(18: Scorched Earth)
Stellar coughed violently and snapped out of his semi-conscious state. Bolting upright, his vision began to spin, with the only fixed point being the bright glow of a unicorn.
“Easy there, soldier,” the calm voice of a white unicorn in purple armour said. “We can't have you making your condition worse, when there's still a battle to fight.”
As his vision gradually solidified, Stellar noticed a plethora of magical flashes beyond the static glow of Shining Armour. These were due to a mass of teleportation spells; the magi who had been focused on buffing the Empire's magic barrier coming to the rescue of their warrior allies.
“Shining Armour?” Stellar asked. Though his head was still swimming, it had calmed down enough to understand get an impression of what was going on.
“Do you need another manna potion?” Shining asked. “I don't have many left, but given what you achieved today, I'd say you've earned them.”
“Hang on a second.” Realising where he was, Stellar jumped to his hooves, stumbling into Shining’s hooves as he tried to regain his balance. “Why aren't we still on the battlefield? Where is Commander Emerald?”
Silence fell between Shining and the Unicorn troops who had followed him down to the front gates. One look at their grim expressions told him that they would not be giving him good news.
“Emerald is dead.” Stepping into Stellar's field of vision, Meteor's voice was filled with a deep sense of remorse, her face a sorrowful grimace. “Sacrificed himself to allow us to escape, he did. Tried to kill Moonshadow. Only stalled him.”
“We need to get back out there!” Stellar tried to make a break for the gate, but Shining Armour blocked his path.
“Stop for a second and look where you're going!” A simple gesture to the walls gave Stellar all the information he needed about his current situation. The walls were starting to crumble, the front gates buckling inward with each smash of the enemy siege machines.
“I have failed,” Stellar dipped his head and dropped to his knees, expecting to be dishonourably discharged for his actions. “I willingly defect my leadership to you, Captain Armour.”
“That won't be necessary,” Shining said in a reassuring manner. “The siege isn't over yet. We're still standing, and we have an army that can still fight. Cadence chose you as one of the Empire's heroes. So, if we are still alive to defend the Empire, I believe in her judgement, and to that end, I believe in you as well.”
Stellar didn't reply right away; he needed a moment to contemplate the gravity of the situation. As much as he wished it was not so, there was no denying that Moonshadow was far too powerful for any pony to defeat one on one. Even with the combined power of Shining's army, Stellar was certain that it still wouldn't be enough. Emerald's death proved this; a fact which weighed heavy on his soul. Would it even be possible to win a war against a pony of such incredible power?
Yet, any thoughts of simply giving up were quickly dismissed. Stellar knew better than that.
It didn't matter what the state of his self-confidence was. He was alive. He was here, surrounded by ponies who were, as they had always been, ready to lay down their lives in defence of the Empire. What kind of pony would he be if he just shrugged his shoulders and did nothing when his initial tactics didn't go quite according to plan?
Even if he had been discharged right then and there, he would still be fighting. It was simply the right thing to do; the only thing he could see himself doing. “What are your orders, Captain?”
“First of all, just call me Shining for now. Second, we need a way to adjust the enemy numbers in our favour and slow down Moonshadow so Cadence has time to intercept him. So, Stellar, how would you achieve that?”
Stellar looked up at his surroundings. The lower district, like the rest of the Empire, had grown so much since the revival. If it wasn't for the sound of clashing weapons and war cries, the emptiness of the buildings would've had an eerie quality to them. Stellar's attention was pulled to the front gate just as a massive blast of magic ripped through the metal doors, beckoning a stream of Phantom Stallions to come marching in.
Looking over the front lines, Stellar could see many familiar faces spread out across the newly unified regiment, all charging into combat with their unique fighting styles and little concern for tactical organisation. Likewise, the unicorn mages jumped to their hooves, suddenly startled awake as their defensive buffer spells were broken. Grabbing whatever spare weapons they could scavenge from the fallen with their magic, they too rushed into close combat with little regard for their own safety. Many became easy prey for the Phantom Stallions, their flimsy robes providing little protection.
Stellar knew that this needed to change, now. “Shining,” he said. “I know what needs to be done.”
