Chapter Twelve
When I finally began to comprehend anything, I was lying down, staring upwards into the canopy of a tree. After sitting up and taking a look around, I sighed.
“God damn it.”
I was sitting under the only tree in a sea of endless, rolling hills, just like the last time Luna had payed me a visit in my dreams.
“What are we going to do with you, Corporal?”
I didn’t even bother turning to look at the sound of Luna’s voice. “You could always let me go.”
“Were the decision solely up to me, I would actually consider it.” She moved up from behind me and sat down on my left. “You are more trouble than you are worth, do you realize this?”
I gave the princess a sidelong glance before I replied. “Duh. I’m a prisoner, it comes with the territory.”
“Even to the point of picking fights with guards?”
Crossing my legs and leaning forward, I shrugged. “Sure. Not that a fight would have been allowed to go far. I wanted to wipe that smug sense of superiority off his face. I just didn’t think he’d jump me from behind.” I finally gave Luna my attention and looked at her. “What was his problem?”
The princess regarded me with a serious gaze.“You insulted him in one of the worst ways possible.”
I frowned and tilted my head in confusion. “I did?”
Luna nodded. “Indeed, which surprises me, as you have been… somewhat respectful in your time here.”
Shaking my head, I sighed. “What part of what I said was so insulting?” The whole remark was supposed to be insulting, but I didn’t expect a homicidal kind of reaction.
“You called him a… I cannot believe I am actually going to say it— ‘dirtbag’.”
I gave the princess a deadpan stare. “...Really? That’s what upset him?”
Luna frowned and eyed me. “You… you do not have any clue, do you?”
I shook my head.
“Scythe is an earth pony.”
“Okay, so what does dirtbag have to…” I trailed off as it clicked. It’s a cultural thing. “That’s not…” My hand slowly rose to my face as I groaned. “Where I’m from, ‘dirtbag’ is a less flattering way to call someone rude. I didn’t know it could be interpreted as a racial slur. That’s not a line I cross.”
“So it was unintentional?”
Lowering my hand, I nodded. “Yes. Don’t get me wrong, I was trying to be insulting, but not on that kind of level. Still, if that’s all it takes to get your guards to snap and do shit they know they’re not supposed to, they need better training.”
The princess frowned at me. “Our guards have not experienced war. They are struggling to cope with what they are experiencing, and these new feelings, and you,” she pointed accusingly at me with a forehoof, “are not helping, unintentional or not.” She sighed and stared forward, off into the distance. “It also does not help that they see you and are reminded of the friends who have been wounded or lost. It does not matter to them that you were not personally responsible for this. I have spoken with many guards personally, and they have confessed to feeling anger towards you upon seeing you. Cobalt and Prism are an excellent example. They both decided that killing you would help them feel better, and avenge the deaths of their comrades.”
I wonder how the guards assigned to me feel. I started thinking back on my first deployment. That had been years ago and I was still suffering the consequences, and I came from a world where war was commonplace. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for the citizens of a peaceful place like Equestria, especially those doing the fighting. Having a pretty good idea of what they were going through, I felt kinda bad for them. On the other hand, they were the enemy, so why did I care at all? Maybe it was because they were still soldiers, regardless of who they were fighting for. Being a relatively nice guy sucks sometimes.
After a long silence, I decided to change the subject.
“So how messed up am I this time?”
Luna’s expression became passive. “Four broken ribs, several others damaged, and you nearly had a lung punctured.”
I winced. “Lovely. More things to add to the ‘Shit that’s happened to me’ list.” Sighing, I pushed myself to my feet. “So why are you here this time? Can’t imagine you’re simply here to talk.”
Looking over, I saw Luna shake her head.
“The purpose of this visit was to hear what you had to say about what happened, sooner rather than later.”
“Then I guess there’s nothing more you need from me.” I started down the hill.
“No, nothing in particular.” Luna said. I could hear her following me.
“So what are you still doing here?” As we descended the hill, a road appeared at the bottom. The road snaked its way around, over, and between the hills.
“I am now curious to see what you are doing.”
