Rekindled Embers

by applezombi


Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Excerpt, personal journal, Sir Stratus, Knight Angelic

I was there when the sun set on Diamond Home.

Diarchy faithful will paint it as a dark day, when the demons of Tartarus spewed forth a monster of a mare they’d been taught to fear and hate since they were foals.

Discordant will tell you the clouds parted and a hundred thousand voices raised in glorious hymns of praise, heralding the arrival of a great goddess, the new Princess of the Sun.

I have seen a great deal in my life.  I’ve seen days on the ocean so beautiful my heart wept, where the waves glittered like gems.  I’ve seen storms that came on so strong, and so suddenly, that I was sure I would meet my end.  I’ve seen death and birth, the tallest waves and the deepest seas.

But I’ll never forget what I saw that day.  Even if I don’t know what to make of it.

I’ll tell you one thing, though.  The clouds did part.  And I saw the sun for the first time in weeks.

Old Canterlot, 1113 AF

“Exactly how are we going to get to Diamond Home?” Oak Chips asked Princess Sunset Shimmer, in the tone of a person who already knew the answer.

Some of the myriad books Sunset Shimmer had spent hours reading while under Celestia’s tutelage were dozens of biographies of ancient Equestrian military commanders.  Not because she was assigned them, but because at the time something about military command appealed to her ego.

Of course, now that she’d grown as a person, it didn’t mean she’d abandoned all that knowledge.

She remembered one passage in particular that was written by General Trotton, an earth pony, in the earliest days of Equestria.

“Folding unicorns and pegasi into our ranks meant we had to toss out centuries of conventional wisdom about field intelligence, supply chain management, battlefield positioning, and a host of other things.  I don’t know much about these new tribes, but I know one thing: the Expeditionary Force is stronger, faster, and better equipped to face Equestria’s challenges than ever before.”

The Diarchy had fought without unicorns for centuries.  They were about to find out why this had been a mistake.

“I’m gonna teleport us there,” she said simply.

At her side, her loyal guard eyed her skeptically.  “Right.  All of us?” His tone reflected the impossibility of the task.

Sunset grinned.  She knew just how cocky she looked; she’d perfected the expression ages ago.  “Oak, I’m a sorceress trained at the hooves of both Celestia and Twilight Sparkle, two of the most legendary spellcasters of all time.”  No need to note that her lessons from Twilight had nothing to do with spellcasting and everything to do with friendship.  Celestia’s lessons, too… but she hadn’t listened to those.  “Not only that, but I have the power of the sun at my call.  We’ll get there in style.”

“It’s just jarring to think about,” Oak said.  “I’ve been a spy my whole life.  And now I’m drawing attention to myself.”

He shifted around in his new armor, uncomfortable.

“It looks good on you,” she said, amused.  “When things are a little more settled, we’ll have to look into uniform decorations suitable for your new rank.”

“No, ma’am,” he replied, his eyes widening.  “My first act of official policy.  All decisions regarding Knight Resplendent uniform protocol will be made within the chain of command, not unaffiliated VIPs we may be assigned to protect.”

“I’m not in the chain of command?” Sunset asked.

“You command me.  I command the Resplendent.”  Oak’s voice was firm.  She narrowed her eyes at him, and he shrugged.  “You said it, not me.”

“Funny, you’d think I’d remember making that sort of arrangement.”  It was an inane conversation, and both of them knew it.  But sometimes inane conversation was necessary to keep up hope.

Or to distract ponies from the darkness ahead.

Signs of the coming battles were everywhere.  The Knights Resplendent were putting on armor, readying weapons and gauntlets, and organizing first aid supplies.  Colibri was in her element, her voice raised over the controlled chaos, bringing order and logic to the entropy.  The griffon who had challenged her, Gordon, was busy giving a sermon to the Resplendent.  Sunset was listening with one ear; it sounded pretty good to her, mostly a realistic approach to dealing with the Windigoes.

She liked that the griffon had been brave enough to argue with her, even if he was wrong.

“By the speckled shell of the beloved royal eggs, you’re serious about teleporting, aren’t you?” Oak said as the two of them watched their Knights at work.

“I am.  I can do this.”

“You’ve done it before?”

“Teleported?  Oh yeah.  Tons of times.”

“With over a hundred people at your side?”

Sunset snorted with amusement.  “What do you think?  But I got this.”

“Your experience does little to grow my confidence, Princess,” Oak said.  “What about the spell?”

“Spell?”

“You were briefed, Princess,” Oak said patiently.  “The failing repulsion spell.  The one that has kept alicorns out of the Diarchy for hundreds of years.  The one that Sir Heartwing believes has something to do with the Windigoes.”

“Oh.  That spell.”  Sunset had honestly forgotten about it.  During the too-brief time she’d had to speak with the Empress, Cadance had told her about it.  How it had felt like something solid, a mass of forbiddance and steel; an invisible, cold fortress in her mind.

She’d felt nothing like that.

“I doubt it will be a problem,” Sunset said.  “Not right now, anyway.  I would have felt something like that on the way in.”

“I’m glad you sound so certain,” Oak said, a hint of trepidation in his voice.  “But just in case it’s bravado, I don’t suppose it will make sense to ask what happens when a teleport goes wrong?”

“Wouldn’t make much sense, no,” Sunset said.

In truth, it was bad.  Botched teleportation meant ending up in all sorts of nasty places.  Possibly underground.  Possibly in the air.  But she didn’t need to say that out loud.

“What is your plan, then?”

“Step one,” Sunset said.  “Find an anchor if possible.  I’ll talk to the Angelic ponies.  I’m sure one of them has a sister or a mother or something in Diamond Home.  Maybe more than one.  We use that Harmonic connection as a lodestone to anchor the teleport.  Make it easier.”

“Can you teleport to somewhere you’ve never been?”

“With a good enough anchor?  Yeah, no problem,” Sunset said.  “Step two.  We get everypony in formation.  Something with Knights facing in all directions, weapons outwards?”

“A schiltron,” Oak said helpfully.  “I’ll start getting them into position.  You’re going to teleport us just like that?”

“Yes.  Fliers in the air above, including all of your changelings.  Ground ponies forming the line, fliers filling gaps and keeping any attack from breaking into our lines from above.  Once I ‘port us in, we assess the situation on the ground and push towards Diamond Home.  I mean to break a gap in the siege and hope that the Radiant Grand Master will take the hint and evacuate.”

“We’ll probably want to see if some of the Angelic or Radiant will come with us,” Oak said.  “To convince those inside Diamond Home of our intentions.”

“Good idea.  Send somepony to fetch their leader for me.  I need to talk to her about an anchor anyways.”

Military action, according to Sunset’s education, was complicated, and so much more than just marching troops against the enemy.  There were also a lot of logistics involved.

But as she watched her Knights, her Knights, buzzing about at the command of Colibri and Life Flight, she realized she already had good ponies handling that for her, under Oak’s command.  Oak stayed by her side, but sent a young armored unicorn rushing off to find Ambrosia or one of the other Radiant or Angelic leaders. 

With her preparations ready, there was little left to do but wait.

Sunset hated waiting.  She wanted to act, to move, to do.

The seconds ticked by before she saw a procession of white-armored Knights from both orders approaching the courtyard.  In front was Ambrosia, and she was flanked by two pegasi: Dustoff, who Sunset recognized, and another she did not.

Colibri and Life Flight both moved.  It was subtle, but the two Knights made sure they were between Sunset and Ambrosia.

“Princess,” Ambrosia said, coming to a halt.  “You’re leaving soon?”

“I am, Lady Ambrosia.  And I’m wondering if I can get the help of you and your Knights.”

“We have sworn an oath of peace and neutrality, Princess.  We will not join our forces with yours.”  Ambrosia spoke slowly and firmly.

“That’s not what I want,” Sunset said.  “You know what I’m about to do.  I’m going to break the siege on Diamond Home.  And I plan on teleporting there, from here.”

Sunset felt a wicked rush of pleasure at the incredulity on Ambrosia’s face.

“You…” She was off balance.  “That’s impossible.”

“Not for an alicorn, it’s not,” Sunset replied.  There was a part of her that wanted to remind these modern ponies just what an alicorn could do. “But it will be easier with some help from your ponies.  You’re familiar with spell anchors?”

Ambrosia’s face screwed up in confusion.  “Spell anchors?  Like a sympathetic motic link?”

