//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17 - Eventful Night 
// Story: Twilight Daylight: The Cold War 
// by thedarktome 
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It were centuries ago Celestia feared the time was nigh when every creature in Equestria would bear arms. When all would aim their spears, arrows and swords to the blue skies in one another's direction. When every creature would fight each other and only one kind would prevail. She wasn't even alive during the age when Pegasi, Unicorn and Earth Pony were raging against one another under the snow and ice. Yet she feels that the upcoming days will top even her ancestors' nightmares.

Celestia couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned under the safety of her comforters and the cool glow of her sister's moon. Awash in the cool evening light. The situation was too great to even permit the closing of eyes. She rose from under the comfort of her cotton bed sheets and moved for her bedroom's door. Even her shadow, dancing among the many delicates of her personal space, seemed restless.

Celestia quickly slipped on a robe and stepped out into the castle's quiet halls. Save for the passing of Guards, she was completely alone. All of IHT's members were sleeping the night away. Bathing in the blue hue of the moon pouring through their open windows. Except for two apparently.

Celestia stopped walking when she spotted Cadance and Luna pass through a connecting hall up ahead in favor of the left side of the castle. What were they doing up? Especially Luna, didn't she have dreams to tend to?

She eagerly followed them to an open balcony commanding over Canterlot below. A mental note was written to have them secured in the event the enemy reaches the city. Because they were coming. There were no doubt in their minds.

Only when she walked out into the moonlight and air did they finally notice her presence. Cadance and Luna were on one side talking to each other underneath the stars and moon. But ceased when Celestia made herself known.

Luna asked, "Couldn't sleep, sister?"

Celestia sighed with a slow shake of her head and dropped her flanks down to the stone. "There is too much to be done," she solemnly replied. "Some tasks are long overdue than others."

Cadance nodded and agreed. "Yes, we must begin organizing shelters in the events ponies become homeless. There's no telling what Psera is bringing our way."

"That's not what I meant, although that should be prepared immediately." Celestia turned her attention to the stars shining upon them from above. As if they were a long distant memory, she stared upon them with longing. "Dawn and Madun were family. And we never said goodbye."

The space to her left grew quiet. A shadow of the life below them and beyond.  The songs in the wind were the only source of sound. Cadance asked among the melody, "Do you think Twilight would even allow us?"

Celestia honestly wasn't even sure. Let alone hopeful. After everything that has happened threats were the only answers that have been coming out of her mouth. But it was the right thing to do regardless, whether she responded or not.

Celestia answered, "If she doesn't, then it's okay. At least we tried. All we need to do is ask."

Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle was always listening. Whether they believed it or not, the odds of them coming out of this war currently approaching their shores unscathed were less than none. She was always one step ahead. Even with Mimi's help, they would be behind. Something disastrous would happen, and it would be big.

But since they had her undivided attention... Celestia cleared her throat and said to the air, "I know you're listening, Twilight. And I know you're watching."

She was right. While the rest of her family and friends were sleeping, Twilight was staring out the windows in front of her room watching her country rest. The bright lights of Rayray matched the glowing sclera of her eye, flowing with magic. Sleep didn't come naturally these days. Especially after her face was burned. The doctor prescribed her medicine to ebb the pain, but it was still hard to sleep knowing her family wasn't alive within hoof's reach.

So she turned to the wine cabinet in her office, poured her a drink, and watched the world around her settle until she slept soundly into the next morning. The nights afterwards were the same. Tonight would be no different. Standing in front of the window, swirling her glass cup nonchalantly. Hair dancing in an unseen breeze highlighting the hallway. But her mind was on Celestia's words, flowing through her ears like a ghostly river.

"We're extremely sorry for your loss. Dawn was an amazing filly. She always looked up to you and 'how much mommy knew.'"

Twilight smirked and let out a small laugh. Mommy knows a lot, sweetie.

"Madun and Dawn were family to us. And just like anypony, they deserve the right to have their family say goodbye to them. We never had that chance. Cadance, Luna and myself are requesting permission to step onto Psera one last time to say goodbye."

