> A Charred Stone
>  by Priceless911
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch1 A Lonely Shade of White
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                My foalhood wasn’t so average… but it was my life and I will always remember it. Every  morning, mommy would wake me up and ask how my day would be. She had a habit of wearing a bandanna to match the mood of the day; passionate red, slothful blue, worrisome amber, but when the day was going to be a good one she would wear my favorite color, a special pink. Daddy would already be awake and ready for work. He was an important negotiator who did business between the ponies of Equestria, and the Dragons of Dragon Mountain. Every morning before sunrise, he would give me a hug before work. He always said it gives him courage when he spoke to the scary dragons. But I knew he was just kidding. Daddy was the bravest pony I knew, nothing could scare him, that’s why we lived  in the forest at the base of Dragon Mountain.
My mommy was a good cook but no matter how hard I tried, I could never be as good as her. She always said, that she became that way when she met her special somepony. She says that when you find that somepony, that’s when you know what your destiny is. I never understood what she meant… but it didn’t matter to me. I wanted nothing more than to be the kind of mare she was, that’s why I did the same thing she did every day. I wore the bandanna that matched the day, and I even tried to cook like her too… well I tried anyway. Every day was like a dream… everyday was special… even the rainy days were wonderful… but I found out the hard way, that no matter how wonderful the dream may be… eventually, we must wake up.
I don’t remember the whole day… but I spend countless hours trying to forget that night. I was about six when it happened, the light… I didn’t understand it. When it shined through my window, I sat up and looked at it in curiosity; it was about midnight when I first saw it, a bright flickering light from outside Then… mommy rushed into the room yelling, “Gem! Sweetie we have to get out of here!”
“M-mommy? What’s wrong? What is tha…”
Before I could finish my question, the window shattered as fire started pouring into my room from the outside. Seeing this scared the life out of me… I didn’t know what to do next… it felt like an eternity before mommy grabbed me by my hoof and dragged me from my bed as the flames poured over my covers and started burning the rest of my room. As mommy tried to drag me outside, I grabbed a pink bandanna that was lying on the dresser as we rushed through the burning house to the front door.
Just as both me and mommy made it outside, Daddy flew down from above, “Sofia, Gem… thank Celestia you’re alright, quickly we ha…”
Daddy stopped talking as a ferocious roar echoed through the darkness in the sky, I had to ask, “D-daddy?... what’s that?...”
Daddy didn’t answer, instead he looked at mommy and spoke, “Get to the edge of the forest, I'll try to lure him away from you.”
Mommy replied, “Why are they doing this? The dragon elder said that we are friends. This isn’t like them to…”
“Sofia, this isn’t the elders doing, it’s only one dragon. But we are still no match for him. Just get Gem to the clearing away from the mountain.”
“But Black…”
Mommy stopped, as the burning cabin I called home collapsed behind us, then daddy replied as he looked into the sky above, “JUST DO IT HURRY!!!”
Daddy put his hoof in my mane and kissed my forehead, “Stay safe my little Gem Stone.”
Then Daddy flew into the sky and vanished, while me and mommy continued through the forest as fast as our hooves could take us. As we ran, I saw a large creature flying towards us from our front, “Mommy! What’s that?!”
Mommy looked then gasped as she threw herself over me, “GEM LOOK OUT!!!”
As the creature got close, a string of fire came from its mouth and covered the entire path as it ran itself on front, over, and then behind us-burning mommy as she protected me. As soon as the creature passed, and flew off I looked at mommy in fear, “M-mommy, you’re hurt! We need to get you to…”
“I'm fine sweetie, it’s just a slight burn. I'll be ok.”
“But it loo…”
Mommy put her hoof under my chin and smiled, “Sweetie… I'm fine. Right now we need to hurry to the edge of the forest… daddy will be waiting for us there.”
I knew that mommy was just trying to make me feel better so I played along, “Ok, let’s go then.”
Mommy struggled to stand up as we both began galloping through the forest as fast as we could, then I could hear the dragon roaring behind us, as mommy called to me, “GEM KEEP RUNNING DON’T STOP FOR ANYTHING!!! DON’T LET THE DRAGON CATCH YOU!!! IF YOU MAKE IT THERE FIRST THEN WAIT FOR US THERE!!!”
I didn’t know what she meant… but that didn’t stop me. The burning trees around me… the roar of the terrifying dragon behind me, and the fear I felt were all the motivation I needed to sprint as fast as I could to get out of the forest. Faster and faster I went, but no matter what I thought. Nothing could stop me. I never went this fast before, I felt like I was flying, only my wings weren’t open.
Finely I made it to the edge of the forest and stopped in the meadow, “mommy, we did it we…”
but when I turned around… mommy wasn’t there… I looked into the forest behind me thinking that her burns slowed her down a bit and she was right behind me… but there was nopony following me, “Mommy? MOMMY!!!!”
There was no reply… I climbed onto a nearby rock and tried again, “MOMMY!!!! DADDY!!! HELLO!!!”
There was still no reply, the only sounds I could hear were the sound of the distant fire as it continued burning the forest. Remembering what mommy told me, I sat down against the boulder and patiently waited. I waited, and waited, and waited some more. From time to time, I would climb back onto the boulder and call out for both mommy and daddy, but every time I did, I was only answered with silence.
Hours later while I was still waiting, a pegasus wearing armor flew down and landed next to me, “filly? Are you ok? are you alone?”
Mommy told me that ponies who wear armor work for the princesses so I knew I could talk to him so I shook my head, “N-no sir, I'm here waiting on my mommy and daddy.”
“Mommy and daddy? Where are they?”
I pointed into the forest that was still smoldering from the fire a few hours ago as the stallion continued, “Were they in the fire?”
I didn’t answer, I just nodded my head yes, as he replied, “I see.”
the stallion turned back and looked behind him, “Princess! There is one over here!”
When I turned to look, I saw a royal carriage sitting in the meadow behind me with a tall blue mare and a unicorn standing in it. The mare looked at the unicorn and spoke, “Commander, Send out a search party at once and try to find this fillies parents.”
The unicorn nodded his head as he jumped from the cart, “Yes your majesty. Soldiers on me we must find this fillies parents!”
The unicorn smiled as he trotted past me and spoke, “Now, now little flower, we will find your mommy and daddy, don’t you worry about a thing.”
As the unicorn lead a number of ponies into the forest to search for mommy and daddy, one of them called to the princess, “Princess Luna! Dawn is approaching you must return to the castle.”
The princess nodded her head as she replied, “Very well… see to it that this filly is taken care of!”
As the guard nodded his head, the pegasi pulling the cart took off, and flew away as the cart vanished into the night.
Now I wasn’t just waiting for mommy and daddy anymore, I was waiting on the unicorn and his soldiers too. But it wasn’t long before the group of soldier returned with an unhappy looks on their faces. I quickly rushed up to the unicorn and asked, “Are they with you? did you find them? Where are they?”
The unicorn striped as his soldiers continued trotting past me. I could see sadness on his face but still I asked, “Where are they? You… you did find them… right? Wh-where are they?...”
the stallion sighed as he asked, “What’s your name little filly?”
“M-my name is Gem Stone…. Where are my mommy and daddy?
He looked into my eyes and replied, “Gem… little Gem Stone… I'm afraid, your mommy and daddy didn’t make it out of the forest in time.”
My eyes filled with tears as I prayed he was kidding, “No… they were right behind me… I know it, they said they would meet me here… they did. daddy wouldn’t lie to me like that. And mommy was just behind me… I know they will be here. We just have to wait for them. You’ll see..”
The unicorn continued, “I know this is hard for you to understand… but they won’t be able to keep this promise…”
“No,… they’ll be here. I know they will. Daddy has to go to work in a few hours so he’ll be here to give me a hug before work like he does every day… he can’t go to work without my hug… he says it’s what gives him the courage to speak with the dragons like he is supposed to.”
the unicorn started tearing up as he continued, “Gem… we found them… in the forest. they… they didn’t make it. I'm sorry little flower. But they are gone. Your daddy won’t be going to work tomorrow.”
With tears starting to roll down my face, I stepped back from the unicorn, “No… no! NO! YOU’RE LYING!!! IT’S NOT NICE TO LIE LIKE THAT!!! STOP IT!!!”
“Gem I…”
Before he continued, I started sprinting towards the forest as one of the other guards grabbed me, ”LET ME GO!!! LET ME GO!!! I HAVE TO GO FIND THEM!!! I HAVE TO FIND MOMMY AND DADDY!!! DADDY NEEDS HIS HUGE BEFORE THE SUN COMES UP!!! HE NEEDS IT BEFORE HE CAN START WORK!!! LET ME GO!!! LET ME GO!!! MOMMY!!! DADDY!!! NO! NO!!!”
I kicked and screamed all I could… but I couldn’t get free of the pony who was holding me back. I didn’t want to believe it… I couldn’t believe it… I wanted more than anything to find myself lying in my bed realizing that this was all just a horrible nightmare. But it wasn’t… as I tried fighting myself from the ponies hooves, the sun began to rise… and the day began… without my hug from daddy.
Later that day, I found myself in an orphanage at the edge of Cloudsdale. When I arrived, the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Myer greeted me with nothing but smiles… but I saw no reason to smile back. In my mane I wore the very same bandanna that I grabbed as me and mommy ran from the house… and to me, that was the only thing I had left… but that wasn’t reason enough to feel any kind of happiness, so I couldn’t smile back… not even a fake one. Mrs. Myer seemed to be nice enough, she showed me around the old building that I was now supposed to call home. then the moment she left me with the other orphans, things started to get even worse. As I stood in that noisy room filled with all the other orphans, I decided to just stay out or their way by trotting to the closest corner of the room and siting down by myself.
It wasn’t long before the other foals gathered around me and started criticizing me, “She must be the new filly.”
“I heard her parents were killed by dragons…”
“What’s wrong with her … why is she hiding in the corner like this?
“What’s with the bandanna? Is she having a bad mane day or something?”
Then a very large colt came closer. “Listen here because I'm going to say this only once… around here I'm the big shot, that’s why they call me heavy weight… so you better watch your step, because if it’s in my way... then we got problems… got it, Messy Mane?”
The other foals started to laugh as I replied, “M-messy mane? but my mane isn…”
“Then why are you wearing that bandanna in your mane huh… it looks like it’s scorched anyway so what’s the point? If I were you I’d just trash it… it’s nothing but a useless piece of cloth anyway.”
Without giving me a chance to explain, the bully turned around and trotted off.
I knew that this was just the start of my new, terrible life. None of the foal would ever understand me… so I decided that I wouldn’t try to convince them at all. They went about their days doing what they do, while I'll just stay out of it. The bully continued to pick on me daily, calling me names like messy mane, fake Gem, bandanna head, even rock. Because of this, I tried to avoid him all I could, then one day he went too far. While pointlessly kicking a ball around in the backyard, the bully thought it would be funny to sneak up behind me and yank my bandanna off my head. After that, he turned around and started running away from me in a playful manner, but I wasn’t playing around.
I immediately turned around and started chasing him, but the bully continued, then he opened his wings and flew into the air just outside the gate chanting , “Come and get me Messy mane… unless you think you actually have the nerve.”
I didn’t care… what he or another pony thought, I wanted it back, I wanted the only thing I had left of my parents, my home, my life… I just wanted it all back. Without thinking, or even considering my options, an uncontrollable rage filled my body. This rage controlled me as I jumped into the air, flew towards the bully at collision speed, and punched him in his face with every bit of strength I had. the pegasus rocked in the air for a few seconds then he smiled, “Well it looks like miss messy mane has some guts after all.”
It irritated me even more to know that even my most rage filled punch did absolutely nothing to the mean bully but that didn’t stop me from replying through the tears rolling down my face, “pick on me all you want… call me weak… call me messy mane all you want… I… I don’t care… I just want my bandanna back… it’s … all I have left… just give it back… Give it back! GIVE IT BACK NOW!!!”
I trembled with rage as the bully laughed, then he replied as he showed me empty hooves, “Give what back?”
I yelled, “WHERE IS IT!!! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH IT!!!!”
He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know I must have dropped it or something.”
“WHERE!!!”
“Take a wild guess.”
I froze, the only thing I could think was, he must have dropped it when I punched him… but the only place it could be was the Everfree Forest that sat below us. I looked down as franticly as I could… but I couldn’t see it anywhere. So I prepared myself to dive into the forest, but as I did Mr. and Mrs. Myer grabbed us both and dragged us back to the yard as Mrs. Myer spoke, “You two know better than to go outside the fence without permission!”
I struggled to get free but it was no use, “No I have to get my bandanna! I need it! please let me go! I have to find it! PLEASE!!!”
When we were both back inside, we were scolded then punished by doing chores for the rest of the day. Every time I went by one of the windows in the orphanage, I looked into the Everfree forest below. I didn’t know where… but my bandanna was down there somewhere. But it didn’t matter. Without it, I felt completely naked, not just because it was a part of my parents… but it was a part of me too. And when somepony like me, who has lost everything and can’t trust a single soul in this place… loses a part of herself, then she will lose all hope. I know because that’s what I did. This place… these ponies none of them will ever understand me… none of them will ever know my pain. In fact, I would rather let them feel it first hoof then to continue living in this world… but I don’t want to become something I'm not. So I'll just continue my life here and exclude every pony who tries to get involved… even those who want to adopt me. I don’t need them either.
That night I lay in bed trying to sleep, but it was no use, without my bandanna, I felt like there was nothing left for me, but then a bright flash came through the window. As I got out of bed and looked out, I could see a bright yellow glowing ball sitting in the Everfree Forest. I couldn’t help but marvel at it… it was beautiful… but at the same time scary. As I watched it, I could see a large number of lightning bolts shooting from it, as it incinerated everything it touched. But then as fast as it had appeared, it slowly faded, leaving a small clearing in the trees below. As I continued watching, and wondering if it would do it again, I noticed a carriage fly by and land in the forest near the place where the glowing ball was.. As I continued watching Mrs. Myer came into the room, “Gem... it’s the middle of the night, get back in bed and go to sleep.”
Wanting to know what happens next I argued, “But that mare… that light… I wan…”
“Gem… it’s time for bed!”
“But I…”
“Gem get in bed now! Or you will have chores waiting for you in the morning too.”
Feeling disappointed, I went to my bed and laid down As Mrs. Myer left the room. Now this is just an addition to the list of things that makes this place terrible. I'm picked on every day, nopony not even the caretakers understand me, and to top it all off, I still don’t have my bandanna to make me feel better. I took my pillowcase, and tore it until it was just a small piece of cloth then I tied it in my mane to resemble the missing bandanna. When I looked into the mirror at the white colored bandanna in my mane, I could only think to myself, “This is my new color… this is the mood I will feel so long as I'm in this place. This is my lonely shade of White.”

> Ch2 My Friends...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                “Hurry up and get this room cleaned up! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be here any minute!”
Mr. and Mrs. Myer seemed worked up today, I understand why since both princesses of Equestria are going from orphanage to orphanage searching for information. On what? I don’t know and I don’t care. Ponies that are raised to be princesses don’t understand what it’s like to have nothing. They don’t understand what we orphans feel. I can only wonder, why should we care what they think? They are nothing but pampered princesses. If anything we should show them what we have to live in. Then maybe they will do something about the misery we have to endure. Then the ponies around me can finally stop acting as if everything is ok.

Mrs. Myer trotted into the main room and announced, “Alright my little ponies, I want you all to be on your best behavior when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna arrive. It’s a great honor to meet them both like this, so I don’t want you to be rude to them.”
“Why? What’s so special about them?”
For the past week, I’ve gotten used to that unamused stare that she gives me when I say something I'm not supposed to, but in the end I just don’t care anymore. Ever since I put this white bandanna on my mane, I’ve felt nothing but misery and hopelessness for this place and these ponies. So, it didn’t bother me one bit when Mrs. Myer gave me that look and replied, “That goes double for you Gem… I don’t want you to offend the princesses while they are here.”
Before I could say anything else, I heard a knock on the front door.

Mrs. Myer didn’t miss a beat, “Quickly, quickly everypony go about your day as you normally would and if the princesses speak to you, be as polite as possible. Give them the proper respect.”
As Mrs. Myer rushed to the front door, I just decided to go sit in my little designated corner where I'm out of the way… so in other words I was doing what Mrs. Myer said and going about my day as I normally would. As I sat there, I started to think about what a normal day at home would be. I thought about how mommy would go about tending to the flowers in the front garden or she would read one of her special books inside. While I would go out and play in the yard, or attempt to fly while both mommy and daddy watched so I wouldn’t get hurt. Nevertheless, thinking about these things only made me a little sadder about being in this terrible place.

In the hall, I could hear Mr. and Mrs. Myer sucking up to the princesses as if they would actually benefit from it. While they talked, I couldn’t help but hear their conversation, as Mrs. Myer started, “It’s such an honor for you and your younger sister to visit our establishment… though I understand you’re searching for something?”
As they stood in the hall I couldn’t see them but I could hear them as one replied, “Yes Mrs. Myer, I'm wondering if anypony has come here looking for a young foal, or if any reports of a missing colt have come across your desk. It would seem that this colt here is suffering from a severe case of amnesia and we are hoping to find his parents.”
Mr. Myer replied, “None recently your majesty… but if you can come with me I can search our records for a colt matching his description.”
The princess replied, “Of course Mr. Myer and thank you for your assistance.”

As Mr. and Mrs. Myer trotted past the doorway leading into the room I was sitting in, I got a glance at the two Princesses. They were both very beautiful Alicorns, one dark blue and the other a bright whitish color. Then the darker princess turned and spoke behind her, “You stay here Star… sister and I will be back when we’re finished.”
I didn’t see the colt at first but I heard his voice reply, “Uh… Yes Princess Luna, erm… ma’am… um your majesty…”
The Princess smiled as she continued by the doorway and out of my sight, and with that, the hallway became silent. Part of me was curious of the colt that I assumed was still in the hallway, but the rest of me just didn’t care.

As I looked back down at my hooves while sitting in my corner, I just sighed and started feeling sorry for myself. Even on a day like today, when something completely new was happening, this place still seemed miserable and dull. As I looked back up, I noticed the colt as he trotted into the doorway and looked into the room. He didn’t seem any different from the rest of us… other than the fact that he already had his cutie mark while the rest of us didn’t. A black Star with lightning spreading to each tip from a dark cloud, and it seemed to match his color pretty well too. He had a dark pelt with a black and yellow mane, and dark reddish brown eyes that seemed really deep. The colt stood there for a few seconds looking through the room until he looked directly at me and smiled. Part of me wanted to ask very rudely, “What are you smiling at?”
But something stopped me; his smile seemed very calm and soothing. As if he was smiling to make me feel better about my troubles, but how could he know what they were.

I continued staring back at him… but for some reason, I had to smile. Here I was, miserable, unhappy, and alone… but this colt. This foal with no memory of his family, smiled as if he had no problems in the world to face. It was an inspirational sight… but before I could say anything to him, the two princesses came back down the hall as one spoke, “Well if you receive any word about what we are looking for then please notify us immediately. We would like to find this foal’s parents as soon as possible.”
Mrs. Myer replied, “Understood your majesty, We will keep an eye out for any leads. Thank you for visiting us.”
The dark princess looked at the colt and spoke, “Alright Star, it’s time for us to go.”
The colt nodded his head and replied, “Yes ma’am.”
The colt followed the princess back into the hall and out the front door. And then just like that… he was gone.

Sure, he never said anything directly to me… but for some reason, I was disappointed he left. So far… out of everypony I’ve met since my parents died, He was the only one that smiled at me with such a gentle and friendly smile. You know… maybe that’s all I needed to feel better in this place. Just somepony friendly to talk to, but everypony here doesn’t get me. None of them in my book are considered friendly. Mr. and Mrs. Myer are… but that’s only their job. As I sat there depressed that my only chance to make a friend just trotted out the door, I started to scrape my hoof against the ground. Then I realized when I did, I left a mark on the wooden surface. So I did it again, and again, and before I knew it, I drew a pony on the ground. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. I started to draw another, this time a filly, then a unicorn. But to finish it all off… there was one that I absolutely had to draw. I drew a young colt that looked as close to the colt I saw today as it could… this one was my favorite.

As I looked at the markings, I started to speak to them, “H-hello… my name is Gem Stone… “
Of course the markings didn’t reply… but I decided to continue, this time I spoke to the unicorn, “I bet magic is really hard to do, but if I could use it, I’d make this whole place disappear, then I might feel better.”
Like before the floor didn’t reply so I continued, “You know… when I was little I always wanted to have a friend… not many foals ever came around Dragon Mountain… and sometimes the dragons seemed scary so I never made any friends with the baby ones. I remember one night when mommy invited them to dinner to meet us for the first time, of course it was outside, we couldn’t fit big dragons in the house… that’s just plain silly.”
Still no reaction came from the images on the floor, but I didn’t care, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of a large dragon trying to fit himself into our tiny dining room, “Isn’t that funny… um… what was your name again… oh Star?”
With continued silence from the images on the floor, I just continued smiling. This was the first time since the accident that I felt content about my company… and even if it wasn’t at any of the orphans around me… it felt good. Not great… but good.

Now that I had these simple drawings, I had somepony to talk to… somepony to call friend. Despite all the judgmental stares that the other orphans would give me, this was the only way for me to keep myself somewhat content. They didn’t reply, move, or even have real names, other than Star, but I gave each a personality that I enjoyed in friends. The first one I drew, was a stallion who was nice but a little slow. I often had to explain things to him that he couldn’t understand. The second was a filly who I could share my secrets with. The third was a unicorn who liked doing things that were dangerous so I told him all my exciting stories, and as for the last. He was Star, the one I would talk to about my deepest problems, he would always say it’s okay and make me feel better… or at least in my mind he would. After all, in this place, they didn’t judge me, make fun of me, or even look at me with pity. To these drawings… I was the same as everypony else, and I was a good friend.

Soon I found the time in this place was going by faster. The days turned to weeks, to months and slowly into years. New orphans came, as old orphans left, the bully was long gone and his little group of followers were replaced by new bullies and new followers. As many orphans found new homes and new parents, I refused to let myself become adopted. I will never call anypony mommy or daddy, I already had a mother and father. And it wasn’t some complete stranger who felt crummy enough about their own life, to go out and take pity on some parentless orphan and tell them that everything will be better now. Just because thing are better than this place doesn’t mean that the world will be any kinder to us less fortunate. The world turned it’s back on us… the only pony I can rely on now is myself… but if I had to bring anypony with me… it would be these simple markings I made on the floor. Though faded and worn by the sweeping and moping that has been done over the years. These ponies were the only ones I trusted now… they were my only friends, at least until I leave this miserable place, but I guarantee when I do leave… it won’t be with foster parents.

Countless orphans, uninterested foster parents, and boring months later, I found myself nearing my eighteenth birthday… the day I can finally leave this place. I feel I have worn this white bandanna for too long. Now it’s time to change it into something better… though I won’t do that until I actually leave this place. While standing at the edge of the backyard, I looked out into the world below Cloudsdale… I wondered what became of my parents old cabin, and the dragon clan. I knew that going back would be a bad idea since the dragon who killed my parents will probably try to kill me too. Then Mr. Myer trotted up beside me and spoke as he looked upon the world below, “I can see you’re ready to face what’s out there, aren’t you Ms. Stone?”
I was a little surprised to see him since he usually keeps himself locked away in his office dealing with the business side of running this place while his wife did the care taking. But I was also irritated that he would give such a stupidly obvious statement. I sighed as I replied, “What do you want?”

Mr. Myer just smiled as he replied, “I only wanted to check up on you… I know you’re not the type to tell others how you feel about certain things… in fact you’re not the type to talk to others at all.
Growing impatient, I scowled at him, “Just get on with it!”
The old stallion chuckled as he continued, “Well what I'm trying to ask is, do you think you can handle it? You’re not very fond of making friends, and the best words that I have been given regarding your first impressions with the foster parents would be vulgar. So I just wanted to know if you’re confident in surviving on your own out there?”
I could only shake my head, “Are you blind or just plain stupid? I hate this place… I don’t know what could be worse than living under this roof with these foals. I wanna go out there and make something of this miserable thing that others try to call a life.”
Then he asked me yet another stupid question, “Was this place really that bad?”
I couldn’t even dignify that question with a response. All I could do was turn around and trot away, leaving the old coot in a state of confusion.

I couldn’t believe the nerve of that pony, I'm almost eighteen years old, and he still wants to talk to me like a foal. I don’t need his pity, and I don’t need any help from anypony here. I would much rather see this place burn to the ground before I would even consider taking any help from any of them. The sooner he gets that through his head, the better. That evening as I sat in my little spot in the corner of the room, I looked at my friends and spoke, “You know… I think the only thing I'll miss about this place is you four… Mr. Myer tried to ask if I needed help after I left here. Big surprise, he doesn’t think I can handle it… as usual nopony understands me. I can handle the world out there, I'm not afraid of what’s outside that fence. All I need, is to leave this place. Then I'll be fine.”
Like always, the little images of ponies didn’t reply, and even though I wasn’t a foal anymore. That didn’t stop me from continuing my conversation with the pictures. I looked at the image of the pony named Star and continued; “When I leave here I'll finally be free… then… I can smile a lot more, won’t that be great? I think so.”
As I looked up and out a window at the setting sun, I asked myself, “Will things really get better… and if so, will I ever truly be happy?”
With that thought in mind, and the sunset fading into a moonrise, I told my friends goodnight, trotted over to my bed, and went to sleep.

The next morning seemed very strange from the moment I woke up. Usually when I wake up the sun is already up, but this time… it wasn’t. As I opened my eyes to a dark room, I looked around in confusion. It was morning, of that I was certain, but the sunlight wasn’t shining through the window like it usually did. I climbed out of bed and trotted over to the window to investigate, but when I did, I was surprised to find that the sun had been eclipse by the moon. An eclipse didn’t seem like anything to worry about, Most of the time they were done to celebrate a specific time of year. However, the Royal Sisters would put out a notice weeks in advance so we would expect them, and every time that happened they were only minutes long… while this one seemed like it had been going on for hours, filling the sky with a reddish hue that gave the impression that the sky was on fire. I cautiously trotted out the back door and into the yard where most of the other orphans Including both Mr. and Mrs. Myer were observing the strange phenomenon. I approached Mr. Myer and asked, “What’s going on?... why is there an eclipse today?”
Mr. Myer replied, “I don’t know… but it isn’t good. This morning I heard some rather disquieting rumors. Ponies in Cloudsdale are talking about an act of treason brought on by Princess Luna and her leading commander. They say that the two left Canterlot with a large number of supporting solders and vanished into the Everfree Forest. Now there’s talk of war.”

I couldn’t believe it, there hasn’t been a war in Equestria in centuries, and the closest thing to one, was a civil war that broke out in the griffin kingdoms that nearly sparked a war between them and Equestria… but I just had to ask, “War? Against whom?”
Mr. Myer looked back at me and replied, “From the way things look… The sun and the moon.”
“Does anypony know why?”
“No… but there was something else they said… something about a tornado in Canterlot last night that transformed Princess Luna into another mare entirely… a mare who calls herself, Nightmare Moon. For this reason, many are saying that she has turned evil somehow… but nopony knows why… or how. It could have something to do with her commander… I heard rumors that he knows a special ability that is very powerful. Maybe he has the ability to corrupt a mind.”
As I looked at the small glimpse of Canterlot from where we were standing, I could see formations of soldiers lining up around the city, both on the ground and in the sky. I can only assume that with the way they looked, a war was about to start. The eclipse in the sky, wasn’t going to end any time soon. I just felt a little disappointed that the sunset I watched the night before, could very well be my last.
> Ch3 The Commander
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                With each passing step, my day became better and better. I was finally free of that place, that nightmare. It was hard to believe that just ten minutes ago I was filling out the paperwork making me a legal guardian and freeing me from having to spend another day in that orphanage. Now with a small bag of money and a letter to a motel allowing me a place to stay for the next month was the only thing I had… well other than the bandanna I was wearing, though I couldn’t find a pink pillowcase so I stuck with the white for one last day. But that didn’t matter. I'm sure I'll find a place to buy one soon. I mean this is Cloudsdale, the capital city for pegasi everywhere.

As I continued traveling down the road I looked up at the eclipse above, for the past week, the days have composed of only that sight, while the moon and stars shined at night like normal. It was very strange but once you got used to it, it was nothing different at all, even if the days seemed red, and darker than before. As I made my way through the town, I noticed that the street ahead was being blocked by a crowd. As I got close, it seemed like the road was cleared as if there was some kind of parade going on, but the herd of ponies observing wasn’t cheering as they normally would for a parade. Instead, they were quietly watching as a small heard of ponies started down the street from very far away. As I tried to see who it was, I overheard some of the ponies talking, “Why are they here? Who does that traitor think he is, just trotting into town like he did nothing wrong, he should be ashamed.”
Out of curiosity I had to ask, “Who is it?”
One of the stallions gave me a funny look, “You don’t know? It’s Commander Bolt.”
“Commander who?”

Now both stallions were looking at me funny as the same one replied, “You know, the Commander of the night. Princess Luna’s Personal guard and now Nightmare Moon’s Commanding Officer. He Overlooks Nightmare moons armies and is fighting to make night eternal.”
I was now officially confused, Not only didn’t I not know who Commander Bolt was, but this is the first I’ve heard about an eternal night, so I asked, “Why would he make night eternal?”
The two stallions looked at each other and hesitated as one replied, “He… well… you see… why does he want an eternal night?”
I could only sigh, “If you don’t know, then all you have to do is say so… it’s not like I needed an answer… I was just curious.”
Before the two ponies could reply to my comment, I looked back at the road and noticed that the group had made its way closer and was about to pass by.

As it seemed from a distance, it was a small formation of maybe twenty Pegasi soldiers wearing dark blue armor. At the front of the square formation were two stallions, an older one with a light gray and light purple mane, and a much younger one with a dark pelt and a black and yellow mane. It was easy to see that these ponies were the leaders of the group, but something about the younger one seemed very familiar. I didn’t know who he was but I know I’ve seen him somewhere before. I watched him closely as he trotted by, he seemed very disciplined and strong, marching with enough confidence in his step to fill all of Cloudsdale. Even with all the tension in the air this stallion continued as if he were marching through an empty field with no concern for the ponies around him. It was both, motivating and troubling, to think that this pegasus could so easily march by without a single worry, but at the same time be ready for an attack at any moment.

After they passed, the ponies who stood on the side started following the soldiers down the street, so I asked the ponies I was talking to before, “What’s going on? Where are they going?”
The same pony replied, “He is holding some kind of speech in the event plaza. Nopony knows what he is going to say, but it could be about the war.”
Finally, something I have heard of. This war began about three days ago, now what was once one nation is now two, The Night, Being the Nightmare Legion, and the day being the Celestial Crusaders. And the name of the war… The Nightmare Crusade. I didn’t know all the details, for example how the war began or who the commanders of both sides were. However I did know that Princess Luna of the Night and Princess Celestia of the day were the ones who started the war and were causing the eclipse. Either way, I found myself following the crowd of ponies as they followed the commander and his soldiers to the event plaza in the center of Cloudsdale.

By the time we arrived at the plaza, there was a large stage already in place as the formation of solders started lining up both in front of the stage on the ground and along each side, leaving the two ponies in command well-guarded as they both stood on the center of the stage. The two commanding ponies spoke to each other first then the younger one approached the podium, “Citizens of Cloudsdale, I'm certain you already know this, but my name is Commander Bolt of the Nightmare Legion. I'm here to talk to you about the recent events that have taken place in our beloved kingdom. The two princesses, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have indeed declared war against one another. And in doing so, the days will forever be shadowed by this eclipse. I wish I could say that this war will be over soon, however with both princesses refusing to listen to reason, I feel that this war will only end once victory is claimed by one side.”
I was a little surprised that the younger stallion was Commander Bolt. I had always thought that all commanders were old war torn soldiers with years of experience, but this stallion didn’t look much older than I was. While this thought crossed my mind, a stallion yelled from the surrounding herd, “If you want to end this war, then why did you chose to fight for the night?”

The surrounding crowd started yelling in agreement with the question as the commander replied, “I choose to fight for Princess Luna, because I feel that her reason for fighting is just.”
An angry uproar came from the surrounding crowd, as the stallion explained, “Princess Luna had spent every day raising the moon to bring the night and lowering it to make way for the dawn!”
The same stallion from earlier replied, “Yea, and Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun. What’s your point?”
The commander continued, “My point is, what have you done to show your gratitude!?! Every day, Ponies from far and wide come to the palace and show their gratitude to Princess Celestia, yet none have shown it For Princess Luna. Every day, ponies are out playing and enjoying the day and sunshine that Princess Celestia presents, but none are out to value the Moonlight that is shown By Princess Luna’s night. I have been Princess Luna’s personal guard and commander for months now, but I have only seen the night guards out while she watches over Equestria. Does she not deserve your respect? Are you ungrateful for the rest you receive for her nights? Have you forgotten that it is her nights that bring peace and tranquility to the hectic events of the day?”

The herd grew silent as the stallion in the crowd continued his argument, “But we do value her nights! We are grateful for what she brings us! We ar…”
“AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SHOW IT!!! The fault of this darkness lies not in the hooves of Luna… But in your Hooves! Rather than show your affection, you hide away!!! Rather than show your gratitude, you shun the moon!!! Instead of relishing the night… you choose to neglect it! And it is that neglect that filled the younger princess’s heart with sorrow and envy. That darkness got stronger and stronger until she could no longer contain it. It took hold of her heart and is now a part of her. This darkness has transformed her into a mare of darkness, which now calls herself, Nightmare Moon. And now Nightmare Moon wants to bring eternal night… all because of you… the ponies of Equestria!!!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. A princess driven to darkness because of neglect? It didn’t seem impossible since I of all ponies knew what neglect can do to a heart, but what confused me was that nightmare moon wanted to bring eternal night, and this stallion wanted to help her so this time I yelled out, “THEN WHY ARE YOU HELPING HER!?! Do you want to bring eternal night? Or are you doing this for kicks?”

The stallion looked directly at me and replied, “I know what she is doing seems wrong… but I also know that she is doing this because of neglect. She is doing this because she wants to prove that her nights have just as much value as the day, if not more. And I know that once her nights become eternal, she will see that the value of the day is also important so she will realize her mistake and return the days as they were prior to this war. However, she will never know this, until the war ends and she can bring the night that she values so.”
I couldn’t stop myself, “So why are you here to tell us this? Why don’t you just go out and end it already?”
The commander sighed, “I can’t bring about the end of the war by myself, and even I have my limits despite my ability. I came here in hopes of gathering volunteers to help me fight this war. I came seeking soldiers to fight alongside me in hopes of bringing this war to an end! There aren’t many benefits I can offer, but anypony willing to fight is all I ask. So long that they are a reasonable age. I will not place foals or the elderly in my ranks… no offence Storm.”
The older pony standing beside him gave him an unamused stare as I smiled at the joke.

The herd around me wasn’t amused though, they all started talking amongst each other in a fit of tension that filled the air like a cloud. Nevertheless I had a few more questions for the commander, “What if instead of fighting for you, I decide to join the other side? What then?”
The surrounding ponies looked at me in amazement; I only wanted to know what he would say about such a question, I had no intention on joining either side. Nevertheless, Commander Bolt looked at me with a calm look and replied, “I'm not at liberty to decide what you do, nor will I tell you that the Nightmare Legion is the better path to take. All I'll say is that no matter what this war brings, I'll fight it. No matter what challenge I face, I'll lead my army through it. and if that leads to my death… then I'll spend my last breath swinging my sword at my enemy, because I know what I fight for, and I’ll die fighting for it. Now I'll ask you, if you’re placed with a goal and you know that there is a razors edge that you must trot across to reach that goal… would you?”

I may have been a number of feet from the stage, but as I looked at the stallion from where I was standing, I could see it in his eyes. Every word he said, from his answer stringing from his explanation for fighting, was true. His eyes showed nothing more than a stallion that believed every word he was saying. No hesitation, no nervousness, not one hint of a lie came from his mouth during the entire speech. And as I looked at the serious look on his face, I couldn’t help but believe his words. I don’t have a goal anymore. What I wanted more than anything was to see my parents again, but since that’s impossible, the only goal I had was to leave that orphanage behind and never see any of those ponies again. Now… I have nothing, but this stallion has a much more meaningful goal, one that seemed to benefit not just himself… but all the ponies of Equestria. Now… that’s what I want. I want to look at the world with the same confidence that he does. Therefore, I made my decision, and decided to wait until the ceremony was over before asking anything further.

About forty-five minutes later as the herd started to leave the plaza; I approached the back of the stage where the soldiers were standing. Commander Bolt was talking to the older stallion when he looked at me and spoke, “Well, hello again… you here to pass further judgment too? Well go right ahead. I don’t care what others think of me or my cause.”
Hearing this only leads me to assume that everypony else only criticized him and didn’t agree with him so I spoke, “Do… um… do you really believe that if we end this war that everything will go back to normal?”
The stallion replied, “Yes, and can I ask what you mean by we?”
I hesitated before replying, “I… I want to join, I don’t know if I'll be much help… but I still think I can make a difference.”
The commander looked at the older pony, shrugged his shoulders then started trotting around me examining me closely, “Hmm… How old are you miss?”
I replied, “Eighteen today…”
“Well, happy birthday then… hmm, very petite, but healthy… no cutie mark, so your skills aren’t known yet… and may I ask about the bandanna?”

I felt a little embarrassed about his comments especially about how he said I was petite, yet I still replied, “No… I’d rather you didn’t.”
The commander replied, “Well your business is your business. But I still have to ask, are you sure your skilled enough to face a challenge like this? I promise it won’t be easy.”
I felt a little uneasy when he asked me that, I knew that becoming a soldier wasn’t necessarily an easy task, but I still wanted to face the world knowing that I would be strong enough to handle it, so I nodded my head and replied, “Yes… I’m sure.”
The stallion looked real closely at my face as if he were looking deep into my soul, then he replied, “As I thought…”
“What?”
“You have spirit… and a strong one at that. So if you’re willing to continue with your decision, then I won’t turn you away… however once your training begins… you can’t turn back. So please make absolutely certain that your willing t…”
“Are you serious? I'm telling you I want this, and you keep asking me if I'm sure. I know I'm not a mute, so clearly you must be deaf. I want this ok? So either turn me away or accept me and tell me what I must do next.”

The stallion was surprised with my outburst but he just smiled and replied, “Alright then, here is your first order, be back here by dusk. Till then you may go tell your family goodbye and settle any errands you need to settle. We will be leaving with the eclipse, so by the time the moon rises we will be on our way to our camp a few miles from the palace of the alicorn sisters. Oh and if I were you, I would pack light. We will provide you with everything you need from this point on, miss…”
realizing he was asking for my name I replied, “Oh uh… Stone, my name is Gem Stone.”
“Well Ms. Stone… Welcome to the Nightmare Legion.”
The older pony approached me next and spoke, “My name is Captain Storm, it’s nice to meet a mare who is willing to risk so much.”
“Actually… I'm not risking very mu….”
“COMMANDER!”
Before I could finish my sentence, a soldier ran up to Commander Bolt, “Celestial Pegasi have been spotted leaving Canterlot, They are on their way here.”
Commander Bolt replied with a serious look, “How many?”
About forty or fifty sir. I think somepony told them that you’re here.”

Seeing that this was something that was way over my head, I just kept quiet and listened as Commander Bolt turned towards Storm and spoke, “Take a hoof full of solders out and intercept them, don’t get too far into it though, I only want you to buy us time to retreat.”
“Wait… you’re running away?... just like that?”
Commander Bolt turned to me and replied, “I have my reasons, for one we don’t have the numbers to ensure victory, I don’t want to put you at risk before you’ve had proper training, and I don’t want to fight here in Cloudsdale, somepony might get hurt.”
I couldn’t believe it… this was the great Commander Bolt? I only heard about him today, but what I’ve heard has led me to believe he was a heartless monster bent on world domination. Now he is running away. I honestly had no idea how to portray him now but I didn’t have the time. Commander Bolt looked at me and continued, “Stay close to me and try to keep up.”

With that said, Commander Bolt turned and started running down the street. Not knowing exactly what to do next, I chased the commander down the road. As we ran he looked back at me and spoke, “when we reach the edge of the city, let yourself fall a few feet before opening your wings, this will allow you to get more speed.”
I replied, “I know how to fly, thank you very much!”
He continued, “Yea… but do you know how to outrun Celestial Pegasi? “
“Outrun? But I thought Mr. Sto…”
“Storm will only be able to distract a few of them, the rest will continue here and if they see us then they will do everything they can to kill us.”
“KILL!?!”
The cocky stallion smiled, “It’s all part of the job… we are their enemy ya know.”

I started to rethink my decision a little bit, but I stand beside what I said and I won’t let anything this, or anypony say change my mind. By this time, we had reached the end of the road… literally. Just a few feet in front of us, was a complete drop that was almost two full miles from the surface. As I looked forward, I started to wonder exactly how long has it been since I last flew… but now wasn’t the time to question myself, both he and I ran off the edge and began to fall. As we fell, Commander Bolt lowered his head and pointed his muzzle towards the ground increasing his diving speed. Trying to show I wasn’t worried despite how worried I actually was, I did the same pointing my muzzle to the ground making me fall even faster. As the ground quickly got closer and closer, I looked over at Commander Bolt as he yelled to me, “Wait for it!...”
I don’t know why I trusted his words, but I continued my descent until finally at about twenty feet, he yelled, “NOW!!!”

With great speed, we both opened our wings and quickly leveled out before flying into the forest below. In fear of hitting a tree, I moved myself directly behind him and flew in the same path as he did so that the only way I would hit a tree, would be if he hit one first. As we flew through the forest with great speed, I heard a voice come from behind, “YOU THERE!!! STOP!!!”
I turned my head to look behind me and saw a number of soldiers that looked similar to Commander Bolt’s pegasi, only these solders were wearing gold armor instead of dark blue. I looked forward and called, “Umm… Belt or whatever your name is? We have company!”
The stallion in front of me looked behind us and yelled, “Keep flying towards the eclipse until you see a clearing with a large number of tents. Land there and tell them you were sent by Commander Bolt. I'll be there shortly.”
Not understanding what he meant about that last part, I asked, “What? What ar…”
Before I could finish, Commander Bolt flew slightly higher than me and flattened out his wings quickly stopping himself as I continued right by him. When I turned to look behind me, I saw him collide with one of the pursuing pegasi as the rest started to attack him where they were falling. Still I trusted his word and continued on my solo flight in the direction he told me. I don’t know why I trusted his words… but it just seemed like the right thing to do given the situation I was in.

It wasn’t long before I reached the clearing that he spoke of, so I landed at the edge of the camp and sat down to catch my breath. After I felt better, I looked up just in time to see a large number of soldiers completely surround me and point their spears and bows at me. Feeling nervous I held my silence as an earth pony approached me and drew his sword, “Hold it right there miss… this area is off limits so I would suggest you go back the way you came.”
I was nervous that I was surrounded, but the vibe that the earth pony was giving off told me that he was pampered most of his life, which alone irritated me, so I replied, “With no due respect, I'm here because I was told to come here.”
The pony placed the tip of his sword to my neck as he replied, “now that was rather rude… but I'll bite, exactly who told you to come here?”
I replied, “Commander Bolt, he told me he would meet me here after he caught up.”
The earth pony smiled, “Really? And where pray tell is the good commander?”
Trying to defend myself I replied, “He had to stop on the way here.”
“Really? And why did he stop?”

I replied, “Well for your information we were attacked by… um… “
The earth pony waited in anticipation, “Yes… what was it that attacked you?”
My mind was racing as fast as it could to try and remember what it was that he said was after us, “Um… we were attacked by... cr… cru… um…”
“Crusaders!”
Hearing the voice, I turned around just in time to see Commander Bolt landing next to me as he spoke, “We were attacked by Celestial Crusaders, so I had to drop back to ensure that Ms. Stone made it here unharmed.”

