Children of the Sun

by Vanner

Parabellum

Chapter 17: Parabellum

A hay wagon pulled by a massive orange stallion rolled from the city of Canterlot and into the mountain roads below. Adorning the flank of the stallion was the cutie mark of a sheaf of wheat. He was probably a farmer and the knights at the gate ignored him as if he were nothing. As he rounded the mountain along the path, the stallion’s coat drained from orange to copper and the cutie mark of wheat was replaced by a pile stones.

As he watched Ridgeline disappear from view, Bard slid back behind the doorframe he was hiding behind and shook his head. His ears were ringing and his hooves were tingling, both of which told him to cool it with the magic for a while. He took a deep breath and turned to the mares.

“Alright,” he said. “Iron Pick and Ridgeline should make it back to wherever the army is by mid afternoon. If I know Glaive, he ordered them to attack at dusk. That gives us a few hours to find him, and stop him from getting out of the city.”

“How’d he teleport like that?” asked Constance. “I’ve never seen a pony that could just pop from one place to another.”

“He probably didn’t,” said Bard. “Unless he’s learned a new spell or two, then he probably just combined the spells that make him invisible and intangible. Those were two of his big tricks on the stage, and they’re easy to pull off.” He looked out to the streets as if searching the crowds for a familiar face. “Where would I go if I were my brother?”

“What’s he gonna do?” asked Heart Chase. “Ridgeline’s not gonna let Glaive get near Iron Pick again. The war’s over; we can all go home now. Heck, as soon as the troops start headin’ back, we might even see Celestia again.” He face lit up with joy. “We might get to see Celestia again! Come on, y’all; let’s head down to the palace.”

Heart Chase trotted away from the building where they were hiding in and through the streets of Canterlot toward the majestic castle. The spires of the summer castle rose into the air like great flowers that had lost their petals, each one dedicated to one purpose or another. Atop the domed roofs were a myriad of weather vanes that signaled to inbound pegasi local wind conditions. Below the domes were the spiraling white towers of the castle; each one had been bricked up by Celestia to seal off the outside world.

As the herd approached the Palace gates, the low hum of hundreds of ponies chanting filled the air. It sounded as if a giant cloud of bees had descended upon the courtyard, and sought to drain the gardens of nectar with their numbers. Instead, hundreds of ponies draped in sack cloth bowed in front of the castle walls and chanted. Each one chanted their own prayer in a low and quiet hum, but the combined voice of the ponies turned the bare walls of the palace into an echo chamber of humming. Heart Chase cringed as sounds gathered around her. It was worse than getting your head caught in a hive of bees. At the front of the rows, there was a pegasus who walked among the ponies with a basket of apples. He greeted the ponies with a bow.

“Have you come to worship?” he asked. “Please, find yourself a spot, and give praise to our goddess Celestia that she might return to grace us with her presence once more.” Constance raised an eyebrow at the white pegasus and shook her head.

“You know this isn’t want she wants, right?” asked Constance. The pegaus chuckled, and passed Constance an apple.

“My dear young lady, you’ve forgotten the last words our goddesss spoke to us,” said the pegasus. “‘I don’t know if I love you anymore’ is what she told us. Ponies had lost their faith in their goddess, and for that, she stopped loving us. We are all here to prove that we believe in her, and that we love her. What better way to show love then absolute devotion?”

“It’s kind of stupid,” said Bard. A few heads turned to look at him before returning to their worship. “I mean, look at the Kin of Luna. They’re out there searching for a way to bring Luna back from Nightmare Moon, not baying at the sky trying to bring her back.” The white pegasus narrowed his eyes at the Unicorn.

“I will thank you not to mention the traitor in the presence of the true goddess,” he growled. “I think you should leave before some pony does something you’ll regret.”

“Don’t you mean…”

“I did not misspeak,” said the pegasus.