“I’m sure the terminology has shifted over the years.”  She resisted the urge to make a dig about knowledge lost over centuries of ignorance.  But it was there, at the tip of her tongue.  “But most spellcasting is easier if there’s a link between the caster and the target of the spell.  A skilled enough sorceress can use that same connection between a third party.  Any of your ponies with a relative at Diamond Home, a mother, a spouse, a child…that would make the casting a lot easier.”

And a lot safer.  But Sunset didn’t say that bit out loud.

“You seem to be unclear on the concept of neutrality, Princess,” Ambrosia said.  “Helping you transport you and your troops to battle would be an act of war.”

“Against the very forces you are already engaged in battle against,” Sunset noted.  “We will not be instigating any new conflicts.”

Ambrosia stomped her hoof.  “I won’t let you rhetoric your way into convincing me to violate my oath, Princess.”

“Nopony wants you to violate anything.  I’m asking for you to help defend yourself and your allies.  Besides, I need some of your ponies present to convince Fairy Light to evacuate.”

Ambrosia was silent for a while.  The two stallions on either side of her watched with concern.  Finally she spoke.

“Why?  Why put your neck out for us?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”  There were murmurs of assent from Sunset’s Knights.

But Ambrosia was already shaking her head.  “Sorry, Princess, but that’s not good enough.  There’s an angle here, and unless I know exactly what you're thinking, my ponies aren’t lifting a hoof to help you.”

Sunset grinned.  She had her.  Now all it would take is a little honesty.  “Tell me, Lady Ambrosia.  How much do you know about the Elements of Harmony?”

*   *   *   *   *

Sunset didn’t know what it was specifically that convinced Ambrosia, but in the end she’d capitulated.  It had probably been the info on the Windigoes; Sunset thought she’d seen a spark of recognition and epiphany when Sunset had discussed their nature.

“Sir Dustoff of the Angelic will accompany you,” she said.  “His wife is at Diamond Home.  I suppose that will be enough of a link for your magic?”

“Depends,” Sunset said.  “Are he and his wife close?”  She eyed the Angelic, who glared back.

“Yes,” he said flatly.  “We are.”  Sunset got the feeling that she’d pricked his pride by questioning his marriage.  Still, a strained relationship would be useless as a sympathetic anchor.

But they couldn’t leave right away.  Ambrosia still had a stack of reports for Dustoff to take to Fairy Light and Dustoff’s own commanding officer, one Magenta Mirror.

“You can trust him, Highness,” Life Flight said softly to Sunset, as the two of them watched Ambrosia and Dustoff consulting silently, just out of earshot.  “Dustoff, that is.  He’s an old friend.”

“You used to be on the other side?”

“Yes,” Life said.  “Radiant.  But… you know things aren’t always black and white.  With ‘sides’.  Especially not now.  The enemy is winter itself, not the Diarchy.”

“Somepony should tell them that,” Sunset snarked, and Life let out a reluctant laugh.  “But you’re right.  And I’m hoping some ponies see that.  Especially these ‘neutral’ orders.  Maybe they’d be more willing to help if they feel like they owe us.”

“So it’s not really about causing a distraction for the Elements?” Life asked.  There was something slightly disapproving in her voice.

Sunset shook her head.  “Call it a potential side benefit.  What we’re trying to do could yield a lot of good, not just draw attention away from Sir Heartwing and whatever he’s scheming.  I won’t mind if it also puts the Radiant Grand Master in our debt.  Besides, I think she’s onto something.”

“Highness?”

“If Fairy Light can make this neutrality thing work?  Maybe there’s hope for some kind of peace arrangement.”

It hurt to admit.  The faces of the dead haunted Sunset’s memory.  The very idea of peace with the monsters who had murdered her followers at Manehatten burned a hateful brand on her soul.

But something Celestia had told her once burned just as brightly.

“Sunset,” she had said.  “One of the burdens of leadership is the separation of the self from the title.  My calling as Princess often requires me to sacrifice my own urges and desires at the altar of what is best for Equestria.”

Sunset would do that, too; if it saved Equestria, she’d make peace with the beasts, and bury her fury deep. 

The wind suddenly picked up around her in a swirl of fallen snow, and Sunset shuddered.  Her two guards looked worried, and even Oak turned concerned eyes her way.

“Princess?”  he said.

Sunset shook her head.  “I’m fine.  Let’s go.  Sir Dustoff, you’re with me until we’re safe inside Diamond Home.  I don’t want my only emissary to be wounded before he can advocate for us.”

Dutifully, Dustoff took a place at her side.  Colibri eyed him warily, but Life smiled at her old friend. 

All around Sunset, her Knights were looking to her.  For inspiration, for direction.

It was time for a speech, but Sunset was suddenly speechless.  She looked out over her Knights, and again was humbled by the risks they were taking for her.

“I know…” she started, hoarsely.  She cleared her throat.  “I know that some of you are inexperienced.  Some of you haven’t held weapons for very long.  And you… you’re ready to go to war.  For your families, for your friends.”

The wind stopped, and the cold receded.  With a jolt of shock, Sunset realized what had been happening.  The Windigoes’ influence was even up here.  Something to be aware of.

“I am touched beyond words.  Oak has organized you into companies, under Lady Life Flight and Lady Colibri.  You have captains, too.  Stick to your squads, your companies.  Stay close to each other.  The group of people around you?  They’re going to become like a family to you, when this is all over.”

She didn’t know why she said that.  But there were a hundred sets of eyes on Sunset as she continued.

“So lift each other up.  Support each other.  We are a unit, not a collection of individuals.  And we’ll only get through all of this by working together.”

It wasn’t much of a speech.  It wasn’t worthy of applause.  But one by one Sunset’s Knights started to stomp their hooves on the ground.  It shook with their acclaim.

Sunset let the applause last until it petered out.  Then she lit her horn.  “Sir Dustoff?”

“What do you need me to do?” the Knight Angelic asked.

“Think about your wife.  What is her name?”

“Frost Stormfront.”

“Talk about her,” Sunset said.  “What is she like?”

“Frost Stormfront is…unfailingly loyal,” Dustoff said.  “There’s a lot I could say about her, but that’s the first thing that comes to mind.  She’s stuck by me regardless of how much trouble I bring into her life.  When I had to fight my ex-wife for our foal, when I struggled with…  personal stuff.  When my duties and assignments took us all over the Diarchy.  She was always firm and supportive, no matter what.”

As he spoke, Sunset reached out with her magic.  The cerulean glow touched Dustoff’s forehead, and he flinched, but only for a second, before he kept speaking.

“She’s gorgeous, of course.  Way out of my league, though she doesn’t seem to care.  And she’s sharp as a razor; smarter than me, that’s for sure.”

Sunset could feel the link.  Connected with Dustoff as he spoke about his wife, she could feel the invisible bonds of Harmony that linked him and another pony, far away to the south, in the city below.  It was like a pulsing tether, a heart that beat with love, rather than blood.

“Brace yourselves, Resplendent!” she called out.  She opened herself up to the magic of the sun itself, drawing power into her until her horn blazed with solar might.  Around her, people shied away and hid their gaze behind hooves.  Even blocked off by the snow clouds above, Sunset could feel the sun, reaching for her, like the arms of a mother, ready to embrace her and cover her in warmth and love.

It felt like Celestia.

“I’ll make you proud,” Sunset whispered, and pulled on one more surge of magic.  Fiery pain lanced through her horn.  She was fairly sure it should be smoking at this point.  Sparks of magic danced around her, and the air crackled with power. 

And then she reached along the link, grasping, stretching…

Something resisted.  For a moment Sunset felt exactly what Cadance had described.  A metaphysical steel wall, encircling the entire capital.  But it was crumbling.  No, that wasn’t the right word.  It was shrinking.  Bowing in on itself like elastic.  And it was no match for Sunset Shimmer.  With a grunt of effort and a mystical shove, she broke her way through and completed the spell.

Two places became one, and miles disappeared in a blink.

The rush of air exploding in her ears deafened Sunset for a few stunned seconds.  Her eyes were clenched shut.  But she didn’t have time to be disoriented.  She opened her eyes.

Even though she could barely hear, she called out.  “Oak?  Status check.”

Sunset looked around as she spoke.  Around her, a hundred ponies were stumbling to their hooves.  Many of them were already brandishing weapons, re-forming the schiltron.

She’d seen maps of the area around Diamond Home before teleporting.  From the shapes of the buildings around her, they were in a small park just to the west of it. It was covered in trampled snow, blood, and mud churned together at their hooves.  Just a block away was Diamond Home, looking silent and a little imposing.

