In the throne room, atop the ivory throne, stood Celestia. Her eyes were closed and her head hung, her hall as silent as the dawn. There were no guards accompanying Celestia, she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She left the door slightly open and instructed the guards to only allow others in should they have specific information. The silence allowed Celestia to recall everything that happened the last few months, and to acknowledge how bad the nation's situation is now.
Equestria is in the middle of a war. Thousands . . . tens of thousands of soldiers have lost their lives for their home and princess. The attackers passed through Black Skull Island and made it to the mainland, advancing through the Bone Dry Desert and the Forbidden Jungle. Informants say they have halfway proceeded through the Badlands and will enter Canterlot in nine days time. Who knows how many ponies will perish should they make it to one of the cities.
Princess Celestia stepped down from her throne to look through a window overlooking Canterlot. Soldiers, supplies and weapons were being loaded onto wagons and blimps, ready to be transported to the deathtrap that is the Badlands. She saw young stallions signing up to join the Equestrian military to protect their families, possibly unaware of the enemy's might. The thought of how their families would react to hearing they were turned to ash made Celestia's heart sink. She was desperate to stop more bloodshed.
"Your highness," said a sudden voice.
Princess Celestia was caught off guard from the sudden voice, she barely even heard him trot. She looked towards the direction of the voice and saw a royal guard, his head bowing respectfully. "Yes?" she asked.
"The prisoner is ready for interrogation."
"Good," Celestia looked at the window once more, seeing what could be future casualties. "This war has gone long enough." Celestia looked back to the stallion. "Take me to his cell."
"Yes, your highness."
As they trotted towards the dungeon, Celestia saw many guards along the halls. Military forces focused their defenses for both inside and outside of Canterlot, which was the home of their princess. Although the enemy broke through legions of soldiers, many still had the courage to continue their efforts, which was highly valued. But as each citizen in Equestria was doing their part to keep the nation strong, the enemy forces continued their attempts to destroy it.
They eventually reached the dungeons, its wooden doors surrounded by cobblestone bricks. The doors made a loud creak as they opened to reveal a dimly lit tunnel below. the guard summoned a ball of fire with his horn and the two of them headed down the steps.
When they reached the cell, three guards stood at each side of the iron bars. Behind the iron was the prisoner, chained, drenched and muzzled. He appeared bald in both head and tail, and his wet, ash grey coat showed scars and recent wounds. Black chains were latched to his hooves and neck, made from Stygian stone so he couldn't melt them. His muzzle was constructed from the same material, with two small tubes facing backwards. Celestia felt pity towards him, but she remembered how many of her subjects had been slaughtered in cold blood.
If he knew she was right in front of him, he did a good job at hiding it. He sat in the middle of his cell, keeping his head down and eyes shut as she approached. Celestia was told he would not utter a word of what he knows in interrogation, only wishing to speak to Celestia herself. She knew he was planning something, but she took the chance to get information regardless. Celestia stared at him through the bars with a stern look, but she saw no movement from him.
She leaned towards the Guard that led her and quietly asked, "Where are the others?"
"There are no others," he answered with no expression. "Only in death, did they surrender."
"I see." She looked back at the prisoner. "Can you hear me?" she asked him in a cold tone that Windigoes would love.
"Yes," the prisoner replied. His voice was deep and muffled through the muzzle, but also humorous which, in his situation, was odd.
"I heard your name is Smoke, and you are a centurion. Is that correct?"
He took a few seconds to answer. "Yes," Smoke finally said. "And you must be the filth that calls herself a princess."
Celestia ignored his insult. "Why would you attack a kingdom that posed no threat?" she questioned. "What reason could you have to sail to another continent and wage war?" Celestia waited, but he didn't answer. "What is the reasoning for your attacks?" she asked again, a little louder. He wouldn't answer her most important question, almost like he DIDN'T know himself, but then why start the war in the first place? She decided she was going to have to first ask a simpler question. Firmly, she asked, "What is your race's name? We have never encountered your kind before."
When he looked at Celestia, he revealed two distinct irises: one bright orange like a tangerine, and one yellow as shining gold. "We are the Ares," he replied, his cheek lifting on one side as if he was smiling through his muzzle. "We were born and bred to fight since our kind's creation. We are not an easy foe to fight, like ants attacking scorpions."
Celestia had no doubts that what he said was true, the death toll backed his statement. She was informed that the Ares were ponies of fire and rage, their anger supposedly fueling their very flames, but Smoke just stayed in almost peaceful silence. "What is there to gain from this war? Could it be for unknown power? Conquering new lands? Treasures and artifacts we do not know of or should not possess?"
"Come closer and i'll tell you," he replied amusingly. He didn't sound like he was lying, which left her vigilant.
The guards all laughed at his offer; It was a sarcastic, insulting laugh. "HA! What do you take us for, idiots?" Said one of them, he must have been new. "Our princess cannot be easily lured by empty promises. You have no hoof to. . ."