The Earth Pony quickly sheathed his sword as he and the rest of the surrounding solders quickly stood at attention, “Commander… my apologies, I was concerned as to whether or not this mare was a spy for Princess Celestia. I had no idea she was with you sir.”
Commander Bolt replied, “Its fine lieutenant, I'm grateful you did, you can never be too careful these days. If this situation comes up again then I want you to detain the intruder until I come to verify their identity.”
The pony replied, “Yes sir… so is she a new recruit?”
Commander Bolt replied, “Yes… this is Gem Stone from Cloudsdale. Ms. Stone, meet Lieutenant Snow, officer of my ground forces. He is a little quick on his hooves, but so is his sword.”
Lieutenant Snow bowed his head in a noble fashion of greeting others as he spoke, “It’s a pleasure Ms. Stone. I apologies if I may have been rude. Such actions are unbecoming of a member of the Snow family.”
I heard of the Snow family before, supposable they have donated a large sum of money to the orphanage a few years back. But it was more for publicity then actual charity. Anyway, I already didn’t like this pony because of his attitude anyway so I just replied, “I'm sure it is…”

Hearing the insult Commander Bolt laughed, “Whoa… easy now, no need to start killing too soon. We still need to get you settled into your quarters first. Can you come with me Ms. Stone?”
The commander then turned and began trotting further into the camp while I followed, leaving the speechless noble behind. As we went further into the camp, I noticed blood rolling down the commander’s hind leg. Then when I looked closely, I saw a small gash in his armor where a blade had cut through. But since he wasn’t limping or even showing the slightest concern in the wound, I decided to keep my comments to myself. It wasn’t long before we finally approached a rundown old tent in the center of the camp. Almost all the tents looked stable and safe, but this one looked terrible. The top was sagging in on the center, a few tie downs were tied to broken stakes while the rest were missing. The button on the front to secure the opening was missing all together, and to top it all off, inside was filled with all sorts of trash with a foul odor that made my hairs stand on end. As I looked in great disgust at the tent, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “This is your new quarters so I’d suggest you make yourself at home Ms. Stone. You have permission to fix it up in any way you please, so long that you do so on your own time.”

It seemed very strange to me how he went from an easy going commander to a cruel tyrant, but since I was the newest soldier in the camp I just nodded my head, “Ok I guess I'll get to work as soon as I can then.”
Commander Bolt continued, “Well then, I'll leave you to it. You may have the rest of the day off to get settled. Oh and by the way, from this point on you will refer to me as Commander or sir. I won’t even tolerate Commander Bolt… that privilege has to be earned. The same goes for Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow. Their names to you are either their ranks or sir am I clear?”
I was already getting annoyed by this new leader, so I replied as best as I could by showing as much disrespect as I could with a polite reply, “Yes… commander…”
Seeing my disrespect clearly, the commander smirked as he replied, “Good, dinner will be served at the large tent in the center of the camp. If you’re not there to eat, then you won’t eat. That’s the jest of it. At night, you will have no lights on so there is no lights out time, in fact you don’t even have to go to sleep if you don’t want too, but I would highly suggest it. Your training begins before the eclipse rises tomorrow so you had better hope you have your rest. So how clear am I on the instructions so far?”
I replied, “Crystal sir.”
Commander Bolt smiled and turned, “Then I'll take my leave, have a good evening Ms. Stone.”

Commander Bolt turned away from me as I noticed both Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow approaching while I went into my tent. The tent walls were very thin as I overheard their conversation, “Captain, it’s good to see you made it back in one piece.”
Storm replied, “Sadly we lost three soldiers in the retreat. Yet it’s good to see that you two made it here all right. Sir, your bleeding, are you ok?”
“It’s just a scratch, barely made it through the armor. So I know nothing is seriously hurt. I will need you to repair my armor later tonight though.”
Snow spoke up, “Um sir? Was it him?”
Commander Bolt hesitated before replying, “No… I was able to find out that he was sent further north to intercept some reinforcements from Trottingham.”
Storm spoke next, “Do you want to take some soldiers up there to face him?”
“No, Eventually I will see him on the battlefield, but till then I'll stay with my main force unless Nightmare Moon orders otherwise. Besides, I want to train this new soldier personally. I want to see just how sure she is that she made the right decision to come here.”

I didn’t know how to view this stallion at all, one second he seemed nice and normal, then the next I could see the heartless Commander that the others spoke of. Nevertheless, I'm here now and if I want to make it, I'm going to have to push my patience as hard as I can to make it out of here alive. But I still have to wonder, where have I met this soldier before? I usually don’t remember faces unless they are important but I could remember Commander Bolts easily. And who is this He that they are talking about. Another soldier perhaps and if so was he a friend or a foe. Whatever happens next, I only know one thing is certain. I am now a soldier of the Nightmare Legion

> Ch4 Cadet Stone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                “GET UP! GET UP! RISE AND SHINE!!!”
As I rolled over in my rickety old cot, I could see Commander Bolt standing there with a smile on his face as Lieutenant Snow bashed his sword against his shield, making all sorts of racket. I sat up, I looked at the commander in irritation through my messed up mane, “What time is it?”
Commander Bolt gave me a funny look and replied, “What was that? I didn’t hear you… who are you talking to?”
Knowing what he was asking made me sigh, “What time is it, Commander?”
Commander Bolt looked at Lieutenant Snow who only shrugged his shoulders, then he looked back at me, “Beats me, all I know is that we better get started if we want to return before they serve breakfast.”
I replied, “Breakfast? When do they serve breakfast sir?”
“About sunrise… erm… eclipse rise… or whatever you would call it.”

I looked out the hole in the top of my tent at the sky above and could see that sunrise was only about an hour away. I then looked back at the commander and asked, “Um sir? Why are we up so early?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Good question… you have two minutes, fix yourself up and come with me.”
I looked at him in confusion, “Two minutes?”
As Commander Bolt turned to leave the tent, He called out, “A minute fifty… forty-nine… forty-eight!!!”
Realizing he was timing me only made me hasten myself as I climbed out of my cot, wet my mane with a pail of water I had gathered the night before, and grab my bandanna while quickly rushing outside without drying my mane first. When Commander Bolt saw me standing there with water still dripping from my soaked mane, he laughed at me, “Don’t worry you can dry it on your way there.”
I could only sigh with sarcasm, “Yippee sir…”
Commander Bolt smiled then looked at Lieutenant Snow and spoke, “Go see to your duties, The Cadet and I will meet her alone.”
Snow nodded his head and replied, “As you wish sir.”

The commander started trotting through the camp as I tucked my bandanna under my wing and asked while shaking my mane dry, “So… um… sir? Where are we going anyway?”
Commander Bolt replied, “We are going to see somepony very important. Let me be the first to congratulate you, by the way.”
After my mane felt dry, enough I started tying the bandanna to it as I replied, “Congratulate me? For what sir?”
“Cadet Stone, of the number of ponies recruited yesterday during the ceremony in Cloudsdale, you have been especially selected to become an officer rather than a basic soldier.”
I thought to myself for a second then gave him dulled stare, “Of the ponies recruited yesterday in Cloudsdale sir?”
“Yep.”
“Wasn’t I the only pony recruited yesterday sir?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “So… you now see the difficulty in our decision to select you then. You should be honored.”

Basically, he was saying that I was selected by default, so I hesitated as I wondered whether to take it as an insult or a compliment. Then he replied, “If it makes you feel any better Cadet, you are what we like to call a special case.”
“Special? What do you mean?”
Commander Bolt explained, “You have no cutie mark, your talent is a complete mystery to yourself and the rest of us. Basically, you’re a rolling die. For all we know you could be an expert swords mare, or an exceptional blacksmith. Your talent could be anything, so we see that as an advantage. A truly skilled soldier doesn’t count themselves as such until they prove it to themselves first, then others later.”
I couldn’t help but blush at his complement while agreeing to his logic. If I could find out what my special talent was during this whole event, then it wouldn’t matter whether or not I succeed or not. My cutiemark alone would feel like a reward on its own. However, I still had one question, “Who are we going to see sir?”

At this time we were at the edge of the Nightmare Legion’s camp as he looked at me and replied, “The pony we are about to meet will be referred to as Your Majesty, is that clear? You will not speak unless spoken too, and you will conduct yourself accordingly so that you don’t disrespect her in anyway. And always, follow my lead.”
“Yes sir… but who…”
“Shh, she is here.”
As I looked into the darkness, I started to see a cloud of dark mist approach us as Commander Bolt bowed. After he bowed his head, I did the same in confusion of what this mist was, then the mist increased its size until it turned into a tall dark alicorn. As we continued Bowing, the commander spoke, “Your majesty… I sent for you to report the status of our trip to Cloudsdale.”
The tall dark mare looked at me, then back at the commander, “Is she the only recruit?”
Commander Bolt replied, “Yes your majesty, we were attacked before we could attain more. This here is Cadet Gem Stone of Cloudsdale. From this moment on, she will be trained under my wing.”

The dark mare looked at me as I continued bowing; I never felt so nervous before. It was as if she was looking deep into my soul, then she spoke, “Mare? Do you know who I am?”
I was too scared to reply, but I did my best, “N-no your majesty… I do not.”
The mare lowered her head, put her hoof on my chin, and guided it up to look me in the eye. Then she smiled, “I… am Nightmare Moon. The ruler of the night and the essence of your deepest fear. So… what do you think of my pilgrimage to bring forth an eternal night?”
My mind quickly raced through a series of answers. Nevertheless, I honestly didn’t know what to say until I replied out of impulse, “I-it doesn’t matter what I think your majesty… I am here to follow orders… that’s all.”
Nightmare Moon smiled, “This one will be easy to break in. see to it that she is trained well commander. But must you train her yourself? Shouldn’t you place that responsibility on one of your officers?”
Commander Bolt stepped closer to me and replied, “With this momentary peace between the two armies, I’m losing my mind in boredom. Besides, this will allow me to see her talents first hoof, so that I can place her in the right position once her training is complete.”

Nightmare Moon took her hoof off my chin as she raised herself back up, “Very well, do as you please commander. I’ll leave her in your care.”
Commander Bolt then asked, “Any word on Canterlot’s status?”
Nightmare Moon sighed, “No… sister continues to draw out this momentary cease fire as long as she can. She must not like the idea of ponies dying in this war.”
“And… Commander Mist?”
“He is currently training new recruits of his own. Though he has a lot more than one to deal with.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head and replied, “Understood… thank you your majesty.”
Nightmare Moon smiled pleasantly and replied, “Good morning to you commander.”
With that said Nightmare Moon turned into the dark mist again and vanished as the sun started to peer over the horizon. Then almost immediately, it vanished as the moon eclipsed it before the sky could light up.

As the eclipse rose, Commander Bolt turned around and spoke, “Let’s go Cadet. We have a long day ahead of us… you’re going to need your strength.”
As we trotted back through the camp, I couldn’t help but feel like Commander Bolt was in a bad mood, for some reason talking to Nightmare Moon had put him in a deep though so I tried to break the ice, “So commander? Did I do ok… you know, talking to Nightmare Moon?”
He didn’t reply, instead he just continued trotting in deep thought. “Um… sir?... Commander?”
Finally, he snapped out of it, “Oh… sorry cadet… I was just thinking about somepony.”
“May I ask who?”
“No…”
Feeling as if I stepped out of place, I didn’t reply to his answer. I could only hold my silence while dealing with his. When we finally reached the dining tent, I could see a long line of soldiers standing outside. Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Get yourself something to eat. I don’t have much of an appetite right now.”
Without explaining why, Commander Bolt continues further into the camp while leaving me there to get in line for some food.

After getting a plate and some oatmeal, I trotted to an empty table and sat down. While looking around the large tent I noticed that there were a large number of stallion soldiers throughout the camp but almost no other mares. I felt a little out of place being here but I knew that I would be better off if I made myself distant from the others just as I did at the orphanage. As I sat there eating alone, I couldn’t help but wonder what was next for me. Then without my permission, Lieutenant Snow came up and sat down across from me, “Well good morning Cadet Stone, and how are you this fine morning?”
Trying to let him know he wasn’t welcome sitting here, I replied, “Well I was doing fine… till now.”
He must have ignored me completely because he continued the conversation without even acknowledging my comment, “So how did your meeting with Nightmare Moon go? Well I hope… May I asked what you think of her?”
I didn’t know how to answer a question like that so I replied, “I dono? What do you think of her?”
Snow started stirring his food while he replied, “I personally think she is out of her mind… however if I were to question my ruler now, then what kind of soldier would I be?”

Hearing him say that threw me for a loop, “Wait… you don’t like what Nightmare Moon is doing? Then… why are you fighting for her?”
Lieutenant Snow looked at me and replied, “For her? My dear, I’m not fighting in this war for her. I’m fighting for Commander Bolt.”
“The commander? But why?”
“I served with Commander Bolt a few years ago in the Griffin Civil War. And even though he keeps his secrets, I know him enough that he wouldn’t choose to fight if it meant something bad would come from it.”
I gave him a dull look, “Really? What good will eternal night bring?”
Snow looked back at his food and replied, “He is complicated isn’t he? And if anypony knows Nightmare Moon more, it’s him. In fact, some would say that he a… and… um… I…”

Snow slowly stopped talking as he looked over my shoulder and began nervously mumbling too quietly for me to hear. Because of his curious actions, I slowly turned my head to look behind me, only to see Commander Bolt standing there with an unamused expression on his face. I slowly looked back to my front and nervously stirred my food as he spoke, “Lieutenant Snow, didn’t I put you and your soldiers in charge of this morning’s daily patrol?”
Lieutenant Snow nervously stood up and replied, “Well… um… yes sir. But I feel confident that my soldiers can handle a task like this without…”
“Without what? Leadership? A good leader will follow his soldiers into any task, no matter how medial or insignificant it may seem.”
“Well, yes sir. But I felt it would be better for training if they handled this alone.”
Commander Bolt sighed, “Well you know what? You though wrong! Get out there and support your soldiers!”
Lieutenant Snow sighed, “I understand sir, I’ll go out there as soon as I fi….”
“No… Now! Need I remind you your soldiers are also going without breakfast?”
Lieutenant Snow lowered his head in disappointment, “Yes sir… as you wish.”

I personally think Commander Bolt was being too hard on Lieutenant Snow, but I only held my silence as his unamused stare started to focus on me, “Cadet? When you’re finished, I want you to come to my quarters at the far eastern side of the camp. It’s the hut with my insignia on it, when you see it I want you to knock, and ask permission to enter or speak with me. This is a rule for everypony, not just you.”
Commander Bolt turned around and left with no explanation of what we were supposed to be doing today. I don’t know what is going on but he seemed to be acting very different then yesterday. He seemed a lot more… serious then before. With his actions in my thoughts, I finished my food, and left the dinning tent.

After eating, I went to the far eastern side of the camp and found an area with a large number of wood huts. This area seemed well taken care of, so I could only assume this was the area that Commander Bolt spoke of. Finally, I came to a tent with an insignia that looked like an eight point star with a moon in the center. Guessing that this was the right hut, I knocked on the door, “Um… C-Commander Bolt? It’s um… Cadet Stone… are you there? Or um… can I enter?”
Commander Bolt replied, “You may Cadet.”
When I trotted into the room, I saw Commander Bolt talking with Captain Storm in the center of the room. As I expected, the room was in perfect shape, no damage, nothing broken, not one hint of a bad living condition. Well, since he is the commander of the Nightmare Legion I wouldn’t think he would be treated like the rest of his soldiers. As I approached the two stallions, Captain Storm spoke, “Well Ms. St… I mean, cadet… It time to get your measurements.”
I felt a little nervous, “Um… measurements?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Captain Storm is not just the officer in command of the Pegasi Assault Force. He also happens to be our top blacksmith in the camp. He will need to measure you for your armor.”

I bet my face was turning a little red as I tried to suggest, “Um… I think I would feel comfortable if somepony else took my measurements… preferably a mare?”
Storm replied, “Now don’t be modest. I’ve had to raise a daughter so you don’t have to be embarrassed about anything.”
“Yea but you’re not my father…”
Commander Bolt sighed, “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll leave so you can have some privacy. Nevertheless, he will be getting your measurements Cadet. He is the only one who can make armor with as much quality that I want all my officers to have, but he uses his own system of measuring so it would be impossible for another blacksmith to make it as perfect as him. Now get to it. I would like you to be wearing your new armor by the nightfall.”
With those words, Commander Bolt left the room as Captain Storm began taking my measurements. At first, I felt uncomfortable, but as he said before, he was very mature over the whole thing, though it didn’t make it seem any less weird.

After he finished he overlook his notes and spoke, “All done, now that wasn’t so bad was it?”
A gave him a dull look and replied, “Easy for you to say…”
he actually started laughing at me as he replied, “Its ok, I’m the only one who will see these notes so don’t feel too embarrassed.”
As we both left the tent, we met Commander Bolt right outside, “Is it done?”
Storm replied, “Yes sir, I’ll begin on her armor as soon as we finish.”
I got annoyed, “Finished? You mean there’s more?”
Commander Bolt didn’t like my tone, “Watch it cadet… remember your place, and his rank. Yes, there is more so let’s get to it.”
Commander Bolt and Captain Storm began trotting back to the center of the camp with me following. It wasn’t long before we came to a hut with a chimney on the top. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t expect what came next. As we opened the door, I saw a lot of shining swords, shields, axes, maces and all sorts of weapons dangling from the ceiling and walls.

As Commander Bolt and Storm trotted through the room, Commander Bolt asked, “Well… what do you think Storm? What weapon would she be good for?”
Storm thought to himself and replied, “Well, she doesn’t have the built for a heavy sword, axe, or hammer. Maybe something on a smaller side, daggers, a thin sword, or maybe even a wooden spear.”
Commander Bolt looked at me and asked, “Well cadet? Let me ask you, have you ever carried a sword before?”
I looked back and replied, “Um… no sir.”
He continued, “How about an axe?”
“No.”
“A spear?”
“No.” 
“A morning star?”
“I don’t even know what that is, so I’ll say no…”
Commander Bolt sighed, “Have you even seen any of this before?”
“… No.”
Commander Bolt put his hoof on his head, “Well this will take longer than hoped.”
Captain Storm put his hoof on Commander Bolt’s shoulder and smiled, “No worries sir, we will just have to let her try each and see how she fairs… or we could always put her on a catapult team.”

I don’t know what catapult teams did but Commander Bolt replied, “No, she will become an officer so there is no need for her to command a catapult. I’ll put her on a cannon team first.”
Captain Storm smiled, “Oh! So you will allow me to make us a cannon then?”
“What? NO!!! I’m not repeating the mistakes we made in Gryphus! That weapon will never be a part of my arsenal… Period!”
Storm laughed, “Well it was worth a shot… might we start her off on a spear then?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “That sounds fine; give her a light one though.”
Captain Storm trotted into the back of the room and pulled a spear from a pile then he came back with it and gave me some pointers, “This is your standard six footer, the blade is double sided with a razor sharpened tip for deep penetration. When jabbing always remember to hold it at the bottom so that you can avoid attacks from swords. But when swinging grip at the center of the shaft, with a comfortable distance between your hooves so that you can turn it sideways to block.”

When Storm gave the spear to me, I was surprised that it was a lot heavier then it looked, not to mention the blade weighed more than the shaft so I had to grip it higher to hold it right. Then Commander Bolt spoke, “Well let’s give it a test run cadet. There is a battle dummy out back that we will practice on, follow me.”
Commander Bolt led me outside to a wooden dummy that was standing behind the hut. Then he turned to me and spoke, “When using a spear you need to focus only on vital parts. The chest, throat, and head are what you should focus on attacking. However if you want to subdue your opponent, then the wings and hooves are your focus. Now show me what you got, Strike this dummies neck.”
Following Storms advice, I griped the spear at the center and swung the blade hitting the dummy as hard as I could. Shortly after the blade hit the dummy, putting a gash in it. Commander Bolt spoke, “Wrong!”
I turned and looked back at him, “What?”
“You hit too low, with that swing it would have simply dug into his shoulder until it hit his shoulder blade. Leaving him wounded, but free to dig his sword into your chest. Now do it again and this time do it right!”

A little annoyed about his instruction, I tried again. Nevertheless, it still wasn’t good enough, “Again!”
I swung the spear from the other side, “Sloppy, again!”
I swung the spear a fourth time, then a fifth, then a sixth. I must have hit the dummy more then ten times but it didn’t seem to be good enough for him, “Again!... Sloppy, again!... Too high… again!... Again!... AGAIN!...”
This continued throughout the day and well into the evening, with each passing swing I started to get more and more tired, but I also got more and more irritated at the commander who just kept repeating “Again!”
Finally, I lost my temper entirely and instead of swinging the spear and hitting the now mangled dummy, I jammed the spear into the dummies chest as hard as I could, digging the blade deep into the wood body. This time Commander Bolt didn’t say again, instead he just smiled at my act of frustration. Trying to calm myself down, I tried to pull the spear form the dummy, but the blade was stuck, I yanked as hard as I could, but as I did the blade finally broke off and I fell to the ground with the broken spear shaft in my hooves.

Oddly enough, Commander Bolt trotted over to me and helped me up as he spoke with a dull and serious tone, “Good… now you have just assured me that instead of being killed in battle you will only be wounded… You will die shortly after though.”
I couldn’t believe him, rather than help me with training; he only criticized me on my actions. Then to top it all off he continued, “It would appear that a spear isn’t your weapon. Go return it to Captain Storm.”
This pony was really getting to me. First, he wears me out by continuously telling me I’m doing something wrong, then he heartlessly insulted my continuous attempts to do it the way he wanted me to. With my increased irritation, I could only keep my mouth shut and do as he said so I wouldn’t say something mildly offensive to him… since that’s all I could think about now.

When I approached Captain Storm and gave him the spear shaft he laughed, “Well I see the commander kept you busy… so how did you do?”
I sighed, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Storm replied, “Suit yourself, speaking of suits, your armor is ready would you like to try it on?”
Hoping to get my mind off of today’s fiasco I replied, “Sure, I can do that.”
Storm led me to a secluded room and gave me the armor to try on. At first, it seemed a little tight, but it was more snug then anything. Each part of each piece fit so perfectly that it seemed like wearing a second layer of skin. As I trotted around wearing this, I couldn’t help but marvel at how light and comfortable it felt. As I trotted out of the room, both Storm and Commander Bolt watched as I moved around to test how mobile I was, then Storm smiled, “It’s made with a special coating of metal that I myself mixed. It’s as strong as iron while as light as aluminum. Perfect for combat.”

I felt much better about everything now so I looked at Captain Storm and smiled, “Thank you… it’s great… I feel like a soldier now.”
Commander Bolt gave me an unamused stare and spoke, “Well you don’t look like one to me… You are relieved for the day, when you’re not sleeping you will wear this armor at all times. And Luna help you if I catch you not wearing it. Go back to your tent and get some rest. Tomorrow before dawn, we will begin your sword training. Hopefully this time you can do it right.”
With those words said, Commander Bolt turned and left the room, leaving me both furious and speechless.

I… I couldn’t believe that jerk!... if he didn’t tick me off before, it seemed like he was trying even harder now. No words of confidence, no good job cadet, no motivational speech, or words of advice? What kind of cruel pony is he? I think I was starting to see the true colors of this stallion. And I don’t like it one bit. That’s ok, if he wants to treat me like I’m useless, and that I will die in my first battle… then I say let him. Nevertheless, I will be standing there smiling with a bug bag of I-told-you-so when I prove the great Commander Bolt wrong! And even if it kills me, I will prove him wrong!

> Ch5  Hidden Talents
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                I closed my eyes as the sparks from the blade flew onto my face, but as I opened them, again I noticed that Commander Bolt had already counterattacked after I blocked the first swing. I was able to bring the thin sword up to block the second attack but the force of his swing was too much for me. The sword I was carrying flew out of my hooves as Commander Bolt spun around and kicked me in my chest, tossing me through the air and causing me to hit the ground a number of feet away from where I was standing.
As I laid on the ground trying to regain the breath that was knocked out of me, the commander sighed, “Apparently a fencing sword isn’t your weapon either, I’m a little disappointed. It’s been about a week and you’ve managed to make absolutely no progress what-so-ever.”

That jerk, he continues to criticize me and he knows well that I’ve tried my hardest; in fact, I’m about a quarter second faster than I was a week ago yet he ignores it as if he were born strong. As I picked myself up from the ground, I picked up the sword and held it at the ready, but he just shook his head, “Don’t bother… this isn’t your weapon and I see no point in teaching you anything with it.”
After he said that, he turned around and began trotting away. Feeling frustrated and angry, I realized that with his back turned, I could take a shot at catching him off guard. So I charged forward and tried to swing my sword vertically at him, but what came next was unexpected… even from him. Commander Bolt quickly turned around and blocked the attack with his shield then he parried my blade away, as he dropped his shield, and punched me on the side of my face, knocking me to the ground. I reached for the sword as I tried to get up, but he stepped on my hoof and began kicking me while I was still on the ground. 

After being kicked three or four times, I laid there in continuous pain as he picked up my sword, grabbed me by my mane, and yanked my mane back exposing my neck as held the blade across my throat, “If you plan to fight dirty… then expect your enemy to do the same! Remember, all is fair in love and war! When you fight dirty then you remind him of this lesson, and that will make things worse for you… Understand?”
Thinking he was going to kill me, I stared into his emotionless eyes as he raised the sword up and stuck the blade into the ground right next to my neck. Almost close enough to cut me. Then he released my mane and sighed, “A sword isn’t your weapon… neither is an axe, spear, hammer, scythe, dagger, or shield… You’re running out of options cadet, and I’m running out of patience. Return this to Storm and go get some rest. Since I gave you this lesson on fighting dirty, I’ll give you the rest of the day off. I need to clear my mind of this waste of time anyway.”

As he trotted away, I had a hard time moving from the beating I just took. Yet that heartless monster does nothing to help. Instead, he just trots away as if nothing happened. What is his deal!?! After laying there a few second, I started to tear up in rage… I’m trying my best, but it doesn’t matter to him. Is he trying to make me angry? Is he trying to make me feel completely useless? I wish I never made this choice to come here. However, even as a filly, I knew that wishing was a load of crap. In this cruel world, you have to make your wish come true; otherwise, it’s just a waste of time. Finally, I felt I had the strength to stand on my own four hooves now, so I picked myself up and leaned against one of the practice dummies. As I held myself up, I looked closely at the dints, and cuts the dummy had. This thing looked new when I first got here, but my continuous training caused it to become battered and bruised, almost as much as I was right now.

As I sheathed the sword, I began stumbling towards the weapons tent to return the sword to Captain Storm, but when I got there, he wasn’t there. I looked around and called, “Captain?... Captain Storm? Where are you?”
There was no answer so rather than waiting for his return, I decided to place the sword back on the hook that it was hanging on earlier, then I left the tent to go get some rest. While stumbling through the camp still sore from the fight, I started to realize that nopony else was around either. It was as if the camp was completely deserted. I looked around and finally saw another soldier sprinting by, “HEY!... What’s going on? Where is everypony?”
The soldier stopped and yelled back, “Princess Celestia and her commander are here for negotiations! Commander Bolt has gone to meet with them at the front of the camp.”
The soldier continued galloping by as I mumbled to myself, “Negotiations? Are they trying to end the war?”
Curious as I was, I started chasing the soldier as fast as my wounds would allow.

By the time, I reached the front of the camp I could see all of Commander Bolt’s soldiers standing in a crowd. Trying to get a better look at who the crowd was surrounding, I flew into the air and looked down from above. In the center of the crowd stood Princess Celestia and a hoof full of Celestial Crusaders. Among them, I recognized the same unicorn I saw when I was a filly the night my parents died. In front of the Crusaders, I could see Commander Bolt standing with both Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow, and Nightmare Moon. I couldn’t hear a word of what they were saying but I could tell that tensions were getting high as nightmare moon’s expression was getting more and more annoyed with every word that Princess Celestia said. But what worried me most was the emotionless expression that Commander Bolt and the unicorn were giving each other. I almost looked like they weren’t paying attention, especially since both Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow were getting worried with Nightmare moon’s anger.

While I observed the group, Nightmare moon sighed then turned back into her cloud of mist leaving Princess Celestia in a state of disappointment. It was easy to see that the negotiations failed. Then as princess Celestia and her soldiers turned to leave, I noticed that the Unicorn had the same insignia on his armor as Commander Bolt, only instead of a moon, it had the sun. This had to be the commander of the Celestia Crusaders, which made a lot of since. The two highest-ranking ponies of both armies meeting for peace talks. As the ponies turned to part ways, the crowd below me started to disperse and Commander Bolt turned and began trotting back into the camp. I couldn’t help but notice though, his face showed no expression, but it looked like he was hiding a great deal of disappointment… even more then Princess Celestia had shown. As he trotted away, he looked up at me as I was still hovering in the air, then he called to me, “Cadet! Front and Center!”
I know he had just given me the rest of the day off, but I didn’t want to make him mad again, after what had happened earlier so I flew down and landed in front of him, “Yes Sir?”

Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Did you return the sword?”
“Yes sir… Captain Storm wasn’t there so I put it where it went in the weapons tent.”
With a troubled voice, he replied, “Good… good. Get some rest, tomorrow bright and early we will continue training.”
I just had to ask, “Um… sir? Is everything ok? From the looks of things, the negotiations didn’t go well, did they?”
Commander Bolt sighed, “No… they didn’t. and to make things worse, I think we will soon be going into battle with the Celestial Crusaders.”
“Really? Is that what the Unicorn commander said?”
Commander Bolt looked at me funny, “How did you know he was their commander?”
“I could see the insignia on his armor from where I was.”

Both Commander Bolt and Captain Storm looked at each other in confusion as I asked, “Is… is he not their commander? I just figured since your insignias were identical it had to be…”
“You mean to tell me that you could see our insignias from that altitude and that distance?”
I nervously replied, “Um… yea…”
Commander Bolt smiled, “That’s impressive. You were easily more then five hundred meters away and yet you could see an insignia that was about one inch big on a three-inch circle… I think I know what to do now. Tomorrow morning, instead of meeting me at the weapons tent, I want you to meet me at the open field on the northern side of the camp right after breakfast.”
“What? But why?”
His expression of disappointment had sank away into excitement as he replied, “You’ll see Cadet… you’ll see.”
And with that, Commander Bolt and his two officers trotted into the camp leaving me there with an uneasy feeling in my gut… or it could be a broken rib… I honestly couldn’t tell.

The next morning seemed to be like the last few. I’ve been getting up so early so often, that I’ve been waking up on my own before Lieutenant Snow would come by to wake me. So as usual, by the time he showed up, I was already awake, and ready to give him his daily glare. Then as he continued to his own business, I would have a short time to get some food before Commander Bolt would come get me for morning training. Only this time, he told me where to find him. So as soon as I felt ready to take a beating I found my black bandanna, tied it into my mane and left. I decided, from now until I prove him otherwise, I would wear a black bandanna of anger, since it seems like he tries continuously to tick me off. so I felt this was my daily emotion till I finish my training and prove to him that I can be a capable soldier… though I’ve yet to find out how.

While traveling to the field in the northern part of the camp, I started to think to myself. I’ve never been to the northern field before, though I have seen many pegasi soldiers training over the fields. I wonder if we are going to do flight training today, but then again, I can’t be certain until we begin. Finally I arrived at the field to see Commander Bolt and Captain Storm standing at a white chalk line on the ground, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Late again… but no matter, since I finally figured you out, I’ll overlook it.”
It wasn’t even nine a.m. yet and already he was on my nerves, but I ignored it and replied, “Good morning commander, exactly what are we going to do today?”
The commander smiled, “Captain Storm… can you tell me exactly, what weapons we have attempted to train Cadet Stone on thus far?”

Captain Storm replied, “Well first it was the spear, then the short sword, then the long sword, the battle axe, the ware hammer, the Ball and chain, the morning star, then yesterday the fencing sword.”
As if I didn’t feel bad enough, Commander Bolt added, “Don’t forget, the scythe, and the nun-chucks… um… why did you even suggest that last one Storm?”
“What? I was being sarcastic when I suggested those.”
Commander Bolt sighed, “Nevertheless, they were all failures… each and every one. But do you know what they all had in common?”
Thinking as he did, I answered with what I though was just a joke, “Um… I can’t use them properly?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Well… that too, but there is something else they have in common.”
He was starting to get to me again, so to save myself the trouble, “No… what do they have in common?”

I could tell by the smile on his face, that he could see my tension, “What they have in common cadet, is that they are all close quarters weapons… but from you sight, you more suited for long-range attacks. Look out into the field; I set up an array of targets each with a small letter posted just below it. Look at the furthest letter you can see, and tell me what it is.”
As I looked into the distance it was just as he said, there were a series of targets randomly placed throughout the field. Some were close, but others were so far out that they were almost concealed in the forest at the other side. So doing as he said I looked closely at the letters. They were as random as the targets themselves, no particular order, just placed on them. Therefore, I looked closely at the furthest one I could identify and spoke, “Um… Q… or it could be an O… nope definitely a Q.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Alright, Captain, about how far is that target from us?”
Captain Storm looked at his sheet of paper and spoke in amazement, “Wow, that’s about eight hundred and fifty meters away… and you can read a five inch letter from this distance? Even for a Pegasus, that’s amazing.”

I started to blush a little while Captain Storm was complementing me. I didn’t know that my eyes sight was any better than anypony else’s, I thought it was average. Commander Bolt didn’t waste any time on putting it to good use though, “Cadet Stone? Have you ever held a bow before?”
It was a little insulting, but he answered at the exact same time as I did, “No.”
Then he continued, “I should have guessed… nevertheless, today I will teach you how to use one.”
As Captain Storm gave him a bow, he started to explain, “This is a simple bow, nothing fancy about this one. Now the important thing to pay attention to when firing a bow is the distance, the wind, and the targets movements. If you know all three and adjust to them, then you can hit any target. Now watch me closely.”
Commander Bolt looked at the closest target on the range, which was about fifty feet away. Then he stood on his hid hooves and stretched out his wings. As he stood there, I could tell he was using his wings to keep his balance, then he drew his bow and focused on the target. After hesitating for a quick second, Commander Bolt released the arrow, sending it flying through the air until it hit the target with a loud thump. As he lowered his bow he smiled, “Just barely a bull’s eye. But not bad considering I haven’t fired a bow in years.”

As I stared at the target, Commander Bolt held the bow out and spoke, “Alright Cadet, you’re up. Now just remember how to accommodate for all three keys. Distance, aim higher or lower to make the arrow go further or closer. For wind, aim left or right into the wind to counter its movements. And for the target’s movement, you will have to guess how fast it is going and try to measure where it will be when the arrow reaches it. Luckily, the targets are stationary so you only have to focus on distance and wind today.”
As I took the bow from him, I started to pull the string back to feel how heavy it was. It didn’t seem too hard to pull, but it would be difficult to hold it for a while and focused on what he was talking about so I took a stance like his and held my balance on my hind hooves. Then I thought to myself, “Ok, distance. I shouldn’t have to worry at this range. Next, wind.”
I lifted my head high and closed my eyes to feel the wind in my mane, and wing feathers. As I felt it, I could guess it was moving at less than one mile an hour. So, since my target wasn’t moving at all, I raised my bow and focused on my aim.

I slowly pulled the drawstring back, which felt even lighter then before, and then after deciding that my aim was right on, I released my arrow. Almost immediately, the arrow vanished before my eyes as the drawstring went back to the starting position on the bow. When the arrow vanished, I looked at the target and saw that the only arrow lodged in the target was Commander Bolts. I couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment as I looked at the target, “Darn… I thought I would at least hit somewhere on it, even if I didn’t hit the bull’s eye.”
As I turned and looked at Commander Bolt, he had a somewhat amazed look on his face, “That… that was…”
“I know… terrible. I didn’t even hit the target.”
Commander Bolt looked back at me and smiled, “Cadet? Where is your arrow?”

I looked back at the target and mumbled, “Well… it’s got to be there somewhere? Maybe in the woods?”
Commander Bold started trotting out to the target as he spoke, “Follow me.”
As we both trotted out to see the target, I could see some kind of marking on the center of the target as we got closer and closer. By the time we reached it, I could tell that the marking was actually a hope, and it was dead center of the bull’s eye. I could only sigh, “So you brought me out here to see a shot that somepony else made earlier today?”
Commander Bolt smiled and pointed behind the target, but when I looked, even I was shocked. The arrow I fired not only hit the target in the bull’s eye, but it pierced the target entirely and dug into the ground leaving only the flight sticking out. Commander Bolt smiled at me, “Well, Cadet… it looks like we found your weapon.

Then Commander Bolt and I went back to the line as Storm smiled, “Heck of a shot Cadet.”
I blushed a little as I replied, “Thanks… it was probably luck.”
Commander Bolt spoke next, “Well let’s let luck work for you. This time I want you to choose your own target. The furthest one you think you can hit. I’m not looking for a bull’s eye, but I want you to try and hit it.”
I nodded my head and looked into the field. As I looked at each target, I decided to challenge myself by choosing one that was hanging from a tree at the edge of the forest on the other side of the field. So after choosing the target I spoke, “I’m going to try to hit that one marked with a G. Is that ok?”
Commander Bolt looked at Captain Storm as he looked at his paper, “Well, that one is approximately three hundred and fifty meters away, definitely a challenge for you. So I say go for it.”

Commander Bolt looked at me and smiled, “You heard him Cadet, fire when ready.”
As I stood up on my hind hooved, I closed my eyes and started feeling the wind. It seemed the same as before, so I opened my eyes and aimed my bow at what I guessed would be the proper distance. However, the very moment I decided the right distance, I felt the wind pick up just slightly so I slightly and carefully adjusted my aim and released my arrow. This time I managed to watch it fly into the air with a faint whistle, but it quickly vanished into the reddish sky above. I looked at the target with high hopes, but after a few seconds, of watching a still target, I sighed, “A fluke… It had to be, how can a pony like me…”
“Shhh…”
After hearing Commander Bolt shush me, I looked back at the target and waited a few more seconds before hearing the sound I was waiting for, the faint thump of my arrow hitting my target. After hearing that sound, my excitement rose so high, I couldn’t help but toss my bow in the air and cheer, “I DID IT! I DID IT! I HIT THE TARGET! I ACTUALLY HIT IT!”

After realizing I was cheering so loud, I blushed a little as I calmed down, “Oh… um… I mean… I didn’t know I could, but I actually did it.”
Commander Bolt smiled at me and replied, “Congratulations Cadet, now you are officially an archer.”
I couldn’t help but smile at my accomplishment, for the first time, Commander Bolt actually was pleased about something I did. However, that didn’t stop him from going back to the way he was before, “Now do it again.”
“Oh commander you don’t… wait… what?”
He smiled, “If you’re as good as you seem, then it shouldn’t be hard at all. Captain Storm, Go get her a long bow, I’m curious to see the distance she can get out of that.”
I couldn’t believe him, even after showing him all the skill that I actually had, he still wants to see more? I was wrong, he wasn’t a different pony now, he is the same old Jerk as before. Nevertheless, I knew I still had to follow his orders; I just sighed and replied, “Yes sir.”

As I raised my bow to fire the next few arrows at the same target, Captain Storm left to get the Long bow as Commander Bolt had ordered. Just as he returned, I had released the pull string of my fifth arrow. And just after I heard the thud of the impact, Commander Bolt held the long bow in front of me and spoke, “Here… try this. Believe it or not, the extra length will give you increased distance and accuracy.”
As he gave me the bow, and an arrow, I decided to give it a test shot. Using the same method as before, I measured the wind, aimed my bow, and fired my arrow. This time the arrow flew even faster than with the other bow, and when it hit the target, I knew it before I heard the thump, because the target was knocked immediately out of the tree. As soon as the target was laying on the ground, Storm spoke, Yep… that is her weapon now. Give it time and I bet you will, hit the bull’s eye of the target further than that.

I blushed a little as I replied, “Well I don’t know if I’m that good.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head and turned to leave, “Finish off the arrows in your quiver, and meet me at my quarters. I need to discuss something with you.”
Before I could ask, Commander Bolt trotted off without a word, so I looked at Captain Storm, “Um... Storm?”
“Captain…”
“Oh… um, Captain… What was that about?”
Captain Storm thought to himself for a few seconds before replying, “I honestly don’t know. Whatever it was, it might have something to do with your newly discovered skill. Either way we will continue practice until your arrows are depleted, then I’ll leave you to go see him… I have a few things I gotta take care of later anyways.”
He stood by as I continued firing arrows at the long-range target. Then when I finished off my arrows, I gave him back the longbow and quiver while we parted ways for the day.

Later that evening as I approached the commander’s quarters, I knocked on the door and spoke, “Commander Bolt, This is Cadet Stone… Permission to enter sir?”
After waiting a few seconds, I heard him reply, “Granted.”
As I entered his quarters, I saw him sharpening the blade on his shield, as he spoke, “How did the rest of your training go Cadet?”
I replied, “Um… pretty good sir, I think I got the hang of the longbow now.”
Commander Bolt smiled and replied, “Good… good. I hope you won’t take this the wrong way… but I need you to remove your armor for me.”
I… I couldn’t believe what he was asking me, “Wh-what? You want me to…”
“Yes… remove your armor.”
I… I had no idea how to respond to that, what… what was he going to do?… what should I do? Should I follow the order… and if so… what will happen?

Commander Bolt started to get annoyed, “Well… I gave you an order Cadet.”
I felt an unbelievable amount of anxiety as I unbuckled my armor and let it fall to the ground, then he looked at me and smiled, “Just as I thought… you found your special talent today.”
Realizing what he was talking about, I looked at my flank and saw my cutie mark; it was an arrow piercing the face of a diamond. As I looked at my newly acquired cutie mark, I felt an unusual combination, of joy, embarrassment, and relief. I should have known that Commander Bolt wouldn’t do anything immoral to me, especially since he doesn’t seem like that kind of pony, despite the fact that he was a Jerk in every sense of the word. As I felt relief, Commander Bolt smiled, “From this day forth; you are classified as an archer of the Nightmare Legion. And starting tomorrow morning, your training as a soldier will begin.”

I felt a little confused so I asked, “Wait… my training will begin tomorrow? You mean that it hasn’t started yet?”
Commander Bolt replied, “Well technically, no. we have only been trying to discover your weapon class before we began your training. However, starting tomorrow and into the next three months, your training will begin, and not just your weapon. We will train you in everything you need to be a suitable soldier, battle tactics, signal identifying, physical endurance, and even the final test that will push you to your breaking point. So I suggest you go back to your tent and get some shuteye. Tomorrow begins a long day for you…. You’re dismissed.”
“But sir, I…”
“I said you’re dismissed.”
Feeling a little enraged and betrayed, I put my armor back on and left the tent. As I made my way back, I couldn’t believe that... That… monster. All this time, I spent every day for the past week trying to please him, and my training hadn’t even begun yet? What does he take me for? I don’t know how, but I was going to get him back for this. But first, I just wanted to go back to my tent and cool off.

As I laid there in my cot, I effortlessly tried to fall asleep but that pony’s words continued to cycle through my mind. The only thing I could see when I closed my eyes was a vision of me aiming my bow at him. I wanted so much to pay him back for the dirty trick… but I had no idea how. Then I overheard a voice outside my tent, it was him, “Good evening Lieutenant, anything to report?”
“Nothing but the usual riffraff sir… no sign of those repugnant crusaders either.”
“Well I suppose Celestia decided not to attack after all. Can I trust you to keep an eye on things while, I’m going into the forest for a little bit. I'd ask Captain Storm, but he is busy at the moment.”
“The forest? You mean the usual place sir?”
The commander continued, “Yes, I only need you to watch over things while I’m gone. If we get attacked, send up a signal arrow and I’ll be back as soon as I see it.”

After that was said, it went silent; I could only guess the commander had left. As hard as it was for me to sleep to begin with, I couldn’t help but feel curious about the place that Commander Bolt was going to, so without my armor on, I snuck out of the tent and managed to catch up to the commander as he left the camp and entered the Everfree forest. Trying to keep myself hidden, I flew through the trees, keeping every flap of my wings as silent as I could. I didn’t know what he was doing out here, but I wanted to find out. As he continued through the forest, I noticed an unusual depression in his steps. It was as if something terrible had just happened to him and he was taking a walk to clear his mind. This was very unusual, especially for him. He had always seemed so serious and calm to have anything trouble his mind.

The further we went into the forest, the thicker and darker it became. It wasn’t long before we traveled into the area of the forest that was deemed forbidden, even though there was nothing really forbidden about it, it was just a name for the sector of the forest. After about an hour of traveling further and further into the forest, we finally came to an area where there was an unnatural clearing in the trees. In this clearing, there was a wide deep crater with a tall slender tree in the center. As Commander Bolt approached this crater, he sat down and stared at the tree with a calming look on his face. As he sat there, I decided to land and marvel at the tree too.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen before in my life. The tree stood only about twelve feet tall, but it had some kind of rainbow colored apple growing from it. However, the tree wasn’t the only thing that was soothing to watch, but the crater itself was giving off a bluish glow that shined beautifully in the moonlight. This glow was so beautiful, that I stopped watching Commander Bolt and just admired the beauty of the sight. And to make it even more interesting, every few second a small arc of electricity would jump from the ground in the crater and connect to either the tree, or the ground around it. I didn’t know if this tree held any sentimental value to the commander… but I could see what made this place so special.

