A Charred Stone

by Priceless911

Ch17 The Beginning of the End

As I approached the bunker that Commander Bolt wanted us to meet in, I could see Commander Bolt waiting outside as he looked at me and spoke, “Well… was the report true?”
I nodded my head, “Yes sir, there is a cave to the far side of the battlefield that leads directly behind the enemy line. I can’t say it won’t be guarded, but if we act fast, we could sneak around before the enemy knows its there.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “good, we’ll use it. Everypony else is waiting inside so let’s go in so we can discuss the battle tactic.”
I nodded my head as I followed him into the bunker, “On your lead sir.”

Once we were inside, I saw a table sitting in the middle of the room with Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow already sitting and waiting for us. As they sat studding the map that was on the table, Captain Storm looked at us and spoke, “Oh lieutenant, you’re back. Was the formation on this map accurate?”
I nodded my head and pointed at the map, “Yea, the cave is here just as the scout said.”
Lieutenant Snow smiled as he replied, “Then I believe my scouts are owed some sort of praise. Are they not?”
Commander Bolt sat down at the table as he spoke over us, “Alright everypony, settle down. Now that we are here, we can begin. Lieutenant Stone, I want you to take your archers and line up behind the central trench. I’ll need you to thin the enemy out before they reach our front line.”
I nodded my head, “Not a problem sir.”

Commander Bolt then looked at Captain Storm and continued, “Storm, today you will lead the frontal assault. Hit them hard and hit them fast. But keep an eye out for enemy archers.”
Captain Storm smiled, “Yes commander, consider it done.”
Commander Bolt then looked at Lieutenant Snow and continued, “Snow, I don’t want a repeat of the last battle that killed five of your soldiers, so listen carefully to your instruction, and don’t mess it up. Thanks to your scouts, we have confirmed that there is in fact a cave there that will lead us directly behind the enemy line. Take your soldiers there, and drop their officer. Meanwhile I’ll ho…”
“COMMANDER!!!”
Before Commander Bolt could finish, a soldier rushed in and spoke, “S-sir, sorry to interrupt, but we have news from the front.”
Commander Bolt looked at the soldier and replied, “I hope it’s good… we are in the middle of a meeting.”

The Soldier stood at attention as he replied, “It… it is sir. We have spotted a commanders banner in the enemy formation.”
At that moment everypony in the bunker became surprised as I replied, “A commander’s banner… that means the enemy officer… is…”
Commander Bolt spoke, “Has this information been confirmed... have you seen the banner yourself?”
The soldier replied, “Yes sir, I spotted it and a scout confirmed it. It’s him…”
Commander Bolt replied, “Commander Mist… He’s here.”
Commander Bolt looked back at the soldier and spoke, “Thank you… now go back to your formation and await further orders.”

As the soldier left the bunker, Commander Bolt looked back at Snow and spoke, “Change in plans Snow, you will keep your soldiers here in the rear and act as a reinforcement unit for Lieutenant Stone if she needs it. As for me, I’ll be taking my soldiers through the tunnel and meet Commander Mist on the other side.”
Hearing this plan I had to speak my mine, “Sir, you think it’s a good idea to face him alone? At least let me come with you.”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “I appreciate it… but no. this is my fight, and I’ve been waiting a long time to fight it. Besides, I need you in the front. With my best on the front line as a distraction, it will make thing easier for me to sneak around the side to catch them off guard.”

I wanted to talk him out of it… but I knew that no matter what I said, his decision was made, so I just sighed, “Sir… I… just don’t die on us.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “I still have a goal to accomplish, so I won’t be dying any ti…”
“Celestial Crusaders on the horizon!”
Hearing the warning from one of our lookouts, Commander Bolt and the rest of us left the bunker as we trotted out onto the very edge of the battlefield where our soldiers were standing. But before we could do anything a single arrow to begin the battle flew over the enemy soldiers as they continued over the horizon and began marching towards us. Seeing this Commander Bolt Nodded his head, “eager to get started eh commander… fine…” He looked towards the lookout, “Any Celestial pegasi spotted yet?”
The lookout shook his head, “no sir. Not yet.”