Before he could finish, Celestia ruffled her wings and raised her head. "Open It," she ordered.
All the guards stopped giggling and silently stared at her with concern, she couldn't blame them. "But your highness," balked the same guard. "It is dangerous to approach him."
"You have him restrained, do you not?" questioned Celestia.
The guard looked like he forgot they did and looked embarrassed. "Ye-ye-yes, we do," stuttered the new guard.
"Open the gate then," ordered Celestia. He respectfully bowed in apology and did as ordered. Celestia walked through the gate and approached the prisoner, two guards entering after her and standing at either side of him. Smoke blew—well, smoke—from the holes in his muzzle as he looked between the two guards before returning to Celestia, his orange and yellow eyes stared at her as she stared back.
Smoke answered her question before she could ask him again, "We desire the sun and moon. The two most important celestial bodies in our possession is the goal of this war." Celestia was left with confusion at his words, wondering as to why they would wage war for them. No Ares she was informed of had a horn, so controlling the two would be impossible. "The purpose behind it is unclear to me however," he continued, no longer in a witty tone. "Our superiors say this effort will bring great fortune and rewards, but they have failed to explain why."
Celestia pondered this, though she would need to understand their consuls' intentions at a later date. Currently, she needed to determine the Ares' next plan of attack. The main army was approaching from the Badlands, yet Smoke and his squadron were found in the Everfree forest, miles in advance. The soldiers suffered fewer casualties than expected when they engaged, which would be excellent news if not for the fact the Ares' were overwhelmed rather easily. Celestia questioned, "Are there more of you around? And how could you have been discovered in the Everfree forest if the rest of the Ares are navigating through the Badlands?" There were a few ideas going through her head: To attack Canterlot's blind spot should the rest of them arrive; to sneak into Canterlot and weaken its inside defenses; maybe distract our forces from the main army.
Smoke closed his eyes and chuckled. He sounded weak and dry, like he was parched and tired—well, more than previously. "I do not know of the existence of other squadrons," Smoke replied, again opening his eyes. "But even if I did, I would never rat them out to a rat like you." Smoke blew smoke from his muzzle a second time as flames started to appear on his neck and flank, alerting the guards to grab an accompanying bucket of water and drench the birthing fire. As they drowned the growing flames in cool water, Smoke shivered and showed annoyance.
"What I will tell you is very simple." Smoke spoke to Celestia as if their current positions were switched. "Surrender now, give up what you possess, and no more harm shall come to your kingdom. But should you continue to resist, you will all die. And we shall claim our reward from your corpses." Even in his raspy voice, his words made the guards feel great concern. they all stared at Celestia, waiting for her response to his threat.
Celestia didn't want to subject to a prisoner's threats, but the chance to end the war without more bloodshed tempted her. her intrigue was quickly diminished though when she remembered how important the sun and moon were. Whatever the Ares' wanted with them, it surely wasn't so they could just change the time of day. She also remembered the mare imprisoned in the moon, Nightmare Moon . . . oh, sweet Luna. Though the sister she knew was gone, replaced by the mare of darkness everypony sees her as now, the thought of just giving her moon and precious night to terrorists made her harden her heart towards his offer.
"Your kind will never be given such a responsibility, especially not by force!" Celestia answered assertively. "your kingdom lives for war, our's for peace. We use the sun and moon to bring light and beauty to the world, to embrace unity between others through the unity of night and day. If death and conquest is all you bring, then you are not worthy of something so important."
Smoke clicked his tongue as he slowly shook his head, "And here I was hoping I didn't have to resort to this. I desperately wanted to see you fall." He stood on all fours as his chest started faintly glowing, like a fire growing in his lungs. "Ever wondered how such magnificent fighters like myself were overpowered so easily? Why only half your team died and I surrendered?"
Smoke talked like it was a riddle Celestia should have found the answer to. Then suddenly, she realized. The guards must've realized as well, for the ones in his cell grabbed more water and attempted to put him out again. The guards soaked Smoke to the point it looked like he just crawled out of a bath, but the glow in his chest grew brighter and started to make his whole body steam. his eyes started glowing too, while his fiery mane started to return.
There were many emotions going through Celestia's mind; Shock, panic, disbelief, but most importantly, realization. it was all planned, and she went in the right direction.
"You are thieves!" Smoke yelled, despite getting brighter and hotter. "You think you deserve the sun and moon when it wasn't your's to be worthy of either! Your entire legacy is built on lies, but we know the truth! You are scum in soul, and you shall die as such!"
Celestia could barely even squint as he became too bright. The heat radiating from him caused her mane to singe. "Get out!" she yelled at her guards. "Get away from him now!"
But it was too late. Smoke exploded in an eruption of fire that incinerated everything in it's vicinity, including the guards. Celestia only had enough time to shield herself from the flames as everything burned . . . and everyone.