With the station clear, the rest of the New Quarter fell in short order. The enemy fought well, but they were outnumbered and outgunned. Most died fighting, a suitable death in the eyes of their dark patrons. The Unicorn Quarter was cleared by the late afternoon, and by dawn the next day, Canterlot was officially secure once more, back in pony hooves, albeit with some Imperial hands holding onto it as well. The pony reinforcements from Las Pegasus were able to move in to reoccupy the city, thousands of ponies marching smartly through the gates, keen to show their discipline and professionalism to the humans. Most of the Imperials departed, picked up by their dropships and replaced by the arriving ponies and their artillery. They were moving on, but the pony army was settling in to stay, protecting their capital.
The pony airships remained above the city, with the exception of the fast City-Class ship Fillydelphia, which was dispatched back to Griffonstone, returning on the evening of the completion of the clearance of Canterlot and delivering the Elements of Harmony along with Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and another company of Pegasi, plus supplies offered by the Griffon King in response for their efforts in defending his city.
Twilight Sparkle trotted down the gangway from the Fillydelphia's main deck. The craft was tied up at the mooring fields outside of the city, which had been the site of the enemy encampment, to unload her supplies. While some of the detritus had been removed, Twilight was nonetheless shocked at the devastation that was visible. Tents torn to shreds, men lying twisted and broken in stacks where the bodies had been piled up by the Imperials, ready for burning. Other funeral pyres had already been ignited. Though the wind was blowing away from her it could not disguise the rancid, sickly-sweet smell of burning flesh, making the young mare nauseous.
But the city was theirs, and the stylised sun-moon motif of the Equestrian flag flapped proudly in the breeze from the spires of the palace, the Towers Of The Princesses standing unbent and unsullied, glittering in the light of Celestia's sun. Seeing the numbers of enemy dead outside the walls, Twilight could only imagine what slaughter had unfolded within. Guided by guardsmen, the Elements, accompanied by Luna and Cadence, made their way past the human debris and into the city.
The cobbled streets were familiar, though some were stained with blood. Most buildings were intact, but several had suffered damage, with shattered rooves or facades blown clean off. Here, to, there were bodies piled on street corners, awaiting Imperial disposal teams or, in the case of their own fallen, a graves registration detail who would bag them, tag them, and bury them on this foreign world, their service to their Emperor completed.
Squads of pony infantry and Imperial Guardsmen roamed the streets, walking the perimeter and keeping the main thoroughfares clear. There were no civilians to worry about, the population having fled or been killed, but patrols of Pegasi scouts had been sent out into the surrounding villages and countryside to search for locals and inform them that the city was secure and back in friendly possession.
The group trotted through the streets toward the palace, their destination. They received respectful salutes from the ponies they encountered, and glances of confusion and some mirth from the guardsmen seeing the strangely technicolour parade passing them by, putting some long-serving men in mind of some of the regiments they had fought alongside whose uniforms were rather unnecessarily flamboyant.
After an uneventful journey across the city, they reached the Palace yard. A ring of Royal Guard surrounded it, parting to let the princesses and their charges pass through the tall gilded palace gates. The courtyard within backed up against the palace's main building, while pathways, normally neatly kept but now somewhat bedraggled after several weeks' neglect, led to the outbuildings and the gardens. Twilight looked around and noticed a row of seven humans, bound and kneeling, in front of the palace's protective curtain wall. She frowned and split from the group, trotting towards the curiosity.
In front of the humans stood a squad of Royal Guard, rifles slung at their flanks. Her brother stood beside them, his gold-and-purple armour resplendent in the sun. He spotted Twilight, and hesitated for a moment before trotting to her.
'Twilight! You're here...but you shouldn't be. You should be with the others,' he chided her, giving her a firm and warm embrace. 'You're here to see the princess.'
'Big brother!' Twilight returned the hug tightly. 'I know, but I couldn't go in without talking to you! I can't believe Canterlot is ours again.' She glanced at the humans. 'What are you doing out here? Who are they?'