Commander Bolt looked back at me and spoke, “Stone! Send up the signal, and report to your formation to begin the long range defense! Snow, Storm! You know your orders! Move forward and begin the assault!”
With that, I and my fellow officers rushed to our formations as Commander Bolt moved to his and Called, “SOLDIERS ON ME! MOVE OUT!!!”
As soon as he called that, I sent up the signal arrow before calling to my soldiers, “Alright everypony listen up! We have to hold them off as long as possible!”
With my soldiers nodding that they were ready, I watched Commander Bolt quickly rushed his soldiers into the trench and began moving through it while hiding within the walls of the trenches. As soon as Commander Bolt was out of sight, I looked to Captain Storm as he called to his formation, “Soldiers! Take to the air!”

With that order Captain Storm’s soldiers flew into the sky and began moving down the battlefield as I called to my soldiers, “Soldiers! Forward March!”
After giving the order, my soldiers along with myself began marching down the battlefield as I paid close attention to the distance of the enemy’s front line. A few minutes later, I noticed the enemy soldiers coming within range so I called my preparatory orders, “Soldiers! Halt!” my formation stopped, “Make ready!”
With that everypony in my formation readied their bows as I measured the distance and wind, “Thirty five Degrees up! Twelve Degrees left! Release!”
With that, my soldier released their arrows into the sky as the cloud of arrows flew right below Captain Storm’s airborne formation before falling onto the enemy front, causing most of them to fall over dead. With that, I could head an enemy call “CHARGE! Rush those archers!”

When that order was called, the enemy front, which was already thinned out, charged forward as fast as they could as I called a second time, “Make Ready! Twenty-two up! Ten left! Release!”
Aiming for the pony who ordered the charge, me and the rest of my archers released our arrows as the next cloud of arrows fell onto the enemy formation as they did all they could to reach us. Luckily as my archers were reading our bows for the next volley, Captain Storm dropped down from the sky and collided with the enemy soldiers from above, just as Lieutenant Snow and his soldiers rushed in from behind us to crash into the charging soldiers before they could reach me and my archers. When the enemy collided with us, I called out, “Everypony forward!!! Fire at will and keep them occupied, we must buy the commander as much time as possible!”

With that, I and my soldiers charged forward until we found ourselves mixed amongst the combination of Snow’s, Storm’s, and the thinned enemy soldiers whose first wave had already been marked down to almost nothing. After we mixed into the chaos I stopped as I drew my bow and began firing my arrows at close enemy soldiers, counting my arrows with each shot so that I could keep track of how many I had left. I don’t know how long I was stuck in the middle of that madness, but about the time my quiver was half empty, I found out that the second wave of enemy soldiers who were trailing about a hundred meters behind the first, was already on top of us, and thinned to a fraction of its original size. As I noticed this, I looked into the distance to see that the third wave of soldiers were approaching pegasi in the air. Seeing the size of the incoming force, I looked at Storm who was fighting a few feet from me as I called, “Captain Storm! Enemy pegasi approaching!”

After hearing my warning Captain Storm looked at the enemy force as he nodded his head and called, “Soldiers! Engage the approaching pegasi! Lieutenant Stone! Can I ask for your support?”
Nodding my head I replied, “Understood,” I called out, “All pegasi archers on me! We will support from the sky!”
With that order, I and my avian soldiers followed Captain Storm and his entire force as they took to the sky to fight in the air. Although I didn’t have much practice firing my bow in the sky, I didn’t let that phase me as I and my formation found a suitable altitude as I relayed my orders, “Half of you engage pegasi in the air, the rest, continue to support Snow on the ground from above. The commander is still fighting so we must too!”
With that order, my soldiers replied as they readied themselves to attack, “Ma’am!”