“Do tell,” Shining replied. “But hurry, I don't know how long the front lines are going to last.”
“Over there, second row on the centre-left,” Stellar said, pointing his hoof at the red unicorn he had saved during his first encounter with the Phantom Stallions. “That unicorn with magnifying glass and galaxy cutie mark. His name is Far Seer. Can you order the mages to fall back and then teleport him to me?”
Focusing his magic, Shining warped himself to Far Seer's position in a flash of light, warping back the second he saw his new orders being followed, the Phantom Stallions chasing the mages getting intercepted by their armoured allies.
“Wha... what's going on?” Far Seer asked in confusion. “Stellar? Captain Shining Armour? Did you just remove me from the fight?”
“I asked the Captain to do so, yes,” Stellar said. “I need your help.”
Far Seer through his hoof up in salute, “I'm at your service, Commander!”
“I need you to teleport a select number of heroes from the front lines. I will boost your magic to help complete the spell.”
“Consider it done, Commander! Just point me in the direction of the hero you want me to retrieve.”
“Good to see you haven't lost a shred your boisterousness, Seer!” Stellar added with a delighted grin. “First, you see the female bat pony over there, with the wing blades?”
“On it!” One by one, Far Seer teleported all of the heroes who had stood out most to Stellar over the course of the battle, gathering them in a circle around him and Shining.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Garnet snapped. “Moonshadow will be here any second! Do you want us to die?”
“I think you'll find we're all aware of that,” Meteor sneered in return. “Now how about shuttin' yer trap and lettin' Stellar speak?”
“Why, you little-”
“Enough!” The loud command from Shining Armour silenced the bickering ponies. “All units, hold the line until I give the word! The fight isn't over yet.”
“Thank you, Shining,” Stellar nodded to his Captain and turned to face his team. “You have all shown yourselves to be incredible fighters in this battle, and to say the Empire wouldn't be the same without you is an understatement. We may have had... a bit of a setback, shall we say. But just as the Elements of Harmony use their friendship to expel the evil from this world, so to must we aid each other to protect the Empire from the evil that seeks to destroy it. As long as our faith in the Crystal Heart remains unwavering, we can still win this war.”
“Nice speech and all,” Garnet interrupted, shooting a harsh glare in Moonlight's direction, “but if you want to convince me to work with that traitor over there, you're going to have to give me a much better reason than useless platitudes.”
Just lovely, Stellar sighed as he thought to himself, noticing how Moonlight visibly cringed at Garnet's insult. Another obstacle to deal with.
“Garnet, this is no time for personal grudges,” Shining Armour stepped in. “We don't have many options right now, so drop the attitude and listen to what Stellar is saying.”
“No, she's right,” Moonlight said, her monotone voice drained of its fervour.“I followed Commander Emerald's orders, and now he's dead. I've betrayed the Crystal Empire, so the best I can do now is die for it, just as Emerald did.”
Moonlight had been expecting to receive a face full of earth pony hooves for her actions eventually, which Meteor granted to her. What her sister-in-arms said after grabbing her head in her front hooves to force eye contact, she didn't see coming.
“Emerald chose his fate, and all ye did was what ye've been trained ta do,” Meteor said, even as the gap between the Empire's defenders and her became ever smaller. “Yer not wrong in sayin' that ye should do as yer commanders tell ye to; ye taught me that well enough. But sometimes rules are meant ta be broken. Emerald thought ye were dead inside that block o' ice! He ordered me to leave ya, but I said neigh ta that. Yer more important to the Empire alive than dead, so instead of blubberin' like a filly who lost her favourite toy, how 'bout we help each other ta decide when rules work for a given situation?”
“But...Garnet...”
“Sod Garnet! I've been livin' in ta empire long enough ta know that Crystal Ponies are even more stubborn than we Earth Ponies are! Now what do ya care more about? Fighting for the Empire, or what some grouchy old mare thinks about yer guts?”
“I hope you realise I'm standing right next to you!” Garnet growled through gritted teeth, twirling her mace in her hoof as she fought the temptation to smack both mares on the head with it. “Or are you really losing your sanity so much you've forgotten who you're talking to?!”
“Please, stop fighting against one another!” Far Seer pleaded, only for his words to fall on deaf ears.