“On your hooves!” Oak shouted.  “Spears ready, eyes open for activity.  South and west?”

“C-clear of activity!” Life Flight said, hovering just above the ground.  She held her spear at the ready as she scanned the silent buildings and snowy streets.

“East and North?”

“Pegasi in the air,” Colibri called back, pointing her spear.  “Activity on the street up ahead.”

Sunset followed the tip of Colibri’s spear to look up.  Indeed, there were pegasi scouts moving above them.  Each one was heavily shielded from the icy gales.  Sunset could see orange armor.  Knights Vigilant. 

The shielded orange ponies seemed to have paused, and Sunset could probably guess why.  The gray sky above her had broken; a perfectly round crater in the clouds allowed a white sky and a weak sun to shine down on the Resplendent.  Everypony in the entire city would know something was going on here, now.

“No chance of hiding our approach now,” Oak muttered, following her gaze.

“That was never the plan,” Sunset said.  “Reform into a phalanx.  Make sure you intermix your career soldiers with those that may have less experience.  We’re moving towards the hospital.”

“And if we encounter the enemy?”

“Strike hard and fast.  Break away if we don’t break through, melt into the streets and find another spot to strike.  We’re scouting for weaknesses in their armor.”

“There’s already fighting up ahead,” Oak reminded her.

“We need scouts.  Pick some of the changelings.  The rest of us will advance at a canter, pegasi as our rear and skyguard.”

Oak gave his orders, even as Sunset watched the Vigilant pegasi up above rushing to return to whatever commanders they had to report their arrival.

“You sound like you’ve studied tactics before, Princess,” Oak said, as they all began moving forward.

“A little,” she said.  “The art of war is simple enough.  Find out where the enemy is, get to them fast, hit them as hard as you can, and keep moving.”

“That sounded like a quote.”

“Old unicorn general named Union Star.  He was a genius.  Sometimes got so caught up in how brilliant his plans were, though, he forgot to think about exactly what the enemy was doing.”

“Are we going to make that mistake?” Oak asked.

“I don’t have the luxury of extensive time or personnel to do thorough scouting,” Sunset said.  “So relying on Union’s tactics makes sense to me, with a little bit of guerrilla warfare mixed in.  Commander Forest Hood, perhaps, or even Admiral Hurricane Wind.”

“I don’t know any of those ponies,” Oak admitted.

“Before your time,” Sunset noted with a laugh.

The Resplendent thundered up the street.  Sunset felt a thrill go up her spine as her hooves pounded the snow beneath her, wings spread subconsciously.  She’d read about the rush of adrenaline, the thrill of battle.

Manehatten had been nothing like this.  Manehatten had been desperation, despair, and massacre.  This… this felt different.

A roar went out from her ponies.  Sunset was fairly certain Colibri started it, though she couldn’t be completely sure.  But as they thundered up the street towards the hospital, a cheer found its way to every Resplendent’s mouth, even hers.

“FOR THE SETTING SUN!  BREAK THROUGH THE ICE!”

It seemed fitting.

There was only one exception; next to her Dustoff was silent, his expression worried but firm. 

They burst onto a wide street leading parallel to the hospital, and into their first active war zone.  But it was not Diarchy ponies fighting Angelic or Radiant.

Rather, it was Diarchy ponies fighting each other.

Two broken, jagged lines of Knights, one set in blue armor, the other in orange, clashed fervently in the icy streets.  Each side had around twenty Knights each.  There were already some dead and wounded in the snow.

“Resplendent, hold!” Oak called.  It wasn’t the cleanest halt, but they skidded to a stop in the snow.  “Princess?”

“Scouts back yet?” Sunset called, and Oak shook his head.  “Dustoff, you know anything?”

“You mean, why the Adamant and Vigilant are fighting?  No idea,” he shook his head.  “It makes no sense.  They should be on the same side.”

“I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Sunset said.  “Enemy of my enemy, and all that.”

But which Order would stop them from getting into Diamond Home? Who was the enemy?

“You think we can negotiate?” he asked.

“Why not?” Sunset said.  “It will draw their attention as well as anything else.”

“But who…”

It was time for bold, perhaps impetuous action.  Sunset filled her lungs and bellowed.

It was high time for the Royal Canterlot Voice to make a resurgence in Canterlot, even if it was New Canterlot.

“MY KNIGHTS AND I ARE MARCHING TO DIAMOND HOME!” Sunset’s voice blasted over the combatants, causing them to pause and look her way in horror.  “WHO DARES TO STAND IN OUR WAY!?”

“Front rank, spears up, advance at a canter,” Oak ordered.  “Second rank, three paces behind.  Forward.”

The Resplendent were almost upon the abruptly paused combat.  Sunset wondered if she had suddenly become the enemy that united both sides of this fight.  But then a voice rose from among the blue-armored Adamant, a tall mare at the front.

“Orderly retreat, at a walk!” she called, and the Adamant began to pull back.  Caught between chasing after a retreating foe and a new threat, the Vigilant seemed lost in confusion. 

“Colibri, reserves at our left flank and rear, in case those Adamant change their minds,” Oak said.  The phalanx shifted to meet his orders.

“There’s something off about those Vigilants,” Dustoff muttered from Sunset’s side, and she nodded.  There was indeed something off.  They were trembling, seething in their line, barely holding onto any kind of discipline.

But that wasn’t all.  Something on the tip of Sunset’s tongue, something she couldn’t quite put her hoof down…

…until it dawned on her.  Their breath.  It wasn’t making any fog in the frigid air.

“Knights of the Diarchy!  As long as you step aside and don’t impede our path to the hospital, you will not be harmed!  We desire peace!”

But she didn’t stop, nor did her Knights.  Her words had the opposite effect of her intent, though, as if by one manic voice the Vigilants howled and threw themselves forward.

“Resplendents forward, and BREAK THE ICE!” Sunset screamed, her horn charging.

“FORWARD AT A GALLOP!  FOR THE SETTING SUN!” Oak called, and an answering roar went up the line as ponies broke into a charge. 

The Vigilant were hopelessly outnumbered, but they had experience on their side.  When Sunset got close enough to see their eyes, she realized that wasn’t all; they were bonafide madponies.  Foam frothed at their muzzles, eyes glazed over with wordless rage.

Sunset’s first beam caught the front Knight in the chest with enough force to toss him across the street.  A dozen Resplendent unicorns followed with a volley of their own, a rainbow of force splashing out into the Vigilants and tossing them aside like ragdolls.  It wasn’t enough, and a wave of Vigilant crashed against the spears of Sunset’s front rank.

This was more like Manehatten.  The screech of metal on metal, screams of pain and fury, blood and snow churning in the air.  Oak flew firmly at her side, his own horn firing blasts of magic from range at any piece of orange armor that dared get close enough.  Sunset’s own blasts made her nervous; she worried that amidst the melee that she’d hit one of her own by accident.  Instead she started picking up Knights and tossing them backwards.

It was like lifting boulders; she remembered even at Manehatten the Knights had enchanted their armor to resist levitation.  But she had the power of the sun at her command, and no ordinary enchantment could dare stand up to the might of an alicorn.

Still, it was a gratuitous show of force.  Sunset didn’t care.

“Abomination!  Vile she-demon!”

It was a pegasus Knight, screaming with wild-eyed fury as she spiraled through the air, a wicked-looking halberd pointed right at Sunset’s face.

Sunset jerked back, horn blazing, ready to fire a bolt at the assault.  But the assailant wasn’t alone; two more pegasi saw what was happening and dove as well, right behind, with their own spears pointed down in a desperate dive.

“No,” Oak said simply, and just like the diving pegasi, one, two, and then three Resplendent rose to meet the charge.  Oak, Colibri, and Life Flight.  Oak knocked the halberd aside with his own spear, and Life Flight was casting a lightning-fast spell with her gauntlet, causing a small glowing shield to come into existence around her hoof. 

Colibri had the worst time.  She tried to parry the spear just like Oak had.  But Colibri lacked the experience and training of her comrades.  Even as Oak, wings buzzing, knocked a Vigilant out of the air with a spinning kick of his hindhooves, Colibri’s opponent twisted and lunged. 

Colibri tried to knock the spear out of the way, but her opponent was too clever.  The deadly blade darted around her defenses and found a crack in Colibri’s armor.  With a nauseating sort of thud, the spear drove home into Colibri’s side, and Colibri inhaled sharply.

