“Commander Bolt, its Captain Stone. Permission to enter your quarters, sir?”
Commander Bolt dunked his sharpening stone into a bowl of water then answered. “Granted.”
Captain Stone entered the hut, “Commander I came to report that Lieutenant Snow has just left with the Prisoners to the main prison on the center of the Everfree Forest.”
Commander Bolt continued sharpening the blade on his shield and replied, “Thank you for the report, how are the wounded?”
Captain Stone lowered her head, “Of the total we had earlier, six more died an hour ago, three will die within the next few hours, and its estimated ten more will be lost before tomorrow morning.”
Commander Bolt lowered his head, “I see, please prey for those ten. I hate seeing bad thing happen to my troops.”
Captain Stone spoke softly, “Praying won’t help them sir, the medics did everything possible, but with no luck.”
Commander Bolt sat his shield on the floor next to him and looked at Commander Mist’s spear, sitting in the corner of the room, “No, I meant. Pray that they go in their sleep… without pain, without fear.”
Trying to change the subject Captain Stone asked, “How is your ear sir?” Commander Bolt looked back at Captain Stone but he didn’t answer the question, he just stared at her quietly until she looked up at him, Then she quickly looked away.
Commander Bolt sighed, “Captain Stone, what’s on your mind?”
Captain Stone looked at Commander Bolt, “Nothing… sir… it’s just…”
Commander Bolt started trotting towards Captain Stone, “You have been quiet since the battle ended, and I know you enough to know that you have a hard time talking about problem that concern only you. So please, as your friend you need to tell me what’s on your mind.”
Captain Stone sighed and took a seat, “It’s about that commander that w… I killed this afternoon.”
Commander Bolt nodded, “I see. This was the first time you killed a pony face to face isn’t it?”
Captain Stone continued, “Not only that but he seemed so clam… so accepting of death, and when I told him to make his peace, what he said was also spoken as if he didn’t even care that he was going to die.”
Commander Bolt asked, “What was it that he said? You were close enough to hear it clearer than I could.”
Captain Stone blushed as she repeated the phrase, “Such a beautiful and noble pegasus, but I have nothing to say, so just do what you got to, and finish me. That all he said, no pleading, no final farewell, he just called me beautiful and accepted death.”
Commander Bolt put his hoof on Captain Stone’s shoulder and replied, “That was the peace he needed to make.”
Captain Stone was confused “What?”
Commander Bolt explained, “Everypony whether they know it or not, always seeks one thing in their life, love.”
“Love? I don’t understand, what’s that got to do with it?”
“At one time he must’ve fallen in love with a mare but couldn’t tell her how he felt, so he told her through you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, he never could tell her how he felt so… and I know it sounds foolish, but he told you while pretending you where the mare he was in love with.”
Captain Stone thought to herself, “It does make sense but in actuality why would he tell me and feel content, when the mare he was in love with still doesn’t know how he felt.”
Commander Bolt thought about it for a second, “Maybe he was in shock, or maybe he didn’t care about that. Nevertheless, wouldn’t you want to tell somepony you love how you felt before you die?”
Captain Stone looked at the ground and thought for a second, “I suppose it makes since, when you look at it like that, but it doesn’t seem right, all he said was that I was beautiful. He didn’t tell me he loved me or anything like that.”
Commander Bolt close his eyes and replied, “To a stallion in love… that all you need to say to be content… to accept death, sometimes a stallion can’t even get the courage to say that much, despite the dangers he puts himself in.”
Commander Bolt tried to hide his face, in his mind he was talking about his feelings for Luna. After a brief silence, Captain Stone spoke up, “Commander?”
Commander Bolt turned and looked at her, “Yes?”
Captain Stone looked at the ground and tried to say what was on her mind, “The thing is… well I… I wanted to say that I…”
Captain Stone continued to hesitate but finally she sighed, looked at Commander Bolt and peacefully smiled, “Thank you for explaining it to me sir. I guess it’s hard to understand a stallions mind in a situation such as that.”