While keeping myself hidden, I looked back at Commander Bolt who was still standing there with a calm look on his face. While looking at the tree, he smiled, and spoke, “How long are you going to keep sneaking around Cadet? If you’re trying to be stealthy, you’re not very good at it.”
Hearing him talk directly to me like that made me feel like I was intruding as I stepped out from behind the tree, “Um… sorry if I’m interrupting something commander… I… was just curious as to what you were doing.”
Commander Bolt gave me a serious look, “You know curiosity killed the cat… right?”
Hearing him say this made me lower my head in shame, but he just sighed, “But then again… satisfaction brought him back. There is no harm done, so don’t feel bad about it. Next time, remember that shadows cannot only help you when keeping yourself concealed, but they can also work against you. The reason I knew you were there was because while flying above me, the moonlight was casting your shadow in front of me.”

I felt completely embarrassed, he must think I’m stupid to fly high enough to cast my shadow in front of him, and not even notice it. I blushed as I replied, “Um… ok, next time I’ll remember that.”
With that said Commander Bolt looked back into the crater and smiled pleasantly, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? This sight always relaxes me so… especially with the stars above.”
Feeling a little awkward, I replied, “Yes… it is, um… sir? What is this place?”
Commander Bolt continued staring into the crater, “Years ago, a foal was discovered here when he used a special power to vaporize the land and leave behind a large amount of electricity in this ground. That electricity fused with apple seeds to create this new breed of tree that Princess Luna and I have named, A Zap Apple Tree.”
“Zap Apples?”
“Yes, it the electricity stored in both the tree and the soil that make this crater glow like it does. In fact, that’s why this place has been dubbed, The Thunder Grounds.”

I had to ask, “What happened that could release so much electricity?”
A special ability, called the Lightning Orb. Something so rare and dangerous that I’m the only one to use it and survive since Commander Hurricane. In fact, that how I got my cutie mark.”
As I thought to myself a second, I asked, “Commander? Your cutie mark is the one on your shield right? The Star with the lightning?”
“Yea…”
I felt a little nervous as I asked, “Well… I know I’ve seen that cutie mark… and you… somewhere before, but I just can’t remember where. Um… can you tell me your first name?”
Commander Bolt gave me a curious look, “My first name?”
“Well… yea, you always go by Commander Bolt, so I never heard anypony call you by your first name before.”

Commander Bolt thought to himself for a few seconds then replied, “Ok… I’ll tell you… if, and when your training is completed.”
This irritated me a little, “You’re… your making me work for it?... just to know your name?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Well yea… we don’t attain without first giving, you give me your all during your training, and then I’ll give you my name.”
I got annoyed, “That doesn’t seem fair!”
“Considering your skill, its fair enough.”
“What do you mean?”
Commander Bolt stared calmly at the tree as he replied, “You have a lot of skill in you Cadet, I can feel it. You’re strong, determined, and filled with spirit. I bet you would prove me wrong in a heartbeat if you had the training, but that’s all you lack. You’re already an expert archer; in my entire career, I have never seen such a skilled archer fire a bow like you do. I bet with the right training, you could be the greatest archer that ever carried a bow.”

When I thought about it, I started to blush, this setting, the moon, the beautiful glow of the thunder grounds, and the calm kind words he spoke to me made me feel very odd. My heart was beating so strongly that I could feel it in my chest. Something about this moment and this second with him felt good… but what was it?... I tried to get my mind off it as I replied, “So… you think I’m a good soldier?”
Commander Bolt then turned to me and shook his head, “No… but you’re not far from it. All you need to do to become one is to get stronger and learn to fight better. Firing a bow is good and all, but unless you can fire one under pressure, or fire at a moving target then you’re still useless to me. But I think that with the right training, you could be a great soldier.” 
There ya go… for a second I thought I was talking to a different pony, but then once again he proved to me that he was still Commander Bolt. Nevertheless, I knew that was the closest thing to a compliment he would give me, so I replied, “Thank you commander, I’ll try my best.”

Commander Bolt shook his head, “No… don’t try… Do.”
Hearing him talk like this made me feel a little better about him beating me senseless yesterday, but I still didn’t know if this was still worth it so I continued, “Of course commander… I will do my best.”
Commander Bolt gave me a gentle smile as he replied, “Good… now go back and get some rest… oh and Cadet? Don’t think I didn’t notice you out here without your armor… tomorrow… we will deal with this issue…”
Hearing him say that made me feel like my heart dropped from my chest and hit the ground below me. I didn’t know what he meant by that, but if I know him like I do… it won’t be pleasant. Therefore, after traveling back to my tent, I tried all I could to get some rest, but with worry in my mind, it wasn’t easy. I could only wonder… What’s next?

> Ch6 A Bow of My Own
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Commander Bolt stood at the top of the hill taunting me, “C’mon cadet… I don’t have all day ya know. Exactly how long are you going to make this last?”
I glared up the hill at that jerk as I continued pulling this heavy wagon of scrap metal towards him. It’s been almost three weeks since I forgot my armor and followed him to the thunder grounds and since that day, he has put me on two new duties. First, I must haul all the scrap metal Captain Storm has from his shop, to the training field and back. Which means hauling a five-hundred pound wagon almost three miles total. I also have to report to his shop at the end of every day to help clean all the weapons so they don’t rust. Which isn’t as bad since, Captain Storm has been hard at work on a project that he refuses to talk about.

Nevertheless, Commander Bolt refuses to give me a break on this wagon thing and I could swear it was getting heavier as the days go by, luckily today is the last day if this. As the wagon and I reached the top of the hill, I paused to catch a break while Commander Bolt sighs, “Already slouching off I see… you’ll never get anywhere with that attitude.”
Once again, Commander Bolt sent me into a fit rage that took all the strength I had to hold in, but like the rest, I was able to hold it in as I started back down the hill with the heavy wagon. About twenty minutes later, I finally reached the shop and unhooked the wagon for the last time. Then I sat down and started catching my breath as Commander Bolt gave me my instructions for the day, “ok cadet, today we are going to work on flying drills. Then after lunch we will do a refresher course on signal identifying.”

Hearing this instruction made me sigh, “Commander, It’s been three whole weeks since I fired my bow, and I carry this thing everywhere I go… can we do an archery range today?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “No… because there is more to an archer then just sending an arrow from point A to point B.”
“Really? Like what?”
Commander Bolt rolled his eyes and continued, “If your group is surrounded too quickly then you need to know how to escape. Not to mention you need to understand the basics of being a soldier. For one you need to know battle tactics so when it comes down to it, you can either counter an incoming threat, or escape it before it kills you. Then you need to be fit, charging forward and retreating require the same amount of exercise, and if you burn yourself out doing the first, they you won’t make it if you have to do the second.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. I don’t know much about what a soldier will face in actual battle but what I do know is that I want to be ready when the moment arrives. So I only nodded my head, “understood sir, can I at least carry a shorter bow then, this long bow makes it hard to mo...”
“COMMANDER! COMMANDER!!!”

All of a sudden, Lieutenant Snow came rushing up to us as Commander Bolt turned to him, “lieutenant? What’s wrong?”
Snow tried to catch his breath as he replied, “Sir… it’s… it’s the supply convoy… from the north… they… they were ambushed on their way here.”
Commander Bolt immediately became interested in the situation, “And?... What Happened?...”
“They… they made it through… but almost all the survivors have terrible wounds.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he trotted past snow and went towards the front of the camp, opposite to the training grounds we were going to just moments ago. Lieutenant Snow and I followed Commander Bolt, but he was trotting with an unusual haste as he led us to where the returning convoy was.

When we arrived at the front of the camp, it was just as Lieutenant Snow said. Entering the camp was a large convoy of soldiers… but each and every pony entering the camp has some kind of wound. Some were small like cuts and bruises but others were hard to look at. Missing wings… broken horns… there was even one with an arrow stuck in his eye socket, with the arrowhead sticking out of the side of his face… for that one… I had to look at my hooves to avert my eyes. Commander Bolt stood next to me and spoke as he watch the convoy with a serious expression, “… don’t look away… I know it’s hard, and sickening… but you should never look away from what’s possible out there.”
Trying not to throw up, I slowly looked back at the convoy as some soldiers carrying a stretcher approached him, “commander, this is Sergeant major Julian… he was the convoy commander.”
As Commander Bolt approached the wounded soldier, the poor pony spoke, “C-commander?... f-forgive me sir if I don’t stand… and address you… p-properly… d-did we make it back alright sir?”
Commander Bolt looked at the soldier and replied, “Yes you did Sergeant… your soldiers survived the attack and made it back safely. You should be proud of your troops.”
The wounded soldier smiled, “I should? Then… I am sir… I am pro…”
Then… right there in the middle of his sentence, the soldier took his final breath and died.

Looking at the soldiers smile on his lifeless face made me feel a deep pity for him. As for Commander Bolt, he could only sigh as he closed the soldiers still open eyes, and covered his face with the sheet that he had draped over the rest of his body. Then Commander Bolt nudged his head, signaling the soldiers to take away their fallen leader. As the stretcher followed the wounded convoy, Commander Bolt kept his serious look as he sighed, “You would think… that after all these years of seeing this sort of thing… I would be used to it by now. However, some things … you will never get used to.”
Lieutenant Snow stood beside me as another soldier approached him and handed him a piece of paper. Then he looked at the commander and spoke, “Um… sir? We have the numbers. Out of one hundred twenty five soldiers, we had seventy-six return alive. Good numbers if I say so myself.”
Commander Bolt gave him a serious look as he replied, “And what’s the count on the wounded?”
Snow replied, “Sixty-nine sir.”

Commander Bolt gave him a look of irritation as he replied, calmly at first… but with an increasing anger, “Sixty-nine?... sixty-nine out of seventy-six?... so you mean to tell me… that your idea of good numbers revolves around how many are alive… and not how many can still fight!?! Is that what you’re telling me!?! IS IT!?!”
Lieutenant Snow backed up in shock as he nervously tried to reply, “I… um… well… uh…”
Commander Bolt lowered his voice and replied, “Every pony in this formation lost something today… some lost their lives… but the survivors lost so much more… Friends, family, limbs, wings, horns, and many have lost their pride, knowing that they continue to live while the rest are dead! No… those aren’t good numbers… because there is no such thing, as a perfect victory.”
Lieutenant Snow stood speechless as Commander Bolt shook his head and turned away from him, “lieutenant… see to it that the wounded are cared for. Then question the pony with the least amount of wounds. I want to know who led the crusaders in the ambush. Cadet Stone!”

Feeling nervous after witnessing his outburst, I quickly stood at attention as I replied, “Yes Sir!”
“Let’s go… we still need to continue your training.”
I nodded my head as I began following Commander Bolt towards the training grounds. I have never felt so awkward while trotting beside him as I did now. I don’t know if it was the outburst he had on Lieutenant Snow, the silence afterwards, or the depressed look on his face that made it so tense… but I know that his mind was weighed down by more than just the lost soldiers. I don’t know what it was, but I’m hoping it won’t make him push me even harder than he was expecting to. Not that I want to be lazy or anything… but I’m still sore from the wagon of metal, to give it my all. Commander Bolt led me to an area that was outside of our camp and inside the outer rim of the Everfree Forest.

When we arrived, he trotted next to a tree that had a red X marked on it, “Cadet, do you see this marking?”
Stating the obvious, I just nodded my head, “yea.”
“Yea?”
I quickly corrected myself, “Oh um I mean, Yes commander, I do.”
He continued, “Throughout this sector of the forest, there are a number of trees that have either this red X on them… or a green circle. Since we don’t have time to run this, course today… I’m going to show you where every marked tree is, then early tomorrow morning we are going to run this course. I’ll let you know, this course is very important for an archer… even though you will not need your bow for this one. However, you will continue to carry the one you got. Just like your armor, your bow is as much a part of you as that bandanna you wear.”
Trying to continue the instruction without letting the subject fall on my bandanna, I just agreed, “Yes sir.”

Then he turned and began trotting down a path pointing out each and every tree that was marked with either a red X or a green circle. As we continued, he went off subject for a second, “… Cadet?”
“Yes sir?”
“What did you think about that returning convoy did seeing them like that… frighten you?”
As much as I hated to admit it… I couldn’t lie about that subject, “Yes… it terrified me sir… those poor ponies. I honestly don’t think I could continue fighting after something like that.”
Commander Bolt continued, “Good… something like that should scare you, even if it’s just a little. I’ll be honest; I was terrified of my first battle. And even more so when I killed my first enemy. However, if I wasn’t scared… then I wouldn’t be here today. Fearlessness isn’t always a good thing. Fear can make you protect yourself when it matters the most, while at the same time it can drive you to fight harder too. Just don’t let it weaken you… and you’ll be fine”
To be honest… I had no idea what he meant about, not letting fear weaken me… but the rest I understood perfectly, and it made a lot of sense. Being afraid to die will make you protect yourself, while being one hundred percent fearless will cause you to charge in without defense. In other words… it’s suicide.

As he finished showing me the marked trees, he looked at me and gave me my next order, “Alright Cadet, go finish up your final day of punishment. I’m going to see Lieutenant Snow about the convoy earlier, so if you need me then come find me there. Oh… and be sure to have your armor and bow with you. I wouldn’t want to put you on this same detail for three more weeks would I?”
I was a little irritated that he had to remind me like I was a little filly, but in the interest of saving myself the time, I just replied, “Sure sir… I’ll remember.”
The both of us started back into the camp in the same direction as we went to do what we had to. As we were on our way back, I noticed he had hastened his steps a little. I guess he was anxious to get that information he wanted from the surviving soldiers. Nevertheless, when we got to a point where I had to break off, I went my way and he went his without a single word said. 

As I arrived at Captain Storm’s shop, I went inside and saw that he wasn’t in the main room, but the back room was closed and I could hear sounds inside so I knocked on the door, “Um, Captain Storm? It’s me, Cadet Stone I’m here for my final day of cleaning.”
Storm replied without opening the door, “Oh, um, Ok. Just start on the daggers and work your way onto the Pikes, and be careful. Those blades are razor sharp and they will cut you if you let them.”
As I went to one of the cabinets and pulled out the anti-rust solvent, I replied, “OK.”
Then I went to one of the hanging daggers and started putting the coat of solvent on the blade. This job wasn’t hard at all, and to be honest, it was a good break from running all over the place fighting off Commander Bolt’s insults while he made me do some stressful task. Here, I could rest and think about thing around me. I would think about what’s next for a cadet of the Nightmare Legion. I would think about what would happen if we did win this war. I would even think about Commander Bolt, and why he acts the way he acts. But today… my thoughts would only revolve around one thing, The wounded soldiers I saw today, and the battle they went through… ok, two things then.

As I finished the first dagger and moved onto the next, I thought about why Commander Bolt had so much concern in his soldiers. I thought he was the kind of stallion with little concern about the lower ranks. I thought his only concern was the higher officers and the total troop count. Nevertheless, he seemed so worried about the soldiers when he was there. I know he kept that look of no interest on his face… but I’ve been around him long enough to know whether his expression is fake or not. And out there... he was worried. As I continued working, the door to the back room opened as Captain Storm came out, “Good, you’re still here. I have something for you, can you come back here for a second.”
I placed the dagger back on the shelf as I followed Captain Storm into the back room. When I entered the room, I was shocked at what I saw. Sitting on the table, next to a pile of wood and metal shavings was a brand new bow. The wood was well sanded and polished to a scheme while the string was specially weaved to a professional look. As I approached the detail in its appearance, Captains Storm smiled, “Do you like it? It’s not as long as a long bow, but inside the wood, I’ve placed an iron rod to not only double its durability, but triple its power. I guarantee this thing will fire further than any bow in existence.”

I was still speechless as I reached over and picked it up. It was heavy, but perfectly balanced. As I tried pulling the string back, I noticed that it was even harder to draw than a long bow. Captain Storm could see the strain I had pulling it back so he continued, “Don’t worry, it will take some time to get used to. But I hope you like it. It was specially made for an archer of your skill.”
Oddly enough, I was too shocked to realize the obvious, when I asked, “Who’s… Who’s it for?”
Storm laughed a little as he replied, “Like I have to answer that? It’s yours of course. And no bow would be complete without a quiver to go with it.”
Then Captain Storm held out a dark blue quiver filled with arrows, but it wasn’t the quiver that caught my attention, but the emblem on it. Along with the moon that symbolized the Nightmare Legion, I saw my cutie mark imprinted on the side. 

I took the quiver from Captain Storm and slung it over my shoulder, “it… it fits perfectly… I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you Captain… I… I love it. Now… I have my very own weapon… just like you, Snow, and Commander Bolt.”
Captain Storm smiled, “well don’t thank me, thank Commander Bolt. He was the one who personally asked me to make it for you.”
I was surprised, “C-Commander Bolt asked you to make this?... for me?”
“Yes, he approached me the same day you discovered your talent and asked me to make a bow for you that was easy to carry, and that would be perfect for your skill. So after a few days of brain storming, and a few weeks of work. This is what I made.”
There were many things I could expect from Commander Bolt… but this wasn’t one of them. So far, all I’ve seen of the commander was his side that likes to torment me, and a soft hidden side that only arrives in moments of deep troubles. Then I realized what this was… this was just another part of his job as a commander. He didn’t want me to have this to make me feel like part of the group. He did this just so that I would be ready for battle.

After realizing this, I just sighed as I replied, “Well… thanks anyway Captain… even if it was an order, I’m happy you put your heart into this.”
Captain Storm smiled as he started putting away his tools, “My pleasure cadet, ya know it looks good on you… you should wear that more often.”
I felt a little confused, “You mean this quiver?”
He smiled, as he replied, “No… that smile of yours. I know it’s getting dark out… or, darker. But you can go practice with it if you want. As far as I’m concerned, you’re done for the day.”
I couldn’t help but blush a little at his complement, “Thank you captain… I know it’s just another weapon to you… but I still Love it.”
As I turned for the door, I was stopped unexpectedly by Commander Bolt who was standing right behind me. He had a serious look on his face as he looked at me, “Cadet…”
The look made me nervous as I replied, “Yes commander… did you need me for something?”
Commander Bolt didn’t change his expression, as he replied, “No… I didn’t.”

Commander Bolt then looked over me at Captain Storm and spoke, “Captain… Lieutenant Snow and I will be living in a few minutes. We may be gone for a few days but till then you will keep an eye on the camp and continue the cadet’s training.”
Captain Storm nodded his head and replied, “Understood sir. Do you know where you’re going?”
Commander Bolt replied as he turned around, “North… that’s all I know for now.”
After turning around Commander Bolt looked at Lieutenant Snow and spoke, “Gather one hundred of your strongest soldiers and meet me at the front of the camp in twenty minutes. We will be leaving in thirty, how clear am I?”
Lieutenant Snow nodded his head and replied, “Clear as crystal sir.”
As the two ponies started to leave the shop, I stopped them, “Um… commander?”
Commander Bolt stopped and turned his head to look at me out of the corner of his eye, “Yes? Make it quick.”
Looking at the seriousness of his side-glance made me feel awkward as I held the bow forward and replied, “Well… I wanted to say, thanks for the bow… I love it, and I’m glade you requested it for me. So… thank you commander.”

Commander Bolt didn’t reply he didn’t change his expression; he didn’t even turn towards me. All he did was look forward and continue leaving as if I didn’t say anything to him at all. I was stunned solid as I watched Commander Bolt continue with his cold actions and leave the shop without so much as a sigh. After he was gone, I still felt shocked. He puts me through the most exhausting work I have ever done in my whole life, and when I speak to him with words that overlook the trouble he’s put me through, he didn’t even acknowledge me. I felt like I did back in the orphanage, I felt like I was being ignored by all those foals again… only this time, I don’t know why… but it hurt even more. I could feel my eyes start to tear up, the pain in my chest was almost too much to bear, but then it stopped when Captain Storm put his hoof on my shoulder, “Its ok cadet… he is just going through something right now. He didn’t mean any disrespect.”
I looked at Storm and tried to reply, “Well… yea, but…”
“Whatever it is that he is going through, it must be serious for him to leave immediately. Just forget about it right now and go relax. I bet that new bow’s weight is making you feel anxious to give it a shot. Why don’t you go and use up all your arrows. I have plenty to spare so I can replace them later.”

I know he was trying to make me feel better, and I didn’t want to crush his attempt, but it wasn’t working. Therefore, I let him down easy by replying, “Thanks captain… but… I’m a little tired. I think it would be better if I just went to get some sleep.”
With a concerned look on his face, he replied, “Well… alright, if you say so. Just be here tomorrow morning for training.”
I could only give a fake smile as I nodded my head, and left the shop. As I trotted back to my tent, I couldn’t help but think about Commander Bolt’s cold reaction. I wasn’t expecting, you’re welcome, or anything like that. I was mainly expecting a smart comment like, hopefully that will make you a better soldier, or you can thank me on the training grounds. But no reaction at all only made me feel like I was a burden to him. It made me feel invisible. And that was another thing, I have been invisible for years at the orphanage… but for some odd reason, being invisible to him in only five minutes hurt worse than all those years combined. As I went back to my tent, I went in, placed my new bow and quiver under my cot, and laid down. As I laid there in my cot, I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind. Why would I care what the commander thinks… and why is it getting to me so much. I didn’t know, but I hope I find out soon, and maybe, it will have something to do with why I recognize him from before I joined. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t help but whisper to myself, “I hope he doesn’t come back…”



> Ch7 Moving Forward
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Sweat rolled down my face as I strained to hold the two buckets of water at shoulder height without bending either of my front hooves. It was difficult especially doing so while balanced on my hind hooves, but through it all, I continued holding them straight out as Captain Storm trotted around me and spoke, “you have five archers in your squad, one is hit with an arrow while the rest look to you for guidance… what do you do?”
Straining to hold the buckets up I replied, “t-two archers… see to the wounded… the rest continue firing volleys.”
Captain Storm nodded his head as he continued, “in the same scenario… Swish! An arrow hits on of your helping archers in the head!... what do you do!”
Straining even more I replied, “Remaining helper, continue seeing to the first wounded!... the second helper is gone… leave him be.”
Nodding his head to the right answer, storm stopped as he spoke, “With two archers fighting with you and the third helping the wounded fourth… you soon find the enemy racing over the hill less than one hundred meters from you… What do you do?”

With my straining hooves now too weak for a concentrated answer, I replied, “Helping pony! Drag the wounded back to the camp… Other two on me, we must hold this ground!...”
Storm smiled a little bit but then stopped as he continued, “they are rushing you… there are too many! You can’t fight them off! What do you do?!? HURRY!!!”
I tried to think fast, but my hooves began shaking as some of the water spilled out the side and ran down the side of the buckets. When this happened, my right hoof started to lose its balance with the bucket as it began sliding off the front of my hoof. In an effort to save the falling bucket I tried leaning forward more, only to cause the other bucket in my left hoof to fall as it hit the ground and spilled all over the ground. After losing one bucket, I dropped the second as I dropped to my knees to catch my breath. With me now down on the ground, Captain Storm sighed as he shook his head and spoke, “Well cadet… look like you died. Two of your archers made it to safety, but the other three are now laying on the battlefield next to you.”
With anger, I punched the ground as I tried to ask without showing disrespect, “Just… what does holding buckets of water have to do with being an archer?...”

Seeing my anger clearly, Captain Storm sat down a few feet from me as he replied, “the quiver I made for you holds fifty arrows. Sixty if we remove all signal arrows. During battle, you will be required to fire volleys of one arrow every minute. While the battle itself could last anywhere from thirty minutes to three days depending on the size of each army. Do you think you can continue to draw your bow after every arrow in your quiver is gone? And if so, will you have the energy to think rationally for your soldiers? As an officer, they are relying on your guidance to not only win the battle, but to keep them safe too. This is the responsibility that all officers hold, and not just you, Snow, and I… but even Commander Bolt.”
Seeing the logic in his point, I just stood back up as I nodded my head, “I understand… so… should I refill the buckets?”
Storm shook his head, “No… it’s fine… Break for lunch and meet me back at the flight grounds afterwords. We will go over a few counting drills before dusk.”
Great… I hate counting drills. Basically, I'm supposed to go through the trees on the field and tap all the marked trees and count up for all the green circles, but down for every red X. this training was supposed to teach me to keep track of how many arrows I have left. Although this training was fun at the start, it got old after doing it every day for the past three weeks.

Yea… it’s been three weeks since Commander Bolt left. I don’t know where he went, or even if he is all right… but to be honest, I don’t care. I was still annoyed after that crap he pulled right before he left. I know I wasn’t expecting much when I thanked him for my bow, but at least he should have nodded his head or something. Instead, he just turned away and didn’t reply at all. Nonetheless, he is gone, and Captain Storm has been a good Trainer, although he wasn’t as tough as Commander Bolt was, and it may be just me… but I sometimes catch him treating me as if I was his daughter or something… but it could be just all in my head. Either way, I’ve been training nonstop and I know that I'm getting better even if it’s just a little. With this thought in mind, I left Captain Storm on the training ground as I entered the camp and went to the mess tent. At first, this seemed like just another day, but then as I sat at the table, I heard a voice, but not just any voice, a voice that I hoped I wouldn’t hear for the rest of my life. “...Messy Mane?”
I froze… not because I was surprised to hear that voice again, but I wished with all my being that the voice I heard was completely imaginary. However, as I turned to look, I was only disappointed when I saw the pony I thought it was, one of the reasons my foal hood was completely miserable. I saw Heavy Weight, the bully from the orphanage.

When I saw him, I could only stare in shock as he smiled, “So it is you. I didn’t think I would ever see you again… and in armor no less… gosh what worthless excuse for a recruiter allowed you to join the Nightmare Legion?”
I couldn’t answer, I was still in too much shock to keep to the same subject as I replied, “Wh-what are you doing here?”
Heavy Weight replied, “Well after I was adopted I grew up in Manehattan and joined the royal guard right after finishing school. Then this war broke out and I thought that an eternal night wouldn’t be too bad. So I joined… but what about you? Last, I saw you were moping around in the old orphanage, but now you’re in Commander Bolt’s army?... did you lose a bet? Or do you just have high expectations about yourself.”
Knowing that he was making fun of me I gave him a serious look as I replied, “Shut up! Last thing I want is to see somepony like you making this place even worse.”
Heavy Weight smiled, “oh… looks like Messy mane still has that fight in her. Maybe the enemy will take pity on you and let you go afterwards.”
In anger, I stood up, “Say that again you dumb piece o…”
All of a sudden, another pony stepped between us as I realized it was Captain Storm, “Do we have a problem Cadet? Is this Private bothering you?”

I tried my hardest not to give the old bully a smug smile as he looked at Captain Storm as Spoke, “C-Captain!... Cadet?... S-Sir, I- I didn’t realize Miss… I mean… Cadet Stone was a Cadet Sir!... I- I apologize Ma’am.”
Knowing that there was some truth to what he said I didn’t reply, instead I just looked at Captain Storm and spoke, “No problem here sir… none that I can’t handle myself.”
Captain Storm looked at me as he replied, “Then I will leave you to finish your meal in peace.” Captain Storm looked at Private Weight, “As for you, Private… you would be wise to know who you’re talking to before addressing anypony with such a tone… Am I clear?”
Feeling a little uneasy as I listened to Captain Storms tone, I held my silence as Private Weight replied, “Y-yes sir… I-it won’t happen again.”
Captain Storm gave the private a stern look, as he replied, “no… It won’t… Now go see to your duties!”
The private quickly turned around as he replied, “Y-yes sir!”
As Private Weight trotted away with a lot of haste in his step, Both Captain Storm and I looked around to see that the entire mess tent had their focus on us as he called out to everypony watching, “AS YOU WERE!”
With a somewhat nervous response, Everypony in the tent went back to their business as Captain Storm turned to me and sat down beside me as he rubbed his head and mumbled, “I'm getting too old for this.”

As I turned back to my plate of food, I could only stir it hesitantly as I spoke, “C-Captain?... I um… Thanks for that. I don’t know if I could have handled that, but I'm glad you were here to help.”
Storm stopped rubbing his head as he looked at me and spoke, “As an officer, you must demand respect. All good officers demand respect but all great officers earn it. Nevertheless, not all soldiers show it, even if it is earned. For these soldiers, you must do one of two things. You can either prove to them that you’ve earned it by continuing to do so… or and I hate to say it, make an example of them. Not all ponies are willing to follow you into battle, so by making an example of them, you show that you will not allow disobedience, and that you will stand over even your own soldiers in order to complete your mission. It will both earn their respect and teach a lesson at the same time. Though I don’t like to, every now and then I have no choice but to make an example of a select few. Myself.”
Understanding his long and drawn out way of saying I should stand up for myself, I nodded as I replied, “Yes sir… I'll remember that next time.”
With that, Storm continued, “from the way he spoke, I would guess that you two know each other don’t you?”
As I continued stirring my food, I replied, “yea… I do…”
Storm leaned forward as he tried looking at my face and continued, “And judging by your expression… it isn’t of good relation is it?”

I tried thinking of what to say to drop the subject, however, since Storm was looking at me and waiting for a response, I decided to just answer the question, “no… it’s not… I didn’t know he was part of the Nightmare Legion, and if I had never known, I think I could have enjoyed it here more. But now…”
With no intention on finishing my sentence, I stopped talking as Storm nodded his head and replied, “He isn’t one of my soldiers, but I'll see to it that he is kept separate from you at all times.”
Thinking Storm may have made it a bigger deal then it really was, I looked at him and shook my head, “Wha… um… no! You don’t have to do that. I'm fine really. I’ve just had a bit of bad history with him that’s all.”
Storm smirked a little as he replied, “oh… I see… an ex coltfriend?”
My face turned beat red as I shook my head, “N-NO! Me and him were never that way. In fact, if I had the training I have now, I would have killed him when we were little. He… he just used to pick on me is all.”
Storm nodded his head as he replied, “Oh ok now I understand. Never the less you shouldn’t let him even attempt it now. You may only be a cadet, but as a lower soldier, he has no choice but to follow every order you give unless Anypony who outranks you give a different order.”

Hearing this did make me feel a little better, but it still felt wrong… I didn’t want to simply tell him to go away; I wanted the ability to force him to. If that makes any sense… anyways as I thought about this without replying to Captain Storm’s comment, he could see my thoughts in my expression as he smiled, “Don’t worry cadet. soon you will have the strength to not only take him down a peg or two, you’ll have the strength to take on an entire army… literally”
Hearing this, I couldn’t help but smile at Captain Storm as I replied, “Thanks… Sir, I hope I won’t let you down.”
Captain Storm and I smiled as a random soldier approached Captain Storm and spoke, “Captain! Soldiers have been spotted on the horizon.”
Captain Storm and I looked at the soldier as he replied, “friendly?”
The soldier nodded his head, Yes Sir… It’s Commander Bolt and his team Sir.”
Captain Storm looked at me and smiled, “Well looks like we should go greet him. Cadet? If you’re finished you can come too, I would like you to be present when I tell him of your progress.”
Since I did lose my apatite after seeing Heavy weight, I just nodded my head as I stood up, “alright I guess I'm finished anyways.”
With that said, I picked up my tray of food as I went to put it where it was supposed to go.

A few minutes later I met Captain Storm outside the Mess tent as we both went towards the camp entrance to await Commander Bolt’s Return. As we arrived, so did Commander Bolt and his soldiers as I saw Commander Bolt and Lieutenant Snow marching at the front of their convoy. As the two approached us, Both Officers stopped as the rest of their soldiers continued trotting by with an annoyed and exhausted expression on their faces. As the soldiers continued by, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke with an expressionless stare, “Cadet… it’s good to see you’ve made progress.”
At first I wanted to smile with pride, but something bothered me so I asked, “Sir?... how do you know I’ve made progress?”
Still with no expression, Commander Bolt replied, “You look more confident than the last time I saw you. Although it’s only been a few weeks, I can see it in the way you carry yourself.” 
I stared at him in confusion as Captain Storm Spoke, “Sir… did you find what you were looking for?”
Commander Bolt shook his head as he replied, “no… the commander I met wasn’t Commander Mist. Instead, he was a decoy. After meeting him in Trottingham, We managed to chase him to the edge of the frozen north… but were ambushed and had to retreat… we lost a small amount… but had no choice but to abandon a few of our own.”

Captain Storm looked over the herd as he replied, “The wounded?...”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “yes… the wounded.”
Seeing the flaw in this action I tried to speak without showing disrespect, “Y-you abandon some of our own? But… even if they were wounded… why would you do something so selfish?”
Realizing that my attempt in making my comment seem respectful failed, I lowered my head, as all three officers looked at me while Commander Bolt replied, “I know it was selfish… but it was either them or us. And as commander, I had to ensure that those of us that could fight could make it back in one peace.”
I had a strong urge to debate that his action still seemed cruel, but I kept my silence since I didn’t want to dig myself into a grave. Seeing that I kept quiet about my objections, Commander Bolt continued as he spoke, “And that wasn’t even the worst of it. I discovered that in my absence, Commander Mist and his force seized and occupied Cloudsdale.”
Captain Storm was surprised, “What?... but didn’t Princess Celestia state that occupation of a civilian city was out of her book of tactics? Why would she change her mind and put the residence at risk?”

Lieutenant Snow spoke next, “It would seem that the noble princess has chosen to make less noble decisions. And to make our predicament worse, the good commander appears to be on the move.”
Captain Storm looked at Snow as he replied, “you mean… Commander Mist is moving closer?”
Commander Bolt replied, “I know that Commander Mist was the commander who occupied Cloudsdale, but it’s unsure as to who is leading the moving unit of Crusaders. Regardless of which, since they are moving closer, I have sent a message to Nightmare Moon in request of reinforcements to move in and reoccupy this location.”
I was a little confused so I asked, “re-occupy?”
Commander Bolt replied, “Yes… Captain Storm, gather your soldiers and brief them. We are leaving here to set up a front base in defense of the moving army. We must drive them back to Cloudsdale and keep them from getting any closer to The Palace of The Royal Sisters. Be sure to inform them that we are moving into a hostile area and chances of getting caught into a battle… is almost guaranteed.”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “understood sir, what time frame should I give them for our departure?”

Commander Bolt continued giving Storm an unamused look as he replied, “we will leave within the hour.”
I was surprised that we would be packing up and leaving with barely any time to get ready, but what surprised me even more was how Captain Storm replied as he smiled without concern and spoke, “understood sir, my troops will be ready.”
With that said, Captain Storm trotted away as Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Cadet, How long before you can be ready to go?”
Knowing that I arrived here with little to no positions, I replied, “um… about five minute’s sir.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head and replied, “Good… then I'll leave you to it. Pack your bag and return here as soon as possible. There will be a wagon sitting here by that time, just throw your bag in, and proceed to help the rest of the soldiers get ready.”
With that said Commander Bolt and Lieutenant Snow started to trot away as I asked, “um sir?... what about my training?”
Commander Bolt looked at me and replied, “Your training will continued… but after we get to the next location.”
With that said, Commander Bolt trotted past me as Lieutenant Snow followed him. As I watched them trot by I couldn’t help but see that something was on Commander Bolt’s mind. It been a while since I last saw him, but for some reason I could tell just by the way he was acting that he was deeply troubled by something. 

Either way it wasn’t my business so I decided to turn towards the direction my tent was in, however when I did I was caught off guard as I turned to see heavyweight standing right in front of me. I jumped back in surprise as he raised his hoof and spoke, “Sorry Cadet… I… I didn’t mean to startle you… I um…”
Annoyed by both the surprise and the fact that it was him, I spoke, “What do you want?”
Heavyweight paused as he rubbed the back of his head and continued, “I… um… I wanted to apologies for earlier. I know I was a bit of a jerk when we were foals but I didn’t want to be that way now. You know… since we are adults… anyways I just wanted to say sorry and if there is anything I can do to make up for what I did in the past, just say the word.”
Not buying it, I replied, “Okay… then you can get out of my way so I can get ready to leave.”
Apparently, he didn’t get the briefing as he looked at me with curiosity and spoke, “Really? You’re leaving? Where are you going?”
Still annoyed I replied, “We are leaving to meet the Celestial Crusaders who are moving towards us. Therefore, you better get your stuff packed. I don’t want to be late cuz somepony like you decided to waste time talking about useless crap like the past. Now if you will excuse me… I have to get ready.”

Trying to be as rude and disrespectful as possible I trotted by the large stallion and pushed him out of the way with my shoulder as I trotted by… even if it was a lot harder than I expected. Either way I got my point across as he just stood there with that stupid look of surprise as he watched me trot away without concern. Later after I packed my things, I returned with my small and almost weightless bag as I approached the wagon that Commander Bolt mentions. Only it wasn’t so much as a wagon, but fifty… all packed and ready to go in a straight line, that stretched almost completely through the now bare camp. As I approached the lead wagon, Commander Bolt, Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow stood on the other side of the wagon as I overheard them talking as Lieutenant Snow spoke, “I don’t like it sir… I have a feeling of discomfort in this matter.”
Captain Storm replied, “You have a feeling of discomfort when sitting in a wooden chair… The fact of the matter is that if this information is true, then we are in for much more than simple ambushes.”
Commander Bolt replied, “I know… this could greatly decrease our chances of winning this war. For now, we will keep it on the down low. Nopony speak of this to anypony without my approval, agreed?”
The rest of the officers nodded their head “Yes Commander.”

After that was said, Commander Bolt turned towards the wagon as he looked in my direction and saw me. Feeling like it was something I wasn’t supposed to know, I looked directly at my bag as I acted as if I just approached to throw my bag into the wagon. I don’t know if he bought it or not, but Commander Bolt didn’t say anything as he turned towards the back of the convoy and started trotting along it to inspect their progress. Less than fifty minutes later, just as planned, Commander Bolt, Captain Storm, Lieutenant Snow, and I stood at the front of the long train of wagons as Commander Bolt looked to his officers and spoke, “Give the order to move out, it’s time for us to go.”
The two officers nodded their heads as Lieutenant Snow turned to the formation in front of the first wagon, “ALL SOLDIERS MOVE OUT!!!”
Although that order was loud, Captain Storm took to the sky as he flew over the entire convoy before hovering over the center of the line and relaying the order, “Soldiers MOVE OUT!!!”
After that, a number of higher-ranking soldiers called to their formations as each one said the same thing, “Company! Forward! March!”
As I watched all the soldiers react to the same order by starting there march, I couldn’t help but feel surprised. Each soldier, in each rank marched on the same hoof as there steps created a music less beat against the trail that we began trotting.

As this happened, I too found myself stepping to the same beat, only I wasn’t amongst the soldiers behind me. I marched next to Commander Bolt as he, Snow, and the landing Captain Storm made up the first rank in the entire formation. As I marched alongside them, I count help but feel a sense of pride. Although I always tried to cast myself aside, the fact that I was marching with a group gave me a small sort of accomplishment. Even if I felt like I had no reason to feel accomplished in anything. Trying to get this thought out of my mind, I looked to the side as I saw the last deserted tent in the camp vanish from my peripherals, as I turned to Captain Storm and asked, “Sir? What will happen to the camp now that it’s empty?”
Captain Storm replied, “Well the tents will stay empty for a few days until the replacing unit arrives and set up their position.”
I nodded my head as I asked, “ok so where are we going then?”
Commander Bolt looked at me and replied, “We are going to set up a small basecamp between here and Cloudsdale. We need a forward position to keep the enemy at bay. Luckily there isn’t any towns on the way so we won’t have to worry about civilian casualties… although that’s also a bad thing.”

I felt confused as I asked, “bad thing? Why would it be bad if we don’t have any civilians to worry about?”
Lieutenant Snow replied, “Without Civilians, We can fight with our full potential with no worry of collateral damage.”
I nodded my head, “Yea… But?...”
Snow continued, “With our full potential comes a bloodier battle, and… a higher fatality toll.”
I don’t know if it was his aristocratic accent that made what he said seem more concerning… but whatever it was, hearing him say that made me feel… uneasy. Luckily though, Commander Bolt broke the tension as he spoke, “This is why during a battle we seek out and attack their commanding officer. The laws of war set down By both Princess Luna and Celestia clearly state that if the commander of the opposing army falls, then it is up to the soldiers whether or not the battle should continue. Nevertheless, with this war being brother on brother, ninety-nine percent of the time, the opposing army will surrender. No pony wants to continue fighting if they don’t have to… which is why on occasion, the enemy army will retreat. Cadet, if this situation ever happens, you will allow them the chance to retreat to safety. Understand?”

Hearing him talk like this made my mind wonder, I don’t know what it is, but every time I feel like I have him pegged, Commander Bolt does or says something that completely changes my opinion of him. Either way, I could only nod my head as I agreed, “Yes sir… I'd rather let those who won’t fight flee anyways.”
Commander Bolt looked at me and smiled, “Then we both see eye to eye don’t w-“
although it was faint, I saw a shadow cross over Commander Bolt’s face as he stopped talking and immediately looked to the sky above. Confused as to what he was looking at, I looked up as I saw a glimpse of what I would assume was a bird as it vanished behind a cloud above us. Knowing that what I saw was too small to be anything other than a bird, I looked back at Commander Bolt as I asked, “sir? What is it?”
With no change in his trotting speed, Commander Bolt looked back at me and replied, “It’s nothing… I think. Anyways as I was saying, if the enemy wishes to run away, let him.”
Without any concern in his expression, Commander Bolt looked forward again as I decided to drop the unusual event that caught both our attentions. Besides, if a battle was what awaited us ahead, then I think it would be better to keep my focus on what was important… The Literal battle ahead.

> Ch8 First Kill
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                As I peeked over the hill and looked over the Celestia camp, Lieutenant Snow asked, “What would you presume their numbers reach?”
I looked over the army and replied, “I don’t know… a lot that’s for sure.”
Lieutenant Snow sighed, “Yes… well, a lot doesn’t really clarify anything, perhaps a number should suffice.”
As I continued looking over the massive army I replied, “Well… then I'll say… um… how many soldiers do we have in our convoy?”
Snow replied, “Approximately six hundred.”
As I looked at the army I could only reply, “well… then they should have about three times that… this camp is massive.”

Lieutenant Snow sighed as he replied, “It’s as I’ve feared then. Let us report this to the commander.”
With that said, both Snow and I slowly backed up as we made our way back down the hill and across the field before returning to The Nightmare Legion’s convoy which was cleverly hidden in a wide depression. After we made it back to the convoy, Snow and I trotted to the wagon where Captain Storm and Commander Bolt were waiting at as Captain Storm handed me my bow and quiver, “So… what’s the count? How many are there?”
As I slung my quiver, I replied, “a lot… at least three times our own in numbers.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Then it would be wise to keep ourselves hidden until nightfall, we can sneak past them if we use the cover of tonight’s new moon.”

At first, we all nodded our heads but then after thinking about it, I had to reply, “But… tonight’s moon isn’t new… is it?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “it will be once Nightmare Moon gets my letter. She still has control of the night, so we know she will use it to our advantage. After all she…”
All of a sudden, Commander Bolt stopped talking as he looked to the sky. When I looked up, I could see what looked to be a falcon flying above as Commander Bolt spoke, “Cadet?...”
I stepped forward, “Yes sir?”
Commander bolt glared at the falcon as he replied, “Drop it…”
Thinking I heard him wrong I asked, “Sir?”
He repeated himself, “I said shoot that bird out of the sky. Hurry!”

Seeing by his expression that he was serious, I pulled an arrow from my quiver as I laid it across my bow and began drawing it. Keeping my focus, I led the falcon a little bit, as I released my arrow and sent it whistling through the air until it hit the airborne creature and caused it to fall from the sky. Shortly after the bird hit the ground, Commander Bolt, Lieutenant Snow, Captain Storm, and I trotted out to it so we could better see what it was that I just killed. As we approached the dead creature, Commander Bolt picked it up and pulled the arrow from its corpse. After the arrow was free, Commander Bolt handed it to me as he spoke, “Here, this is yours.”
Looking at the blood soaked arrow, I took it by the flight as I wiped it against the tall grass, “um… thanks?...”
After that Commander Bolt started examining the bird as Lieutenant Snow spoke, “Really now, was this creature’s existence so vile that you wanted it dead sir?”

Completely ignoring Snow, Commander Bolt looked at the falcon’s leg as he untied a small note that was attached to it, and began reading, “The depression located south by southwest of the front camp… Commander Bolt will be there…”
After hearing what the note contained, I had to say something, “A courier falcon? And he had our location on his leg too.”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “This confirms it… there is a spy in our ranks. The only question… is who?”
I spoke next, “With a spy here while we are this close to the enemy camp?… This made this place more dangerous didn’t it?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “Actually it depends… Who saw us shoot this falcon down… and of them… which is the spy.”

At first I didn’t understand but Captain Storm nodded his head as he replied, “That’s right, if the spy didn’t see us kill this creature, then he could only assume his allies got this message.”
Snow continued, “And if our mutineer assumes as such, he will try to flee before his troops attack.”
Understanding what was going on, I nodded my head, “That’s right… and when he tried to make a break for it, we can catch him red hoofed.”
Commander Bolt looked at me and replied, “That’s assuming he didn’t see us shoot down this bird. Nevertheless, we need to up security in the camp, but keep it low. Tell your soldiers that due to the hostile environment, we will not allow any of them to go beyond the depression’s walls. Tell them it’s for their safety.”

