Everlasting Night

by Dream Searcher

The Battle For Manehattan: Part 1

It was time, the preparations were finished and Nightmare had a good amount of ponies in her army. Her propaganda worked and she only used a small draft to strengthen her army. The ponies who wanted to fight for her willingly weren’t really fighting for her cause. They just wanted an end to the war and they decided to live with Nightmare as their Queen. She didn’t care about their motives, they were going to fight for her and that was all that mattered. Her army had a total count of around 3500 ponies and it consisted mostly of Unicorns.

Right now she was in her bedroom, putting on her armor. Her helmet, made of the finest steel from the Griffin Kingdom, was resting on her head. Her hooves and shins were protected by her steel boots. She hated it to trade her beautiful silver shoes for steel boots, but it was for her own good. Her chest was protected by a steel breastplate with a black crescent moon on it. Her back and flanks were protected by a steel saddle, but without a real saddle to sit on, just the armor. Steel was one of the best materials for armor, so it was no surprise that she chose for it.

Yesterday she had held a speech for her army. She had told them about the upcoming battle and that many weren’t going to return. She didn’t want to bring fear in the hearts of her soldiers, but she couldn’t deny the truth. Manehattan was a stronghold, capital of the Celestial government and she knew that the Celestial Army was going to defend it at all costs. She told them that the families of the ones who died would get compensation and that they could always come to her if they had financial or other problems. The ones who survived also received a sum of money, but less because they were still alive. Nightmare knew that money wouldn’t be a problem, because she could ‘lend’ some money from Manehattan after she conquered it. She ended her speech with the promise that she would fight with them on the battlefield, she would stay at their sides.

She looked once again at her dressing mirror. Her beautiful black body was covered in shiny steel, her armor anticipating the upcoming battle. Next to her mirror lay her diamond sword. She picked it up with her magic and examined it.

The sword was as sharp as a razor; even a little sweep could kill a pony. A sentence had been carved on one side of the blade: ‘For the moon, for the night, for the ones I swore to protect.’ That last part was the most important part. Nightmare was going to defend her ponies, no matter what. They might not accept her as Queen, but they were still her ponies. She wasn’t Celestia, but she had the same duties now.

“Do you really have to go?” Pinkie asked. She was lying on Nightmare’s bed, looking at Nightmare and how she was readjusting her armor. Pinkie classified everypony as friend, Nightmare included, so it was normal that she was concerned about her.

Nightmare sighed, placed her sword into its sheath on her flank and turned around. She and Pinkie had this discussion since the start of last week and it was really starting to get on her nerves. “For the 15th time, Pinkie, I have to go. My army needs me, I’m their will to fight. Without me they’ll either desert or panic. I will be there for them and I will fight with them.” She said with a rather annoyed tone.

Pinkie, however, wasn’t intimidated. She jumped off the bed and made her way towards Nightmare. She knew she wasn’t easy to intimidate. Sure, she was scared of hydras and timberwolves, but they were monsters and not ponies. “And what about Fluttershy, Rarity and me?”

“Ah, I almost forgot about that. You and Rarity stay here and manage the palace and Fluttershy will come with me. My army needs her medical skills.” She materialized a small pink tiara and placed it, with the help of her magic, on Pinkie’s head. “Now you have full power over my servants. Please be a little calmer when you rule the palace. Knowing you, that will probably be a difficult job. Rarity already knows about this, she too has a tiara and Fluttershy also knows what I expect of her.”

Pinkie looked at the mirror. Her pink tiara was a bit concealed by her poofy mane, but you could see that it was there. She was, just like Dash, not one for fashion, but she had to say that the tiara looked beautiful, especially the small pink gem that was placed in the middle of the tiara.

The usual talkative Pinkie couldn’t find her words. “Its… gorgeous.”

Nightmare smiled. She knew she had done a good job at those tiara’s, but receiving some praise was always welcome. “I know, so keep it in optimal condition. It took me a long time to make it and it would be a shame if it got destroyed while I'm absent.” Pinkie just nodded. “Alright then. Now come, my army is waiting.”

Pinkie followed Nightmare to the throne room. During the walk neither of them said anything, but Pinkie could feel some worry in Nightmare’s body language, it was part of her Pinkie-sense. She didn’t pursue it, but it made her a bit uneasy. She knew that Nightmare technically killed Celestia and took over her kingdom, but deep down she secretly hoped that Nightmare was going to come back alive.

They entered the throne room and it was different from last time. The banners were still the same and so was the overall layout, but Nightmare’s throne was gone and it was replaced by two smaller thrones which stood very close to each other. One was white and the other was pink. Rarity was already sitting on her throne while Fluttershy was sitting on Pinkie’s throne. Fluttershy also had some armor on. She didn’t have a helmet like the soldiers, but she did have a hat like the one Daring Do wears. Her body was covered in steel armor, like all the soldiers, and it was just to ensure that Fluttershy didn’t get hurt if they walked into an ambush. She also had two saddlebags, attached to her flanks, with a red cross stitched on it, probably by Rarity.