Manehatten flashed in Sunset’s mind again.  So many dead.  So many glassy eyes, so much blood, so many broken bones and broken ponies.

inevitable

unconquerable

pointless

She was frozen, standing there, wings spread, horn glowing uselessly.  And one of her Knights was dying.

Her Knight.

Suddenly she felt a rise of righteous anger; at the pony who dared hurt her loyal Knight, at the voices of ice that clawed at her mind.  At the ponies who, so long ago, but not so long ago for her, decided that peace wasn’t an option and invaded her city.

Sunset’s horn blazed with new light, the lenticular rays of sunlight peeking through the clouds above bursting upon her in a flare of solar fury.  Before, she’d been afraid of harming her own, but it had been a pointless fear.

She was Sunset Shimmer, for Celestia’s sake!  She had clawed her way out of a smoking pit, all the way to the pinnacle of her destiny!  And she was not going to let some snow-crazed upstart harm her friends!

It wasn’t one ray that blasted out from her horn, but several.  Each one slammed into a Vigilant, tossing them back and away.  Ponies careened from her like limp sacks, bouncing in the snow and into buildings and debris.

The whole skirmish had lasted seconds, but Sunset panted for breath as she watched the Vigilants try to regain their hooves.  She didn’t know if they meant to charge or flee.  But she wouldn’t let them get close again.

“Life?  Can you…”

“On it!” Life interrupted, already flying to Colibri’s side.  Sunset stood protectively over the both of them as she worked, her gauntlet a rapid blur of runes.

“Healing spells.  I’m going to need you to teach me some as soon as possible,” she said to the medic.

“All due respect, Highness, but shush.  I’m concentrating.”

There was something about the rebuke that reminded Sunset of Celestia, the only mother she’d really ever known.  But the strange sort of amusement she felt at that thought was washed away by worry.

“Is she—”

“Shush, Princess.”

With nothing better to do, the scolded princess glanced up at the Vigilant.  They were retreating, slipping away into alleyways and around buildings.  Sunset took a moment to look over her charges.  There were wounded, but none so bad as Colibri.

“Reform lines!” Oak’s shout came from her left.  “Phalanx facing west!  Spears up!”

The Adamants.  Sunset looked up from where Colibri was panting and bleeding, limp, in the snow, to see a couple dozen Adamants reforming their own line.  She still outnumbered them four to one.

There would be another fight.  A skirmish, really, but something about watching Colibri get stabbed had washed away the earlier sense of glory she’d gotten during the charge.

“Knights Adamant.  You are hopelessly outnumbered.”  Sunset scoured her mind for something better to say, but she felt tired.  “Please don’t make us destroy you.”

The Adamants were silent for a moment, their own spears poised for a charge.  But then the tall mare at the front spoke up again, shouting across the churned snow.

“Reckon ah don’ even know who ah’m talkin’ ta,” the mare drawled.  It wasn’t the same, but her dialect was close enough to remind Sunset of Applejack.  Her expression was stoic, but there was determination in her expression. “But y’all kinda look like th' one they call Sunset Shimmer.”

“That’s me,” she said.  “So you know what I can do.  Don’t do this.”

“Ah don’ rightly think anypone knows anythin', nummore,” the mare drawled back.  “But ma'am?   Ah gotta duty t'do.”  She sounded resigned.  “Y’all said yer headin' up t'th' hospital?  Welp, orders says ah’m supposed ta keep everypone outta there.  By force, if we gotta.”

“You have a duty to throw your ponies’ lives away against a superior force?”  Sunset needed to give the Adamant an out.  “Because we will tear through you.  What’s your name?  I gave you mine.”

“Reckon that’s fair, shure.  Lady Brick House, ma’am.”

Sunset had to hold back a snort of laughter as an old song from the other world popped into her head.  The mare was indeed big, after all.

“Okay then, Lady Brick.  You have a duty.  But if you come against me ponies will die.  Mostly yours.  And you won’t stop me.”  Sunset’s horn glowed brighter, enough that several Adamant shied back.  “Don’t test me.”

Brick was silent for several breaths. 

“Arrite, Squad Delta!” she roared out.  “We’re regroupin' an' comin’ back with reinforcements, y'hear?  Back away adda walk, y'all - eyes on th' enemy soldiers as we secure th' route.  Eye contact 'til we're outta sight - but nopony hits first, gawdit?”

Sunset didn’t bother to watch them leave.  Her Knights would take care of that.  She turned back to Life and Colibri.

Colibri was breathing, her eyes narrowed in pain.  Life was working on her, and Sir Dustoff was helping, casting his own spells.

“I’m…a shit soldier, Highness.  Sorry,” Colibri grunted out.  “Going down…on our first engagement.”

“You’re inexperienced is all,” Sunset said softly, her gaze meeting Life’s.  “You’ll do better next time.”

In her heart she prayed there would be a next time.  Life’s answering smile was thin, but real.

“Spear nicked a lung.  Lots of bleeding, had to reinflate, but nothing life-threatening.  It took a good bit of motes from our gauntlets, but she’ll be just fine.  Light duty for a bit, though.”

“Not really an option,” Colibri grunted.

“Like hell it is,” Sunset said.  A few faces around her blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar phrase.  “You’ll stay right at my side, Colibri. You can relay my orders.”

Oak nodded.  “Stay close to the princess, Colibri.  Is she good to walk, at least?”

“And fly,” Life said.  “Just let me know if there’s more pain.  My spells repaired most of the damage.”

Dustoff finished tying a bandage and nodded his agreement.  “I’ll keep an eye on her, Highness,” he offered.

Sunset stared at him.  “This doesn’t affect your neutrality?”

“Healing is our job,” he said.  “Well, the Radiants’ job.  And the Angelic make sure they can do it.  But I have field medic certification.”  His gaze on her was firm.  “Be aware that if they hadn’t all fled or died, I would be healing your enemies as well.”

“Noted,” Sunset said.  “Any other casualties?”

There were a few minor wounds, but nothing serious.  They paused long enough to bandage the worst of it before Sunset gave the order to move again.

*   *   *   *   *

The next few hours were a blur.  Sunset and her Resplendent followed the same pattern over and over.

Move quickly through the streets until they found an enemy.

Hit hard.

Melt away.

All the while they stayed close to Diamond Home, clearing out and softening as much of the Diarchy forces in the area as they could.  Sunset wanted them weakened and confused, for when the final strike came.

Plus, it meant the evacuation route for the besieged Radiants would be clear.

By now there were active patrols of Adamants and Mystics looking for them, which was exactly what Sunset wanted.  The cloud coverage had returned after her surge of magic had cut a hole in it, meaning that once again the snow and wind provided enough coverage for them to not worry too much about pegasus scouts.  Their own scouts were nearly as inhibited, but the changelings at least had the option of turning into something a little more robust to survive the snow.

Sunset knew they’d been lucky so far.  Her original force of one hundred and nine Knights was down to ninety eight, with those eleven wounded bringing up the rear under Colibri’s command.  Life and the other medics, including Dustoff, were saving their gauntlets for the worst injuries, which also meant most of her able bodied Knights had some minor wounds.

She would have called it a miracle that they had no dead yet, except that the majority of the forces they’d encountered had been small squads of insane Vigilants or Mystics, or the occasional army or mercenary patrol.

After a dozen small engagements, though, the toll was beginning to show on her Knights.  They found an empty cathedral and hid inside, shoving aside the pews to make space to lie down and rest for a bit.

“Leave those alone,” Sunset said when some of her Knights started eyeing the statues of the Saints with violent intent.  “Trust me, I get it.  But we’re not here for vandalism.  We’re better than that.”

Dustoff gave her a glance that might have been respect.

To be fair, though, Sunset felt a twinge of fury when she looked at the statue of Twilight Sparkle.  She was incomplete without her horn; magic had always been a big part of Twilight’s pride and identity.  To see her without it was alien.

“Found it!” one of her Knights cried with glee, and Sunset glanced over.  The earth pony stallion was young, probably seventeen at the most, and he already wore a bandage around his shoulder and right forehoof.  His black mane was shorn close to his gray fur; she remembered seeing him cutting off a long ponytail right after he recovered from his potion, back at Old Canterlot.  At his feet was a small radio that he’d been fiddling with.

“Found what?” she asked curiously, and he glanced up with awe and shock.  The poor kid hadn’t realized she’d been watching.

“The r-radio f-frequency, ma’am.  Your ladyship.  Uh.  Majesty.”

“Just call me Sunset,” she said with amusement.  “What’s your name?  And what radio frequency?”