Both Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow nodded their heads as they started turning towards the convoy to relay their orders. After they were gone, I approached Commander Bolt as I asked, “Commander? If there is a spy… what could it mean?”
Commander Bolt looked at me as he replied, “it could mean that we are in serious danger, which is why we need to find him as soon as possible. It’s far too dangerous to let this little rat roam free.”
As Commander Bolt started trotting by me towards the convoy I asked, “Sir? If we do find him… what should we do?”
Commander Bolt replied without any expression, “he is guilty of treason… so he will be executed”
With nothing more to say on the subject Commander Bolt continued trotting by but before he was gone, he stopped as he turned his head till he could see me in his peripherals, “Oh… and Cadet?”
I looked at him, “Yes Commander?”
Commander Bolt smiled slightly, “Good shot…”

Leaving me stunned, Commander Bolt continued into the convoy as he began giving the order to set up a temporary camp. I couldn’t believe it... an actual compliment from Commander Bolt? Part of me was thinking it was a trick, or miss interpreted sarcasm. But as I saw him giving his orders to his soldier, I started seeing a side of him that seemed… different. I can’t quite explain it, but seeing him like this especially after hearing the compliment, made me feel… content. Either way, since he stood in front of the rest of the soldier giving them order, I decided to join them and assist in setting up camp. But all the while, as I assisted in the preparations, I kept a watchful eye for anything that could led me to the identity of this spy. Although the camp was temporary, the soldiers and I assisted in setting up a mess tent, a small weapons tent, and a number of foldaway small tents. It wasn’t as glorious as what we had before we left, but it was something that was needed and would be quick to put away. Later that day as I trotted through the camp, I heard a loud sound that sounded like a struggle as a few patrolling guards pulled a Celestial Crusader to me and threw him down at my hooves, “Cadet Stone! We found an enemy scout! He was watching the camp from the edge of the depression, what should we do”
As I looked down at the subdued guard who glared at me in returned I hesitated, “I… um… w… well…”
“What’s going on!?!”
Grateful he arrived, I turned to Commander Bolt who trotted up and repeated, “What is this?”

Eager to respond, one of our guards replied, “Commander! We found this Scout just outside the camp!”
“Commander?...”
Commander Bolt, the two guards, and I looked down at the Celestial Crusader as he spoke up, “As in… Commander Bolt?”
Commander Bolt replied without an expression, “I am… and who are you?”
The guard replied, “My name is Corporal Rift… as you know, I'm a scout to Commander Mist.”
Commander Bolt replied, “Oh… and where is Commander Mist? Is he in that Celestial Camp nearby?”
The scout glared at Commander Bolt as he replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know…”
Commander Bolt looked into the eyes of the scout as he sighed, “Just as I thought, he’s still in Canterlot… isn’t he?”
The scout’s expression went from confident to annoyed as Commander Bolt looked at me, “Well Cadet? What should we do with him?”
Shocked that he decided to ask me I looked at him with surprise, “m-me? You want me to decide?”

Commander Bolt looked back at the scout and replied, “As a future officer of the Nightmare Legion, you must be ready to make decisions that will keep your soldiers moral and safety intact… so what will it be? We can’t let him go… so our options are to take him prisoner, or… execution.”
Trying to think for a second, I replied, “well… I… um… I guess… um… prisoner?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he looked at the two guards and spoke, “you heard the cadet… Find a spare tent and put him in chains. Be sure stake him down so he won’t be able to get back to his camp.”
The Scout glared at Commander Bolt as he spoke, “You’re not going to kill me?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Actually I was… but I left that decision to my Lieutenant in training. Just be grateful she has a heart, otherwise, I would rip yours out.”
With that said, Commander Bolt looked at me, “Since you made the decision to keep him alive you will be in charge of guarding him. Guards, assist Cadet Stone in whatever she needs; you will follow her orders as if they were my own, how clear am I?”
The guards nodded their heads as they picked up the prisoner and replied. “Crystal Sir!”
With that said the two started dragging the scout away as I started following. But before we were out of his sight, Commander Bolt stopped me, “Cadet… I will pass the word that we have a prisoner in the camp… if anything; it could lead our spy to attempt a rescue. So be on watch… I'm counting on you Cadet.”
Seeing that I was now given a more dangerous task, I nodded my head, “Yes sir… I'll do my best.”

With my new orders given, I trotted along with the two guards as they chained their prisoner up and placed him into a secluded tent at the edge of the camp. After the guards chained the prisoner to a stake, they nailed it down in the center of the tent as I stood guard to prevent anypony from entering. When the prisoner was secured in his temporary cell, I could hear some of the soldiers trotting around talking about food being served at the mess tent, so with myself and the prisoner in mind, I ordered the two guards to go get us a tray so I could stay with the prisoner while they ate. When they returned, I met them outside the tent as I took the trays and ordered them to return to get something for themselves. After I gave the order, the two left me as I went inside carrying both our plated of food. After entering the tent, I unslung both my bow and arrows and sat them at the entrance of the tent as I saw the prisoner sitting next to his stake as I laid my plate at the doorway and spoke, “Food is served, I hope you like hay… cuz that’s about all we have.”
As I started to approach the scout glared at me as he spoke, “if you think this act of charity is gonna make me feel grateful… then you’re dead wrong.”
Hearing the scout’s rude remark I paused as I replied, “Oh… okay… then you can come and get it yourself.”
Showing as much disrespect as I could, I placed the tray on the ground where I was standing as I turned back to my tray and trotted away.

Although he acted like he wasn’t hungry at the start, the proud scout sat where he was as I returned to my tray and began eating. However, after about ten seconds, the guard picked himself up and he shuffled in his chains to get the tray I left for him, however as he reached the edge of his chains slack, he found himself to be a few feet short of the tray of food. Waiting for the next obvious comment to come from his mouth, I sat and ignored his actions as he spoke, “Um… c-could you push the tray a little closer?... I… um… I am… a little hungry…”
Sighing at the pity I felt for the scout, I stood up and trotted to the tray as I stood over it and spoke, “What do you say?...”
After a few seconds of thinking, the scout gave me a curious look as he replied, “Um… Please?...”
Still trying to show disrespect, I pushed the tray closer to the scout as he reached for it and picked it up before sitting down and eating what was on it. While I saw him eating, I turned away as I spoke with an annoyed tone, “You’re welcome…”
After hearing my comment the Captured Crusader stopped eating as he spoke, “Oh… um… sorry… Thanks.”

As I sat back down by my tray, the crusader shook his head as he started to speak, “So… what’s a mare like you doing fighting in a war like this?”
Still a little annoyed, I looked up at him and replied, “Is that supposed to be some kind of cheap pick-up line?”
The scout shook his head, “No… what I mean is… you don’t seem like the kind of mare to be fighting for Nightmare Moon. Why would you, of all ponies fight for an eternal night?”
Looking back down at my food, I replied, “I'm not fighting for an eternal night… I have my own reasons to fight.”
The scout replied, “really… and what could be so important to shroud the land in eternal darkness.”
Hearing the guard speak annoyed me more as I looked up at him and replied, “That’s none of your business.”
The scout continued, “Really?... Never seeing the sun again isn’t my concern? Funny, I'd say that’s a big deal in my book.”
I sat my tray down on the ground as I stood up and replied, “You don’t know anything about me…”
The guard replied, “You’re wrong… I know enough about you to see that you are merciful… you spared my life when you could have easily ordered me dead. That tells me that you’re not fit to fight for the Nightmare Legion.”

Getting annoyed with his words, I took a few steps towards him, “I didn’t want to kill you because I saw no need to. Now on the other hoof, I'm starting to see a reason. So I suggest you just shut up and eat your food!”
The prisoner shook his head as he sighed, “it’s a shame… a pony like you fighting for a monster like Commander Bolt.”
I started to get angry as I trotted closer to him, “SHUT UP! Commander Bolt isn’t a monster! In fact if you must ask, He isn’t as evil as most say!”
The prisoner only shook his head as he looked back down at his tray, “it’s too bad, a pony like you would be better suited for the Celestial Crusaders.”
Seeing his plan, I stopped as I started laughing, “Oh I see what’s going on here! You’re trying to get me to defect aren’t you? Well too bad! I may not think that the Nightmare Legion is the best army to fight for, but I'm nothing if not loyal to my decision. So if you’re done ticking me off, get back to your food and sh…”
“Am I interrupting?”
With a chill running down my spine, I slowly turned to the entrance of the tent as I saw Private Weight standing in the tents doorway. Seeing the Devious smirk on his face, my eyes shifted to my bow and quiver that sat just behind him as they slowly went back to him as I spoke, “You’re not supposed to be here… This area is off limits to everypony accept for myself and the guards that are with me.”

With the smirk still on his face, the untrustworthy pegasus looked around as he spoke, “Really? I'm sorry… I guess I got lost while looking for the mess tent… my mistake Cadet… but wait, you said there were guards with you?... Where are they?... I don’t see anypony here, but you… me… and the Celestial Crusader.”
As I looked at my foal-hood bully, listening to his sarcastic tone, I slowly pieced together what was going on here… and I didn’t like it one bit. I'll admit I'm not a genius, but judging by this particular situation… I would bet money that this creep was the traitor. Unfortunately, with my bow being behind him… I was already at a disadvantage, so I decided to play along as I continued, “I said you’re not supposed to be here… Get out of here now! That’s an order!”
The spy placed his hoof against his chin as he pretended to think to himself, “oh, that’s right… You’re a future officer… and I'm only a private… so by the rules of war, I, being the lower ranking pony must obey you the higher rank, no matter the situation… am I right?”
Taking a few steps closer, I repeated myself, “GET OUT NOW!!!”
Seeing my anger, his expression quickly turned to disappointment as he turned towards the tents doorway and replied, “Oh... As you, order cadet… I will obey…”

Continuing to stall, Private Weight looked down at my tray of food that was on the ground next to him and spoke, “hmm… Heated Hay again?... you would think that being Commander Bolt’s little pet, you would get something a little more… appetizing.”
When I heard him call me a pet, I became furious as I approached him and replied in anger, “ARE YOU DEAF! I SAID GET OU…”
I angrily trotted towards my bitter rival, but as I approached him, my angry sentence was silenced when he picked up my tray, swung around and bashed the metal plate against the side of my face as I was knocked easily to the ground and laid there with my ears ringing. I'll admit this was almost nothing compared to the beating I’ve taken from Commander Bolt. However, this was the first time it was an object that hit me across my face, so after I hit the ground, I was too stunned to pick myself up and the pegasus quickly rushed by me and began unclasping the metal chains that held the Celestial Scout prisoner. Although I was still too stunned to move, I could hear the two talking as the Scout spoke, “So you’re the Spy Commander Mist briefed us on, aren’t you?... What took you so long?”
Private Weight replied, “Captain Storm is watching the tent from the sky, it took me forever to find a way around him. After all, he isn’t as easy to fight off as this one.”
Hearing what he said, I became angry as I tried to pick myself up knowing full and well that the one he referred to was me. Sadly, as I managed to pick myself up about a foot from the ground, The Traitor spotted me as he trotted up to me and spoke, “Well, looks like messy mane still has some fight in her.”

With my body still too weak to defend myself, The Strong stallion kicked me in my side as I fell to the ground coughing at the impact. With my disadvantage completely known the gloating pegasus smiled, “Well isn’t this such a familiar setting eh Messy Mane? Me, standing on top while you’re still too weak to do anything about it.”
After hearing this, once again I was able to muster up a little strength just in time for when he tried to kick me again. Only this time when he did, I grabbed his hoof with one of my front, as I rolled over and used my other three hooves to kick him in his gut as hard as I could, throwing him a few feet as he hit the ground coughing on the other side of the tent.
Though I wore myself out with that one kick, I still could only chuckle as I spoke, “How’s that... for fight… Light Weight…”
However, as the enraged stallion picked himself up, He glared at me as he drew his sword and spoke, “I'll show you fight…”
As soon as he started towards me with his sword in hoof, I immediately became afraid as he approached me and raised his blade high to strike. Luckily, as he swung his blade, the Scout quickly rushed to me as he grabbed the private’s hoof as the earth pony spoke, “That’s enough! There isn’t any need to kill her!”
Heavy Weight looked at the scout as he replied to his comrade’s actions, “This isn’t the time for chivalry… She made her decision when she joined the Nightmare Legion!”
The scout replied, “This isn’t about chivalry, or whose side she’s fighting for! She spared my life when she could have easily ordered me dead. So this is my way of repaying a dept. We’re leaving her here, alive. Or do you intend to argue with a corporal of the Celestial Crusaders?”

Knowing he lost the rank game, the annoyed Pegasus looked at me as he sighed and sheathed his sword as he replied, “fine… but we are leaving now, whether you order it or not.”
A little relieved that I was saved, I watched Heavy Weight, as he grabbed me by my mane and picked me up, as he looked me in the eye and spoke, “Consider yourself lucky… Messy Mane.”
With that said, the pegasus reared up and punched me in my face as hard as he could as I was knocked to the ground. As I laid there stunned, I could only close my eyes with dizziness as Heavy Weight turned to his friend with his words muffled through my dazed state, “that should keep her out for a while, Let’s get going We still have to sneak by Captain Storm.”
As I laid on the ground with my eyes closed, I could only assume that Heavy Weight’s punch was meant to knock me unconscious. However, I was barely able to keep myself awake as I laid there with my eyes closed from the hit I just took. After a few seconds of slow breathing to numb my pain, I slowly opened my eyes just in time to see the two as they looked outside for Captain Storm. After a second had passed, the scout whispered to his partner, “Now! Before he loops around!”
With that said the two quickly left the tent and vanished from my sight.

Stunned, weak, and now worried, I struggled to pick myself up as I stumbled across the tent from where I was lying to my bow, which was still leaned against the wall of the tent next to the doorway. As I reached my bow, I quickly slung my Quiver as I exited the tent to see the two escapees trying to sneak from tint to tent while keeping cover. When I saw this, I looked to the sky as I yelled to Captain Storm who was gliding above, “CAPTAIN STORM!!! THE PRISONER IS ESCAPING!!!”
As he heard my warning, Captain Storm swung around as he centered his flight into a dive onto the escaping pair. Seeing their threat incoming, the scout grabbed Heavy Weight’s sword and unsheathed it as he yelled to his comrade, “I'll fight him off! You get back to the camp! And hurry!!!”
Nodding to his Corporal’s orders, Heavy Weight started sprinting away as Captain Storm approached his target and attacked with his large mace as both weapons clashed sending sparks up with each weapon’s swing. I could only stand in place as I watched the two fight it out. A part of me wanted to join in, but with both using melee weapons, I knew I wouldn’t be of any help, so I quickly raised my bow and aimed at the fighting soldiers, only to find that their continuous shifting in stances made it impossible for me to fire without risking Captain Storm’s life. 

With the two still going at it, it wasn’t long before Captains Storm’s large heavy mace was able to shatter the corporal’s sword as the two grabbed onto the staff portion of the weapon and began struggling as they both tried to overpower their opponent back. As I watched, still too nervous to react, I could see Captain Storm loose his footing as he fell to the ground and became pinned down. With this perfect shot ready for me, I raised my bow and aimed for the Corporal as Captain Storm called to me, “CADET!... NO!!! Hit the pegasus! Don’t let him get away! KILL THE TRAITOR FIRST!!!”
When I heard his words, I started to realize that if I did release my arrow, it would really kill who I was aiming at. As to make it worse, I had to fire at a pony who was running away. As I adjusted my aim to fire the arrow at the fleeing Heavy Weight who was now almost outside the camp, I paused. I had the perfect aim, wind, trajectory, and everything I needed to hit him without a challenge… but for some reason… I couldn’t release my arrow. As I continued aiming Captain Storm from his pinned position called again, “STONE!!! FIRE!!! KILL HIM!!! DO IT NOW!!!”

Hearing the order loud and clear didn’t help, I completely froze. I didn’t even consider it before… but now I realized that by releasing my arrow, I would solely be responsible for the death of another pony. And not just any pony, but a fellow orphan like I was. His life was in my hoof, and if I chose to release this arrow, it would be gone forever. He could have a wife, foals, he could even have foster siblings that I don’t know about… but if let this arrow go, it will all be over… and… there was no way to take it back. I stood there still aiming at the pegasus, I continued to hesitate until one last thought crossed my mind. Well… it wasn’t so much a thought, but a memory. I saw that pegasus all those years ago, as he hovered in the air over me with my bandanna, the one possession that I had left of my parents in his grubby little hooves. Then… the bandanna… was gone…

When I saw this memory, an almost uncontrolled rage took over, as I quickly adjusted my aim for the changing wind, before releasing my arrow and sending it into the air with a faint and noticeable whistle sound. Although I meant to fire that arrow, I still hoped I would miss as I lowered my bow and watched my target as he continued sprinting away from the camp. Sadly, as I watched the stallion reach the top of the depression the arrow fell from the sky as it landed and hit the stallion in the back of his head causing him to stop in his tracks. Shocked At what I just did, I could only watch in immediate regret as the stallion who bullied me stood still with an arrow sticking out the back of his head, before touching the arrow to confirm what had just happened. Slowly turning to look at me he could only give me a shocked stare as he fell to the ground like a ragdoll and rolled back down the hill and into the depression.

Dropping my bow in horror, I put my hoof over my mouth as I shook my head in disgust of my actions, “no… no… h-how could I?...”
With my body frozen in shock from my actions, I could only sit down and continue staring at the dead stallion, as he laid motionless with the flight of my arrow raised higher than the rest of his corpse. Continuing to look at him, Captain Storm who was still struggling with the scout spoke through his struggle, “C-Cadet?... Now… you can help me!”
Still in a mix of shock and dismay, I looked at the two struggling stallions, but before I could snap myself out of my shameful trance, I watched as Commander Bolt glided down from the air and landed next to the fighting ponies. With his teardrop bladed shield connected to his hoof, Commander Bolt grabbed the struggling scout by the base of his mane as he pulled the stallion off his officer and pushed the blade into his back until the tip became exposed through pony’s chest.

Turning a portion of my horror-filled shock to the commander, I watched as the struggling scout struggled for only a few more seconds before he too became limp and stopped moving. After the scout stopped struggling, Commander Bolt threw him off of Captains Storm as he pulled his blade out of the pony and flung most of the blood from  his weapon before looking at Captain Storm and speaking, “You ok Captain?”
Captain Storm smiled and nodded his head as he picked himself up from the ground, “I’ve been better, although… I don’t think I am the one you should be asking.”
With that said, Captain Storm motioned towards me as he and Commander Bolt turned and looked directly at me. With both their eyes on me… I had no idea what to do… I didn’t know if I should just keep my mouth shut, or if I should explain myself… all I could do was to feel shame for what I did… not my hesitation in helping Storm, or the fact that I allowed them to escape me in the first place… but… for killing another pony.

Still feeling ashamed, I looked at Heavy Weight’s corpse, as I pitied him. This pony did nothing wrong… sure he bullied me when I was young, and sure he was a spy. But… did he really deserve to die for that? He… he could have been a father… a husband, he could be completely different then I knew… and still… I killed him. Seeing the shock in my expression, Commander Bolt trotted up to me, then took a second to look at Heavy Weight before turning back to me and speaking with no expression, “Get yourself checked up, then report to my quarters… we need to talk.”
With that said, and only that said, Commander Bolt turned back to Captain Storm as he got close enough to whisper to him without me hearing. Then with soldiers gathering in the area, Commander Bolt spoke aloud, “Gather the bodies and start breaking down camp. Also increase security, dusk is approaching and I want us to be ready to move with it.”

With almost an insulting expression, Commander Bolt opened his wings as he took to the sky and flew out of sight. Later after checking with the medic as I was ordered to, I made my way to Commander Bolt’s tent. When I reached the entrance, I started getting ready to announce myself, but before I could, Commander Bolt spoke, “Come in Cadet…”
After hearing him, I slowly entered the tent. Inside, I saw Commander Bolt standing on the other side of a table with no armor on. But what caught my full attention was what was on the table… or rather, what was stuck in the table. In the center of the wooden table was one of my arrows… but not just any arrow, it was the one that I used to kill Heavy Weight, I could tell since the blood was still on it. When I saw the arrow, I paused at the entrance, but when he looked over at me, Commander Bolt spoke, “Cadet… take a seat.”
With the order, I approached the table as I sat down and tried not to make eye contact with either Commander Bolt or the arrow on the table.

After I sat down Commander Bolt trotted to the chair on the other side of the table as he put two rags on the table. Then he pulled out his shield from under the table and sat it on top as he made it so I could see the blood still on the blade. When I saw the blood, I again averted my eyes in shame as he sat down, picked up one of the rags, and started cleaning off the blade, “if only it were this easy…”
thinking I heard him wrong I looked at him, “s-sir?”
Commander Bolt looked at me as he continued wiping the blade, “forgetting… if only it were as easy to forget killing by wiping the blood away. But it’s never that easy…”
Seeing the logic in his words, I asked, “commander… how can you do this? How can you just kill another pony and trot away as if nothing happened?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “You know, I remember my first… it was a griffin in the Griffin Civil War. I buried my blade into his chest, but only after pushing his axe blade away as he tried to dig it into my face.”

Thinking he was telling me too much, I gave him a serious look as he explained, “What I'm trying to say is that when it comes to battle, situations will arise where you have a choice to make. Kill him… or let him kill you.”
With nothing to say about it, I held my silence as he looked back at his shield and continued, “And for what it’s worth, I want to thank you.”
Confused I looked at Commander Bolt as I asked, “Thank me?... for what? I killed somepony… I… I’m responsible for removing another life from this world… why would you or anypony thank me?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Cadet… you saved this entire camp. If you hadn’t shot that arrow, that spy would have leaked this camp to the celestial forces and ended this war. If it wasn’t for you… I and everypony in this camp would probably be dead right now.”
Although I understood what he was saying, I couldn’t feel any pride as I looked back down at the arrow and spoke, “Still… I killed him. Even if I didn’t like him when we were little, I still don’t think he deserved what happened to him.”

Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “maybe… but in the end, do you think his life was worth all of ours? Captain Storm, Lieutenant Snow… Yours?...”
Hearing him put it like that made me feel a little better, but what surprised me a little, was that he didn’t mention himself in that list at all. Regardless of which, I ignored it, as I replied, “no… I'd rather it be him than us… but still…”
Commander Bolt sighed, “Cadet… I'm sure you’ve heard me say it before, but… in every battle there is no such thing as a perfect victory. Do you know why I say that?”
I did hear him say that before when I saw a convoy of wounded ponies come through our last camp, so I nodded my head as I replied, “Yes sir… it’s because after a battle even the wounded lose something… am I right?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “no… it’s because after a battle, Everypony loses something. Some lose good friends; some lose limbs, wings or even courage and confidence in themselves, while others lose their own lives. But no matter what, Everypony loses a part of themselves.”
I gave him a confused look as I asked, “themselves?... I… I don’t understand.”
Commander Bolt continued wiping off his shield as he explained, “When you take a life, you lose a part of yourself. You feel pity, disgrace, shame, and often regret. However if you survive a battle and take no lives, then you almost feel the same thing, only it’s in yourself.”

I could only continue giving him my confused look as he continued, “Surviving a battle and seeing the results can have an effect too. Seeing all the wounded and dead; knowing that you did nothing to help them… it’s just as painful as if you where the one that wounded or killed them yourself. Therefore, there is no such thing as a battle that you don’t lose a bit of yourself in. a wise mercenary told me that in my first war, and I’ve always remembered it ever since. Fact of the matter is, what you did, and what you feel right now is completely expected. In fact, if I didn’t expect you to feel this at all?... I'd kick you out of the Nightmare Legion on the spot.”
the seriousness of his tone almost made me worried that he was going to kick me out now, but I completely understood what he meant now so I replied, “and… does it always feel like this?...”
Commander bolt nodded his head, “usually… unless you understand why you did it? When I kill an enemy, I know why I do it every time, so even though I always regret it, I know that if I didn’t do it, something worse would have happened.”

Commander Bolt looked at me as he continued, “we all have to do what we can to protect our subordinates, our princess, and our home… this is the pledge that I made as a royal guard, and though my values have changed since then, I still fight for those same reasons. I will kill anypony I have to, to win this war and achieve my goal… my only question is… will you do the same?... if so, pick up your arrow and clean of your regret. Because you have nothing to be regretful for… you saved my life, and the lives of everypony here, and though most won’t ever know it, the fact that they will live to find out someday is much better than the alternative. So… will you continue?”
With all his attention on his shield, Commander Bolt continued cleaning his weapon as I reached for the cloth and picked it up. Then with a heavy heart, I reached for the arrow and pulled it from the table. Most of the blood was completely dry, but what wasn’t rubbed off on my hooves as I placed the rag against its surface and began wiping the blood away. As I did, Commander Bolt smiled, “thank you Cadet… the final phase of your training will begin in a few days… till then, we will make our way past this army and set up a better position in another area. According to my scouts, the celestial Crusaders have set a permanent post here, and they won’t be moving forward for a while. So we will take time to prep, then remove them from this location.”

> Ch9 Final Test
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                I stood in shock as I stared at the first slope of the mountain… which was closer to a cliff then a slope. As I looked at the wall of rock and stone, I spoke to Captain Storm who was standing next to me, “so… we are setting up a camp… on the other side?”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “yep, on the other side of this mountain lies a key position in our defense. Luckily, I won’t be crossing over this mountain. The Convoy will actually be going around it.”
At first I felt relieved but then I realized he used emphasis when he said I so I asked, “Wait… so somepony will be crossing over this mountain? Who?”
“You and I…”
Not expecting the reply, I turned to Commander Bolt who was just now approaching as he spoke, “It looks shorter than I remember it, then again it’s been… how long has it been Storm?... about a year right?”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “Yea, just about.”

Almost expecting what his answer would be, I asked, “So… you and I?.... you mean we are climbing this thing?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Yes… Cadet, you have completed every portion of training that you need to fight in this war. Your combat flying is adequate, your archery is flawless, and even your ability with a sword has improved… well… sort of. Nevertheless, you will soon begin the final phase of your training, which is one that even I did long before I joined the royal guard. Without the use of our wings, both you and I will climb to the top of this mountain and back down the other side using only what we can carry on our backs.”
I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing, “W-without using our wings?... is… is that even possible?”
Both Commander Bolt and Captain Storm nodded their heads, which told me that even Captain Storm had to complete this task at one time.

With my worry beginning to rise, Lieutenant Snow approached as he spoke, “Commander, it would appear that everypony in the convoy is fed. Should we prepare to depart?”
Commander Bolt turned to Snow and replied, “Let’s take another hour or so.”
Lieutenant Snow nodded his head as he replied, “Understood sir.”
Still unsure of the reason, I asked, “um sir?... exactly… why are we climbing this mountain?”
Commander Bolt replied, “As a pegasus it’s very common to take our wings for granted, but in combat, wing injuries are very common. Fractures, dislocations, some even lose a part or an entire wing. Nevertheless, this will train you to survive in one of the harshest climates without relying on your wings. Captain Storm did it when he was a Cadet, I did it when I was a twelve, and every pegasus that has been trained by Commander Mist has been through this exact training.”

Part of me was shocked to hear that Commander Bolt said that he did this when he was twelve, while another part of me was still skeptic about this. either way I didn’t like what was going on, and to be honest, I didn’t know if I was understanding the situation clearly so I had to ask, “Are you serious sir?... we are going to climb this mountain?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “of course… how else will we get you proficient on climate survival?” he turned to Captain Storm, “Storm, while we are gone, you will be acting commander. I want you to set up a forward position on the other side of this mountain in the valley and wait for the Cadet and I to link up with you. From there, depending on how long we take and what news we gain from the front, we will formulate a strategy to push the Celestial Crusaders as far as we can. We already know where their front camp is. However, until we attain a large enough force, we should only watch them and refrain from being caught in a skirmish. We are still outmatched and outnumbered, even with the lightning orb.”

Captain Storm nodded his head as he replied, “Understood Commander, we won’t let you down.”
As Captain Storm turned to approach the convoy, Commander Bolt turned to me, “Cadet, Gather a small amount of items for the journey. Take only what you need for survival, that includes your armor, bow, and something to keep warm. Once you’re ready, meet me here and we can get started.”
Feeling a little rushed I asked, “Started… you mean… we are leaving now?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “no, we are leaving as soon as you’re ready. The sooner we leave the more ground we can cover until nightfall. If all goes well we can cross the mountain in as little as two days. But when I did it, it took me four days, so we better get started, and soon.”
“F-four days?”
I looked as high as I could but with the clouds above blocking the summit of the mountain, I could only guess the mountains height as Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Four days… give or take. So I'd suggest bringing a little food and a blanket, nights are dark up there so we will need to travel only through daylight.”

With nothing more to say, Commander Bolt trotted past me and into the convoy as he started gathering a few belongings of his own. So trying to think ahead, I went to the wagon that had my duffle bag in it and gathered what I thought I would need, Rope, a blanket, some flint and some food and water. Since I had no idea what to expect, this seemed to be all I would need. After I gathered all the stuff I met Commander Bolt back at the base of the mountain as I approached him and spoke, “Alright, I’m ready when you are sir, what’s first?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “one more sec, I'm waiting for Captain Storm to get here.”
“Captain Storm? Why?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “You’ll see.”

A few seconds later Captain Storm flew to us as he held out two thick belts and spoke, “Here you are sir. Cadet put this on around the outside of both your wings and armor.”
At first, I was a little confused, but then I watched as Commander Bolt placed the belt on his back and wrapped it around his torso and over his wings, then Captain Storm tightened it on the other side so that his wing couldn’t be moved. When I saw this, I fixed the belt on myself in the same manner as Captain Storm approached me and pulled the belt tight enough so that I too couldn’t move my wings. The belt wasn’t comfortable especially since it pressed my wings against the outside of my armor, but luckily, my armor was snug to begin with so it wasn’t in any way painful. Either way this guaranteed that even if I wanted too, there was no way I could use my wings without somepony taking this off first. It was far too tight for me to remove and even if I tried, the angle that it was on me was impossible for me to reach the flap to remove it myself.

After the belt was on, Captain Storm spoke, “there, now you’re all set to go. Just be sure to take your bow and quiver, ya never know if you’re going to need it or not.”
Hearing that Commander Bolt spoke, “Of course she will, part of being a soldier is always keeping your weapon in reach. You can guarantee I'll be taking my shield along. Although I hope the rest of your bag is light, you won’t find any smooth trails to the summit. We will be going straight up on more than one occasion. But there is more of a lesson to learn from this than just climbing without flying, but you find out for yourself, I won’t tell you… this will be something you learn through experience.”
Although I didn’t put too much though into it, a part of me was curious about this second lesson, but knowing Commander Bolt, I know he will wait until the last moment to tell me, or better yet, show me since he seemed a little cliché when it comes to this sort of thing.

Anyways now that my wings were secured and I was ready to go, I put on my saddlebag, slung my bow and quiver, and looked at Commander Bolt, “well sir, when you’re ready… I guess I'm ready too.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “Then let’s go. Captain, you have your orders; wait for us on the other side of the mountain, but… if something happens that may force you to change locations. Just remember; always put the wellbeing of the soldiers first.”
Captain Storm nodded his head as he replied, “Understood Commander, we will wait for you when we get there. Cadet? Next time I see you I'll expect to refer to you as Lieutenant, okay?”
Nodding my head, I replied, “alright Captain you stay safe.”
Captain Storm smiled, “That’s my line, Good luck Cadet.”

With nothing more to say to us, Captain Storm turned to the convoy and called out his orders, “Convoy! Prepare to depart!”
With Captain Storm approaching the formation to take command, Commander Bolt looked at me as he spoke, “Well Cadet, let’s get moving. If I remember right, there is a trail that will help lead us up the mountain not too far from here.”
Since it seemed like he knew where he was going, I just nodded my head as he and I started trotting along the cliff face until it started to level out onto a trail. As I looked up the trail, It was hard to see exactly where it was leading since it seemed to weave a number of times. However, Commander Bolt continued up the trail without any hesitation, so I just followed him as he led the way.

Not long after going up the sloping trail, I started to feel the weight of my bag and bow, but that was nothing compared to what he did next. As we continued up that trail, Commander Bolt stopped and turned to a rocky slope that was even steeper than the trail as he spoke, “here we are, first thing we need to do is set an anchor, did you bring any rope?”
I nodded my head as I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out the rope. As I gave it to him, Commander Bolt smiled, “Good. Stay here I'll try to tie it off.”
With the rope still rolled up, Commander Bolt slung it over his head as he backed up to the far side of the trail. Then taking a running start, Commander Bolt ran to the steep slope and ran up it as far as he could until he grabbed the furthest tree that was in the slope as he pulled himself up and tied off one end of the rope. When the rope was tied off, he tied the other end to his shield and laid it down on the hill as it slid back to me below. Once the rope was back to me, I grabbed it and started climbing as Commander Bolt used small shrubs and buried stones to continue up the steep dirt covered hill.

When I climbed up the rope and reached the tree that was used as an anchor, Commander Bolt looked back at me from a few feet ahead and called, “Cadet, bring up the rope and my shield. You can use the plants to climb higher but keep track of that rope; we will need it again later.”
Nodding my head, I pulled up the rope and slung his shield before placing the rope back in my saddlebag and following him up the steep hill. As we continued, we finally reached a platform in the sloping mountain as Commander Bolt stopped and sat down to rest. As I climbed onto the ledge, I unslung Commander Bolt’s shield as I gave it to him and spoke, “Here commander, that thing is heavier then it looks.”
Commander Bolt than slung his shield as he replied, “Well it could be heavier, let’s take a little time to breathe here. I'm glad you brought a rope, but what else do you have?”

Looking through my bag I replied, “I got the rope, a blanket, some food and water plus some flint. I figured we would need it for a fire or something.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Good, you may have brought the minimum, but it’s everything we will need for standard survival. Just a little hint later, the air will start getting thin soon. It won’t affect us now since pegasi are used to flying at high altitudes, but when we approach the summit you will start feeling it.”
As we sat catching our breath, I decided to make small talk as I spoke, “um… commander? You said you climbed this when you were twelve… but why would you do such a thing when you were only a colt?”
Completely dodging the question, Commander Bolt looked further up the mountain at the slope that was growing even steeper, “you got that rope? We are getting to a part where we will need better support.”

Still expecting an answer I opened my bag and pulled out the rope as I continued, “here… but that still doesn’t answer my question.”
Completely ignoring me, Commander Bolt tied one end of the rope around his torso as he replied, “here, tie the other end around you like this. That way if one of us slips we can catch each other without falling.”
Although I was still waiting for an answer, I didn’t say anything as I tied the rope around myself and looked at him for a reply. Still ignoring the question Commander Bolt reached into his saddlebag as he pulled out what looked to be a long dagger, or a shortened sword of some kind. With the weapon in hoof, Commander Bolt looked up the slope as he spoke, “Alright Cadet, if I were you I'd use an arrow to climb from now on. There are plants and stones ahead, but with the mountain getting steeper, they will be spaced further apart. You ready to continue?”

I was annoyed that he dodged the question, but since he had already started trying to get his footing on the slope, I just nodded my head as I replied, “sure, I'm ready when you are sir.”
With that, Commander Bolt planted his hind hooved firmly on the hill as he used them to jump along the slope before digging the short sword into the slope. Then using the shield in his other hoof, Commander Bolt dug its blade into the slope a little higher as he used both of the weapons to climb the slope like a ladder. Trying to prevent the rope we had tied to us from losing its slack, I pulled two arrows from my quiver and started climbing behind him as we made our way up the steepening path. Little by little, Commander Bolt and I continued climbing the face of the cliff until it grew too steep to even bear plant life. By this time it was as Commander Bolt had said, I could feel the air around us getting thinner and thinner. And before I knew it, my ears popped at the height we had climbed.

Hours passed and as we continued up the cliff, I couldn’t help but feel my fatigue catch up to me as the slack in the rope connecting us slowly disappeared until Commander Bolt looked back down to me and spoke, “Cadet? You okay?”
Trying to hide my fatigue, I replied, “I'm… I'm fine Commander, just a little winded is a…”
Before I could finish, one of my arrows that I was using as an anchor snapped as half of my body started to dangle from the cliff. Seeing the incident, Commander Bolt buried both his blades into the cliff and locked his hooves and he braced himself for the immediate tug that the rope connecting us gave. When the rope stopped me from sliding, Commander Bolt called to me, “Anchor yourself! Now!”
Knowing what he meant, I dropped the broken arrow and let it fall, as I quickly pulled another arrow from my quiver and buried the head into the cliffside. Afterwards, I tried to climb a little higher and give the tight rope some slack as Commander Bolt called, “You okay?”

Though I was a little shaken up, I looked back and replied, “Yea… about as much as I can be right now!”
Commander Bolt looked up the cliff as he replied, “we have about fifty more feet to cover before we get there, think you can hold out till then?”
I replied, “Do I have a choice?”
Commander Bolt chuckled under his own strain, “not if you want to live you don’t.”
Although it was a sarcastic comment, with Commander Bolt’s strain, it seemed like a serious one as he and I continued up the mountain and completely forgot what we just went through.

Within the next twenty minutes, Commander Bolt reached a small cliffside as he anchored himself at the top before pulling me up. After I climbed to the top of the small balcony, I rolled onto my back to catch my breath as I spoke, “finally… now we can res… oh crap…”
As I laid on my back I could see the continuing slope of the mountainside as it climbed higher and vanished into the clouds above, leaving the summit impossible to see. After seeing this, I looked at Commander Bolt as I spoke, “I thought you said it was only fifty more feet?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “oh no, that was to this platform. In all we are about a third of the way to the top, so we got a while to go.”
With an annoyed sigh, I picked myself up as he continued, “We will set up camp here for the night, it may be a little secluded but it’s sturdy enough to hold us up.”

I looked to the sky to see how much of the day had passed, but with the eclipse on the other side of the mountain, all I could tell was that it was the afternoon so I asked, “it isn’t the evening, yet… why are we setting up camp so early?”
Commander Bolt replied as he started unpacking his saddlebag, “any higher and we will reach the area where snow can settle. Meaning that the night will be harsher there. Since we will have to endure at least one of those nights, it would be better to wait and deal with few of them then to risk frostbite. It may seem warm now, but at certain altitudes, camping can be brutal.”
To be honest I had no idea what he was talking about since it didn’t seem at all cold where we were, but since he has been up here before, I decided to just take his word for it as I replied, “um… I guess that works sir. Anyways what should we do now if I might ask?”

Commander Bolt looked at the small platform we were on as he replied, “we’ll set up camp here. It isn’t much but we have room to place one pallet to sleep and a camp fire.”
Now I was confused, “one pallet? Aren’t there two of us?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “So you can count… but remember we are members of the Nightmare legion. Somewhere out there are literally thousands of ponies willing to kill us in our sleep. And since we don’t have our raving guards to protect us, we must rely on each other. In other words, one of us will sleep, while the other guards.”
Although I knew he was serious, part of me was hopeful as I asked, “you’re kidding… right?...”

Commander Bolt shook his head, “nope. We will take turns. One will sleep while the other guards. If you want, I can take the first shift. So from now until about one o’clock in the morning will be the first shift. Then from one until about five in the morning will be the next. So if I'm taking the first shift, then you should get some rest now while it’s early.”
Disappointed that he was serious, I looked at him with curiosity, “but… how are we supposed to tell time?...”
Commander Bolt smiled as he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a pocket watch, “with this, all I brought was a blanket, some rope, food, water, and this watch. Plus a small map but I doubt we will need that.”
I knew that this would turn out to be a long night, so I just sighed, “Okay… I'll get something to eat and get ready to get some sleep right away.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Good, make sure you get your rest. I'll wake you when your shift starts.”
As he said that, Commander Bolt took this time to set up a small place stand guard. Meanwhile, I decided to set up a sleeping pallet on the ground with the blanket I brought. Luckily, with the belt over my wings, removing my armor wasn’t an option so the hard surface of the armor’s outside made the ground feel like the soft padding on its inside. So with the sky starting to turn dark, I decided to eat and lay down to get some sleep.

A few hours later, I awoke to the sound of tapping metal when Commander Bolt tapping his shield against my armor, “Cadet, your turn. Time to wake up and keep watch.”
I won’t lie; I was incredibly annoyed that I was woken up so early only to see pitch black and the light of a small fire that Commander Bolt had made after I fell asleep. But since I got used to it from all the mornings that Commander Bolt and Captain Storm put me through, it was easy to ignore my agitation as I looked at Commander Bolt and sighed, “…Okay… so what is it I'm supposed to do?”
Commander Bolt replied as he laid his shield down next to the sleeping pallet, “All you do is sit here and make sure nothing tries to attack me while I sleep. Trust me; it’s almost too easy.”
I couldn’t help but reply with skepticism, “Almost?...”
Commander Bolt smiled as he laid down on the pallet, “Well… the hard part is staying awake… but I promise you, if you fall asleep, not even Celestia could help prevent the torment I'll bring. Well g’night…”

With that said, Commander Bolt rolled over and became silent as I tried to asked, “b-but… how do I stay awake?”
Commander Bolt replied without looking at me, “Can’t hear you… I'm asleep.”
Knowing that there was no talking to him, I could only sigh as I picked up my bow and replied, “Fine… I'll figure it out on my own.”
With nothing else to do, I just sat down beside the fire and started poking it with one of my arrows. Sure I was supposed to be watching out for enemies or something, but with the surroundings completely black, there was no way I could spot anything further than twenty feet away. Not to mention we were on a small ledge that sat on the edge of a steep slope on the side of one of the lesser-known mountains in Equestria. As long as nopony told anypony we were here, the only visits we could possibly get was is a lost mountain climber or somthing. But as long as I’ve been under Commander Bolt, I felt it was better to just do what he says instead of arguing, he’ll only win in the end.

With time starting to slow down due to the obvious thrill of sitting and looking at darkness, I noticed that after what seemed to be five hours of waiting passed by when in reality it was only three. After noticing this, I decided to try to entertain myself by drawing pictures in the dirt. First, I drew a bow, which was simple since it was just a long C and two lines for the string and arrow. Then since I couldn’t think of anything else to draw, I decided to try to draw my friends from the orphanage. I know it seemed a little sad now when I thought about those carvings on the floor as my friends, but questioning what kept me sane back then didn’t seem like the most motivating thing I could think of. So I just pushed that thought aside as I started drawing from memory. Since I sat in that corner, talking to those images for twelve years it was almost too easy drawing them the exact way they were back there… even if I drew them when I was six. Therefore, I drew them exactly as I remembered them, the slow stallion, the trusting filly, the exciting unicorn, and finally, my favorite, the young colt named Star.

As I finished the image of Star, something seemed very odd… looking at Star’s appearance as I drew it now and back then, I couldn’t help but feel like he looked… familiar. I couldn’t put my hoof on it, but I wanted to say that I’ve seen him sometime after the encounter I had with the colt all those years ago, but before I could put my hoof on it, my concentration was broken when I heard what sounded like gravel rolling down the slope. Immediately turning my attention to the steep slope that lead up the mountain, I could see little rocks rolling down as I looked into the darkness above. Curious, I trotted to the edge of the platform and tried as hard as I could to look up, but with the darkness, shrouding everything above I couldn’t see anything other than the small rocks that rolled down. Finally, I saw something slowly rolling out of the darkness, but when I did, my heart began to race. From above came a massive boulder, that came rolling down the slope and right for us.

Immediately reacting, I rushed to Commander Bolt and started shaking him, “Commander! Commander! Wake up! It’s a rock slide!”
As I shook him, I looked back up at the incoming boulder to find that it seemed too close to dodge. However, as I looked at the boulder, Commander Bolt unexpectedly wrapped his hooved around my neck as he pushed off the ground with his shoulder and forced both of us into a roll. With the action too rapid for me to know what was happening, I closed my eyes in worry as we both rolled off the pallet and out of the boulder’s path. Once we were clear of the dangerous obstacle, Commander Bolt stopped our roll as the boulder crashed onto the platform, causing half of it to collapse as the boulder, the blanket, and Commander Bolt’s shield all fell into the darkness below. When I opened my eyes, I found myself on my back under Commander Bolt as he looked towards the missing half of the platform and spoke, “well… that was a close one.”