'Prisoners,' Shining replied. 'Enemies who surrendered. The Imperials tell me it's a rare thing, for one of the enemy to surrender. They say that ordinarily the fate of their traitors should be left down to them, but because these humans surrendered within our palace, they have left them in our hooves.'
'So...what are you doing out here with them...?' Twilight asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach as she looked up at her big brother.
'We're...uh, going to deal with them appropriately,' Shining replied, trying to sugarcoat the reality for his little sister.
'So you're going to kill them?' she asked bluntly. 'You're going to...execute them? While they're tied up?' Twilight couldn't believe her brother would be party to such brutality. 'They surrendered!' she pointed out. 'You can't just...just...'
'Twily...we have to,' Shining sighed. 'They committed war crimes. We know because they freely admitted to it. In fact they seemed to be proud of it...they killed civilians. mares, foals...newborns, Twily. They massacred innocent ponies.'
'But...but you can't just execute them!' Twilight cried. 'We don't...we just don't do that! I'm going to tell the princess! You can't do this...'
'Twily...the orders came from the princess,' Shining replied. 'She commanded it herself. That's why we have to do this. But these men don't deserve to be spared, and even if they did, we don't have the ponies to spare to keep them prisoner at the moment. We've only just taken back the city and we've taken heavy, heavy losses...'
Twilight was aghast. Everything she thought she knew had been slowly crumbling ever since these humans appeared in space, and now she knew that she didn't know either her brother, or Celestia, at all. At least Shining had the excuse that he was following orders, but Celestia had deliberately ordered the execution of these men, a fate she would not even enact on Discord after his reign of terror. To make matters worse, unlike Discord, these men had surrendered, not been overpowered. They had thrown down their arms and thrown up their hands, which under normal circumstances would mean their rights were guaranteed.
'But what about the Vanhoover Convention?' Twilight raged. 'Executions of prisoners are strictly forbidden by it! Did you forget that? Did the princess forget that?'
'Twily, these humans didn't sign the convention. They aren't from this planet,' Shining tried to reason with her. 'They committed any number of atrocities that are outlawed by the convention, they show no remorse for their actions...'
'So if we kill them now, we'll be no better than them!' Twilight shouted, drawing the attention of the squad of Guardsponies as well as their captors. Shining tried to hush her.
'Twily, listen. Of course we'll be better than them. We didn't cross the stars to invade an innocent nation, slaughter innocents, take their land and their capital...Twilight, they tried to kill me, they tried to kill you, they tried to kill your friends. As...as far as we know, they...probably killed our parents,' he reminded her soberly, no news having been received of Night Light and Twilight Velvet since the invasion. 'They tried to kill the princess, and we cannot allow any of that to stand uncorrected. I understand how you feel, but you have to know. I'm not going to do this just because I was ordered to. I'm going to do it because I think it's the right thing to do.'
Twilight's anger was tempered somewhat by the heartfelt sincerity of her brother's words, and the sombre reminder that, to her sudden disgust, she hadn't even thought about her parents for days. But she was still outraged, and let her feelings be known again. 'Don't...please, don't, big brother...get someone else to do it. You don't have to be the one who...' Shining interrupted her.
'Yes, Twily. I do. I'm in command, remember? There's a law. It's an old one, an archaic one. But it's there, from the days before the princesses, even. The commander of the palace guard must preside over any...executions to take place within the city walls.'
'But...but you're not the palace guard, you're the Royal Guard! Can't they do it outside the walls?' Twilight protested, but Shining shook his head.
'The Royal Guard evolved directly from the palace guard, Twily, you know that. Remember your history...I know there's not much precedent for this, but it's an order, and it's an order that I agree with, and at a time like this, I would not want to be the one to anger the princess by disobeying.' He put a brotherly hoof on her shoulder. 'Twily...you know I'll always be here for you. But I think you should head inside. The others will be waiting. The princess will be waiting. And Twily...I don't think you should mention this to her. She's had a lot on her plate and I don't think it would help if you were to try and argue with her about something like this. Ok, Twily?'