“Stress relief.” I replied, walking towards the motorcycle that had just appeared on the road. “Since you were nice enough to put me into this lucid state, I’m going to take advantage of it.”
While not perfect, the bike was a pretty decent replica of mine back home, even down to some of the dings and scratches. It handled like a dream, and I would sometimes just go on rides with no real destination in mind, just to get away for a while.
“I remember these types of vehicles from my visits to your world.” Luna said, examining the bike as I hopped on. “I always thought those who rode them had to be somewhat crazy. I see now that I was correct in my theory.”
“In my case, maybe.” I sighed as the princess circled around. “I can’t figure you out. What’s your angle?”
Luna stopped an looked at me. “I beg your pardon?”
“Last time you paid me a visit, you were ready to beat me senseless. This time, you’re acting like you did the first time you were in my head. Are you bipolar or something?”
The princess gave me a dirty look. “I see you are still in your disrespectful state. I will pretend I did not hear that… this time.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” I said, pointing at her. “You’re just going to let that slide?”
Luna regarded me with a level gaze. “It will take more than some disrespectful comments from a prisoner to get a reaction from me.”
“What about last time? You fuckin’ kicked me.”
The princess closed her eyes, and inclined her head. “The circumstances were different.” Opening her eyes, Luna returned her attention to me. “As for my ‘angle’, that is on a ‘need to know’ basis.”
I rolled my eyes and turned the ignition key. “Uh huh.” Using my right thumb, I pressed the ignition button, and the bike rumbled to life. “Well, I don’t like you being in my head, so would you leave?”
Luna gave me a devious grin. “I believe the phrase is: make me.”
Fucking bitch. I glared at the princess. “Don’t you have laws about being in someone’s dreams without their permission or something?”
“For citizens of Equestria, yes. You do not have that luxury.”
So much for stress relief. The bike and the road vanished. “You know what? Fine.” I sat down and just stared at the princess. “If that’s the way you’re going to be, then I’m not going to do anything.”
Luna shrugged. “Very well. I guess you will not be needing this lucid dream anymore.”
Before I could respond, her horn flashed and everything went black.
Waking up sucks, even more so when you do so in a hospital bed. I knew it was a hospital bed because I remembered what happened, I could hear an EKG, and my chest was uncomfortably sore. Opening my eyes, I gave the room a groggy examination. If I had to guess, I’d say I was in the same room as last time, but for all I knew, all the rooms were the same. Of course, I’m sure none of the other rooms came with guards posted at the door.
“Ah, how convenient. Now I won’t have to come back later.”
Looking from the door to my left, I saw a light blue unicorn in a lab coat studying a clipboard.
“You’re the doc from last time,” I rasped, “the one with the contradictory name.”
The doctor looked up. “Contradictory?” He asked.
“Needles aren’t gentle.”
Needles looked thoughtful. “I’ve never heard my name described in that way. You dislike needles, I take it.”
“Yes.”
The doctor gave me a cheerful smile. “I would suggest you don’t look at your arm then.”
Now that he’d mentioned it, I could feel them stuck in me. Bastard. I decided to follow his advice, and keep my arm out of my sight, and try not to think about it.
“Now then, how are you feeling, Corporal?”
I gave Needles a flat look and deadpanned, “Seriously?”
Needles, still smiling, simply nodded. “You know better than anypony how you are feeling, so rather than guess, I ask.”
I sighed, which caused an unpleasant sensation to go through my chest. “No pain, currently, but extremely unpleasant.”
“Painkillers must be wearing off.” The doctor took a pencil from the top of the clipboard and wrote something down, using his mouth. Replacing the pencil, he said, “I’ll have another dose administered soon. You’ll be happy to know that you are healing well, and should be out of here in a few days.”
“That fast?”
“While it may not be instantaneous, magic does accelerate the healing process.”
“Neat.” I swallowed. “Can I get some water?”
“On your right.”
I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but Private Breeze was definitely one the guards at the door. A quick look showed that she, and the unicorn she was paired with, were wearing neutral expressions. I probably lost any respect they might have had for me, if they had any at all. Looking to my right, I found a glass waiting on the small side table. As I went through the process of satisfying my thirst, the door opened, and Princess Celestia walked in. Since the night guards were on duty, it must have been sometime during the night, and I never would have expected Princess Celestia to make a personal visit at that kind of hour.