Pinkie looked at Nightmare. “Does this mean I now have the power to rule?”

Nightmare nodded. “Yes Pinkie, you and Rarity are now my regents, but with a bit of supervision by one of my most trusted guards: Shiny Sword. He will keep you two in check and help you with ruling the country. I hate to say this, but I still don’t trust you two enough to let you rule the country without somepony who keeps me informed.” She continued walking towards the two thrones and Pinkie followed suit.

Rarity noticed Nightmare and Pinkie and she smiled at them. “Isn’t it amazing, Pinkie? My dream finally came true, being part of the Canterlot nobility and it has a nice bonus attached to it, ruling Equestria.” Rarity really was in seventh heaven. At the start of her capture she thought that she was going to live in a living hell, but Nightmare made her dreams come true and she was very grateful for that.

“Don’t be too overjoyed. You still have to follow my rules and restrictions and believe me when I say that ruling a country is very hard and tiring work. Isn’t that right, Pinkie?” Nightmare remarked.

“Yeah, you have to stay up really late to get the paperwork done and then there are those annoying ponies who always want something from you. You also have to manage finances and politics and try to keep public order under control, but there is one positive thing about ruling a country and that is that other ponies treat you very well.” Pinkie beamed, it has been a long time since she used such long sentences and it felt really good.

Rarity blinked at Pinkie and only one thought occupied her mind. Since when did she become so smart? She just waved a dismissive hoof at them. “Still, I’m part of the Canterlot nobility now, so thank you Nightmare.”

Nightmare chuckled very silently and it was almost unnoticeable. “Enjoy it while you still can, I do plan to sit back on my throne after the battle of Manehattan.”

“Oh I will enjoy it very much.” Rarity said. She couldn’t wait to start with her rule, it was going to be so much fun.

“Good.” Nightmare turned to Fluttershy, who was awfully quiet. “Are you ready, Fluttershy?” Nightmare asked. She kept the volume of her voice down, from experience she knew that Fluttershy was scared of loud noises and of… almost everything.

Fluttershy eeped and hid behind the armrest of Pinkie’s throne. After a while she looked back up. She noticed that Nightmare and Pinkie were now standing closer to the throne. Nightmare had an indifferent expression, mixed with a slight hint of worry, but Pinkie’s expression was full of worry. “I’m just a bit scared.” Fluttershy whispered. If Applejack was in the throne room right now then she would have seen that Fluttershy had lied to her friends and Nightmare. She was absolutely terrified. She had to go to a battle, treat dying ponies and risk her own life at the same time. She really wanted to help ponies, but she feared for her own life.

Nightmare levitated Fluttershy towards her and placed Fluttershy on the ground before her hooves. With a light telekinetic force she made Fluttershy look up at her. She stared her directly into the eyes. “Listen, you don’t have to be scared. During the march to Manehattan you just stay at my side and nothing will happen to you. You don’t even need to fight, you only need to stay in the medical tents in our camp. That camp will be put up a couple of miles away from the city, so you won’t even be near the fight.” Her tone was regal, but there was a caring undertone in it.

Fluttershy’s eyes filled with hope, Nightmare could see it in those blue orbs of her. “Alright then.” She let out a deep sigh and a little bit of determination could be seen in those eyes of her. It was nothing compared to Rainbow Dash, but it was definitely enough for Fluttershy. “I’m ready.” Now she had sealed her fate, she was going to take care of wounded and dying ponies.

Nightmare draped a wing over Fluttershy, just to reassure her that nothing was going to happen to her. “Come, we need to leave now if we want to leave on time.” She turned to Rarity and Pinkie. “If everything goes according to plan we should be back the 12th of June. Rule the country well.” She nodded to them as a sign of goodbye and walked with Fluttershy out of the throne room and to the courtyard where her army was waiting for her.

Pinkie kept staring at the open throne room doors. She just saw Nightmare and Fluttershy leaving for what could possibly be the last time and she was really concerned about their safety. “Please be safe, both of you.” She whispered and sat down on her throne. She produced a small smile and motioned a guard that he could let in a pony who wanted an audience. She had to focus on her job, she could worry about Nightmare and Fluttershy later, right now she and Rarity had a country to lead.

Nightmare frowned and not because the march was tiring and annoying, but because of something else, something very worrisome. They had been marching for two days now, they had passed Ponyville and the Everfree Forest and they were rather close to Manehattan, but they have never had an ambush. Normally that would be a good thing, but she knew that the Celestial Army had planned something for her army, she just didn’t know what.

