Legendary

by RoflNom

Chapter 11

I woke up the next morning feeling full of energy. Yesterday's battle had even taken a lot out of me. I got up and left my tent. Outside there was plenty of activity and the celebration was still going strong.

I moved through the crowds of ponies, each of which gave me praise and shouts of joy. I got to Arch's tent and went inside. As soon as I entered I saw Arch and Swift playing cards.

"Hey, look who decided to wake up." Arch said as he looked up at me. "Amazing job yesterday, Legend. If you hadn't done what you did, that Leviathan would've burnt us to a crisp."

"And I probably wouldn't be here." Said Aceymac, who was in a corner of the tent in a cast.

"What happened to you? Did the dragon do that?" I asked.

Aceymac looked away from me. "I don't want to talk about it."

SwiftWing stood up and went beside Aceymac. "Hey, it wasn't that bad. I mean, we all take a few tumbles every now and then. Except for me. And Arch. Oh, and Legend."

Aceymac shot him a look. "Ha ha, very funny. So I tripped down a mountain, big deal. It's not like I knew we were going to get blasted. I'm just glad I didn't end up like some of my stallions." Aceymac lowered his head. "Poor bastards, you could hear them screaming out in pain the entire time."

"They died doing what they were supposed to," Arch said, "and they'll be remembered as heroes for doing so."

Aceymac looked up at Arch and said, "Yeah, they'll be bucking heroes, but that doesn't change the fact that they had to die over some stupid war. To the gryphons and the dragons still think they're all evil, and vice versa."

"Calm down, Ace." Arch said. "While I do think this war is idiotic and pointless, we have to fight. If we don't, then they'll just tear our kingdom apart. The Princesses will be executed and military leaders like us will either share their fate, join the enemy, or lead a futile resistance."

SwiftWing and I decided to back up a bit, not wanting to get caught in this little argument. Neither of us knew what would come from it, but being caught in between your two commanding officers was never a good idea.

"I know what will happen if we don't fight. What I want to know is why the Princesses are staying on the defensive! If we could just make a few pushes on the borders we could at least return some of the damage the gryphons and dragons have done!" Aceymac yelled.

Arch walked right up to the immobile Aceymac's face. "We haven't mounted an offensive because Celestia and Luna can't come to an agreement. While Luna would prefer a major assault on their cities, Celestia wants to continue gathering troops." Arch moved back a little. "We don't have the right or power to question what they're planning. Only one military pony can even offer a suggestion, and we both know she would never go against the Princesses."

Aceymac cringed at the mention of her. "Yeah, I know. Let's just be glad we haven't had to deal with her yet. Our orders have been coming directly from the Princesses, so she can't give orders to us or the eastern armies."

"I have a question, Sirs." SwiftWing spoke up. "Who exactly are you two talking about?"

What happened next would be the following: Me facehoofing, Arch having a very stern look on his face, and Aceymac trying desperately to move closer to Swift to hit him.

"You really have no idea who we're talking about?" Arch asked.

"Not a single clue. I'm not familiar with all of the other Generals or officers that aren't on the eastern border." Swift responded.

Aceymac was still trying to move closer to Swift. "That shouldn't matter! It's obvious we're talking about the Field Marshal, you dunce!" He yelled.

"Wait, you mean Field Marshal Morning Haze?" Swift asked.

This set Aceymac off. "Of course! We only have ONE Field Marshal! If I wasn't in this cast, I would have strangled you already for being such an idiot!" He yelled.

Aceymac's little outburst caused him to fall over. Arch and I went to help him up, and placed him back in the chair he was in. Swift just looked between the three of us, not sure what he should do.

"How could you have not known that, SwiftWing? I've only been here for less than two months and I'm aware of most, if not all, military commanders in the Royal Equestrian Military." I said, keeping my whole 'God' mask on.

"Its probably the fact that he's never actually served under her." Arch said. "And he probably won't, unless he becomes at least a Brigadier General."

SwiftWing apparently took offense to that. "And why's that? I happen to be a very skilled cavalry commander, dare I say one of the best outside of the rank of General."

"You being a skilled commander has nothing to do with serving directly under the Field Marshal." Aceymac said. "The thing is she has very little respect for anypony other than the Princesses and the three Generals. She couldn't care less about you if you're not higher than a Lieutenant General."

"That is," Arch added, "unless you're me. Then if that's the case, she hates your very existence."

Aceymac let out a chuckle. "Yeah, if you're Arch then she hates you. And once the Field Marshal hates you, you can't be unhated."

SwiftWing looked confused by this. "Why would the Field Marshal hate you, Arch?" He asked. "You're an amazing leader and tactician. And you were at the top of your class back in Officer's School."

Arch gave a heavy sigh. "That's exactly why she hates me. She was in my class during our training years. She was much more experienced than me, but I was smarter and more cunning. I came out on top, and she came in second. We both became Generals and she couldn't deal with the fact that I was just as good as her, if not better."

Swift sat down and crossed his forelegs. "So, she's holding a grudge about something that happened so long ago? Not only is that stupid, but it's just plain immature."

"You're lucky she isn't here to hear you say that. She would have chewed you up, spit you out, and stomped on you like no tomorrow." Aceymac said.

"Guys, can we please change the subject to something more important at the moment. Like, oh I don't know, Lord Diamond Hide? We still have to go check on him." Arch said.

"Oh, right! Let's get going then!" Swift said as jumped into a hover.

Arch pulled him down by his tail. "Sorry, Swift, but we need somepony to watch over Aceymac. And you got volunteered to do it."

"Wait, who volunteered me?" Swift said with a disappointed look on his face.