“Um.  My name’s Fid.  Uh.  High Fidelity, Princess Sunset, I mean.  And it’s Radio Free Equestria.  Pirate radio station that broadcasts Discordant stuff.  Used to listen in secret when I was a kid, that’s how I got out of here in the first place.”

He motioned to the radio, which was broadcasting a distant, tinny voice.

“Turn it up,” Sunset said, waving Oak over, who approached with curiosity.

“…know that there’s little news, and even less sanity out there right now.  Latest word is the Adamant are gathering refugees.  Folks, I know that if you’re listening to me you’re not likely to trust the Blues, but honestly?  It’s a good bet.  The Shield of the Heavens is safe, as far as we can tell.  Lady Snow, what’s our intel like there?”

“Snowfall Shiver,” Oak explained in a whisper.  “Discordant force commander.”

“It’s warmer at the Shield, Wave,” came a different mare’s voice.  “And that tells you something.  We’ve got a couple of watchers there in case things go bad, but as much as I hate to say it, North Wind seems to have a good head on his shoulders and good discipline.  If you need somewhere safe to go, head there.  Listen to any Adamants or soldiers taking you.  Vigilants are very much not safe to approach.  Neither are Mystics.  You run into a pony in either one of those, run the other way as fast as you can.  Only the Adamants seem to be on top of things.”

“Into the hooves of the enemy, eh?” Wave said.

“Right now the priority is safety,” Snow replied.  “If your home is warm and intact, stay there.  If not, get to the Shield.  We have scattered reports of ponies hearing voices.  Whatever these voices are, they seem to get louder with violence, fear, and hate.  So we need civilians and non-Knights avoiding conflict as much as possible.”

“What about Knights, though?”

“No change in orders, Discordant,” Snow said.  “Keep looking for the Elements, and support them if you can.  Currently we have direct contact with Loyalty and Laughter.  We know where Honesty is, too, but are not in contact any longer.  Kindness?  Generosity?  If you can hear me, your partners are safe, and try to get in touch as soon as you can, if it’s safe.”

“Can’t you share their locations?”

“Not safe,” Snow said.  “It’s possible that we have enemies listening in here.  But we have agents throughout the city looking for them, ready to offer aid.”

“Do we know yet why they’re so scattered?”

“Got news from Loyalty himself,” Snow said.  “Sounds like it was unintentional; a teleportation accident.  Loyalty is sure they’re all safe, though.  But there’s more to report to your listeners.  They’re going to like this one, Wave.”

“Oh?”

“A…sun is rising over New Canterlot.  Agents embedded in the Shield of the Heavens are already reporting a force of Knights in orange and red armor, led in battle by a glorious alicorn princess.  The tales are getting taller each time I hear them, but it’s good news. Sunset Shimmer is here, Discordant.  And she’s fighting for us.”

There was a pause in the broadcast, and Sunset looked up.  Everypony was listening now, ears straining towards the sound of the radio.  After a moment of silence, Life Flight lifted her hoof, as if to start a round of applause, then thought better of it, instead bowing her head towards Sunset.  She was smiling.

In turn, each of her Knights bowed or saluted.  Sunset saluted them back.

“What do you think she’s planning?” Wave asked, and everypony once again focused on the radio.

“No idea, but even if I did know, I wouldn’t want to broadcast it,” Snow said.  “But Princess?  If you can hear me, try to get in touch.  The Discordant serve at your command, and will do whatever you need to help you.”

A pony she had never met was speaking to Sunset, declaring her loyalty.  Unconsciously she fluffed her wings a little; all it took to inspire such devotion was a couple of feathers?

But she knew it wasn’t about her.  It was about the title.  The role.  The symbols and ideas she represented.

She lit her horn, a trickle of magic flowing into the radio.  There was a power in names, and the Knight on the radio had used hers. High Fidelity blinked in shock, his hooves instinctively going around the radio protectively.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered.  “I won’t break it.”

He loosened his grip as the broadcast continued.

“We’re going to pause for a bit, but keep listening if you can, ponies.  Meanwhile, I’m digging into my stash of banned music to bring you this little gem, penned a century ago by Figaro Flute, and outlawed by a Mystic’s censorship pen after Flute’s arrest and execution.  Here’s ‘Symphony three, fourth movement, or, The Tempest Flight’.  Enjoy, stay safe, and stay tuned.”

As a lonely trombone started to wail through the radio, Sunset was already reaching with her magic while a hundred pairs of eyes watched her silently.  By the time the tympani drums had begun to beat, she finished her spell, reaching back over the link provided by the radio waves.

Far easier than a teleportation spell, to be sure.

“Oak,” she said.  “I know where the broadcast is coming from.  Do we want to send scouts there?”

“Smart,” he said with a nod.  “Apis?  Caelifera?”

Two scouts approached and saluted.

“You two,” Sunset said.  “The broadcast is coming from a point three and a half miles to the north and west.  Should still be in city limits.  Sorry,” she said with a smile.  “My spell doesn’t give me addresses.  Are you good judges of distance?”

“Apis has a good sense of direction,” Oak said, and the yellow-and-black changeling nodded proudly.  “Just give her a heading and she’ll find it, even without landmarks.”

“Come to the window,” Sunset said, and the two scouts followed her.  It was impossible to see far into the empty street, but when Sunset pointed in the direction her spell had indicated, both changelings nodded confidently.

“Give us a half hour and we’ll be on that broadcast, Highness,” Apis said with a cocky sort of confidence that put a grin on Sunset’s muzzle.

“Please be safe, both of you,” Sunset said, and the changelings saluted.  “Good luck.”

The cathedral was silent for a bit as the scouts slipped out into the cold, filled only with the sounds of the censored symphony.  But even though Sunset could have been imagining it, it looked to her as if her Knights were a bit more energized, more bright.  She smiled.

“I don’t want to make a lot of noise and draw attention to ourselves,” she said, loud enough to be heard over the music.  “So we’ll skip the applause.  But let’s all congratulate the Resplendent’s newest communications officer, High Fidelity.”

The poor young Knight looked overwhelmed and terrified as everyone around him thumped him firmly on the back.  His red blush shone through gray fur, and he glanced down at his hooves.

“I just like radios,” he muttered.

“And good thing, too.  Keep it up, Sir Fidelity,” Sunset said.  “And well done.  Let me know when the broadcast comes back on.”

But the wait was anxious.  When a half hour came and went, Sunset started to pace.  The earlier boost in morale seemed a temporary thing, and Sunset could see the other Knights getting agitated as well. 

Finally, though, after she’d counted forty-five minutes, there was a break in the music.

“Anypony still out there?” It was Cutting Wave’s voice, once again.  “We have news.  I just heard Radio Free Equestria has a new fan.  Princess, thanks for tuning in.”

Everypony’s ears perked and turned to the radio.

“First off, your scouts are safe and sound.  Second, they’re asking to stay here, to facilitate better communication.  And third, I’ve been asked to relay a specific question for you.  Do you know Bighorn’s Boisterous Beacon?”

Sunset grinned.  She knew the spell well.  At Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, instructors would cast the spell so that novice teleporters could have an easier time finding their target location.  It was a useless spell otherwise…unless you were trying to teleport.

“Make a space, please,” she instructed.  “About three ponies across, in the middle of the cathedral here.  Watch the windows; this spell makes a lot of light, and I’m hoping nopony will notice.  Block them out if you can.”

There was a bustle of motion as Knights rushed to fulfill her orders.  After a moment she cast a spell.

Sunset’s crimson magic coalesced into a small orb in the blank space her Knights had made.  It pulsed and flashed, as if the magic was trying to escape the orb.  Sparks danced around it, dissipating harmlessly against the wood floor.

She didn’t have to wait long.  With a loud pop and a flash of yellow magic, two ponies appeared in the middle of the cathedral.  The first was a brown unicorn stallion with gray mane and beard, complete with mismatched red and yellow eyes.  His armor was dirty and bloodstained, and one of his hooves was a prosthetic.  The second was an orange crystal pony mare dressed in a tattered coat.  They both looked exhausted, but the stallion’s eyes lit up when they fell on Sunset.

“Princess Shimmer, I presume?” he drawled.  “Sleep well?”

“Too long,” she said, grinning back at him.  It was obvious to her who this was; she’d walked past him a thousand times as Celestia’s student, though in a different form.  “You’re looking well.  A bit more mobile than when I saw you last.”