“Well, we’re not leavin’,” said Heart Chase. “We came here to see Celestia return, cause what yah know is wrong. Celestia’s last instructions to ponies was ‘I just want the fightin’ to end.’ Worshipin’ at her doorstep like a reed blowin’ in the wind ain’t gonna do nothin’ to bring her back.”

The pegasus threw down his basket of apples, and started screeching at the ponies. He flared out his wings and reared back. The pegasus lashed at them, driving them back from the garden and into the street. He slammed the iron gate in their faces, and snorted with the fury of burning hatred.

“Do not presume to know what the goddess wants!” shrieked the pegasus. “We are the true believers, and neigh-sayers like you are the reason Equestria has been forsaken!” He walked away with a huff, leaving the ponies staring in amazement at the lunatic pegasus.

“That’s the second high strung pegasus preacher I’ve ever met,” said Heart Chase. “Gotta be somethin’ in the clouds that makes ya’ll nuttier than a bag of squirrels.” Constance blinked in amazement at the analogy, and was rendered speechless by the sheer absurdity of it.

They walked away from the palace in quiet reflection. It would probably be another few hours before Iron Pick made it back to troops, and probably another hour of speaking before he convinced them to abandon their plans of conquest. Heart Chase had faith that the ponies of Bridleburg would see reason and that they would understand Celestia’s final instructions.

…

Glaive stepped out from the wall of the prison with a growl. He should have seen it sooner, but he didn’t. Why he’d been there or where his brother had been hiding, he didn’t know. What was worse, he had Daisy Lane, and could easily extract all the details of her part in the plot. He cursed to himself as he opened the locker containing his armor. He hastily donned the blue scales, then went immaterial as he walked through the walls of the prison. With Iron Pick out in the world, he would probably send the troops back to Bridleburg. His revolution had failed. Or had it?

There was still the army of Stalliongrad approaching from the west, and there were more than enough of them to take on the meager contingent of knights that guarded Canterlot. Certainly there would be concessions, but after a few quick take-overs, and he’d be back atop the pile and first in line for Celestia’s return. Celestia had to come back for the plan to work. It would work. It would all work.

Glaive emerged on the streets of Canterlot after walking upward through the dirt. He let reality come to him again as he made for the western city walls. There was no use pretending to play nice now. He had to make contact with General Ferns and lead the army to victory. Once he had taken Canterlot, the war could end, and Celestia would return. It was too bad about Apple Chase; she’d probably be taken away in irons along with the rest of the top brass. Glaive put it out of his mind. Such was the price of failure.

A half a dozen miles away, Ridgeline and Iron Pick strode into the center of the Bridleburg encampment with struggling sack over Ridgeline’s back. They had switched armors, and now Iron Pick wore the bronze armor of the Celestian Knights. It was symbolic, mostly, but if things got ugly, he really wanted Ridgeline to be better protected. He called for the troops to surround him. General Caramel Snack and Apple Chase pushed through the throngs of ponies to get close to the two, but Iron Pick began speaking before they could make their way to him.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” boomed Iron Pick. “The pony that was leading your charge with fiery rhetoric and chants of loyalty was not the pony you see before you now. My name is Iron Pick, and I am here to tell you that you have all been duped.” Caramel Snack and Apple Chase pushed through to Iron pick as a murmur ran through the ranks. He trutn to the earth ponies as they emerged from the crowd.

“Under the authority of the Celestian Knights, I arrest you and all your officers for treason against Equestria,” said Iron Pick. “Troops, seize your officers and place them in irons. There will be no war today, only punishment for those who have led the faithful astray.”

The officers struggled against the troops as they were brought down and placed in irons but for the most part, they went down without a fight. Surrounded and outnumbered, the officers were drug to center of the troops and placed before Iron Pick. Each of the officers was escorted by at least one nervous pony, with two holding down Caramel Snack.

“You bastard!” snarled Caramel Snack. “How dare you thwart the plans of Nightmare Moon? She will have your soul for this!”