Once Celestia wrapped up, Cadance asked, "Are you certain she will allow us?"

"I am not certain of anything in this time. We can only hope she will accept." The Conversation died to let the winter breeze blow the snow into the air. Attaching to their coats and robes. Soon Equestria won't look like this. Really soon, the streets below the castle will remain silent when the envoy arrives.

"You know, Dawn looked up to you." The Princesses turned around to face the voice of their fears. Queen Arcadia standing behind them in an elegant Violet Robe. Staring with an emotionless expression with a wine glass in her hoof before the patio's entrance. The moon's glow wrapped her in its essence, bathing her in a calming blue. But it was pretty obvious she had anything but calm thoughts running through her mind.

They held a stare off before Twilight raised the glass to her mouth and took a sip of the wine. Alcohol, Celestia could smell it from here. When she lowered it, Twilight smacked her lips and swirled it around ominously. "She told me about what she heard ... The rumors that 'Celestia raises the sun.' But she couldn't see it herself. She was too busy being a Princess in training.

"Then she told me about everything she saw here in Equestria during her visit as an ambassador. But she knew it were much bigger than the skies above Canterlot. Her father knew only a little, but nowhere near as much as I. So I told my baby girl what it was like. About everything I saw under the care and guidance of Princesses Celestia, Luna, and even Cadance. What I learned, what I experienced while I was reprimanded from the throne for 'crazy theories.' That my country was in danger and that we needed to get rid of that Zebra."

Again they didn't respond. Instead, they listened and watched Twilight gulp down her pain. Then walk forward to them with her eyes glued to the wine glass. She could see her daughter's mane in the liquid. "Dawn enjoyed listening to my stories. About..." Twilight raised her head and stared at them with an empty glowing gaze. Unreadable, full of emptiness. "About how the nation of Equestria, full of magic and power, held all wonders of friendship. Where she could meet ponies like her. And practice magic under the same guidance of the ponies who taught me."

She stopped directly in front of Celestia. Her eye smoldered into hers. Blazing with a violet fire. "But if she were alive today, I would forbid her from even speaking that name anywhere in my country again. Because Equestria is the reason disharmony exists."

Celestia calmly replied, "You know that's not true, Twilight. Things happen. Some we don't like. We are really sorry about Madun and Princess Dawn—"

"Sorry isn't going to cut it!!" Twilight bellowed. She used her magic to pull aside the hair in front of her face. To show the burn that took up half of what was under it. To pierce her blind eye into their seemingly concrete souls. "I witnessed my family die!! I witnessed my civilians die!! My people perished because I saved your lives!! The least we are asking for is that you hand over the Zebras! That's it! They killed our kings, they killed our Queens, they killed our Princesses!! And they will do it again!"

She was scared. Twilight was fearful for the safety of her country which was pushing her to make decisions based off of that and that alone. Cadance strode forward and tried to appease those fears. "Creatures change, Twilight."

"Puh!" Twilight glared at her foalish sister-in-law. "No they don't. Deep inside of all of us are the feelings of remorse. Pain, suffering, anger, disgust, jealousy, a hole where something should be!" Twilight dragged her long wings over to Cadance. "Only to discover that nothing will ever be the same. The hole that those Zebras burned into my heart will always be empty and nothing will let me move on. All I can do now is ensure it never happens again. And you're denying me that. You are denying my country the peace they need. Molten watched her family die first. Then she watched her son die."

Cadance was magically yanked forward into Twilight's snarling face. "How would it feel if The Crystal Empire were attacked, and you watched Flurry Heart, your daughter, die in your hooves? Then you learned that it was us, Psera, who took over, murdered your citizens and killed your daughter. What would you do?"

Cadance gulped but didn't answer until Twilight yanked her closer. "Answer me! What would you do, huh?! What would you do if you had the chance?"

Luna stepped in front of Cadance to shield her from Twilight's vocal wrath. "That's enough, Arcadia!" She bellowed.

Arcadia smoldered and turned her back to them. Her words came out in a sad whisper. "My ponies, my innocent civilians died... To save your lives. My ... Family is dead..."