She was currently leading the march, with Fluttershy, the Commander and Rainbow Dash at her side. The Commander and Rainbow Dash could keep up with her, but sometimes it became too much for Fluttershy and then she had to lay down and rest in one of the supply carts that were being pulled by the strongest of her army. Nightmare knew she needed to take action, she needed to know why they didn’t walk into an ambush yet.

She turned to Rainbow Dash, she also had her armor on. Her head was protected by a Centurion helmet, but without the crest, only the Commander wore a crest. Her body was protected with steel armor, just like the rest of the army and she also wore steel boots with shin protectors. “Captain Dash, take two other Pegasi and scout the road ahead of us, but keep your distance from Manehattan.

Rainbow sighed and shook her head a little. “Do I have to? My wings still hurt a little from the exercise this morning.” Her mind wandered back to the morning. Even on a march the Pegasi had to train their wings with flying, the Unicorns had to train their magic with concentration and the Earth Ponies had to train their strength through brawling with each other. During her flying she accidentally crashed against a tree. She didn’t know how it happened, but it hurt and it was embarrassing. The soldiers didn’t dare to laugh, because of her rank, but if she was just a soldier like them then they would have laughed their flanks off.

Nightmare glared at Rainbow. She knew that she was being kind to the Bearers of Harmony, but that still didn’t give them the right to disobey her orders. “Captain Dash, I gave you an order, don’t forget that you’re in the army now.”

Rainbow averted her gaze and tried to make herself as small as possible. “I’m sorry, your Highness.” She normally wasn’t so submissive, but she had already been tortured by Nightmare once, she didn’t want it to happen again. “I’ll find two Pegasi to do some recon with me.” She saluted and flew off as fast as she could.

Nightmare shook her head. “She still has so much to learn.”

“In time, my Queen. I know she has the potential to become a good commander, but her attitude stands in the way.” The Commander remarked. He was rather good when it came to estimate the abilities of ponies.

“I hope you’re right, Commander. I still am a bit afraid to send her into battle. I know she can fight, but her technique isn’t optimal and her bold attitude doesn’t make it any better.” Nightmare responded while she saw Rainbow flying in the direction of Manehattan with two Pegasi at her side.

“You don’t need to worry, my Queen, Shining and I will keep her safe. We even had a talk and I gotta say that he’s quite alright. He’s not that happy about his sudden change of faction, but he will fight with us to get his little sister back.” The Commander thought back to the day where he and Shining sparred. He normally didn’t spar with his soldiers, but Shining was an exception, he had been the Captain of the Royal Guard after all.

Nightmare was suddenly curious, she wanted to know where Shining was. “Do tell, Commander, where is Shining Armor?”

The Commander pointed to a position behind him, where all the soldiers were currently marching. “Somewhere in the group behind us. See the giant pink shield above us?” He pointed to a shield which was placed above the whole army, but it was moving with the army.

“Yes?” Nightmare half said, half asked.

“That’s Shining’s work, he’s very good when it comes to defensive spells.” The Commander answered. He was actually really glad that Shining could do that kind of spells and thus protecting the army against enemy attacks.

Nightmare kept looking at the shield for a few seconds and nodded. “I do need to say that I’m impressed.”

“Me too, my Queen. I hope you don’t mind, but I think it’s best to end this conversation here, the Celestial army could ambush us anytime.” The Commander remarked, he knew the Celestial army liked ambushes.

“Good thinking, Commander.” Nightmare answered. But I highly doubt that they’ll attack, something just doesn’t seem right.

They kept on marching, the army just right behind them and almost every soldier in the army was jumpy. For the most of them it was their first time fighting, they’ve never killed anypony and now they had to. But they all had faith in their brothers and sisters and together they would survive.

Thirty minutes later Rainbow Dash returned with the two soldiers, one was a mare with a chocolate brown mane and a light brown coat and the other a stallion with a dark blue mane and an ocean blue coat. The soldiers were breathing heavily and sweat was just dripping off them, but Rainbow Dash just stood there and it seemed that she didn’t even break a sweat.

The two soldiers bowed before their queen and Rainbow did the same when she noticed that she was the only one who wasn’t doing it. When Nightmare gave the sign she rose again and spoke. “I flew all the way to a lake just twenty miles from Manehattan and I didn’t notice a single soldier, it’s like they just disappeared. You can ask these two rookies here. They were flying so slow that I had to leave them behind, but they did get a good look at the ground below them.” Rainbow reported proudly and puffing her chest out to empathize her proudness.

Nightmare, however, wasn’t happy with Rainbow’s stupid action to leave her companions behind. She had sent them with her to protect her, not to be left behind. She frowned at Rainbow and that was still being nice. Normally she would have killed Rainbow on the spot, but that would be unwise of her, the Bearers were finally beginning to trust her. “Captain Dash, it was very foolish of you to fly alone! Therefore, you will stay at my side until we reach Manehattan and flying is only allowed when you’re training.”