“My apologies, Doctor, but I must ask that you leave.”
Needles turned and bowed. “Of course, Princess.”
As he made his way out of the room, the princess addressed the guards.
“Wait outside.”
Both guards saluted. “Yes, Your Highness.”
For a second, I was worried, remembering that pretty much the same thing had happened with Luna, however, unlike that experience, Celestia didn’t appear upset. I would just have to wait and see how things played out, since there wasn’t much else I could do. If I’d pissed them off that much, I’m sure they’d have just let me die. The princess waited till they had all left and closed the door before turning her attention to me.
She regarded me in silence for a moment, before speaking, “If you were a pony, your talent would most certainly be being a nuisance. Scythe was a skilled leader, and now his abilities are being wasted.”
I replaced the glass on the table and shifted around, trying to get more comfortable. As I did, Celestia continued.
“I do not expect you to cooperate with everything we ask, and I expect you to challenge us every step of the way, but to cause this much trouble?” Celestia gave me a long hard stare. “You seem to get along with Sergeant Heartmender and Private Midnight Breeze, so I know you are capable of getting along with us. Why not try to get along with others, or at least keep your mouth shut.”
I returned the princess’s gaze, though having just woken up, and being drugged, I don’t think it had the same effect. “Just because I can be nice to some, doesn’t mean I will be nice to everyone. I can get along with them because they don't treat me like I'm inferior. Besides, if someone is going to talk shit, I’m going to give it right back.”
The princess sighed. “Let me ask you something, Corporal Duran.” I watched as Celestia moved to the side of the bed where Dr. Needles had previously been. “Do you know why you have had it so nice here, even being a prisoner?”
I was going to argue that there was nothing nice about this whole thing, but aside from the two incidents that sent me to the infirmary, nothing else was that bad. I was fed three times a day, had a decent bed to sleep on, someone to talk to, and for a little while, and the chance to waste time outside. Why I’d been treated this way, I didn’t know.
I shook my head and shrugged. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because you guys are too damn nice for your own good, or you just don’t know how prisoners should be treated.”
Celestia gave a chuckle. “Yes, I’m sure your way of dealing with prisoners differs greatly from ours.” The mirth left the princess’s face. “I’m going to be honest with you, Corporal. The reason we have been showing you this kindness, in spite of what your comrades have done, is because we do not want to fight you. We wish to be friends.”
“Friends.” I echoed, not fully believing what she’d said. “I don’t think your subjects all feel the same way.”
“Of course it would not happen overnight, but given time, I believe our nations could still have positive relations, even after what has happened.”
All the shit that’s gone down, and she still wants to be friends. It’s not like that hasn’t happened before, but still, why is she so determined?
“All the patrols you sent out make it hard to believe that you didn’t want to fight us.”
Celestia exhaled slowly. “You are still a hostile, intrusive force, and I cannot allow you to run around unchecked inside my borders, even if you were content to stay hidden and not cause trouble.”
I paused to think about what she’d said. It didn’t all add up.
“Using lethal force isn’t the best way to show that you want to be friendly. We’ve lost guys.”
Celestia’s expression didn’t change. “Ultimately, the lives of my ponies are more important to me than yours, and if lethal force is what’s needed for them to return home from a mission, so be it.”
I paused again, running my right hand through my hair, which was probably out of regs by now. I still doubted that I could trust the princess, but she’d piqued my interest.
“What would you do if you knew where we were hiding?”
Celestia perked slightly at my question, like she hadn’t expected the conversation to go in that direction. She probably thinks I’m finally considering telling her.
“I would send an ambassador to negotiate for your surrender.”
“And if that didn’t work?” And it probably wouldn’t.
“I would have you all subdued with as little bloodshed as possible.”
With each answer, the princess seemed to be slightly more cheerful. I could even see the hint of a smile on her lips. She’s got to be telling me this to convince me that everything will be okay if I just give in and talk. I decided to keep going.
“To what end? What’ll you do when you’ve got us?”
