Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World

by Keeper of Jericho

40. Ceasefire

Wings of Tomorrow
Lament of the World

40. Ceasefire
The Siege of Stalliongrad – Part 9

The forces of the Republic crashed against the walls of Stalliongrad like the waves of the ocean battering the shoals during a fierce storm. No matter how many Republicans the Royalists felled, more would simply take their place, the sea of soldiers amassed before the walls never seeming to shrink in size. They kept on coming, carrying sturdy ladders with them which they raised against the wall, soldiers already sitting on them even as they were being hoisted up.

One such ladder was being propped up nearby to where Desert Heat was bellowing orders. It was an offence that could not be overlooked. The Admiral pushed his way through the ranks and got there just in time to greet the Republican sitting on top. Before the ladder had even touched the wall, the soldier leapt towards Desert Heat with a ferocious cry, forehooves armed with clawed shoes outstretched and ready to taste admiral blood.

Desert Heat didn't so much as blink as he swung his arm, throwing a crescent-shaped blade of sand that slammed into his attacker in mid-air. The unfortunate soldier was blown back over the wall, landing somewhere on the ground below where he was trampled by his comrades.

Along the entire length of the wall, this event was being repeated, though the end result was not always the same. The Royalists were not always successful in repelling the eager Republican soldiers, who were swarming up the ladders like termites. At this rate, they would be swarming all over the city in an hour. Desert Heat knew this, but he did not panic. He maintained the same grim determination that had been on his face ever since his return to the wall, fighting and giving orders like a pony possessed.

“Focus your defensive positions around the artillery! Do not let the enemy take the cannons and keep firing them!” he shouted, his voice thundering above the din of battle, when he noticed the Republicans were focussing their efforts on the multiple cannons lined atop the wall. His soldiers hurried to obey the orders. Hope had long since left them, yet despite this, they fought on to carry out Desert Heat's every command, spurred into action by the fear the Admiral's terrifying demeanour had instilled in them.

Desert Heat noticed a small number of Republicans had managed to fight their way through the line of Royalists that had been waiting for them, gaining a firm foothold on the wall. Already more Republican soldiers were disembarking at that spot. That would not do. Gritting his teeth, Desert Heat rushed towards them and threw himself into the startled group of enemy soldiers, his massive frame sending them sprawling. Before they could recover, he had already lifted one of them up with one hoof and thrown the pony back over the wall.

He rounded upon the others as they climbed back to their hooves, not even giving them the chance to mount a defence. Desert Heat lashed out with quick and decisive blows, giving no quarter. A second Republican sailed over the wall, his chest fractured by a firm kick of the Admiral's hind legs. Two more had their throats slit by a blade of sand before they could so much as point their weapons at him. The final one lunged at him with her sword, but he kicked it out of her hooves, caught it in his own and promptly gutted the mare with her own sword.

He didn't even blink as he pulled the weapon out of its previous owner. More Republicans were climbing over the wall, but he was ready for them. He threw the sword with deadly accuracy at the nearest one, neatly jabbing the blade through the stunned soldier's skull. The act made the other soldiers hesitate, which was all the time Desert Heat needed to blow them all off the wall with a miniature sandstorm.

Seeing his enemies sail through the air with flailing limbs made for a satisfying sight, but it did little to cool his wrath. He knew he should feel happy with how things were going, or at the very least relieved, given that his troops were holding their ground and keeping the enemy at bay despite the fact that the Republic heavily outnumbered them, but he couldn't. Not while he was feeling so angry with himself.

“How could I give up?” he thought bitterly. “Twilight Sparkle believed her brother had bombarded a hospital full of innocents, including herself, and she still was not willing to give up. A simple civilian mare only half my age and with not even the slightest bit of training kept believing in victory, while I, a royal admiral, with all my years of experience and training, could only think it was over.”

The memory made him cringe in shame, which in turn only made him angrier. “Not only did she not lose her will to fight, she even devised a plan to strike back at the enemy, one that got the approval of the Grand Admiral herself, while I just sat there wallowing in my failure!” The very thought made him seethe with rage, though it was of course not directed at Twilight Sparkle, but solely at himself. “How could I let that happen? How could I sink this low?!”

Those were, of course, questions with no answer and Desert Heat was all too aware of it. It didn't matter how it had happened, anyhow. Be it because of the stress and exhaustion from the fighting or the shock of Smaragd Haze's depraved deed, it was of no importance. All that mattered was that he had done it, regardless of the reason. He had given up and there was no excuse for that, nothing he could do to take it back.

“The only thing I can do is make up for it,” he thought, as he gazed across the sea of Republicans swarming like angry ants before the walls of Stalliongrad. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes in determination.

“I will not fail again,” he muttered. This was not a vow to do better next time. This was a statement of fact. Derpy had given him the task of keeping the enemy out of the city for at least thirty more minutes and as Celestia was his witness, he was going to do it, even if he had to kick every single Republican off the wall himself.

The sound of metal hitting stone pulled him from his thoughts and he looked over the parapet to see more ladders loaded with Republican soldiers being raised against the wall. It was enough to make him stow away his self-loathing for the moment and redirect his anger at the enemy. Reflecting on all his failures and mistakes could wait until after the battle was won; right now he had a wall to defend and enemies to fight.

Desert Heat's magicite flared brightly as he drew upon its power, firing a crescent blade of sand that cut off the top of the nearest ladder, as well as the soldier on top of it. By the time they started to fall, Desert Heat had already turned to his next target, sand flowing from his hooves as he prepared to let loose his next attack. He was interrupted when a hail of lightning bolts rained down from the heavens, their bright light momentarily blinding him.

When he could open his eyes again, the lightning had already taken down a considerable number of enemies. Small craters littered the ground where they had struck the ground, often filled with numerous dead soldiers, smoke rising off their still forms. Aside from the damage in numbers, the attack also served to briefly pull the enemy's attention away from the wall, a fact Desert Heat gratefully made use of to strike down the nearest ladders he could reach.

Once that was done, he took a moment to pull out his communication crystal. “My compliments, Rainbow Dash,” he said, with a hint of his usual calm, composed voice. The knowledge that he wasn't the only pony being angry at themselves made his shame and anger a bit more bearable. “I think your present took out near to a hundred, if not more.”

“Only a hundred?!” Rainbow Dash replied after a brief moment of silence. She was breathing rather hard and Desert Heat could hear the sound of metal striking metal in the background, indicating he had called her in the middle of a fight. “I could've so fried more of the bastards if I'd been able to...” She was cut off by a grunt, followed by a heavy thud and then Rainbow Dash spat out a curse so foul it made Desert Heat's ears lay flat against his skull.

The sounds of a fierce skirmish continued for a few more seconds, until the crackling of lightning abruptly put an end to them and the line went quiet again. “Persistent bastards,” he heard Rainbow Dash mutter, giving him a pretty good idea of what had transpired.

“So, like I was saying, if I'd been able to properly aim my bolts I probably would've taken out more,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, displeased. “I'd try again to do better, but I'm worried that Spitfire will stop avoiding me if I do and I think it's better to avoid any more tussles with her today, for both our sakes.” The last four words almost sounded like a growl, leading Desert Heat to think she'd said them through gritted teeth.

“More so for her sake than yours, I suspect,” he replied. “Nevertheless, I agree. Plus, even if Spitfire steered clear of you, there's still the risk of Shining Armour bringing up another shield should he feel there are too many things coming down on his head. With Amethyst out, there would be no way for us to take it down again and then today's disaster would be complete. Just stick to the occasional lightning bolt, if you can. Just enough to keep them nervous.”

“Got it.” Rainbow Dash's voice trailed off and for one awkward moment she was silent, struggling to find her voice or any words to say. “So, ehm, how… how's Sparkler? Will she be alright?”

“She won't be joining the fight anymore today,” Desert Heat answered honestly, “but she's being cared for. She'll live, don't worry.” Now it was his turn to pause awkwardly as he tried to think of how to word his next question. “What about you, Rainbow Dash? How are you feeling?”

---

High above the skies of Stalliongrad, Rainbow Dash sat on the figurehead of the Wonderbolt, staring at the communication crystal held in a trembling hoof. Her ears lay flat atop her head and her throat felt dry and raw as she struggled to answer that dreaded question. She knew her fellow admiral was merely concerned and meant well, but it only caused her heart to ache and her cheeks to flare red with shame.

“How do I feel?” she echoed, squeezing her eyes firmly shut to fight against the tears of shame and guilt she felt welling up. If she didn't feel so awful she would've laughed, though it would've been without mirth. “My lifetime idol turned out to be a traitor. My best friends almost died in the building I put them in because I told them they'd be safe there. I flew into a rage, slaughtered every pony I could get my hooves on, endangered and abandoned my own troops, leaving them without leadership or guidance.”

“Spitfire tried to shield them from me,” she added quietly after a short pause. “A Republican traitor tried to protect her enemies from their own admiral!” Rainbow Dash tightened her grip on the communication stone in her hoof so strongly she almost shattered it. Her arm trembled visibly and tears ran quietly down her face. “How do you think I feel?!” She cringed once the words left her lips; she hadn't meant to shout.

“Rainbow Dash,” Desert Heat began, his voice entirely compassionate, but she cut him off immediately.

“Don't,” she begged, sounding desperate. “Please don't, Desert. Don't try to make me feel better. Don't say that it wasn't my fault or that nopony blames me or any horseapples like that.” Rainbow Dash sniffed and wiped her tears away with one of her fetlocks. “We both know you'd be lying if you did. I messed up big time, that's all there is to it.”

Desert Heat let out a deep sigh. “And you think you are the only pony who did?” he asked.

“That doesn't matter!” Rainbow Dash snapped back. “Even if you or Sparkler or anypony else messed things up as well, I still did what I did! Not being the only pony isn't an excuse for that, nor does it make it right.” She bowed her head in shame. “Nothing will do that and nothing you say will make me feel better about it.”

The other side of the line remained silent for a long time. “What will you do then?” Desert Heat finally inquired.

Rainbow Dash didn't answer right away. She gazed at the surrounding skies, where the battle still raged on. “The only thing I can do,” she answered solemnly. “Try and make up for it.” It was her turn to sigh and she bowed her head, her eyes closed. “I don't know if it's possible,” she admitted and took a deep breath. She raised her head again, her eyes opening to reveal the determination burning within them. “But I'm going to try anyway.”

“Then we are of the same mind, you and I,” Desert Heat said, his voice sounding as determined as hers. Immediately after, however, it became more wary. “Be careful, though, Dash. I know you're angry, Celestia knows I am as well, but we can't afford to have you lose yourself to it again. Rage alone won't give Grand Admiral Hooves' group the time they need to carry out the plan and Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn isn't around this time to snap you out of it either. Keep a hold on yourself and find a way to make use of that anger.”

“Don't worry, I won't make the same mistake twice,” Rainbow Dash assured him. “You're right, I'm still mad at myself and I still feel like a sack of rotten apples, but I'm cool, I swear. I'll wait to beat myself up until after we've sent the Republicans packing.”

“Glad to hear it. Self-loathing can wait for the moment, as you said, there'll be more than enough time for that after the battle,” Desert Heat replied. “For now, we need to focus on delaying the Republic. The way things are going down here at the moment, we can keep them from taking the walls for half an hour at minimum, likely for longer if they don't pull out any more surprises. What about you? How much more time do you think you can buy?”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip in thought. “Hard to say,” she answered slowly. “Unlike you, we don't exactly have the upper hand here in terms of positioning and there's no single front line to speak of. We suffered a lot of losses during my…absence, too.” She sighed and ran a hoof through her tangled mane. “I'll do what I can, but given how I won't be able to do much fighting myself if we want to keep Spitfire doing the same, half an hour's going to be pushing it.”

“That's the bare minimum of what the Grand Admiral needs,” Desert Heat muttered after a contemplative silence. “The Second Division is unlikely to do much better, without Amethyst there to lead them. It's going to be close.” Rainbow Dash could almost hear the gears turning in his head through the communication crystal. “If only we had had soldiers to send with Derpy instead of a group of untrained civilians, no matter how determined they are. No offence to your friends, of course, Rainbow Dash.”

“None taken. Don't worry, even if they didn't get any training, my friends know how to get stuff done,” Rainbow Dash said, a small grin of confidence on her face. “Besides, Derpy's got more than just my friends with her. Rose Thorn's accompanying them, too, and he knows better than to let me down.”

“Your subordinate is a more than capable soldier, I admit,” Desert Heat conceded. “Nevertheless, I'll feel better if we give them every possible second we can pry from our enemy's hooves. There won't be another chance after this one, so I hope you're ready to give it your all, Dash.”

The pony in question rolled her eyes. “As if I wasn't doing that already,” she said dryly. “Still, I hear you. Thirty minutes might be pushing it for us up here, but I'm going to get them and more if it's the last thing I do, you can count on that.”

“I expected no less from you,” came the reply. “Tell me if anything comes up, and good luck.”

“Same to you,” Rainbow Dash grunted, giving a curt nod, after which she closed the connection and returned her communication crystal back to its place in a pocket of her coat. Left back to her own thoughts, the Admiral observed the battlefield surrounding her once more, her eyes narrowed in contemplation. She made a quick count of how many ships she had left and estimated her remaining number of soldiers based on that, then did the same for the Republican troops. She had to know if she was to develop a proper stalling strategy.

Thirty minutes, preferably more. That was how much time she had to buy. Half an hour during which she had to keep the Republican air fleet at bay, deal them as many losses as she could while suffering as few as possible herself. Given the numbers her quick estimation had come up with, it seemed like an impossible task. A hopeless venture of a desperate, defeated army. Any commander would've been forgiven for wanting to give up in the face of this mission, but Rainbow Dash had no such feelings.

Sure, she was aware of the monumental task asked of her, but all she had to do was picture the ponies she was doing this for in her mind and all feelings of doubt and defeat were banished like shadows under rays of the sun. Her thoughts drifted back to a few moments ago.

Still wholly lost in her rage and grief over the death of her friends, she had been hacking away at Spitfire like a mare possessed, her mind focussed entirely on getting her hooves on the Republican traitor and ripping her to bloody pieces. Lightning and fire had flown in every direction, the air sizzling and unstable due to the colossal amount of power the two magicite-powered mares had been hurling at each other. Spitfire had tried to show restraint, well aware of the danger she posed to her surroundings, but Rainbow Dash, blinded by her towering fury, had done no such thing.

It was during one such moment, when she'd been readying another devastating blast of lightning to send Spitfire's way, that Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn had suddenly appeared next to her and grabbed her by the arm. After giving a brief nod towards Spitfire, Rose Thorn had teleported away again, taking Rainbow Dash with him. They had reappeared on the deck of the Wonderbolt and Rainbow Dash had immediately turned on her subordinate.

She'd been furious that he had dared to interfere with her fight, let alone drag her away from it. Before Rainbow Dash had been able to do anything she would later regret, however, Rose Thorn had held her in place with his magic, though holding in place such an extremely powerful mare had been absolutely wrecking on his mind. Because of this, the Vice-Admiral had wasted no time in shoving his communication crystal under his superior's nose.