“But, but…” She tried to protest, but when Nightmare opened her wings in an intimidating manner she just lowered her head and stared at the ground. “Yes, your Highness.”

The march continued. Rainbow walked next to Nightmare, disappointment clearly visible on her face. Nightmare had just taken away her flying, but she had to admit that it was rather stupid of her to fly alone. If the Celestial Army ambushed her then there was nopony in the area to help her, so she was, in a certain degree, happy that Nightmare had scolded her and she made a mental note to fly with her companions next time.

Nightmare worried even more than she was used to. Rainbow’s report was everything, but satisfying. She had some suspicions about what could have happened to the Celestial Army, but she had to be sure. The only pony with enough tactical skill in her army to rival her own was the Commander.

“Commander,” The Commander looked up at her, clearly showing that she had his full attention. “Are you thinking the same about the report?”

“That the Celestial Army transferred all its soldiers to the heart of Manehattan?” He knew this even before Rainbow’s report, but just like Nightmare, he wasn’t sure.

Nightmare nodded. “Yes, that. The General of the Celestial Army is smart, placing all his soldiers in Manehattan for one last stand. I think a bloodbath will happen in Manehattan.” She sighed and hung her head a little. She had prayed to the moon for an easy battle without many casualties, but now that the Celestial Army stationed all of its soldiers in Manhattan, she wasn’t so sure of her victory.

The Commander noticed the sudden change in Nightmare’s mood and tried to lift her spirit. “Nightmare, if I may be so bold, we have strongest ponies in our army. There’s Shining Armor with his defensive spells, Rainbow Dash and her agility, me and my excellent knowledge in fighting and you who has the power of a god. And what does the Celestial Army have? Just a little flying airship.” The Commander smiled at Nightmare, something he only did when seducing mares, but this time the situation asked for it.

Nightmare gave him a small smile. The Commander was a good pony, she could see and feel it. “I appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better, but you off all ponies should know not to underestimate the Celestial Army. Their airship has a destructive power which can annihilate a squad in less that a second. The surroundings are also a positive aspect for them. They know Manehattan like the back of their hooves and we don’t. I think my confidence is just a bit faltering due to that report.”

“It will be alright, I promise.” The Commander reassured her. He has never spoken to Nightmare this way and it was nice to have just a friendly chat instead of following orders.

Nightmare didn’t answer, there was no need to. A little thought, however, kept lingering in her mind. Can you keep that promise, Commander?

It was just a quarter past midnight and this night would be the start of the Battle of Manehattan. Nightmare’s army had set up camp ten miles from Manehattan and she gave the paratroopers some rest before they had to fly to Manehattan, but that was yesterday. Now they were all checking their equipment, radios and armor for the battle that was about to come.

From the 3500 ponies she had in her army, 750 would fight tonight. Squads would be made in the camp, most of them consisting of 2 Unicorns, one Earth Pony and one Pegasus. Pegasi that weren’t part of the squad would drop the squads in the outskirts of Manehattan and then return to the camp. After they were dropped, the squads would need to make their way to their designated target. These targets were: the Trotlyn Bridge, the Manehattan Bridge, The Queens Midtown Tunnel and the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. The squads would need to conquer one side of the bridge, or tunnel, and hold that position until morning, then Nightmare and her main force would assault the city by hoof.

Nightmare was currently in her own tent together with the Commander. They went over the plan one last time to make sure that it was perfect. “And you’re sure that this plan will work?” Nightmare asked while she looked at the map one more time.

“Yes, I’m sure. According to our spies stationed in Manehattan, we won’t meet much resistance on the way to the bridges, but they will be heavily defended.” With a red marker he highlighted the bridges and where the main defense positions were.

Nightmare nodded in understanding. The plan did seem perfect, but there was one rule in war that applies to both friend and enemy: Trotly’s law. This law said that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. “And what about squads?”

"Like I said, we make squads consisting of 4 ponies. 2 Unicorns, 1 Earth Pony and 1 Pegasus. I’ve already made my squad. It consists of myself, Shining Armor, a soldier named Red and Rainbow Dash.” He answered a bit impatiently, they really had to leave now if they wanted to stick to the plan.

Nightmare placed the plan in a chest and locked it with a key which she kept hidden in her mane. “Alright, it seems that you got everything covered. I give the green light, but just make sure to protect Rainbow Dash.” It was best to keep Rainbow close to her, but she was a soldier now and soldiers needed to fight.

“I will, don’t worry.” He said with much confidence and as he tried to trot out of the tent Nightmare said something.

“Oh, and Commander? What is the first rule of our army?” She needed to make sure that the Commander knew that rule, it was the most important one.

He thought for a moment, but he knew it almost instantly. “Protect civilians and minimize civilian casualties.” He smiled and trotted out of the tent.