'Yeah...y-yeah, ok...' Twilight sighed. Clearly her brother wouldn't be swayed, but she didn't have to like his decision. 'I'll see you...after I meet the princess...' she muttered, turning and trotting away. Shining watched her go before turning to address his ponies. Near the palace doors, Twilight looked back for a moment, then away, then back again, torn. Finally she stopped and turned to face her brother, who began to speak, addressing the prisoners using the suitably archaic prose of the law he was following.
'For war crimes most foul, for murder, for torture, for the slaughter of innocents, Princess Celestia, Sovereign and Co-Regent of Equestria, Bringer of Dawn and Mistress of the Day, decrees that you shall, in this place and on this day, suffer death by firing squad. There shall be no clemency, no appeal, and no escape. You must die for your abominable crimes, for so sayeth the princess. Praise the Sun.'
Several of the bound men spat in his direction, but, unfazed, Shining turned to his ponies.
'Firing party! Order arms!' he bellowed. The ponies complied, drawing their rifles and holding them in their right forelegs, butt on the ground and barrel in the air. Shining moved to stand to the right and in front of the squad.
'Firing party! Ready!'
The ponies prepared their rifles, cocking them. Twilight looked away, but found herself looking back again.
'Take aim!'
The squad brought their guns up, braced against their shoulders. An eternity passed.
'Fire!'
A roar, deafening to Twilight's ears, ripped across the courtyard as a dozen rifles flashed in unison. She closed her eyes. When she reopened them a few moments later, the seven men lay slumped on the ground. Shining Armour shouted again.
'Firing party! Order arms!'
The squad returned to their former position, rifle butts resting on the ground. One man still twitched, only wounded by the volley. Twilight could only watch in horror as her brother trotted over to him and drew his own sidearm, a revolver, from a holster on his flank. He took aim at the base of the man's skull, and Twilight could not close her eyes as her brother pulled the trigger.
A single gunshot echoed across the yard, signalling the death of all that Twilight thought she knew.
By the time Twilight found her way inside, the other Elements were wondering where she had been. She simply explained that she had been talking to her brother, though her ashen appearance made the others suspicious. Nopony questioned her, however, and soon they were in the Throne Room.
Unlike the streets outside, the Throne Room had been mostly cleared after the battle that had occured there, at least beyond the scars to the pillars, floor and walls that would take more than mere elbow grease to fix. Blackened bodies and smashed furniture had been removed, the evidence of the fury unleashed by the room's current occupant cleared away. Princess Celestia sat perched upon her throne, finally returned to her rightful place after her temporary exile. Pleasantries were exchanged with the Elements, and Princess Luna gave an update on the situation in Griffonstone. Princess Cadence requested that forces be sent to the Crystal Empire, either human or Imperial, and Celestia approved an expeditionary force as soon as one could be assembled, using ponies as scouts and infiltrators and the humans as the muscle, as had been done to retake the capital.
Twilight listened through it all, but eventually her patience ran out, her anger and confusion overtaking her sense of decorum and desire not to be insolent. 'Princess Celestia!' she called. 'What about those prisoners? The ones in the yard?' The other Elements gave Twilight puzzled looks, as they had not seen the men in question. Celestia narrowed her eyes.
'What of them, Twilight?' she asked. 'Do you have something you wish to discuss with me?'
'Yes! Uh...yes, I would like to...'
'Then let us speak in private,' Celestia interrupted her. 'Please leave us. Sister, I believe the human liason officers are awaiting an update. My dear niece, I will arrange for the expeditionary force as soon as possible. Guards? Please escort the Elements to the rooms that have been prepared for them.' Everypony did as ordered, and after a minute or so Twilight was alone with the princess.
'Well?' Celestia asked.
'Your Highness...those prisoners...my brother says you ordered them to be...' Twilight stuttered. She had never attempted to openly defy her princess before, and she was immediately regretting speaking up. 'You ordered him to kill them...'
'Yes. And?' Celestia raised an eyebrow.
'How can you just...t-they had surrendered!' Twilight shouted. She knew that defying the princess was not a wise move, but she had just witnessed seven humans gunned down with their hands and feet bound at the direction of Celestia, forcing her brother to be responsible for it, and even seeing him finish one of them off with a shot to the head, and she couldn't reconcile what she had seen with her own convictions. 'They surrendered to us and you had them killed anyway!'