There were few words that could adequately describe the magnitude of the relief and joy Rainbow Dash had felt when she had heard the voices of her friends speak to her through the stone. In an instant, all thoughts of rage and revenge on the Republic and Spitfire had been forgotten, her anger having melted away like snow under the sun. She had openly wept, overcome by the fact that her friends were alive and that she had not sent them to their deaths.

Once this knowledge had sufficiently settled in, however, Rainbow Dash had started to shed tears for a wholly different reason. As the haze of rage had lifted from her mind, the full realisation of what she had done had started to sink in. With that realisation had come the guilt and the shame, feelings she still experienced even right now. She did not regret what she had said and done to Spitfire, but the same could not be said for the members of her own troops she had endangered, injured or worse with her wild, reckless rampage and usage of her powers.

Such actions were unworthy of a royal admiral and there was no excusing them, no matter what Desert Heat and the others might say on the subject. She was immensely grateful towards her vice-admiral, Rose Thorn, for snapping her out of it, as well as to her friends for giving her a chance to make up for her mistakes. She hadn't been exactly surprised to learn that Twilight had come up with a plan to turn the tables. Rainbow Dash knew that her friend would always be smart, no matter the time and the life she lived in it.

It was a good plan, too. The only thing that Rainbow Dash found a bit shaky about it was its morality, which was a bit of a shock given that it was Twilight Sparkle who'd come up with it. Given what the Republic had done to the hospital, however, Twilight had probably considered all bets to be off and Rainbow Dash couldn't fault her friend for feeling that way, not when she found herself to be kind of in agreement with that line of thought.

“It's not as if we're gonna blow up a heap of innocents,” she thought. “Well, hopefully not, but I don't think Twilight would have suggested this if she wasn't certain that Shining Armour will go along with it. She knows him better than any of us, after all.”

All that was left now was to put the plan into motion and that's where she came in. Rainbow Dash knew that she couldn't undo the actions from during her rampage, but she could work to make up for them. Which was exactly what she intended to do. Twilight and the others counted on her to buy them the time they needed to carry out the plan and she was going to do just that.

“Sure, like I told Desert, it's not like that's going to be picnic,” she admitted to herself. “But if redeeming my honour was easy it wouldn't be much of an issue to lose it in the first place, now would it?”

Her resolve hardened, Rainbow Dash retrieved her communication crystal from its pocket and began to issue orders to her troops, having figured out in her head where to move what battalion of her remaining forces. The Republic still outnumbered them, but that no longer mattered. They didn't have to win, they only had to make things difficult for the enemy, and if there was one thing Rainbow Dash was good at, it was being a pain in the neck.

As her cerise eyes observed her fleet beginning to move according to her instructions, she had to remind herself to stay where she was. For the moment it seemed she and Spitfire had come to an uneasy, quiet agreement to stay out of each other's way, which was probably for the best, all things considered. It also meant, however, that Rainbow Dash had to refrain from engaging in combat directly, as doing so would likely force the Republican Commander to retaliate and then the two of them would be locked in another fight for a good while.

It wasn't an arrangement she was particularly happy with, as her heart still wanted nothing more but to plant her hooves in Spitfire's face, but one she understood was necessary. She could not leave her fleet without its admiral again, especially now that Rose Thorn wasn't here to take over for her should she get caught up in a fight.

The Vice-Admiral had always been the more level-headed of the two of them and his tactical insight was definitely a step above hers; both talents she could have put to good use at this moment. Sadly, he'd been given a different task and his absence was most keenly felt. She would have to get by without his aid. It wasn't that she couldn't do without him, far from it, but it was always helpful to have somepony at her back that she could rely on.

Even if she could order him to return to her side, she wouldn't. After all, she'd been the one to assign him a different task in the first place, having sent him away to protect Twilight and the rest of her friends as they accompanied Derpy to carry out the plan Twilight had devised.

“I hope you're keeping them safe like I told you to, Rose Thorn,” Rainbow Dash muttered quietly to herself, “because if you aren't, you're putting not just the lives of my friends at risk, but our very last chance for victory as well.”

---

The city of Stalliongrad was situated on the eastern end of the valley formed between the Neighara Mountains to the north and the Foal Mountains to the south, the deep gorge being the only way to easily cross between the east and west side of Equestria on foot. The strong walls of the fortress-city spread from one side of the valley to the next, forming an impenetrable dam built to hold back any river or flood of invading forces that passed through the gorge.

The other end of the valley lay far to the west, where it emerged on the great eastern plains of Equestria, which stretched from the Unicorn Range in the south all the way to the Crystal Mountains in the distant north. It was here, at the eastern end of the gorge, that the Republican army had built its base camp. The close proximity of the floating city of Cloudsdale and the even terrain of the plains ensured easy routes by which the camp could be supplied, while the walls of the valley and the mountains that formed them provided the necessary defence.

Though the majority of the Republican army had marched to do battle at the gates of Stalliongrad, this did not mean the encampment had been abandoned. A small detachment of soldiers had been left behind to stand guard, while every soldier injured upon the battlefield was brought back here to the field hospital. There was also a great arsenal of war supplies, ranging from weapons like swords and spears to ammunition for cannons and spare parts for airships.

On one of the many ledges of the valley walls, crouched down behind a couple of boulders and underneath a chameleon spell, six mares and one stallion were observing the happenings in the encampment down below.

“I did not expect there to be this many troops left stationed here,” Rose Thorn muttered quietly, his eyes narrowed as he tried to estimate the number of enemies they were up against. “I'm counting roughly a hundred patrolling the outer perimeter, then another time that number stationed within the camp itself, if not more.” He clacked his tongue disappointedly. “I was hoping they'd spent all their strength on the siege.”

“Shining Armour isn't that sloppy,” Derpy said, her single golden eye never once leaving its target. “He'd never go to war without leaving a minimum amount of soldiers behind to protect their base camp, even when he knows the chances of us being able to mount an attack on it are virtually non-existent.”

“Then it was perhaps for the best that we really did not have any plans - or the forces needed - to mount an attack,” Rose Thorn replied. “If he had so much as suspected a chance to the contrary, the good Marshal would have left a much tighter security behind for us to deal with and that would have made things a tad more complicated.”

“Quite,” Derpy agreed. She fell silent, contemplatively tapping her chin with a hoof before turning to Twilight Sparkle, who was lying in hiding in between her and Rose Thorn. “Well then, Miss Twilight, your idea required us to go to the Republicans' base camp and so here we are.” A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I hope you don't mind if I take control of this operation from here on out, though?”

Twilight nearly leapt out of her skin when the Grand Admiral addressed her, for she had been fully engrossed in her observations of the camp, and barely managed to suppress a startled yelp. “Oh, ehm, yes, of course I don't,” she babbled, once she meaning of Derpy's words started to sink in. “Mind, that is. I don't mind if you take control.” She could feel everypony's eyes on her, making her feel decidedly stupid and she gave a sheepish smile.

Derpy smiled good-naturedly at Twilight's antics and chose not to comment on them, instead signalling all other ponies present to gather around. They all quickly obeyed and she let her single eye drift from one mare to the next, taking in all of their faces. Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity she recognised from when she still lived in Ponyville, before the Republic had come and destroyed that life. Twilight was obviously the smart friend Rainbow Dash had so often boasted about, and Fluttershy…

In all honesty, she wasn't sure what to think of her fellow pegasus. The first time they had met had been when Rainbow Dash had brought her friends with her upon returning from her trip to Canterlot to snatch the invasion plans. Yet for some strange reason, Derpy's memories kept insisting that she'd known Fluttershy before that, from when she still lived in Ponyville. Only, that was impossible, because Derpy was certain no such meeting had ever taken place.

Even stranger still was that Fluttershy hadn't been the first pony to confuse her memory like that. There had been other instances before, when she'd met a pony for the first time only to feel a nagging in the back of her head that insisted they had met before. It often brought with it images of events that hadn't happened, making her feel as if she was seeing memories from a different life.

The Grand Admiral shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on such oddities; she had a job to do. Looking around, she was happy to note that Rose Thorn, Twilight and her friends had all gathered around her and were giving her their full attention.

“Alright everypony, listen up, here's how things are going to be,” she began. “Our first priority will be to cut the enemy's communication with their command. The success of this strategy relies on secrecy. If they get word of our presence here to Shining Armour before we've taken over control of the camp, it's all over, simple as that.” Her single eye glanced at the lone stallion of their small group.

“Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn, the task of retrieving the enemy's communication crystals I will entrust to you,” she continued. “See that it gets done and be thorough. A single one of those pebbles has the potential to ruin everything.”

Rose Thorn gave a curt nod as well as a dutiful salute. “I understand, Grand Admiral, ma'am,” he replied.

Satisfied, Derpy returned her attention to Twilight and her friends and went on to explain her strategy. “Once the crystals have been secured, the next task will be to eliminate the enemy's defences,” she said. “I will take care of the soldiers. I'll lure them all to the edge of the camp and deal with them there. As soon as the camp is empty, Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn will sneak in with the rest of you.”

She paused for a moment to make sure they were still following her. When it appeared they were, she gave a satisfied nod and continued. “Your task will be two-fold. First, you will help Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn taking the medical staff and their patients hostage.” She fixed the five mares before her with a harsh stare that made them nervous. “If any of you should happen to think about getting some payback for what happened at Stalliongrad, don't, for I can assure you you will find yourself into a heap of trouble even Rainbow Dash won't be able to get you out of if you do.”

“You may be civilians and you may be the ones who gave us this chance to win, but by volunteering for this mission you agreed to place yourself under our command,” Derpy snapped, her voice as hard as her stare, as if she was drilling a new batch of recruits. “For the duration of this mission, you will do as you are told and no more than that. Rose Thorn shall be your commanding officer and his instructions are to be followed to the letter, is that clear?!”

Her words earned her a round of audible gulps and quick nodding. Derpy stared them down for a few more seconds, then finally softened her expression. Twilight and her friends quietly sighed in relief, having discovered that being stared at by the Grand Admiral's single eye was quite unnerving and discomforting. Only Rose Thorn had remained unaffected entirely, for he was a trained military officer and used to authority and discipline.

“For your second task, you will destroy the enemy's supply of weapons and ammunition,” Derpy continued, coming back to the actual reason why they were here. “The execution of this will be a relatively simple matter of placing the explosives as instructed. Once they are in place and the hostages are secured, we will regroup and contact Desert Heat to let him know he can initiate the ceasefire. After that, we can only hope Shining Armour will react the way Miss Twilight expects him to.”

“And… if he doesn't?” Fluttershy asked anxiously, her head held low and her face almost entirely hidden behind her mane.

“Then it's all over and we lose, so pray he does,” Derpy answered simply. “In any case, that's the plan. Now, are there any questions?” She looked around the circle of gathered ponies expectantly, but each of the five civilians remained quiet. Whether it was because they were too nervous to speak up or because they truly had no questions, Derpy did not know, but she gave a curt nod nevertheless. “Very well, then let's get started. We're not going to win anything by standing here.”

The Grand Admiral turned around and moved back to the edge of the cliff to take a last good look at the encampment down below, wanting to ensure that nothing had changed and that their presence had not been discovered during her explanation. When it appeared everything was as it had been a few minutes ago, Derpy turned her head over her shoulder and nodded towards Rose Thorn, signalling he could begin.

“Vice-Admiral, you're up,” she declared.

Rose Thorn returned the curt nod of his superior officer and then dutifully stepped forward. The distinctive grey glow of his magic surrounded his horn as he cast a spell that caused his eyes to glow white. Twilight and her friends couldn't see what he did next, but after a few seconds the stallion's eyes returned to normal and a hint of a satisfied smile tugging at his lips. He spared a quick glance at Derpy.

“Five communication crystals located, Grand Admiral Hooves, ma'am,” he reported.

“Shining Armour certainly didn't spare any expenses on the communication front, now did he?” Derpy muttered with a shake of her head, sounding almost amused. After a second or two, her gaze settled on Rose Thorn again. “You know what to do next, Vice-Admiral. I don't think I need to remind you of the importance of your success, so do try to remain unnoticed.”

“I fully understand, ma'am,” he assured her. He distanced himself from the rest of the group a bit, then called upon his magic once more, his horn glowing with a soft grey light as he began to weave some manner of spell around himself. Twilight paid close attention to what he was doing, but he finished casting the spell before she could fully figure out its purpose. One heartbeat later, he was gone, having teleported without nary a sound or trace.

Though she didn't like to admit it, Twilight was rather jealous of Rose Thorn's skill at teleporting. He seemed to have perfected the spell in a way even she hadn't achieved in her previous life. Whenever she'd teleported, there had always been a flash of light accompanying it, making it not exactly the most subtle of her skills. Yet, whenever Rose Thorn teleported, there was no such thing. He simply seemed to disappear; one moment he was there, the next he was gone, vanished without a trace.

“I hope I'll get a chance to ask him about it, once everything here is behind us,” she thought. “I would really like to know how he does it. I hope he can teach me to do it, too.”

Derpy watched in silence as Twilight pondered while the six of them waited for Rose Thorn's return. If the Grand Admiral was at all nervous or worried about the mission ahead of them or the situation in Stalliongrad, she didn't show it. In fact, her face didn't betray much emotion at all. Her expression was perfectly neutral and the look in her one eye was no different, making what she was thinking anypony's guess.

The same couldn't be said for the rest of the group, Derpy noticed as she shifted her attention from Twilight to the rest of Rainbow Dash's friends. Each of their faces was a canvas painted with emotions, the most recognisable ones being worry and anxiety, in varying levels of severity.

Applejack and Twilight seemed to be coping with it all the best, the grim look in their eyes being more one of determination - or was it resignation? - than worry. Pinkie Pie simply looked depressed, her blue eyes staring gloomily at the ground. She hadn't said much, if anything at all, during the entirety of the mission so far and Derpy honestly found it somewhat unsettling. A voice in the back of her head for some reason insisted that this kind of behaviour was not normal for the pink pony.

Ignoring that, the grand admiral instead looked at the last two members of her little group. Both Rarity and Fluttershy appeared to be the most worried and anxious of the all, though it was clear the former was trying to hide it and put on a brave face for the sake of the latter. Fluttershy's face was one Derpy knew all too well. It was one she had seen plenty of times before on the faces of young recruits when they were about to partake in their first mission.

“Feeling nervous?” she asked, giving Rarity and Fluttershy an inquisitive look.

The sudden breaking of the silence that had surrounded the group since Rose Thorn's departure startled them. Rarity looked up and met Derpy's gaze. “Somewhat, yes,” she admitted. “The last time we had a confrontation with the Republic it didn't go very well at all, to say the least.” Her hoof instinctively brushed her side, where the magic bolt had pierced her through and nearly ended her life. “It's not an experience we're very eager to repeat.”