Now Celestia was smiling. “I’ll send you home.”
That… wasn’t what I had been expecting. At all.
“Lemme get this straight. You want to find us, convince us to surrender, or capture us, and just... send us home?” At Celestia’s nod, I asked, “Why?”
“As a show of goodwill. With the Gate under our control, and your threat removed, we can then begin our recovery. Then, after sufficient time has passed, I would attempt to begin peace talks with your nation.”
I was staring at the princess, almost in disbelief. Based on what she’d said, if it could be believed, I could have been home already. All I wanted to do was put this all behind me, but the pricetag of betrayal, was too high. Looking down at the foot of the bed, I absently rubbed my chest, which was becoming noticeably more uncomfortable as time passed.
Even knowing the cost, and consequences, I still began to have second thoughts. I could end this whole stupid thing right now, and we could all go home. There’s also the chance that no one would find out if I said anything… but I would know. Would I be able to live with that decision? And since I’ve been a PoW, I’m sure I’ll be thoroughly debriefed. Would I be able to keep my betrayal a secret? I must have spend a decent amount of time in thought, because Celestia cleared her throat. When I looked up, her smile was gone, replaced by her mask of seriousness.
“It is quite clear you have been thinking about what I have said. I imagine it changed a few things for you. Have you, perhaps, decided what you want to do?”
After a moment’s hesitation, I nodded. “I have your word that nobody will be hurt?”
Celestia nodded in return. “As much as I can give. If they insist on being uncooperative, then I cannot promise anything.”
“That’s the best I can hope for, I guess… I’m gonna need a map.”
The princess’ eyes lit up, and her smile came back in force. Wasting no time, she moved moved to the door, opening it when she got there.
Celestia leaned outside, and I heard her say, “Bring me a map, quickly.”
There was an acknowledgement, followed by the sound of hooves rapidly leaving. With nothing to do but wait, the princess turned and addressed me again.
“Had I known simply telling you my intentions would have worked, I would have done so long ago.”
I didn’t respond, too busy thinking about what I was going to do. Celestia must have noticed my melancholy demeanor.
“Do not feel bad, Corporal. It was inevitable that we would find your hiding place. You are simply accelerating the process. Do not worry, this will work out to everyone’s benefit.”
“Uh huh.”
A few minutes later, I noticed Celestia’s ears perk. Moments later, I heard it too, the sound of hoofsteps quickly getting closer. A guard soon appeared, trotting through the doorway, and passed a rolled map to Celestia. The princess passed it to me, and I unrolled it over my lap and began studying it.
After looking for a short time, I glanced up. “Is this map up to date?”
In response, Celestia looked to the guard that had brought it, who was still standing in the room.
“As far as I know, it’s current, Your Highness,” The bat pony replied.
Strange that it wasn’t Clipper, but that wasn’t important right now. “You sure? I can’t find the landmark.”
Celestia leaned in and began scrutinizing the map. “I know my kingdom well, what landmark can’t you find?”
Leaning to the side, I pushed her flowing mane out of the way. The act left a weird sensation on my hand, but I ignored it and put my finger on a random spot on the map. Keeping my voice calm and level, I said, “Camp Gullible was next to Mount Got Ya, which isn’t listed anywhere on this map.”
Celestia’s head slowly rose from the map. As it came up, she turned to look at me, a mixture of emotion on her face, disbelief the most prominent.
“What?” I asked innocently. “Maybe if we tried a different–”
“You had no intention of showing me where your friends are hiding.” Celestia stated, not letting me finish my suggestion.
“Of course not.” I said, dropping the act and rolling the map. “I don’t know if you’re being sincere or just telling me something you think I want to hear. Regardless, treason isn’t something I’m going to commit.”
“Then why go through all this? Why not just say so?”
“Because you must think I’m stupid or something and I don’t appreciate it. Plus the look on your fa–”
Celestia’s horn suddenly lit up, interrupting me. I instinctively tried to move away, but the golden glow surrounding me prevented any movement. The EKG began beeping rapidly, matching my heart, as I slowly began to panic. Celestia had to know about my phobia, and the fact that she was holding me in place, and the slow, deliberate way she magically took the map from me made it pretty clear she was quite upset. A panicked look was all I needed to confirm this. Unlike Heartmender holding me before, I couldn’t even squirm in Celestia’s hold. All I could do was grit my teeth and try to keep my panic under control, as my brain screamed at me to do something I could not.