“To my great pleasure,” he said with a bow.  “May I present Duchess Topaz Glitter of the Crystal Empire, Element of Laughter?  And of course you seem to know me already.”

“Of course. Heartwing now, right?  But I wasn’t expecting you to visit so suddenly.”

“Ah.”  He nodded.  “I thought it best to compare notes and intel in pony, as it were.”  His gaze drifted appraisingly over her Knights.  “It seems momentous things have been happening.  I recognize some of these new Knights, though not the heraldry.”

“The Knights Resplendent, led by my Grand Master, Oak Chips.”

Heartwing’s eyes lit up, and even Topaz looked surprised.

“We do have some catching up to do,” Heartwing said.  “Can you fill me in?”

So she did.  She told him of her arrival, and of the creation of her Knights.  She told him of their mass teleportation, and the strange weakness of the alicorn-repelling spell she had expected.  She told him of their encounters with the crazed Vigilant.

“My whole point in coming here was to try and draw their attention, so you could accomplish whatever you’re working on.” Sunset said.  “To poke at the forces besieging Diamond Home, and eventually find a hole and break through to the Radiants within.  I’ve been leading them on a bit of a chase.  I was just about to try the larger group right in front of Diamond Home when we found your broadcast.”

“Ah,” Heartwing said.  “Well, we owe you gratitude, then.  Patrols have been lighter than I expected.  The problem is, I don’t really have a plan at the moment.  When your scouts arrived, Topaz and I were about to try and find Emberglow.  She’s the one who brought us here, but each of the Elements arrived at different locations in New Canterlot.  Teleportation accident.”

“Teleportation accident?  From my briefing Emberglow was a pegasus, not a unicorn.”

“Yes,” Heartwing said, sounding both proud and worried.  “She is.  It seems she found a way to teleport with rune magic.”

Sunset was thoughtfully silent.  On the one hoof, that was a powerful advantage.  On the other, military advancement had a way of eventually spreading to the enemy.  Teleportation was a major boon on their side right now.  If the enemy figured it out…

“Securing her is a priority, then,” Sunset said, and Heartwing nodded, the worry in his expression mirroring her own.  “What is your plan for finding the Element of Magic?”

Heartwing flinched.  “Is it terrible to say, ‘hope for the best’?  We planned to use Old Canterlot as a staging ground to mount an expedition, but plans fell apart.  Especially when Princess Flurry died.”

The room went very silent for a moment, and Heartwing looked away.

Sunset pushed aside her own dark thoughts.  “What about the other Elements?”

“We’ve been searching,” Heartwing said with a wince.  “I… have a decent idea of where Terminus is.  I’ll be checking on my hunch after I’m done chatting with you.  A place called the Ivy Seminary.  If I’m lucky Lofty will be with him there, but I don’t know.”

“Kindness and Generosity, right?  Why do you think they’ll be there?”

“When Emberglow teleported us, the spell went wild,” Heartwing said.  “Each of us ended up in places that have…emotional significance to us.  I appeared in a storeroom basement where my statue had been hidden for centuries before I woke up.  Topaz here appeared in Lofty’s old manor.”

“The sun room,” Topaz said, nodding.  “Where we had our first date.  I hoped… I hoped he’d be there.”

“Our next guess was the Ivy Seminary,” Heartwing continued.  “Both Terminus and Lofty have…significant memories of the place.  If they were smart enough to stay put.”

“And Emberglow?”

“We don’t know where she appeared,” Heartwing said.  “But one of my Discordant reported in.  He helped her reach the Star Shine building.  The command center of the Knights Mystic.”

“That place is probably a hornet’s nest!” Sunset said in shock.  “Why would she go there?”

“Rarity,” Topaz said simply, and Heartwing nodded.  “Emberglow was tracking her with spells, before we teleported.  She probably thinks Rarity is there.”

“So we were going to find the others, then head there,” Heartwing said.  He let the statement be open, as if partially in question.

As if Sunset were his commanding officer.  Which, she supposed, she was.

“Do it,” she said.  “I trust you.”  She barely knew him.  But who could she trust, if she couldn’t trust the Element of Loyalty?  Regardless of who he had been before.

“Thanks, Princess,” he said. 

“First, though, I need whatever intel you can give me about Diamond Home and the forces around it.  It’s time the Resplendent make an assault on the front courtyard.”

*   *   *   *   *

“Carousel Square is held by the Knights Adamant, commanding a smattering of the three other orders.”

With Apis and Caelifera now stationed with Radio Free Equestria, that left only two Changeling scouts, if Sunset was unwilling to have Oak do her reconnaissance.  Which she was not.   Currently one of them, a bright yellow and brown changeling mare named Io, was reporting on what she’d seen.

“It’s not just Knights, though.  There are prisoners.”

“Prisoners?” Sunset asked, alarmed.

“And bodies,” Io flinched.  “I didn’t get close enough to ask questions, but I did overhear some chatter.  Sounds like the head of the Vigilants went nuts and was executing prisoners.  Then some important Mystic showed up and executed her, before disappearing.  Now they’re just waiting.”

“Waiting for what?” Sunset mused, a bit rhetorically.

But Io took it as a direct question.  “I don’t know,” she said.  “But from the chatter it seems like they didn’t know either.  Further orders, maybe?”

“Who’s in charge?” Oak asked.  “And what are their numbers like?”

“The commanding officer is an Adamant mare named Amaranth.  There’s about thirty of them.  Vigilants are led by a mousy-kinda stallion named Dipoly.  There’s about twenty of those, but they’re… off.  Pinks and Purples make up the rest, about ten or so each.”

“What do you mean by ‘off’?” Sunset asked curiously.

“Same stuff we’ve seen,” Io said.  “Crazy but they’re hanging on.  Could snap any second.  Honestly some of the others looked that way too.”

The Princess and her Changeling Knights were keeping their voices low, huddled behind the broken window on the ground floor of an abandoned office building.  Her other Knights were scattered among several other buildings spread out on the same block, just a few streets away from the square.  Shattered furniture, broken glass, and snow-soaked papers scattered across the wood floor, now stained by the mud and slush her Knights had tracked in.  Sunset idly wondered what sort of work had gone on in this room.

She had to keep reminding herself that this was a city, a place where ponies lived and worked and had normal lives.  A normal that, perhaps, they’d get to go back to someday, though hopefully with a few changes.  She idly toyed with a fallen spreadsheet with one hoof, thinking.

“Strategically we should stage an ambush,” she said.  “We have the advantage of surprise.”

“You don’t like it,” Oak guessed shrewdly.

Sunset shook her head.  “No.  I don’t.  Io, how many prisoners are there?  And what kinds of ponies are among them?”

“A few white-robes,” she said.  “Some really young ponies.  At least one Discordant.”

“How can you tell?” Sunset asked.

“Looked pretty beat up.  The white-robes aren’t, neither are the young ones.  Also he’s dressed in a gambeson.  Like they stripped his armor off.”  She shrugged.  “Just a guess.  He was pretty big, too.”

Across the room Colibri and Dustoff were resting.  Colibri shot to her hooves, grunting in pain as Dustoff protested.

“What color?” she cried out suddenly, then yelped and covered her mouth, lowering her voice.  She limped over, wincing with every step.  “What color was he?” she repeated.

“Dark,” Io said, and Colibri let out a wail of dismay.  “But alive,” she reassured.  “Somepony you know, Lady Colibri?”

“My fiancé,” she moaned.  “Slate.”  She turned desperately to Sunset.  “Highness.  Please.”

“We’re going to do something about it,” Sunset promised.  There was a look of naked relief and longing that flowed over Colibri’s expression, enough that Sunset felt a cold stone of guilt settle in her gut.  She didn’t even have an idea yet.  Her eyes met Oak’s.

“Ambush is out,” he said, and Sunset nodded.  She hadn’t liked the idea anyways.

“It was never an option,” she admitted.  “With so many ponies close to madness, violence would be counterproductive.  I wanted to give them a chance to surrender first, but that’s out too.  Probably also overly optimistic.  But I wonder; is some sort of surprise really not an option?”

“Good chance if we take them by surprise they’ll do something to the prisoners,” Oak said neutrally, while Colibri gasped in horror.  “It would be the best way to keep our casualties low, though.  This’ll be the closest we come to an even engagement.”

Even was probably too generous; with thirty experienced and trained Adamants, even Sunset’s superior numbers weren’t much of an advantage any longer.