Almost immediately after I gave that order, the whistles of arrows filled the air as half flew over me and Captain Storm’s troops while the rest flew towards the ground at the enemies still fighting with Lieutenant Snow’s troops and my ground archers. Knowing that they could hold their own, I flew closer to Captain Storm as I provided close support, while he held the enemy from attacking me directly. With each arrow, and swing of Storm’s morning star, an enemy fell from the sky as I could only marvel at Storm’s power. He swung the large ball mace like a simple sword, while the weapon’s impact was closer to a war hammer. The accuracy and ease of each swing was impressive, as he made each attack hit directly on the head or chest of each enemy, all at literal bone shattering speed and power.

Trying to keep up with his progress, I quickly drew my bow and fired at every single enemy I could see while still trying to keep track of how many arrow I had left. However as my quiver started to empty down to my last few arrows, I was caught off guard when an enemy flew in from a higher altitude and tried to hit me with his spear. Although I didn’t see him in time to stop him, I was able to dodge his attack as I banked around and reached for my next arrow. However, when I felt the thin shaft of the arrow, I knew that all I had left was a signal arrow, so I hesitated as I watched my target swing around and lunge at me a second time with his spear blade exposed. Like the first I was able to dodge it, although he did manage to hit me with the side of the blade. Luckily the blade glanced off my armor as I quickly flew back with only a gash in my armor as damage from the connected attack. Knowing I had no choice, I pulled the signal arrow from my quiver and laid it across my bow as I readied to fire it into the attackers face, but as I tried to calculate my aim, a voice stopped me, “STONE ABOVE!”

Quickly reacting to the captain’s warning, I looked up with only enough time to bank away from an enemy solder as he dove down to attack me while I was distracted. Although I was able to dodge the dropping swordspony, I wasn’t quick enough to predict his counterattack as he swung his double edged sword back with the intent of catching me with my guard dropped. Sadly all I could do was flinch as Captain Storm flew in and blocked the attack before parrying the blade and thrusting the spike at the end of his morning star toward the enemy stallion’s body. Unfortunately the smooth metal spike on the end of his weapon glided across the enemy’s chest plate and only managed to pierce his shoulder as the enemy cringed in pain before burying the blade of his sword into Captain Storm’s arm. As soon as I saw the attack, I could only cringe as Captain Storm grunted in pain before pulling his weapon from the enemy’s shoulder and swinging the spiked ball around as he smashed the soldier in the side of his head with enough force to knock out… or possibly kill the enemy solder as the foe fell to the ground below like a rag doll.

After his attacker was down, Captain Storm looked at his would as I noticed the pegasi from before trying to lunge at him while his guard was down. Reacting quickly I drew my bow as hard as I could as I raised it up and fired it directly at the head of the attacking spear pony. With the arrow gliding across the inside of the enemy’s helmet, it immediately lit itself as the green burning signal lit up the soldier’s face as the burning flame caused the soldier to scream in agony. Quickly reacting to the screams, Captain Storm raised his morning star and like a hammer hitting a nail, he swung his weapon as the spiked ball hit the arrow burying it into the soldiers face as the green flame quickly vanished along with the solder’s screams. As the enemy fell to the ground below I looked at Captain Storm as he breathed deeply and spoke, “Well… that quieted him down…”

Seeing the blood quickly dripping from his wound I spoke, “Captain, are you okay? You’re bleeding a lot.”
He looked at me as he continued breathing deeply and replied with what could easily be seen as a lie, “I’m fine… we need to continue fighting… how many arrows do you have left?”
I replied, “None, that one was my last that’s why it was a signal.”
He nodded his head, “Alright then let’s get you rearmed.” He looked at a few soldiers nearby, “Hey! You archer and pike pony! Over here!”
Hearing that they were being called one of my archers and one of his pike ponies approached as my archer asked, “Yes sir?”
Captain storm spoke, “give your quiver to Lieutenant Stone.”
Feeling a little confused about the order, the archer looked at me as I nodded my head, “it’s alright soldier, you can follow this order.”