"Twily—"

"DON'T!" She whipped back around with tears streaming down her face. Eyes clenched, teeth barred, muscles quivering in unbridled anger. "Don't call me that! Only my family calls me that and you are not my family because my family is dead!! And you defend the monsters who murdered them in cold blood!"

"The Zebras were innocent too," Luna countered. "Two wrongs do not make a right."

"Do not try and guilt me with philosophies, Princess Luna," Twilight gravely warned. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be here. You'd still be on the moon. If it weren't for me, none of you would be here. Do not try and keep yourself from that truth because you know it is so."

"Enough, Arcadia." The voice wasn't from the Princesses in front of her. It wasn't from the sources of her anger. It came from an alabaster Unicorn behind her.

Queen Arcadia slowly glanced back to see Madam Virtue Singe standing by in a robe. Watching, listening. She bravely approached on careful hooves and warned, "Do not let this grief control your heart. This pain, this sadness, it's turning you into the creatures you helped put away. You are stronger than that darkness, Arcadia."

"Singe," Twilight whispered. Arcadia's fury calmed and her posture righted. "I certainly would not have expected you to say such words."

"I say them because you need to hear them." Singe placed a soft hoof on Twilight's chest. A place where her heart should be but seemed to have disappeared. "Your heart is what brought us all together. Your beliefs for a brighter future is what helped bring all of us to this day. It's what bonded us, strengthened us, it's what created Unity between our countries. Without you, none of us would be here. We don't want to fight you, we want to help you. Without bloodshed."

"Blood has already been shed."

"Do not add to the pool filled with the blood of your first family. We're very sorry for your loss, Twilight. You had a beautiful daughter and a loving husband. But now... It's time to move on."

Her words reached the surface of Twilight's hardened heart. Licking at the flames of her anger and pain. But they weren't strong enough to pierce it. Twilight respectfully removed Singe's hoof from her chest and walked around her. "Thank you, Singe. But..."

She stopped in front of the entrance and turned to face them with an ominous expression full of suspicion and angst. "Psera is not like the rest of your nations. We may be ponies, but we're not weak. We do not stand idly by while our friends and family are hurt. I cannot simply 'move on.'"

Cadance took a step forward and argued, "Looking for a peaceful resolution is not weak, Arcadia."

"Of course not, I was taught better than that and I teach the same beliefs to my subjects. But unfortunately, a peaceful resolution is not in this stack of them. We were attacked and we struck back. This is a war you're in the middle of and you are instigating. Denying my country its right to response. This war between the Zebras and Psera never ended. We only strike when we're attacked."

Arcadia walked back over to stand in front of Madam Singe. "Now Psera is tired of being attacked. This all began when we tried to help the Zebras. They slaughtered and stole from my ponies. So we slaughtered them back. This time, there was no stealing. Just killing. It will happen no more. My ponies are nonviolent in nature, but Psera will forevermore be prepared for an attack, warranted or unwarranted. We will strike back and it will never happen again. The Zebras are a plague to Psera."

Twilight pressed a glowing hoof to the stone below them and slowly raised it up to show a rapidly growing flower. "They infest our country with kindness, like a pretty dandelion. But when that dandelion is big enough, it will spread and take over either destructively or non. This is the second time, the first for me. And I was a direct victim."

Twilight wrapped her hoof around the stem and yanked the weed out from between the cracks. "Their target was my daughter. And they killed my daughter. They killed my husband. And they killed my supporters. Not only did they attack my country and myself. They tore down everything I worked so hard to achieve. Let me explain something you don't know, Princesses and Singe."

She threw the Dandelion over the edge of the balcony, uncaring where it landed. "It was already tough having ponies trust me. Even as Queen, I was looked down on. I could feel it, I could hear it, and I could definitely read it. Keeping my seat on the throne meant long nights behind my desk, fulfilling or denying late wishes and dreams with sweat and tears. My ride in Psera was not easy."