With the commander standing over me, I couldn’t help but blush as the oblivious stallion stepped away and looked down into the void below. Still clueless or seemingly so, Commander Bolt looked back at me as I continued laying on the ground, “Good job Cadet. If not for you, I'd be crushed right now. Although I can’t say the same for my shield and your blanket… oh, well. I have a blanket with my things too so if needed I'll lend it to you. Also I hope you realize I'll be relying on your protection from here on out. Without my shield, I'm at a great disadvantage.”
Trying to forget the position we were in, I spoke, “What?... but… aren’t we going back for it?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “it’s too dark to see how far it fell. Even then, we have no reason to go back when we’ve already climbed so far. The best thing is to keep moving forward. This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen a rock slide on this mountain, and if my experience is accurate, it won’t be the last.”

Since I agree that going back would be wasted effort I replied, “Okay, so what do we do now commander?”
Commander Bolt looked at me and replied, “You have that watch right? What time is it?”
When I heard the question, I realized something as I asked, “You… never gave it to me when I started my shift, you had it last sir.”
Commander Bolt gave me a funny look, “I didn’t? Well the last time I had it, it was with my shield… so…”
It was obvious we were thinking the same thing when we both looked into the darkness below so Commander Bolt looked back at me and shrugged his shoulders, “oops… I guess we should get an early start on our day. If you have anything that isn’t packed, go ahead and gather it now. We will eat a little bit first. Hopefully the sun will rise before we finish.”

Though I was impressed of how quickly he brushed off the fact that he was nearly crushed beneath a metric ton of stone, I still couldn’t help but wonder why he seemed so calm and after what we both just went through. Here we are with less then a split second to cheat death and he looks at it as if he planned it out from the start. Of course I know that’s impossible, but still, why was he so calm, and furthermore, what else could we expect from this so-called training. I had no idea, but what I do know is this. Without the commander, making me pull that guard shift… we both would have been asleep when this happened, and we both would be dead.

> Ch 10 To the Summit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The air felt cold and dry as I tried all I could to breathe at this high altitude. I tried to ignore the snow blowing around me as I grabbed onto each rock, which was so cold, it felt like rough ice. Feeling the slack in our rope, I tried to look as high as I could to see the summit, but with the thick snow and clouds all around us, it proved impossible. As I tried to look up, Commander Bolt who was climbing right below me tapped my back hoof as he spoke, “let’s keep it moving cadet, you may be up front, but I still can’t hold on forever.”
Nodding my head as I reached for the next rock on the mountain, I replied, “Why am I leading again?”

Commander Bolt continued behind me as he replied, “you’re lighter than me, so it would be better if you went first. That way if I grab onto a loose rock, I won’t fall and take you with me from the jerk in the rope. With you leading, you can safely hold me while I regain my grip. This rope around our torso is there for a reason you know.”
“And… what about me?... what if I fall?”
Commander Bolt replied with confidence, “then I'll catch you… you don’t weigh that much… do you?”
I gave him a serious look as I replied, “don’t even think about trying to guess how much I weight.”

Looking back to what I was doing, I continued climbing as I heard Commander Bolt chuckle behind me and despite me being the butt of this joke, I couldn’t help but smile along with his laughter as we continued up the mountain with the rope connecting us both. As we continued up the side of the cliff, I could only guess how many hours had passed since we reached the snow line on the mountain. Four, five… maybe even more. Either way, I knew we were very high up since even I was starting to feel the air thin itself out. Finally, I saw what looked like another platform above as I called back to Commander Bolt, “Commander… I think we made it… there is a flat area ahead.”

Commander Bolt nodded his head, “I don’t think our time was that good… but then again I haven’t paying much attention. We may be at the summit”
I smiled with excitement, “we could only hope right?”
With hope in my actions, I reached for the top of the platform as I pulled myself high enough to see over its edge. Sadly, when I did,I could see the entrance to a cave with a wall that continued into the thick clouds above. Seeing this, I sighed as I reached for an embedded stone on the top of the ledge, “Nope… false alarm, there’s still more mountain to cli…”
Before I could finish my sentence, the stone I grabbed onto broke free from the ground as I started falling back and off the edge.

With my body slowly starting to fall from the side of the cliff, my body went into an unusual combination of shock, and hesitation as everything around be seemed to slow down as I fell. Still seeing everything around me moving slowly, I looked towards the cliff as I started to pass Commander Bolt who was still holding onto the cliff. With everything around me moving slowly, I watched as Commander Bolt moved in almost lightning fast speed, to wrap the support rope around his right hoof and brace himself for what came next. With the slack in the robe quickly vanishing, I found myself being jerked upward as Commander Bolt caught my weight in the rope as I slammed into the side of the cliff as I heard Commander Bolt grunt in pain over the tightening rope wrapped around his hoof.

Stunned from the impact, I dangled from the support rope for a few seconds as Commander Bolt spoke through his pain, “Ca-det… are… are you okay?”
As I realized what just happened, I looked back up at him as I replied, “yea… I'm alright… thanks to you.”
Commander Bolt continued speaking with a little pain in his voice, “G-good. Now if you wouldn’t mind. Grab onto something before I lose my grip.”
Quickly realizing, I reached out for the cliff as I grabbed it and pulled myself in before anchoring myself and replying, “I got it sir! You can let go now.”

Worried I watched as Commander Bolt unwrapped his hoof from the rope before placing it against his chest as if he were slinging it. Then he replied, “Alright cadet… let’s try this again… this time without falling. Go ahead and climb up.”
Nodding my head, I proceeded to climb up the side of the cliff a second time until I was level with Commander Bolt, then I looked at him and asked, “Commander? Are you alright?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “I will be once we are on stable ground. Get a move on.”
Hearing his impatience in his voice, I continued climbing up the cliff until I reached the platform that I fell from earlier.

After reaching the platform I climbed up and anchored myself as I called down, “alright commander! Ready when you are.”
Although I didn’t hear any reply, I knew Commander Bolt heard me since the slack in the rope started to get looser as he made his way up. When he finally reached the edge of the platform, I rushed to him as he reached out with his uninjured hoof for me to grab and pull up. As soon as he was up, I noticed him limping a little when he stepped on his right hoof as I spoke, “you okay commander?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “I'm fine… just a little pain is all. There should be a cave not too far from here. We need to get there and take shelter. A quick break is all I need.”

Without letting me reply, Commander Bolt started trotting along the cliffs edge that seemed to be some kind of mountainside trail. Following him closely, I watched as Commander Bolt continued his failed attempts to hide his limping. Though it was too noticeable, I still decided not to say anything. Twice now, I asked about it and twice he shot me down. So I thought that his pride would only push him further if I tried again. A few minutes later the trail ended as it lead to a mountainside cave. Without hesitation, Commander Bolt entered the cave and sat inside far enough that the stinging wind couldn’t reach us. As he sat down, he placed his saddlebag on the ground and pulled out some hay and a few apples. Then he held out an apple to me and spoke, “here… before it gets cold.”

Noticing the corny yet obvious joke, I replied with a smile, “Gee thanks.”
As I reached up to grab the apple, Commander Bolt chuckled. “Funny… that’s the first time you ever smiled at me, without accomplishing something first.”
Feeling myself blush a little I replied with an annoyed tone, “Well it’s not like I can’t smile or anything! It’s just… um…”
Commander Bolt smiled back, “you haven’t had much reason to smile… have you.”
I didn’t reply, not because I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t think of a believable excuse. Noticing my silence Commander Bolt replied, “Don’t take it the wrong way… but… I just didn’t know you could smile like that.”

I had no idea what other way I could take a comment like that other than wrong… but I just sighed as I replied, “How’s your hoof?”
Commander Bolt held it up as he replied, “well… it’s been better, although I'm glad I didn’t try to guess your weight… I would have been way off.”
This time I couldn’t keep silent “W-what? What’s that supposed to mean?!”
Commander Bolt smiled in a mischievous way, “it’s a compliment.”
Annoyed with his comment I picked up a small pebble and threw it at his as it hit his hurt hoof, causing him to grip it in pain, “Ooowch!”

Seeing his reaction, made me giggle, this wasn’t anything like the Commander Bolt I knew… this Commander Bolt was playful, funny, and liked to joke around. Nothing like the Commander Bolt that had beaten combat training into me for the past few months. Seeing him grip his hoof, I could only call him the one word that described what this Commander Bolt seemed like, “you big foal”
Almost immediately Commander Bolt looked at me with confusion, “What did you call me?”
Noticing his tone was still joking I replied, “you heard me… you’re just a big foal.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “wow… I’ve never been called that before… kinda makes me feel young again.”
Feeling a little confused I asked, “Wait… how old are you?”

Commander Bolt smiled, “About twenty… I know I'm still a little young, but you calling me a foal makes me feel like I'm closer to twelve.”
Hearing that, I could only laugh as Commander Bolt finished his food and stood up, “Well… time for us to get a move on.”
I was a little confused, “What?... already? But what about your hoof?”
Commander Bolt stretched it and tried to hide his pain-riddled expressions as he pressed it against the ground and replied, “It’s fine now… see, I just needed a little time to rest. We aren’t far from the summit. If we start now it should be only about five minutes before we reach it.”

Finishing my apple, I tossed the core on the ground as I followed Commander Bolt outside and to the face of the cliff. I tried to look up and see where the cliff ended but it was no use. The snow, the thick clouds, and the white haze made it impossible to see if he was telling the truth or not. Jerking the rope that was tied around his belt to see if it was tight, Commander Bolt reached for the nearest step as he pulled himself up and reached for the next, “Let’s go Cadet… we don’t have far now.”
As he got a head start on the climb I looked up one more time then continued to climbed behind him once I saw that the summit was still too far for me to see.

As we climbed, I notice that we were moving at a much slower pace than before. I could only assume Commander Bolt’s hoof was hurting him so after we were about twenty feet up I called “Commander? Are you oka…”
All of a sudden, Commander Bolt’s hoof slipped off the cliff face as he started to fall from a few feet above me. Trying to catch him as he fell by me, I reached out to grab his hoof. Unfortunately, Commander Bolt had fallen too far from me for me to grab him. After I missed him, the rope that was tying us together jerked against my body as it pulled me from the cliff and caused us both to fall. I tried to open my wings but with the belt still holding them down, it didn’t work. Less than a second later, both Commander Bolt and I hit the platform that we were on earlier as I slid to the edge and barley stopped myself from falling off.

Still a little shaken up I picked myself up as I looked at Commander Bolt who was lying motionless in front of me. With worry, I rushed to him as I shook him, “Commander! Commander! Are you alright?”
He didn’t reply, instead he continued laying silently as I felt the wind around us start to pick up. With no other choice, I dragged him into the cave and pulled his blanket from his saddlebag. After covering him up, I looked through my saddlebag and pulled out some flint. As I looked around, I could see the remains of what used to be an old campfire that still had some dry wood on it, so I dragged the commander closer to it, and started up a fire.

Once the fire was started, I looked at Commander Bolt and untied our rope as I started checking him for injuries. Although he wasn’t moving, I noticed he was still breathing so I could only assume he was unconscious. Feeling a little relieved I sat down, laid my bow beside me, and tried to get warm by the fire, but with the small amount of wood slowly burning away, I knew that it wouldn’t last very long. As I sat beside the fire, I started to her mumbling, “L-Luna…”
Confused I looked over at Commander Bolt who continued mumbling in his sleep, “I… I won’t… fail… Lu-na.”
As I heard him speak in his sleep I could only smile, “He really is like a big foal… isn’t he? Out cold and still trying to fight on.”
Looking outside to see that the snowstorm wasn’t letting up and that the eclipse was going down, I decided to lay down beside the fire and get some sleep too.

I don’t know how long I was out, but sometime in the night, I woke to find that our campfire, the only source of warmth we had, had gone out. Cringing in the cold, I started shivering as I tried my hardest to fall back asleep. As I laid there, I started to hear moving around me, so I opened my eyes and without moving my head, I looked around. At first I thought nothing was wrong until I noticed that Commander Bolt who was laying on the other side of the campfire was now gone. I wanted to look around, but with my muscles too sore from my shivering, I decided to hold still and ignore it… that is until I felt something warm press against my back followed by a blanket that came draping over me. Almost immediately, I knew what happened, Commander Bolt trotted over to me and was now lying beside me. While using his blanket to cover us both. Part of me felt completely awkward, but another part made me felt… safe. I don’t know why, but I didn’t mind that he was using his body heat to help keep me warm, and as awkward as it was, this feeling made it easier for me to ignore the cold chills that I felt, and fall asleep peacefully.

I don’t know why I felt so safe, nor did I know how long I fell asleep for, but later on, before sunrise, I felt him shake me as he spoke, “Cadet… Cadet, it’s time to get up.”
As I opened my eyes to see him standing over, me, I slowly picked myself up as I replied, “C-commander… what… time is it?”
Commander Bolt looked out the entrance of the cave as he replied, “I can’t say for certain but I think it’s about an hour before sunrise.”
As I rubbed my eyes I replied, “an hour?... but… why are we u…”
All of a sudden I remembered what happened in the middle of the night as I stopped speaking and started to blush, “Wait… did?… was?…”

Seeing the confusion on my face Commander Bolt asked, “Is something wrong cadet?”
Trying to dodge the question I replied, “what?... n-no nothing is wrong… nothing at all.”
Feeling nervous about his follow-up on my suspicious comment, I smiled innocently as he gave me a weird look and replied, “Well a fake smile like that is hard to miss… but I guess it isn’t my business. Anyways I wanted to get an early start. If we leave now we should be able to reach the summit before its time.”
“Time?... Time for what?”
Commander Bolt smiled “You’ll see, luckily the snow stopped as well so we won’t freeze to death before reaching the summit.”

Giving Commander Bolt a suspicious look I replied, “But… what about your hoof? And then there was that fall last night.”
Commander Bolt rubbed the back of his head as he replied, “yea… well, that was my fault. I thought I was still able to continue climbing through the pain, but as you saw, I wasn’t. Needless to say, it all worked out in the end, and I'm much better now. So we better get a move on while there is still time.”
I still felt a little skeptic; watching him trot outside showing little signs of pain although there was a small sign, then there was the weather, it seemed a little odd that it would clear up so quickly when it seemed to be a blizzard just a few hours ago. Nevertheless, Commander Bolt trotted outside with the rope as he tied one end to his belt and gave me the other to tire to mine. Trying to keep up, I grabbed my bow, my quiver and shoved the blanket into my saddlebag as I rushed to keep up.

After we were outside, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “we won’t be making the same mistake twice. You’re going first this time. Here, I'll give you a boost.”
With Commander Bolt kneeling down in a way to use his back as a step, I trotted to him as I stepped onto his back and held my balance as he raised me as high as he could. Once I was high enough, I grabbed onto the cliff and started climbing as Commander Bolt started climbing behind me. Once we had a simple pace, both Commander Bolt and I proceeded to climb up the steep cliff as I noticed our pace began much faster than last night. As we continued climbing passed the point where Commander Bolt fell before, I looked at the stones and could see the snow shifted slightly where his hoof lost its grip. Grateful that I could still hold my own, I continued climbing pasted as we both continued climbing up the mountainside.

A few minutes later, I reached a platform as I pulled myself over its ledge and turned to help the commander up. As he planted his hooves on the platform I sighed, “There, much better then yesterday right?” Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Right… and look where it landed us?”
Motioning his head forward as a signal, I slowly looked away from Commander Bolt as I saw a small slope behind me that could only be described as a hilltop. But what really caught my attention was what was at the top of that hill. Embedded in the ground, was a long Golden Spear, and a Long Staff-like Morning Star. As I looked at the two weapons that looked as if they held some significant value, I spoke, “is… is that?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Well Cadet? Are you going to beat me to the summit? Or are you going to let me out show you?”

Although he spoke as if he was going to race me there, Commander Bolt held his ground as I turned towards the peak and started trotting closer. With a little excitement making me keep my pace slow to enjoy the moment, I trotted closer and closer to the two standing weapons, however as I reached to take the last step, I was stopped as I quickly looked back to find that the rope that tied the two of us together stopped me. When he noticed this Commander Bolt chuckled, “whoops… sorry, kinda ruined the moment…” he untied the rope and let it fall to the ground, “there… as you were.”
Smiling while nodding my head, I took the last step and planted my hoof right between both the spear and the morning star. Feeling the joy of my accomplishment I spoke, “I… I did it… Without my wings… I managed to climb a mountain… or… We did.”

Commander Bolt smiled as he started trotting towards me, “there… now you’re getting the point of this lesson. Alone both of us would have died doing this. But together we managed to keep each other alive and make it to the top without the need for wings. This is the same as in battle. Alone an officer is only a simple honeybee. But with the support of his colony; his superiors and subordinates, he… or she, is a mighty force that can be deadly if taken for granted.”
After hearing his explanation, I noticed it all made since. If not for me, he would have died on the first night… or we both would if he didn’t suggest the night guard thing. Then there was when I fell from the cliff and him right afterwards, that would have also done us in. then… last night… I could have frozen to death if not for him… needless to say. We both did this together only because we were together.

Trapped in my own thoughts I looked down at my planted hoof and smiled, “We… we were a good team… weren’t we?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “and you… a trustworthy ally. And for that, I decided to get us here early enough to see.”
Confused I gave Commander Bolt a confused look, “see?… See what?”
With a smile on his face, Commander Bolt trotted up to me as he looked into the distance and replied, “To see that.”
Confused as to what he was talking about I looked into the distance and started to see a bright light coming over the horizon. As I watched the light, I noticed that it was something I have seen before, but it’s been forever since I last saw it.

The bright light that came from the horizon, the one that lit up the land as it rose higher, was the sun. amazed at the glistening texture that the sun gave as it reflected off the rivers, lakes and oceans in the distance, I could only watch in amazement as I spoke, “Its… it’s the sun… but… how?...”
Commander Bolt replied, “At this height, we can see the sun long before Nightmare Moon covers it. Though I do favor the night, I enjoy a simple sunrise from time to time. It just goes to show that all good thing do come to an end, but luckily they often find themselves returning.”
As I watched the sun in the distance, I smiled, “I… I guess they do.”
With the beautiful image in my mind I looked at Commander Bolt and smiled a little more… then I started to feel a little awkward standing next to him like this so I quickly looked away as I replied, “oh… um… so… now what commander?...”

Though I was looking away, I still could feel the tug on my body as Commander Bolt unlatched the belt that held my wings down as he replied, “This…”
After he got the belt undone, he dropped it to the ground as he continued, “put that in your bag. We won’t be needing it anymore.”
As I looked at the belt I replied, “What? But why?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “because there is nothing more to prove. You passed every task with flying colors and now, we will return to the camp, there’s still more that needs to be done to finish your training.”
Feeling like this misery was never going to end I sighed deeply as I placed the undone belt into my saddlebag, “What… another one?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “don’t worry, though it is easy, you will find that it can be the hardest task you’ve yet to face. But since you did climbed this mountain, I'm going to say that for you… it will be a piece of cake.”

Knowing how difficult this task was, I could only sigh as I replied, “alright… I guess I have no choice then. Lead the way, Commander”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “then lets be off, cadet.” After taking a few steps away from the summit he paused, “oh… would you like to leave your mark with the rest?”
Pausing at the question I asked, “My… mark?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “yes, that gold spear was left by me when I was twelve, and the morning star was left by Captain Storm a few years ago. If you want to leave your mark, feel free to bury an arrow in that place along with the rest. Think of it as… proof that you did this.”

Noticing what he meant I looked at the two weapons that were embedded in the peak as I trotted to them and pulled an arrow from my quiver. With all of the accomplishment in mind, I slowly drew my arrow and readied myself to bury it into the center of the peak, but as I did, I started to think about everything I accomplished. Learning to use a bow, learning to overlook the strain. Surviving on the face of a mountain and everything in between. Thinking about these thoughts, made me slowly undrawn my bow as I lowered it and put both the bow and arrow away. As I did, I turned to trot to Commander Bolt as I replied, “thanks… but no thanks. I don’t need proof to know I did this. The only one I had to prove was you… and since you’re here with me… that’s good enough.”

Commander Bolt smiled as I approached him and began trotting beside him, “if that’s what you think then you’ll be an even better soldier then I was when I first started out.”
As I trotted next to him, I started to laugh as he continued, “Which reminds me…”
With almost no trouble at all Commander Bolt reached for the belt flap that was holding his wings down as he undid it himself and handed it off to me, “can you hold this for me? It’s beginning to chafe.”
Amazed at what I saw I spoke, “Wha… bu… H-how did you do that? The belt on me was so tight I couldn’t get it off even if I fought with it.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “oh, mine was never tight. I just wore it so you would assume we were at equal disadvantages. How else was I supposed to move the storm clouds away to see the sunrise?”

Extremely annoyed I tried to peace together a sentence “Yea but… well I… and you… and that…”
Commander Bolt started laughing, “If it make you feel any better I didn’t use my wings for the time that you were awake.”
Feeling like I was arguing with a wall, I sighed, “you really are a big foal… aren’t you commander?...”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Call me what you want I still taught you an important lesson today.”
Looking at him with hopelessness I could only sigh, “Yea… the stories really are true… never trust Commander Bolt.”

> Ch11 The Lightning Orb...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                 “Catch!”
Commander Bolt turned and looked back up at me as I dropped my bow and quiver down to him as he stood on a platform about ten feet below me. I did feel odd that we were climbing back down when we could easily fly or glide down, but I thought that since we climbed all the way to the peak that it was only fitting that we both would climb back down. As Commander Bolt reached up and caught my falling bow and quiver, I slowly turned towards the cliff as I climbed down safely. After making my way down and stepping onto the platform, Commander Bolt gave me my weapon as he turned to our destination and looked through the clouds. As he stared into the clouds, I trotted next to him as I spoke, “too bad there is too much cloud cover we might be able to see the camp from here.”
As I looked at Commander Bolt to see his reaction, I noticed his worried expression as he replied, “those aren’t clouds…”
After seeing his expression, I looked back at the clouds and realized that he was right… they weren’t clouds at all, it was smoke.

A little worried myself I looked back at Commander Bolt and replied, “Smoke?... is it from the camp?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “It’s too thick to be a bon-fire. Maybe a forest fire… or…”
I turned to Commander Bolt in curiosity, “Or?...” Commander Bolt continued, “A battle.”
“A battle!”
Reacting I jumped from the cliff and flew a few feet away as Commander Bolt called, “Cadet Stop!”
Hovering in place I looked at Commander Bolt as I replied, “But… if it’s a battle then we have to do something!”

Commander Bolt gave me a stern look as he replied, “And what can we do? First off, if it is a battle then we can’t just storm in without knowing the status of both sides. Charging in from here could end us up behind enemy lines. What do you think two ponies stuck in the middle of an enemy army will do? Not to mention me; if they know I'm here, we will be like a rabbit in a timberwolf den.”
Looking down, I still couldn’t see where the smoke was coming from as I replied, “But… we can’t just sit here and do nothing. Captain Storm may need our help.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “I agree that we shouldn’t sit idly by, but it would be better if we continued down the mountain keeping a low profile. When we can get a better view of the situation then we will act.”

Not being able to comfortably agree, I looked down into the smoke filled abys then back at Commander Bolt as I replied, “But… I… Yes sir, if you think that’s how we should do it… then I'll follow your lead.”
As I landed back on the platform next to Commander Bolt he replied, “We will pick up our pace and start gliding from point to point… but remember that we need to keep our actions quiet.”
Sighing with disappointment, I nodded my head, “Yes sir…”
Seeing my disappointment, Commander Bolt spoke up, “I know it’s hard… but sometimes, the hardest decision is often the best. All I need you to do right now is trust your commander.”
Though those are words I wasn’t expecting to hear from him, I knew that from what we went through recently, I did trust him… even if it was only a little. So I nodded my head as Commander Bolt turned towards the cliff, jumped, and glided down to the next platform.

Following his lead, I glided down to the next ledge as Commander Bolt and I jumped from ledge to ledge as we made our way closer and closer to the base of the mountain. As our altitude got lower, we eventually reached a point that was just below the smoke as Commander Bolt stopped and looked towards the ground as he spoke, “it was a battle… look at the placement of the smoke pits. The distances between each, those areas were hit multiple times by a barrage of catapult and arrow fire.”
As I looked into the distance, I could only confirm what he said. Though there was a thin line of trees separating the mountains base from the area where the smoke was coming from, it was obvious to what he was talking about. Beyond the trees, there was a large and empty field of grass, which held many craters, fire pits, and other piles of what I could only assume were remnants of burning tents, all arrange the same way we arrange our tents in our camps. But what really caught my attention, were the large formations of ponies wearing golden armor, and the large piles of what looked like bodies scattered throughout the field. I know my eyes were better than Commander Bolt was, so it was easy to see that there was a battle here, but right now… it was quiet. Looking onto the remanence of a battlefield, I felt a little worried as Commander Bolt saw me and spoke, “The body count looks too low… It looks like Captain Storm was able to call a retreat.”

Confused I looked at Commander Bolt as I asked, “Retreat?... so where will we meet him then?”
Commander Bolt replied, as he turned to the next platform and opened his wings in preparation, “I told Captain Storm to retreat to the west, if necessary. We will make our way down to the tree line and use it as cover to meet with him.”
Commander Bolt then jumped and glided down to the next ledge. As I followed and landed behind him I asked, “But… what if we are spotted?”
Commander Bolt replied as he opened his wings for the next jump, “Then we fight… how many arrows do you have?”
Thinking quickly I replied, “twenty-six… wait, twenty five. I have twenty five arrows left.”
Commander Bolt smiled and spoke sarcastically, “Hm… twenty five versus three hundred soldier’s minimum… we better not get spotted then.”
With that remark, Commander Bolt jumped and glided down to the next ledge as I sighed and mumbled to myself, “yea… great plan commander…”

With a little concern, I jumped to the next platform and landed beside Commander Bolt as he looked down at the next platform with a somewhat disappointed look. As I saw this expression I asked, “commander?... what’s wrong?”
Commander Bolt didn’t reply, but when I looked at the next platform, I knew instantly what it was. The next platform that we needed to glide to was not only our last… but it was almost one hundred feet below us. Too far to keep ourselves concealed against the mountain. Gliding to this one made it easy for anypony below who was paying attention to see us. And to make matters worse, it looked like there was a patrolling squad of five celestial crusaders on the other side of the small line of trees and brush separating the mountain from the battlefield. Seeing this Commander Bolt whispered as he lowered his head, “get down…”
Reacting to his command, I dropped to the ground as Commander Bolt crawled to the edge and watched the squad of soldiers.

With a clear view of our threat, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Cadet, listen very carefully. When I give the word, I want you to fly down to the next platform, then as soon as your hooves hit the ground, Sprint for the tree line and take cover in the brush.”
Seeing the risk in this, I replied, “but… that means I'll be sprinting towards the enemy squad.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “if you make it to the brush and take cover then they won’t see you… but remember to move only on my mark.”
Still trying to understand I tried to continue, “bu…”
“Now! Go now!”
Although he still whispered the command, the tenseness of the situation made it feel like he yelled it as I cut my sentence short and dove from the cliff flying as fast as my wings could take me.

As I reached the bottom platform which was only about a foot and a half from the ground. I quickly landed without decreasing my speed as I sprinted towards the tree line. On my way there, I could understand what Commander Bolt meant about not being seen since it was difficult to see the enemy squad on the other side, but that didn’t slow me down as I aimed for the closest bush and slide into it like a baseball player into home. As soon as I entered the bush, I held still and made my breaths of exhaustion silent as I heard one of the guards speak as he turned in my direction, “Did you hear that?”
Another guard turned towards me as he replied, “hear what?”
The first guard replied, “I thought I heard a noise just now.”
A third guard replied as the rest of the squad turned to my direction, “noise? What kind of noise?”
The guard took a step closer as he replied, “I don’t know, sounded like rustling bushes or something.”

The entire squad of Celestial crusaders looked in my direction and held a moment of silence before one of the other guards finally spoke, “I don’t hear nothin’ ya sure you didn’t just imagin’ it?”
The first soldier replied, “No… I could swear I heard something.”
Finally, the second soldier sighed with pity as he spoke up, “Maybe you’re just hearing things. A little post battle stress or something.”
A few of the guards laughed, as they looked away leaving the first to speak again, “I don’t know, but whatever it was it sounds like it’s gone now.”
As the first soldier turned back to his group leaving all of them looking away, I looked to the platform above as I saw Commander Bolt taking this chance as he mimicked my actions from the cliff dive, landing on the platform and sprinting only to slide into the same bush I was in.

Unfortunately, as he slid in, the guard turned back to us as he spoke, “There! There it is again! Did you hear it?”
Quickly reacting to the guard’s reaction, Commander Bolt and I ducked even lower into the bush as the squad of guards started turning towards the trees as another replied, “Yea… that time I heard it.”
Another spoke as they began trotting closer, “What do ya rekin’ it was?”
The first spoke again, “I don’t know, but keep your guard up, it could be anything.”
With the squad of Crusaders approaching, Commander Bolt placed his hoof over me to help keep us both out of sight. Though both Commander Bolt and I were completely concealed in the bushes, it didn’t ease my mine as the approaching crusader’s steps drew closer and closer. As the guard approached the bush we were in, I saw him use the tip of his spear to move the top limbs of the bush to look over it, which only made me all the more nervous.

Now, I found myself looking up at our cloudy reflection in the celestial crusaders spear blade as he continued looking around in hopes of finding the source of the noise. All the while, my heartbeat felt like it was making more noise then everything around us as my mind started cycling through what would happen if we were captured. Then I started to see the same guard lean in to look into the bush we were hiding in. my heart raced, as I slowly gripped an arrow in my quiver in hopes of using it as a dagger if needed. But before the soldier could see us, a small bunny jumped out of the bush beside us as it raced past the searching soldiers and into a rabbit hole on the middle of the battlefield. Seeing what they thought was the source of the earlier noises, the guard’s stepped away from us as they, sighed in relief. Then one spoke, “Gee sarge, now you’re makin’ us paranoid. Just a harmless little critter lookin’ for some food.”
As the group of crusaders slowly trotted back into the clearing, the first guard replied, “yea… I think we all have had enough for one day. Let’s just finish our rounds and get some rest.”
As the group of soldiers left, Commander Bolt and I sighed in relief as he took his hoof from over me and made a notion that told me to keep quiet.

Nodding my head in agreement, I continued holding my silence as he and I made our way along the ground under the brush. After a few minutes of sneaking around, Commander Bolt and I rose from our crawling as he looked around and whispered, “The coast looks clear. We can rest for a few seconds here.”
Tired, scratched up, and a little dehydrated, I sat up as I opened my saddlebag and pulled out a canteen, “That was a close one wasn’t it? Good thing that rabbit was there to get us out of that.”
After taking a sip from my canteen, I gave it to the commander as he mumbled just loud enough for me to hear, “yea… that was lucky… but it was still too close. We need an escape plan for this. I don’t mind it… but I can’t risk us both like this.”
Although I heard what he said, I don’t think I was meant to so I asked, “What was that sir?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “nothing… I was just saying that we need to take extra precautions from here on out.”

Ignoring his changed statement, I replied, “Really? Like what commander?”
Commander Bolt took a sip from my canteen as he replied, “We need to make this less difficult… how about this. Cadet, Remove your armor, and hid it in the bushes.”
Thinking I heard him wrong I asked, “What? But… why?”
Commander Bolt gave my canteen back to me as he explained, “if they see us… they will recognize me on the spot. But you, they don’t know. If you get caught without armor, then they won’t be able tell you apart from any other traveler.”
Understanding what he was talking about, I placed my bow, quiver, and saddlebag on the ground as I started removing my armor, “that’s actually a good plan… but, what about my bow? Would you be better carrying it?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “no, as safe as this plan seems I don’t want you to be unarmed. Just wrap your bandana around your quiver to cover the insignias. Remember, if they catch you, you’re a traveling mare who carries a bow for self-defense.”

Hearing a specific tone in his voice, forced me to ask as I finished placing my armor under a nearby bush, “You’re talking as if I will be alone in all this.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “in a way, you will be.”
I was surprised, “wh-what?...”
Commander Bolt replied, “You will be traveling casually to avoid suspicion. I on the other hoof, will be following closely in the brush to help keep an eye out. As long as you travel along the trees you won’t have anything to worry about.”
As I took a spare bandanna from my saddlebag, I wrapped it around my quiver to cover the nightmare legion insignias. Although the bandanna did cover most of the moon, the point and part of the navy blue ring was still visible, as I replied, “are you sure this is a good idea? What if… they discover the truth?”
Commander Bolt replied, “as long as you keep calm they won’t. And as I said, I'll be keeping an eye out from the trees. If they discover you, I'll jump in and help take them out. Armor or not, your still my soldier and I won’t leave you to the wolves like that.”

Doing my best to make the bandanna on my quiver seem natural, I re-slung my quiver and tucked my bow under my wing as I looked at Commander Bolt and asked, “so… um… is this alright?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “you seem a little unsure, but if they bring it up, just tell them that you heard about a battle nearby and was worried about what you might run into. Otherwise, just stick to your story and you’ll be fine. Now just start trotting along the tree line and I'll keep up as best as I can. Just be sure not to look for me. It could show them where I'm at.”
I nodded my head, “Right… that makes since. Should I start now?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “It would help. The sooner we get there the sooner we can stop worrying about getting caught.”

After hearing his answer, I slowly made my way to the clearing as I checked to see if the coast was clear. When I saw it was, I stepped out into the open as I looked around and mumbled to myself, “Alright… now what?”
Hearing my comment, Commander Bolt whispered to me from brush, “Head west… you know which way that is right?”
I slowly turned my head just enough for me to look at him from the far corner of my eye as I nodded my head. Then I looked at the sky to see where the eclipse was. Knowing that is was in the late afternoon and which horizon the eclipse was closest to I mumbled as if it were to myself, “Alright… that way.”
Turning in the direction I slowly began trotting as casually as I could while still a little nervous about being caught. At first, it seemed like my casual trot was forced, but then as time passed, I started looking at my surrounding as I realized how calming it was without all the weight of my armor weighing me down. Not to mention the feeling of being alone even though I knew I wasn’t.

As I continued, I started to enjoy the calming sights that I haven’t been able to enjoy since I was a filly. The tall waving grass, the wildflowers, and the sound of the calming wind as it blew across the land. Take away the eclipse and bring me some sunshiny, and this day would have seemed almost perfect. As I trotted and looked around, I kept my attention away from the trees that were behind me since I knew that Commander Bolt was traveling through them to keep an eye on me. In fact, I decided to turn this into a game. So I started counting how many times I heard him make a noise that way I could bring it up later. This game along with the peaceful surroundings almost made me forget about my risky actions as what began as a fake casual stroll through the area, turned into the real thing. However, after about twenty minutes of traveling, I came to an area where the trees that I was trotting along came to an end as I paused and mumbled to myself in hopes that Commander Bolt would hear me, “Looks like a lot of empty grassland ahead… I wonder what I'll do if I happen to need shade?”

Hoping he would get my hint I waited for some kind of signal or whispered response as nothing came from the trees but silence. Still keeping my attention away from the trees I patiently looked around before an unfamiliar voice caught my attention, “You there! Stop!”
Hearing the unexpected voice, I looked up as I saw three celestial scouts slowly glided down to me. As soon as their hooves hit the ground, one gripped his bow while the second pointed a spear at me as the third who seemed to be in command glared at me as he ordered, “You! Lay down your weapon! Slowly!”
Knowing I was supposed to be neutral, I took a step back as I opened my wings showing I wasn’t going to resist as I replied, “I um… All right just take it easy… I don’t mean any harm…”
the Second guard holding the spear yelled, “He said drop your weapon! DO IT!!!”
Looking at the guard I replied, “Alright I'll do as you say… just calm down.”
With my wings already open, I slowly lowered them as my bow slid out from around my wing and fell to the ground. With my weapon now on the ground, I took a few steps away from it as I spoke “Alright… I dropped it… now what?”

Hearing my annoyed expression, the archer slowly drew his bow but kept it pointed at the ground as the leader spoke, “This area was seized by the Celestial Crusaders! Who are you and why are you here?”
Although my mind was on the archer, I looked back at the leader and replied, “My name is Gem Stone. I'm a traveler, on my way to the next town.”
The lead crusader watched me as he trotted to my bow and replied, “The next town egh… and which town would that be?”
As he approached my bow and picked it up, I replied, “Um… which ever town is in this direction.”
The second guard continued pointing the spear at me as he yelled, “LIER! TELL US THE REAL REASON YOU’RE HERE!!!”
As the leader was examining my bow, he raised his wing to silence the soldier, “Stand down Sergeant, Let’s let her explain. If you are a traveler, then why wouldn’t you know which town is in this direction. Furthermore, why would you be traveling with a weapon like this? This bow seems too heavy for its size.”

As the lead soldier looked at me I replied, “I don’t know the next town because I came from the griffin kingdoms. And as for my bow,… it was made by a griffin blacksmith to help me fight off Timberwolves and manticores. Its weight makes it strong enough to pierce even a dragon’s scale, or so the vendor says.”
The leader looked back at the bow as he replied, “hmm… that makes sense… but despite all that, you are traveling in a restricted area. Fournier or not, we can’t just overlook you trespassing like this.”
Getting annoyed while at the same time knowing what was coming next I replied with an attitude to show my anger, “Really… and it’s my fault that you and your little team of golden toy soldiers decided to just drop arrows on me while I'm just traveling along minding my own business? Do you know how hard I had to run to avoid crossfire from both you and the Nightmare Legion! Not to mention hiding in a smelly marshland just so none of you would kill me by mistake! Is this how your deity princess welcomes weary travelers to her kingdom!?!”
As proud as I was at my fast thinking and backstory, it seemed to fade quickly as the archer pointed his bow at me and yelled “HOLD YOUR TONGUE!!!”

Nervous at the archer’s actions, the leading soldier looked at him and yelled “LOWER YOUR WEAPON!” Seeing the guard lower his weapon, the lead soldier looked back at me, “I guess this war effects more then just us soldiers doesn’t it… well with that in mind, I guess you’re free to go… but first I have just one more question.”
Waiting for a response, the soldier looked at me with an unusual smile as I ask, “Sure… what is it you want to know?”
The guards smile went from unusual to sinister, “your arrows… Aren’t they the same arrows carried by archers of the Nightmare Legion?”
After hearing the question, my heart skipped a beat as I slowly turned my head to see the navy blue flight on my exposed arrows. I couldn’t believe my stupidity, I covered the sides of my quiver that signified the nightmare legion, but didn’t once think about the arrows that were exposed. As I slowly turned back the three soldiers, I realized the archer had pointed his bow back at me as the lead pony put his wing through my bow to carry it like I was before, as he drew his sword and spoke, “Miss Stone… You’re under arrest for treason.”

Knowing I was in trouble, my mind quickly cycled through my options, but no matter how hard I tried, I knew that there wasn’t any way to get out of this. Then all of a sudden, I heard a loud and brief rustle in the top of the trees behind me as I and the three celestial crusaders looked towards the brush and paused. As we all looked at the trees, the lead pony started to speak, “What wa…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Commander Bolt dropped in from the sky right behind him as he wrapped his hoof around the lead crusaders neck putting him in a headlock. Reacting to the surprise attack, the celestial archer quickly aimed his bow at Commander Bolt as he released his arrow sending it through the air. Expecting this, Commander Bolt quickly turned his victim’s body around as the enemy archer’s arrow became embedded in his own leader’s chest. Dropping his now dead captive, Commander Bolt quickly picked up my bow as he tossed towards me, “CADET!”
After releasing my bow, Commander Bolt turned back to the pike pony as the soldier lunged his blade at him in an attempt to kill him. Luckily, Commander Bolt was too quick as he dodged the attack, grabbed the spear, and pulled the attacker closer with it before head butting him in the face knocking him to the ground.

Reaching up and catching my bow, I had less than a split second as I watched Commander Bolt spin the grounded crusaders weapon around and stab him before he had a chance to pick himself up. With the second soldier now dead, I quickly turned my attention to the third as he laid his next arrow across his bow and aimed at Commander Bolt. Thinking quickly, I pulled an arrow from my quiver, drew my bow, and fired it at the archer with enough accuracy to hit his bow at the perfect point that shattered both the weapon and its arrow sending splintering wood into the archers face. Stepping back from the shock of my attack, the archer put his hooves over his cut up face and grunted loudly as Commander Bolt pulled the spear from the dead soldier’s body, threw it towards the distracted archer, and embedded it in the pony’s chest, killing him on impact. As the archer fell to the ground, I looked around as I sighed in relief, “Whoo… that was a close one… i almost forgot you were there commander.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “yea… sorry it took so long, good thinking on the cover story by the way. You almost had me convinced.”

Hearing the complement made me smile, but before I could reply, a loud noise came from beyond the trees as it called out, “Over here! Whatever fell from the sky fell in this direction.”
Another voice followed, “I think I heard some noises too! Get reinforcements here as soon as possible. We may have found an enemy squad!”
Looking in the direction of the voices, Commander Bolt spoke, “Crap… I was hoping to avoid more fighting.”
Knowing what was coming, I trotted to Commander Bolt and stood beside him as I readied my bow, “If we have to fight… then I'm ready.”
As I stood next to Commander Bolt he continued looking in the direction of the enemy soldiers as he spoke, “Cadet… listen, I know you’re ready to fight… but not here… Go west as fast as your hooves can take you. And don’t fly. You will be harder to spot if you’re on the ground.”
Confused I looked at the commander as I replied, “What?... but… what about you?”
Commander Bolt trotted to one of the dead celestial soldiers as he drew the dead pony’s sword and replied, “I'll fight them off and meet with you later. Just be sure to make it there as soon as possible.”

Worried about the approaching enemy I replied, “But commander, you can’t fight them all off… can you?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Have some faith in your commander, he just gave you an order didn’t he? So how will you respond?”
A little uneasy with my actions, I nodded my head as I placed my bow back around my wing and replied, “Yes sir…”
Although I didn’t like it, I know that I had to follow my orders as I turned to the west and began running as fast as I could. After making it a number of feet away, I turned and looked back at Commander Bolt as I saw him standing still as the celestial troops emerged from the trees and quickly surrounded him. At first, I wanted to stop and turn back, but knowing my orders, and knowing that the ponies surrounding him didn’t know I was here, I continued as I looked back to my path and pressed on. A few seconds later as I left Commander Bolt’s line of sight, something completely unbelievable happened.

As I ran, a loud explosion was heard behind me followed by a loud hissing sound that sounded like electricity. After hearing it, I stopped as I turned to the sound, but when I looked, all I could see was a bright dome shaped wall of electricity and lightning. I stood in awe as I looked at the dome; this sight was amazing… but familiar. I knew that this bright dome of light was the same one I saw a long time ago. Back when I was in the orphanage. It had been many years… but this sight was hard to forget, since it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The static in the air, the smell of burning grass, and blast of hot air that was radiating from this sight… it was truly breathtaking. As I stood watching the sight, I noticed that the dome was shrinking, as it slowly got smaller before completely vanishing into the distance. With the dome now gone, I was left with a choice. Part of me told me to continue following my orders and keep running, while another part of me wanted to go to that area since it looked like it was where Commander Bolt was at. Looking back to my path, then back to the area where the sight took place, I could only sigh as I mumbled to myself, “I have to help… even if I'm not needed.”

Determined, I turned to where the domed lightning took place and started running as fast as I could in hopes that Commander Bolt made it through that thing without any problems. When I finally reached the sight of the event, I paused as I saw Commander Bolt standing with a fatigued stance, with all the Celestial Crusaders laying around him on the charred and blackened earth. At first, I was relieved, but then when Commander Bolt succumbed to his wryness, and fell over, I became worried as I rushed towards him. As I ran towards the sight, I could see one of the Celestial Crusaders pick himself up as he started stumbling towards the commander. At first, I ignored him, but when I saw him start to draw his sword, I immediately stopped as I took up my bow, drew my arrow, and embedded it in the side of his head. As the celestial soldier started to fall dead, I tucked away my bow and continued running to the commander. When I reached Commander Bolt, I reached, up to shake him, but as I did a small arc of electricity jumped from his body and shocked my hoof. When this happened, I paused; the shock didn’t hurt, but as I looked at my hoof where the arc hit me, I could only mumble to myself, “is… is this… the Lightning Orb he told me about?”

All of a sudden I heard a twig snap behind me, and I reacted by turning towards the noise and drawing my bow only to see a nightmare soldier standing there as he raised his hoof and spoke, “Wait! Don’t shoot! I'm not here to…” the soldier paused, “C-Cadet Stone?”
After realizing who I was aiming at I lowered my bow as he continued, “It is you! Cadet Stone! Thank Nightmare Moon you’re all right! Is, is the commander here too?”
Lowering my bow I looked down at Commander Bolt as I replied, “yes… he’s here.”
Seeing the commander on the ground, the soldier rushed to my side as he looked at Commander Bolt and replied, “He’s fine… he’s just resting.”
I gave the soldier a curious look, “resting?”
The soldier replied as he picked up the commander and placed him on his back, “Yea… the lighting orb takes a lot out of him, I guess he just didn’t have the energy to stay conscious this time. Let’s get back to the camp. The rest of the search parties are in the area. The Lieutenant wanted us to keep in contact by arrow. Can you sent a yellow signal up?”
Knowing what he meant I nodded my head as he handed me a yellow signal arrow and struck it against a rock like a match.