“I do not know why I thought, even for a moment, that you would cooperate.” The princess turned to leave. The guard, glaring at me, followed suite. “Do not think I have forgotten what brought you to the infirmary this time, Corporal. As you have proven that you cannot behave, once you are released, you are hereby confined to your cell. Furthermore, you are forbidden to interact with any guards, besides those assigned to you. Disobey that, and you will be punished further.”
When she passed through the doorway, Celestia’s magic faded and I immediately began pushing myself as far up the back of the bed as possible till I finally began to calm down. Mental note, don’t troll the princess.
As I collected myself, Breeze and another guard retook their position inside the door, which they closed behind them. Breathing heavily, an ache built in my chest, my reward for my sudden movement. Maybe they should have just let me die. Things would be a whole lot easier. Settling in, I wondered If I would get a even get another dose of painkillers.
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Daaymn.
Yeah, troll Trollestia, that will surely go well.
I'm still eager to get you to finally tell us what happened between Equestria and the US.
Man,,this guy just can't catch a break.
6275930
Just out of curiosity, what would you do if I never did?
6275966
6275970
Must... control... urge to... troll. Nah, I'm not that big of a jerk. It'll come around, maybe.
Luna does nothing but make excuses for her guards' behavior, and Celestia expects humans to make all the concessions, while her ponies make none, so they can be "friends."
After this chapter, it's hard not to want to see Canterlot bombed off the side of the mountain, and Equestria paved over to build Walmarts.
The part where Celestia says that her ponies are more important than humans is incorrect. I understand that you meant that her ponies are more important to her than the humans, but humans have just as much right to exist as ponies, and her statement makes it seem like she's stating as a definitive fact that ponies are more important than humans.
bottom-line you might want to edit that statement, just a suggestion.
Hmm, interdasting.
I need more
6275985 to be honest , it seems that the only concession that she wishes them to make so far is to GTFO.
I hope he continues to speak to the guards. That would prove, threats of punishments not withstanding, that they have no real control over him. It's what I'd do.
I was surprised he didn't make a similar statement in response to that about his fellow soldiers
6276030
You are correct, that is what I meant. Thanks for pointing that out for me.
6276030 Yeah, she should say something like:"As a ruler, the lives of my ponies are my responsabilities, furthermore, it makes their lives more important for me, than the lives of your fellows soldiers"
6276254 It's hinted that the portal between the two has been closed and that humans are trying to reopen it to save the soldiers stranded in Equestria, while Equestria is keeping the portal closed so they can boot the humans back on their own terms. I don't know about you, but in the question between who can keep a portal controlled better I'm going to give the edge to the species who's been able to teleport for hundreds of years as opposed to the one who discovered black holes barely 100 years ago.
6276289
One thing, there should be a back story of sorts to explain what happened. The way she has this misgiving about the humans, I wonder if the humans may have done some nasty things when encountering the ponies. Hence the conflict.
6275985 Its possible the portal to Equestria may have been shut down by the ponies, so they cannot reinforce their troops. The only concession they want from the Humans is to get the hell out of her country. What concession can Celestia offer? She is after all offering surrendering all the human prisoners intact back to Earth.
...and your threat removed, we can then begin our recovery. What did the humans do in their incursion to Equestria.
6276030 I believe what she meant was that her ponies are more important to her.
6276616 I know I actually addressed that in the comment.
6276030 From her point of view, the ponies being more important is a definitive fact.
6276716 I addressed this in the comment.
I can't even begin to tell you how great this chapter was. If it were me, I would have challenged them to kill me.
The point of being a Troll is that you do not tolerate being Trolled by the Trollee
6276392
6276061
Celestia does not just want humans out of Equestria.