Derpy nodded in understanding. She had learned of what had happened in Canterlot from Rainbow Dash's report of the events and knew about Rarity's injury and how serious it had been. She could certainly understand that the unicorn felt a little more self-conscious about her own safety after an experience like that. That, too, was something she was familiar with from her years as an instructor.

“Yet you came with us, despite your fears,” she remarked. “As did you,” she added, looking at Fluttershy. Derpy regarded them both contemplatively, as if she was sizing them up for the first time. “Why?”

“Well, while I certainly was and am not fond of placing myself in harm's way again, that has and shall never stop me from doing the right thing,” Rarity replied, surprising both Derpy and herself with the conviction and strength she put behind her words. “I did not come here when Rainbow Dash asked me for help to sit around in Cantropolis and let her place herself in danger and do all the work. I did enough of that in Canterlot. If by going into the lion's den to carry out some desperate last attempt to turn the tide of the war I can help my friend in even the smallest way, then fear be damned, I will do so!”

Derpy regarded the unicorn with a measure of newfound respect. “If all of my soldiers had your kind of resolve, we would have won this war years ago,” she lamented with a sad shake of her head. She quickly brushed off regrets about the past, however, knowing them to be useless, and instead gestured at Rarity's armour. “As far as injuries go, you have less to fear now than you did in Canterlot. That armour will protect even against basic combat spells, which is all the soldiers down there should be able to use.”

Rarity glanced down at her armour as well and though she still found its design of rather questionable fashion, for the first time since she got it she seemed truly grateful to be wearing it. “Well, that's comforting to know, at the very least,” she admitted, a small relieved smile on her lips.

Pleased that she'd been able to ease the fears of at least one member of her group, Derpy turned her attention towards Fluttershy. “I take it you are here for similar reasons?” she asked, still not sure what to think of the shy pegasus that confused her memories so.

Fluttershy seemed startled to be addressed and retreated partially behind her mane. “Oh, ehm, yes? I think, maybe?” she muttered nervously, feeling rather uncomfortable under Derpy's one-eyed stare. The Grand Admiral appeared to be an entirely different pony from the lovable, somewhat clumsy mailmare Fluttershy knew from her life in Ponyville, it was hard to accept that they were truly the same mare.

“I actually wish everypony would stop fighting so we could all go home,” she admitted timidly, bowing her head to avoid looking at Derpy entirely. “I don't want to fight, I don't think I could! I don't want to see anypony get hurt anymore.” The images of all the injured and often dying soldiers she had seen in the hospital flew through her mind and made her wince.

Rather than frightening her further, however, she pulled a strange sort of strength from the images, a kind of determination that allowed her to raise her head and look Derpy in the eye. “If the fighting stops, then nopony will get hurt anymore and we can all go home,” she said. “So, ehm, I wanted to help with this so that can happen. If, if you don't mind, that is.”

Her strength faltered near the end, her voice lowering back to its normal volume, and she rubbed her hooves over each other nervously while hiding behind her mane once more. She appeared to be almost ashamed of what she had said, afraid her words would be seen as cowardice. To her surprise, however, the Grand Admiral accused her of no such thing. Instead, Derpy regarded her with a strange look that bordered between melancholy and kindness.

“Wanting to put an end to any kind of violence to avoid harm from coming to anypony is nothing to be ashamed of. It takes a kind heart to want to hurt nopony, not even your enemies,” Derpy said. She glanced sideways to the spot Rose Thorn had vanished from minutes ago and gave a small smile. “And it looks like you're about to get your chance to stop the fighting. Welcome back, Vice-Admiral.”

Confused, Fluttershy and the others glanced at the same spot Derpy was looking at, only to find Rose Thorn standing there whereas a second ago he had not. The stallion had reappeared as sudden and quietly as he had disappeared, with not even so much as a spark or fizzle to warn of his arrival. It was almost uncanny how he could sneak up on them without them even noticing until somepony pointed out his presence.

Ignoring the startled looks he received from his admiral's friends, Rose Thorn gave a nod towards Derpy and deftly placed five communication stones on the ground before her hooves. “Five enemy communication crystals all accounted for, Grand Admiral Hooves, ma'am,” he reported.

“Good work, Vice-Admiral,” she replied as she looked at the five crystal pebbles. “Did you notice anything unusual while relieving the enemy of these? Any potential hidden threats that could endanger the success of the mission?”

Rose Thorn shook his head. “The defences of the camp appear to be as we have observed,” he answered. “The guards appear to be quite relaxed, in fact. It's clear that they are not expecting anypony to attack them here.”

“Excellent, that will give us a much-needed advantage,” Derpy said, pleased.

While listening to the report of her subordinate, she had begun to pick up the communication stones he had retrieved one by one. She held them up in her hoof and a few seconds later, to the surprise of Twilight and her friends, the crystal shattered into innumerable tiny fragments. It wasn't that she squeezed them until they broke, she simply held them until they shattered. None of the five mares noticed the soft glow of the magicite shard Derpy wore upon her brow.

“Now that their communication has been taken care of, it's time to move on to the next phase of the plan,” she announced once she had destroyed all crystals and dusted off her hooves. “As we discussed earlier, I will go and lure the guards to the outskirts of the camp. I will need roughly one minute to get into position, during which you,” she gestured at Twilight and her friends, “will wait here with Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn.”

Her attention now shifted back to the lone stallion of the group. “Vice-Admiral, as soon as the minute's over, you will enter the camp and proceed as planned,” she continued. “Remember to secure the hostages first and destroy the weapon storage second. I will join you as soon as I've taken care of the guards.”

“Understood,” Rose Thorn confirmed, giving a curt nod.

Derpy returned the nod and then turned her head to address Twilight and the others one more time. “As for you girls, just follow Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn's orders as instructed. Don't panic, remain calm and everything will be alright,” she said, giving them one last reassurance. “Don't think of what will happen should we fail, just focus on carrying out your orders and nothing else.”

She looked at each of their faces in turn, her stare lingering on Fluttershy longer than with the others. “Remember what you are doing this for.” Though the advice was meant for all of them, Fluttershy still felt as if it was above all meant for her in particular. She managed to meet Derpy's gaze and give a timid, shaky nod, showing she understood.

Satisfied, Derpy turned around and walked to the edge of the cliff. Gracefully, her wings unfolded from underneath her coat, showing off their impressive wingspan and the gleaming mechanical exoskeleton fitted over them that increased their strength and width even further. A powerful beat of those wings lifted the Grand Admiral of the Royal Guard into the air, where she remained hovering for a second, until she took off with a second wing-beat, flying towards her target at a speed that would leave even Rainbow Dash impressed.

Rose Thorn watched his superior go for a moment, then glanced at the mares left in his care and mentioned for them to come closer. “Ladies, please gather around under the shield I'm going to put up,” he instructed. “It may also be wise to lie down, as firm footing may become somewhat hard to find within a few moments.”

“Why?” Twilight inquired, as she and her friends nevertheless moved to follow the officer's instructions. A hint of nervosity spread across her face. “Is there something wrong? Are we in danger?”

“No to both, Miss Twilight. It's merely a precaution on my part,” Rose Thorn answered calmly. “I've seen the Grand Admiral fight before and let's just say that things tend to become… unstable when she does.”

He said no more, but the look in his eyes was very telling. Whatever he had seen Derpy do before, it had clearly left him deeply in awe of her power. In all honesty it left Twilight rather confused. As a vice-admiral and Rainbow Dash's right hoof pony, Rose Thorn was witness to the power wielded by an admiral on a daily basis and treated it as nothing special or awe-inspiring.

Having seen the power of an admiral herself, Twilight knew that it was anything but normal. That Rose Thorn treated it as such showed just how used he was to powers of such magnitude. Despite this, Derpy had managed to impress him, which, to Twilight, said a lot about the Grand Admiral's power. Just what sort of ability did she hold within her magicite that it made even an experienced officer like Rose Thorn regard her with an almost revering kind of awe?

---

As it turned out, Twilight didn't have to wait long for an answer to her question, though in hindsight, a part of her wished she hadn't ever asked in the first place. She would never forget the sight of what Rose Thorn had said was the result of Derpy using the power of her magicite once. She had learned then and there that being called 'the Strongest Mare in the World' was not just some kind of title, a boast to inspire fear in the hearts of enemies, but instead a statement of a fact.

Involuntarily, Twilight shivered. She remembered how powerful she had been in her previous life, when she'd been Celestia's very own prized student, yet even with the level of mastery she had held over such a versatile power, she doubted she would have been a match for Derpy. The power contained within that inconspicuous shard of magicite upon the pegasus' brow was simply too great. Too destructive.

She found herself wondering if a pony should have that much power at her disposal at all.

Twilight shook her head and tried to push such thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to think about such things, not while there was still work to be done. Everything may have gone according to plan thus far, but they weren't out of the woods just yet.

One minute after Derpy had gone ahead of them to take care of the guards, Twilight and her friends, together with Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn, had snuck into the camp as instructed. It appeared Derpy had done her part well, for they encountered not a single soldier as they'd made their way towards the field hospital. The taking of the hostages, too, had gone without a hitch, much to Twilight's great relief. Upon learning who it was outside that was taking care of their guards, none of the medical staff and their patients had felt much for resisting.

All that was left now was to take care of the weapons and ammunition stored in the camp, a task that Twilight and her friends were tending to right now. Though most of the supplies were currently being used on the battlefield, there was still a sizeable amount left behind to resupply any ship that ran out of ammo or any soldier that lost his weapon.

Everywhere she looked, Twilight saw stacks of crates and barrels, brimming with cannonballs, gunpowder, weapons and Celestia knew what else. Some crates stood in the open air, others were stored inside tents, in case they contained something that had to remain dry. The only thing she did not spot were any kind of medical supplies. Those, Rose Thorn had said, were stored in a different part of the camp, closer to the field hospital. That was fine and actually made things easier, since it meant they didn't have to worry about accidentally blowing them up together with the rest of the supplies.

For the moment, however, accidentally blowing up the wrong thing was the least of Twilight's worries. Everypony knew that to make things explode you needed a catalyst, which the Republic was certain to have in stock around here somewhere, but they had yet to find it while the clock kept ticking.

“Anypony had any luck in finding their stash of gunpowder yet?” she called out, as she opened another barrel only to discover to her disappointment that it only held another dozen of swords. She discarded the barrel and moved on to the next stack of crates on her path. Around her, her friends were doing the same, running through the maze of storage crates and tents as they searched for the place where the Republic stored their gunpowder.

“Well, wherever it is, it's certainly not in here,” Rarity replied as she emerged from a plain, square tent. “Though I did find a pile of absolutely dreadful rags that I'm sure were meant to be uniforms.” She had even brought some evidence of her discovery with her, holding up a neatly folded uniform with her magic. “I must say, Twilight, though he may be a genius when it comes to tactics and strategy, your brother clearly has no feeling for fashion.”

Twilight groaned and resisted the urge to plant her hoof in her face. Barely. “Rarity, now is really not the time!” she snapped impatiently. “We have to-”

A deafening explosion cut her off before she could finish. She thought at first that one of her friends had found the gunpowder and set it off by accident, but it quickly became clear to her that this was not the case when she felt the earth itself tremble underneath her hooves. Crates and barrels toppled over and Twilight realised that she was witnessing the aftereffects of Derpy's powers.

Looking at the sky, her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted a cloud of dust rise up in the east, in the direction Derpy had gone off in. Evidently, the Grand Admiral and the Republican soldiers were still going at it, though Twilight dearly hoped it would be over soon. She knew that Derpy wouldn't risk threatening the lives of her allies and her hostages, but nevertheless Twilight was grabbed by a wave of terror every time the Grand Admiral unleashed her powers.

“What the hay does that mare think she's doin'?!” Applejack grumbled, pushing her hat back in its proper place atop her head. “Is she tryin' to do us all in?!”

Twilight had to admit part of her had been wondering the same thing, but her attention was quickly pulled elsewhere when she heard her name being called.

“Twilight! Over here, I've found it!”

The cry came from Pinkie Pie, who was standing in the opening of a large tent, waving her foreleg to try and catch the attention of the others. Immediately, her friends abandoned whatever crate or barrel they were searching and hurried over to her location. Once there, they quickly learned Pinkie had not been lying, as a quick glance inside the tent revealed it to be filled to the brim with dozens of barrels, the word 'gunpowder' painted on every single one of them.

“Good job, Pinkie,” Twilight said, sparing a moment to give the mare in question a grateful, encouraging smile.

Pinkie had been quiet and withdrawn for the entirety of the mission, her mane and tail flat and lifeless, though their colours thankfully hadn't dulled yet. To say her friends were concerned would be an understatement and thus it came as somewhat as a relief to them that it had been her to find the gunpowder they were looking for. It proved, if nothing else, that even if she wasn't happy with what they were doing, she was still on board with it and agreed that it had to be done.

It was an encouraging sign, at the very least, but regretfully not one they could focus on right now. They still had a task to complete and a lot of ponies were depending on them to do it. Any concern for the mental wellbeing of their friend would have to wait until after the battle was over. All they could do for the moment was pray that Pinkie would keep it together until then.

Rarity looked at the large stack of barrels filled with explosive powder and tapped her chin in thought. “Well, darling, we found what we were looking for,” she said, turning her head towards Twilight. “I just hope we have enough here to carry out your idea.”

“So do I,” Twilight replied quietly, sounding slightly nervous. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, then used her magic to lift up one of the powder kegs from the top of the pile and bring it towards her. She had been able to recover enough from her efforts in the hospital to use her magic again, though it was noticeably weaker and she tired out much faster. Not to mention it made both her horn and head ache every time she used it.

Applejack frowned, clearly not buying what Twilight was saying, but she let it slide. Instead, she moved a bit further into the tent and gestured at the supply of gunpowder stored within. “So we just take these barrels and place 'em among the rest of the supplies, right?”

Twilight gave an affirmative nod. “Though I don't know if we have enough powder kegs here to place one at every stack of supplies,” she added, casting another doubtful glance at the barrels, “so I suggest we place them near the flammable and explosive ones, such as airship parts or cannonballs, first. On the whole scale, those are harder to replace than swords and spears.”

Applejack nodded in understanding. “That sounds mighty sensible,” she conceded. “Are you sure that one little barrel of this stuff'll be enough to buck an entire stack of crates into next week?”

“Trust me, Applejack,” Twilight answered with a sly, knowing smile. “One keg per stack will be more than adequate.”

No further questions were asked after that and the five mares set to work. Twilight used her magic to help load the kegs onto her friends' backs, who used their wings to keep the gunpowder steady while carrying it to its destination. Twilight wanted to help with the carrying as well, but her friends all insisted that she take it easy. Outnumbered four to one, she relented and stayed with the gunpowder, using the time in between loading to ponder what the best way of igniting the explosives would be.

As she helped Applejack to load up two more kegs, it occurred to Twilight how surreal her current situation was. In her previous life, she had been a magical prodigy, personal student of Princess Celestia herself, living a relatively simple but nonetheless eventful life in a quaint little countryside town together with the five most wonderful friends a pony could ask for. Her biggest concern back then had been to make sure she got the maximum score on her tests, while taking care of an escaped ancient evil every now and then.