As the dulled tip of the arrow slid across the rock’s surface, the arrow spontaneously busted into a yellow flame as I took the arrow, laid it across my bow, and fired it into the air. However as soon as I did that, I looked at the soldier and spoke, “We need to move, NOW! The enemy might have seen that.”
The soldier nodded his head as he replied, “Understood Ma’am, Follow me, we aren’t far. As for the rest of the scouts, they will return after seeing that arrow.”
With that said, the nightmare soldier and I rushed back to the camp as fast as we could while Commander Bolt laid unconscious on the soldiers back. A few minutes later, we linked up with another nightmare scout who was also on his way back to the camp, then another, then another, until finally I found myself leading back a squad of six soldiers, all on their way back to the Nightmare camp. With all of us traveling together, we eventually reached the camp as Lieutenant Snow met us at its edge, “Cadet Stone! Looks as if you and the commander have run into quite the mess. Where on earth is your armor?”
Giving him a serious look I replied, “Lost… but that the least of my worries.” I looked at the soldier carrying the commander as I gave an order, “Take him to see the medic, and then make sure all the soldiers searching for us are accounted for.”
Nodding his head, the soldier trotted past us as he replied, “Yes Ma’am!”

As the soldier trotted into the camp, Lieutenant Snow smiled, “It’s good to see you two made it back in one piece. However, I can only assume that you two ran into more than just a mountain range, since I could see the illumination from the lightning orb from here.”
Although I felt irritated that he saw the light and didn’t do anything about it, I ignored it as I asked, “Where is Captain Storm?”
Lieutenant Snow replied, “He is in the command tent for the time being. He has informed me to direct you to him as soon as you arrived.”
With no concern, I trotted past him as I replied, “Then tell him that I'll be at the medic tent. I want to make sure Commander Bolt is alright before I meet with him.”
As I trotted by, Lieutenant Storm asked, “Is it wise to take this matter into your own hooves when the captain wants to meet you as soon as possible.”
I replied as I continued, “The commander’s safety takes precedence. I'm sure he’ll understand.”
With that said, I continued without waiting for a reply, as I followed the soldier to the medic’s tent.

As soon as we arrived at the medic, he took Commander Bolt into the secluded part of the tent and told me to let him rest, so having full confidence in his abilities; I did as I was asked as I sat at the front part of the tent near the entrance. A few minutes later as I sat waiting in the front of the tent, Captain Storm entered and looked over at me as he smiled and gave me a friendly nod. Then without saying a single word to me, he trotted by as he looked into the enclosed area and gestured the doctor to talk with him. Standing outside the enclosed part of the tent, but still far enough back so I couldn’t hear, Captain Storm spoke with the doctor for a few seconds as the Doctor nodded his head and replied with the only words I could hear, “Understood Sir.”
With a friendly nod, the Medic trotted past Captain Storm, passed me, and exited the tent. As I sat here watching him, Captain Storm trotted to me and took a seat beside me as he spoke, “It’s good to see you made it back alright. I was a little worried when we had to retreat from the rendezvous site. It’s good to see that you and the commander both made it through without any problems.”

Feeling a little guilty that the commander returned unconscious, I asked, “Captain Storm… how is he?”
The captain looked at me with a funny expression as he replied, “he?... he who?... Oh, you mean the commander! He’s fine; he just needed a little time to rest. He must have been giving you all his rations which would explain why he was weak enough to pass out with just one attack.”
I felt a little confused, “giving me his rations?... but… he didn’t… did he?”
Captain Storm smiled, “Don’t think too far into it; Commander Bolt has always taken his soldiers wellbeing before his own. That’s why so many of us chose to follow him. Even when we had no choice but to retreat. Commander Bolt left the wounded that way they could be captured and treated.”
Realizing what he said, I spoke up, “wait… you mean the wounded soldiers that he abandon back before we left our last location? He left them to be treated?”
Storm smiled, “of course, the commander knows Princess Celestia enough to know that she would never imprison wounded enemy soldiers nor deny them treatment, so with the soldiers consent, Commander Bolt left them behind so they could be treated and allow he and the unwounded soldiers a chance to escape. That’s the commander for you; he is never one to risk somepony’s life for no reason. Or at least, somepony other than himself.”

Letting his words sink in, I sat silently for a few seconds as I started thinking about everything I knew about Commander Bolt. But before I could collect all my thoughts, Captain Storm looked past me as he smiled, “oh speak of the devil, how was your sleep commander? I hope your dreams were worth sleeping late again.”
As I looked over at Commander Bolt he smiled sarcastically as he replied, “Yep a very pleasant dream… too bad I had to wake up, but I figured you had enough of a vacation without me.” Commander Bolt looked at me, “good to see you Cadet… I'm glad you made it back alright.” He looked back at Captain Storm, “Could you excuse us captain? I need to speak with the cadet. You can go ahead and take your point we will be out there soon.”
Captain Storm stood up, as he smiled “Yes sir, don’t take too long.”
With that said Captain Storm exited the tent as Commander Bolt trotted to me and spoke, “I was a little worried you wouldn’t make it back alright. It’s good to see you made it back alright.”
Feeling a little guilty, I spoke, “um… sir… I… I have a confession to make. After you used the lightning… um… thing… I turned back and returned against your orders. I'm sorry… but I couldn’t leave you after seei…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Commander Bolt raised his hoof to silence me as he replied, “it’s alright Cadet, I saw you save me when that Celestial soldier got back up, and I'm grateful. I know that sometimes my orders seem to be the best, but I'll be perfectly honest. Not every decision I make is the best. And you disobeying that one was one of the best things you could do. You saved my life and prevented the defeat of the Nightmare Legion. Als… no… I think this is better set for later.”
I gave him a curious look as Commander Bolt trotted to the entrance of the tent and spoke, “Cadet… stand where you are and count to ten. Once you’re finished come outside I will be ready to explain it all out there.”
With that said, commander bolt exited the tent and closed the flap behind him as I felt a little confused at the strange instruction. Either way, I did as I was told as I mumbled to myself, “um… okay… one, two, three, four fixe, six… you got to be kidding me… seven, eight, nine, and ten. Well here I go.”

Feeling a little foolish that I actually stood there and counted to ten, I shrugged my shoulders and trotted out of the tent. As soon as I was outside, I froze when I saw Commander Bolt, standing at perfect attention with the entire nightmare camp standing behind him all at attention in a perfect rectangular formation. Feeling a little awkward that the entire camp was standing and waiting for me, I stood with a confused expression on my face as Commander Bolt took one step forward and spoke, “CADET STONE! FRONT AND CENTER!!!”
Hearing the seriousness in his tone, I rushed to him as I stood at attention in front of him. As I stood there, Commander Bolt spoke with an official tone, “Cadet Stone, several months ago, you arrived here with only one goal in mind. To do your best and become a soldier of the Nightmare Legion. In that time, I have trained you in everything I could think of, archery, swordplay, navigation, survival, and even leadership. Though you started out slow, you undoubtedly proven yourself more skilled then we assumed, and despite our own doubt, you have excelled beyond my expectations. Therefore, it give me great pleasure to do this. Cadet Stone, I as commander of the Nightmare Legion hear by promote you to the rank of Lieutenant starting today. And along with your promotion, starting tomorrow I will place you in charge of a unit of your own, so that your skill and abilities will be passed amongst the ranks to future leaders of the Nightmare Legion. So let me ask, Will you accept this task, as it is given to you with the upmost confidence?”
Commander Bolt stood silently as I replied, “Yes sir… I do.”

Commander Bolt smiled with confidence as he replied, “Then Let this order stand, as you do now. And Hold this position with pride.” Commander Bolt turned to the rest of the soldier on the camp as he called out, “ATTENTION! OFFICER ON THE FLOOR!”
At that moment, all at once with a motioning sound, the entire camp of soldiers saluted me, as Commander Bolt Turned back to me and joined them in an official salute. As I stood there in front of the entire army of soldiers, I couldn’t help but feel a since of both pride, and joy. Everything I did, all the hardships and all the strife I went through… it was all for this. I proved myself in way I never thought I could. And now... I finally have a purpose, I finally have a place that I'm meant for, and it feels wonderful. After a brief but awkward moment, the commander lowered his hoof as the rest of the nightmare soldiers lowered theirs. Then as Commander Bolt turned back to his soldiers, he spoke, “From this day forth Everypony here will show proper respect to Lieutenant Stone just as you show respect to the rest of the officers. Anypony who does otherwise, will answer to me. DISMISSED!”
At that moment the entire formation replied, “SIR!”
With that response, the entire formation of soldier started breaking off and returning to their duties as Commander Bolt turned to me and spoke, “And there you have it. Congratulations lieutenant. I'm looking forward to seeing your results as an officer. Oh, and be sure to take the rest of today and most of tomorrow off, you deserve it.”

With nothing more to say to me, Commander Bolt turned away and started trotting off. I wanted to thank him, but I still felt a little speechless from what just happened, so in an attempt to stall him as I spoke up, “Commander, um wait…”
Commander Bolt stopped as he turned to me and smiled pleasantly, “oh that’s right I still owe you something don’t I? As for my name, its Commander Star Bolt. As agreed I gave you my first name but remember, I am your commander, so a first name basis is something we don’t have. Well rest easy lieutenant, you’ve earned it.”
As he stood there with that peaceful smile on his face, I could only stand in shock. His name… and that smile. It was him. The colt from my foal hood. The young pegasus named Star. he was here the whole time… and I didn’t even know it. Failing to see my shock, Commander Bolt turned away and continued trotting with nothing more to say. I wanted to ask if he remembered coming to the orphanage, but how would I even begin to word that question… and furthermore does… or would he remember me too? I didn’t know but one thing was certain. I found out who Commander Star Bolt was… and now he has my full trust.

> Ch12 Notorious Navy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                “…did you say what I think you said?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he continued trotting beside me and replied, “You heard me right… one hundred soldiers. And they weren’t chosen for this task… most of them volunteered. It would appear that your reputation as an archer has spread throughout the lower ranks much faster than I expected. Unfortunately, not all of them were archers so you will have to train some. But I know with your skill they will be combat ready in no time.”
As we continued trotting through the camp I looked at the ground as I replied, “I… I guess that won’t be too hard… but you said most of them volunteered… what about the rest?”

Commander Bolt turned until he could see me out the corner of his eye as he replied, “well… twenty of them were Captain Storm’s top soldiers. Some good, some… not so good.”
I gave Commander Bolt an unhappy stare as I replied, “Not good?... you mean you dumped soldiers on me?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “No, no… Captain Storm did. He says that seeing a real archer in action will whip them into shape. Not to mention they happen to be the most skilled fighters in his unit, ones that in his own words, would make perfect archers. Don’t worry; the authority you demanded by giving those scouts their orders was not only impressive for somepony who hasn’t been in the position before. But you even took the wellbeing of your soldiers into account without even realizing it.”

Thinking to myself I asked, “really?... when?”
Commander Bolt looked back at the path as he replied, “Yesterday, you told the pony carrying me to drop me at the medic then take accountability of the rest of his squad. Orders that only a good leader would give after a situation like that. When I heard you say that, I knew that you would have no problem leading a unit of your own. And since most of them are volunteers, you’ve already earned their respect. All you have to do is show that it’s well earned and they will be loyal to the end. But just in case… let me give you a tip. Sometimes you have to exaggerate to gain their respect, so don’t be afraid to dab a little fear onto them.”
I gave him an unamused stare as I replied, “you mean… threaten them… right?”

Commander Bolt smiled, “if need be… yes. As an officer, it’s good to earn their respect, but if you choose to be too soft on them, then they will trot all over you like a doormat. You need to show them that you will be a fair leader, but strong enough to take whatever actions are needed to both protect them… and if nessesary, take them out.”
My stare quickly changed to shocked, “t-take them out?... what do you mean?”
Commander Bolt continued looking at our path as his expression turned to a depressed look, “sometimes… for the good of the group… you have to subdue an ally… and in rare occasion… kill him.”
I stopped in my tracks and spoke with shock, “Kill him… you mean… kill my own soldier?”

Commander Bolt stopped and turned to me as he replied, “yes… just like the situation with the spy you killed the other day. For the good of the group, sometimes you must make decisions that involve sacrifice… although it must only be used as a last resort. Nothing is more painful then having to take the life of somepony you fought beside after all.”
Seeing a slightly depressed look on his face I had to ask, “Commander?... have you ever had to make that choice?”
Commander Bolt shook his head as he turned back to his path and replied with an unhappy tone, “no… not yet… but it’s coming soon. Now let’s get down to business. Your soldiers are waiting for us.”

As Commander Bolt started back on his path, I hesitated a little as I thought to myself. Now that I know who Commander Bolt really is, I have looked at him differently than before… but still hearing him say such things made me worry. Was this really the colt that I fictitiously befriended all those years ago? And if so… why would he say such things? I always envisioned him as somepony who would protect his friends to the bitter end… but hearing him talk like this made me see him as somepony who could in the blink of an eye, turn around and stab you in the chest. Knowing that he was trotting away without me, I quickly put the thought to rest as I galloped after him until I caught up.

Leaving his statement as the last thing said, we both traveled in awkward silence until we reached the very far edge of the camp where a large number of soldiers were talking amongst themselves. Slowly, Commander Bolt and I made our way into and through the herd of ponies as each one who noticed us, stopped what he was doing, and saluted us in respect. Finally, as we made our way to the complete opposite side of the large herd where a platform was sitting as, Commander Bolt and I climbed up and looked back at the herd. Then with a loud and booming voice, Commander Bolt spoke, “UNIT!!! FALL IN!!!”

With a quick and hastened movement, all one hundred soldier quickly formed into a square formation that was ten by ten soldiers. Then as they all stood at attention, Commander Bolt continued, “Soldiers! Most of you know why you’re gathered here. But for those that don’t; let me inform you. You one hundred ponies either have been selected for your skill, or have selflessly volunteered to be placed under the command of our newest officer Lieutenant Gem Stone! From this point on, any order she gives is your new law! And the only ponies who can overstep that law is either Nightmare Moon or me. How clear am I!?!”
The Soldiers held their stance as they all replied with a booming call, “CRYSTAL SIR!!!”

With that, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Well lieutenant? Would you like to say a few words?”
Commander Bolt stepped to the side as I nodded my head and stepped forward to address the herd. As soon as I was the center of attention, I spoke, “Fellow soldiers of the Nightmare Legion! I thank those who volunteered and hope that those who didn’t won’t feel any discomfort in my being in command. I recognize a few of you but to those I don’t, let me inform you of this. Commander Bolt personally trained me in everything nessesary to fight and win a war. My confidence in his training is more than enough to lead you to a safe and glorious victory against the Celestial Crusaders. I know thing will seem different at the start, but trust me when I say this. I will lay my life down to finish this war with as few casualties and as many victories as possible. Of this, you have my promise.”

Looking over the herd of ponies, I could spot a few smirks hidden in their attention held faces, as I turned to Commander Bolt and smiled with pride in the speech I just gave. However as I looked at him he cleared his throat in a manner to signal me of something I missed, so quickly realizing it, I said one final thing, “However… I will only tolerate loyalty and trust in both my orders, and the orders of my commander above me. So if you have something to say, whether it be a comment, a concern, or a complaint… then say it now, or forever hold your tongue.”
As I looked over the herd, I noticed the smirks vanished, however I sighed with relief when the only response to my comment was silence.

As I felt a little assured that this was going to be better than expected, something rather unexpected happened. Commander Bolt stepped forward as he spoke in an annoyed tone, “Really?... I think there are some liars standing in my ranks! You mean to tell me that each and everypony standing before me has absolutely no objections?”
Commander Bolt stopped to wait for a response as I gave him a look that said; don’t antagonize them. However, he ignored my look as he replied, “Rank aside, this is your chance to say anything in objection to this action. If you have anything to say or if you have any objections in this matter then come forward now!”

Once again, Commander Bolt silenced himself to wait for a response, but this time, there was one as a voice echoed from the herd, “I have an objection!”
All of a sudden, the entire formation broke their position of attention as they all turned and made a path for a pegasus to make his way out of the center of the formation and to the front of the herd. As the pony reached the front Commander Bolt asked, “Okay Sergeant, what is your objection? Why do you say that Lieutenant Stone isn’t worthy of being your officer in command?”
The soldier turned so that Commander Bolt, the herd, and I could hear as he replied, “I’ve been fighting this war since it began! I was there when most of us abandoned Princess Celestia in support of Nightmare Moon. So why is it that a rookie like her, who has never tasted battle, has authority over many of us who have more battles then we can count under our belts?”

Commander Bolt smirked at the complaint as he looked at me and replied, “Why indeed…” He looked back at the solider, “Because despite your track record in battles, Lieutenant Stone easily has more skill then you.”
The Soldier chuckled a little as he replied, “Really?... with all due respect commander, I just don’t see it.”
Mumbling quietly enough for only us to hear, I agreed, “Yea… me neither.”
Hearing my comment, Commander Bolt turned his head to see me out the corner of his eye, then still holding his cheeky smirk, he looked back at the soldier as he spoke, “You don’t look like an archer… What was your position before here?”

The soldier held his head up with pride as he replied, “Sir, I was a pike pony fighting under Captain Storm Sir.”
Commander Bolt continued, “And why was a pike pony selected to become an archer?”
The Soldier replied, “Captain Storm says that the strength in my biceps would be perfect for drawing a bow, so he sent me here.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “I see… well then if you’re so sure that the Lieutenant isn’t up to the task… then let’s prove it. Remove your weapon and place it on the ground.”
Doing as he was ordered, the soldier took of his newly issued bow and quiver and laid them both on the ground as Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Lieutenant… you too… lay them on the ground.”

As I did as I was ordered, Commander Bolt addressed the rest of the herd, “If you see Lieutenant Stone as an inferior officer! Then let’s put her to the task. Lieutenant… you will face this soldier in hoof-to-hoof combat. First one on the ground or unconscious is immediately beaten.”
Looking at the commander in shock, I immediately felt nervous, “Wh-what? You want me… to fight him?...”
Commander Bolt turned to me and replied, “of course, what kind of officer can’t face a single pony in combat? And all you have to do is knock him to the ground, that’s it.”
Feeling a little nervous, I looked at the stallion I was going to face. He looked about the same height as Commander Bolt and just as buff, but considering the fact that he had combat experience and he was a pike pony, I couldn’t help but think that this fight was a little one sided.

Seeing my concern, Commander Bolt spoke quietly enough for me to hear, “don’t look at his advantages, look for his disadvantages. I know you will beat this one, as long as you keep your head in the game.”
With that said quietly, Commander Bolt spoke loudly so everypony could hear, “So Lieutenant? Do you see yourself as a valuable asset to the Nightmare legion? Or do you plan to agree by letting this soldier outshine you.”
As I looked at the herd of soldiers, I could tell that most of them were anxious to see my reply, so I looked back at Commander Bolt and smiled, “you can never outshine a Gem Stone. I accept the challenge.”

Commander Bolt smiled and ne gestured his head towards my opponent, “then get down there and show him what it truly means to be an officer under my command.”
Nodding with a fake but confident smile, I stepped down from the pedestal and stood a few feet in front of my opponent. As I stood there, I started to ask, “So, how are we going to start this?”
The soldier smiled, “just like this!”
With that call making his actions obvious, the challenger charged at me as fast as he could in hopes of catching me off guard. As he approached me, the soldier took his right hoof and swung as hard as he could towards my face, as I quickly reacted by ducking under the punch, then jumping back to get a safe distance between us.

At first, I was annoyed that he tried to make such a cheap shot, but then I was surprised when I realized that the cheap shot was much slower than I thought it would be. Looking at my challenger, the soldier rushed towards me a second time as he yelled, “How about this!”
When he reached me, the soldier assaulted me with a barrage of punches, but no matter how many times he tried, I was able to dodge each one. Left, right, right, right, left, left, right. Over and over he continued trying to swing at me with punched from every angle, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, even a few jabs. However, as he continued his completely offensive attack, I remained untouched as I ducked and weaved through each one with ease.

Finally, he tried an act of desperation as he took a step back and dove towards me trying to tackle me with both hooves. However, like the others, I dodged it easily as I jumped into the air and glided over him to a safe distance before turning around to see the soldier quickly pick himself up from the ground and turn towards me. Although his actions seemed slow to me, they must have been faster, then I thought since when I looked around, I could see impressed expressions on the faces of the surrounding soldiers. Seeing the expressions made me smile with pride in how well I was doing… at least until Commander Bolt called, “Lieutenant! HEAD IN THE GAME!”
Quickly reacting to the warning, I looked back at my attacker as noticed he had already closed the distance between us and was within attacking distance, as he brought his hoof up and swung horizontally in an attempt to hit me on my face.

With barely enough time, I ducked down and dodged the attack just like the others before. However, this time the soldier continued his motion and brought back his same hoof in the opposite direction as the back of his hoof bashed me against the right side of my face with enough power to cause me to take a step in the same direction to prevent myself from being knocked to the ground. Expecting a counter attack, the successful pegasus jumped away from me to a safe distance as he readied himself for anything. Sadly, his actions were wasted, as I stood still with my head still facing the direction the punched moved it to. While I stood frozen in place, my mind tried to process what had just happened. Then I finally moved as I felt a trickle of blood start running out of my nose.

Slowly I raised my hoof and wiped the blood as I looked at it in shock. He… he hit me… he used every bit of force he had and landed a powerful blow against the side of my face. So powerful in fact that I'm actually bleeding… and yet… I… I didn’t feel a thing. The force was strong, strong enough to throw my head to the side… but it didn’t hurt. It was more surprising than anything, and though the blood tells me otherwise, I felt completely unharmed. Looking at the blood for one last second, I looked back at my attacker as he smiled with confidence, “There is more where that came from!”
With a motivated smile, the soldier charged at me again.

Seeing my attacker coming at me again, I thought about how painless his last punch was and decided to try something… new. Using my already raised hoof with my blood still on it, I blocked the attackers punch as my theory was confirmed, when I was able to stop his hoof in midair. Slowly, the soldier’s confident smile faded as mine started to appear. Using my opponent’s hesitation, I flung his attacking hoof away as I brought mine back and bashed him against the side of his face as hard as I could. As my hoof made contact, the soldier’s head was thrown to the side as his momentum caused his entire body to spin with the punch as he hit the ground less than a foot from where he was standing before as his body kicked up dust then stopped moving all together.

With my opponent now on the ground and motionless, I couldn’t help but feel amazed as I looked at him with curiosity. This soldier hit me dead on with an attack that even drew blood… but it didn’t hurt me. Then out of curiosity, I made an attempted to block the same type of punch… and was able to do it so easily. And finally, I hit him once, with my strongest punch and not only took him down, but tossed him around without even meaning to. Nevertheless, these thoughts were cleared from my mind when heard Commander Bolt call out, “This fight is over! And just as I expected, Lieutenant Stone is victor. As you all know, I wouldn’t choose a pony to give you orders without seeing her full potential first.”
As I looked at Commander Bolt, I could see him smiling at my accomplishment as I started to hear a moaning sound come from my fallen opponent.

A little surprised that he was still conscious; I looked over at the fallen soldier as I watched him struggle to pick himself up, but fail in his attempt to do so. Seeing that he needed help, I trotted to the soldier as I extended my hoof to help him up. When the soldier saw me, he hesitated at first, but then sighed in acceptance as he took my hoof and allowed me to help him up. When the soldier was finally on his hooves, he quickly stood at attention as he saluted me and spoke, “By your command… Lieutenant Stone!”
I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward; a few seconds ago, this same soldier was trying all he could to take me down while at the same time doubting my skills as a soldier. Now, he stood saluting me and waiting for his next order as if I ordered him to do everything prior to now.

With my recent attacker saluting me with respect, the rest of the herd slowly followed as each one started to salute me just as the one before was. Seeing the entire force of one hundred soldiers saluting, I could only smile as I saluted back and spoke, “Carry on!”
As I dropped my salute, the rest followed as they turned to Commander Bolt and awaited his next comment as he smiled, “Soldiers! From this point on, Lieutenant Stone will be training you all in archery! For those of you who are new to this, Listen carefully at her instruction. And for those of you who are already archers, pay attention. She’s the best archer I have ever known and no doubt, she can make you even better. But since we’ve had such a productive morning, I'll let your new officer decide on what to do next.” Commander Bolt looked at me “Lieutenant?”
Knowing that all eyes were on me, I looked at the eclipse as it hung overhead. Seeing that it was just past noon, I replied, “Commander… permission to postpone Training till everypony has had lunch. It would be best to know that my soldiers are rested, full, and ready for the training I have planned.”

Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Granted… looking to the wellbeing of your soldiers, is something that I will always allow. Everypony take an hour for lunch and meet… where exactly?...”
As he looked to me for an answer I replied, “where else… the archery field!”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “There you have it! Till then, fall out!”
The soldiers saluted Commander Bolt as they replied, “SIR!”
With that said the entire formation of soldiers started to disperse as the pony I was fighting approached me and stood at attention, “Ma’am, Permission to speak freely?”
Seeing something was on his mind, I replied, “Granted… what is it soldier?”
The soldier replied, “Ma’am, I must apologize for my actions. It was wrong for me to doubt you.”

I raised my hoof to stop him as I replied, “you spoke your mind when asked and did as instructed by Commander Bolt. If you had disobeyed that order then I would expect an apology. But since it was an order you followed, then no apology is nessesary. I only ask that you have confidence in my instruction from now on.”
The soldier saluted in respect as he replied, “Yes ma’am I will.”
Returning his salute I spoke, “go see a medic and get some food. I want you in top physical form when your training begins.”
The soldier nodded his head, “Yes ma’am!”

As the soldier dropped his salute, he turned and ran to catch up with his comrades as I turned to Commander Bolt as he trotted to me and smiled, “looks like gaining respect was easier then expected.”
I smiled as I nodded my head, “for you maybe, I was just lucky I overestimated him. I thought he would have taken me down without trying.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “never doubt yourself, if you show doubt then it will spread to the morale of your soldiers.”
Nodding my head, I replied as I straitened my stance, “Yes Sir. I'll remember that.”
Commander Bolt nodded as he motioned to follow him, “Good, since we do have a little time, would you mind trotting with me to the chow tent? I want to talk to you about your training plan.” 

As I started trotting beside him on our way to the mess tent I replied, “Well… to be honest sir… I don’t really have a training plan. I don’t even know where to start.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he smiled, “I thought as much. Just think about the role your soldiers will play during battle and start focusing on that.”
“Our… role?”
“Yes, the role of an archer is to provide support from charging enemies from a distance. With that in mind you need to formulate a basic strategy for our role in battle, and focus on training your soldiers for that said role.”
As I thought to myself, I replied, “my role… any suggestions commander?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “every officer relies on his or her own strategy. Storm focuses on close sky support, Captain Snow is full frontal assault, and I try to strategically end the battle as soon as possible. You need to know your strategy and prepare for it.”

With that said, we continued to the mess tent as I started trying to think about the role me and my archers would play in combat. By the time Commander Bolt and I arrived, I had decided on a training plan for my troops as Commander Bolt, and I approached the tent and met up with Lieutenant Snow and Captain Storm as they stood outside talking, “Chivalry must be held above all else. What’s a soldier who has abandoned all that made him noble in the eyes of his family and name?”
Captain storm sighed, “chivalry can be upheld, but know that we are in an era with both male and female soldiers. As much as you may dislike it, you may find yourself fighting a female soldier in the near fu… oh. Afternoon commander, Lieutenant, sorry to have you two approach during an unsettling subject.”

Both officers looked directly at me as if I would be the one offended, as I waved my hoof as to brush the subject aside, “No, it’s fine. It’s not like you two were talking about me specifically or something like that.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “no worries… as long as nopony is offended, then no harm done. Anyways, Captain Storm, did you get that thing we talked about the other day?”
Captain Storm nodded his head as he smiled, “yes I did. Would you like me to give it to her now?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he looked at me and replied, “Yea that would be fine.”
Knowing that they were talking about me I gave them a confused look as I spoke, “Give?... give me what?”
Captain Storm trotted to a nearby table as he pulled out a small box and gave it to me, “here, this is a gift to you from all of us.”

I felt a combination of confusion and surprise as I looked at the box and replied, “A gift?... but… why?”
Lieutenant Snow replied, “The rest of us have noticed a simple accessory that you seem to always show great care in, so it was agreed that for your most recent promotion and full acceptance into the Nightmare Legion, a token of appreciation was nessesary.”
I couldn’t help but feel confused, “a… token?”
Captain Storm smiled, “it’s just a fancy way of saying we wanted to get you something for all your hard work.”
Giving him a dull look I replied, “I know what it means… I just… don’t know what to say. I’ve never really gotten a gift before.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Well open it already. I want to know if what we decided to get you was the best choice.”

Seeing that all three officers were anxious to see my reaction, I nodded my head as I opened the box and looked inside. What I saw stunned me; inside the box was a full set of bandannas, all in different colors. As I looked through them I didn’t know what to say as Commander Bolt spoke, “We noticed that you were wearing a white bandanna when you got here, and since then you wore a black one… but to be honest I thought you might look better with a little, color added. Although we had no idea what your color was, so we just decided to get you a collection since they were all cheap and simple to begin with.”
As I looked through the colors, I saw it. Laying amongst the colorful array of cloth, was a pink bandanna, the very same as the one I wore when I was little. As I picked it up, I looked at its color as Lieutenant Snow spoke, “hm, you don’t strike me as the type of pony to wear something as elegant as that one…”
hearing him say something like that greatly irritated me as I gave him an evil glare making him change his comment, “Then again… I could be mistaken.”

Commander Bolt chuckled a little at his sudden change in his tune as he spoke, “it’s a good color… I think it suits you.”
When I heard him say that, I couldn’t help but blush a little as I replied, “It’s… my favorite color… but then again… it’s not the color I should be wearing just yet.”
Commander Bolt gave me a curious look as I explained, “Pink… is a color for a joyous mood. But since I'm supposed to be getting ready to train my soldiers… it’s not the color I should wear just yet.”
Now, all three officers were giving me a curious look as I continued, “To train soldiers… I'm going to need something a little… threatening.”
The curious look on all three of the officers faces quickly vanished and were replaced by a nervous one as I smiled in the most sinister way I could, reached for a navy blue bandana and replied, “here… a notorious navy. This one is perfect.”

I could tell that the other officers were curious as Captain Storm asked, “notorious?... how so?”
I replied as I took the black bandana off my mane and tied on the navy, “because it’s the very color that symbolized the Nightmare Legion. And because it reminds me the most of Commander Bolt and his harsh training.”
Commander Bolt could only laugh at my comment as he replied, “Well if that’s what you think then it must be true. Either way, am I to understand that each color means something? What about my favorite color? Yellow?”
I could only laugh as I replied, “yellow… is a cowardly color… it’s a color you wear when you’re afraid of what the day might hold, hence the term yellowbelly.”
I could tell that Commander Bolt didn’t expect such an answer, and it made it even funnier that I could hear Lieutenant Snow and Captain Storm Snickering behind him as I continued with a smile, “Don’t worry sir, the color doesn’t say what kind of pony you are. It’s only something my mother put together to express her feelings for the day. Besides… there are worse colors out there… trust me.”

As I closed the box of bandanas, I could only think about the lonely shade of white that I wore in the orphanage. But since I didn’t want to ruin the gracious gift from my fellow officers I smiled as I continued, “Each color is special in its own way. And now that I have more, I can express myself for each day. Thank you, I wish I could express my gratitude more, but, thanks is all I can give.”
Captain Storm smiled as he replied, “it was the commander’s idea. I'm just happy you like it.”
I looked at Commander Bolt as I smiled, “either way… thanks. I love it.”
Commander Bolt smiled, as he replied, “No thanks nessesary, all I ask is that you give it you’re all in the coming battles. And if I know you as well as I do, I can guarantee that you will.”

With that, the three officers and I got a tray and started eating our food as I started to explain what each color meant. When we finished, Commander Bolt and I went back to the archery range that we set up at the edge of the camp as I saw all of the soldiers that I was now in command of as they stood in formation near the tent that stowed our bows. When we saw the formation, Commander Bolt looked at me and smiled, “well Lieutenant… time to show them what a notorious navy can do.”
Smiling at Commander Bolt’s words, I nodded my head as I trotted to the front of the formation and announced, “Soldiers! Attention!”
With a stepping sound, the formation placed their hooves together and stood at attention as I continued, “The soldier I faced this morning! Front and center!”
A voice emerged from the formation as that same soldier replied “Moving Ma’am!”

When the soldier was standing in front of me I spoke, “What is your name?”
The soldier answered with a nervous reply, “S-Sergeant Tunder ma’am.”
I smiled, “Well sergeant, from this point on you are the second in command for this unit. I will continue to command the unit, but in the case that something happens to me, you will take charge am I clear?”
The soldier stood at attention and replied, “Yes ma’am… um thank you ma’am!”
I nodded my head, “now tell me, what’s the furthest target on this range?”
The solider replied, “Two hundred and fifty meters ma’am.”
I smiled, “go out, and move it twenty meters further, then return here once it’s done.”
The soldier nodded his head as he replied, “Yes Ma’am!”

With a hastened step, the soldier turned to the target and began sprinting to it as I began addressing the rest of the formation, “Soldiers! As your new officer, I have thought hard about our role as archers in combat. And I must first ask, how many of you were originally archers?”
With that, a number of soldier raised their hoof; unfortunately, it was only about a quarter of the formation as I replied, “Alright… how about those of you who have used a bow before?”
This time the same ponies who raised their hooves before raised them along with a few more as I reiterated, “Subtract those of you who were archers.”
When the first group lowered their hooves, I could see that there were only three more soldiers that raised their hooves then before as I sighed, “I see…”
At that moment the Sergeant I sent to move the target returned as he spoke, “Ma’am the targets been moved.”

Looking at the soldier, I nodded as I trotted past him, “thank you Sergeant. Everypony pay close attention!”
As I trotted up to the line, everypony in the formation turned to watch as I used my wings to keep my balance as I stood on my hind hooves, pulled an arrow from my quiver, and closed my eyes to gauge the wind. Feeling the wind in my mane, I kept my arrow steady as I drew my bow and raised it to the right elevation. Then adjusting towards the wind I released my arrow and sent it into the sky as I turned to my soldiers and announced, “Five Miles per hour! That was the wind speed, north east, it’s direction, and the targets distance, two hundred and seventy meters!”
All of a sudden the wooden thump sound of my impacting arrow echoed out as the expressions on my soldiers faced became shocked as I continued, “Knowing this alone will always ensure that my arrow will be as close to my target as possible when I fire it. Or in this case, on the bulls-eye.”

With a second glance, my soldiers looked back at my target to confirm my hit as I looked at the target and smiled, “I would advise you all to learn how to read such things for the far future; however I'm not going to teach you this. What I am going to teach you is much simpler. Elevation, forty-six degrees. Wind adjustment twenty-four degrees right. That is the exact angle that I fired my arrow, up, down, left, and right. With that, my arrow hit dead center of the target without fail. And that is what you will learn. Today I will teach you all how to fire a bow, and tomorrow, how to measure angles. By the end of the week, I want each and every one of you to land an arrow somewhere on that same target. And Luna help you if you can’t. Am I Clear!”
Now nervous the entire formation of soldier stood at attention as they replied “Yes Ma’am!”
“Now everypony get a bow and line up!”

Moving with haste everypony gathered on the firing line as my sergeant approached me, “L-Lieutenant? Is it really possible for us to hit a target that far? I’ve never even seen that done before now. I don’t know if I could ever hit a target that was barely within your reach”
I looked at the soldier as I replied, “Barely in my reach?... Sergeant direct your attention to the dead tree on the furthest point on the field.”
The soldier looked into the field at a tree that sat easily three hundred ninety meters away as I called out, “EVERYPONY HEADS UP!”
Reacting to my order, all the soldiers on line looked at me as I raised my bow, shifted my elevation and direction before releasing my arrow into the sky. When my arrow vanished into the red sky above I spoke to the sergeant, “I only ask that you place an arrow on that target’s face. It could be a nick; it could be the far edge. And I would be pleased to even see a bulls-eye on it… but a hit is all I ask. Because when firing arrows into a formation of soldiers.” My arrow hit the target with an echoing sound, “A hit can be made when aiming for the center.”

Everypony on line to include the sergeant stood shocked as I patted the him on his shoulder and spoke, “Make ready sergeant, cuz you’re about to learn from the best.”
Trotting away from the shocked soldier I made my way behind the firing line as I stopped next to Commander Bolt and sat down beside him looking down range as he smiled, “now that’s a challenging training plan. And a very intimidating shot, that’s got to be a world record.”
I smiled with pride, “it probably is, either way I hope they are encouraged now, if they weren’t before.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “I gotta say Lieutenant, you’re one intimidating instructor.”
I smiled as I looked at Commander Bolt and replied, “I learned from the best…” I turned back to my soldiers, “Everypony Make ready your bows! Your training begins now!”