Nightmare sighed and put a hoof on her forehead. Making plans and monitoring everything came with a lot of stress and that stress worked on her brain. She had a massive headache now and it needed to disappear before the assault. “Ugh, I need an aspirin.”

“Twenty seconds until landing!!!” The Commander, who was carrying Shining Armor, yelled. Their designated landing zone was Poney island in Trotlyn. It was a rather long way away from the Trotlyn Bridge, the objective of the Commander’s squad, but it was a safe landing zone.

“Ten seconds!!!” Rainbow heard.

It was hard for her to say it, but there was no denying it. She was scared and nervous. She had never really fought in a war. Sure, she knew some fighting techniques from her time in Cloudsdale, but those techniques weren’t going to save her. And then there was that one thing in war she really detested: killing other ponies. It just wasn’t right to kill, but in a war there was no other choice. Her mind told her that other ponies in Nightmare’s army had the same problem, especially the drafted ones, but that didn’t really bring any peace in her mind. She knew that she had to kill or the enemy killed her.

“Five seconds!!!” Red didn’t really mind the battle, he was trained for this and he knew that this day would come. The possible aftermath if they won this battle was also no secret for him. If they won this battle, then the war would be practically over. The Celestial government would be disbanded, their army also and all the other cities would lose the will to fight. It was going to be a domino effect, they just had to give the first domino a push.

“Touchdown!!!” The four ponies landed. Well, Rainbow Dash, Red and the Commander landed. Shining Armor fell face first onto the concrete of Manehattan.

“Pony down! Pony down!” Shining yelled while winking at Rainbow. It did hurt a bit, but he could handle it, he had been Captain of the Royal Guard after all.

The Commander, however, wasn’t so amused. War wasn’t a time to have fun, war was serious business. Even if you just needed to wipe your nose and you lost your attention for a moment, then death was just around the corner. He scowled at Shining who was getting back up. “War isn’t play time, soldier! You of all ponies should know that.”

“Alright, no need to erupt, Mr Volcano. Play time over, searching for Twily and Applejack is the priority.” Shining said while he looked at the dark sky and he saw the silhouettes of the ponies of the other squads. The other squads would land on different landing zones, but their objectives would be the same.

The whole 750 soldiers who had to fight today had been divided into 188 squads consisting of 4 ponies. 47 squads had the Trotlyn Bridge as their objective, another 47 had to go to the Manehattan Bridge and so on. It was the perfect plan, created by both the Commander himself and some of the best strategians of Canterlot.

“Very well then, let’s get going.” The Commander said to his three squad mates.

The four of them began to walk towards the Trotlyn Bridge. Luckily for them the streets of Manehattan almost didn’t have any curves and at the end of every block there was an intersection, so they just had to follow some streets and those streets would lead them to the Trotlyn Bridge. It was like a walk in the park, but now they only had to look out for enemy patrols.
Yes, according to Nightmare’s spies there were still some patrols in Trotlyn. The major part of the Celestial Army was stationed across the Sun River, in the heart of Manehattan. So the ponies who had to patrol Trotlyn were unfortunate souls, because the Night Army really outnumbered the patrols.

So now they were on their way to Trotlyn Bridge, one of the landmarks of Manehattan. It was late at night, but the four of them could still feel the city living around them and it was scared. Better yet, its inhabitants were scared. Some ponies even dared to look through the blinds of their apartments.

That was also something negative for the Night Army. While there were some houses in Manehattan, most of the buildings were apartments or skyscrapers and the made it impossible to spot aerial attacks of the Celestial Army until it was probably too late. This city wasn’t an open field where you could spot an attack from at least five miles away. No, in this city you were blind.

Other ponies quickly smashed their doors shut and locked their doors and occasionally they would find a strangler who, when he or she became aware of the Night Army’s presence, quickly tried to find a hiding spot. The Commander didn’t pay any attention to the civilians. Right now they didn’t need his help and he wasn’t going to hurt them, that would be against the rules and against his standards. It just wasn’t ethical to hurt civilians.

The ears of the commander twitched and he quickly hid in an alley, closely followed by his three squadmates. They tried to ask him why he hid in an alley, but he shushed them, he had more important things to do than to answering their questions. They became quiet and he could hear it again, the clopping of steel boots against the concrete; it was a soldier and the Commander could hear that he or she was alone.

He turned to his squadmates and could see Rainbow glancing around her quite nervously. She was really scared, but the Commander knew that she would harden eventually, all the soldiers hardened after seeing their friends die. “Stay here. A soldier is coming this way, he’s a loner and I’m gonna deal with him. Rainbow,” He whispered and Rainbow looked at him with all her attention. “Watch and learn, that’s an order.”

Rainbow gulped, she didn’t think it was going to be so soon that she would see a pony die. She knew she didn’t have a choice and just nodded. She promised herself that she would try to keep watching, that would make it easier if she needed to kill somepony. Better get used to death now, than later.

