//------------------------------// // Putting up a fight // Story: With Blood and Swords // by FALG //------------------------------// When I entered the library, I saw my father and Shining discussing something at the table in the middle of the room. I went to greet them. "Hey there both." I said "Flare?!" my father was surprised "What in the world are you doing here?! Why aren't you on the way to Canterlot?!" "I decided to stay and help defend Ponyville." "WHAT?! Are you nuts?! No, just no, I'm going to take you to Canterlot myself if need be." my dad said. "I. Am. Not. Leaving! And nothing you can say will change my mind!" I protested. "Hold on." Shining intervened "Let me talk to him, master." "Okay, but don't take too long, we still have to create a plan." my dad reminded. Then Shining took me outside. "Flare, you have to listen to your father. He worries about you." he said. "I know he does, but he should respect my choices too." I replied. "True. But this is something you can't have an opinion on." "But why not?" "An skirmish is nothing to be excited for. This is serious business." "You think I don't know that?" "I'm just telling you. You won't be able to bear with the guilt of slaying anypony." "Oh and you can kill anypony and not feel guilty for that?" "I've learnt to live with it." "Okay Shining, I had enough, now you listen to me." I said, grabbing the white stallion by the edge of his armor "I am in no mood to kill anypony, in fact, I don't want to." "Then why are you here?" he asked. "For the same reason the army was brought here. Because I HAVE to." Shining looked confused. "I brought the Reds here, it is my fault, and as such, I have to make it up." "Wait, the 'Reds'? I thought that the Guardians were coming to attack Ponyville." "The Guardians were usually named 'Reds' for their attire. Haven't you ever read any assassin related book?" He shook his head. "Anyway. I'm staying here because it's what I must do." I kept on. "But dude, what will happen to your father if you die in this conflict?" he asked. "If that will happen, it will happen. But I'm not planning on dying tonight." Shining sighed, bothered. "Fine, but don't think we'll put you in the first line of defense." he said. "I wasn't planning to be in it anyway." We entered the library again, and Shining took my father away to discuss in secret. At that moment, Twilight entered the library. "Hey there." I greeted. "Oh good, you're here. I thought you'd take quite longer. Have you told them about your decision?" she asked. "I did, and Shining is talking to my father about that. Well, I assume." "Wait. Is that your father? And how do you know Shining?" "I know him since I was a little colt. Pretty much when he entered the army. Why? And how do you know him anyway?" "Well... he is my brother." Exactly, Shining never mentioned he had a sister. He was a friend of mine, sure, but our relationship was rather more of a sparring partners than an actual friend. Though I'm kind of glad he didn't tell me. Because maybe I wouldn't be with Fluttershy (though I could still know Twilight and end up with Fluttershy anyway, that was just a probability). "What?! Are you kidding me?!" I said. "Why? He never mentioned me?" she asked. "No, never. I wonder why." After hearing this, both Shining and my father approached me. "Son, I talked to Shining about your choice." said dad. "Look, don't try to persuade me to do otherwise. I made up my mind." I said. "It's not that. I want to tell you that if you really wish to, you can help us defend." "Huh?! Can I?!" "Don't get too excited. This is nothing awesome to be excited about." Shining said. "I know I know. Stop saying that." I clarified. "Okay, now that that is dealt with, can we come to the table and discuss our plan?" my dad suggested "But the scout is not here yet." Shining said. "You sent a scout?" I asked. "Yes, we need to be sure how many Guardians are coming here." Twilight said. "Hey wait another minute. Why are you here anyway?" I asked Twilight changing the subject. "Just like you, it's my fault that the Guardians are coming to attack." she answered. "Plus, she can attack on the distance, and can teleport back to safety. So she won't run any risk." Shining pointed. "Oh okay, that's a good reason." I said. Just then, a hooded pegasus with white robes and red details came through the door. "Oh Rainbow! Good that you are here, have you got anything that might concern us?" Twilight asked. "Oh quite a bit." Rainbow said taking her hood off. I looked at the clothes that Rainbow was wearing. "What are you doing with assassin clothes?! And why aren't you in the train to Canterlot either?!" I asked. "Haven't it crossed through your mind that you're not the only one trying to make things right?" Rainbow asked back. "Uh, sorry." "Everypony c'mon! We don't have all day!" my dad called and we headed to the round table in the room. According to Rainbow, almost a hundred of Reds were coming to Ponyville. She saw that only a few of them had a good equipment to put up a battle, but they were outnumbering us anyway. "How much soldiers do we have at our disposition?" my dad asked. "Barely more than fifty. But they are well equipped master, they can take care of them." "Celestia wasn't able to rally more troops?" I asked. "Not for the moment." Twilight explained "But if Ponyville holds the line for tonight, she'll send another party to reinforce." "We'll have to lead the defense ourselves Shining." said my dad. "Okay." Shining accepted "Um, where did you say the Guardians are coming from?" he directed to Rainbow. "They are coming from the East." she said. "Should we reinforce only the East part of the Village?" Shining asked my father. "No, we should retract some of the troops to the North and South, just in case some of them try to surround the perimeter, but focusing the most part of the soldiers on the East." my dad answered. "So we'll assign most of the soldiers to the East, and some others will protect the other two sides?" Shining repeated "What about the West side?" "Guardians are not smart. They will try to make a full impact on the front." Rainbow intervened "They did it with the assassins." "Still, we shouldn't leave that side completely uncovered." Twilight said. "I agree." my dad said "Shining, how about you cast that Shield Spell of yours and cover that side? That way we can protect the other three without a problem." "As you wish." Shining replied. "Well, let's figure out how we'll position ourselves in the defense." my dad suggested. Twilight would be on top of her house, with a shield of her own, for extra caution. Rainbow would support any side she decides to go and fly off to safety, after all, she was wearing assassin garments and shouldn't stay in the same place for long. Shining would cover the main point of the battle alongside my dad, while I would go cover the South. "The North will be left without a lead?" I asked. "I'm sure they won't have much trouble." my dad replied "Besides, if there are Guardians surrounding the village, I'll dispatch a few of our soldiers to chase them." "And if they can't deal with them, Rainbow can take care of them quickly and safely." Twilight added. "Okay. What do we do now?" I asked. "Now that everypony has their orders, we'll wait until they attack." Shining said.