Commander Bolt smiled, he knew that there was still something on her mind but that peaceful smile was proof enough that she wasn’t worried about it. So, he replied, “Your welcome Gem, I'm glad to see that you’re feeling better, now go get some rest. The eclipse is setting and the moon will soon rise, and we’ve had a long day”
Captain Stone turned around but before she left the room, she spoke, “That’s the second time today that you’ve called me by my first name. Thank you sir it makes me feel like I'm not just your officer. It makes me feel like I'm your friend.”
Commander Bolt replied, “Of course you’re a friend, you and the other officers are the only ponies I trust anymore, even Snow. However, don’t get used to me calling you by your first name, both times where accidental, and unless I allow it, I’ll ask that you don’t call me by mine.”
Captain Stone smiled, “I understand completely… Star.”
Before Commander Bolt could respond, Captain Stone exited the hut and went to her quarters. Commander Bolt shook his head, “Sometimes I can’t help but think she is out to get me.”
Commander Bolt turned around and picked up his shield. He looked at all the dents, scuffs and even found a few places where arrow tips went through the layer of metal coating the blade. The rime keeping the blade inside was beaten and falling off, not to mention the blade itself looked as if he had beaten a rock against it without hesitation.
Commander Bolt sighed, “These repairs will take a while.”
Commander Bolt sat the shield down and went outside. On the horizon, he could see the Eclipse slowly setting. “Commander Bolt, can I speak with you for a second?”
Commander Bolt looked to his right and saw Captain Drib standing next to him, “Oh! Captain Drib, I didn’t notice you there. What would you like to talk about?”
Captain Drib looked at the battlefield, “I was wondering of you think it’s possible that in harsh times like this, somepony can fall in love with another.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “I'm flattered, but I think I'm out of your league.”
Captain Drib got annoyed, “Sir I'm serious.”
Commander Bolt laughed, “Calm down drib, I was only joking. I know who you’re talking about and I think that it is possible.”
Captain Drib blushed, “What? How did you… who told y…”
Commander Bolt laughed again, “Hold your horses, it wasn’t hard to see. You dropped out of the sky to save her life and you stayed by her side on the way back from the front line. That’s love my friend, it doesn’t come any stronger, and to be honest, I think she likes you too.”
Captain Drib replied “Really? Did she tell you that? Wait, we are talking about Viscous right?”
Commander Bolt smiled “Of course we are! I think you should tell her how you feel.”
Captain Drib sighed, “I don’t know sir, what if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if she turns me down without any way of showing how much I care?”
Commander Bolt looked back towards the battlefield, “Captain Stone and I had a similar conversation a few minutes ago. So try asking yourself this question. What if your next battle was your last? What if you or Viscous died in the next attack? Would you rather die knowing whether you had a chance to be happy? Or would you die never knowing the truth? You already proved your love to her; you dove out of the sky and blocked the killing blow from the celestial commander’s sword. You chose to guard her on the ground when you’re much stronger in the air. Tell her how you feel, her answer might surprise you.”
Captain Drib smiled, “Thank you sir, I wasn’t expecting such advice from the great Commander Bolt.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “The reputation isn’t what a commander strives for. It’s the wellbeing of his troops and his friends. Today you and Viscous both proved yourselves as dependable and strong leaders. This may have been our first battle together but you have my trust. Now go see her. You two are relieved from duty for the night. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“Yes Commander. Thank you.”
Captain Drib trotted off into the camp, while Commander Bolt looked into the distance as the moon rose over the horizon. Something was drawing him to the battlefield for some reason; he couldn’t decide what it was. But it was like somepony, or something was calling to him.
Commander Bolt approached the lookout and asked, “Soldier, is there anything on the battlefield?”
the lookout skim through the battlefield and replied, “No sir, I don’t see anything. Did you sir?”