The Commander nodded to her. Rainbow was a strong mare and he knew that, but he was really doubting if she could handle seeing him killing a pony right in front of her eyes. Still, she had to see it eventually.

He quietly walked out of the alley and looked around. He was instantly met by a hoof to his face and fell to the ground. It seemed that the one-pony patrol had taken him by surprise and from the force of it he knew that it was a stallion. The enemy pony seemed to have heard the Commander trotting out of the alley, so that meant that he had excellent hearing skills.

The Commander got back up and wiped some blood from his face, his nose to be specific. The bastard in front of him had almost broken his nose and he was going to make him pay for that. He unsheathed his sword and looked at the soldier in front of him, a small evil smile formed on his face. The poor soul in front of him was going to be an easy one, he saw that from the stance of his hooves. He was unbalanced and the Commander was going to take advantage of that.

Back in the alleyway Rainbow had a clear view of the battle that was about to unfold right in front of her. She began shaking. It were her nerves, but she couldn’t help it, she was going to see a murder right in front of her eyes. Suddenly she felt a hoof on her pauldron and she tensed up. Only when she connected a face to that hoof she relaxed again, but not much. It was Shining and he was giving her support. Rainbow appreciated it. She wasn’t alone in this war, she really wasn’t. She looked at Red and saw that he was busy optimizing his radio and it seemed that he didn’t really care about everything that was about to unfold. He was the radiopony, so he had to make sure that the radio worked.

Back on the street the Commander was currently waiting for his enemy to attack. Only mindless foals would run to their opponents, but they would be instantly killed. He just waited for his enemy to make the first move. And the enemy did.
The soldier of the Celestial Army also unsheated his sword and let out a battle cry like one would do on the toilet when he needed to take a dump. Well, that was the image that came to the Commander’s mind. He didn’t like battle cries. Yes, they could be motivating, but he was a calm pony and being calm in a battle would save many lives.

The opponent attacked and came running towards the Commander. The Commander placed his hooves firmly on the ground, lowered himself a bit and took on a defensive position with his sword clenched between his teeth. He thought about his tactics to win this encounter. First he would trip the pony when he came running towards him. After that he would grab his sword with a wing and walk to the fallen pony. There, he would finally attack the pony and try to kill him when he was still lying on the ground. It was the perfect plan.

The Commander saw that his opponent was near him and ready to attack and he placed, in one swift movement, his sword in front of the pony’s hooves. Just like he predicted, the pony wasn’t fast enough to avoid the sword, which suddenly appeared in front of his hooves, and so he tripped. He landed face first on the concrete and his sword fell out of his mouth. He tried to get up, he knew he had to or otherwise his enemy would kill him, but found out that he couldn’t, that something was blocking him from getting up. The pony looked up and saw that his opponent was standing above him, thus blocking him to get up.

“No, please,” The soldier pleaded. “Please don’t kill me.”

The Commander just kept standing there, with one hoof on the soldier’s body and the other still firmly on the ground. He pushed his sword against the throat of the pony under him. “And why would I want to do that?” He asked, putting a little more pressure against his sword, thus putting more pressure against the throat of the pony and almost to the point where his vertebral artery would have snapped.

The pony tried to push the sword away from his artery, but it was to no avail, his enemy was too strong. “Please, I have a marefriend. We were making plans to get married next month.” He pleaded with fear present in the sound of his voice. He wanted nothing more than live to see another day and, of course, his marefriend.

The Commander was silent and just kept staring, but in his mind he was in a better place and in a better time. He was back in the time where his wife was still alive. He shook his head, he couldn’t think about that right now, he couldn’t think about that fateful day. He once again looked at the soldier’s face and it reminded him of himself when he was younger, but he also saw something else in the soldier’s eyes; he saw innocence. The soldier under him was probably drafted from the population of Manehattan, he didn’t want to fight in this war, but he had to. The Commander sheated his sword and stopped pushing the pony against the ground.

“Go. Go to your marefriend and leave Manehattan, it’s gonna get ugly here. Don’t look back and just run.” The Commander said while he watched the soldier getting back on his hooves. He nodded to the Commander as a sign of thanks and ran away with tears in his eyes, but a small smile on his face.

The Commander sighed and walked back to the alley. That encounter reopened an old wound, a wound he just wanted to forget, but he just couldn’t forget it. He just couldn’t forget his wife. Her beautiful blue mane, her snowy white coat and who could forget her teal eyes where one could be lost in forever. She was his angel, but on a day she had been taken from him. Years he had wandered from place to place to find the perfect replacement of his wife. It may sound harsh to an outsider, but he couldn’t stand being alone; he needed somepony who was there for him. In all those years he had a relationship with countless ponies, but nopony could rival his wife… until he met Fluttershy. That shy mare had something, but he couldn’t explain it; he just knew that this was the mare he had been looking for all those years.