“I trusted you Caramel Snack,” said Iron Pick. “I trusted you to keep these ponies home to defend against the crown should they choose to contest our secession. In throwing your lot in with the Lunar Rebels, you have failed not only me, but every single pony that has died on the way to Canterlot. You have thrown away their lives and their time in a bid for power orchestrated by a mad pony. I thought better of you, and I was wrong.” He looked to the nervous earth ponies that held Caramel Snack to the ground. “What are you names, soldiers?”

“I’m corporal Butter Bean,” said the tan stallion.

“Private Blossom Stitch,” replied the red mare.

“You two are my new generals,” said Iron Pick. “To all of you who who have arrested an officer, take the ranks of those you have seized.” The ponies stripped the officers of their distinctive helms, and replaced their own with the ones they had take.

“As for the rest of you,” said Iron Pick, “go back to Bridleburg and tend to your families. You are guilty only of following rhetoric and of losing faith in the princess. I know it’s hard to keep the faith while she’s away, but with the end of war in Equestria, she will return to us, I promise.”

“You’re just as much a traitor as the rest of us, Iron Pick,” spat Apple Chase. She struggled against the two mares that held her down. “Are you going to arrest yourself, you hypocrite?” Iron pick nodded to Ridgeline, who dumped the sack to the ground. Daisy Lane, still bound in rope wriggled free of the sack.

“If I might have another volunteer for Captain Daisy?” asked Iron Pick. Two mares stepped up to take her ropes. “My troops, the ponies you see bound before your are traitors to the crown, and traitors to Equestria. Look upon their faces and remember their disloyalty. The seeds of dissention have been sown deep and like a weed, we must pull it from the root if we are to eradicate it. Ridgeline, if you would please.” The copper coated stallion nodded. He walked to the cart, and produced irons that clattered shut around Iron Pick’s neck.

“For treason against the crown, and in the name of Celestia’s Knights, I arrest you,” said Ridgeline. “You and your officers will be tried in the court at Canterlot and if found guilty, you will be executed by hanging. Thus is the price of treason. May our goddess have mercy on your souls.” Ridgeline turned to the newly commissioned officers who sat with stunned looks upon their faces. “Bind the prisoners together, and grant me a squadron of you finest to take them to Canterlot. Then do as you have been ordered, and go home. Hail Celestia.”

The ponies stared in disbelief as Ridgeline loaded Iron Pick into the cart, and ushered the rest of the former officers in as well. A squadron of armored ponies took up positions around the cart as Ridgeline hitched himself to it and without a word, Ridgeline began the slow march to Canterlot. Amid the protests of the officers, Iron Pick stood silent at the head of the cart as he accepted his fate.

A dozen miles away, the three ponies aimlessly wandered the city of Canterlot. They had no money, so they couldn’t get a hotel, and they couldn’t really leave without attracting the attention of the Knights. They had seen the statute gardens, and were impressed by the realistic sculptures of fantastic creatures that they never knew existed, and from there, they simply walked around the various parks and gardens that were open to the public. Without a plan and with no sign of Glaive, the ponies sat near the entrance and waited for Ridgeline and Iron Pick to return.

It was nearing dusk when they did return. Ridgeline was hauling a hay wagon full of bound ponies, and surrounding that wagon were a dozen troops clad in the steel armor of Bridleburg. Ridgeline stopped at the gate as the rank of knights approached.

“Didn’t I arrest you earlier?” asked the Knight.

“Yes,” said Ridgeline. “But since you didn’t listen before, I left to take care the invading army myself.” He looked back to Iron Pick. “Well, I had some help.” Iron Pick stepped down from the cart, his manacles clanking around his fetlocks as he stepped.

“My name is Iron Pick, commander of the army of Bridleburg,” he said. “The ponies bound behind me are my officers. In the past week, I have learned the error of my ways, and I seek to mend the pain that I have caused Equestria. I request a speedy trial for my crimes, and the crimes of my officers. The troops who have escorted us here are guilty of no crime but following orders, and I request that they be free to return to their homes.”