Celestia's best trained ponies have shown themselves to be violent, xenophobic little bastards at every turn. Many of them don't want peace, and go out of their way to cause conflict. When Duran pointed that out to her, she shifted all the blame onto him, for not keeping his mouth shut, after being repeatedly insulted. She wants humans to always be the ones to turn the other cheek, when provoked by ponies.
Celestia wants control of the portal, so that all future contact between humans and ponies happens on her terms alone. She's not willing to meet them halfway. She'll only settle for dealing with humans from a strategically superior position.
For fuck's sake, she's talking to a helpless prisoner who's almost been beaten to death, by her representatives, twice, and she's whining about how HE is inconveniencing HER. She needs perspective.
And then there's Luna. She has the nerve to say it's the humans' fault that her ponies are turning into war criminals, because the humans have more experience with war.
The ponies, in this story, are so blind to their own faults, and so convinced of their own moral superiority, that they are not willing to make any changes. Therefore, the burden of bringing about peace has been put entirely on the humans.
6276931
Although two guards Cobalt & Prism did, as it seems motivated by their hatred of humans, & Celestia surmised was because of friends these two lost in the conflict. Celestia took the blame & it didn't sound like she blamed the protagonist, & even discharge those two ponies dishonorably for hurting an unarmed prisoner. In the last incident, Heartmender & Stormfront tried to defuse a growing situation as he ran that tract, our protagonist continued to push it, & unintentionally used a word that turned out to be a racial slur in Equestria. Resulting being severely injured by that Earth pony. Then we have the doctor caring for him & doing his diligent duty to mend him.
Luna admonish him for making Celestia cry, a case that he has a big mouth.
Ponies Heartmender & Stormfront, & the doctor treating him, they don't seem to be xenophobic little bastards at every turn. How did you conclude many don't want peace, and go out of their way to cause conflict. Is it because of a very few? A lot more seems to show tolerance. Even Shining Armor had to stop an abuse against the prisoner. I don't see this thing about humans turning the other cheek since it is just one man in our story, pushing back when he feels he's being pushed. And as it has been shown, he has a big mouth. I saw ponies angry because of the war, I doubt they are xenophobic, after all they live in a world with several sapient species like minotaurs & gryphons.
But don't forget that our protagonist is a prisoner of war, it is surprising that he was allowed some liberty normally not offered to prisoners. But yes she is talking to a prisoner, why shouldn't she. She's not torturing him or anything, or although she is pressing him to reveal the location of his fellow soldiers. Things like that happens when you end up as a POW, that she hasn't tortured him yet is a surprise, especially for him knowing well how humans treat human POWs. But of course she wants some cooperation from him, & like a trained soldier, he is resisting. Although in the 12th chapter, he is confined & we may soon learn if he may lose some liberties, not interacting with other ponies besides the guards assigned to him for his protection & to assure he doesn't get anymore trouble, either started by him or some pony with a grudge looking for a payback.
I don't know if she wants to meet them half way, but definitely she may not trust humans. Since Equestria needs to recover indicates something not good happened when humans arrived to Equestria. Did the 1st humans explores commit some mischief to the ponies & that was what initiated the hostilities? What it is may be something the author may explore by writing a story about it. So whatever it is, she realize that she has to allow some time to pass so things may become amicable again to make contact with the humans. But in the mean time, she doesn't want humans roaming in her land. After all, Celestia is aware of Earths history, & how easily humans can commit violence. If I were her, after kicking the humans out, I definitely would destroy that portal & not risk making any additional contacts with the humans. But in this story she is confident she can eventually have amicable contacts with the humans, a more optimist mare I guess, but if she want's to do it in her terms. I wouldn't blame her for that.
I love this story.
Nice to see we're finally getting a little bit of backstory here. I had a feeling the human forces were cut off, and a portal controlled by the ponies certainly does the trick. Explains the lack of any heavy equipment on their side. First thing I thought at the beginning of the story was "Where's the Humvee?".
That last part could've been handled much more diplomatically by Duran. Talking shit with the guards is one thing, but deliberately pissing off the princess like that won't do him any good, even if she deserves it. I think after learning the significance of the word 'dirtbag' he should have immediately asked to see Scythe so he could apologize for the unintended insult personally. With any luck he'd then get an apology in return for the broken rib cage, jimmies would be unrustled, things could go back to 'normal' and everyone would think better of him. Win-win.