"I did, now make sure he doesn't get hurt or anything. He still outranks you, so don't do anything you'll regret." Arch said as we walked out of the tent.

We were both silent as we made our way across the camp. As we passed a group of soldiers, a unicorn walked up to us. "Excuse me, Sir, but could you do me a favor?" He said.

Arch and I shared a glance before answering. "Depends on what the favor is, soldier." Arch replied.

"Oh, its nothing big. Its just my younger brother back home thinks you're his hero. When we were in Canterlot a week back he asked me if you would sign something for him." The unicorn said.

"Isn't that something, Arch? You're the stallion that all the little colts and fillies are looking up to. I say do it, give the little ones something to be happy about." I said, trying to get him to sign whatever it is the soldier was asking him to sign.

Arch looked at me, then at the soldier, then to me again. He sighed. "Sure, I'll do it. What exactly did you want me to sign?"

"It's a picture, actually." The unicorn levitated a small photograph over to Arch. "Its of you and, the Lieutenant Colonel, and..." The unicorn couldn't finish his sentence.

"And Major IronTrot." Arch finished, staring at the photo. He looked over at me, then back to the photo. "Do you have anything for me to write with?" The unicorn nodded and levitated a quill over to Arch, who wrote something and walked away.

I looked at the photo, which had Arch, SwiftWing, and myself in my old body. Written on the photo was:

Never forget what's worth fighting for. Always remember who you're fighting for.

Now that sounded familiar. I didn't know where or when I had heard that before, but I just shrugged it off and went to catch up to Arch. By the time I got to Arch, he was in front of the tent that was holding Lord Diamond Hide.

As soon as we entered, we saw several larger earth ponies standing guard. Further inside was a medium sized cage. We approached it and immediately saw him. Lord Diamond Hide was only a little larger than I was. His white scales were covered in the chains that were holding him down. His cerulean eyes glowed, piercing the darkness around him. His black claws dug into the ground, as if he were trying to tear it apart.

Arch walked up to Lord Diamond Hide and stared him down. He then turned to on of the guards. "Remove the chain restraints. Keep his arms tied to the ground, though."

The guard saluted and began to unlock each set of chain restraints until only his large arms were chained.

"Guards, stand watch outside. I'll call you in if anything is needed. If you hear anything that sounds like a struggle, get more troops and come back." Arch ordered the guards. They saluted and walked out of the large tent.

Arch turned back to Lord Diamond Hide. They stared at each other, trying to intimidate one another. Neither of them were even blinking. Finally, Arch sat down on the ground. "Well, Lord Diamond Hide, I have to say I'm disappointed. After all those stories about how you were a fierce commander, I was hoping to see you in action. Too bad you had to go and surrender."

Lord Diamond Hide bared his large teeth. "You will watch your tongue, pony. If I were not in the restraints, I would tear you limb from limb."

Arch laughed in his face. "The keyword being 'if', dragon. You are my prisoner, just so we're clear. I make the calls concerning what happens to you. So, why don't we just go ahead and talk like the gentlecolt and drake we are?"

"Oh, and what do we have to possibly speak about?" Lord Diamond Hide asked in a mocking tone.

"The fact that you're introducing a new type of dragon into combat. What exactly is that thing you were using as artillery?" Arch asked.

Lord Diamond Hide chuckled loudly. "Oh, you mean that abomination? That is no dragon, at least not one of pure blood. He is but one of the many results of the crossbreeding of different species of dragons, over the course of several decades."

Arch stared at the dragon before him with anger in his eyes. "You mean that there are more of those things out there? And even more that we have yet to see?"

"Did you really think we would go into a war without planning?" Lord Diamond Hide asked. "Your nation truly is led by fools. Both your Princesses and military leaders are more incompetent than I could have imagined."

"You may call me a fool. You may call my soldiers fools." Arch said, his voice becoming louder and louder. "But don't you dare call our Princesses fools! I should have you executed right here and now for that." Arch said angrily.

The dragon simply laughed. "You don't have the guts to execute me. Especially without permission of your little Princesses. Even if you did, you couldn't. Your laws concerning prisoners of war do not allow the execution of enemy leaders."

Arch laughed back. "Maybe you should have studied your enemies laws a little better. We are allowed to execute an enemy leader under three conditions."

Lord Diamond Hide stared at Arch, then spoke. "And what would those conditions be?"

Arch grinned at the dragon in front of him. "The first condition is if the enemy leader decides to be aggressive with his captor."

"I have yet to be aggressive, and don't bother trying to provoke me." The dragon said.

"Oh, I have no reason to provoke you." Arch said. "The second condition is if the enemy is too badly wounded to move with his captor's army he is to be put down."

The dragon continued to glare at Arch. If it were anypony other than Arch, they would have turned away from the dragon's gaze.

"The third reason you'll have to find out on your own." Arch said with a smirk. "So, please, behave yourself."

The dragon simply stood still. He stayed that way for a while, looking at Arch. Finally, he turned his head away. "If we are finished here, I would like to get some rest. I am very tired from constantly being awoken by your guards."

"You're lucky its me that you surrendered to. If this were any of the other Generals, you would have been beaten half to death for information." Arch said, turning for the tent's exit.

"And why have you not done so, pony?" Lord Diamond Hide asked.

Arch simply kept walking, then spoke without turning around. "Because I'm not like them, nor do I want to be." He exited, and I soon followed him out.

Once we were outside, I spoke up. "Arch, you completely made those laws up, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yes, yes I did." Arch said with a laugh.

"Was there a reason for that?" I asked.

Arch turned to me. "Well, we need a way to keep him behaving properly. So, why not scare him a little?" Arch replied.