The contrast with the here and now could not be greater. Equestria was at war with itself and had been for three centuries and a half. Ponies were fighting and killing other ponies over a mere difference in ideology. She herself was taking part in that bloody conflict, coming up with plans that could cost hundreds of innocents their lives, all in order to defeat 'the enemy', which happened to be her own brother. Not only did she come up with them, she even helped in carrying them out, infiltrating the enemy's territory in order to blow it up.

She wanted to think that it was like looking into a dark mirror, but if she was truly honest she had to admit that that simply wasn't true. Looking into a dark mirror meant that one at least recognised himself. Looking into this mirror, Twilight wasn't sure she did. The mare she was now at times seemed to have so little in common with the mare she used to be. She wondered idly if her friends felt the same way.

Her eyes fell upon Fluttershy as she was placing a keg of gunpowder near a stack of crates filled with cannonballs, handing the barrel like it would explode if she touched it. Seeing her friend like that, Twilight felt guilty mourning over her own life. At least she hadn't been plucked out of her old one and dropped into this one from one day to the next without warning, unlike Fluttershy. Everything, especially what they were doing now, had to be so much harder for her than it was for the rest of them...

Fluttershy's sudden arrival roughly a month ago had seemed like such a big deal at the time, but to her shame Twilight had to admit that, aside from that one time where she mentioned it to Luna, she hadn't thought much about how it had happened or why. At first they had been too busy with helping Fluttershy settle in and find her footing in this new age, then Rainbow Dash had shown up and the oncoming war had claimed all of their attention.

It was odd, but as she sat here, in an enemy camp placing explosives, Twilight felt as if she'd been an awful friend to Fluttershy. Yes, she'd helped Fluttershy settle in, but she never even thought about trying to find a way to get her friend back to the time she came from. From the start, she'd thought that nothing could be done about it and that Fluttershy would just have to accept that. Though, in all fairness, she hadn't been the only one to hold that belief.

Now, Twilight found herself wondering if she hadn't been mistaken. Maybe there was a way they could make things right again. Truly right, that is, to get everything back to the way it was in the life Fluttershy came from. For the moment, the civil war demanded all their attention, but maybe once the war was over, once they had freed Princess Celestia, they could start making things right again.

“Twilight?”

With a startled yelp, Twilight nearly leaped out of her skin, so lost in thought that she hadn't heard Fluttershy approach at all. It was fortunate that she hadn't recovered all of her magic yet and didn't have her skills from her previous life, or she might have fired off a spell entirely by accident.

“Oh, I'm sorry, is now a bad time?” Fluttershy squeaked, mistaking Twilight's startled reaction for one of displeasure, and her ears drooped as she hid behind her mane. “I'll just come back later, if that's okay...”

“No, no, that's alright, you just startled me. My fault, I shouldn't have drifted off at a time like this,” Twilight answered quickly, giving her friend a sheepish smile. She coughed in her hoof and tried to regain her composure as well as some of her dignity. “In any case, what is it you wanted to ask?”

“I just wanted to say that I delivered my haul and I was wondering if-”

Whatever it was that Fluttershy was wondering about, Twilight would never know, as at that moment her attention was drawn elsewhere by the sound of running hooves. She softly gestured at Fluttershy to remain quiet, while her ears tried to pinpoint what direction the sound was coming from. All of her senses were now alert, because she knew that there was supposed to be nopony left in the camp to make those noises. Had some of the hostages slipped past Rose Thorn's watchful eye?

“Stay behind me Fluttershy,” she whispered to her friend, who let out a soft squeak in return before nodding. Twilight looked around and was relieved to see that Applejack was nearby. She wasted no time in warning her. “Applejack, somepony's coming!”

Applejack heard her and quickly passed on the word to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, then hurried over towards Twilight, the two of them standing protectively before Fluttershy, shielding their timid friends with their bodies. Applejack glanced briefly at Twilight from the corner of her eyes.

“You think Rose Thorn let some of 'em get out when he wasn't lookin'?” she asked, unknowingly asking the same question Twilight had asked herself a moment ago.

“I hope that's what happened,” Twilight replied, “because the alternative is-”

Four Republican soldiers came running onto the scene, just as Rarity and Pinkie Pie emerged from behind a stack of crates as well. Spotting the new arrivals, Rarity immediately moved herself in front of Pinkie while shoving her friend back behind the crates with a firm but gentle push of her hoof. Images of what happened during the night of the parade flashed through her mind and she was determined not to let her friends - or herself - get hurt like that again.

Seeing the five mares made the four Republicans come to a sudden halt and they nearly stumbled over their own hooves in their attempts to break off their sprint. Twilight noticed almost right away that they looked very skittish; they constantly glanced over their shoulder and were hopping from one hoof onto the other, as if they wanted nothing more but to start running again. If the stunned looks on the soldiers' faces were anything to go by, they obviously hadn't expected to run into anypony here.

“Who're they?!” one soldier demanded. “Are they with the enemy?!”

“Of course they are, idiot, can't you see the colour of their armour?!” another one snapped back in reply. “Curse it, I knew Derpy Hooves couldn't have come here just by herself!”

“These don't look like soldiers to me, though,” the third muttered quietly, as he regarded Fluttershy and the others with a confused frown on his face.

“Who cares! They're bloody Royalists, that's all that matters!” the fourth cried out, sounding desperate. His eyes were wide with terror. “Let's just kill them and get them out of the way and run before that monster catches up with us!”

Fluttershy gasped at the words, but Twilight, Applejack and Rarity merely reacted with a dark scowl. Grimly, the three mares shifted into a more defensive position, their heads held low and their mechanical wings spread wide to appear more intimidating, readying themselves for a fight. The soldiers were armed while they were not, true, but given the panicked state of their opponents Twilight doubted the Republicans would be able to fight properly.

Indeed, when the Republicans charged it became immediately obvious that they did so with no plan or formation in mind. They simply ran towards their targets, weapons brandished between their teeth or wings, like drunk bulls going on a rampage. Twilight, Applejack and Rarity nodded towards each other, understanding passing between them. Though none of them really wanted to fight or hurt somepony, they weren't going to back out of this one.

Before any of them could make a move, however, Fluttershy suddenly shouldered her way past Twilight and Applejack both. She ignored the stunned looks on their faces and marched onward. By the time her friends recovered from their surprise, she had already moved herself directly in the path of the oncoming stallions. She heard the horrified shouts of her friends, telling her to get out of the way, but she ignored them.

Time seemed to slow down as Fluttershy stood there, her head bowed, her mane obscuring her face. Images flashed through her mind, images that made her squeeze her eyes shut as if doing so would make them go away. She saw all those countless soldiers being brought into the hospital, all of them wounded, missing eyes, ears, wings, limbs or worse. She saw them cry for help or their loved ones as life slowly flowed out of them, with her unable to do anything but watch them die. She saw the burning halls of the hospital, its ruined rooms full of charred corpses...

The cries of agony still echoed in her ears, the smell of blood and burnt flesh still filled her nose. Ponies fighting ponies. Ponies killing ponies. So many dead. So much pain, so much suffering, and for what purpose? She had followed her friends out of Tartarus to this place to try and make it all stop, only for the war to try and kill them all again. She remembered that night in Canterlot, Rarity bleeding on the streets, the soldiers beating Twilight…

She gritted her teeth together so firmly she was afraid they'd break.

Fluttershy raised her head, anger radiating off of her like scalding heat from a volcano. Her eyes snapped open and she fixed her gaze on the four oncoming stallions, pinning them in place with the harshest glare they had ever seen. “No,” she growled, so softly that they almost missed it. “No. More. FIGHTING!”

The hairs of all ponies present suddenly stood on their ends, their manes billowing in a fierce storm wind that wasn’t there at all. The air seemed to ripple, as if it had suddenly become a flat surface of water and somepony had dropped a pebble in it, though in this case the pebble was Fluttershy herself. Her fiercely growled words echoed four to five times and then faded away, leaving nothing but total and almost painful silence in their wake. For a brief moment, the world stood still.

Then the four soldiers simultaneously dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Fluttershy stared in disbelief at the sight before her. The righteous rage she had just now been filled with had vanished entirely, leaving only incomprehension in its place. She didn’t understand what had just happened and almost felt as if she was waking up from a daze. One moment, the guards were charging towards her friends, ready to fight and kill them. The next, the Republicans were unconscious on the ground and everything had gone quiet.

This had happened before, she remembered, back in Canterlot during the night of the parade. In fact, the two instances were so eerily similar they might as well have been the same event, only in a different location. How had she done this, if it really had been her? Yes, she had her Stare, but she had never used that on ponies before and it definitely hadn't made any of her animals faint whenever she'd been forced to use it on them.

She had always tried not to think about what had happened in Canterlot, the idea that she somehow had the ability to make ponies faint when she got really angry at them scaring her, but now that it had happened a second time it became increasingly difficult to do so. Fluttershy felt the familiar feeling of panic claw its way into her chest. What was happening to her? What if she hurt her friends with this, whatever 'this' actually was?!

“Sugarcube, are you alright?” Applejack asked, her voice wavering slightly. “What in the name of Equestria was that just now? First you go runnin' off all on yer own, then you make them Republicans faint by lookin' at 'em. How did you do that?!” There was a hint of urgency in her voice, a desperate need for an explanation. It appeared the events of just now had spooked Applejack more than she let on.

“I don't know,” Fluttershy squeaked in reply, making herself as small as possible while hiding behind her mane. “I really don't know. I got so angry and I didn't want anypony to get hurt anymore. I just wanted it all to stop and then it was like my body was moving by itself...” She didn't dare to meet the eyes of her friends, feeling very self-conscious and uncomfortable under their concerned gazes.

“Was it the same feeling you got when you did this in Canterlot?” Twilight inquired, sounding more curious than concerned now that her friend appeared to be unharmed.

“Well, yes,” Fluttershy admitted timidly. “Kind of, I mean. Back then I just wanted them to stop hurting you, while this time I didn't want you to fight, but the feeling was the same. I just felt so angry and helpless and wanted it all to stop...” She flinched as if struck. “Please don't be mad, I didn't mean to do it...”

“Mad?” Rarity echoed, looking at Fluttershy as if the timid mare had suddenly grown a second head. “Darling, why ever would we be mad at you when you ended this conflict without either us or them getting hurt? I mean, I was ready to fight those brutes in order to defend my friends, but I'll gladly admit that I prefer your solution to the problem.”

That made Fluttershy pause and think. When put like that, she had to admit that Rarity had a point. Even if she didn't know how she did it, she did put an end to the violence without having to resort to violence herself. Her friends were safe, the threat had been dealt with and nopony had to get hurt.

“Rarity's right, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “Better like this than that we had to fight them. A peaceful solution is always preferable to a violent one.” Applejack and Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement.

Before the subject could be discussed any further, the five mares' attention was drawn to the skies by the sound of beating wings. A lone figure was quickly making their way towards them and the five mares were briefly set on edge, afraid that another Republican soldiers was coming their way. That fear quickly turned into relief when the figure came even closer and was revealed to be none other than Derpy Hooves herself.

The Grand Admiral swooped in with surprising speed and landed gracefully on the trampled grass. “Are you all alright?” she asked, giving them all a quick look over with her single eye to search for any signs of injury. Her gaze fell on the four unconscious soldiers and she frowned as she noted the lack of any injuries on them as well.

“We're fine, Grand Admiral Hooves,” Twilight answered. “Their appearance,” she gestured at the soldiers, “startled us, but we managed to… take care of them.” She glanced at Fluttershy from the corner of her eyes, who was hiding behind Rarity and Pinkie Pie and doing her very best to appear invisible.

The glance didn't escape Derpy's notice and her frown deepened slightly. She could feel that there was more to this than Twilight let on, but for the moment she let it slide. She'd ask how five untrained civilians had taken down four trained soldiers in the small minute it had taken her to catch up to them later, for now all that mattered was that the threat was neutralized.

“As long as you're all unharmed, it's fine. Rainbow Dash would never let me live it down if I'd let any of you get hurt on my watch,” she said, keeping her tone even. “Now tell me, where is Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn?”

“He's keeping watch over our hostages,” Twilight replied, the word feeling strange in her mouth. That wasn't very surprising, a part of her was still trying to comprehend that this entire morally questionable plan to win the war had been her idea to begin with. Clearly, she still was Shining Armour's sister, no matter her opinion on him, she thought bitterly.

“I take it then that that part of this strategy has been successfully taken care of?” Derpy asked, and Twilight nodded.

“When they realised who it was they were dealing with, they actually gave up without a fight,” she clarified. “Well, the medical staff did, at least. I'm sure some of their patients would have liked to resist, but they weren't in any condition to do so.” She lowered her head a bit, taking on a slightly more submissive pose. “Speaking of soldiers, since you are here right now, I'm guessing those guarding the camp have been,” she swallowed, “dealt with?”

Derpy gave a curt nod in reply. “Once their number had been reduced to thirty or so, most of them scattered and fled, forcing me to hunt down their small groups one by one,” she explained, then gestured at the four soldiers who were still lying motionless on the ground. “These four were the last, but by taking care of them you finished my work for me.” The question of how they had managed to do so again popped up in her mind and was subsequently ignored.

“In any case,” Derpy continued, opting to focus on more important things than the aforementioned mystery, “the guards and the hostages have been taken care of, which leaves us only the matter of destroying their supplies. How far are you with that?”

“We were nearly finished placing explosives at the most crucial supplies when those soldiers appeared,” Twilight answered. “All that's left is to dispense the remaining kegs and create the powder trails we need to set them all off.”

“Good, then let's get to that immediately,” Derpy said, as she stalked off towards the tent where they had found the gunpowder. “I'll lend a hoof so we can wrap this up even quicker. The sooner we can regroup with Vice-Admiral Rose Thorn and contact Desert Heat, the better. I doubt the Republic has been idle while we were busy here.”

---

The Grand Admiral was certainly not mistaken in that assessment, as the sea of Republican soldiers swarming before Stalliongrad had continued battering ceaselessly against the city's mighty walls like waves against the coast. The results of their relentless assault, however, were somewhat lacking, as every attack was met with unexpectedly fierce resistance. It was as if knowing that defeat was inevitable only made the remaining defenders all the more determined to fight until the bitter end.

Despite the fact that they had been in vain trying to scale the walls and get a hoofhold on top of them, Shining Armour refused to let himself get discouraged. He knew that the Royalists would not be able to keep up this fight much longer, despite their advantage of having an easily defensible position. The determination with which they kept fighting was commendable, but in the end futile, for the truth of the matter was that they had already lost the battle. By continuing the fight, they were only delaying the moment of surrender, not preventing it.

His only hope was that the Royalists' command would come to realise this as well. He had enough soldiers to kill every Royalist if they truly decided to fight to the last pony, but Shining Armour dearly hoped it wouldn't come to that. He didn't want to kill any more Royalists than necessary to win and as far as he was concerned every one that had already been killed was far too many.