Arcadia walked past Singe, Cadance and Luna over to the ledge to look down on Canterlot. "I wasn't a Natural Pseratep. I wasn't born on Psera, I wasn't raised on Psera. But I came, healed and took over. Earning a Pseratep's trust is an acquired honor that doesn't exist overnight. And I wasn't there nearly long enough to reach that point. I faced jealousy, I faced hate, and I faced all forms of disrespect, despite what you saw when you came there. Many ponies did respect me, but a majority did not just yet, although they gave me a chance."

Twilight turned around and stood tall once more. "But I faced their hate with love. I respected the Pserateps because I could understand. I too would have mistrusted me were I in their position. You wanna know why I have so many guards?"

Cadance already knew. "Because you're a mare, you told us a long time ago."

Twilight was honestly surprised she remembered that. It was so many years prior to this conversation. She smirked and answered, "Partly. The mares in the Fire Family were targeted by dark individuals, but also because I faced ridicule each and every day I was with Madun, and even more when I was Queen. Whenever I walked the halls, I faced the misgiving stares. The glares, the slurs, the disrespect. Molten knew I wasn't going to fight back, no matter what they did. She knew I could, but also knew I wouldn't. So she assigned The Elite Guard in place of the Royal Security to me and my family. They're there because I'm there.

"Even on the throne it was hard. If Blueblood hadn't attempted an assassination on my wedding day, another Pseratep would have. Each day I was watched to ensure I didn't mess up and even then, it wasn't simple, despite how I make it seem. In all my years, I never knew that true hard work came from doing nothing but pushing forward."

She walked back to stand in front of Singe. "But eventually, Psera trusted me. I was given the title Saviour of Psera. But there were more unofficial titles such as 'Kind's Daughter,' 'The Great Love,' and 'Violet Queen.' I had officially earned Psera's trust. But do you know what happened next?"

Celestia had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer. But she whispered, "Tell us."

"Maheera attacked. And all of you begged for us to assist you. This was my first test to show my loyalty to my country. A majority of Psera's Council and representatives wanted you to stay out. They insisted I create a shield around Psera to keep anyone from crossing over. But I offered them another choice: To help in this war. To show Maheera Dark that we were ready for her and to give everyone else a fighting chance because Psera is not selfish. We are strong. At my word, they decided that they would help. But it hurt my reputation by a relatively small percentage."

Cadance knew it. She knew Psera looked down on Twilight at some point, it made sense. But she didn't know by how much.

Twilight raised her glass and took another sip of the wine before continuing. "When I brought you back, I lost rep once again by using our land as a place of shelter for you. And finally, the biggest attack that put me down hard: Dawn's birthday. The CPC Disaster. Magic destroyed those towers. And because I didn't inform the Capitol, I was abused with words. Even my husband looked down on me. I was back at the beginning, if not further.

"But I never gave up. I didn't send the military to Equestria to fight Maheera because I didn't want those soldiers to die protecting us. Especially myself. It would be pointless."

Luna whispered, "What do you mean?"

"If I weren't sealed away, I would have, more than likely, been dethroned. I would not be Queen, despite what Molten said. I would be deemed untrustworthy. And there's a chance I would've been forced off of Psera. It's happened before in our history. Queen Vellomantra.

"An explosion in Events at Eventa trapped over two thousand Pserateps inside an inferno. All because she failed to acknowledge a major pipeline circulating into this Sector was under threat of over-pressure. And she was warned. But she waved it off. She thought that pushing more gas through the line would help lower prices of essential productions. Instead it destroyed a fifth of Events of Eventa and killed thousands. She was exiled to the unknown west, and soon the Fire Family took the throne. She was never heard from again. One of Psera's epics.

"If I didn't sacrifice a decade of my life, that would have become of me. I would have been exiled, and my daughter would grow up without a mother. I could beg and plead for my daughter but by all rights she belonged to Psera. And I would have to leave her behind. But despite the consequences, that did happen, didn't it?"

Twilight smoldered with distrust back to Celestia. "I know what Molten told you. That I would have been given a small pop on the wrist. But that's just not true. If I didn't sacrifice myself, the life that I built on Psera would have to go on without me. Of course I could just come back to Equestria, but my family, the one I worked so hard to have would be across seas. Five hundred miles away from me. And I would suffer for the rest of my life knowing that my daughter is growing up without her mother because I decided to protect and help you."