The knight blinked in amazement. Was this some kind of joke? Iron Pick was a respected business pony from Bridleburg, not the leader of an army of ponies that sought to destroy Equestria. Was what he said true? Were these ponies conspirators against the crown? The knight shook his head in disbelief.

“Alright then,” he said at last. “Then we’ll get you before the magistrate in the next hour. You’re all under arrest, then, I guess. You, earth pony; carry them to the holding cells. I’m sure you know the way.”

True to his word, the herd of officers were brought before a judge within the hour, and a jury was selected from ponies on the street outside the courthouse. With a bang of his gavel, the unicorn presiding over the hearing asked for a plea to which he received two dozen haggard and miserable replies of not guilty. A lawyer that had been assigned to the officers entered twenty four please of not guilty, and one plea of guilty for Iron Pick. He waited in silence for trial to actually begin, knowing that he was the only witness to the treasonous actions of these ponies.

For an hour, Iron Pick told the tale of his plan. He spoke about he funneled money and resources from the mines into financing the raising of an army, and how he had planned to unite the families of Bridleburg into supporting his bid for the crown. He named his wife as a coconspirator from the beginning, and made particular mention of Apple Chase’s involvement. Heart Chase was conspicuously omitted from being mentioned.

Iron Pick spoke at length about Glaive’s involvement with the entire ordeal, and how he had taken his plan of secession and turned it into revolution instead. He named the officers and their roles in the conspiracy, and then brought to light the depth of all of their treason. At last, as he came to the final day of the plan, he apologized to the ponies of Equestria for having brought such misery upon the lands.

The officers only glared at Iron Pick. He had given up everything, and asked not even leniency in return. With the entire conspiracy of Bridleburg laid before him, the judge turned to the officers and asked if any of them wished to take the stand. The ponies nearly stampeded to the witness stand, biting and pushing their way to the box.

For hours more, the ponies either denied their involvement in the plan, or downplayed their role in it. Each spoke of how they were the true victim, and how they had been just following orders from Iron Pick. They painted the charcoal unicorn as a heartless monster that ruled with an iron hoof, and slaughtered any pony who stood in his way. Every pony told a similar tale, though the details rarely overlapped, and at the end of it, Iron Pick stood accused of every crime under Celestia’s sun. The judge ordered Iron Pick to be brought forward to face him.

“You have pleaded guilty to treason, Iron Pick,” said the Judge. “These ponies behind you have labeled you a monster and murderer among other things. They would have me believe you have unfairly rounded up your friends to bring them down with you. However, given the defeat of Celestia’s Knights a few days ago in the Everfree forest, and the eyewitness accounts that put not only you, but also your coconspirators there, I then put the question to jury.”

The judge nodded to the ponies in the jury box that had spent the past few hours listening to the tales of both Iron Pick and the officers. As the bailiffs ushered the officers into the holding cells below the jury shuffled from the box and into a back room to deliberate,. Iron Pick stared out at the setting sun, where he thought he saw pegasi flying for the city of Canterlot. The sky was otherwise clear, and rain wasn’t scheduled for anytime soon. Why were there so many…

The first wing of pegasi released their deadly cargo over the walls of the city. Of course their first target had been the air cavalry barracks. The spire lit up lit a torch in the night, and filled the city with the hideous orange glow of hellish fire and chaos. Iron Pick stared out into the city in a panic. Had the troops disobeyed him? Were they attacking instead of going home?

It wasn’t until the window exploded in a shower of glass that he realized what was going on. Of course Glaive would have a backup plan. It wasn’t enough to use the superior numbers of Bridleburg to take the city; he would have brought every pony he could to fight. Ponies that Iron Pick himself had made deals with, and supported in their bid for independence.

The army of Stalliongrad was marching on Canterlot, and there was nothing any pony could do about it.