Twilight wheeled around, and put her back flat against the desk. “Hello, Princess!”
Celestia turned back to thank the guard outside, and then entered the room, closing the door behind her.
“It is good to see you, my student. How-”
“Yeah, me too!”
“-are you?”
Twilight shook her head. “I mean, it’s good to see you too, Princess! Er, I mean…” She shifted a little to the left as the princess approached from the same side. “I’m fine. How are you?”
Twilight’s tone of voice was odd and unnatural, with vowels drawn out and inflection all wrong. Celestia tilted her head and frowned.
“Are you well?”
Twilight chuckled nervously. “Of course! I said I’m fine, didn’t I?” She leaned back further, putting one hoof behind her head and setting another on the desk. She yelped as her hoof made contact with one of her books, putting too much pressure on it and sending it sliding off.
“Oops!”
Celestia looked towards the book. “It’s okay. I’ll get it.” She walked a short distance to where the book had landed and levitated it towards her, and then walked back. She gazed suspiciously at her student, who was still standing there, leaning against the desk.
“Twilight…” Celestia muttered.
Twilight gulped, trying to keep up a casual smile. “Yes?”
Celestia brushed past where her student was standing, getting a full view of the desk and all its contents.
“May I ask why you have this?”
Twilight’s smile instantly melted. She stepped away from the desk, looking ashamedly at the ground. “I…”
“’The Pony Sutra.” Celestia set the book back down on the desk and looked oddly at Twilight. “Seems a little off-topic, don’t you think?”
Twilight wheeled around to look at the desk. The box and letters were gone.
It had worked. The teleportation had worked.
“Yes!” she cried triumphantly, thrusting a hoof in the air and grinning.
Celestia raised an eyebrow.
Twilight recoiled. “Uh, I mean, yes. Yes it is off-topic. But… it’s an old book, right? Didn’t it come out in, er, ‘your’ time period? It’s always good to make your study comprehensive! It’s all from an objective standpoint, of course. Ha ha.”
Princess Celestia looked at Twilight, then at the book, then back again. “Of course,” she said slowly.
She walked away from her student and around the table. “I remember when that book came out,” she said, finding her seat and settling in. “Very controversial. I actually met the author, once. Strange old stallion, but likeable, gracious, and surprisingly disciplined. He was a war veteran, but told me at heart he was ‘a lover, not a fighter’…”
But Twilight was not listening. She pretended to busy herself by arranging her materials into order, looking at the nearby bookshelf all the while. Atop it sat the princess’s box, sealed and neatly square with the wall. And Twilight had thought ‘stealth object relocation’ was a useless skill.
“Twilight?”
Her head snapped forward. “Huh?”
“I said, are you ready?”
“Oh.” Twilight shook herself awake and made some last second adjustments. Soon, she set a blank piece of parchment before her, dipped her quill in ink, and held it at the ready with telekinesis. “Okay, ready.”
Celestia nodded. “Now where were we…?”
The next hour was spent recounting what happened next, which mostly involved the young, curious Celestia learning about Lucky’s foalhood, before its ruination. It was a rather brief account. Lucky was not much of a conversationalist and consistently had to be spurred on by young Celestia’s questions. He gave accounts of his family, his friends, and even a limited description of his “gift”. When it came to the destruction of Ponyville, he gave very little detail, the basic extent of it being “it happened”.
Twilight knew, though. She already knew about Lucky’s “Luck”, about his strong-willed brother, about his apparent infatuation with Daylight. She already knew the painful ending to it all, and when Ponyville’s destruction was mentioned, Twilight visibly winced. She half-wished her teacher would simply move on.
Though it was not like she could simply tell the princess what she had done, could she? That she had stolen her personal belongings, read some very personal material? Then again, Celestia’s whole story, this whole project, was exactly that: intensely personal. She doubted the princess would mind.
If the princess would not mind, then Twilight had done no harm. And if Twilight had done no harm, what was there to confess? Nothing, Twilight convinced herself. Nothing at all.
She glanced at the box warily. Her intention had been to finish reading the letters. All of them. Was it still?
Her mind reeled at the things she could learn, at the things she already had learned. She learned about old Ponyville, that it was very similar to the “new” one, albeit smaller. She learned that geographically, it was not that far away; Twilight herself had swam in that lake before. But most of all, she learned about the Commander, Lucky Break, and the beginnings of his uncanny abilities. It was interesting, to be sure, but the most interesting part was that Twilight felt like she had heard of it before. Like the notes of a long-forgotten tune, or a word on the tip of the tongue, the exact nature of remembrance eluded her. It was extraordinarily similar to... to...
Twilight’s eyes widened. Pinkie Sense.