“There's no need for this to become a slaughter,” Shining Armour thought. “So please, Desert Heat, don't let it come to that.”

Whether or not it was because fate had heard his prayers or not, the fact remained that the moment the thought crossed his mind, Shining Armour was approached by a member of his troops. The young soldier was in such a hurry that he almost tripped over his own hooves and in his excitement he almost forgot to salute once he stood before his superior officer.

“Mar… Marshal Shining Armour, sir,” the soldier said, barely able to get the words over his lips as he tried to speak and catch his breath at the same time. “Ad… Admiral Desert Heat is waving a white flag... Says… says he wants to speak with you.”

A slight widening of his eyes was Shining Armour's only reaction to the news, years of training allowing him to keep his expression under control even when surprised. He quickly turned his attention to the top of the wall to verify the report with his own eyes. It did not take long. Admiral Desert Heat was indeed standing atop the railing, holding a borrowed lance in his hoof to which was tied a white flag, held high for all to see.

The same hope and excitement that were evident on the soldier's face were now welling up in Shining Armour as well, but again the Marshal managed to keep the emotions from showing on his face. This might be the moment he had been waiting for, but he'd be a fool to forgo caution now in favour of rushing towards the prize. A white flag didn't necesarily mean a surrender; it merely called for a ceasefire so the leaders of both sides could talk.

He thanked and dismissed the messenger, then called for lieutenant-commander Amber Chip. “Send word to all units that they are to cease all hostilities until further notice,” Shining Armour instructed his right-hoof pony once the mare had arrived. “Desert Heat wishes to talk and I would hear what he has to say. Nopony is to continue fighting unless I give the word. Anypony who tries to interrupt the parley by ignoring this order is to be arrested on grounds of treason.”

Amber Chip nodded dutifully. “It will be done, Marshal, sir,” she replied, saluting.

Shining Armour was about to dismiss her, but stopped when he spotted movement atop the wall. “Tell the commanders that they are to accompany me as well,” he finally said, not taking his eyes off Desert Heat and the pony who had come to stand behind the Admiral. “If my suspicions are correct about what Desert Heat wishes to talk about, I will need them to be there with me.”

Again Amber Chip nodded, receiving her orders without complaint. “As you wish, sir.” Upon being dismissed, the lieutenant-commander gave another salute and then quickly left to do as she was told.

---

It took a few minutes before the command reached every unit and the fighting came to a halt completely, but before long Marshal Shining Armour stood atop the great walls of Stalliongrad before Admiral Desert Heat. The three Republican Commanders were present as well, standing next to each other behind their superior. Desert Heat in turn had brought Rainbow Dash with him, the rainbow-maned Admiral hanging back slightly while hurling the occasional glare at Spitfire.

Shining Armour and Desert Heat regarded each other in silence, their eyes and expressions kept perfectly neutral, betraying not a single thought or emotion. All eyes in the valley were placed upon them, the soldiers on both sides intently watching their commanders face off, the sight demanding all their attention, daring to make no sound or movement. The tension in the air was so thick one could cut it was a knife and the silence so complete one could hear a needle drop.

Somewhere in the crowd, a pony swallowed hard.

Finally, Desert Heat moved. He turned his head slightly, his eyes falling on Smaragd Haze before settling on Shining Armour again. “You have a lot of nerve to bring that one with you, Marshal,” he said and though his voice was kept perfectly even, the underlying anger could be clearly felt.

Shining Armour breathed out slowly through his nose. “Commander Smaragd Haze will face the consequences of his actions in due time,” he assured his Royalist counterpart, ignoring the snort that came from Rainbow Dash. “For the moment, however, he is still a commanding officer in the Republican Army and proper protocol of parley demands his presence. He is here as an observer, but no more than that.”

Desert Heat nodded slowly, clearly not happy with the situation but accepting it nonetheless. “I shall take your word for it, for now,” he said, making no effort to mask the unspoken threat in his tone. “I propose we skip any further formalities and talk about business instead.”

“As you wish,” Shining Armour replied, relaxing his posture slightly to appear more forthcoming. “I was told you desired to speak with me, Admiral Desert Heat, and I have come to listen to what you have to say. So, speak, you have my ear.”

“Very well, I shall get straight to the point then,” Desert Heat said. “I have called you here, Marshal, in order to discuss with you the terms for your immediate retreat.”

With that single sentence, Desert Heat completely shattered Shining Armour's carefully kept mask of composure. The Marshal's eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly in disbelief. He stared at Desert Heat with an utterly dumbfounded look on his face, thinking for a moment that he had misunderstood, but given that he wasn't the only one looking completely baffled, he was forced to dismiss that notion.

“I… I beg your pardon?” Shining Armour muttered slowly, still feeling stunned.

“I said I wished to discuss with you the terms for your immediate retreat from these grounds,” Desert Heat repeated, his tone and expression deadly serious, mercilessly shattering his opponent's faint hope that he had been joking. He ignored the mocking chuckles that rose from the ranks of the Republican army.

One pony, however, was not amused. “How dare you waste our time with your shameful mockery!” Trixie snarled, stomping her hoof, her eyes filled with murder. “Did the prospect of defeat rob your filthy mud pony head of its brains, what little there were to begin with?! You and yours are standing with two hooves in the grave already, mud pony. One more push of our forces and you'll be no more than an unpleasant stain on the pages of history! Accept your end with what little dignity your kind can have instead of wasting our time with your idiotic demands!”

“That's enough!” Shining Armour snapped and Trixie flinched as if struck. “I did not give you permission to speak! Get back in line and be quiet!” Trixie opened her mouth to protest, but quickly changed her mind upon catching the withering glare sent her way. Meekly, she bowed her head and returned to her place.

Satisfied, though still incensed, Shining Armour turned back to Desert Heat. “I apologise for my subordinate's outburst, Admiral,” he said, struggling to bring his voice back down to its normal level. “However, I must agree with her on one thing. You are facing defeat, Desert Heat. Why would I call back my troops now, when our victory is in sight?”

“I will let somepony else answer that question,” the Admiral replied calmly. He reached into the pocket of his coat and from it retrieved his communication crystal, which he held out for the Marshal to take. “The pony on the other side of the line has been waiting to talk to you for a while now.”

Shining Armour frowned, looking at Desert Heat with newfound suspicion. Slowly, he took the offered crystal with his magic, activating it once it floated before his face. “This is Marshal Shining Armour,” he began. “Who am I speaking to?”

The voice that answered was one that made his and the commanders' blood run cold. “Hello, Marshal.”

He almost dropped the communication stone in shock. Almost. With great difficulty, Shining Armour managed to regain some of his composure. “Grand Admiral Derpy Hooves, I presume?” he asked, aware of the fact that he'd started sweating a lot all of the sudden.

“That would be me, yes,” Derpy replied, sounding uncomfortably light-hearted.

“Where are you?” Shining Armour demanded, not in the mood for games.

“Look to the west,” came the answer.

Tensed and with his nerves on edge, Shining Armour turned halfway. He looked westward, his eyes scanning the valley and the skies, but he could spot nothing out of the ordinary. All he saw were his soldiers, the tanks still stuck in the sand and the valley floor bearing the wounds of a deadly battle. Confused, he was about to ask Derpy what she was playing at, when suddenly the silence was shattered by a loud explosion.

Cursing, Shining Armour looked around trying to see where the attack had come from, only to find that there had been no attack at all. The Royalists were not moving and the valley remained undisturbed. Slowly, he remembered that the explosion, while loud, had actually sounded far off, and thus couldn't have happened nearby. This fact made his eyes widen in realisation and he quickly looked at the western sky only to see his fears confirmed when a massive cloud of black smoke rose up to the skies far to the west.

“As you may have guessed, what you heard just now was the entire collection of supplies you were so kind to leave behind taking a trip to higher spheres,” Derpy provided helpfully.

Shining Armour clenched his jaw. “Derpy Hooves, you-”

“I'm going to make this easy for you, Marshal,” Derpy said, cutting him off, her voice hard and unyielding. “Either you order a full retreat right now and I will release your injured and their caretakers unharmed, or you continue fighting and force me to make them follow the example of your supplies. Your choice.”

Words were barely sufficient to describe the look of pure indignation on Shining Armour's face as he received the Grand Admiral's ultimatum. He did not even bother to try and keep his composure this time. “You will what?!” he growled, daring her to repeat what she had just said.

“Blow every injured soldier and every member of the medical staff tending to them sky high if you don't retreat,” Derpy answered without second thought. The lack of any kind of hesitation made Shining Armour pause and he bit his tongue to keep himself from saying anything rash.

“Let me see if I'm getting this right,” he finally said, after he had managed to wrestle his fury back under control somehow. “After entering our basecamp, you destroyed our supplies and took every soldier sent there for treatment after getting injured on the battlefield hostage, together with the doctors and nurses tending to them. If I do not give up our victory, you will kill them all. Is that the picture?”

“Congratulations, Marshal, you were paying attention to what I said,” Derpy sneered.

“So basically,” Shining Armour continued, ignoring her jab, “you are threatening me with hundreds of innocent lives to get me to do what you couldn't get me to do through military power.” He gritted his teeth together so fiercely he was afraid they'd shatter. Fuming, he spat on the ground, looking as if he had just tasted something disgusting. “I did not expect a mare of your stature to resort to such low tactics.”

“You blew up our hospital,” Derpy retorted. “That was the sign all bets are off, Marshal.”

“Do you really expect me to give in to shameless blackmail?!” he shouted, finally losing his patience.

“If you value the lives of your troops, yes,” came the reply. “I'm not bluffing, Shining Armour. For the moment, I haven't harmed a single hair on the hostages' heads and the doctors have been allowed to care for their patients without interference. If you agree to retreat, I will release them all, unharmed, as promised. Don't and I will not hesitate for even a second. I will kill them, be sure of that.”

A growl tried to work its way up his throat, yet Shining Armour forced it down again. Getting angry wouldn't solve anything, he knew. Taking a deep breath, he tried another approach. “Even if I don't give in to your demands and you kill them, it won't change anything,” he said. “We will still defeat your army and take your city. Nothing you can do will prevent that now.”

“That's true,” Derpy freely admitted, the lack of concern with which she said this again catching Shining Armour off guard. “If you choose to keep fighting, we won't be able to stop you. If the battle goes on, there's no doubt that we will lose it.”

“Then why do this, if you know it won't prevent your defeat?” Shining Armour demanded, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“To force you to make a choice, Marshal,” Derpy answered. “I have stayed my hoof for now, but that will change if you decide to keep fighting. I will join the battle myself and personally command my troops. There will be no surrender. We will fight until the end. We will force you to kill each and every one of us, while taking as many of your troops with us to Tartarus.” A horrified shiver ran down Shining Armour's spine, but Derpy wasn't done yet.

“Eventually, we will all be dead and you will be victorious,” she continued. “Which means you will only have to take care of your own dead and your wounded, of which there will be many, I promise you that. Tell me, Marshal, how many of your soldiers who will find themselves lying bleeding on the battlefield do you think will survive, when there is nopony to tend to their wounds because you let me kill your medical team?”

“If you choose to fight, you will win, yes,” Derpy said, “and once the battle is over, you will go home with less than a tenth of the ponies you came here with. That's not an estimate, it's a promise.” She paused for a few seconds to let her words sink in. “If that is a price you are willing to pay for your victory, then go ahead, continue the battle. Or, you can decide to retreat and prevent the loss of a tremendous amount of lives. Your choice.”

The other end of the line became quiet, waiting for his answer, but Shining Armour had none to give. He was speechless, his mind having gone completely blank. This entire situation was too surreal for words. He had agreed to meet with Desert Heat because had expected conditions for the Royalists' surrender, but instead had all his hopes for a swift end to the conflict utterly crushed. He glanced over his shoulder at his commanders, to see how they took the news.

Smaragd Haze looked bored and unimpressed, no doubt of the opinion that they should just continue the fight. Trixie was harder to read. She didn't look pleased and was glaring at the Royalists as if they were filth to be scraped from her hoof, but if it was because of the choice they faced or because she just didn't like Royalists, he couldn't say. Spitfire, finally, looked as he did, conflicted and uncertain.

Shining Armour let out a sigh and bowed his head, suddenly feeling very tired, as if the weight of the world had fallen upon his shoulders. Derpy had said the choice was his, but what choice did he really have? If he retreated, he would waste the sacrifice of every mare and stallion who had lost their life in this battle, but if he did not, he would be condemning more than hundred thousand ponies to death. Neither option had any appeal.

Then there was the fact that a failure to achieve victory would invoke the ire of the Nobles' Court and Shining Armour had little doubt that they would take it out not on him, but on his wife. Cadance was already placed under house-arrest and had her magic sealed, solely because of the fact that she was Celestia's niece. If he failed now, what more would they take from her?

These thoughts and more ran through his head as he tried to make a decision. The conflict raging within him could be seen written plainly across his face by everypony attending. Finally, Smaragd Haze had enough of his superior's indecision and did a step forward.

“I don't see the problem here, Marshal,” he said with a shrug. “If these traitors are so desperate to die for their city then I say we grant them their wish.”

“You would say that, because you're a bloodthirsty savage,” Trixie sneered, no longer able to contain herself. She looked down her nose at her fellow commander, making no effort to mask her contempt. “In any case, nopony asked for your opinion, mud pony, so get back and let your superiors do the thinking.”

“Will the both of you put a hoof in it?” Spitfire hissed, clearly not impressed by the behaviour of the other two commanders. With the both of them looking sufficiently chastised, she gave them one last disapproving glare before turning to Shining Armour. “Personally, Marshal, I'd like to know who gave the enemy this idea,” she said. “Even taking Smaragd Haze's blunder and the enemy's desperation in account, this is still a low blow. Doesn't immediately strike me as something Derpy Hooves or any of her admirals would think of.”

Shining Armour's eyes narrowed slightly. He met Spitfire's gaze for a moment, then turned and looked the two Royal Admirals that had come to this parley with newfound suspicion. “My commander has a point,” he said slowly. “I know enough about you and your admirals, Grand Admiral Hooves, that in most cases I can figure out which strategy has whose name attached to it.”

“This one, however, does not fit any of you. Desert Heat is too honourable, Rainbow Dash too kind and you and your daughter too pragmatic to opt for mass slaughter.” Shining Armour's frown deepened. “Who came up with this plan?” he demanded sharply. “Who put you up to this?!”

“I don't see why it matters,” Derpy replied coldly. “Nor am I under any obligation to-”

Before she could finish, however, the Grand Admiral was cut off by a voice the Republicans had not heard before.

“I did.”

The new voice had spoken only those two short words, but it was enough to make Shining Armour freeze in an instant. He felt heart stop beating in his chest upon hearing them. Not because the words 'I did' were shocking in any way, but because he knew the voice that had spoken them. His eyes went wide and sweat matted his brow as panic nestled itself comfortably in his mind.