Commander Bolt thought to himself, the feeling was still there, he felt like he had to go out there for an important reason. He looked at the lookout and spoke, “Watch over the area, I'm going out there to scout.”
the lookout replied, “Sir? Do you think that’s wise? Why not send myself or another out. This doesn’t seem to be the duties of the commander, what if something happens?”
Commander Bolt looked down the battlefield, “I appreciate the concern but this is something I got to find out myself, so I’ll go alone.”
The lookout nodded his head, “Understood sir; I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious from here. Be careful commander.”
Commander Bolt turned and started trotting down the hill into the battlefield. Shortly after the battle ended a small group of troops gathered all the wounded and dead off the field, but they left behind pegasi feathers, puddles of blood and even a few blood soaked weapons. As Commander Bolt went further into the battlefield he noticed that there where hundreds of spears, arrows, shields, swords, and other items that where dropped amongst the carnage. The remains of the catapults also had arrows and spears sticking out of them. As he looked into the night, he couldn’t help but think that all the spears, swords, and shields resembled tombstones in a cemetery. In fact, at night this whole battlefield looked exactly like a very large Canterlot cemetery.
As the smell of blood and mud filled the air, Commander Bolt could only think, “This is the smell of Death.”
The further he went in, the more guilty he felt for the lost lives. Everypony that confronted him in combat met a terrible end and the fact that his army can hold so much power is sometimes scary to him. after a wile of trotting, he reached the hill that the Celestial commander met his end. The scars in the destroyed catapult and the commander’s blood remained fresh on the wood. This was the place that he felt he was being called too, but there isn’t anything here. a small glow on the other side of a shield caught his eye. Commander looked on the other side and found a smoldering arrow and a small pile of ash.
Commander Bolt was confused to find an arrow still burning long after the battle had ended. But then the pile of ash started to spin and mold itself together. In a bright flash, the pile of ash turned into a phoenix. Commander Bolt was surprised, “Philomena, I thought you left with Princess Celestia hours ago.”
Philomena turned to Commander Bolt and hissed at him. Commander Bolt took a few steps back to avoid being attacked, “Calm down Philomena, it me Star Bolt; you know I won’t hurt you.”
Philomena continued hissing then she jumped into the air in a ball of fire then flew off towards Canterlot.
Commander Bolt watched as Philomena flew into the distance. “It’s hard for animals to understand what we do, isn’t it?”
A dark voice came from behind Commander Bolt. Reacting quickly he picks up the shield in front of him and turns to brace himself for an attack. Nightmare Moon looked down at him spoke, “hold your horses Commander, I'm not an enemy. But I do admire your ability to react quickly.”
Commander Bolt placed the shield back on the ground, “Your majesty? Was it you that was calling me?”
Nightmare Moon looked over Commander Bolt head at Philomena and replied. “I did, I wish to speak with you. It was only coincidence, that Philomena was still out here. She had an arrow in her wing. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t trust me so she refused to allow me to help. After a while she finally bled to death, then like all phoenixes, she caught fire and rose from the ashes unharmed.”
Commander Bolt looked back toward Philomena, “It must be confusing for her, one day I'm feeding and taking care of her then the next I'm trying to kill her owner. Sometimes I wonder if we seem terrifying to the animals of this world.”
Nightmare Moon looked at Commander Bolt and replied, “I'm certain we do?”
Commander Bolt then turned back to Nightmare Moon, “Well, your majesty? Why did you summon me here?”
Nightmare Moon thought for a second, “I just wanted to talk to you.”
Commander Bolt felt confused, “Is there something you want to talk to me about?”
Nightmare Moon softly smiled, “Anything you would like to talk to me about will be fine.”
Commander Bolt was very confused now, in many situations he would feel like she was trying to get him to confess to something, but the softness of here smile said otherwise. Finally, Commander Bolt asked, “You just want to talk?”