Luna argued, "But Maheera Dark was an enemy of Psera—"

"And we didn't have to fight her," Twilight rudely pointed out. "I could have raised a shield using the Obelisks as advised. It was an option. We could have easily created a barrier. We would have known about the threat and our defensive line would be strengthened. I did not have to help you! But I did because I loved you! And because of that, I paid ten years of my life for it. I missed Psera grow, I missed my family grow. So many timeless moments passed me by because, at the root, I decided to help you. Maheera didn't even care for Psera until she saw me and the army I had behind me ready to attack."

Twilight took another swig of her drink, an endless cup of misery she eventually threw over the edge of the balcony. "I lost everything because I helped you over and over again. Even before I became Queen. I lived here as a lie and I still helped you because I loved you. So now? You owe me. Personally. If anyone here is getting any request filled it would be me. Because I have lost so much because of you. I sacrificed all of me for you. No one here gets the honor of even seeing my family's graves until you pay up your debt. I have sat by and swung my sword protecting long enough. I have suffered unimaginable losses. Maheera Vs. The World? Psera lost thousands of lives while IHT lost at most over two hundred."

Luna swiftly reminded her, "Getting back to this level of civilization after the war was no easy feat."

"And helping you even get the chance to even return took children. The sweat, the blood, and the tears came from my ponies. Mine, not yours!" Twilight wiped her eyes to rid of the sadness leaking from her soul. "My citizens suffered protecting you and now we're calling for the debt you owe. If you do not pay up, then we will strike not only at the Zebras, but also at the rest of you. You owe Psera for everything that claimed thousands of Pseratep lives and you're refusing to pay up."

Cadance bargained, "Twilight, there must be another way. We'll pay you back with anything but the Zebras. We'll come up with something."

Twilight smirked and chortled darkly. "Then you'd better find something quickly. The Envoy will be here in a matter of hours."

Luna quickly asked, "I thought the trip would be for two days."

"It's a wartime effort, Princesses. Transportation is getting a little boost. You owe me a lot more than you realize. And tomorrow is your only chance to make up for it. You had better make it count."

Twilight teleported back home before they could respond. Leaving the cold news hanging in the winter air. A day and a half? No. Psera would be here tomorrow.

"She's right, you know." Luna turned back to the moon. "We owe Twilight our lives. Ever since I've known Twilight Sparkle, whenever we needed something, Twilight was there for us. But we never considered what she gave up to help us. Not even her time."

Celestia sighed and faced the city of Canterlot with the other three ponies. Speaking of... "Not to seem thankless, Singe, but what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for water," Madam Singe excused. "That and I don't sleep too well these days. I'm sorry about all of this. My soldiers will fight as much as they can to the very last."

Cadance sighed and said more so to herself, "I'm not even sure if there will even be a war. Have you seen Psera's military?"

Luna hummed to the distance and tapped at her chin. "What Queen Arcadia said gave me an idea," she announced. Her words reached their ears and pulled their attention to a dim spark of hope. "It's a long shot, but it might just work."

Celestia walked closer to her sister intrigued. "Well what is it?"

"We raise a shield."

Celestia sighed and lost her hope. "Luna raising a shield over the entire continent of Equestria would drain almost all of our resources. We don't have nearly the amount of magic as Queen Arcadia, we cannot simply raise a shield overnight."

Luna slowly turned around and faced them with a grin. "Of course not. It'll take a day or two. That gives us enough time. Tomorrow the envoy arrives then it'll be maybe a day and a half before Queen Arcadia's military storms Las Pegasus. The shield should be up by that point."

Cadance sighed and asked, "Not that I am against the idea Luna. But where exactly are we going to get a shield?"

"Easy. Everything we need is all around us. The love for one another will power the shield. Just like how The Crystal Heart generates power to keep back the everlasting snow, we can use Equestria's Friendships to power the shield."