And it was not just similar. “Luck” was Pinkie Sense, in its purest form.
Lucky had Pinkie Sense.
Twilight let out an audible gasp.
“Twilight?” the princess asked. “Are you well?”
“Uh.” She shook her head, and assumed a polite grin. “Yes! I’m still fine. Sorry. Continue!”
Celestia looked skeptical at her student’s sudden shock – it was not like she had said anything particularly revealing – but continued nonetheless.
All the while, Twilight was drastically revising her plans for once she returned home. Not only was Pinkie going to get a talking to for taking something that was not hers, she was coming in for another round of testing. Once, she had simply resolved to just live with it. This time, her curiosity would be satisfied. She did care. Pinkie-Sense, Lucky-sense, directed extrasensory guidance, Luck, whatever it was – she would see it explained!
“Twilight...?” Celestia questioned.
“Sorry, Princess. Go on.”
Twilight was gladdened when the story was finished, but disappointed to see much of their time together had elapsed. Eventually, Celestia caught up with Twilight’s knowledge of the events, and the tale continued onward.
**********
It was still nighttime. The fire in the forge burned low, and the stockpile of wood was beginning to deplete. Two ponies rested on their haunches in the decaying ruins of an old blacksmith shop, one beside and slightly behind the other, a respectful distance away. The moon had since moved on in the sky, and no longer shone through the angled holes in the roof.
“Can I ask a question?”
The crackling of the fire seemed to punctuate the silence before Lucky’s short response. “Hm?” he hummed quietly.
“What was she like?” Celestia asked, trying to stay just as quiet.
Lucky stoked the fire and waited a moment before responding. When he did, it was not in the hushed, storyteller tone that Celestia had come to expect. “It’s late. We should head back.”
Celestia blinked, unprepared for the sudden authoritative tone. After taking a second to collect herself, she responded in kind.
“Yes, sir.”
“Celestia,” he suddenly added. “Make no mistake, the 21st Division is a military outfit. We adhere to protocol, and only deviate when necessary. That said, I’m sure you are aware of the… camaraderie the Maiden’s Battalion shares.”
Celestia titled her head. “Yes, sir?” she said slowly.
“You don’t need to call me ‘sir’,” Lucky said, his voice losing a bit of its commander’s edge. “Just ‘Lucky’ is fine.” He cleared his throat. “Only when it is appropriate, of course. Outside of formal circumstance.”
Celestia was silent for a moment. “Of course.” She nearly added a ‘sir’ at the end, but instead, simply repeated herself. “Of course.”
She rose to her hooves, shivering as she stretched the kinks out of her hind legs. She stretched her wings as well, deploying them to their fullest and giving them an experimental flap before tucking them back in.
Lucky still had not moved.
“Are you coming?” Again, Celestia almost added ‘sir’ at the end.
“I’ll wait till the fire dies down. Don’t want to accidentally set fire to the place.”
Celestia looked around. It was a blacksmith shop; the floors were made of stone and the furnace was set in such a way as to avoid hitting the walls with jumping embers. The wood was probably treated to be fire resistant anyways. Nevertheless, she did not object.
“Yes, fire can be dangerous,” Celestia responded lamely, feeling an unusual need to be conversational. Lucky did not respond. She frowned, but turned away and walked towards the door. She began sliding it open, rusty wheels creaking on their track, but stopped as a particular question burned very suddenly in her mind.
She turned back towards him. Was it appropriate to ask? It was not really her business, but then again, none of this was.
“Were you…?” Lucky’s ears perked, but Celestia trailed off, rephrasing the question in her head.
“I mean, Daylight…” She shook her head. “Were you and Daylight ever…?”
Lucky sat there without response, casually staring into the fire and waiting for her to finish her question.
Celestia suddenly felt very out of place. The question stopped in her throat. “Nevermind.” She turned and exited the blacksmith, wheeling the door closed behind her.
**********
The Equestrian military was fortunate in the fact that they only fought the enemy on a single northeastern front. Celestia had been told they were gaining and losing ground all the time, but relatively speaking, the allied armies of Equestria and the hordes of Discord were locked in a stalemate.
Looking at a tactical map at camp one night, Apple Crumble had briefed Celestia on the general condition of the war. For the most part, Equestria had managed to keep its coasts. The sea was too large for the hordes to cross via flight, and while nopony was really sure, strategists guessed that the chaotic nature of the hordes made it too unwieldy to construct a navy. They could certainly do it, but the months of travel required to cross the sea to reach the Equestrian shore was sure to result in infighting, especially considering the usual claustrophobic conditions of maritime living.