> Ch13 Friends on the Horizon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                The whistling sounds could be heard easily as the cloud of flying arrows came down as the arrowheads shredded the stationary target like a rainstorm of daggers. As I stood on the firing line right in front of my formation of archers, I smiled as I called, “Good, Again! Thirty five degrees up, twenty degrees left!”
As I stood looking down range, I could hear the creaking of all the bows behind me as they aimed over my head. After hearing the creaks I called, “RELEASE!!!”
With that order, a shadow made by the arrows crossed over my body as the volley flew over my head cutting through the snow that was falling around us. Deciding that this would be the last shot, I watched closely as the arrows flew through the air and fell onto the target shredding it all the more as the once disk shaped target now resembled a porcupine.
Seeing all arrows either hit or land near their mark, I smiled as I turned to my formation and spoke, “Good Job Soldiers! I know this cold had given you a challenge for training, but I'm glad to see that it hasn’t handicapped you in any way. For this, I will give you the remainder of the day for personal time. Those of you with prior duties, see to it that you aren’t late. As for the rest of you, FALL OUT!”
With that order, the formation stood at attention as they replied, “MA’AM!!!”
With that said, the formation of archers started to disperse as another soldier trotted to me and spoke, “Lieutenant! Permission to speak freely?”
I looked back, “Granted…”
the soldier continued, “Ma’am… A few others and I wish to continue training. Is it alright?”
Smiling at the commitment that the soldier showed, I looked at Sergeant Tunder as I asked, “Sergeant? Do you mind continuing training?”
The sergeant stood at attention, as he replied, “no ma’am… I would happily assist them in practice.”
I nodded my head as I replied, “very well then. Stay as long as you like, but if it gets too cold, then you better get inside. Frost bite is no joke.”
The soldiers stood at attention and replied, “Ma’am.”
As they moved back to the line to continued training, I started watching from behind the firing line. It’s been three months since I received my first set of soldiers, and though I was one hundred back then, my number is now two hundred and fifty archers. And I don’t like to gloat, but each and every one is very skilled, thanks to me.
As I watched my soldiers run through the same drill that I was doing a few seconds ago, I was surprised when Commander Bolt started trotting into the area as I saluted him and spoke, “Afternoon sir, come to see how training was going?”
Commander Bolt nodded as he looked at the damaged target and replied, “I see it’s going well. You really are the best, training this many soldiers, to fire so precisely. I'm a little envious that I couldn’t train them as well as you.”
I smiled with pride as I looked at him and replied, “It’s easy to train soldiers whey they are as precise as mine. Both in accuracy, and attention. I never have to repeat myself.”
Commander Bolt nodded as he smiled, “Good, I'm happy I don’t have to bust a few of their skulls for you. So what’s the color you’re wearing today? Light green?”
I smiled, “Gracious green. I decided that I would go easy on my troops if they showed motivation today. And despite the cold they all seem eager to train today.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he looked back at the training soldiers and replied, “I’ll say, anyways, we have a problem that needs addressing. That’s why I'm here.”
Hearing the serious tone in his voice I asked, “What kind of problem?”
Commander Bolt looked at me as he replied, “one that can’t be discussed here… I’ve arranged a meeting in the conference tent in twenty minutes. Make sure you get some food first. If what I hear is true… this could be a long day for us.”
As Commander Bolt turned to leave, I had to ask, “Is it bad news commander?”
Commander Bolt replied as he left, “Yes… it is.”
Leaving with only that said. Commander Bolt trotted away as I looked back at my training soldiers. As I watched them train using the same drills that I usually run them through, I started to wonder what the bad news could be. But since I wasn’t given very much detail, I decided to do as I was told and get something to eat.
Later just as instructed, I arrived at the conference tent as the guard standing outside opened it and spoke, “Ma’am Commander Bolt is waiting inside.”
As I passed the guards I replied, “Thanks, carry on.”
As I entered, I saw Commander Bolt, Captain Storm, and Lieutenant Snow sitting around a map that was sitting in the center of a table. As I entered Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “lieutenant, glade you made it, now we can get started.”
As I approached the only empty seat I asked, “is everything ok sir?”
As I sat down he replied, “Well, I suppose first thing is first. Captain? Has your second scout team returned yet?”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “Yes sir, they did.”
“And?”
Captain Storm sighed, “They reported the same thing… An army of Celestial Crusaders is on the way here. Their numbers… about seven hundred ponies.”
As soon as I heard the news, I felt nervous as lieutenant Snow replied, “Are you certain? I thought we lost track of those barbarians almost a month ago.”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “yes… things have been quiet since the army that set up camp next to the mountain left… but I think things are gonna get loud soon.”
I had to speak next, “are they going to attack us?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “most likely… Captain, did they have a commander banner flying?”
Captain Storm shook his head, “no… but what I understand from the report is that they are being led by a female officer. A pink unicorn.”
Both Commander Bolt and Lieutenant Snow looked at each other as I replied, “From what you understand?”
Captain storm replied, “Well I wasn’t there personally, but I trust the word of my soldiers who say she was trotting at the front of the army.”
Commander Bolt started thinking to himself, “a pink unicorn mare… I can’t think of a single officer who fits that description… at least not an active officer.”
I gave the commander a curious look as Lieutenant Snow replied, “You don’t suppose she could have pulled herself from retirement for this conflict… do you commander?”
Turning my curious look to Lieutenant Snow, Commander Bolt replied, “If Commander Mist asked her… then she very well could have.”
I placed my same confused stare back on Commander Bolt as Captain Storm spoke, “it is possible… but we can’t insinuate anything until we see her for ourselves, After all it’s been almost ten months since the war began, it’s very possible it could be a lower officer climbed up the ranks to that position.”
Commander Bolt nodded, “maybe… Nevertheless, we need to prep our soldiers. If it is an open field battle then it could turn out to be deadly, and seeing that they have a hundred fifty more soldiers then us, could also make things tricky… but as I’ve said before, numbers don’t make the battle, tactics do.”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “then what are our orders commander? What should we do to prepare.”
Commander Bolt thought to himself as he replied, “decrease internal duties, and focus on external defenses.”
Lieutenant Snow spoke, “And what duties would that insinuate?”
Commander Bolt pointed to the map at the area closeted to the north and replied, “If we meet on an open field, then this would be our battleground. I want you to place multiple trenches in the back of this vicinity with a command bunker somewhere in the rear. From here we can at least set up a small system to evacuate wounded soldiers amongst the fighting.”
Looking at the map I replied, “you want us to dig trenches in this area?... how long will that take?”
Commander Bolt replied, “If we have enough soldiers working on it… it could take us about a day and a half. However, we will need a large number from each of your units. The rest should put all focus on weapon preparations, guard shifts, and scouting. We need everypony ready for what’s on the horizon… literally.”
As I thought to myself, I replied, “alright… I can try to convince my soldiers to volunteer for the scouting. Their keen eyes can spot a breezy at a hundred meters.”
Commander Bolt gave me a smile that seemed a little… sinister as he replied, “I'm sure it won’t be hard to get volunteers… word amongst the ranks says that a lot of them are quite fond of you. In fact they even gave you a title… what was it Captain?”
Captain Storm replied, “the um… Gem of the Nightmare Legion.”
I gave Captain Storm a confused look as I blushed, “W-what?”
Lieutenant Snow added, “It suits you fondly Ms. Stone. Quite the compliment.”
Still blushing I looked at Lieutenant Snow and replied, “Don’t call me Ms. Stone! It makes me feel… weird.”
Commander Bolt chuckled, “Don’t take it personally Lieutenant. It’s common for a few of your subordinates to have a crush on you. Just remember we are professionals and should always act the part.”
I was certain that my face was now red as I tried to defend myself, “But Sir… I… I mean they…”
Captain Storm tried to change the subject, “anyways, if Lieutenant Stone’s soldiers take the scouting, then I think it’s only fair that my troops take the trenches and bunker. They are the strongest of our soldiers.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “agreed, Snow, your solders will handle security and weapons prep. I would suggest Captain Storm for this but he is right about his soldiers being the strongest. We will need their effort to have the battlefield ready.”
Lieutenant Snow nodded his head, “understood sir, I will allow them to be the ones to rummage through the dirt. I on the other hoof will deal with matters inside the camp.”
Captain Storm gave Snow a discerning stare, as I continued holding my silence from the embarrassment of the earlier topic. Ignoring both, Commander Bolt spoke, “Then we are decided; Lieutenant Stone, Have your archers set up in both the towers and in leading scout parties. Notify me as soon as they come within view of the camp.”
Knowing I was being addressed, I looked at Commander Bolt and nodded my head, “yes sir… I will.”
With that, Commander Bolt stood up and replied, “Then you all know your orders. When the enemy army is in sight I want you three to come to me at the north part of the camp for further instruction.”
Everypony to include myself stood up as we replied, “Yes sir.”
Then we all turned towards the door as we exited the tent, although as I started to exit, Commander Bolt stopped me, “Lieutenant Stone… Could you stay for a sec? I need to talk to you.”
Doing as I was told I stood by the door until Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow were gone, then Commander Bolt approached me and spoke, “I wanted to talk to you about the earlier subject… I'm sorry if you felt a little embarrassed, I was only trying to pull tension away from the main subject. It’s been a while since any of us have seen combat, and if I'm not mistaken this will be your first official battle. I just wanted to lighten the mood a little.”
Feeling a little better after his apology, I replied, “It’s fine sir… I just wasn’t expecting it is all… so nopony really calls me that?”
Commander Bolt smiled a little as he replied, “Well… I didn’t say that… it is true that some of your troops do find you appealing but you shouldn’t take it personally. In times of stress, everypony likes to find ways to take their mind off the war. And even I have often thought about love as a replacement for bloodshed. Just remember, as an officer your main objecting is to lead these soldiers with full intent of both completing your mission and keeping them alive. So don’t let things like this get to you.”
I lowered my head and gave myself a calming sigh as I replied, “Understood sir, and thanks for the words of advice, it really helps.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “if you need any more advice feel free to ask. As your commander, I will always help my soldiers. Now if I remember right you have soldiers to pass orders too.”
Saluting him I replied, “Yes sir, thank you sir.”
Commander Bolt saluted me back as we both stopped and exited the tent but as we started to part ways, he said one last thing, “Oh, and lieutenant… if it makes you feel any better, I can see what makes you so appealing to them.”
Leaving me stunned, Commander Bolt trotted away without so much as a second glance as he trotted away and left me standing there. I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment again but this time… it wasn’t troubling as before… in fact, I somehow felt… happy. Thinking that I could somehow be misunderstanding the situation I shook it off as I turned back to the archery range and continued off to give my soldiers their instruction.
A few hour later as dusk started approaching, I was in my quarters trying to keep warm as I heard a voice outside, “Lieutenant Stone, it’s Sergeant Tunder! Permission to enter Ma’am?”
Looking toward the entrance I replied, “Granted.”
As the soldier entered my tent he saluted as he spoke, “Ma’am, sorry for the intrusion, but the enemy force is approaching the horizon.”
Knowing that the commander would want to know I asked, “How close are they?”
He replied, “They should be in view in about ten minutes.”
Reacting to the news, I replied as I picked up my bow and quiver, “Go inform Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow. Tell them that I’ve gone to meet the commander at the northern border. Then gather the rest of the scouting parties and have them return to get some rest. As for the guards in the towers, have somepony relieve them so they can get warm. With night approaching it will only get colder.”
Sergeant Tunder saluted me as he replied, “Yes Ma’am!”
With that said, the soldier left my tent as he went to follow his orders. When he was gone, I put on my bow and quiver as I left my tent to meet Commander Bolt at the northern part of the camp where he was directing the soldiers digging the trench. As I approached him, I spoke, “Sir, the enemy is approaching, we should have visual soon.”
Commander Bolt looked into the distance as he replied, “Understood… do the others know?”
I replied, “Yes sir I had Sergeant Tunder spread the word inform them.”
“Good, then stand by till they arrive.”
Nodding my head in reply to his orders, Commander Bolt and I stood on the spot looking at the direction that the enemy was supposed to come from as Captain Storm and Lieutenant Snow arrived.
As soon as the two approached, Captain Storm spoke, “Evening Sir, Lieutenant. Everything going as planed?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Yes, your soldiers are almost finished with the main trench. If they pull an all-nighter, they can finish the bunker before midnight. However, I think we can wait on that. If the enemy is approaching then they will need all the strength they have for battle. I wouldn’t want to risk your soldiers’ b…”
Before Commander Bolt could finish, one of my lookouts approached me as he spoke, “Ma’am! Enemy on the Horizon!”
Reacting to the soldiers warning we all looked to the horizon as we could see the spears of the front line pike ponied peering over the hills, as the ponies carrying them slowly emerged. Reacting to the sight Commander Bolt mumbled, “Well, here we go.” He called out to the soldiers, “Everypony get back to your perspective unit! Notify them that I want everypony accounted for and prepared for battle! Once you’re ready, wait for your officer’s instructions! I don’t want anypony launching the attack without direct instruction from your commanding officer. How clear am I?”
The surrounding soldiers jumped to attention as they all replied in a booming voice, “CRYSTAL SIR!!!”
With that, the soldiers quickly left the area to do as they were told, but before Storm, Snow, or I could do anything, Commander Bolt looked at us and spoke, “You three stay here, we need to pre…”
Before the commander could finish, a light caught my eye as I looked at the enemy and spoke, “Sir… a signal arrow!”
As we all looked back at the enemy army, a second signal arrow went up as Commander Bolt spoke, “Yellow… then Green.”
Lieutenant Snow spoke, “It would appear that our nemesis would like to speak with is before engaging in battle.”
Captain Storm spoke next, “Good, this will allow us to identify our enemy officer.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Agreed, Lieutenant Stone… Sent a response. We accept the meeting request.”
Nodding my head, I pulled a green signal arrow as I struck it along the ground, igniting it before sending it into the sky.
As the arrow flew into the sky and was easily seen by both armies, Commander Bolt looked back at us and spoke, “I want you three with me when we meet the enemy officer. Are you ready?”
As Commander Bolt looked at each of us, we all nodded our heads as Captain Storm answered for us all, “We have our weapons so we are ready on your order sir.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he turned towards the enemy and started trotting out into the empty field that sat between the two armies, “Then let’s go see them.”
Following his lead, Storm, Snow, and I started trotting a few paces behind Commander Bolt as we made our way out into the field. Before reaching the center of the open area, we started to see a small force of enemy soldiers trotting out to meet us, all led by a pink mare. After stopping in the center of the field, we watched as captain Storm mumbled, “So she really did come out of retirement. I didn’t think she of all mares would come back to the royal guards.”
Since Snow, Storm and I were behind Commander Bolt, He didn’t hear him, as I had to ask, “Wait… you know her?”
Lieutenant Snow replied, “I should say so, she was well known throughout the royal guards for many years, however, seeing her here when she boasted of retirement seems… rather odd.”
By the time he finished talking, the enemy party met us, as the leading mare spoke, “Commander Star Bolt…”
Commander Bolt replied without an expression, “Colonel Amber Dust…”
The colonel replied, “Your looking well, despite your treachery… but seeing you with a commander’s insignia seems… unusual. Then again I suppose even you had to grow up at some point right Colt?”
Commander Bolt smiled slightly, “the same goes for seeing you in armor again. So what brought you back Miss Dusty?”
Colonel Dust’s expression became serious as she replied, “it was a request… From Commander Mist.”
When that was said, Commander Bolt’s expression also became serious as he replied, “oh… I see. So how is the commander doing after all this time?”
Colonel Dust replied, “He’s… still trying to figure things out. But as you are, he plans to fight this thing to the end. Which is one reason why I'm here.”
Commander Bolt’s tone changed as he replied, “Reason… and what reason is that?”
Colonel Dust sighed deeply as she sat down and gave Commander Bolt an unhappy stare, “Commander Bolt… I humbly ask that you lay down your weapons and surrender. As a former friend, I hoped we wouldn’t have to go to battle against one another. So please… Surrender now.”
I couldn’t believe it; she met us with a large army only to request a surrender. Confused as to what was going on, Storm, Snow, and I looked at Commander Bolt as he replied, “I don’t like this any more than you, but your request… is denied. As commander of the Nightmare Legion… I can’t back down because of a request, even from a friend. The only way this war ends, is with Princess Celestia’s relinquish of the sun’s control. Then and only then can Princess Luna’s night’s last forever. So if that’s all you have to say, then I would make a request of my own, Take your army, and go home.”
With that said, Commander Bolt started to turn to leave her with that as his last words, but before he could take two steps, she spoke, “Wait!” Commander Bolt stopped but didn’t look at her as she continued, “I… I can’t do that… I… I have my orders too. Do you know what they are?”
Commander Bolt turned to look at Colonel Dust as tears started to build in her eyes, “My… my orders… are to meet you in combat… and kill you. These orders were given to me… by Commander Mist… and… when he said that… he said it with almost no emotion at all. He said it as if he truly meant it. Do… do you know what it’s like… hearing him say such things… with almost no regrets in his tone?... it… it hurts… knowing how close you two were all those years. And hearing him say such words… it truly hurts. It was like hearing him order me to kill his own son and mean it. How… how could he say such things… and how could you… give him reason for saying it. He loved you like a son. He raised you himself how could you betray him for something as simple as a foal-hood cru…”
“Watch it…”
When he said that, the tone of Commander Bolt’s voice sent chills up my spine as he replied, “Before you continue… you better watch what you say. I agree that I dislike this conflict and that if I could, I would do everything I can to convince Commander Mist to defect… but... I will not abandon Princess Luna. Not now, not ever.”
Colonel Dust took a step forward, “You mean Nightmare Moon… right?...”
Commander Bolt didn’t reply to the comment, instead, he sighed as he spoke, “Since it would seem that you won’t leave, and I won’t surrender, then I would guess that we are going to battle. Might I suggest waiting till morning? That way both our soldier can be well rested. And we can call it a fair fight.”
Knowing that her plea was for nothing Colonel Dust sighed as she replied, “Agreed… till morning then, we shall send a signal when prepared.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he turned to leave, “Very well…. Until tomorrow then.”
As Commander Bolt turned around, Colonel dust spoke, “oh… and commander?” Commander Bolt stopped as she continued, “It really was good seeing you again… Commander Colt.”
Commander Bolt turned to look at her as he replied with a smile, “As it was seeing you, Colonel Dusty.”
Leaving those as their last words, the two turned and parted ways as Storm, Snow and I started following Commander Bolt back to our front line.
As we approached our camp, Commander Bolt looked at us and spoke, “Tell your soldiers to stand down for the night. Cancel all guard shifts and allow each one to get rest, if I know Colonel Dust, and I do, she won’t be trying anything funny while we sleep. You are dismissed.”
With nothing more to say to us, Commander Bolt started trotting away as I looked at Captain Storm and asked, “is… is he serious? Will Commander Bolt truly fight with somepony he considered a friend?”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “if he must… he will. He and Colonel Dust have never been on the best terms; more like a love-hate relationship. But still even this battle will be painful to us.”
Although I understood this, I still had one more thing to ask, “Commander Bolt mentioned that he was doing this for Princess Luna… I understand that Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna… but is his loyalty to the princess reason enough for him to raise his sword to his old friends?”
Lieutenant Snow snickered a little as he replied, “I wouldn’t call it loyalty per say… on the contrary I would call it devotion in the name of lo…”
“Snow!...”
Hearing the seriousness of his superior’s tone, Lieutenant Snow silenced himself as Captain Storm gave me a serious look and spoke, “lieutenant… what is your… relationship with the commander?”
I gave him a strange look as I replied, “relationship?... he trained me… what else is there?”
Captain Storm sighed with relief as he replied with a dark and serious tone, “good… I didn’t want to say anything hurtful. Listen lieutenant, Commander Bolt and Princess Luna have a connection. One that goes beyond the simple protector, and protected scenario. Though most of it is just rumors, I would suggest not talking to him directly about this. Just know that Commander Bolt has his reasons for fighting and that he wants nothing more than to complete his goal. The best thing I can tell you is to always trust in your commander’s orders as I do. Understand?”
It seemed strange that Captain Storm who usually spoke in friendly tones was now talking as if he were giving me a direct order… or threat. Never the less, despite his warning, I have always had trust in Commander Bolt’s intentions, so I replied, “of course sir… don’t I always?”
The serious expression on his face turned to an embarrassed smile as he replied, “Sorry… I almost forgot who I was talking too. I think the cold and the stress of this day may have gotten to me. Maybe it’s time to get some rest as Commander Bolt said.”
I nodded my head as I agreed, “Yea… it’s a good thing that we are getting this time to rest before the battle tomorrow. It’s already cold enough out here.”
As we all turned to part ways, Captain Storm replied, “True… and it’s only going to get colder.”

> Ch14 Red Snow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

               Commander Bolt stood over the table as he pointed at the map and spoke, “Lieutenant Snow, you will take the front and pierce the center of their front line. I will need the quickest path to Colonel Dust if I want the total casualties to be at a minimum.”
Lieutenant Snow nodded as he replied, “Of course commander, consider the path made.”
Captain Storm spoke next, “visibility in the sky will be suitable for the first part of the battle, but from the looks of things we may have a snow storm meet us in about thirty minutes.”
Commander Bolt looked at Storm, “then we better make it fast.” He looks at me, “Lieutenant, for the start of the battle your focus will be on their front line. Thin them out as best as you can, but once we reach them, turn your focus on the enemy pegasi. Just try to keep your aim over us.”

As I nodded my head, I tried to reply, “Understood sir. I'll do my best to k…”
Before I could finish, one of my soldier entered the tent as he stood in front of me and saluted, “Ma’am! Apologies for the intrusion, but I have news from the enemy front.”
Feeling a little embarrassed that it was my soldier that interrupted us, I sighed as I replied, “it better be Important.”
The soldier started looking nervous as he replied, “It is ma’am. Enemy catapults have been spotted amongst the enemy ranks.”
Everypony in the room became surprised as I replied, “What?... but they weren’t there yesterday…”
Commander Bolt Stood up as he asked, “How many?”
The soldier looked at Commander Bolt as he nervously replied, “Uh… two sir!”

Commander Bolt sat back down as he replied, “They must have been disassembled and mixed amongst their supplies. In pieces a catapult can easily be disguised as lumber, or tent posts.”
Captain Storm spoke next, “Will this change our tactics sir?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “no, we will continue as planned. However, in addition to archers and air support, I want you to take down the Catapult teams.”
I added, “Sir, I will also help. When your ranks pierce the enemy front I'll focus my fire on the enemy catapults.”
Commander Bolt gave me a concerned look as he replied, “that’s fine… but be careful. As archers, you are their most vulnerable targets.”
I replied, “Don’t worry sir; my troops will be near the rear trenches. If needed we will take cover and fire from inside.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “alright… but if you see any fire bottles come your way. Don’t take cover; just do what you can to get out of its impact area. Understand?”
I did understand although I was unsure what a fire bottle was, but I hid my confusion as I replied, “Understood sir.”
Commander Bolt looked into the center of the table as he replied, “remember your objectives, and if needed, change them to ensure your survival. And always watch for the signal to end of the battle. I hope to see you all after this is over, now fall out.”
With our orders, we stood and replied, “SIR!”

We all started to leave the tent as we made our way to our soldiers who were already standing in their battle ready formations. At the front, was Lieutenant Snow and his formation of one hundred twenty pike and sword ponies? Then behind him was Commander Bolt and his formation of eighty earth ponies with pikes. Then standing behind the trench that separated us, was I and my formation of two hundred fifty archers, and holding up the back was Captain Storm and his final force of one hundred pegasi totaling us all at five hundred fifty soldiers. I always felt odd that a majority of our force was under my command, but I always felt that it was Commander Bolt testing me in some way. As our forces stood in formation, Commander Bolt called from his formation so that I could hear, “Lieutenant Stone! Signal the start!”
Nodding my head, I raised my bow and sent the signal up to begin. With the arrow in the sky, a reply was sent by the enemy army as they began their advance. When the enemy started forward, I could hear Commander Bolt call out, “Snow!”
Lieutenant Snow replied by calling to his troops, “Onward to battle!”
With that order, he and his formation of pike ponies began marching forward, as the first row lowered their spears as if to simulate a moving wall of spikes.

Seeing the soldiers move forward, I looked to my soldiers as I called, “Make Ready!”
With that, all of my soldiers drew an arrow from their quiver as they laid it across their bows and waited for my next order. With all my soldiers waiting, I looked to my right at Sergeant Tunder as I asked quietly, “Sergeant… you’ve watched their training like I have… what would be their most accurate, range?”
Sergeant Tunder replied, “I would guess… two fifty.”
I nodded my head as I replied, “I'll try pushing a little more… by the way… what’s a… fire bottle?”
I knew he was a little surprised, but trying not to be insulting, he replied without an expression, “It’s a clay bottle full of flammable liquid and a burning cap... you will know it if you see one.”
I nodded my head as I replied, “Good… then I'll need your help when we come across them. Just remember, if needed we will push to the trenches… agreed?”
Sergeant Tunder nodded his head in reply.

As my formation and I continued standing in wait, Commander Bolt called his next order, “Troops! Forward!”
With that, he and his formation of soldiers started trotting forward as they began making their way down the field. A few second later, I could see something in the sky as I called, “Captain Storm! Twelve O’clock High!”
Seeing the formation of enemy pegasi, Captain Storm called back, “Good eye lieutenant! Soldiers! Move out!”
With that, he and the rest of his pegasi troops opened their wings and flew over our heads as they went to meet the approaching pegasi formations. As I watched Captain Storm’s troops take off, Sargent Tunder spoke, “Ma’am… Enemy in range.”
I looked back at the field as I saw the enemy’s first rank get into range, then I raised my bow as I drew it and called, “Archers! Fifty three degrees up!”
Hearing the creaks of my formation’s bows, I felt the wind as I adjusted my aim and called again, “Ten degree’s right!...”
Waiting a few seconds for my soldiers to make adjustments, I called, “RELEASE!!!”
With that, I released my arrow, as a split second passed before feeling the wind of over a hundred arrows as they flew over my head and into the sky.

With the arrows moving into the sky like a fast moving cloud, I watched as they eased their way over our soldiers and colligated with the center of the first formation as bit by bit, the soldier began falling to the ground. Watching the successful impact of our arrows, I measured the distance as I called, “Again! Make ready!”
As we all pulled a second arrow from our quiver I started to draw my bow again but before I could, a crossing shadow caught my eye as I looked up and called out, “INCOMING!!!”
Reacting to the command, I and most of my soldiers hit the ground as a massive boulder came crashing down on our general area with a loud and roaring crash of metal and stone. After the sound stopped, I picked myself up as I looked at Sergeant Tunder and called, “everypony okay?”
Hearing the moans and groans of the wounded gave me my answer as I spoke before others could reply, “Final rank! See to the wounded, the rest of you, MOVE FORWARD!”
Sergeant Tunder gave me a surprised look, “F-forward?”
As I looked at Tunder I replied, “That was a gauging shot! The next one will hit us dead on. Everypony move forward! Head for the trenches!”
hearing that Tunder, my formation, and I started sprinting forward as we made our way to the trench and took cover inside.

As soon as we reached the trench, I could hear the collision of swords as Lieutenant Snow and his formation made contact with the front formation of soldiers. Hearing this I looked over the trench wall as I tried to locate the enemy catapults. As I looked, Tunder called, “Ma’am! The Sky!”
When I looked up, I saw a few enemy pegasi who got passed Captain Storm’s troops as I called back, “Tunder! On me!”
“Ma’am!”
With that, Sergeant Tunder and I quickly raised our bow as we fired arrows hitting the incoming pegasi and leaving them to fall to the ground. When that happened I called, “Everypony make ready!”
After that, I looked into the distance and immediately called the trajectory for the first Catapult, “Forty Degrees up, Thirty two degrees left! RELEASE!”

With that, every able-bodied archer in my formation peeked over the wall of the trench as they drew their bows and fired arrows at the target as the cloud of arrows, resembled a thick scattering line as it flew thought the sky. With a faint whistle, the streak of arrows, bundled into a cloud as it colligated with the catapult killing all who operated it while at the same time, activating it and sending its readied boulder into the sky towards us. When I saw the boulder coming at us I called, “Incoming!”
With that, all my archers in the trench ducked down as the boulder, crashed down a few feet in front of the trench as it bounced over us and rolled into our camp as it crushed one of the tents in the camp. When I saw this, I looked back to the battlefield but before I could call the next order, I saw another volley of enemy arrows coming at us as I called, “Soldiers, Incoming arrows!”
With that I and the rest of my soldiers took cover a second time, however the arrows flew over the wall and into the trench causing many of my soldiers to cry out in pain as many were stricken down by the falling projectiles. Hearing the cries I looked around at my wounded and froze. Some were crying in pain over simple arrows in shoulders or sides… but others… were far worse. Arrows in their heads… severed wings… it… it was too horrible for words.

Luckily, as I stared at the wounded in horror, Sergeant Tunder snapped me out of it before the others could see as he yelled at me, “MA’AM! Your orders!!!”
Seeing the scared expression on his face quickly brought me back to reality as I called, “Some of you gather the wounded! Set them behind cover here! The rest of you Make ready!”
As I looked down the battlefield, I could see that by this time, Commander Bolt and Lieutenant Snow’s forces were mixed amongst the enemy soldiers as the clashing of metal swords and shields echoed into the distance. Above I could see the same with Captain Storm’s pegasi and the enemy forces as occasional soldiers fell from the battling formations in in the sky. Looking back down the battlefield, I could see a few soldier make their way passed the allied front as single soldiers began charging towards us. So I had no choice but to make a call, “All Squads! Fire at will by target! One, Two, Three, Fire on all enemy melee troops, both ground and air! Four five and six, on enemy archer formations! Seven, and eight, locate and take down the catapults from here! Nine see to wounded and keep your eyes up. Call all incoming!”
All the squad leaders who were still active replied, “Ma’am!”
With that, I started hearing orders being called to each squad of archers as they each started focusing on the targets directed and fired their bows by their squad leader’s orders. Seeing this made me feel a little pride, but with no time to enjoy it, I quickly drew my bow and began firing at the charging soldiers who never made it close enough to us to strike us with their swords or pikes.

After a few minutes of taking down more and more soldiers, Tunder called “Fire bottle!... Ma’am!”
Looking into the distance I could finally see the second catapult as it fired a burning jug of fuel at a close enemy formation leaving the round bottle to shatter as flames engulfed the burning soldiers in a horrifying roar of screams that could be heard from across the battlefield. Seeing the horrifying result of just one fire bottle, I looked at Sergeant Tunder, “We can’t let them fire a second bottle! All archers on my command make rea…”
Before I could take command, a soldier in the ninth squad called, “INCOMING ARROWS!”
Reacting to the warning, I and the rest of my soldiers took cover again from the falling threat. After the arrows fished falling around us, I stood back up as I looked over the wall of the trench and called, “Alright everypony! Make Rea…”
Before I could finish, I was quickly silenced when I realized that the incoming snow that was expected for later, had already begun while we were taking cover. But that’s not why I stopped calling my order, what really stopped me was that the haze that followed the expected weather had already concealed all long distance targets, so the enemy catapult that I was going to have them fire at… was hidden somewhere inside the distant haze. Trying all I could to remember the exact area that the catapult was in, Sergeant Tunder spoke, “Ma’am?...”
Trying to remember exactly where the catapult was, I looked into the distance as I replied, “I… I can’t…”

All of a sudden, I saw a light from a flame in the distance as I called, “THERE! Thirty Degrees! Thirty-four Right! RELEASE NOW!!!”
As I and most of my remaining archers fired our bows, I already knew it was too late, because by the time the final arrow vanished into the haze, the burning light was thrown into the air and began getting brighter as I knew it was headed our way. Since I knew what it was capable, I turned to look down the trench as I called, “EVERYPONY!!! MOVE FORWARD!!! NOW!!! OUT OF THE TRENCH!!! GO!”
With that frantic order, all of my soldiers that could still run, climbed over the trench wall and started charging forward. However, after taking my third step away from the trench, the bottle appeared from above as it hit the ground just one foot beside me before shattering and sending the igniting fuel pouring into the trench with the momentum of its incoming angle.

After the impact, the fuel poured into the trench igniting all who were still there… including the wounded. At that moment, the sound of the horrifying screams of those still in the trench completely over shadowed the sound of the battle outside. With the screams completely filling my mind, I could only stare in horror as those who survived the attack, climbed out of the trench, and tried all they could to put the flames out by rolling in the snow… that is… until the flames proved too much, and their rolling bodies… stopped moving. This sight, proved to horrifying to comprehend. Seeing this, only made everything around me go silent, as all I could hear, was the popping of the fire, the screams of those ponies… and… my own breathing. Trying to snap me out of it, Sergeant Tunder grabbed my shoulder and yelled at me from only a few inches away.

At first… I couldn’t even hear his words, but then, like a wave on the sea, the sounds of everything around me returned as he repeated himself, “Lieutenant!!! We are exposed here! What do we do!!!”
With that truth known, I looked through my remaining force, which seemed to be less than a quarter of my original force.as they all looked at me in concern for our next actions. Looking around, the snowfall has gotten thicker as the haze, which concealed everything at one hundred meters, move to twenty. Now, we couldn’t see shadows of soldiers in the distance, nor could we see the ponies fighting close by. Now, all we had to rely on was the sound of enemy fighting and the flicker of fire through the haze. So I looked around and replied, “Everypony! Fall in! Keep your eyes about and fire at will to any charging soldiers!”
Confused to the instruction, Tunder tried to speak, “Ma’am? What abou…”
“Shhhh…”

Silencing himself after I shushed him, Sergeant Tunder started looking around as I kept my sights heightened and looked into the direction that the catapult that fired the last shot was from. Looking into the distance I quickly calculated the direction, as opposed to where I was standing, then how far I moved from my last point as I smiled and called, “Everypony! Make ready Flame!”
Nodding their heads, Everypony in my remaining force drew their bows as the unicorn mixed amongst us used spells to ignite the tips of each arrow. Then with everypony ready, I called out, “Everypony! Twenty-seven degrees! Thirty-nine right! Release!”
With that call, I and the rest of my soldier released our arrows at the exact same time that a small light from the next fire bottle appeared through the haze. Less than a second later, the arrows colligated with the light in the distance as the small flame exploded into an array of fire that drenched the distant catapult and crew making them completely visible.

With the burning silhouette easy to see through the thick fog, my team of archers cheered at their accomplishment, as I yelled, “THIS BATTLE ISN’T OVER YET! Everypony make ready! We just gave away our position! They’ll be here soon!”
Realizing what I was talking about, my soldiers stopped cheering as they all readied their bows and waited for the next order. As they all waited, we started seeing shadows of enemy soldiers charging through the haze as I gave my order, “FIRE AT WILL!”
With that, everypony began firing their bows at each shadow that was identified as an enemy, but as we did, more and more enemy soldiers emerged from the haze as they charged towards the source of the burning arrows from before.

One by one, my archers fired at incoming soldiers from both the ground and the air as we all did what we could to hold them back. However, with each passing soldier, I could tell that we were losing more ground then we were gaining. Finally an enemy pike pony managed to get close enough to thrust his pike at me, as I barely dodged the attack leaving the shaft of the spear to pass between the handle and string on my bow. Using this to keep his blade away, I pushed closer as I pulled an arrow from my quiver in an attempt to stab him with it. But before I could do that, the soldier reacted first as he reached up and punched me as hard as he could. Though it only hurt a little, it still caught me off guard as I was pushed back, running the blade of the enemy pike along my string as it cut it, rendering my bow useless. Trying to catch me off guard, the pike pony tried to take a swing at me with his pike. Luckily, I was able to use the handle of my bow to block the attack, but before I could parry him away, an arrow came out of nowhere as it flew over my shoulder and dug into the enemy’s face killing him on impact.

With the enemy falling to the ground, I looked in the direction the arrow came from as I saw Sergeant Tunder lower his bow and spoke, “Ma’am, are you alright?”
I nodded my head, “yea… thanks.”
Sergeant Tunder smiled as he replied, “No problem ma’am I won’t le-“
Before he could finish, time seemed to slow down, as an arrow dropped from the sky, as it came down and hit him in his head, just above his ear… killing him instantly. When I saw this… I froze as I watched his expression slowly dissipate as he leaned with the impact, and fell to the ground. I… I couldn’t believe it… right in front of me, less than a foot away; my best soldier fell just like that. With my focus on Tunder’s body, I didn’t notice the rain of arrows that followed the first as they began falling on my half of the formation leaving one to cut my cheek before burying itself into the ground.

With the sudden realization of my surrounding, I looked through my soldiers who were either fighting or falling to the rain of arrows as I decided to make my decision, “Soldiers Fall back! We need to get back to the rear line!”
Following my instruction, most of my soldiers began retreating as the rest tried to fight off the still advancing enemy. Since I knew it was useless, I decided to place my bow in my quiver as I turned to retreat with the rest of my soldiers, but before I could an enemy unicorn used a spell to grab my mane and pull me back causing me to fall backwards onto the ground in front of him. Then as he approached me, he raised his spear up and spoke, “You won’t get awa…”
Before he could finish, Captain Storm dropped from the sky as he swung around and bashed the Large metal morning start against the enemy’s face as the massive spiked sphere no undoubtedly cracked the unicorn’s skull open with the impact.

As the enemy fell, Captain Storm Called to me and my soldiers, “Hold the line! We have to keep fighting!”
As I turned back to him I tried to reply, “But… my bow is…”
Captain Storm gave me an intimidating glare as he replied, “Commander Bolt is across enemy lines right now fighting with Colonel Dust! If he is still fighting, then you can hold the line until he returns! Or do you not have faith in your commander!?!”
When I heard those words, I looked at my soldiers as they gave me a look of curiosity. When I saw this, I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement, as I looked at Captain Storm and replied, “Of course! Who do you think you’re talking to?”

Captain Storm smiled as he replied, “Then give your orders Lieutenant. Your soldiers are waiting.”
Nodding my head, I called to my soldiers, “Everypony! Form up and make ready!”
With that, all of my soldiers gathered behind me and formed up in a rectangular formation as they readied their bows. With my soldiers waiting for their next order, I pulled my bow from my quiver as I held it up as if I were to readying myself to fire. Then I called to captain Storm, “Don’t you have soldiers of your own to direct?”
Captain Storm smiled as he looked to the sky and replied, “Got it… I'll leave you to it then.”
With that said, Captain Storm took to the sky and I called my next order, “Soldiers! Five degrees up!”
I could tell that a few of my soldiers looked at me in confusion as I turned back to them and replied to their stares, “You heard me! Five degrees!”

As my soldiers saw the seriousness in my order, they each aimed carefully strait forward as they made sure that their aim wasn’t on me or their fellow soldiers. Then as I looked forward into the haze, I waited for a few more seconds as a few enemy soldiers started to emerge. Then when they were, close enough, I Called, “Zero degrees! Twelve o’clock! Release!”
Feeling the wind of the arrows as they rushed by me, I watched as the charging enemy soldiers fell to what could only be called over kill as I called again, “Good! Again! Five degrees! Zero Forward! Release!”
Still holding the broken bow up as if I actually could fire with them; I held still as I started hearing the second volley of arrows as they whistled by me and into the haze as more enemy soldiers fell. After that, I started to see a shadow in the sky as I moved my bow in a manner as if I was going to fire at it as I called, “Next volley! Make ready! Twenty-five degr… Wait…”
As I aimed the broken bow at the airborne shadow, I started to realize that the shadow I was aiming at wasn’t a shadow at all… it was a light. And not just any light, it was the signal to end the battle. Identifying the blue signal clearly, I called to my soldiers, “Everypony Stand down! The battle is over, Sergeant Tunder! Relay the signal!”
As I looked into the formation, everypony gave me a concerned look as I started to repeat myself, “Sergeant Tunder?...”
Just then, the expressions on the rest of my soldiers faced reminded me of what happened as I sighed unhappily, “Oh… right…”

Knowing that my order could never be followed, I trotted to one of my soldiers as I spoke to him, “Private… your bow please.”
The soldier stood at attention as he gave me his bow and replied, “Yes ma’am.”
Placing my bow back in my quiver and pulling a blue signal arrow, I took the soldier’s bow as I lit the arrow by striking it against the ground. Then with no haste in my movements, I fired the arrow into the sky, as I looked into the distance to see other archers relay the same signal so that everypony on the battlefield would cease fighting. After seeing the signals in the sky, I turned to my soldiers and spoke, “Everypony spread out and search the area for wounded soldiers. Be sure to check the trench for survivors. Get anypony you find that’s still alive to a medic immediately.”
The formation stood at attention as they each replied, “Ma’am!”

Knowing their orders, my soldiers began splitting up as I started making my way into the battlefield through all the falling snow and haze. With each passing step, I passed corpses from both armies, until I reached one that caused me to stop. As I looked down at my second in command I couldn’t help but kneeled down to check him for vital signs, only to prove what I already knew. Sergeant Tunder of the Nightmare Legion… was dead. Feeling bad that he died shortly after saving me, I closed his still open eyes as I spoke, “You did everything you could… and I'm proud to have you under my command. Now rest Sergeant… you’ve earned it.”
As I stood back up, I looked into the distance as I started trotting through the red snow, towards a few shadows that could be seen in the haze. As I trotted towards the shadows, I was disappointed to find that the soldiers I saw were enemies.

Knowing that the blue signal meant that both sides had to stop fighting, I paid them no mind as I started trotting through them with almost each one staring at me as if I were a black sheep amongst a white flock. Minding my own business, I continued trotting as I passed the enemy soldiers without so much as a second glance. As I continued, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat in danger, but that feeling faded, as I started seeing a few allied soldiers mixed amongst the enemy. Still acting as if they weren’t even there, I continued trotting further and further down the battlefield until I finally saw somepony I knew as he sat on a rock with a medic cleaning a cut on his shoulder. Seeing the friendly face, I smiled as I approached, “Lieutenant Snow! It’s good to see you survived the battle… despite all the nicks and gashes in your armor.”

When Lieutenant Snow looked at me, he gave me an embarrassed smile as he replied, “oh… Miss Stone… I mean Lieutenant. Please forgive my appearance. It’s rather silly for a noble like myself to be seen in such filth. But I'm afraid the battlefield in no place for cleanliness. It would appear that you too have met with obstacle in this battle. Though I am nothing if not pleased to see you made it through unscathed.”
Without noticing, I looked down at my armor as I realized he was right. Parts of my armor and coat were singed, scratched, dinged, and even splattered with blood from those who died near me. Seeing this I could only sigh as I replied, “yea… I am fine… sort of… did the commander win? Where is he?”
Replying my comment, Lieutenant Snow replied, “I'm afraid the good commander’s whereabouts is unknown to me. I don’t even know if it was his victory, we are claiming or that of the favored Colonel. But it would appear that we will soon find out.”

Motioning his head passed me; I looked into the distance as a large shadow started to appear heading towards us through the falling snow and haze. As they got closer, I started to make out the shadows; in the front was Commander Bolt carrying Colonel Dust’s reaper, right behind him was Captain Storm. Then the two forces of soldiers that they each lead, which were now smaller than before. As I watched, I started approaching him as I spoke, “Commander, I…”
Paying me no mind, Commander Bolt passed as he spoke, “Get accountability of your soldiers then see that your wounded are cared for… if you’re wounded, see a medic afterwards.”
Without even looking at me, Commander Bolt held his emotionless stare as he trotted passed me and continued back to the camp. As I watched, I tried to reply “but… Sir I…”
With Commander Bolt still ignoring me, I silenced myself when I saw blood dripping from Colonel Dust’s sword, so I could only assume. Colonel Dust in now dead… and probably by her own blade.

Not knowing any of the details, I kept my silence as I turned back to Lieutenant Snow and asked, “is… is he alright?”
Lieutenant Snow looked down at the ground as he replied, “Colonel Dust… was a good friend. I would only feel worried to see him acting normally after killing her. If that is indeed how this battle ended… then I'm afraid it would be wise to give him some room for the time being. Nevertheless, what he says still rings true. Perhaps you should seek medical aid for your soldiers before doing anymore here. In addition, you have a blemish on your face, a laceration from a sword perhaps. It would be wise to have that examined by the surgeon as well.”
I was still concerned with the way Commander Bolt seemed to be acting, but since I knew he wouldn’t talk about it, I just decided to ignore it as I nodded my head and replied, “Sure… I'll do that.”

Knowing that he would be of no help, I turned back to the part of the battlefield I came from as I began trotting back to my soldiers. This time as I passed the allied soldiers, I could see them either treating their own wounds or helping to recover wounded soldiers. As for the enemy, they were mostly doing the same, only they were recovering both their wounded, and their dead. Seeing this was confirmation enough, they were gathering up to retreat not just the battlefield, but the area too. Ignoring this, I continued trotting back until I reached an area that I'd hope to never go near again; the trench. When the trench came into my view, I hesitated. What went on there less than an hour ago… it horrified me to think about what I would find… but, since part of my orders where to look for survivors in there, I knew it was my duty to see this for myself. So gathering up my remaining courage, I swallowed my pride before continuing towards the trench.

As my steps got closer, it wasn’t long before immediately regretting my decision. What I saw… was almost too much to bare… in the trench lied the charred and mangled corpses of most of my best archers. Some… where lying in rest because of earlier sustained wounds… while the rest… burned to death trying to put the liquid fire that covered them out. This… this was too much… even for me. Quick turning and looking away, I trotted a few steps before my mind began breaking down. When this happened, I dropped to the ground as I began throwing up at the images burned into my eyes. The charred and melted flesh, the horrified expressions on their face… and that smell… it wasn’t like anything I could ever prepare myself for. And to make the matter worse, I could still hear them. The screams of the dying as they struggled for dear life. I… I couldn’t… “Lieutenant Stone! Ma’am… are you alright?”

Hearing the voice of my soldier behind me, I was able to stop myself from vomiting as I wiped my mouth and turned to him, “S-sorry… its… it’s just a little more than I expected, how is everypony else? Do we have a count of how many are lost yet?”
The soldier hesitated as he replied, “No ma’am. We are still gathering survivors… although… it’s not looking good…”
Nodding my head, I replied, “I know… I was there too… keep gathering the wounded and return them to the camp for medical treatment.”
The soldier Saluted me as he replied, “Ma’am!”
As he turned to leave, I noticed that the snowfall was starting to let up enough for me to see across the battlefield. As I looked, I could only feel slightly sicker. Because the once white snow… was now as red as the sky above.

> Ch15 The Misunderstood Leader
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                I sat still as the medic closely examined the cut on my face. Holding still I waited as she smiled and spoke, “no offence ma’am, but why would you come to see me with something this little?”
I shrugged my shoulders as I replied, “Well it’s not like I wanted to, Commander Bolt told me to see you if I had any injuries. And since I did have this scratch, I figured it would be better to do as I was told just in case he asked. I mean, it doesn’t even hurt.”
The medic smiled as she prepped a small rage and spoke, “so… the commander said, did he… that’s interesting.”
As the mare started cleaning my wound, I asked, “interesting?... what do you mean?...”

As the medic finished cleaning my wound, she got a small bandage as she spoke, “well… As a medic I hear plenty of rumors from the soldiers... and one seems to be the norm amongst them… but… you and Commander Bolt… are you two… a thing?”
I thought to myself as I replied, “a thing… what are yo… wait… oh… no, no, no. I assure you we aren’t…  I mean… the commander and I get along, but I promise you we aren’t… you know… together if that’s what you’re asking.”
The convinced mare smiled as she replied, “It’s alright, I was just asking. Besides, even though I heard that rumor, I hear the other one even more.”
After she put the bandage on my face I asked, “Other rumor… what other rumor.”
The medic smiled as she replied, “well… rumor has it that it isn’t you that the commander has eyes for… in fact… from what I understand, its Princess Luna that he is in love with.”

I looked at the medic with surprise, “Princess Luna?... Really?...”
The medic nodded her head as she replied, “yea, she and he have had unspoken feelings for each other for years… or so the rumor says. In the end, rumors are rumors and the truth is the truth. Whoever, Commander Bolt has eyes for has to be some mare. A pony as well-known as him could be with almost anypony… well, anypony who supports the Nightmare Legion anyways.”
Nodding my head I replied, “Yea… with this war terrorizing everything it’s not like anypony in the Nightmare legion would be popular with civilians.”
The medic smiled as she started getting the room ready for her next patient, “Yea, and I know I'll get an earful from my family when this war is over. Anyways, I'm finished with you, so you can go if you want. With a scratch like that you won’t even have a scar when it heals.”

As I stood up to leave I replied, “Speaking of which, how are things here? I know this tent was hit by a catapult during the battle, but I didn’t know if you were hurt or not.”
The medic replied, “I got out alright… I was able to evacuate before the impact which is more than I can say for a few of my nurses. Luckily we didn’t lose anypony and I'm sure the ones injured will regain consciousness before morning. Anyways, I'll continue my work here and have the casualty count to you and the commander later. But for now, if you find anypony whose injuries are as minimal as yours, please tell them to stand by. With things as crazy as they are, we can’t afford to overlook our current patients.”
As the medic opened the door to her tent which lead out into the center of the camp, I nodded my head as I Replied, “I understand. Thanks sergeant.”

With that, I trotted out of the tent and into the area where all the casualties from the earlier battle were being treated. As I began trotting out into the open area where medics and helpers were rushing around to identify and save the wounded, I tried my hardest to ignore all the moaning, crying and screaming that radiated from the area as I began trotting through. As I continued I couldn’t help but over hear most of the medics as they examined each pony and identified the wounded by the severity of their wounds, “this one is stable, this one… priority, get him inside now. Him… he’s dead, leave him.”
As the medic trotted away from the soldier who was identified as dead, I could only look at the fallen soldier as I sighed in pity.

As I started looking over every casualty in the area, I couldn’t help but think of all who fell before even making it to this point as a random soldier approached me and saluted, “Lieutenant Stone… The commander wants to see you in his quarters. He says it’s important.”
Nodding my head I replied, “Thanks, carry on.”
With that, I trotted passed him as I left the area and made my way to Commander Bolt’s tent.

When I arrived I stood outside as I spoke, “Commander Bolt, it’s Lieutenant Stone, permission to enter sir?...”
As I waited for a reply, I felt a little confused when a medic opened the tent and spoke, “oh… Lieutenant, sorry, but Commander Bolt surrendered his quarters as a second field hospital. If you need him he is currently staying in the unfinished bunker on the battlefield.”
I couldn’t help but feel surprised, “The bunker… really?”
The medic nodded as he replied, “yes, the commander says it would be better that the wounded are treated in a sterile place so he gave us his quarters to house some of the less serous casualties, that way the severely wounded could stay in the main hospital tent.”

Hearing this only made my opinion of the commander even better as I replied, “oh… well then… I’ll go see him… thanks.”
As the medic went back into the tent I made my way through the camp again until I reached the unfinished bunker that sat on the very edge of the battlefield. As I approached I looked across the field as I saw a small number of our soldiers gathering the dead and weaponry. As I looked through them, it was easy to see that there wasn’t a single Celestial Crusader in sight, dead or alive. Knowing that this meant that the crusaders truly were gone, I continued to the bunker as I approached it. The dug in bunker had logs placed on the side to create sturdy walls, but on top, since it was incomplete, Commander Bolt used a tarp to simulate a roof and ceiling.

As I approached the Bunker, I knocked on the door as I spoke, “Commander Bolt, it’s Lieutenant Stone, you wanted to see me sir?”
Commander Bolt’s voice replied, “Yes, come in lieutenant.”
As I entered the room, I could see Commander Bolt cleaning blood off his shield as he gestured to a chair and spoke, “take a seat, lieutenant.” 
As I sat down in the chair next to him, Commander Bolt sat his shield down beside him as he sighed, “Lieutenant, the reason I asked you to come here was because I was approached by one of your soldiers shortly after the battle. He told me a few things about how you led the fight today, and he also mentioned something that made me feel a little… concerned. Do you know what it is?”

Hearing the tone of his voice told me that it wasn’t anything good as I thought about what it could be and replied, “Sir… I know I shouldn’t have called my soldiers to fall back… but… please know that I had good reason to do so.”
Commander Bolt gave me an expressionless stare as he replied, “And that is?...”
Feeling like a filly trying to tell her dad that she did something wrong, I replied, “Sir… my bow was damaged to an unusable point, and most of my soldiers were either dead… or missing. Since we were deeper into the battlefield then we originally planned, I felt that in order to save my remaining force, it was the right decision to fall back to safety. Once we got there we would still provide cover, but… we would need a safe place to do that from. That’s why I called us to fall back.”