Knowing he had permission by his commanding officer, the archer gave me his quiver as Captain Storm continued as he spoke to the pike pony, “Escort this archer to the rear to get more arrows then return to the fight.”
Knowing it was probably needed I added, “And see to it that Captain Storm sees the closest medic when you get there.”
Captain Storm looked at me and replied, “No… I’m not going with him.”
Knowing it was nessisary I argued, “But sir, you need to see a medic immediately. Your injury seems seve…”
“I told you it was fine and I meant it. I’m needed more out here anyways. The enemy army is holding us at a stalemate so we need to buy the commander more time.”
“But captain, you nee…”
Captain Storm gave me a serious look, “You need to understand that when an officer of a higher rank says something, it outweighs what you say. Now stop wasting time and let’s get back to this battle.”
Annoyed with the conversation, Captain Storm flew by me completely forgetting about the soldiers he was ordering as they looked at me with concern, “Ma’am?...”

Knowing what they were told I sighed, “Follow your orders and rearm this archer. But when you get there find a medic anyways and have him return with you. Make sure the medic is experienced in combat, I’d rather he not die before he gets here.”
The soldiers saluted me as they replied, “Yes ma’am!”
With that the two pegasi flew back towards the rear lined as I pulled all the arrows out of the archer’s quiver and placed them into my own counting each one so I could keep track. After I was ready I continued my support as I kept my distance close to Storm so that if anything with wrong with his injury I could help out. With each defeated foe, I could see his actions getting slower and slower until finally as he pulled the spike of his Morningstar from an enemy’s chest, he hovered in place as he breathed deeply for a few seconds.

Knowing his wound was serious, I flew close to him as I asked, “Captain are you o…”
Before I could finish, Captain Storm’s hoof slowly released his weapon leaving it to fall to the ground. After seeing this I looked back at Captain Storm as he started swaying back and forth until finally his wings stopped flapping as he too started falling out of the sky. Quickly reacting to the situation, I dove down after Storm as I flew up under him and tried all I could to catch him. Unfortunately, I was unable to carry the large stallion so all I could do when I caught him was glide towards the rear lines as we both hit the ground with enough force to cause us to roll, but with little enough to prevent injury. Shortly after hitting the ground, I quickly picked myself up as I rushed to Captain Storm’s side as I looked at his wound and spoke, “Captain… just hold on, the medic should be here soon.”

Quickly looking around I tried to spot a medic nearby but before I could, Captain Storm grabbed my hoof and spoke, “Lieutenant… wait… I need to tell you something.”
I looked back and replied, “save it sir, we need to get you to a medic fir…”
“No… you need to know this now… I’m going to give you a mission… something that I’ve kept quiet from Commander Bolt since the war began.”
I could only stare at him in confusion, “A mission… but if the commander doesn’t know about it… then… who?...”
“Commander Mist gave me this mission… he assigned it to me the night Commander Bolt became Nightmare Moon’s commander.”
I could only stare at him in shock, “C-captain… you’re a spy?... but… how cou…”
Storm shook his head, “no… as I‘ve always said… I’m loyal to Commander Bolt and the Nightmare Legion… but I am also loyal to my friends … so as a request from Commander Mist… I decided to look after Commander Bolt and ensure his safety for this war… it’s something that I have always stood by… but… since things aren’t looking good for me… I want you to continue in my place.”

Trying not to think about it, I shook my head, “no… that’s a mission you can continue yourself. This isn’t your last battle Storm… I won’t let it be.”
Captains storm smiled as he replied, “you know… if I didn’t know any better… I would think you were in love with him… but maybe it’s just me… lieutenant… I mean… gem stone… it’s alright… I did my duty to my commander and… I have no regrets. My wife… my daughter… they both would be proud of me… I only wish… I could see the sunrise with them… one last time.”
I tried to hold in my tears as I quickly looked around, “Don’t talk like that… your still in this fight… there… I… medic! Somepony! Anypony please! MEDIC!!!”
I tried looking around but with all the chaos surrounding us, it seemed like I was yelling at a party that wasn’t present. As I tried holding in my tears Storm shook his head, “Lieutenant… its fine… I had my fight… and thru… wha…”

Before he could finish, a bright light came from over the horizon as it made the already dark red sky seem black with its intensity. As I looked at the light, I could see a dome shaped field of electricity slightly poke over the distant horizon far behind the enemy front as Storm looked at the light and smiled slightly, “The Lightning Orb… or… is it the sun… I… I can’t tell… either way… you got to admit… it’s beautiful…”
Storm continued looking at the distant Lighting Orb with a content smile as he slowly took one last deep breath before passing away right there with no change in his expression. As soon as I heard his last exhale I looked at him and nudged him, “Captain… Captain Storm…”
Rocking him back and forth, I realized what had happened as I couldn’t stop myself from breaking out into tears.