He arrived in the alley and sat down. “Sometimes, Rainbow Dash, you need to show some compassion. I just don’t plan to make it a habit.” He said to her when he saw her confused look. “Now, what did you learn?”

“Well, try to find your opponent’s weaknesses and take advantage of it.” She said with some confidence. She had stopped shaking when she saw that Commander wasn’t going to kill that pony.

“Good, but you forgot the most important lesson.” He remarked.

“And what’s that?”

“Compassion may be used one or two times, but don’t do it too much or you’ll end up dead. You might be compassionate and some enemies also, but most of them aren’t. Keep that in mind and you should be alright.” The Commander explained.

“And what about killing? You didn’t kill that pony so how can I get used to killing other ponies?” She asked the Commander.

“You sound like you wanted me to kill that pony. Is that what you want, Rainbow Dash? That I become a mindless killing machine?” The Commander asked. He wasn’t shocked or angry, but he was remarkably calm.

“W-what? No, that’s not what I meant.” She tried to defend herself, fearing a little for her own life.

“Good, that’s the next lesson; always keep calm. Don’t fight like you are invulnerable, because you aren’t. The best course of action is to wait and let the enemy come to you, like I did in the encounter with that stallion. You’ll learn to kill soon enough. Always remember that war might be chaos, but you need to stay calm.” He stood up and readjusted his armor. “Now let’s go, we still have a long way to go.”

“Get to the defensive positions!!”

“Get down!!!”

“Look out!!!”

“Kill him!!!”

“Valor!! Noooo!!”

“It’s too late for him! Quick, get behind that wall!!!”

“We’re all gonna die, we’re all gonna die.”

Those and others were the sentences of war that could be heard near the bridges. The Celestial army and the Night Army had different opinions about Nightmare Moon, but they agreed on one thing: chaos was everywhere.

The Commander and his squad arrived at the Trotlyn Bridge a bit later than the other 46 squads that had to capture one side of the Trotlyn Bridge and this due to some encounters with patrols. In those encounters Rainbow didn’t kill anypony, but she did have to fight for her life. Most of the time she evaded lethal blows with just one flap of her wings, but sometimes she had to take action. She even gave a Pegasus a broken nose and she pulled some strands of his mane out, but she didn’t kill the enemy, the Commander, Shining or Red killed them. She saw that Shining also had problems with killing ponies, but he did it for Twilight.

When they arrived the Commander asked for a sitrep (Situation Report) and he got one immediately. Apparently all the squads had arrived at the bridges and the tunnel and they were now just defending themselves against incoming attacks from the other side of the river. Some enemy unicorns were now mobile artillery who fired magical beams at the defending Night Army and this from the other side of the river. The enemy Pegasi flew, with rocks in their hooves, above the Night Army and let go of the rocks when they were flying above a soldier from the Night Army. These rocks would fall down with a giant speed and could shatter bones on contact. The enemy Earth Ponies were the spearhead of the Celestial Army and crossed the bridges or tunnel to take the fight to the Night Army. Some unicorns who couldn’t fight as mobile artillery walked behind the Earth Ponies instead. They were the unicorns who had to fight together with their Earth Pony companions and with magic and swords.

That was the tactic of the Celestial Army. The tactic of the Night Army was just defending, defending and defending. They had to stay in cover, minimize casualties and hold out until morning so that Nightmare could cross the bridges and tunnel with the main part of the army. The unicorns with healing magic were the medics of the Night Army, while the other unicorns just defended their friends with swords and their magic. The Pegasi of the Night Army flew above the ground and had to fight the enemy Pegasi. They also had to transport some wounded to the medical tents of Nightmare’s camp. The dead could wait, they weren’t going anywhere soon. They also had to support their companions, just like the Unicorns. The Earth Ponies of the Night Army were the ones who had to meet the spearhead of the Celestial Army head-on. They, together with some support of the Unicorns and the Pegasi, had to keep the defensive line intact and make sure that the Celestial Army didn’t break through.

Those were the tactics and said tactics were created to ensure victory, but most importantly, to keep everything structured. The real deal wasn’t so structured. Ponies were lying dead on the ground, some had a panic attack and were crying for their mother, while others just snapped and attacked everypony, both ally and enemy.

Right now Dash was hiding on the ground floor of an abandoned apartment near the Trotlyn Bridge. The apartment only had a desk for the reception, the rest had probably been stolen just before all hell broke loose. She decided to hide in the abandoned apartment to stay away from all the fighting that was continuing outside, but she had her fair share of the battle, because occasionally a magical beam would shoot through one of the windows and then she had to avoid it or risk getting killed. She was genuinely terrified, but she knew she had to continue, she had to fight.