Crumble had drawn a line across the northeast section of Equestria where he knew the battlegrounds to generally be. It started at a point in the Crystal Mountains, went to a fortress stationed above the Neighagra Falls, and extended through the edge of Hollows Forest all the way to the fortified frontier city of Fillydelphia. These were the last established areas, Crumble explained, and everything beyond them was either in their possession but not quite settled, no-pony’s-land, or hostile territory.
“Generally speakin’, we don’ let the beasts get past this here line,” Crumble said, motioning the territory he had marked. “Tha’ said, there are some unfortunate exceptions…”
Celestia’s eyes wandered to a dot near the front labeled “Canterbury”. It had been marked with an X symbol near the name.
“What about the Crystal Mountains?” Celestia asked, pointing to them. “Can’t they go around and come from the north?”
“Yeh’d think that, wouldn’t yeh?” Crumble asked. “It’s a known fact the beasts don’t like the cold, but they probably would anyways, were it not fer the Crystal Empire.” He took a pencil, and circled an area of the map. “They’ve got a mighty impressive defense set up. The beasts go into those mountains, an’ they never come back out.”
“Are we allied with the Crystal Empire?”
“Ehhh…” Crumble murmured. “Sorta. We’re not enemies, but they have yet to lift a hoof to actually help us. Their strength isn’t in attack, it’s in defense. They use the mountains to their extreme advantage, an’ they’ve got some sort of magic that protects huge portions of land. They’re so assured that their defense is impenetrable, they’ve elected to remain neutral.” He shrugged. “It’s cowardly, but I can’t really blame ‘em. I mean, I know what happened to the Hieyumans an’ all, but hearing the things I’ve heard, I’m almost inclined to believe they actually can jus’ sit the whole thing out.”
Celestia looked back at the map in contemplation, toying with some of the figurines that represented the position of armies.
“Still, what I wouldn’t do to get my hooves on a crystal blade…” Crumble murmured.
“What’s this thing?” she asked, poking at a small model cloud sitting just north of Hollows Forest.
“That,” he said, swatting at Celestia’s hoof and poking the piece back into place, “is the floating city of Draft, sunshine.”
Celestia withdrew her hoof and looked at him. “Why is a city represented with a figure? Shouldn’t it be drawn?”
“Nope.” Crumble shook his head. “There are several airborne cloud cities in Equestria, and they all move around, all the time. Time was, they only shifted positions if they needed to deal with weather in a certain area, but times have changed. Now, we have ‘em move all over Equestria doin’ all sorts o’ stuff, though quite slowly, mind you. At the moment, we got the weatherponies from Draft creatin’ hostile weather patterns to hinder the enemy hordes. It’s quite effective, actually. Just gotta be careful, seein’ as with the right magic, the enemy can burst the cloud formations of the city and make the construction unstable. Jus’ look at what happened to Windsoar. Fell right outta the sky. There’s no real way to fortify a place like that, all floatin’ out there in the open, ‘cept with the strength of actual soldiers. In that case, numbers really do win a battle, and that’s not a tactic Equestria can afford to use.”
Celestia went back to the map. The night went on, as Crumble continued to explain various facets about military tactics to the curious young alicorn.
**********
The Maiden’s Battalion marched for another two weeks and a half, traveling along a well-established trail that skirted just around the edge of the Foal Mountains. Their assigned airship, the Lazy Daisy, was waiting for them in Fillydelphia, leaving them with extra munitions, extra supplies, and much to Cotton’s delight, a wagonload of the mechanical parts and tools she had packed.
Fillydelphia was a grand city. It lacked the awe-inspiring verticality and brilliant sheen of Canterlot, but Celestia loved it all the same. The utilitarian red brick houses were constructed with a very different style in mind, one that was simple but interesting and pleasing to the eye. Mostly, however, she liked the feel of it; it was not quite as large as Canterlot, but its sprawling design and bustling streets seemed to sing the word “opportunity” to its residents. Though, perhaps it was simply an illusion; the economy, stimulated by war, left the city prosperous enough, but many areas were also run down and shoddy, especially compared to Canterlot, where not a single white stone was left unpolished.
However, they did not stay long enough for Celestia to get a true feel for it. They got only one day of rest, during most of which the soldiers were kept busy in gearing up for their departure. Another night spent in a less-than-comfortable bunk, surrounded by her comrades, and they were off.
The battalion marched north through the fertile, rolling hills, the coast only miles away from them. The trail they traveled was much less established, almost being in a state of disrepair. It made sense; nopony ever went this way, not anymore.
**********
“You weren’t stationed in Fillydelphia?” Twilight asked.