Nightmare Moon nodded her head, “Yes, last night I started to think about the days before this war, and I found out that, the one thing I looked forward to every night was the conversations we us to have. It made me feel… happy, it seemed special to me somehow... I know this sound absurd to you commander, but I would like to talk with you as we did beck then.”
Commander Bolt couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but by the look on Nightmare Moons face, he could tell that she was serious. Commander Bolt replied with a smile, “Of course your majesty, I miss those nights too. What should we talk about then?”
Nightmare Moon smiled in a gentle way, “Why don’t you tell me about your officers. Stone I know, but the loudmouth, the pampered prince, the axe mare. Can you tell me about them?”
The Commander Bolt was shocked to see such a gentle smile on Nightmare Moons face, in fact for a few second; he could swear he was looking at Luna’s smile.
Commander Bolt started to tell Nightmare Moon about his officers, he told of Captain Stone’s Past, Lieutenant Snow’s lineage and attitude, he even told about Captain Drib’s affection for Lieutenant Viscous. They talked well into the night but before they decided to part ways Commander Bolt Stopped her, “Your majesty?”
Nightmare Moon Replied, “Yes, Star Bolt?”
Commander Bolt looked at the ground, “I… have wanted to tell you something for a long time now. Actually… I’ve wanted to tell you this for a number of years.”
Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and replied, “I know what you’re about to say… but It’s not the best thing to say right now... I'm sorry Star Bolt but this isn’t the time to tell me, please be patient… you can wait a little bit longer, can’t you?”
Commander Bolt hid his face to prevent Nightmare Moon from seeing his eyes tear up, “Of course your majesty, I… I can wait a little longer.”
Nightmare Moon turned around and replied, “If it’s any consolation though, I had a wonderful night and I hope we can do this again sometime… Good night Star Bolt.”
with that said, Nightmare Moon turned into the cloud of mist and flew into the darkness of the night.
Commander Bolt watched as she flew into the distance, and with a tear rolling down his cheek, he could only say, “I had a wonderful night too, good night… Luna.”
Commander Bolt Wiped away his tears and trot back to the camp. A lookout met him as he approached, “Is everything ok commander? I saw Nightmare Moon out there with you. Did she give you any good news?”
Commander Bolt walked by him and replied, “I went out there for recon, and you didn’t see anypony else. So… how Clear am I?”
The lookout nodded his head and replied, “Crystal sir.”
“Good.”
Commander Bolt went back to his quarters and went to sleep.
Commander Bolt had the same nightmare that he had since Commander Mist died. It was always the same dream, he was standing on a Dragon mountain looking down upon Equestria, and then the lightning orb cloud appears and starts to destroy everything within view. Commander Bolt woke to the sound of thunder. It surprised him at first but then he realized it was raining outside. Commander Bolt sat up and wiped his eyes, “What do these nightmares mean? And why…”
Just then, the lookout yelled “INCOMMING SOLDIERS, FROM THE NORTH!!!”
Commander Bolt picked up his still damaged shield and ran outside. He and the other officers approached the lookout at the same time. Then Commander Bolt asked, “What do you see soldier?”
The lookout replied, “Sir! I see multiple Soldiers coming in from the sky to the north.”
Captain Drib asked, “Celestial Pegasi?”
“No sir, Griffon Berserkers”
Commander Bolt was confused, “Griffon? But why…”
At that moment another lookout yelled, “SIR! SOLDIORS EMERGING FROM THE EVERFREE FOREST, TO THE WEST!!!”
Commander Bolt was confused, “What! Are they…”
The next Lookout yelled, “SIR, SOILDERS APPROCHING FROM THE EAST!!! WE ARE SURROUNDED!!!”
Commander Bolt couldn’t take it anymore, “ALL SOILDERS TO ARMS!!! If they are here for a fight then we will not disappoint them.”
Commander Bolt the approached his Officers, “Gather information from all the lookouts and report back to me immediately, we will need to know who we are dealing with.”