“It can't be,” he thought. “I'm imagining things because of the stress. Yes, that has to be it, it couldn't possibly really have been...”

As if to spite him, the voice spoke again, taking away the last of his doubts. “I did,” the voice repeated. “I came up with this idea, though I do admit it was Grand Admiral Hooves who worked out the finer details of its execution.”

Shining Armour felt the blood drain from his face as his last hopes of being mistaken about the new speaker's identity were mercilessly shattered. Slowly, he sank down on his haunches, having somehow managed to become even paler despite his coat being white to begin with. For a moment that seemed to last forever, he did not say a single word and simply stared at the communication stone floating before him.

Later, Rainbow Dash would be heard telling her friends that she had never seen a pony look so defeated and that the haunted look on Shining Armour's face had been burned deeply into her memory. It was almost, she would say, as if a part of him had just died right there and then.

Slowly, Shining Armour brought the stone closer to him and let it drop in his hoof. His throat felt dry and painful as he lifted the enchanted crystal to his mouth. He swallowed once to remove the lump from his throat. He already knew, he could no longer doubt his ears, but he had to make sure. He needed to hear her say it, to have her confirm it. He closed his eyes and, with the greatest of difficulties, managed to force a name off his tongue.

“Twilight...?”

It hurt to say her name, but Shining Armour knew that what was coming would hurt even more and there was nothing he could do to keep it from doing so. He could only brace himself for the pain he knew was coming. And come it did, just as he had expected.

“Hello, brother.”

He had known the words would come and yet he still flinched as if struck.

“Twily-”

“Don't call me that!” Twilight snapped angrily, making him wince. “My BBBFF calls me Twily and you're not him. You're my brother and nothing more than that.”

That hurt him more than he liked to admit. “Twilight,” he corrected himself, trying to find something, anything, to say. There were so many questions he wanted to ask right now that he did not know where to start. Finally, he decided to go with the one that nagged the most at him. “Twilight, what are you doing here?”

“I was tending to the injured soldiers in the hospital of Stalliongrad,” Twilight hissed hatefully, ignoring the shocked gasp coming from her brother. “At least until a certain invading army thought it a great idea to blow it up!”

For the second time in much too short a time, Shining Armour was rendered speechless and he somehow managed to get even paler. His sister had been in the hospital. She could have died and he wouldn't even been aware of it. He could have lost her forever and never even have known how. As this horrifying realisation sunk in, Shining Armour almost emptied his meagre breakfast on the ground and he was barely able to contain himself.

She could have died.

That single sentence kept echoing inside his head. He could have lost his sister and it would have been his fault. He was the supreme commander of the Republican army. It was his task to make sure his subordinates stayed in line, exactly to prevent such tragedies from happening. Incensed and seething with rage, he looked over his shoulder at Smaragd Haze and sent him a glare that made it clear Shining Armour would have words with him later.

His worry for his sister exceeded his anger towards the commander, however, and the Marshal redirected his attention to the communication crystal in his hoof. “Twilight,” he began, his voice thick with emotion. “Twilight, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't give permi-”

“Don't tell me you're sorry!” Twilight snapped in reply, once more causing her brother to flinch as if struck. “Don't give me excuses! It doesn't matter if you didn't give the order or didn't allow it, the pony who did that was under your command! He was your responsibility! If this Smaragd Haze or whoever acted on his own when he destroyed our hospital, then it's your fault for failing to keep your subordinates under control!”

Shining Armour quietly underwent her anger, offering no resistance as Twilight all but slapped him around the head with the truth. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, letting it all happen, and he remained like that even after she was long done.

Only once he was absolutely certain that no more was following did he look up and his eyes had become pools of deep sorrow. “You're right, Twilight,” he said, his voice so quiet that the surrounding ponies had to strain their ears to hear him. “What happened to the hospital was my fault. I should have kept a firmer leash on Smaragd Haze and I didn't, even though I knew of his involvement in similar incidents. I am to blame for his actions, I admit that.”

“But Twilight, just because I made that mistake doesn't mean you have to as well,” he continued. He was openly pleading now and he didn't care who heard him. “Don't do this to yourself, Twilight, please. I know you're angry at me but don't throw away your morals just to hurt me! The plan you came up with is monstrous, Twilight, I know you know that!”

“After everything you've done you are the last pony in Equestria to lecture me about morality, Shining Armour!” Twilight all but screamed in reply. “Even if I could find it somewhere in my heart to forgive you for what you did here today, I will never forgive how you betrayed me by joining the Republican army! Even though you remember everything as clearly as I do, you still went and joined the ponies who did all those horrible things to Princess Celestia! You joined a cause that you knew from the beginning was wrong! How could you do that to her?! To me?!”

“Twilight-”

“No! I don't want to listen to your excuses! I don't want to listen to you, period!” Twilight shouted, cutting him off before he could even properly begin. “You ask me if I know that my plan was immoral when I came up with it? You can bet your traitorous plothole I did! I knew it all too well, because the only way to deal with filth is to think like filth!”

“Twilight!” Shining Armour said, alarmed and very worried to hear his sister speak like that.

“So if you're trying to appeal to my morality, brother of mine, save yourself the trouble,” Twilight continued, completely ignoring him. “In fact, I'm going to make this easy on you, Shining Armour. If there is even an ounce of the brother I once knew left inside that heart of yours, then you'll do as Grand Admiral Hooves said and retreat right now. If you don't, I will kill the hostages myself and I mean it!”

Shining Armour didn't even attempt to form a response. His mouth no longer obeyed him and his brain could no longer think. He could only listen and stare at the stone that let him hear the words of his sister.

“Retreat now and show me that there's still some good left in you, or don't and make your little sister into a murderess,” Twilight said, laying out his options one more time. “Your choice.”

A silence fell and somehow Shining Armour was certain their conversation was over.

“I believe your options have been laid out clearly enough now, Marshal,” came the voice of Derpy Hooves, confirming his suspicions. “So I would suggest you make your choice now. I'm certain neither of us has all day.”

All eyes now fell on Shining Armour, who sat there atop the wall, his head bowed under the weight of the decision he had to make. Royalists and Republics, all held their breath as they waited for him to decide their fate. Nopony moved or made even the slightest sound as the seconds passed by, each one feeling like it lasted for an eternity. All attention was aimed at that single, lone stallion, who held the lives of all who watched in his hoof.

Then, at long last, Shining Armour stirred.

Slowly, the Marshal of the Republic pushed himself to his hooves. “There really is no choice to be made here at all,” he said with a shake of his head. With a deep sigh, he took up the communication stone once more. “Very well, Grand Admiral Hooves, you win.” He ignored the astonished or outraged gasps rising up from the surrounding ponies and turned towards his commanders. “Send word to all units that they are to commence a full retreat immediately.”

Their reactions were, as expected, rather mixed. Trixie didn't look very happy, but he suspected that was more because of the Royalists' scheme than his decision. For all her arrogance and unicorn supremacy, Shining Armour knew that the unicorn commander still had enough respect for the lives of her soldiers to not throw them away if it wasn't truly necessary to do so. She gave a curt nod to show she understood his decision and did not speak out against it.

Spitfire looked more resigned than outright unhappy, as if she had known from the beginning what his choice would be. Most likely, Shining Armour suspected, because hers would have been the same. She didn't like it, that he did not doubt, but she probably understood, like him, that there would be other chances.

Smaragd Haze, however, didn't take the news as well as his colleagues did. “Marshal, you cannot be serious!” he growled, looking every bit as outraged as Shining Armour had expected him to be. “This battle is ours! There is nothing to keep us from taking this city here today!”

“The price we'd have to pay is too high,” Shining Armour replied sharply. “Continuing the battle now would be a waste of lives. I will not send the near entirety of my troops to the slaughter to take one city. For now, we will retreat, though I tell you now that this is by no means the end of our campaign. There will be other days.” He glanced over his shoulder at Desert Heat and Rainbow Dash. “You can be sure of that.”

“Why delay what we can achieve today?!” Smaragd Haze insisted, pulling Shining Armour's attention back to him. “You would give up the fight because of one stupid mare threatening to blow up our injured?! I say let her, and show that we don't negotiate with cowardly dogs who hide behind hos-”

Before he even realised what was happening, Shining Armour's magic grabbed Smaragd Haze by the throat and slammed him face-down into the ground. The commander groaned and tried to get up, only to feel his superior's hoof press down mercilessly on his head.

“No way,” Rainbow Dash thought, her eyes widened slightly in response to what she had just seen. “That was fast. I didn't even see him charge his magic! I doubt even Sparkler could be this fast.” She nervously licked her lips as she stared at the marshal with some measure of respect. “I never really thought about it before, but I guess they say he's the only one who could match Derpy in combat for a reason...”

Shining Armour looked down on the stallion pinned beneath his hoof, his eyes blazing with cold fury. “My orders, commander Haze, are to be followed, not questioned,” he said, his voice sounding all the more scary because of how even it was, as opposed to the anger showing in his eyes. “If I hear you speak out against them, or worse, ignore them, one more time, I tell you now that you will not be returning to Canterlot alive. Am I clear?”

Smaragd Haze managed to give a nod despite the hoof pinning his head down.

“We will retreat and that is final,” Shining Armour continued and he removed his hoof from the commander's head, allowing his fellow stallion to climb back to his hooves. “Now alert all units immediately,” he ordered once Smaragd Haze had re-joined his fellow commanders. “The battle is over!”

The commanders nodded and departed, returning to the head of their division to pass on Shining Armour's orders. The marshal took one last glance at Desert Heat and Rainbow Dash and then followed their example. Slowly, the Republican war machine began to move as thousands of soldiers began the long retreat.

The triumphant cheers that arose from the ranks of the Royal soldiers, victorious against all odds, followed them all the way back to their encampment.

End of chapter 40.

Author's Note:

And with that, the curtain falls on the Siege of Stalliongrad! After almost an entire year of hard work, endless delays and failed deadlines, this mini-arc is finally finished. And what a finish it is, as this chapter has clocked out at no less than 19.000 words, the longest chapter I have ever written. I don't think I'm breaking this record any time soon and frankly I don't want to. From now on, expect the chapters to return back to the average length they had before this arc. That being said, I hope you all enjoyed this mini-arc. I certainly learned a lot writing it.

Now, as you all know, a new year has come around and that means it's time for me to tell you what I have in store for the coming year. I refer you all to this blog post for that. I recommend checking it out, as I'll be talking about the next arc of "Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World" as well.

As always, my thanks go to Barbecue Sauce and popcorn815 for their help in the creation of this chapter. If it wasn't for them poking me in the rear with a trident to get me to hurry up, this chapter would probably have taken even longer to finish.

On top of that, I want to give special thanks to popcorn815 because this good sir has started a dramatic reading of this story. I refer to my blog again for more details, while the first chapter is up for your listening pleasure here.

Happy 2014, hope you all had some wonderful holidays and see you for the next chapter!

Comments

[Raistlin]

I am not sure right now who I want to smack harder: Smaragd Haze or Trixie.

[nobodyreallyimportant]

Everywhere she looked, Twilight saw stacks of crates and barrels, brimming with cannonballs, gunpowder, weapons and Celestia knew what else.

And then they went on a quest to find more gunpowder. 0_o

[zionblack]

awesome

[redskin122004]

Oh thank the lord its over.

Nice ending for this arc

[FredFredNineNine]

Thank-you for the verbal and moral beatdown of Shining Armor, it was quite VERY satisfying. Now I cannot wait for Celestia to be released

[Warwolf]

I actually want to slap Twilight now.

[Hoof of Approval]

Twilight the Strategist, huh?

I think they've gone and pissed her off one too many times for her to do this. But honestly it's the only way to end it.

[gwojo]

oh twilight so ruthless and angry I love loveit

[BR0NYGUY2001]

WOW...........JUST WOW!!!

[Raistlin]

3746246

Does Twi know Cadence is under domiciliary arrest, and with a Damocles Sword over her head just in case Shining becomes less... reliable?

[PiokDBLial]

Am I the only one thinking that Derpy's power may be the same as White Beard in One Piece ? And that Fluttershy seems to be developping some kind of Haki (again, frome One Piece) ?

Anyway, great chapter !

[Dead Turtle]

...Wow, just... wow.

I'm speechless.

I'm speechless by the awesomeness of this chapter.

[FredFredNineNine]

3748493
Doubtful, but it is heavily implied that even Cadence is currently working against Shining and the "Republic" as the Royalist's spy, so she knows what she is doing. If you are implying the only reason Shining is with the Republic is because of Cadence, then you should probably reread some of the chapters before this arc. I can't remember the chapter, but it was explained that Shining actually joined the Republic's military to keep Celestia imprisoned because he believes if released, she will go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and kill everybody. Maybe his motivations have evolved into protecting Cadence, but that does not make up for his initial betrayal

[Fluttershy20]

*takes a deep breath of relief* thank heavens that's over. That was an awesome battle, with epic and savage moments from both sides. You captured the face of war brilliantly with this arc.

Now, it seems to me like there will be another arc involving Fluttershy after this, mostly about how she got to this universe and how her stare has improved like that. Either way, I am looking forward to the next chapter

[Barbecue Sauce]

3748649 Very perceptive of you. Yes it's true, the admirals and commanders do have powers based on One Piece, since Keeper of Jericho is a fan.

[Gazmanafc]

And there it is! The reveal to Shining Armour that Twilight is on the opposing side, and that she was in the hospital when it was blown up. I can't see Smaragd Haze keeping his post much longer.

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading it this way, through the communication crystals, I'd have found it even sweeter if the meeting was face-to-face. With Derpy up front, followed by Rainbow Dash and Desert Heat, then followed by Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity, only for when Shining Armour asks about who's idea it was for all of them, without saying a word, to step aside, revealing Twilight Sparkle. Then much like in the current version, Shining's jaw meets floor.

Not what I had in mind, but it works out great nonetheless. I think Twilight's "I did" gave me goosebumps.

Though, now I wonder how the Republican leaders are going to react to the retreat... I eagerly await the next chapter.

[Sylocat]

If the Republican leaders start giving Shining Armor any flak for the retreat, he can just point out that, if he'd stayed and fought on after what Smaragd did, he would have been handing the Royalists a free license to stop fighting like knights and start fighting like guerillas and terrorists.

The Royalists can't win by force, but they've already infiltrated the Republican power centers a number of times. They could easily start taking bombs with them when they sneak in... to crowded, urban areas, packed with civilians.

Smaragd just put all that on the table, and more. Shining had to agree to a time-out, simply because he couldn't let it stay there.

[Warwolf]

3749030

Except it wouldn't be a betrayal, since he believes he is acting in the interests of innocent ponies who don't know what the actual truth was behind Celestia's imprisonment. He's basically suffering through having to go against his own instincts which would normally be to free Celestia because he's been terrorized by visions since his childhood that show Celestia rampaging across Equestria if she ever got out. Something we are already starting to see signs of in earlier chapters as being potentially prophetic, since she's already become vengeful, largely in part due to believing that Luna is completely dead, and has no idea she was simply discorporated and has since reconstituted herself. So while Shining Armor dislikes his current situation, he does it to protect ponies who simply don't know any better. Including Shining and Twilight's parents who, so far as we know, have no memory of the other timeline.