'Twilight, do you not understand?' Celestia replied. 'This is a war. Not a war like any we have fought before, but a war for survival; not only ours, but for the survival of every living being here. Whether they recognise it or not, every creature on this planet owes its survival to me. Not just ponies, but Griffons, Zebras, Yaks...even the Changelings. You understand that, do you not?'
Twilight had to confess that she did not, not to the full extent that Celestia referred to. 'I...I don't know, princess...how?' she asked.
'I control the sun, and the sun is responsible for all life on this planet,' Celestia explained simply. 'I believe the Imperials have begun to understand this...I did demonstrate it to them. If I desired it, I could destroy their fleet of ships in space. If it becomes necessary, then I will do so without hesitation, to protect ourselves, not just ponykind, but every creature on this planet. But you must understand this as well. This planet...every creature here, almost without exception, has one true, ultimate desire. To live in harmony, in peace, in friendship. The current fragile balance is as close as I...as we...have come to achieving this goal. We have had conflicts, of course, but over land, over resources, over borders. Never over an existential desire to eradicate one another. That is what this enemy has brought upon us. That is what my sister and I sensed from them. I suspect you felt it also. They desire nothing more than the destruction of this planet, or at least its inhabitants.'
'Yes, I...felt something...' Twilight had to nod in agreement. 'But I do not know what it was. Although it can't be a coincidence that these humans appeared at the same time.'
'That is why we fight,' Celestia explained. 'Even the Changelings, even the Yaks, Diamond Dogs...every creature ultimately wishes peace. They just differ in the means they wish to use to achieve it. The Diamond Dogs hide away from enemies, the Changelings feed on their love, the Yaks and Griffons go to war to achieve peace. And we ponies use the power of friendship. We offer help, we offer aid, we offer assistance to these other races. Trade, diplomacy...and if needs be, we fight to maintain our chance of ultimate peace on this world. Only when it is truly necessary. Twilight, you know the nature of magic, at least of pony magic. You know how powerful it can be. Now consider Alicorn magic, another class entirely. We know of nothing in magic or in science that can stand against it. If I wanted to, long ago I could have conquered this world whole, either with or without my sister's aid. Do you know why I have not? Because the creatures on this planet have free will, and however powerful someone or something is, that does not give them any right whatsoever to strip a creature of that free will. But that is precisely what these invaders have done. They traveled across the stars, from whence we could have no realistic expectation of their arrival. They did not seek to parlay or to enact diplomacy, as the Imperials did. They simply began to fight us. Thousands of civilians and soldiers dead by their hands with no chance for negotiation, as if they care not for our free will or our right to exist. They represent everything that we have fought against these past millennia, everything my sister and I have tried so hard to eradicate from our culture. It may seem cruel, and it may seem like taking a page from their book, and perhaps it is. But sometimes, if the circumstances warrant, you have to ignore your principles temporarily, for the greater good. An enemy like that would not spare you or I. An enemy like that would treat a flag of surrender as an invitation for unrestrained violence. An enemy like that would violate every moral tenet that a civilised society would deem to be inviolable, purely out of sport or naked bloodlust. An enemy like that does not deserve quarter, and it shall receive none from me.'
Twilight listened to her leader's impassioned speech, and found herself nodding slowly. What Celestia said made sense, and Twilight knew that peace was the ultimate goal of Equestrian society. Everything in their history had been leading to it- the unification of the pony tribes, the subjugation of the Windigos, the overthrow of Discord and the defeat of Sombra, all aimed not at domination, but at preventing the domination of others over the ponies. That was why Celestia was so worshipped and revered among her citizens- she did not rule through fear and hate, but through loyalty and love. She did not go to war for sport or for conquest, only to protect her ponies, and she was right- this enemy was the exact opposite of that. The tolerance of the princess could only extend so far, and evidently she had just revealed the exact extent of it. Twilight could see, as ever, the wisdom in Celestia's words. Her confidence in her leader was starting to recrystallize after being heavily tested.