I knew that right there amongst all the chaos… Captain Storm, had fallen in combat. So, with a heavy heart I reached over and closed his still opened eyes as the distant light from the lighting orb faded away as the red sky started reappearing and the battlefield returned to its original appearance. Knowing there was nothing more I could do for him, I looked over to see his morning star sticking out of the ground a few feet away, so I trotted over to it and wiped my tears away as I grabbed the weapon and pulled it from the ground, “I… accept the mission Captain. I’ll look after the commander… not for Commander Mist… but for you.”
With his weapon in my hoof, I tucked my bow behind my wing as I flew into the air close enough to captain Storm’s Fighting soldiers as I called out, “Keep up the fighting soldiers! We need to stall the enemy just a little while longer!”

With that said, the soldiers looked my way, saw Captain Storms weapon and realized what happened as they all replied, “Ma’am!”
although I couldn’t do much since Captain Storm’s morning star was a little harder to swing then he made it look, I still held my own as I and the rest of our soldiers fought back the enemy pegasi until a few minutes later, when a blue signal arrow flew into the sky from the far horizon. As soon as the arrow was seen I called out, “Soldiers Cease fighting immediately! Send up the signal so our allies can see it!”
with that order, both my and Captain Storm’s soldiers stopped fighting as one of my archers sent a blue signal up to order the rest of the soldiers to stop. As they did, the celestial pegasi slowly lowered their weapons as they each glided down to the ground where they could easily lay their weapons down with no risk to soldiers below. After that I too glided down to Captain Storm’s body as I approached a few medics who were already at the site.

When I arrived they took one look at his body as the higher ranking medic spoke, “ma’am… I’m sorry, but he’s gone… his wound hit an artery. I’m assuming he blead to death rather quickly.”
I nodded my head, “yea… he did… go see to other wounded then.”
The medic nodded his head as she replied, “understood m”
Before she could finish her sentence, the medic looked past me at an approaching party as she and her assistant slowly bowed in respect. Seeing this I turned to the party to see Commander Bolt trotting alongside Lieutenant Snow as the two crossed through the armies with Commander Mist’s spear in his hooves. As they passed all the Celestial Crusaders and a majority of the Nightmare Legion were bowing to the two as they passed in respect for the fallen Commander Mist. Following the example, I decided to bow as well as they passed by, too far to see me from their chosen path.

Whey they were completely passed me, I and the medics rose from the bow as I spoke, “Sergeant, go see the rest of the soldiers and start gathering them for treatment. Be sure to get a casualty report and have it to either me or the commander as soon as possible.”
Both soldiers nodded their heads as they saluted me and replied, “Ma’am!”
Before the two trotted away I asked, “Wait… do either of you have a rag or something?... I’m going to see to the commander and it looked like his ear was cut.”
The leading medic reached into her satchel as she replied while holding the rag out, “Make sure he’s alright ma’am… I’m sure the wound on his conscience is far worse than his ear.”
Understanding what she meant, I nodded my head as I took the rag and replied, “I understand… thank you.”

With that, I left the medics to do their job as I quickly made my way to the rear lines as I met up with Snow, who received orders and was following them as I approached, “Snow… how is the commander?... is he alright?”
Lieutenant Snow looked back at me as he replied, “An unfatal laceration to his ear is all the commander sustained… but I’m afraid he has deeply scared on his conscience. I fear he may attempt something rather brash.”
I shook my head, “Commander Bolt is stronger than that… but still I’m going to talk to him… see… we lost Captain Storm in this battle.”
Lieutenant Snow looked disappointed as he replied, “oh… I… I see… perhaps…it would be better if you broke this news to the commander then… I’m afraid I don’t know how to pass this along without burdening him further. Especially since his spirit is in such poor shape at the moment. I’ll leave you to it then while I gather the surviving Crusaders. I only hope the good commander has enough resilience to endure this news.”
I sighed as I turned to leave, “Yea… I do too.”