“That's enough!” Shining's voice boomed with an uncharacteristic display of anger, grabbing the three mares’ attention yet again. “You want what's best for the empire? Fantastic, so do I! And as much as I hate to do this, I am pulling rank and ordering you all, both as your Prince and your Guard Captain, to forget about your useless grudges and work together as Stellar suggests. Moonshadow will be here any second, and without a cohesive strategy, we are doomed to failure. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir!” Moonlight and Meteor both saluted simultaneously, with Far Seer breathing a sigh of relief. Garnet took a few seconds longer to grumble under her breath before she did so as well.
“Good,” Shining said just as another explosion tore out a piece of the city walls, allowing yet more Phantom Stallions to pour in. “We haven't much time. Stellar, please inform us of your plans.”
Moving swiftly on without further acknowledgement of the interponyal drama, Stellar took a deep breath and gestured to the army in front of him, his team together looking over to where his hoof pointed. “Our army has made a valiant effort to fight against the Stallions using conventional warfare, but clearly, it wasn’t enough. Therefore, we must divide and conquer through scorched earth instead.”
“What does that mean?” Moonlight asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“It means he wants to blow everything up,” Garnet commented, holding back little of the sarcasm in her voice. “And somehow that will save the Empire.”
“What?!” Meteor yelled, her expression wide with shock. “Is that true, Stellar? Ye think destroying the city will protect it from Moonshadow?”
“Not quite,” Stellar replied, retaining a calm demeanour despite the heightened emotions around him. “Yes, we will be destroying parts of the lower district, but no, not entirely. It has to be done in a tactical manner. We don't have a hope of outlasting the Phantom Stallions in single combat, but if we reduce their numbers by burying them under tons of solid crystal? Then we have a fighting chance.”
“And what about Moonshadow?” Moonlight asked.
“That is where you come in,” Stellar paused for a moment, though his face was unreadable to anypony else. Moonlight wondered if even Stellar was starting to question the chances of his own plans succeeding, though she also knew that with the impending danger of Moonshadow on the horizon, asking questions of strategic validity was not an option. For now, it was easier to do what she had always done, and cling to the belief that her superiors knew what she was doing.
“There is no organisation among the Pegasi right now,” Stellar continued. “We also need to get word to the Princess that Moonshadow is heading straight for the Crystal Heart. That is, my friend, where you come in. Moonlight, I want you to be the one to deliver the message to the Princess. Fly towards the upper districts as fast as you can, and while you’re at it, tell your fellow Pegasus Ponies to follow Far Seer's directions and bomb these monsters back to Tartarus with everything they've got!”
“And after that?”
Stellar grinned. “After that, get your butt back here and help with the bombing! We're going to need all the help we can get.”
“You can count on me!” Moonlight saluted with childlike enthusiasm, spreading her wings to their maximum length and bolting off into the sky. Though the guilt over indirectly causing Emerald's death still lingered, she now knew that she had another chance for redemption; one that she wasn't going to squander in a hurry.
“Far Seer, stick by me. The rest of you, follow Shining Armour. I will direct him to where you are needed most, but for now, use the narrow streets to your advantage. Shining, I trust you are still willing to hold enough authority to organise the troops according to my directions?”
Shining Armour looked back at the empty buildings that made up of his home. Though he did not say it out loud, the single tear that he shed told the heroes of the empire how much his heart was breaking to know the necessity of the destruction to come. “Spoken like a true Captain,” Shining said, forcing a smile. Casting a spell to amplify his voice, Shining Armour made his commands. “Everypony, fall back and scatter! Form into units of three ranks each to block off every road you can. All Pegasi and archers, cover their retreat! This is our last stand; we either defeat the Phantom Stallions, or die trying!”
Shining's words came not a moment too soon, as with a blast of magic that obliterated the remains of the front gate, Moonshadow crossed the boundary into the Empire. Readying his kite shield, Shining turned away from his dividing army to face Stellar, saluting him just as he prepared to teleport away. “Heart watch over you, Stellar Shine.”
“Coming from you, that means more to me than words can express.” Returning the salute, Stellar and Far Seer zapped out of existence, reappearing on a roof between spires a second later.