That said, Celestia really needs to sit down and consider this from Duran's point of view. She can't just keep blaming him for everything. Even if he'd like to believe her promise of letting them go back to earth, he can't know for sure that she'd keep her end of the bargain. As far as he knows his brothers in arms would just end up in the same position he is. Worst case, dead. Best case, more PoW bargaining chips for Celestia for when she finally decides to open the portal again. Risking all of their lives with no guarantee other than her word would be extraordinarily foolish.
If she's serious about her 'show of goodwill', she could start by not hunting the humans. Yes, they're an intrusive force and all that, but what does she expect them to do? They're stuck on an alien world, surrounded by hostiles with no rescue in sight. Limited supplies, no heavy weaponry, outnumbered. If the enemy finds their base, they're dead. (Or so they think.) Out of bullets, dead. Out of food, dead. Celestia needn't worry about the humans attacking any of her little ponies. They're going to stay low, and try to stay alive. Short of a desperate attack to pillage some supplies, an offensive is probably the last thing on their minds.
The ponies ought to leave the humans a message: Take some food, medicine, supplies, maybe a PoW and put them in a place where they're likely to be found by a human patrol. Don't try to track them back to their base. Let them pick a time and place for the ambassadors to meet. Remember, stealth is the only real advantage the humans have right now. They won't risk going to a place the ponies pick out for them. Negotiate a ceasefire and let them stay hidden until the portal's open again.
The only way I can see this ending "happily " is for Duran to deliberately push the princess to the point where she rips the info from his mind. Duran is obviously considering it but won't betray his people by just telling them what's they want. Best case, the ponies have the info they need to end the war and Duran is a vegetable. No doubt the princess will have to abandon her principles to do this, so it all would come down to who breaks first and abandons their ideals.
6281790 I agree entirely.
6281986 That is, if he lets her. I assume there's a way to resist that " mind ripping," even if he ends up as a vegetable/severely wounded/dead because of it.
6276931
Let me ask you one question.
Which country has been invaded by foreign hostiles in this story?
...
...
...
Celestia and Luna, as far as we've been shown, are fighting a defensive war. They don't need to offer humans - the invading force - any concessions, but they still are. Why? Because they're nice ponies and they want things to end amicably.
6340739 Nice and amicable?
The princesses did the whole wise and benevolent act at the beginning of the story. That's when they thought they were holding all the cards and getting what they wanted was only a matter of time.
I say act, because the longer Duran holds out on them, the more their mask slips. Last few chapters, they've been nothing but hypocritical, vindictive, and kind of stupid. Everything from Luna taking a turn playing whack-a-prisoner to Celestia insisting that Duran should trust her to safely capture the other soldiers, when she's proven twice she can't control what her soldiers do to prisoners.
I'm not saying humanity doesn't have problems, but the ponies have no moral high ground in this story. At this point, it could just as easily have been the ponies that started the war.
6340336 I see what you mean, but I just think the main character could show that he is not some failure of a soldier at least some of the time.
6341795
You're going to need to provide proof that Celestia and Luna are lying specifically about wanting to end this conflict with minimal bloodshed to both ponies and humans. And that they're lying specifically about wanting an amicable outcome for both sides from this. And that Luna was lying about not wanting to have to hold onto Duran. Etc.
They've openly stated they want minimal casualties - even among their enemies - and that they want to end up as friends with their enemies. In support of this, they've put a lot of effort into subduing the invading force rather than destroying it. They've put a lot of effort into separating the aggressive elements of their own forces from their captives. They've apparently (and admittedly naively) expected that Duran would give up sensitive information in the pursuit of a quick peaceful resolution, and have specifically avoided making morally unforgivable actions that could have also resulted into a quick resolution. The best example is still Celestia bawling her eyes out over the impossible decision she's had to make [maintain her morals or sparing pony lives].
All of these support the idea that the princesses are being genuine.