With a heavy heart I continued back to the camp as I approached Commander Bolt’s quarters as I entered them to find Commander Bolt sitting on his bunk staring idly at Commander Mist’s spear which was sitting in the corner on the other side of the room. Looking at him, I felt odd. His left ear looked like it had been ripped apart, but as the blood dripped down that side of his face, he paid it no mind. All he did was sit and start at the spear as if it were telling him the future or something. Feeling too awkward to say anything I just trotted to the commander as I placed the rag on the side of his face and spoke, “here… looks like that hurts… did… Commander Mist do that sir?”

I could tell he wasn’t expecting me since he seemed to jump when the cold rag touched his face, but he ignored the action as he placed his hoof against the rag and held it on his ear as I released and heard him reply, “Its fine… I’m sure I have had worse, so… do you have the casualty report?”
I shook my head, “the medics are still gathering the numbers… but if I were to guess… I’d say around two hundred… maybe more though.”
Commander Bolt didn’t look at me, instead he just sighed and started wiping away the blood that ran his his neck as he replied, “that’s a lot less than the battle last month… What about morale… who suffered the most?”
I hesitated before replying, “That… would be Captain Storm’s… he… he fell in combat… he… he didn’t make it.”

Although Commander Bolt showed no emotion, or concern in his response, I know he heard me since as soon as he heard my words, he stopped wiping away the blood as the rag stayed stationary on his neck as he replied, “storm…is dead?...”
I nodded my head, “Yes sir… he is KIA… I saw him fall myself.”
Commander Bolt sighed as he placed the rag back on his ear and replied, “He… he will be missed…” He looked at me, “gather the remaining celestial troops near the edge of the camp and then come and get me so that I can address them. Once that’s finished, we can start tallying our own losses… and by then I should also have further orders for you… Captain Stone.”
I was surprised at his words as I replied in shock, “C…Captain Sir?”
He smiled peacefully as he replied, “you are the most loyal soldier I know, and you follow every order without flaw or fail. Now that Captain Storm is gone, I’m going to need your support to keep the soldiers morale high. That is… if you’re willing to continue.”

Accepting this great honor, I stood at attention as I replied, “of course sir… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You have my full support, and no matter what your order, I’ll follow it until we win this war. And… maybe even further than that.”
Blushing slightly at the hint I tossed in his direction, I stood at attention as he completely missed it and continued, “Good… then go see to your orders Captain.”
I ignored his cluelessness as I stood at attention and replied, “Sir!”
With that I turned and left the room as I went to see to the orders I was just given.

Later after Commander Bolt had addressed the enemy soldiers and released them to leave unarmed. Commander Bolt left the camp and went to the Thunder Grounds to clear his mind, as I was left in command of the camp while he was away. Shortly after sunset as I made my way through the camp, I could over hear a few soldiers talking in a tent, as one spoke, “Did you hear about Commander Bolt’s soldiers?”
The other replied, “Yea… all of them dead. Rumor has it, Commander Bolt killed them himself with his lightning orb. And did you see the way he’s been acting since he killed Commander Mist? I’m starting to wonder if joining the Nightmare Legion was the right choice.”
Being annoyed with the conversation, I entered the tent and gave the soldiers a stern look as they immediately jumped to attention and spoke, “Lieutenant!”

Figuring they didn’t get the word of my promotion yet I replied, “That’s captain… and you’re doubting your commander aren’t you?”
The soldier looked nervous as he replied, “M-ma’am… apologies… I was ju…”
“Don’t give me that… speak your mind! What is it about the Nightmare Legion that you’re questioning? Speak freely!”
Knowing there was no way out of this the soldier replied with caution, “m… ma-am… I was just worried that… um… Commander Bolt… may be… um… well… questioning himself.”