This does not excuse Twilight's actions however.

Shining Armor did NOT order the attack on the Royalist hospital, and by all accounts would have taken Smaragd to task after the battle. Sadly, in doing what she has done, masterminding an immoral act that even Shining Armor should feel utterly disgusted by— in all truth I will be VERY disappointed if this is something Shining does not have an adverse reaction to— Twilight has in fact justified Smaragd's actions in the eyes of the Republic. Or will once word gets back to them about it. Why? Because while Haze's actions are deplorable, he is simply a rogue commander doing something that his own superior would have had his hooves in a sling for if Twilight had not masterminded, and that DERPY HOOVES, the recognized COMMANDER of the entire Royalist Army, had not approved of, an act that everyone in the republic army, including its commanders (Even TRIXIE, of all ponies), find dishonorable. Now, anything the Republic does will be considered justified because of the fact that Twilight proved that there is no level the Royalists won't stoop to in order to get their way. Blueblood is smart enough to realize that if he pushed his commanders too far, they would turn on him. But now Twilight has given him the perfect justification to not only tear Shining a new one for giving in to the emotional blackmail that Twilight used on him and giving up a chance to finally end the war before it could truly get into full swing (thus giving the royalists more time to build and consolidate power for a future attack), but possibly to remove Shining from his post as Marshall and put someone more ruthless in command, whom Shining would then be forced to take orders from. Probably not Smaragd, since Blueblood is a tribalist of the highest order, but for all we know, there might be someone as bad as Haze with a horn and magic close to Shining's level.

Yeah, like I said earlier. I want to slap Twilight. The above is why.

[Warwolf]

3598712

Actually, I think that if Shining ever learns that Cadence betrayed him, even though she is FULLY AWARE of why he's doing what he's doing, will probably be enough for him to completely snap and just go balls to the wall against the royalists. He's trying to protect everyone from a rampaging Celestia, and both his sister and wife have betrayed him, the latter despite knowing why he hasn't just hauled off and rescued her already himself. God help Equestria when and if Shining ever learns that Cadance betrayed him. He would almost HAVE to go berserk as a result of it. Just on basic principles. You have to figure he's already on the edge mentally and emotionally. Twilight proving she's willing to resort to taking hostages and murder in order to help people who want to set Celestia loose to murder everything in Equestria more than likely didn't help any. I'll be very disappointed if Shining doesn't see this as a betrayal. I think I might be more disappointed if he doesn't start having to consider his sister an enemy now that she's done what she's done. I mean sure, they are siblings. But Twilight did something that even Smaragd considered cowardly. Granted, he's not really one to talk. But when even the guy who bombed a damn HOSPITAL is telling you you're doing something cowardly, whether or not its hypocritical (and granted it more or less is, although to play devil's advocate, he didn't take any hostages. He just blew up the hospital period, and without the consent of his superior officer, so if Twilight hadn't then had the brilliant idea to blackmail the republic forces into retreat, he would have likely been court martialed instead of being commended by Blueblood for proving that his actions were justified based on how the Royalists retaliated), you KNOW there's a problem. Haze isn't a coward. He's just an ass, so yeah. An ass calling someone a coward is still a big deal.

[FredFredNineNine]

3764149 I was in no way trying to justify Twilights actions, it was deplorable. However, Shining could have taken many different steps to ensure Celestia did not rampage and even gotten her released much earlier in his position. He could have used his position to station himself next to Celestia and talk to her to try and calm her down or something, but instead has completely ignored her. No, instead he believes she will go completely berserk and there is no way to change that except more time. But we the audience know that time is almost up, and Celestia will completely snap, break free, and kill absolutely everything. Shining's problem is that he is actually quite arrogant, because he has come to one conclusion, that Celestia will destroy everything if released, and not considered any other interpretation of his dream, such as maybe Celestia not being released soon will cause her to destroy everything. That last interpretation, by the way, seems to be the correct one, as confirmed by Cadence. As for licensing the Republic to act more horrible, good, because then more people will realize they are on the wrong side

[Keeper of Jericho]

3764149 3764232
I really like your comments and I'm honoured that I'm getting such insightful, long replies to my story. A bigger compliment an author cannot get! I would also like to congratulate you on your judgement of Shining Armour, you're almost fully correct when it comes to his line of thinking and what his plans for the future are.

There are a few things I'd like to point out, though. Not because you're wrong, just more food for thought.

He's basically suffering through having to go against his own instincts which would normally be to free Celestia because he's been terrorized by visions since his childhood that show Celestia rampaging across Equestria if she ever got out.

You, me and the other readers know why he does what he does, but the question is: how many characters in the story know? Cadance has been implied to know, yes, but what about the others? Twilight certainly doesn't know. She doesn't know about his nightmares or his reasons. You might ask: how can she not know? Well, she might know he had nightmares, but if he never told her what they were about, or why he acts the way he does, she's completely in the dark as to his reasons. To her, it just looks as if he's betraying her and Celestia. If she then choses to act according to this belief, it's not entirely her fault, Shining Armour shares part of the blame for not telling her.

Shining Armor did NOT order the attack on the Royalist hospital, and by all accounts would have taken Smaragd to task after the battle.

That is true. However, what Twilight said is also true: as the superior officer, Shining Armour bears responsibility for all his subordinates and their actions. The story has repeatedly hinted that this isn't the first time Smaragd Haze has stepped out of line in similar fashion, causing similar incidents, so the question can be asked of Shining Armour shouldn't have kept a shorter leash on him to begin with.

Now, as to your point about Twilight's actions justifying Smaragd's for the Republic. Personally, I don't think that's what happened, for the simple reason that Twilight only did what she did in response to Haze's actions. The irony of the whole situation is that if Haze had not blown up the hospital, Twilight would not have come up with this plan and the Royalists would have lost. It's only after Haze stepped out of line, that Twilight in return decided to cross some lines as well. However, I do feel we need to look at her decision in perspective.

Now, I think we can all agree that in normal circumstances, Twilight would never have done what she did. However, the circumstances in which she made the decision were anything but normal. Think about it. She and her friends had just avoided dying through sheer luck. This after she had, for hours, tended to hundreds of soldiers, hearing their wails of agony and pain, often just to see them die. Even trained soldiers suffer psychologically from this, now imagine an untrained civilian bookwurm thrust into the thick of things (yes, she volunteered, but it's doubtful she really knew what she was getting into). Twilight was, basically, in shock and not thinking straight. Add all of the aforementioned on top of her conflicting feelings for her brother and you arrive at her doing what she did in this chapter.

Was it immoral of her? Yes, I won't argue about that (since that was kind of the point of this chapter). However, unlike Smaragd Haze, she didn't make this decision due to any moral depravity or inherentic malicious intent. She was in shock, she was stressed, emotional and had just narrowly escaped certain death. Her decision was born from circumstances, as opposed to Smaragd's, who's actions are inherent to his character. Smaragd Haze has very questionable moral standards. Twilight does not. One immoral action doesn't suddenly put Twilight on the same level as Haze. I would also like to add that, while we'll never know for sure now if Twilight would have really killed the hostages herself, I personally don't think she could've brought herself to do it if push comes to shove. That's not even taking into consideration that she didn't have the means to kill them all to begin with, so her threat in this case was mostly pure emotional bluff.

"That's all fair and good," I hear you say, "but the Republic can still take her actions as an excuse to be ruthless in retaliation."

Well, how they will react I will address in future chapters, but I'd like to throw in some options for you to think about. Shining Armour now knows his sister was in the hospital and she was tending to wounded soldiers (she told him so herself). He's her brother, he knows her character, so I'm quite sure he could put two and two together and reach the same conclusion I made above, and write in his report of the battle that the "immoral plan" of the Royalists came from a shocked, stressed, emotional, tired and exhausted mare who was not in her right state of mind.

Will that be enough to convince the Nobles' Court? Perhaps. With Fancy Pants, we already know there are some reasonable characters amongst the Court Nobles. Plus, as stated before, the Royalists (and Twilight) only resorted to this tactic because of Smaragd Haze's immoral act. Before Haze's attack, the Royalists were perfectly willing to play by the "rules" (for the lack of a better word) of war and this would have stayed that way.

"Yeah, but Derpy still approved of Twilight's tactics, so by extend, all of the Royalists were in agreement to resort to immoral tactics!"

That's a fair point, but I'd like to remind you of something. Despite Haze acting on his own, the Republicans still took advantage of his deed as well. After Haze had bombed the hospital, of his own accord, Shining Armour could have said: "We'll hold a ceasefire to give the enemy the time to save their wounded and the innocent from this cowardly attack." He didn't. He still continued the battle, pressing onwards knowing and fully taking advantage of the fact that the enemy was disoriented, distracted and leaderless due to the attack on the hospital. Shining Armour did this, knowing full well that Haze's deed was wrong. In that light, he was no different than Derpy going along with Twilight's plan. So the Republicans can't really condemn the Royalists for doing something they did themselves. Granted, the Nobles' Court might helpfully ignore that little detail, but still, talking purely about morality, neither side can really condemn the other in this case.

Again, what the results of this battle will be and how the Nobles react to those results will be shown in future chapters, so I can't say too much about it. Just rest assured that the points you brought up here will be addressed by them as well, though what decisions will come from it remains to be seen.

[Keeper of Jericho]

3764964

Shining's problem is that he is actually quite arrogant, because he has come to one conclusion, that Celestia will destroy everything if released, and not considered any other interpretation of his dream, such as maybe Celestia not being released soon will cause her to destroy everything. That last interpretation, by the way, seems to be the correct one, as confirmed by Cadence.

This is a very good point you bring up, good sir! Time will tell if this is the case or not, of course, but I'm still happy (and honoured) to see people speculating about this!

[Warwolf]

3765283

To a certain point I can almost understand that. However bear in mind that, if I'm remembering the story correctly thus far, this war has been going on for some time even before the modern day. Blueblood's attitudes are still very much akin to what they were in the original timeline. In fact, he almost fits in more appropriately here since this seems to be the kind of place where he will thrive.

As far as Shining Armor continuing the battle. On this I halfway agree with you. He could indeed have stopped the battle. However I think he's got to be thinking in the back of his mind that while this is indeed the right thing to do, he knows that it could also cost him the battle which he hopes will actually end the entire war. If they take Stalliongrad here, the impression I got from this was that it would cripple if not outright decimate the Royalists army and prevent any future bloodshed for at least the foreseeable future. This doesn't prevent him from demanding to know who gave the order to destroy their hospital. There's also the fact that we have to consider the following: Did Shining actually KNOW what was hit was the Royalists hospital at that point or was he under the impression it was a supply depot at the time, and only learned afterwards what it really was?

Furthermore, as to the idea that the Republic might use Twilight's actions to justify Smaragd's. I bring this up because I've seen this kind of bizarre circular logic used before in fiction. Specifically in Superman/Batman, issue.....I want to say 47 or 48. This would have been during the Search for Kryptonite story arc. In a nutshell, Superman and Batman have decided to cleanse the Earth of Kryptonite in order to make Earth safe for Superman and his fellow Kryptonians (at that time being only Superboy, Supergirl, Power Girl, and Krypto aside from Supes himself) and find out a government installation has been created that contains a great deal of Kryptonite based weaponry, for the express purpose of killing Superman and his Kryptonian family members. Said installation is run by Amanda Waller, who is as polarizing a figure in DC as you can get. When Supes and Bats arrive they are attacked by a group of government created superhumans called the Last Line. Batman is captured and comes face to face with Waller who then claims that the installation that they have found now has its justification for existing from the moment Superman and Batman tracked it down and entered it, even though they had no idea it was a US Government installation.

This is why I realized that the more militant members of the Republic's government, including Blueblood, will probably use Twilight's actions to justify Smaragd's. Assuming they haven't already done something similar already. I wouldn't be surprised if Shining hadn't already tried to throw Smaragd out on his ass by now already only to be stonewalled by Blueblood or other members of the Court who are far more blase about Royalist lives. They've probably justified keeping him around because having a weapon like Smaragd on their side than in a position to turn on them is preferable. Maybe they just feels he's too damned effective to really want to lose. In any case, the Court won't see it the way Shining might, nor will they allow him to claim her emotional state would be an acceptable excuse for using hostages. In the minds of more militant members of the Court, I would have to see them thinking that anything Smaragd did during that battle is justified simply because he didn't resort to hostage taking or blackmail, and more to the point, they have to consider the fact that Shining gave in to the blackmail and because it was delivered by his own sister, they have to wonder if he's truly loyal to their cause if his sister popping up is enough to make him turn his back on a victory that would have potentially defanged the Royalist war machine. It's often said in real life that bureaucrats have no idea what life on the battlefield is like. This world you've created seems in some ways to reflect the real world. As such, while Fancy Pants might be a more reasonable authority figure, I can't see him being able to overrule everyone who will be royally (pardon the pun) pissed at Shining for backing down, feeling that he should have simply gone ahead and defeated the Royalists. In all truth, they will see it as a loss as much as the Royalists will try to proclaim they were victorious. In the end, it was really more of a draw, since Shining COULD have indeed defeated them but chose to back off to save lives. But the militant minded in the Nobles' Court won't care. They didn't get what they wanted because Shining allowed his sister's presence at Stalliongrad to influence his actions. In that situation, I see them laying down the law pretty bluntly: "If you ever put your sister's desires over the Republic's again, it will be the last time you do so. You are sworn to serve and defend the Republic, not your sister." Yes it will piss him off, but with Shining well aware of what will happen if Celestia gets free (he's always been aware his nightmares are a prophetic warning. He just interprets it in the most direct way, since as he himself states in the chapter where we first see the nightmares, who can really say that she isn't already at that point after three hundred and fifty years or so of imprisonment. His interpretation is as valid as any other, perhaps moreso that any other in fact because he at least has a more solid basis FOR said reasoning.), he'll have to acquiesce to their demands. After all, the only other thing he could do is allow the Royalists to win, set Celestia loose, and then watch everything go to hell in a handbasket. So given the choice, he'll probably go with the lesser of two evils.

I still have to think he would consider Twilight's actions, regardless of her mental and emotional state, a betrayal though. After all, the first time he sees her in years, she's at the parade she outright hates, then Rainbow Dash steals plans for the invasion, and then all of a sudden the next time he hears from her, she's with the Royalists. He has to be wondering if her life in Ponyville was a cover all this time, especially given that he knows of her friendship with Dash from the old timeline. He might even start assuming she's been helping to spy on the Republic all this time since he's not aware yet that Cadence has betrayed him. (And God help the Royalists if THAT happens. Like I said before, he would almost HAVE to snap and decide to go balls to the wall at that point. I would be extremely disappointed if he didn't because from a character standpoint it wouldn't make sense for him not to. He's under enough pressure as is. Cadence being revealed to have betrayed him despite knowing why he's worked to keep Celestia a prisoner would be enough to send him over the edge altogether.) In short, Twilight just may have cost herself a brother before all this is said and done.