You're right, they've made mistakes concerning Duran. At the same time, you don't seem to be considering how difficult Duran is making their lives (see also: Celestia bawling her eyes out - which stabs directly at Luna's heart). They've been emotionally pushed specifically by Duran and have shown that they are not perfect. This is not an indication of ill-intent, but of stress.
At the same time, look all the actions/reactions together. Luna sucker-punched Duran, which was stupid, and yet she also pulled her outburst. Tovey nearly decapitated a pony and he's faced no undue treatment. Again, the princesses pulled their "punch," and in a situation where they didn't have to.
Duran and Tovey are also allowed good food, decent (if boring) accommodations, and even a certain amount of personal freedom, all of which the princesses didn't have to give. See the trend?
First off, it's not her job to personally police every individual pony every time someone is near the prisoners. That's on the chain of command. What actually is her job, is to make sure the chain of command itself, and the policies that govern it, are working. She has taken decisive action to curb the amount of blowback that Duran and Tovey face. All three ponies who assaulted Duran are already at least removed from their positions, if not worse (going off an author's note here), which is damned fast, effective, and proper management on the princesses' parts.
Second, there were three instances where Duran's life came into question. The first was his capture, which was apparently handled as non-lethally as possible - this was clearly planned. The second was two enraged guards setting up a situation where they could take advantage of their fellow ponies to strike at Duran - it was not something that the princesses can easily plan for. The third was Duran using a major racial epithet to randomly incite another pony to blind rage - yet another situation that the princesses could not realistically plan for.
Given that only one of these instances actually applies to Celestia's (and Luna's) personal intentions, I'd say that it's a good indication that they'd make all due accommodation for the other soldiers.
While it could be, at this point in the story and with the information we've been given, suspicion of the princesses' ill intent based on their personal faults would only be coincidentally correct, not logically so.
Blaming the war on the princesses based on this emotionally-charged environment is about as fair as blaming the war on Duran for his persistent dickishness as a result of the same environment.
6341989
Well, so far he's generally been severely outnumbered and/or outgunned. The closest to a "fair" fight so far was when Scythe jumped him, and that was still practically an ambush.
I'd say he's a been a decent soldier so far because for the most part he seems to know when it would be stupid to fight.
6342077
I wouldn't say they're lying. I am sure they're completely convinced of their own righteousness, even as they take their frustrations out on a helpless prisoner, make promises they know they can't keep. and blame all their own failings on humanity.
You seem to think they should be judged by how they act when they're under no stress.
I think we see who they really are, from their actions, when their character is being tested.
"He said something mean to me." is an excuse a child uses for getting into a fight on a playground. It is not something a head of state uses to justify their policy decisions.
6342146
And you seem to be assuming that the princesses' momentary emotional outbursts when under extreme duress are indicative of their policy decisions in general - as though they aren't allowed to be anything but perfect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Thus far, given the evidence I posted previously, I've seen nothing to support the idea that their mistakes with Duran are influencing how they run their military.
Hot damn, everypony in this fic is a biiiiiiiiitch. I want some retribution, pleeeeeeease.
You know, I was happy with the story until this shit. Seriously? While the Corporal tossed out dirt-bag without knowing its worth, Scythe used deformed minotaur, which could easily be perceived equally as a racial slur, and in context fully perceivable as an attempt at racism. I will not let this get in the way of this fine read. Still though, I'm more than a little pissed at the ponies now. If that was done intentionally, then a decent slice of my anger goes to you, as the author, as well... fuck, you might as well get the whole pie if you did it intentionally...
ALL OF OUR ANGER IS CONCENTRATED INTO THIS!!! WITNESS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ANGER US, AND THOU SHALT FEAR US!!!>>>>
you knoe if ive leaerned anything is that who cares if its treason if you can a end a war or at least attempt to then i would do it. war is never good
10836439
He's a pow, interrogators use techniques like this all the time to get information. So let's say he did give up his units location, and the ponies kill them in revenge, now what? He just committed treason, got all his friends killed, and broke every fucking rule in the book on being a pow. Then his own usefulness is over and they kill him and Tovey too.
11303370
Well put. I still think a good saturation bombing would wipe the smirk from celestias horse face.