After the solder said those words, he braced himself to be yelled at as every soldier in the ten pony tent watched as I looked at them all and replied, “If I stood here and told you that Commander Bolt was the perfect commander… then I would be lying to you all. Commander Bolt has his flaws… but know that everything he does isn’t for the sake of himself… it’s all for you!... Commander Bolt has given everything he is, for his goal of ending this war and proving to Nightmare Moon that her idea of an eternal night is wrong. So I’m going to tell you all right now, and I won’t repeat myself so listen up! Commander Bolt is your commanding officer. It’s his guidance that kept all of you alive in the last few battles. Though we have had a few hiccups… we are still alive, and that’s the reason I follow him. If you want to risk that… then leave… because I won’t fight beside anypony who threatens my or any other soldier’s life in this army. Am I clear?”

Waiting for an answer, I looked back at the soldier as he replied, “y-yes ma’am… apologies for my earlier comment.”
I replied as I turned to leave the tent, “It’s fine… but don’t let any of the other officers hear it… otherwise you may get more than a lecture.”
Annoyed by the comment I left the tent only to be stopped by Commander Bolt as he stood right outside the tent looking at me with an expression that said I heard the whole thing. After seeing him I stood at attention as I tried to think of something to say. Luckily, he spoke first with an unhappy expression, “thanks for handling that Captain… I fully understand the drop in morale, but… maybe there is something that can be done about it. Captain Stone, gather the soldiers in the center of the camp, I have an idea of what’s needed to make the soldiers feel at ease.”
With nothing more to say, Commander Bolt turned and left the area with the same expression that he has held for the entire conversation. Though I had no idea what he had in mind, I didn’t care. As I told the soldiers, I will obey my orders with trust in where they come from. So with no objection, I started going through the camp and notifying all that I saw about Commander Bolt’s surprise formation in the center of the camp.

About an hour later, I gathered the entire army excluding the wounded and the medics in the middle of the camp as we all formed up in from of a podium that sat between our army and what looked to be a crate. As Commander Bolt approached, I stepped forward and spoke, “Sir, all soldiers not currently performing surgeries for the wounded are present and accounted for!”
Commander Bolt smiled as he spoke, “Thank you captain, return to the formation but cover down one space so that there is an empty space to your right… as you know… that space belonged to another.”
At first I felt confused, since we always fell into the formation with the highest rank first starting from right to left, but since I wasn’t going to question the commander, I just nodded my head as I made the formation adjust itself to accommodate the empty space. As the formation finished the adjustment, Commander Bolt stepped behind the podium and looked over the soldiers as he yelled, “Soldiers! At ease!!!”

With that order, every soldier in the formation changed their stance from the attention to the rest as a loud synchronized stepping sound was heard before Commander Bolt continued, “Soldiers! I’m sure you’re all confused as to why I called you here at this late hour… but… I couldn’t wait another second. As it would seem, we were victorious in today’s battle… however, a wise pony once said, that victory isn’t without its price. Today we lost many soldiers… far too many to honor all at once, but… of them we lost a reliable leader, a veteran strategist, weapon smith… and friend. So although I cannot honor all, I will still take the time to honor Captain Iron Storm who so valiantly fell fighting in today’s battle. Storm… Storm was a friend and comrade. I could always trust his advice and his courage to see me through to the next battle, so I know that I won’t be alone when I say that he will truly be missed as a father, a mentor, and a friend. I guess… that’s really all I can say… So… SOLDIERS! Attention!”

With that we all went back to the position of attention as Commander Bolt called, “Prepare for Last Roll Call!... Snow!”
Captain Snow replied, “Present Sir!!!”
Commander Bolt continued, “Stone!”
Knowing what he was doing I replied, “Here Sir!!!
Commander Bolt then called just as he did before, “Storm!”
With that, the formation replied with silence as it briefly passed before Commander Bolt continued, “Captain Storm!!!” again, there was a moment of silence before Commander Bolt spoke a third time, “Captain Iron Storm!!!”
For the final time, silence answered the call as Commander Bolt sighed before responding, “Soldiers! Present Arms!