Just when she was about to go to the door to fight with her companions, the Commander opened the door, ran inside and closed the door behind them. She jumped a bit from the sudden shock, but while she calmed down, she kept an eye on the Commander. It appeared that he had lost his sword, one of his wings was twitching, that was a sign that it was almost broken and he was gasping for air like he had almost been drowned. If the Commander acted this way, then something really bad must have happened.

“Um… Commander? Is everything alright?” Rainbow asked after she saw that the Commander had calmed down enough to speak.

The Commander walked to a broken window and stared through it while frowning a bit in the process. “No, it’s not alright. I just received very disturbing news.” He said while his eyes scanned the sky.

Rainbow walked to the Commander and sat down next to him. “What news?” She asked with concern very clear in her voice.

The Commander kept looking at the sky, but sighed after a moment and hung his head. “Our spies told me that the Celestials have launched their airship. It’s setting course to either this bridge or the Manehattan Bridge. I really hoped that the Queen would have been here when the airship attacked, so that she could deal with it, but it seems that we will have to fight it.” He said and stared with a sad gaze at Rainbow Dash. It was the first time that the Commander really doubted the success of his tactics and army.

“But we don’t have the power to fight that thing!!! I saw what it did to that squad in Canterlot, they just evaporated!! We’re all gonna die if we need to fight it!!” She shouted at the Commander. She knew it was stupid of her to shout at her commanding officer, but she just wasn’t ready to throw her life away.

“I know that!! I…” Out of the corner of his eye he could spot a magical beam heading with a very high speed straight to the window where Rainbow and himself were sitting. He instantly came into action and did a cougar jump to push her away from the window. “Look out!!! AAAAH!!” His body spasmed for a moment and he landed just in front of her hooves, but at least he managed to push her away.

She gasped. It was the only thing she could do, it all happened so fast. One moment she was shouting at the Commander and the next moment he was lying in front of her hooves. She ran to him and removed his armor. She knew he was still alive, because she could feel him shaking from the pain. It was then that she saw a giant hole in the stomach area with blood flowing out of it. She gasped again. During her training she had learned about injuries and their severity. The wound that the Commander had, was a deadly one.

“Don’t you die on me now, you hear me?! Don’t you dare to die!!!!” She shouted when she desperately tried to search for some bandages, but there weren’t any on the ground floor of the apartment. It was just her and the Commander. She wanted to get one of the medics, but she was going to be too late. Even with her speed, it was too late. With all hope gone she returned to the Commander whose breathing was going slower.

“I did… my duty.” He silently said between breaths. It wasn’t going to take long now, he knew it.

“W-what?” She asked with tears in her eyes. The Commander wasn’t really her friend, but in the last few hours he was like a guardian to her. He was always protecting her, always making sure nothing happened to her and now it was all over.

He smiled… well, he tried to, but the pain didn’t allow him to smile much. “Nightmare asked me… to protect you… and I did, but I… also did something else.”

“What d-did you do?”

“I made… a soldier out of you. You didn’t kill, but… you learned how to be calm. I know a… soldier is more than being… just calm, but if you… stay calm, then you will survive. Rainbow Dash with her bold attitude… is now calm.” He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed even more.

She shook him a little, but not too much or otherwise the Commander would be in more pain. He might look like somepony made of steel, but he too has nerves and he isn’t invulnerable. “NO! What about Fluttershy?” She asked while some tears fell down her cheek and landed on the black coat of the Commander.

A dreamy smile appeared on his face, but his eyes were still closed. “Fluttershy… was the mare of my dreams… but like every story… it has to end one day. Tell her… that I love her… but that I’m going… to my wife. Goodbye, Rainbow… you’ll make a good Commander one day. Starshine… I’m coming home…”

And then it was over. His breathing stopped and everything was quiet for Rainbow. She didn’t hear the screams of agony that were coming from outside, she didn’t hear herself crying, she didn’t hear anything.

She stayed like this until there were no more tears in her eyes. She just wanted to stay near him and hope that he would come back to the land of the living, but she knew that wasn’t possible. He was gone, he was gone forever. She got up, walked past the Commander’s body and walked to the door. Before she opened it, she glanced one more time at the Commander and promised herself to personally get his body out of the building after the battle. She sighed, opened the door and laid eyes on chaos. Ponies were still fighting, but the amount of ponies from both sides were really low. A wonder had to happen if they wanted to hold out until morning. She saw a low wall near the bank of the river where Shining was busy protecting Red, who was talking on the radio.

She closed the door behind her and took a step forward. “Better go talk to Red, I need to warn somepony.” She said to herself while galloping to Shining and Red. One thought kept lingering in her mind and a very familiar voice was connected to it: ‘Stay calm.’

A/N: And thus we say goodbye to the Commander. In memory of Dark Shadow, Commander of the Night Army. *Salutes* Also, TheTimberWolffe, why don't you take a little break from editing? Contact me when you find the spirit to edit again.