? Sparkle's pompous little friend with the dresses and such. She looked quite serious, mane in absolute disarray, as she pulled Twilight aside and whispered frantically in her ear. Twilight nodded, and turned back to her scrolls as Rarity trotted off from whence she came.
So, Celestia is making use of all of her little ponies. Adorable. They-
"Sister."
Luna turned to see the Queen standing in her doorway, brow furrowed. She stepped off of the perch and into the tower, beckoning Celestia to enter. She's almost as quiet as I, thought Luna, flashing her sister a wide, cheesy grin. "Dear Sister! I was just watching -"
"Where were you last night?" Celestia cut her off.
"Well -"
"Strangely absent during the nights, to be their guardian," she said, eyes narrowing. "With everything that's happening... with what's at stake, how could you leave the city unsupervised for even a moment?"
Luna pursed her lips. "Sister, I've been on very important business that is quite relevant to our national security. When I returned, you promised me absolute autonomy on matters -"
The look on Celestia's face made her stop short.
"Your autonomy ends when you start brainwashing ponies, Luna. When you dig up magics that were gone and buried for a reason, and you twist the lives of our citizens into those... those things."
Luna stared at the floor, intimidated by Celestia's intensity. She flitted her gaze back up and cleared her throat. "So... you know?"
Celestia glared at her. The rainbow hues of her main grew brighter, and the temperature of the room picked up a few degrees as she took a step towards her younger sister and drew up to her full height.
"I know?!" she shouted. "How could I not? I've gotten letters from the Griffon tribes asking what we were doing to upset the flow of magical energy. The aftershock of some of those spells circumnavigated the planet."
Luna squeezed her eyes shut, flinching slightly. No. I did what had to be done.
With a deep breath, she strengthened her resolved and stepped forward to meet her sister, standing up-right. "They were volunteers to the last," she shouted. "I involved nopony that didn't know what he or she was sacrificing. The enchantments are powerful because we are not."
She brought her voice down to a hissing whisper. "Equestria needs my soldiers if she's going to survive the coming night - I know what I'm doing."
The two alicorns glowered at one another for a moment. With a sigh, Celestia softened a little, relaxing. Her sister narrowed her eyes, sniffed, and turned away, striding briskly out onto the balcony. After a moment, Celestia followed her, stopping as she reached the threshold. She cleared her throat.
"Luna, those ponies have families. Children! They'll never be the same, after this."
The younger sister silently stared down at the soldiers below, rushing to fortify Canterlot as per Twilight Sparkle's designs. She contemplated her sibling's words, before looking back over her shoulder, tears in her eyes. Her voice was soft.
"Will they?"