With that order, everypony with a sword on their side drew their weapons and held it in front of their face as they bowed their heads slightly so that the blade was within an inch from their forehead. As for the rest of us we all saluted with our hooves as Commander Bolt turned around to face the crate and saluted in respect to the fallen friend. As soon as I saw it, I realized that the crate must have been used as a casket. However, I could only think about the empty space that sat next to me, and of how, the pony who should have been standing there didn’t reply to his name being called in front of us. With this though, I wasn’t able to hold in my tears as they began running down my face, but no matter how they fell, I still held my position and salute with all I could… it… it was the least I could do… you know… for them… Captain Storm… Commander Mist and Commander Bolt.

After a few moments of saluting Commander Bolt finally lowered his as he turned to the formation and called “Order Arms!”
The swordsponies sheathed their swords as the rest of us dropped our salute. After that Commander Bolt continued, “I understand what it means to lose a friend… just as I understand what it means to lose family… and hope. But I ask you to push through it. Not for me… For them. If we stop now, then they… all of them died for nothing!... and I guarantee that I won’t let them be remembered for that. I’d rather die first… So… WILL YOU CONTINUE!?!”
With that question asked, the formation became silent. I couldn’t believe it… the soldiers were actually questioning their answers. So in hopes of saving time I replied. “YES COMMANDER BOLT!!!”
Seeing my answer, Lieutenant Snow also replied, “YES COMMANDER BOLT!!!”
Following the lead of the Nightmare Officers, one by one each and every soldier in the formation responded, “YES COMMANDER BOLT!!!”

Seeing that his army still had his support, Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Then… everypony take the rest of the night for rest. Those supporting the medics can continue, but once the wounded are stable, you are free to rest, you all deserve it. Captain Stone, Lieutenant Snow I want to see you after this. You’re dismissed!”
With that order the formation began dispersing as I and Snow approached the podium to talk to the commander. As soon as we approached him, Commander Bolt spoke, “Snow, get your fastest messenger and have him ready to leave by dawn. I want him to personally deliver Captain Storm’s weapon to his family along with a letter of condolences. And Stone… Thank you… your support seemed to be the only thing driving these soldiers anymore, it seems like they will look to you for guidance from now on.”

I smiled and nodded my head, “Thank you sir… I only did what Captain Storm would have done.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “That’s good, and… I’d guess he passed his mission onto you then… I hope you won’t let him down.”
With that Commander Bolt smiled peacefully as he turned away, leaving both I and Snow in a state of confusion. I could only think, did he know about Storm’s mission from Commander Mist… and, if so why wouldn’t he be concerned with it? I didn’t know, but there was one thing I did know. That Commander Bolt was my commander. And as his soldier, and friend I will happily give my life to help him achieve his goal. Mainly because, he gave me my purpose in life and… I want him to know that, no matter how much of a foal he was.

Epilogue

“And… there you have it. Everything else you can read in history books or old legends of the great Commander Bolt and his Nightmare Legion. After that, Captain Drib and Lieutenant Viscous joined our ranks, then Chief Rafi, General Roza, and Commander Orem arrived to triple our numbers. And before we knew it, we were launching an attack on Canterlot. Where… we lost our first battle… then… the war.”
The voice replied, “not to mention… your life”
Gem Stone sighed, “yea… my…life?... wait… I am dead… so… how am I telling you this story?... and furthermore… who are you?”
The dark figure smiled as he bowed sarcastically, “A friend… or perhaps, a foe… I am merely a meddler with a message to those who passed on.”
Gem Stone gave the figure a curious look, “and… that message is?”
The figure rose from his bow as he smiled, “Where one story ends, another begins. Or in this case… continues.”

Comments

[Garlic ghost]

Omg omg omg omg omg , is that figure star bolt after or in exile!!!!!!!!!,

[Priceless911]

7381451
could be... all I can say is that if you haven't already started, start reading The Third Commander. it will slowly answer itself.
I usually don't like to tell people to read my stories, (since everyone has their own opinion of stories,) but this question will be answered in that story.
Either way, thanks, I'm glade you enjoy my writing