“What if we can have our cake and eat it too?” Sunset said, a grin spreading across her features.  “Element of surprise and prisoner safety?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Split in two.  A small force, maybe a dozen or so, dropping in right on the prisoners.  Teleporting.  Then the larger force strikes from the outside.”

“The ponies on the inside would be completely surrounded by a superior force,” Oak noted.  “And besides, none of the unicorns here are strong enough to take that many…”

His eyes widened as he suddenly realized Sunset’s intent.

“No.”

“Oak, it’s the best—”

“No.”

“Oak,” Sunset narrowed her eyes.  “I am your princess.”  Throwing her weight around came chillingly natural to her, a grim reminder of a time when she would have enjoyed that too much.  “Remember that bit?”

“And remember that when you made me grand master of this operation, I warned you that I’d need to be able to make independent decisions in order to keep you safe.  This is one of those times, highness.  No.”

“How else do you propose we get in to protect those ponies?” Sunset said.  “We can’t fly.  We can’t break their lines fast enough to guarantee a clean victory.  No, a teleport and a quick shield are the safest ways.”

“This is the opposite of safe,” Oak snarled.  At his side, Colibri was silent, eyes huge as they darted between Sunset and Oak.  It was obvious what she wanted, but there was a clear conflict of interest.  Sunset admired her silence.  “It is decidedly unsafe.”

“Think of me as a resource,” Sunset said cajolingly.  “If I were not a princess, but instead a strategic asset.  How would you use me in this context?”

Oak snorted.  “Sophistry.  Your value as an asset cannot be separated from your role.  Do you think these ponies can bear to lose another princess so soon after the last?”

The Resplendent all around them were starting to sit up and pay attention.  Many of them flinched, ears pinning back as Oak mentioned Flurry.

“You’re going to have to accept that I might be in danger sometimes, Oak,” Sunset said.  “You can’t just swaddle me in bubble wrap and put me on a shelf somewhere!  I’ve been fighting this whole time, and I’m going to keep fighting.”

“Not like this, Princess.  It’s too risky.  Can’t you teleport a force in without yourself?”

“That’s not how teleportation works,” she said, shaking her head.  “It has to be me.”

“We could think of another plan,” he said.  “Ask the Radiants inside Diamond Home for help.  We are rescuing their people, after all.”

“Sir Dustoff,” Sunset said, waving the pony in question over.  He’d been listening, of course.  It was impossible to not overhear.  But he’d been polite enough not to interrupt.

“Possible, but unlikely,” he said.  “I can get in touch with Fairy Light, but I’m not sure how long it will take to get a response.  Or even what that response would be.”

“I don’t like waiting for an uncertain variable,” Sunset said.  “We’re here.  Now.  Those prisoners’ lives are our responsibility.  We can’t abdicate that.”

She stared at Oak, cerulean eyes matching his flat insectoid ones.  They were silent for a few moments.

“Life Flight and every pegasus from your original guard are with you,” he said after a dozen silent breaths.  “Io, too.  I’ll be leading the assault force.  My objective will be to break to you as quickly as possible.  You put up a shield, Princess Sunset.  Protect them and yourself, but don’t try to be a hero.”  There was a beat.  “Too much of a hero, rather.”

Sunset’s grin was confident.  “You knew I was right all along.”

“Perhaps,” Oak scowled again.  “But somebody needs to argue with you when you’re about to do something stupid.”

“Even when it’s the right thing to do?”

“Even then.”

“I’ll be going with you, Highness,” Dustoff said suddenly.  Oak and Sunset stared at him.  “In this, my blade is yours.”

He motioned to an ornate looking sword sheathed at his belt.  He had yet to draw it in her presence.

“Why now?” Sunset asked curiously.

“My charge is the defense of Radiants.  Up to this point you’ve been fighting my former comrades.”

“We still will be,” Oak noted.

“Yes,” Dustoff said, his voice determined, eyes blazing, even as his ears pinned.  “But you’re risking yourselves to do my job this time.  I won’t let you go without me.”

“You won’t let her?” Oak said, voice low and dangerous.

“Calm down,” Sunset scolded.  Oak didn’t budge.  “Well, Sir Dustoff, welcome aboard, I suppose.  We’re leaving as soon as Oak passes the orders down the line.  And if your blade is mine, as you say?  Your job will be to keep Lady Colibri safe.”

Both ponies looked at each other in shock.  “Me?” Colibri asked.

“Your fiancé is with the prisoners,” Sunset said.  “I’ll need your link to pick the exact right spot to appear above.”

“Above?”

“We’ll have to be flying to teleport into empty space,” Sunset said.  “Otherwise it wouldn’t be pretty. So fliers only, Oak.”

Oak nodded, saluted, and rushed off.  Dustoff looked grim.

“I hadn’t expected to be teleporting again so soon,” he said softly.  “It’s… an odd experience.”

“Because it’s unicorn magic?” Sunset guessed. 

Dustoff nodded slowly.  “I was raised to fear you.  You, specifically, Princess.  And your kind.  It can take time to shed those kinds of prejudices.”

“I’d say you’re doing a damned fine job of it so far,” Sunset said.

In no time at all several pegasi, as well as both remaining changeling scouts, had filtered into the building, awaiting Sunset’s command. 

“Be safe,” Oak said.  “It will take about half a minute for my ground forces to reach their lines.”

“I’ll time it right after I hear your battle-cry.  Be loud,” Sunset said.

Oak sighed and saluted.  “Keep her safe, all of you.”

“We will, sir,” Life said, and Colibri nodded.  Sunset stopped herself from commenting; Colibri could barely fly.

Most of the Resplendents departed, leaving Sunset and her guard.  She waited a few seconds.

“Into the air.  Brace yourselves.  Same formation as our first teleport, only airborne,” she said.  “Sir Dustoff, you’re right next to Colibri.  Colibri, you’re by me.  Talk about your fiance.”

“Slate is…well, he’s huge.  Taller than any pony I’ve seen.  But he’s also the gentlest soul I’ve ever met.  His first instinct has always been to protect me.  He hated the idea of me joining up even as a quartermaster.”  She sighed, then winced as the deep exhale hurt her wounded chest.  “He’s going to be livid about all of this.  Or not, I don’t know.  I just want him to be safe.”

While she spoke, Sunset and all the others spread their wings.  Colibri struggled a little but managed.  Sunset’s horn glowed as she reached out to Colibri, touching her with the same magic she’d done earlier.

This time it was much easier.  Slate was a lot nearer than Dustoff’s wife had been, the last time she’d done this.  Plus, there was a lot less to teleport.

“We delayed our wedding until all this was over.  So many of our friends couldn’t be there, so we—”

Colibri’s words cut off as the roar of the Resplendent’s battle cry echoed over the silent buildings.  Sunset’s horn blazed and her entire honor guard teleported.

Chaos and noise surrounded them, assaulting Sunset’s ears and eyes.  She had only seconds to catch her bearings.

They were in the center of the force Io had described.  Dozens of blue-armored Adamants were re-deploying to defend against a sudden charge from the south.  Sunset was close enough to see the surprise and terror on their faces as she appeared in their midst, hovering about ten or so feet off the ground.

She knew she only had a second to take in as much information as she could and act accordingly.

A white stone building was the most prominent thing in the area, with a gigantic relief of Rarity’s cutie mark on the façade.  The windows were dark and boarded over.

Several figures, some in white robes, some in gray, were beneath her, bound in chains.  They wore hoods, and their heads thrashed about in fear and confusion.

Among the prisoners were orange and purple armored ponies, all armed.

That would be her first focus, then.  Sunset landed hard on the icy street, just behind a Vigilant who was still partway through turning around to respond to the sounds he’d heard behind him.  His spear was held loosely in his hooves, but as soon as his eyes fell upon Sunset, wings spread and horn blazing, he screamed loudly and dropped to the ground, his spear clattering as his hooves shot up to cover his head.

Sunset didn’t have time to wonder about that.

“Coward,” a voice snarled, a Mystic Knight who was already pivoting to charge her, stepping over the cowering Knight.

But Life Flight was there, hitting the Mystic from the side in a spinning aerial dive that sent both ponies tumbling into a heap.

“Good one,” Sunset cried out, her horn blazing as she fired off a blast.  Each time she targeted one of the nearby Mystics.  Her first few blasts were small, and barely moved their targets at all.  Anti-unicorn enchantments, built into the armor, she remembered.  That’s when she started using physics. 

Perhaps the armor was enchanted against her magic.  But not everything was.  She started with the Vigilant’s fallen spear, lifting it up and hurling it through the air like an arrow.