[FredFredNineNine]

3765715 what are you honestly trying to argue here? Because reading through your comment makes it seem like you arguing that Celestia should be kept locked up and the Republic is justified in their actions

[Warwolf]

3765832

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I see the Republic's more militant minds will see Smaragd's actions as justified because of the way Twilight then convinced the Royalists to retaliate. I'm also saying that if Shining learns that Cadence has betrayed him, it will lead to bad consequences down the line. Remember, Shining has had prophetic visions in the form of nightmares since his childhood that depict Celestia going on a rampage across Equestria. Now to be fair, there might be a few ways to interpret it. But given what we've seen from her brief appearances thus far in the story, I tend to believe that Shining is the one who has managed to interpret the visions correctly. Right now, Celestia is too dangerous to allow free reign because she will be more than willing to attack ponies who really don't have any memory of the previous timeline and more to the point, are effectively innocent, as they are simply parroting the ideas and beliefs of their ancestors of the past three hundred and fifty years. So from that line of reasoning, Shining wanting to keep Celestia contained makes sense, and even as much as he doesn't want to believe it, he has to err on the side of caution.

Now as for the point of the Republic's view on things. Smaragd's obviously been in trouble before, and again, I get the impression Shining has wanted to throw him out on his ass for some time, if not have him arrested and confined. I just don't see the Nobles' Court allowing it. They more or less gave him his spot because he's ridiculously powerful in his own right and is a victim of tribalist racism. But because he's so good at what he does, he makes for an effective weapon, and one they don't want to see get ideas of turning on them. So yeah, his ass is probably covered since the more militant members of the Court want him well in hand, so they try to make it seem like he'll be treated fairly in order to keep him from going further out of line than he already does, if not breaking away entirely. Hell, we know from chapter 26 that the main reason Smaragd is even IN the army is to see to it his family is cared for. By this point he's proven himself so effective at his job, if they tried to threaten his family to keep him in line, he might turn on them anyway, so yeah. The Republic isn't going to risk Smaragd having a reason to turn on them.

[FredFredNineNine]

3765944 shining armour's reason make sense to him, but as a reader with much more info than shining, you should not stand by it. We as readers know from Luna that Celestia is, at this very moment, capable of leveling the city if she so chose. literally the only reason she has not is because she has not reached her breaking point despite everything, but that breaking point is very near. So tell me, how will keeping her captive longer in those horrifying conditions going to keep her from destroying everything?
PS, I do not care the consequences of Twilights actions and Smagrd's fate, so drop that from your replys to me

[Warwolf]

3766190

See there's the problem. If we have to take Luna's side on the matter, we also have to take Shining's as well. Because as you said, we as readers DO know all this, but Shining DOESN'T, so he's going purely based off the information he has. Yes, it's possible that keeping her contained is going to set her off. But Shining is of the believe she's already AT the point of going on a murderous rampage if she ever gets loose because she's been held captive for almost four centuries now, and thus containment is the only safe recourse he believes he can take. This is also something we the readers already see to be taking hold. She is already giving in to her hate of the ponies who hold her captive, making said rampage that much more likely. What makes it creepier is that Twilight of all ponies noticed it while at the parade.

[FredFredNineNine]

3766596 if you want to continue this debate, then pm me, but I think you have forgotten how Celestia is being treated

[Keeper of Jericho]

3766596 3766838
One thing I'd like to suggest is that perhaps Celestia hating ponies doesn't automatically have to go together with global genocide.

[FredFredNineNine]

3766949 sorry, I have never once believed that Celestia will actually do anything because I believe Celestia is a better pony than that. I was just trying to use text based arguments to refute warwolf's arguments because our moral stance seems fundamentally opposite, so appealing to morals is pointless

[Warwolf]

3766838

3767004
3766838

Oh I never said the way Celestia is being treated is RIGHT. (I also have a hard time believing Shining even knows how she's being treated aside from when she's brought out for that parade. He has standards that would not include allowing a prisoner to be raped repeatedly.) Just that Shining's reasons for why he's fought to keep her contained make sense given all the things we as readers know and given what we the readers know that only Shining himself knows.

[FredFredNineNine]

3767036 ok. And I was just trying to say that even though they make sense, they are still the wrong decisions

[Warwolf]

3767051

*handwaggles* It's debatable as to whether or not the decisions Shining has made are right or not. See, again, you're looking at it from the point of view only of Luna and Twilight, which is that Shining has betrayed his sister and Celestia. Shining's view is that he's been terrorized by warnings of Celestia going on a murderous rampage since he was a child, and which have never stopped. He doesn't know what Luna knows. As such, he's responding to the situation in the only manner he feels he can, and that from his perspective is the correct choice.

[Keeper of Jericho]

3767036

(I also have a hard time believing Shining even knows how she's being treated aside from when she's brought out for that parade. He has standards that would not include allowing a prisoner to be raped repeatedly.)

Hasn't been said in the story, but I see no harm in revealing this here: Shining Armour does know what Celestia had to go through in that prison cell and to his credit, the number of times Celestia has been "bothered" in any shape or form during her imprisonment has decreased dramatically since he was promoted to marshal. He keeps a stern watch to see to it that she's left alone, but, well, he can't see or know everything that every single soldier under his command does, despite his vigil. Still, it's better now than it was before Shining Armour came along. If "better" is the right term to use in this case.

[Warwolf]

3767182

Fair point I suppose. That actually makes him just that little bit more sympathetic then. He's at least trying to see to it she's treated more or less fairly, something that it sounds like nobody else has ever bothered to do for her.

[FredFredNineNine]

3767149 pm me or drop the argument, we are cluttering the comments

[Effy]

>Torture-Rape-Dungeon
>Dismemberment & Evisceration
>No Dark tag
>No Gore tag
>Rating: Everyone

That's pretty mean, author. The story is good but yeesh, warn a guy. (The rape is kinda excessive IMO; her despair and anger were more than adequately depicted without that, but y'know, whatever, not my story.)

I've personally been liking the idea that Philomena is getting her messages from "The Phoenix" Spitfire (and not just because of the "Woah, meaningful name!" part). After all, Shining wouldn't have any real reason to let Cadance know all of the details of his war strategy (It's enough for her to know what his job is at all and he'd probably rather discuss other things with her in his time off.) and she's far too restricted to find or distribute that information anyway. However we've known that Spitfire knew of the real timeline and was sympathetic to Celestia (In that she knew she didn't deserve any of what she got) before the invasion began.

[Keeper of Jericho]

3767285

>Torture-Rape-Dungeon
>Dismemberment & Evisceration
>No Dark tag
>No Gore tag
>Rating: Everyone

Well, none of those things really happen in detail, they are just said to happen, so I personally didn't feel it required a dark or gore tag. I don't really think this is a "dark" story, more like it has dark things happening at it. As far as gore goes, I don't think it really needs a tag for it, since, while ponies do get hurt or killed, it's not really described in bloody details. Kind of like how I wouldn't give Lord of the Rings, for example, a gore or dark tag either, despite it also having battles in which orcs get decapitated, slaughtered, etc. Perhaps a teen rating would be in place, though.

That aside, I'm happy you're enjoying the story! You're also the first person, I think, to bring up the theory of Spitfire being the inside informant for the Royalists. It's a great honour for me as an author to have my readers speculate and debate about what's going to happen, so thank you!

[Raistlin]

3767285

Spitfire already told Rainbow Dash her motivation, basically the same as SA´s: Celestia must have already went bonkers; if she gets free, Equestria will burn.

[Effy]

3796544

Spitfire already told Rainbow Dash her motivation, basically the same as SA´s: Celestia must have already went bonkers; if she gets free, Equestria will burn.

Certainly, and earlier she mentioned that it would be best for her fellow ponies for the war to end; delaying the end of the war by feeding the opposition Intel would be quite counter-intuitive.

Before we get into that, let's talk about capability for a bit. Cadance has been everyone's presumption for the informant, quite reasonably. She has all the motive in the world; Her aunt is unfairly imprisoned, herself one step above that with no freedom to express herself, and she's the wife of the person responsible for enforcing it.

But as I've said earlier, she's really not in a great position to do anything about it. Spitfire meanwhile works directly in the Republic's enforcement and war efforts, and her high position grants her great knowledge and freedom to act as she chooses.

While the invasion plans were known about for months, the secondary assault was a last minute addition; One that the informant just barely got wind of. This just hours after Shining and Spitfire tried to talk the Royalists into surrender, perhaps added after negotiations failed, and even Spitfire was only informed then. Doubtful Shining would have written home to his wife about his super secret strategy.

But let's go back to motive. She was there when Night Mare Moon was defeated, and this is when Luna was freed, perhaps she saw something that caused her to... totally betray the Republic she'd spent her new life working for? Well, maybe the motive hasn't cleared up yet, and a double-agent wouldn't just spit out that she's a traitor.

Meh, I'm more saying that the events line up that she's in the best position to be the informant imo. Well, of the character's revealed so far anyway. I suppose Cadance might just be a ninja or Fleur De Lis a spy or something.

3767319

I don't really think this is a "dark" story, more like it has dark things happening at it.

As far as gore goes, I don't think it really needs a tag for it, since, while ponies do get hurt or killed, it's not really described in bloody details.

Convulsing on the floor while your eyes are twitching and you're coughing up blood, doesn't really strike me as vague but...

Kind of like how I wouldn't give Lord of the Rings, for example, a gore or dark tag either, despite it also having battles in which orcs get decapitated, slaughtered, etc. Perhaps a teen rating would be in place, though.

If that's where you're coming from I can see your point. I guess watching my poor little ponies get their face split open is worse to me (personal double standards and whatnot) than some troll getting a wand shoved into its brain (just remembered that; Jeez Harry Potter, you scary.).

A teen tag would be appreciated though, you know, for the rape n' stuff (cultural double standards, woo!).

Also, if you like to elicit emotion in readers, you'll be pleased to know that every chapter fills me with a sense of dread I've not experienced in any media before. (In a good way I guess? Maybe?) I'm foolishly still hoping for a happy ending to this story cause I'm a dork.

[Keeper of Jericho]

3800902

While the invasion plans were known about for months, the secondary assault was a last minute addition; One that the informant just barely got wind of.

Ah, I just want to say that the secondary assault wasn't a last minute addition, it's only that the Royalists learned of it last minute, is all. Opening a second front was always part of the plan, it's just that Shining Armour and the Commanders managed to keep it top secret until apparently somehow the informant in Canterlot got wind of it last minute to send a hasty report to Derpy.

Convulsing on the floor while your eyes are twitching and you're coughing up blood, doesn't really strike me as vague but...

Well, I can certainly understand that viewpoint. I guess it's just personal interpretation of "gore". For me, "gore" means I'd describe ponies getting dismembered and slaughtered in Cupcakes-like detail, with the slaughtering being the point of the story. That's not quite what I'm doing (partly because I'm a total wuss when it comes to horror and gore), which is why I didn't add a gore tag. Again, I guess it depends on what we understand as "gore". Not saying you're wrong, or anything.

A teen tag would be appreciated though, you know, for the rape n' stuff (cultural double standards, woo!).

*nods* I'll change the rating.

I'm foolishly still hoping for a happy ending to this story cause I'm a dork.

There's nothing foolish about that! If it's any consolation, I'm a man who dislikes bad endings and I always feel cheated when a story I like ends badly. I always want at least a spark of hope for things to get better, even if the story I just read was very grim-dark. My own stories are no different. So, at the very least, when the story is finished you won't find yourself without hope.

[Effy]

3801310

Ah, I just want to say that the secondary assault wasn't a last minute addition, it's only that the Royalists learned of it last minute, is all. Opening a second front was always part of the plan, it's just that Shining Armour and the Commanders managed to keep it top secret until apparently somehow the informant in Canterlot got wind of it last minute to send a hasty report to Derpy.

Oh.
Well.

Dang.

There's nothing foolish about that! If it's any consolation, I'm a man who dislikes bad endings and I always feel cheated when a story I like ends badly. I always want at least a spark of hope for things to get better, even if the story I just read was very grim-dark. My own stories are no different. So, at the very least, when the story is finished you won't find yourself without hope.

Nice to hear we're of similar minds on this. Since you've got me along for the ride anyway that's somewhat alleviating.

[Reader Wolf]

Sometimes, to fight monsters, you have to force yourself to think like them...

3746012
I'd smack Haze. Trixie's a bigot, but the narration did say she wasn't happy with an unnecessary waste of life.
Haze, on the other hand, was perfectly willing to send his soldiers into a massacre so long as he could seize victory in the end.
Plus, he attacked a hospital, and in wartime, that is one of the most despicable things you can do. I smell dishonorable discharge!

[Barbecue Sauce]

This is a comment.

[Warwolf]

3970503

As I've said before, I really don't see that happening, especially given the reasons I've outlined before. I really believe Shining Armor's tried to kick him out before, but has been stonewalled every time by those in the Noble's Court who are more militantly minded. They'll consider the fact that the enemy commander decided to deliberately stoop to the same level as Haze did when he went rogue as a justification for his own actions. Again, see my earlier posts on the matter. If he does get discharged, that carries particular risks, since we know how strong he is. He may not be as strong as Armor necessarily, but he's a leader in the Republic army for a reason. We also know the only reason he even puts up with the Nobles is for the sake of keeping his family cared for. So they won't be stupid enough to threaten them either, because again, he's ridiculously strong for an Earth Pony and if you threaten his family, well, that's a surefire way to have that strength turned against you. And they don't want a weapon like Haze to be in a situation where he feels justified in turning on them.

[Brony God]

3801310 Excellent and epic story. I can't wait for the next chapter. May those meany pantsed Nobles as Pinkie Pie calls the Noble's Court regime be sent to the fiery pits of Tartarus because they are beyond mean and they force everypony to wear pants, not to mention that they are also war criminals and rapists. Long live the Royalists and death to those mass murdering puritanical Republican scumbags. So I will look forward to see what happens next for this is one of the best fanfics I have ever read and it should have more views

[Brony God]

3767239
3764232 I am worried that the Republicans will now stage terrorist attacks in Royalist cities like setting of bombs to killed Royalist civilians after all they are that morally bankrupt enough to do that and do not forget that the Republicans carpet bombed Ponyville which is in Republican territory because they suspected there was Royalist activity in that city

[Warwolf]

Could be. But at this point I think we first need to see how they react to this situation altogether before we worry about terrorist attacks. Particularly because if they're outed as doing such, My guess is that the entire thing would come back to haunt them because ponies wouldn't be happy with their leaders doing things that even their own soldiers find morally reprehensible. Aside from maybe Haze.

[Brony God]

4289399 The Republicans would probably would say that the Royalists are bombing themselves just to rally more support for the Royalist cause

[Warwolf]

Assuming evidence debunking that didn't come out.