'I...I understand, Your Highness. It was just a shock to me, to see my brother...in charge of such things. I didn't know capital punishment was still legal...'
'It isn't,' Celestia replied bluntly. 'Not among those races that have signed the Vanhoover Convention. But these humans have not signed it, and even if they knew of it, I am sure they would proceed to thoroughly ignore its statutes and clauses. If anything these enemies seem to revel in performing tasks that we would consider crimes against ponykind. They have no compunctions about disemboweling newborn foals, forcing mothers to watch their children die, burning down hospitals...whatever they can do that would make others sick to their stomach, makes them euphoric with glee. Such evil is beyond anything we have encountered before. Sombra and Tirek pale in comparison against such misdeeds.'
Again, Twilight knew her words contained more than just a grain of truth. The despoilers had run rampant and caused much destruction- she had seen it for herself. Perhaps she had just been overreacting to what she had seen outside? Perhaps it was merely shock from seeing her brother involved in it. Perhaps deep down she had always known that such things might be necessary in extreme situations, which this definitely qualified as. It was a potentially slippery slope, but Celestia had a firm grip and strong hooves.
'Yes, princess...'
Celestia nodded before continuing. 'I will say right now, that I am perfectly willing to issue the same order again should we come into possession of any more enemy prisoners. But thank you, Twilight. Thank you for raising your concerns. I know you have had a lot to think about of late, but it takes courage to stand up and do what you did, to stand for what you believed to be right. I hope I have explained to your satisfaction why this is a special case.'
Twilight gave a small sigh. She remembered that Shining Armour had told her not to mention the issue to the princess at all, but she was glad she had done, because it felt like a weight off her mind. She knew that Celestia had never issued such orders before in battles against the Changelings, Griffons, Yaks, or Sombra's army of shadows, but Twilight realised now that this was, indeed, a special case. Things were different, different on a scale so vast she still hadn't quite comprehended it. Everything since she had seen that ship in the heavens had been something of a blur to her. She had needed to speak, but more than that, she needed to cry.
A few tears filled the corners of her eyes as she replied. 'Y-yes, princess. I understand. I just...it's all so...so strange to me...' Twilight found herself shaking, and soon she was sobbing. Everything was changing so fast. Her parents might be dead. Canterlot had been lost and retaken. Cloudsdale and Manehattan were still in enemy hands...and Ponyville, her home. Her friends, other than the Elements, were mostly there, or had been. Who knew where they were now? She suddenly felt a wave of confusion, grief, and fear wash over her so completely she almost collapsed onto the floor. But soft wings caught her, and the princess laid her down gently, bringing her close, wings enveloping her like a cloud.
'Hush, my faithful Twilight. Do not fear,' Celestia's voice had changed from that of a stern and determined ruler to that of a soothing matriarch, comforting her crying student, holding her close. In the absence of her parents, Celestia was the next best thing, perhaps better in some ways. The princess knew the weight of responsibility better than any creature- her speech had just reinforced that. The weight that Twilight bore, representing magic to the Elements and being their de facto leader, was a large cause of her current state of mind. The possibility that the Elements, or their wielders, were what had attracted the enemy to them in the first place, had been a constant companion of the young mare throughout the events that had unfolded. Twilight knew that all of those responsibilities, all of those fears, were multiplied a thousandfold for the princess. It could be her magic that had attracted them, she led the entire nation, not just five other mares, and, as she had just explained, she was responsible for the lives of every creature on the planet, whether they realised it or not.
Celestia held Twilight as she sobbed, comforting her even as she let her pour out her grief and confusion. Celestia had seen much over the years, life and death, good and evil, victory and defeat, but even she had to admit there was something strange about this situation. More than just the fact that the enemy, and the Imperials, had come across the void to reach them, more than just the knowledge of an entire galactic civilization of these humans and a dozen other extremely hostile alien races besides. The Imperials had told her that the enemy flagship had been destroyed, the source of the warp storm and the heart of the taint that the enemy brought to their world. But the unease, the clawing feeling at the back of her mind, the whispered voices, were still there.
If anything, they were getting louder.