Commander Bolt sat quietly for a few second before replying, “I understand that you had the wellbeing of your soldiers in mind… but you must understand that if you push forward, then fall back, then you’re weakening our control of the battlefield. And as all battles are fought, control is key. We all fight as one. You, your soldiers, Storm and his, Snow and his, and even me and mine. We all fight as one complete army, on a balanced scale. But if one side retreats, or even falls back, that scale will tip, and soon it will turn to a point that will allow the enemy to outflank a few, or all of us. It’s something that can’t happen, and as commander, I won’t let it happen. I'm not angry, but please keep that in mind. If I call the retreat, then by all means, run away. But if I'm continuing my push forward, then it’s with full confidence that you will continue behind me. Understand?”

Nodding my head as I looked down in shame, I replied, “Yes sir… it won’t happen again. I promise.”
Commander Bolt replied, “I'm sure it won’t… now onto the matter at hoof.”
“Wait… what?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he continued, “As I said before, I’m not mad about you calling to fall back. Actually I wanted to see you for another reason entirely.”
Looking back at him in shock I replied, “you mean that’s not why I’m here?...”
Commander Bolt shook his head as he replied, “well… no, sure it concerned me, but since it’s your first battle I was going to ignore it since Captain Storm set you straight.”
I felt completely embarrassed since I brought up a subject that could have been avoided as I replied, “then… why did you call me here sir?” 
Commander Bolt replied with a sympathetic tone, “I wanted to talk to you about how you reacted after the battle…”
Feeling a little confused I asked, “After the battle sir?...”

Commander Bolt gave me a concerned look as he replied, “yes… when you looked at the trench that you lost your soldiers in. from what I hear, the sight made you sick didn’t it?”
Knowing what he was talking about I replied, “Oh… yes sir, it did. Well… when I looked at the bodies of the soldiers who died, I couldn’t hold it in. that sight, the smell of burning flesh, and the screams I heard when it happened were too much for me. It… it was…”
“Horrifying to a point of both physical… and mental nausea?...”
I gave Commander Bolt a surprised look as he nodded his head and continued, “It’s nothing like you could ever expect… nor get used to. Nevertheless that is war. And if you didn’t react the way you did, I’d be much more worried then proud.”
I looked at Commander Bolt as I asked, “is every battle like that?”

Commander Bolt gave me a serious look as he replied, “And if it is, what would you do about it?”
Not knowing how to answer that question, I replied, “well… I don’t know… I just…”
Commander Bolt sighed, “Yea… as I’d expect… Lieutenant, this is war; I wish I could sugar coat it but what you saw today, was one of our better days. And despite what I taught you and what you’re ordered to do… I want to ask you… do you want to leave?”
I looked at Commander Bolt in complete shock as I replied, “Wh-what?”
He continued, “like it or not… death, blood, and suffering is what waits for us on the next battlefield just as it was on this. So… if you can’t handle it, then you have my permission to lay your weapon down now, and leave without a single question asked. Or… don’t… the decision is yours.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Commander Bolt sat there giving me an emotionless stare as he gave me the option to either leave or stay without even the slightest effort to convince me to stay. As I sat there waiting for me to answer, I hesitated before replying, “you… want me to make my decision here… right now?...”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “An impulse decision says more about you then a decision that you’ve had time to think about. So yea, I need an answer now…”
As I sat in the chair, I looked at the ground as I thought to myself. Was it that easy? Could I truly just say so and leave with no questions asked? Is he willing to give up all of the time he spent saving, teaching and building me into what I am now? Honestly I didn’t know… but when I looked back at him, I could see it in his eyes. He was serious; he is willing to let me go without even the slightest explanation… but even though his eyes said that… I just couldn’t.

Sighing in disappointment, I spoke, “You’re such a foal…”
Commander Bolt gave me a curious look as he replied, “excuse me?...”
Giving him an annoyed look I continued, “you heard me… you’re just a big foal. You think that just because I had a hard time looking at what happened to my soldiers that I can’t handle this war? Sir… with all due respect… you’re pretty foalish to downsize me like this… I told you already that no matter what the scenario, I will follow your orders with full trust in those said order, but this… you’re talking to me as if I was that stupid little filly from Cloudsdale that you took in a long time ago. But you need to understand one thing, commander… I signed up for this… and as your officer, I am willing to risk my life for the future of the Nightmare Legion… as long, as you’re willing to lead me. So thanks… but I’m not ready to run away just yet.”
I know what I said was borderline disrespect, but I wanted to make my message as clear as possible, so after I said what was said, I gave him a serious look as he smiled as if he expected my answer, “so… that’s a no?”

I didn’t reply, instead I nodded my head yes as he shook his head with a smirk, “you know I can’t promise you will survive the next battle.”
I nodded my head as I replied, “I know… but I also know that your orders have the wellbeing of my soldiers and I in mind… just as mine did.”
Commander Bolt chuckled as he replied, “well then… you can continue in your position and lead your soldiers… although… I’m afraid today’s victory was… a little less then I hoped for.”
Knowing what he was talking about, I replied, “I know… we lost a lot of ponies today… even Sergeant Tunder fell in today’s battle. I… I don’t know if I can face my soldiers after how I reacted.”
Commander Bolt sighed, “The only way you can face them is to tell them the truth.”
I gave him a curious look, “the truth?...”

Commander Bolt picked his shield back up as he spoke, “tell me lieutenant… why did you fall back… I’m sure your bow and soldier count wasn’t the only reason was it?”
Trying to think about the answer I replied, “I… I don’t know sir…”
He replied with a cheeky smile, “I do… you were afraid.” He looked up at me, “it’s alright to admit it you know… everypony is afraid in battle. Snow was afraid, Storm… even me. But continuing the fight despite that fear, that’s the difference between courage and cowardice. It’s alright to be afraid, and I think your soldiers would respect you a little more if you admit that you had a simple moment of weakness, and succumbed to that very fear.”
“But wouldn’t they lose confidence to know that I had the weakness to begin with?”

Commander Bolt smiled as he picked up a rag and continued cleaning his shield, “No… not if it were you who admitted it… you see lieutenant, as officers we build sort of a reputation amongst the lower enlisted soldiers. This reputation is what drives their respect and their confidence in us as their leaders. For Lieutenant Snow, it’s his nobility and chivalrous ways of fighting in, what he would call, a barbaric conflict. For Captain Storm, it’s his age and wisdom when it comes to warfare and military experience. For me, it’s the lightning orb and the way nightmare moon shows full confidence in my chances for victory in this war. And as for you… you hold a tender reputation, as a mare who is strong willed despite her feminine appearance. Some would even assume you hold a sort of motherly quality with the soldiers. It’s that tenderness that makes soldier respect you as much as they do. They see you as a strong mare who will carry them out of battle if they were ever wounded and lost in the conflict. And by showing more of those actions, you will not only build motivation in your solider, but those around you as well. I know it would make me admire you a little more.”

Hearing him say that made me blush a little, but it also convinced me that telling my solder the truth would truly build the bond a little more amongst my remaining soldiers as I replied, “if that would truly help… then I’ll tell them the truth.”
Commander Bolt smiled with confidence as he finished cleaning his weapon and sat it down on the ground, “then I’ll leave you to it. Now that I have confidence in your actions, I will let you get back to your troops… I’m sure they would like to see you more now than ever before.”
As I started standing up, I asked, “um… sir… may I ask you for something?”
Commander Bolt stood up as he replied, “Sure lieutenant, what do you need?”
I felt a little nervous as I replied, “once we get the casualty count, and the wounded stabilized… I would like to request some time off for my soldiers. I’m not saying a full day… but at least a night to rest and recuperate. Perhaps a memorial banquet for the fallen.”

Commander Bolt smiled at me as he replied, “there it is… that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Caring for your soldiers before yourself. Actually yes… I did plan some kind of celebratory feast… but a memorial banquet would be better. Not to mention it could give our soldiers a little closer for their fallen friends. In fact, that is your instruction for the night. Locate and notify the cooks, as soon as possible. Tonight may be too soon, but tomorrow night would be perfect. Not to mention we should be receiving a thousand troops from the training camp tomorrow afternoon to help restock our troop count and some well needed supplies.”
Feeling a little relieved about the incoming reinforcements, I nodded my head as I replied, “Understood sir, then I’ll get on it as soon as possible.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Then you’re dismissed.”

As I turned to leave the bunker, I stopped when I saw Colonel Dust’s reaper sitting against the wall next to the doorway with the blood cleaned off. Seeing this, I asked, “Um… commander… is that Colonel Dust’s sword?”
Looking at the sword, Commander Bolt’s expression disappeared as he replied, “oh… yea… it’s hers.”
Nodding my head I had to ask, “I know she used to be your friend and all… but I have to ask… did… did she go peacefully?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “no… in fact she did nothing but complain the whole time. But needless to say she left all the same.”
Hearing him say that, I gave him a funny look, “wait… Left?... you mean you didn’t kill her?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “no… through all I pushed through and all I had to face in that battle. I just couldn’t kill her.”

Turning completely towards Commander Bolt I asked, “But… I thought the battle was only over when the enemy commander dies.”
Commander Bolt stood up and replied, “Or if the enemy commander surrenders. So that’s how it ended.”
I had to ask, “But… how did you get her to surrender?”
Commander Bolt sighed a little as he replied, “after I made it to her, we did clash swords. As expected she was a tough opponent and not to offend mares but if she wasn’t a she… then I'm certain she would have won. But since males had a natural advantage in strength I was successful in subduing her. And… when I had her on the ground and disarmed, I found that… even now, while she was trying to kill me… I just couldn’t deal the final blow.”
Curious I asked, “So… if you don’t mind my asking… how did you get her to surrender?”
Commander Bolt smiled a little as he replied, “I didn’t, I surrendered for her.”

Now I was really confused as I replied, “y-you?… but…. H-how exactly does that work?”
Commander Bolt looked at me with his smile as he replied, “When she refused to surrender, I took her sword from her and used a bow dropped by one of her archers to send up the surrender for her. Since it was easy to see that she couldn’t continue the fight, everypony assumed it was her who sent up the signal so she decided to just accept it and play along.”
A little shocked, I replied, “and… everypony believed it?”
Commander Bolt nodded as he continued, “As you can see they did. She knew that with this surrender the battle could end, and both our soldiers could stop killing one another so she realized that by accepting this surrender she was accepting the mercy I was trying to show to both her and her soldiers. After all, I’m not as heartless as the stories claim me to be.”
This seemed strange so I asked, “But… what about the blood I saw on the sword before?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “I'm not the only pony she fought during the battle. She killed plenty before she faced me. It’s only natural that their blood would still be on the blade.”

After he explained it to me, I thought to myself as I replied, “I… didn’t think it was as simple as that… and you said you couldn’t kill her?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Colonel Dust and I have always had a love-hate relationship… but in the end, we were still friends.”
“But… I thought you taught me that someday I may have to kill a friend. And that I should be ready.”
He replied as he started sharpening his shield, “Being ready, and doing it are two different things. But in the end, we can only do what our conscience can allow.”
I had to ask, “and what about you?... will your conscience allow it?… When you face Commander Mist?...”
Commander Bolt didn’t reply to the question, instead he turned to me and replied, “Lieutenant… don’t you have soldiers to see, and cooks to inform?...”

Feeling that I may have overstepped my place on the subject, I replied, “Of course sir… I better do it before I forget…”
As I turned to reach for the door handle, Commander Bolt spoke, “Lieutenant…” I looked back at him as he continued “I know that it’s difficult to trust me, or my actions… but please know that I must uphold my place as commander… and that I will always make the decision that is best for my army, and this war.”
Looking back at the commander, I smiled, “of course sir… I always trust your orders… with… my own life.”
Hearing me say that Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Also… if I didn’t say it before. Good job out there today. I’m glad to see you survived the battle, and with barely a scratch too.”
Hearing this, I turned completely to him as I stood at attention and saluted, “thank you sir. And it’s good to see you survived as well.”
As Commander Bolt saw my action which was kinda sarcastic, he smiled as he too saluted in a good-little-soldier way and replied, “Lieutenant… you’re dismissed.”

Smiling at his action, I dropped my salute as I turned and exited the bunker and closed the door behind me. As I stood outside the bunker, I turned back to the door and started thinking to myself. As tough and strong as Commander Bolt was, he was still a kind hearted stallion with the same conscience as anypony you could pick out of a crowd. And even then, he still kept his appearance and the morale of his followers in mind so that none of them could ever regret their actions or their decision to follow him. He truly was a misunderstood leader. And… if the rumors were true, he is doing it all for a mare that he loves. I… I wish I could have his strength. I wish there were a pony in my life that I’m willing to do everything he does in hopes of protecting. I wish I had somepony that was worth all that stress and hardship. After thinking this, I slowly started trotting away from the door, until one last thought crossed my mind as I stopped and looked back at the door one last time as I mumbled my last thought, “Maybe… I do…”

> Ch16 The Morale of Friend and Foe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                As I continued trotting by the combined formation of archers and pike ponies, I smiled as I could only admire the strategic order that Commander Bolt had placed them in the formation as I trotted to the front of the formation and stood next to him as I looked down the battlefield at the large army of celestial crusaders that stood on the other side. Knowing that it had been three long months since our last fight on what used to be a snow covered wasteland, I could only feel disappointed that the tall grass which was losing its spring tint and changing to its summer, was about to be trampled by me and the rest of the Nightmare Legion’s soldiers as Commander Bolt looked at me and smiled, “Pink… is this a special occasion Lieutenant?”

Knowing that Commander Bolt was talking about my bandanna, I smiled as I looked back at him, “A little, I just felt like today was special that’s all.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “that wouldn’t be because I’m leading both our soldiers for this battle now is it?”
I tried to prevent myself from blushing as I replied with sarcasm, “No… it’s because I’ll be this close when I show you just how well my soldier will outperform yours.”
Knowing I may be acting a little too cocky, I hid my worry as Commander Bolt laughed and replied, “well then I look forward to this, just remember, this time both armies are about fifteen hundred soldiers. So I hope you will keep in mind that each one will be relying on you.”

I smiled sarcastically as I looked at the large formation of mixed soldiers and held up my bow. With that, every archer in the herd cheered in motivation for my leadership as I lowered it back down and replied, “I think I’ll be fine sir.”
Commander Bolt smiled with confidence as he looked at Lieutenant Snow and called, “Snow! Ready to move forward!”
Lieutenant Snow looked back as he called, “Understood commander! Soldiers, to battle!”
As Lieutenant Snow’s soldiers began moving forward, I started replaying the battle plan in my mind.

First, Lieutenant Snow would split his formation into two groups and assault the enemy from both the far left and far right flanks in hopes of funneling them into the center. Then with my and Commander Bolt’s combined forces, we would thin them out in the bottom of the funnel while Captain Storm tracked down and assaulted the enemy Colonel from above. Sadly, we weren’t lucky enough to be facing Commander Mist in this fight, but since Commander Bolt and my soldiers were merged for this assault, I felt confident that we had the upper hoof in this fight… although we did outnumber the enemy by almost three hundred soldiers, so if we did lose, it would be a deadly blow to our soldier’s morale. Nevertheless, I was confident in the plan as Commander Bolt and I watched Lieutenant Snow’s soldiers split into two formations and make their way down the battlefield.

As they continued, we could see both the front ranks and pegasi forces from the enemy army as they began moving towards us from across the battlefield. Seeing this, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Lieutenant? Let me know when they are in range.”
I smiled as I replied, “for my archers, they already are sir… I promise you that.”
I could tell that he was a little surprised that they were already within my reach since they were about three hundred meters away. Either way, he looked down the battlefield as he spoke, “then I’ll leave your decision to you.”
Nodding my head I raised my bow as I felt the wind around me and called, “Soldiers! Make ready!”
Hearing my order, my archers who were mixed amongst the ponies behind me stood on their hind hooves as they each readied their bows and stood by for my instruction. After feeling the wind I raised my bow and took aim as I replied, “we have a tail-wind! Twenty degrees up, three degrees right! Ready!... wait w-what?” I immediately lowered my bow as I turned to my soldiers, “HOLD FIRE!!! STAND DOWN!!!”

Quickly adhering to their orders, my archers lowered their bows as I looked at Commander Bolt and spoke, “S-sir?...”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “I see it… but… why is he?...”
Commander Bolt quickly started thinking to himself as I looked back down the battlefield at what was happening. Shortly after Lieutenant Snow’s soldiers split in two, both formations broke off from each other, but shortly after the force that was making its way to the right of the battlefield quickly shifted its movement to the center, leaving the right side of the battlefield completely exposed as the advancing enemy formations quickly adjusted to the action and started making its way towards our right flank. Quickly reacting to the action, Commander Bolt flew into the air as he called, “STORM! HERE!”
As Captain Storm broke away from his pegasi forces who were standing by in the trenches behind us, I continued to watch as Storm met Commander Bolt and quickly talked about the strategy.

When they finished, Commander Bolt flew back down to me as Captain Storm called from the sky, “Soldiers! Take to the sky and follow my lead! Protect the command force!”
With that order, Captain Storm’s soldiers flew out of the trenches and linked up in the sky as they hovered overhead in a box formation that would surround my and the commander’s joint formation if it were on the ground. Seeing that made me wonder, as Commander Bolt landed and spoke, “Lieutenant… change in plan. We are moving forward on the right now.”
Although I knew the risks of pushing the enemy to the far right of the battled I trusted the commander’s orders as I nodded and replied, “Understood sir.” I turned to my soldiers, “Archers! Lower bows and make ready for orders!”

With that said, my soldiers put away their readied arrow as they began placing their bows in stowing position and waited as I looked at Commander Bolt and spoke, “on your order, commander.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he readied his shield and called “Forward! March!”
Acknowledging the order, everypony in the formation began marching forward in step leaving our armor and weapons to chime with each step as if it were a beat in a parade. As we continued marching, Commander Bolt shifted the direction he was marching as I and the rest of the formation followed with Captain Storm still formed up above us. After a while, our formation had made its way to the far right of the battlefield as we watched the enemy army as it curved around Snow’s soldiers before making its way straight towards us.

With the enemy’s left flank fighting off Snow’s soldiers and the rest of them moving towards us, Commander Bolt called “Company! Halt!”
With that order we all stopped as Commander Bolt called next, “All soldiers! Make ready!”
With that order, two things happened; first all the pike ponies in the formation readied their spears by pointing them forward in a position to defend against charging enemy soldiers. Then my archers who stood between the spears, readied an arrow as they laid it across their bows and awaited their next order. After that Commander Bolt looked to me and spoke, “Lieutenant… I’ll let you call the order for your archers… but only release when I say so. In the meantime… ready them to fire.”
Understanding the order I asked, “What distance sir?...”
Commander Bolt replied as he looked at the approaching enemy, “One meter…”

At first I thought I heard him wrong as I turned to look at him in confusion, but when I saw the seriousness in his expression I turned back to the enemy as I called, “Archers! One degree up!... Zero degrees straight forward!”
I could tell that there was a little hesitation between the times that I called the order to the time that they began drawing their bows by the sound of the slow creaking in their weapons. Nevertheless, I ignored it as I readied my bow and spoke, “Awaiting the order commander.”
Nodding his head Commander Bolt didn’t say anything as he stood still staring at the enemy soldiers as they slowly moved closer. Still holding still I and the rest of the formation of soldiers held our ground as we awaited our order from Commander Bolt.

As we all stood anxiously waiting, I noticed that as we waited on the ground, Captain Storm and his soldiers hovered above and waited the same way we were as Commander Bolt continued holding his ground with a serious and focused stare as the enemy edged closer and closer with each second passed. Slowly the enemy marched closer and closer as the sound of the fighting soldiers in the distance echoed through the area. As the enemy continued approaching Commander Bolt kept his silence as he continued watching them. Finally as the enemy got within one hundred feet of Commander Bolt and I, one particular soldier in their formation yelled, “Soldiers! CHARGE!!!”
After that order was given, the enemy soldiers started rushing towards us as Commander Bolt smiled slightly, “got you…”

Waiting till the soldiers were a little closer, Commander Bolt yelled at the top of his lungs, “NOW!!!”
With that order two things happened; First Captain Storm and his pegasi soldiers began diving down onto the enemy formation while at the same time, I released my arrow as I called, “RELEASE!!!”
With that, hundreds of arrows flew by and over our heads as my soldiers released their arrows and sent them flying into the front few ranks of the enemy soldiers. With most of the first rank of enemy soldiers falling to the ground, the second rank started climbing over their fallen as Commander Bolt readied his shield and called, “pike ponies! Push and hold the line!”
With that order, all the pike ponies standing in our joined formation pushed past my archers and gathered right behind Commander Bolt and I as Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “lieutenant? Fall back behind my troops and continue the assault.”
Looking at Commander Bolt I nodded my head, “Understood sir.”

Commander Bolt Raised his shield as he charged forward leaving him and the charging enemies to clash in a cluster of swinging swords, pikes and flying sparks from those weapons clashing. Shortly after, I looked at my soldiers and called, “Engage with supporting volleys! Watch your target and engage at will!”
With that order, all archers began choosing and releasing arrows at their own chosen targets as I drew my bow and focused my arrows on ponies attacking the commander. While I faced ponies on the ground, Captain Storm and his assailing pegasi focused on neutralizing any archers in the area leaving both my soldiers and I to fight without distractions. As the fighting continued, the enemy officer who called for their charge started falling back as he and a select few of his soldiers tried to retreat to safety. As this happened, Commander Bolt looked at me and called, “Lieutenant! The enemy officer is retreating! Cut off his escape!”

Knowing what he meant I replied, “Yes commander!” I turned to my archers, “All archers! Make ready for attack! Thirty degrees up! Ten degrees left! Release now!”
All my soldiers quickly ceased their assault as they synced back up and released arrows in the exact trajectory that I called. As I watched the first volley fly over the troops and towards the empty land that the enemy officer was running for, I called again, “Repeat! Same angle! Release!”
Following my order, my soldiers readied and released a second volley at the same angle, however before all of my archers could fire, something happened that caused me to quickly turn to them, “CEASE FIRE!!! STOP!!!”
Quickly following my order, my archers slowly lowered their bows, but I was too late since half of them had already released their arrows into an area where Lieutenant Snow’s frontal forces where unexpectedly marching into.

Quickly looking back into the battle, I watched as my heart sank, when the first volley of flying arrows, landed and pierced the ranks of the withdrawing enemy soldiers… and… Lieutenant Snows assaulting forces. When that first volley of arrows fell, my heart nearly stopped. I… I couldn’t believe what I had just done as Commander Bolt saw the attack before turning to me to see if I was still firing. When he saw I wasn’t, he turned back to the enemy as the part of the second volley that was fired, did the same as the first as it fell onto the enemy and allied soldiers, killing all in its wake. Pausing at the unbelievable incident that I was at fault for, I looked at Commander Bolt as he sneered at the area in anger, before turning to me and calling, “Lieutenant! Continue close support! Cover me till I reach their officer!”
Nodding at his order I replied, “Understood! Archers Rea…”

Before I could finish, a blue arrow went up in the area where my last two volleys landed, as I changed my orders and called, “Soldiers! Cease attack! Send up signal to end the battle!”
Following my order, my archers lowered their bows as one of them drew a blue signal arrow and lit it before sending it up. Not knowing of the ending signal, Commander Bolt looked at me and called, “Lieutenant! What ar…” He looked to see the airborne signal as he reiterated, “All soldiers cease the fighting now! All enemy soldiers! Lay down your weapons and surrender or be subject to execution!”
With both the distant and close signal now completely apparent to both armies, everypony slowly lowered their weapons as the roar of the battle slowly died.

After the fighting came to a complete stop, Commander Bolt turned and started approaching me with an angry expression on his face. Knowing that I was most likely in trouble I held my ground as I tried to speak first, “Commander I...”
Commander Bolt raised his hoof to silence me as he spoke with a voice that seemed so enraged while at the same time trying to seem calm, “lieutenant… I will leave captain Storm to see to the care of the casualties and the enemy’s full surrender… in the meantime, I want you to find Lieutenant Snow and meet me in my quarters now. Not later, not in a few minutes right… now. How clear am I?...”
Commander Bolt’s voice had never seem so enraged before, so with worry for what he would do, I replied, “Cristal clear sir.”
With what seemed to be a forced calm expression Commander Bolt replied, “Good… I’ll see you then.”

With that, Commander Bolt continued trotting through the allied formations back to the camp as I looked down the battlefield towards Lieutenant Snow’s soldiers. As I began trotting to them I eventually found Lieutenant Snow as he stood over the body of what looked to be the enemy officer. As I approached, he looked at me and spoke, “ah if it isn’t the victor of today’s battle. Congratulations on the victory lieutenant.”
I gave him a confused look, “victory?... what are you talking about?”
Lieutenant Snow pointed down at the enemy officer as I saw what he meant. Looking at the enemy leader, I could see an arrow sticking out the back of his head easily telling me what it was that killed him. As I looked at the arrow, Lieutenant Snow smiled, “As I said, congratulations Miss Stone.”
I looked back at him as I replied, “well Commander Bolt didn’t sound as pleased… in fact he wants us to see him in his quarters… right now.”

Lieutenant Snow nodded his head as he replied, “And… what of the needs of my soldiers?”
I replied, “Commander Bolt said he would put Storm on that. Meanwhile it would be a good idea that we follow his order on this… he didn’t sound too pleased with your actions during this battle… although I’m sure he was angry at me too.”
Lieutenant Snow nodded his head, “I see… I suppose my decision to change my actions did seem ill equipped, nevertheless they did lead to a victorious outcome, and I would guess that the good commander would commend me for such victorious results.”
Knowing that he was far from right, I just decided to ignore the comment as I replied, “Well then let’s go see him. He is waiting for us in his quarters.”

As we made our way out of the battlefield it was easy to see that Captain Storm had already coordinated with both medics and the rest of the soldiers to gather and help the wounded from both sides as they skimmed through the battlefield and tried to identify the soldiers that could be saved. Nevertheless we ignored Storm’s actions as we made our way to Commander Bolt’s Quarters. When we finally arrived, the opening on the tent was propped open as Commander Bolt stood inside and pointed to a table in the middle of the tent, “Take a seat… both of you.”
Hearing the anger in his voice, Lieutenant Snow and I entered the tent and sat at the table as I tried to speak, “You… wanted to see u…”
“Quiet…”
Though he didn’t yell it, the tone of his voice made it seem like he did as I shut my mouth and sat quietly as he spoke, “you two will wait here till the medic comes… then we will get down to the matter at hoof. Till then… I don’t want to hear a word from either of you.”

It was easy to see that he was still angry, so both Snow and I didn’t say anything as we nodded our heads and sat quietly in awkward silence. After about ten minutes of tension filled silence, the medic entered the tent as she spoke, “Commander Bolt… I have the number you wanted although it isn’t accurate si…”
“Just give it to me sergeant… how many soldiers is it?”
The medic hesitated as if she was the one he was mad at as she replied, “F-five sir…”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Five?... that seems a little low considering.”
The medic replied, “The rest’s injuries aren’t that severe sir. Of the twenty nine, only five died or can’t be saved.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head calmly, “Understood, thank you sergeant… by the way, could you close the tent on your way out?”
The medic nodded her head as she replied, “Of course sir.”

After the tent was closed, Commander Bolt trotted to the table but didn’t sit down as he spoke, “Five soldiers… do you know what that number is Stone?”
I shook my head no as he looked at Snow and continued, “How about you? Any ideas since you seem to be chuck full of them?”
Lieutenant Snow shook his head as Commander Bolt replied, “That is the number of allied soldiers killed today… not in total of course… but by allied arrows… your arrows Stone.”
Hearing this I tried to defend myself, “Sir I wa…”
“I’m talking lieutenant… so I would advise you to shut it before my patience is completely gone.”
Knowing that I overstepped my boundary I looked down in shame as Commander Bolt continued, “now… five solders doesn’t seem like much in the total aspect… but do you have any idea what friendly casualties can do to an army’s morale?”

Knowing that we shouldn’t answer, Snow and I held our silence as Commander Bolt replied, “It kills it. Now our soldiers… MY soldiers, don’t even know if they can trust our own anymore. And to make matters worse, twenty nine were hit by friendly arrows, so now the soldiers who didn’t die will be afraid to turn their backs to their own friends. And whose fault do you think that is?...”
Knowing that it would still be best to keep quiet, I continued to hang my head in shame as I slowly raised my hoof to answer that I was at fault. But after I did Commander Bolt shook his head, “Wrong… you were merely doing what you were ordered to…” He looked at Snow “which is more than I can say for you… Snow.”
Trying to defend himself Lieutenant Snow spoke, “now I assu…”
“Shut it… Snow, I have put up with this for a long time, and through it all I’ve ignored a lot since we have history together… but today, you’ve gone too far.  Today you changed your frontal attack strategy, then you brought it to close on the rear bringing your soldier right into Lieutenant Stone’s line of fire. Honestly… I’m at a loss for words. Now what was it that caused you to change your tactic? Tell me why you killed five of your soldiers today when it could have been avoided?”

Lieutenant Snow lowered his head in shame as he replied, “I… commander… my actions weren’t intended to disrespect you commander… I was merely trying to shift my forces when I saw the enemy reacting sooner than anticipated.”
Commander Bolt gave him an unamused stare as he replied, “If the actions in battle were to shift out of control, then I would have given you the order to change tactics. You don’t have the right, NOR THE ATHORITY TO CHANGE TACTICS WITHOUT MY ORDER!!!”
I have never heard Commander Bolt yell with such anger before, and from the look on Lieutenant Snow’s face, neither has he. As Commander Bolt gave Lieutenant Snow an angry look he spoke with a tone that sent chills up both our spines, “Snow… I want you to go see to your soldiers and give me a count on how many you lost today… and when you’re done… you will wait from me to give you your punishment. Right now I’m considering either permanent demotion or discharge… but right now I need to calm my nerves so I’d suggest that for the time being, you start deciding your next course… of employment.”

Lieutenant Snow stood up as he bowed like a noble, “yes sir… I… I understand, and… I will not argue with your decision… as a noble… It would bring disrespect to my family name… to deny the responsibility of my actions…”
Standing there with a sad expression on his face, Lieutenant Snow continued keeping himself silent as Commander Bolt sighed with an annoyed expression before turning away, “you two are dismissed… go see to your soldiers and report back to me as soon as you get a casualty count.”
As he said that Lieutenant Snow rose form his bow and turned to the door, “Yes commander… as… you wish.”
With that said, Lieutenant Snow trotted out of the tent with nothing said from Commander Bolt. When he was gone I stood up and spoke, “Commander… permission to speak freely sir?”
Commander Bolt didn’t reply, he didn’t even turn to acknowledge me, so taking it as a yes, I continued, “Sir… I understand your anger… but… should you really be so hard on him?”
“Lieutenant…”
“It’s not like he intentionally jabbed my arrows into his soldier chest. What happened was merely a…”
“Lieutenant! Enough!”

I silenced myself, as Commander Bolt sighed and turned to look at me, “it’s not so much that he disobeyed orders, or even that he lost those five to your arrows… but there is a much bigger picture here.”
Overstepping my place a little I replied, “and that is?...”
Commander Bolt sighed as he continued, “Lieutenant… how did you feel when you watched those arrows fall on our allies today?”
When he said that I started thinking as I tried to reply, “I… well…”
Commander Bolt replied for me, “It felt like those arrows hit you… didn’t it? For a split second it felt like it was your heart the arrows pierced… didn’t it?”
Not wanting to admit he was right, I held my silence as he replied, “a soldier’s confidence can be as strong as steel… but his morale… can be as weak as glass. Those soldiers who died had friends who survived. They and the soldiers who lived will have a hard time looking at you or your archers without forgetting the five who didn’t. How would you feel… to know I killed an ally and turn your back to me trying to trust that I’ll protect you in battle… it’s pretty hard isn’t it?”

Understanding his point, I hung my head in disappointment as he continued, “Stone… morale is a fragile thing… everypony thinks that it’s I who lead these soldiers to victory, but it’s the other way around. It’s they who push forward, and protect us while we bark orders. The least we can do, is fight as hard as they do, and show them that their loyalty isn’t wasted, on officers that don’t put up the effort.”
Feeling a little offended for Snow I replied, “You’re talking about Lieutenant Snow… aren’t you?”
Commander Bolt sighed and replied, “Do you think I was?”
I replied with an annoyed tone, “Commander… I understand what you mean… but didn’t you just prove your own point?” Commander Bolt gave me a curious look as I continued, “Sir, if what you’re saying is true, then you’re breaking Snow’s morale as you speak.”
Commander Bolt sighed, “Snow made his bed, and if he continued down this road he would surely end up dead… I’m only pulling him out before he digs too deep.”

Hearing what I could only assume is an excuse I stomped my hoof as I replied, “Sir! Who are you trying to convince, him or you?”
Commander Bolt gave me an irritated look as he replied, “You…”
Feeling like I was talking out of place I replied, “Sorry sir… but… you know it isn’t entirely his fault. Lieutenant Snow is a Noble after all… having thing handed to him on a silver platter should be kind of a reflex to him. But war isn’t the life for a noble pony… and yet he still fights… why would you think that is?”
Commander Bolt looked at me as he replied, “Because his family used to be soldiers for Chancellor Puddinghead back when Equestria was founded. So he wants to keep the honor of his family by fighting for it.”
Nodding my head I replied, “but… if you will excuse my saying sir… where is the honor for fighting with traitors to Princess Celestia?”

At that moment Commander Bolt sighed as he turned away, “Lieutenant… I do believe I dismissed you already, so I would advise you to see to your soldiers and not worry about Snow.”
As I turned to the door, I replied with a depressing tone, “Oh… I… I understand sir… thanks for letting me speak freely.”
With that said, I turned away as he held his silence, but before I exited the tent, I spoke, “if it’s any consolation commander… I’m fighting too. And… honor has nothing to do with it… not anymore.”
Commander Bolt didn’t reply, instead he held his silence as I left the tent and went to see how my soldiers were doing.

As I trotted, I could see that most of the soldiers who survived the battle were rushing around to collect the wounded as Captain Storm trotted to me and spoke, “Lieutenant, I need to ask you a favor.”
I nodded my head as he continued, “I need you to round up all the surrendering Celestial Crusaders and bring them to the center of the camp. Make sure they have left their weapons at the armory tent and be sure to keep an eye out. They may have surrendered, but that doesn’t mean they will all go quietly.”
I nodded my head but still had to ask, “Okay… but I thought the enemy was supposed to leave following a battle?”
Storm shook his head, “only if the enemy surrenders. If their commander falls they are at the mercy of Commander Bolt. But don’t worry about them, Commander Bolt isn’t one to kill anypony who isn’t willing to fight.”

I nodded my head as I replied, “That makes sense… so… have you seen Lieutenant Snow lately?”
Captain Storm sighed in disappointment, “Snow’s in… a dark place right now… I think it would be best to leave him be for now. From the way he was acting, the commander tore really hard into him this time.”
I nodded my head, “he did… I personally think the commander went too far with this… but I can’t blame him. Today’s victory seems to be closer to a loss when I look at what happened during the battle. I’m starting to wonder if… Commander Bolt’s decision on this could be a bit too harsh.”

Captain Storm sighed, “It’s not your place to decide anything for him. As his officer, your only role is to follow orders and move on.”
At first I felt like I was saying something wrong to Storm as I hung my head in disappointment, but before I could reply, Captain Storm continued, “Although… that’s what a superior like me is supposed to say. If you ask me… as a friend. I think it’s common to feel a little worried but the commander’s decision is something that can only be swayed with advice.” He gave a smug smile, “In the meantime, I’ll try talking to the commander to see if he will let up a little, you know… as a friend.”
Feeling a little unusual, I looked at Storm and replied, “A… friend?”
Storm smiled as if I had told a joke, “of course, we fought together in in The Griffin Kingdoms, and even cheated death once or twice. And don’t think you’re not one of us too. You’ve been here for a long time now and through all of it you fought beside us just as he did. So if it were you on the chopping block, don’t think I wouldn’t say my two bits on the matter, just as Snow would.”

Looking at the pleasant smile on Captain Storm’s face I smiled, “Thanks sir… I hope your effort to help goes better than mine.”
Captain Storm nodded his head, “Then it should be easy if you talked to him already. Just remember that when the enemy are gathered send a soldier to tell the commander so he can come out and instruct them.” 
I nodded my head as I replied, “understood sir.”
As Captain Storm trotted off, I started thinking to myself about what he said. In the orphanage, I never really had what you would call a friend, unless you count those markings on the ground. But now that I think about it, Commander Bolt, Lieutenant Snow, and Captain Storm are the closest I ever had to friends. And if Captain Storm says it… then maybe we are friends. Smiling at this thought, I turned towards the battlefield as I started trotting to it to gather the celestial crusaders up like I was ordered to.

A few hours later, I stood in front of the large army of enemy soldiers as Commander Bolt came into the area and flew into the air so he could address them all, “Attention Crusaders! As you know, my name is Commander Star Bolt, Commander of the Nightmare Army and second in command of the Nightmare Legion! As you know, by the laws of war set down by Princess Celestia herself, you are now Prisoners to the Nightmare Legion… However… We don’t take prisoners.”
Hearing this made most of the soldiers nervous as Commander Bolt continued, “That being said, I know that you did nothing more then followed orders set down by your princess, and her commander… Who… didn’t face me himself today. Therefore, I won’t take prisoners, but I won’t execute soldiers who are unwilling to fight either. So you all have one option! Remove your armor… and leave. You can go back to Canterlot, you can go home, you could even leave Equestria for all I care. Whatever you do, just keep this in mind… today you fought with great effort. And that’s all Commander Mist would ask of you just as it was all he asked of me. With that, you have my permission to remove your armor and leave on your own. Though I am not your commander, I’ll make this order anyway. Crusaders, you are dismissed!”

At that moment, something unexpected happened. A large number of the Celestial Crusaders stood at attention as they replied, “SIR!”
I could only stand there with a shocked expression as Commander Bolt landed next to me and spoke, “Lieutenant, I sent Captain Storm to get Snow so just wait here till they arrive. I want to speak with all three of you.”
Although his voice was much calmer then the last time I talked to him, he still made me feel nervous about what he decided so I nodded my head as I replied, “Understood sir.”
“Commander Bolt!”
Both Commander Bolt and I looked to the side as a Celestial Crusader started trotting towards us as a few of our soldiers stopped him and held him back, “Let me go! I have to ta…”
Commander Bolt spoke up, “let him speak…”

The two soldiers released the enemy as he stood at attention and spoke, “Sir… do you remember me?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “I do… you were a lieutenant under my command before the war. Now wearing a shiny major’s insignia.”
The soldier nodded his head, “Yes sir, a lot has changed since you left… but… I still remember those days as if they were yesterday.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “As do I… is there anything you wanted to say to me?”
The soldier nodded his head, “yes… I wanted to know why you started this war… I want to know why you’re fighting.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Soldier… I have my reasons for fighting just as you do. Just know that I’m fighting for my reasons and I will never stop till I’m finished. Just as… you should never give up on yours.”

The soldiers nodded his head as he stood at attention and saluted, “As expected… a broken answer. Nevertheless, I wish you luck in battle sir, I hope that when this is over, I can buy you a drink… especially since I owe you for releasing us.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Sure… I’d like that.”
Dropping his salute, the soldier smiled as he turned away and trotted back to his soldiers. As the major reached his formation, I kinda expected them to give him a dirty look for saluting the enemy commander… but they didn’t, instead they smiled and welcomed him back as if he did nothing wrong. It was odd to me, enemy soldiers treating Commander Bolt with such respect. It was unlike the cruel treatment that we got when we captured that scout a few months ago, or even the looks we got from the group of scouts who found us the day I got back from that mountain. This… was a sign of respect. A sign that the commander who gave me orders is a commander worth respecting. Is this what happens when the enemy’s morale is handled with care? Or… is it respect left over from the time that he was the night commander for Princess Luna?

Whatever it was, I put it to the back of my mind as Lieutenant Snow and Captain Storm approached and saluted. When he saw them Commander Bolt stood at attention and spoke, “at ease, Snow… before I pass your punishment, I want you to tell me one thing… what’s on your mind right now?... how do you feel about your previous actions?”
Lieutenant Snow sighed as he replied, “Commander… I feel at a loss of words. No manner of plea or groveling could ever bear forgiveness for neither my action nor intentions which I regret to say… were entirely selfish. However… My pride as a noble stallion must be upheld, as I accept any and all repercussions of my actions.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “Good… nevertheless, your punishment has been changed.”
Snow Looked surprised, “Changed sir?”
“Yes… although I had a list of problem that stretched from today’s incident all the way back to the start of the war… your brother and sister in arms have given me too many reasons to overlook almost all of them… however… there will still be repercussions… so listen carefully.”

Lieutenant Snow stood at attention as Commander Bolt continued, “Since you like to put your soldiers in harm’s way, you will be given fewer solders to order. From this point on, all of your pegasi solders will be placed under Captain Storm’s command and any Soldiers with archery experience, under Lieutenant Stone’s. Therefor your numbers have been marked down by at least three hundred… or more depending on the casualty count… which I will have you give me before the end of the day. Am I clear?”
Feeling better about his situation Lieutenant Snow saluted, “Yes sir, as you order.”
Just as Lieutenant Snow turned to leave Commander Bolt continued, “where are you going?... I’m not done yet.”
Snow turned back as he stood at attention and waited for the commander to continue, “Furthermore, from this point on, you will be the officer in command during the night shift. Meaning that from now until the end of the war, all night watch soldiers will be reporting to you before, and after each shift change… every… single… hour.”

Although it wasn’t said, Lieutenant Snow’s expression became distressed as he started to speak, “S-sir I hardly th…”
“And another thing!... because of today’s actions, you are no longer the commanding lieutenant. From this point on, Lieutenant Stone will have rank over you. And if anything should happen to myself and Captain Storm, she will be first to take up position as commander.”
Snow tried to argue, “But sir… I…”
Commander Bolt smiled, “I think this is much better than a punishment fitting acts of insubordination and tactical sabotage… don’t you think?”
Understanding the size of the bullet he dodged, Lieutenant Snow sighed in disappointment as he replied, “Yes sir… I would say so…”
Commander Bolt gave him a serious expression as he replied, “What was that?... I didn’t hear you correctly. Respond as you should lieutenant.”
Understanding what he should do, Lieutenant Snow stood at attention as he replied as serious as he could, “Yes Commander!”

With that, Commander Bolt smiled as he continued, “I am sorry I had to do this. But after all we’ve been through, we mustn’t make hasty decision, am I right?”
Lieutenant Snow sighed, “I suppose we do… if I correctly recall, the good Commander Mist had to make a similar decision in the Griffin Kingdoms did he not?”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “Yea… and I learned my lesson from that, so I would suggest you do the same. Despite all the headaches… I always feel confident knowing your sword is fighting on our side.”
Lieutenant Snow smiled as he replied, “As I do your lighting sir. From this point, I will place the honor of my nobility in this lesson, and ensure that this incident may never be repeated.”
Commander Bolt placed his hoof on Lieutenant Snow’s shoulder as he replied, “That’s good to know… but your still going to have to report to Lieutenant Stone as your superior.”

Laughing at his failed attempt to change his mind, Snow looked at me and replied, “Well then Miss Stone, it looks like your bow will always overshadow my sword. Alas the tip of an arrow was always sharper than my blade, and the fortuitous form of archery had always been a fresh sigh of relief to me and my solders. So to stand in your shadow was never a burden, but noble dwelling upon me in this dire need of an abode.”
Although it was hard to tell since he spoke with a noble vocabulary I still considered it a compliment as I replied, “Well… um… thanks… I think.”
Captain Storm could only smile as he looked at Commander Bolt and smiled, “well commander, I’m glad you didn’t let your anger get the better of you.”
Commander Bolt replied, “How could I? Neither you nor Stone would give me a good reason not to forgive him. But all in all I’m glad this is decided. Knowing that my officers are willing to stand up for one another is something that’s inspiring… even if it’s against me.”

Captain Storm smiled as he replied, “C’mon commander… just cuz we all stood up to you doesn’t mean we’re against you. Let’s face it, we are in this war together, just like the last, and even though we have a new face in the group we are still fighting for our survival just like last time we were in this mess. Only this time we aren’t dealing with mercenaries.”
I smiled and added, “yea… after all, isn’t that what having friends is all about?...”
All of a sudden I felt an awkward silence surround us as Commander Bolt, Lieutenant Snow, and Captain Storm all locked their eyes on me. But just as I was feeling like I shouldn’t have used the term friend, Commander Bolt replied, “True… Friend… I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

> Ch17 The Beginning of the End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Epilogue

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