It hit a charging earth pony Vigilant hard enough to shatter the metal spearhead, and she went down with a cry.

Sunset didn’t have time to see what exactly her shot had done.  She picked up the next missile, a chunk of ice.  This she slammed into the side of a Mystic in close melee with one of her Knights.

Over and over again Sunset’s improvised projectiles smashed into the enemy.  First it was one at a time, then two, then three, more and more until she was a whirlwind of destruction and chaos.  Even her own Knights stared at her with awe as her magical assault pushed the prisoners’ guards away from their circle of protection.

“Secure the prisoners!” she called to her Knights.  “Form a circle around them!  As tight as you can make it!”

She could see, to the south, that the rest of her Knights were fighting bitterly against the Adamants.  Oak had formed a wedge, trying to bore a line through the Diarchy Knights to reach Sunset and rejoin their forces.  But the Adamant commander was responding, reinforcing the line with her scant reserves.

“No,” Sunset scowled.  “Don’t try to break through.  Flank.  You have superior numbers.”

Oak was too far away to hear her, though.  She could guess what he was thinking; rejoin their forces to combine their strength.  But it was a mistake, and it was allowing the Adamant commander to respond well.

Sunset would just have to take care of it herself.  It was a good thing for their side, she thought a little proudly, that they had a sorceress trained by two princesses.

“Life, we’re going to push towards the rear of the Adamant lines,” she told her own commander.  Life nodded, but looked skeptical.  Her own gaze darted back and forth, screening for any threats coming towards the princess while the rest of her guard stood stalwart in a ring around her.  It was a small ring, though, with enough gaps to make both of them worried.

If the Adamant turned and focused on Sunset, they might be in trouble.

But the line was soon reinforced.  One of the prisoners, an absolutely huge stallion with rather dark fur and a bloodstained gambeson, limped up to towards her.  Two white-robed mares had scavenged fallen spears and were guarding Sir Dustoff’s flanks, even as the Angelic pegasus fended off three Mystics alone with the blade of his sword.  Even the young gray-robed ponies, probably squires, had found weapons and were standing ready to reinforce the line if it faltered.

“Dunno what’s going on,” the large stallion rumbled as he passed by, his expression incredulous.  “But looks like we just got saved by an alicorn.  Thanks, Highness.”

“Happy to help, Sir Slate,” she said, and the stallion nodded.  “Couldn’t have one of my Knights mourning the loss of her fiancé before they even have a chance to get married.”

“You’re probably getting an invite for that,” he noted, before roaring out a battle-cry and charging in alongside a Resplendent pegasus.

“Now, Lady Life,” Sunset ordered.  “We’re going to Oak.”

“Knights Resplendent, forward at a walk,” Life called out.  The line moved forward, and Mystic and Vigilant both were forced to give way as the new Knights advanced.  Sunset cast a shield, a half-dome above their heads that kept away any projectiles.  In the middle, wounded and frightened prisoners moved slowly, staying in the narrow bubble of safety she provided.

But their advance ground to a halt.  There just weren’t enough with Sunset to push hard, and too many prisoners to spread their line.  They’d taken the enemy by surprise, but this was an enemy that had plenty of experience fighting.

And her ponies did not.

The first to go down was one of the changelings.  Io, the scout, fell down, bleeding from a deep wound just below her horn.  Sunset couldn’t see if she was breathing or not.

One of the former Radiant prisoners was next, blood seeping through her robe from a spear thrust.

Sunset hadn’t learned her name.

She remembered the names, when she could.  Faces, when she could not.

It was Manehatten all over again.

There was a sound in her ears.  She was screaming.  Her concentration was faltering, and the shield above them was flickering. 

Another fell, a pegasus who’d flown with her from the Empire.  There was a look of shock and pain on his muzzle as he clutched at the spear shaft impaling him.

Movement by her side.

Dustoff.  He was doing something with his gauntlet.  Sunset hoped it was a healing spell, but in the haze of her growing rage, she couldn’t tell.

She poured magic into her horn.  She was Sunset fucking Shimmer, and she hadn’t come a thousand years into the future in order to just fall here.  That wasn’t the hero’s journey.  And it wasn’t hers.

Her shield thickened.  Grew.  The dome of blue light sealed off, closing the gap at the bottom and covering her Knights.

Trapping them all inside.  But at least they were safe.

“Heal them!” she gasped at Life Flight, her gaze darting to the fallen.  They weren’t the only ones; she could see, even at a distance, more limp figures in golden-red armor fallen in Oak’s lines as well. 

brought them here to die

disappointment

pretend princess, pretend scholar, pretend tactician

The voices of death swirled around Sunset as she watched her medic-turned-Knight move first to the fallen pegasus, before pursing her lips and moving on to Io.

“But…”

“I can’t help him, Princess,” Life said.  “But I can help her.”

Sunset swallowed and turned back to the pegasus stallion.  He was already still, his eyes glassy and dead.  She reached out and closed them.

“It was an honor,” she whispered.  She’d have to make sure to get his name from Oak.

The former Radiant prisoner was now healing her sister, and even Dustoff was patching up minor injuries.  He did look up with a worried glance to Sunset’s horn.

“What now?  We’re in the eye of the storm.  All you did was give them a chance to regroup.”

It was true.  The Mystics had re-formed their lines, and several Knights stood just outside the shield bubble, waiting.  Some of them were casting spells of their own; Sunset could feel nullification and countermagic spells, poking and scraping at her shield.  She stared back with contempt.

It was like a toddler slapping a mountain. 

But this mountain would get tired eventually.

“I know,” Sunset said to Dustoff.  “I know.”  She’d reacted.  The screams and terror of Manehatten echoed in her ears.  Anything to prevent that again.  “We have to hope Oak can…”

She trailed off.  There wasn’t more to say.  Oak and his force were fighting to a standstill.  He’d finally started to try and swing his reserves around to the Adamant flanks, but the Vigilants had re-deployed to protect them.

It seemed Oak wasn’t the only one making tactical blunders.

To Sunset’s shame, another old saying she’d read flashed in her mind, from another ancient general, Watch Tonne.

“Discipline is the soul of an army.  It makes small numbers formidable.”

Her moment of panic had squandered that.

“I’m going to teleport us out,” she said, even as she felt the strain of holding the shield around them.

“Can you?” Dustoff asked as he eyed her.  “You’re slipping, highness.  You’re tired.”

She was.  Him saying so made it worse.  Two huge teleports, with dozens of ponies, plus combat, hundreds of other spells, and now maintaining a shield that was under attack, however pitiful, was taking its toll.

Sunset wasn’t tired.  She was exhausted.

“I’m not having another Manehatten,” she scowled, and Dustoff’s eyes shot wide in fear and surprise.  “Not again.”

“We need a plan, then.”

“I told you.  Teleport behind Oak’s lines.  Regroup.”

“And if you can’t?”

If she couldn’t, who knows where they’d end up?  In the air?  Inside the ground?  Scattered in a billion atoms across New Canterlot?

Sunset didn’t have a choice.

“I see,” Dustoff continued.  “There may be another option.  I sent up a flare to signal those inside Diamond Home.”

“I’m not relying on some deus ex machina last minute charge of the Rohirrim to save me,” she muttered, mostly to herself.  But Dustoff gave her a confused look anyway.  Sunset shook her head.  She’d have to break herself of these habitual cultural references to her old home. “Nevermind.  You wouldn’t get it.”

“Well, I—”

Dustoff never finished his reply.  One of the Mystics casting spells just outside her shield suddenly fell to the ground, dead.  One less spell battering at her shield.  But what…

“You may not have a choice, princess,” Dustoff said, grinning.  He pointed with a hoof to where, backdropped against the gray clouds, Sunset could barely make out a trio of figures.  “There’s your deus ex machina.”

One of the figures leveled a long rifle.  It was too far away to hear the sound, but another Mystic fell.

“Meet my wife,” Dustoff smirked.  “And here comes the cavalry.”

His ears strained, and Sunset couldn’t help the strange mix of relief and chagrin as she perked hers as well.

It was a battle cry.

“Fly!  Fly for family and kin!  Shield them with the wings of the Angels!”

Not just from the three pegasi in the sky.  But from dozens.  Maybe even a hundred white Knights, wings flared, weapons drawn, cresting the line of buildings to fall like a reaper’s scythe on the Diarchy Knights.

Sunset relaxed with a sigh as the flame of hope once again rekindled in her heart.

Not like Manehatten after all, it seemed.