Princess Celestia shook her head. “Oh no,” she said, “the Maiden’s Battalion was never ‘stationed’ anywhere. All that talent going to waste guarding a city?” The princess gave a humorless chuckle. “The generals wouldn’t have it. No, my student, the 21st Mixed Unit Division was undoubtedly a force meant for attacking. Very rarely did we defend a place. We were small but effective, and thus were usually tasked with key objectives, with a larger, separate army providing numbers and backup. Retaking important routes, creating a weakness in the enemy’s defenses, spearheading major sieges… we were the tip of the dagger.”
“So what was the battalion’s objective this time?”
Celestia leaned forward and pointed to the map. “We were to retake the town of Trotterdam and establish a forward base there. Supposedly, that was the easy part. From there, we were to lead an assault on Manehattan island, and retake the city there as well.”
“Trotterdam…” Twilight thought for a moment, shuffling through a few of her old notes. “Isn’t that where…?”
“Where Commander Daylight met her demise?” Celestia finished. “Indeed it was. This was the very same objective the Maiden’s Battalion was tasked with months before, the same that led to disastrous results. Needless to say, we were all a bit nervous.”
**********
Hooves beat heavily on the ground. The occasional spot of mud was upset by his steps, splashing about and speckling his underbelly with brown spots. Not that one could tell; his coat was already a mild brown, and his mane a darker shade of the same color. He was messy and unkempt, as if he had just rolled out of bed, a sentiment complemented by the sight of him fumbling with buckles and belts, trying to hastily don a set of earth pony armor while still in motion.
The sights of the encampment zipped by him as he passed. Hundreds of tents and pavilions had been pitched, all colored in warm shades of red or yellow. Most simply served as makeshift living quarters, but some had been set up as field hospitals, cafeterias, armories, workshops-
He grunted as he accidentally nudged a table, toppling it over and splaying its metal contents to the grass. He apologized to the cyan unicorn working there, and continued without stopping. It was only a small ways now…
He burst into the tent.
“Sorry I’m late, boss!”
Four other ponies were already inside. They all looked towards him as he came in.
“Lieutenant Climber,” Lucky acknowledged, his tone impatient.
“Lieutenant, might I ask why yer late?” Crumble growled, approaching him. “Lieutenants Lightning Sky and Spell Trick arrived at the meeting a good ten minutes ago. Yeh know…” He leaned in close to the earth pony’s face. “…when it started.”
Climber backed up a step. “Sorry, boss,” he said, casually chuckling. He had a slight accent, developed in the city of Manehattan itself. “I was, ah… previously engaged in some important military… affairs…”
“’Engaged’ in some ‘affairs’, huh?” Crumble muttered. “Did’ja enjoy yerself?”
Trick and Lightning gave stifled laughs on the other side of the room. Climber cast them a dirty look, but did not respond.
“That’s enough,” Lucky interjected. Both Crumble and Climber looked towards him. “Lieutenant Climber, we’ll deal with this later. For now, let’s just get started.”
Crumble looked back towards the earth pony lieutenant and nodded with his head to the nearby table. Without a word, he walked towards it, and Crumble followed suit.
“Gentlecolts,” Lucky started, his tone terse and authoritarian, “this is the battalion’s first encounter since our rotation off of the front. You all know this. While we may be missing one of our more notable members, I want you all to bear in mind that nothing has changed. We are the same ponies we were a few months ago, and this is still the same battalion. It is still the Maiden’s Battalion. Know that, and make sure your soldiers know that. Understood?”
There was a unified chorus of, “Yes, sir.”
“Spell Trick,” Lucky said, nodding to the icy blue, tan-maned unicorn, “As always, you’re in charge of the unicorns.”
Trick pushed his spectacles further onto his nose. “Indeed.”
“Climber, you have the earth ponies.”
“Yeah, boss.” His attention was divided, as he fiddled with a leather strap on his armor.
Lucky turned to his last lieutenant. “And Lightning Sky.”
The light grey coated pegasus stood straighter as he was addressed. His golden armor was impeccably kept, his two-toned blue mane jutting neatly through his helmet.
Lucky clapped him on the shoulder. “The pegasi are yours. You were a good captain, and I know you’ll make an even better lieutenant. Don’t let me down.”
He nodded, determination in his eyes. “Yes, sir.”
Lucky nodded, and drew closer to the table. “Alright, let’s go over the plans here.”
Everypony leaned in, looking at a map that sat flat on the table, detailing the geography of the area, as well as troop placement for both friendly and enemy forces.
“Trotterdam. The last enemy encampment in between us and the island of Manehattan. The idea here is to take the city and establish it as a forward base before our next assault, which will indeed be on Manehattan. It’s got a canal running through it empties into the sea, meaning we can more easily transport troops via ship if we wish to flank Manehattan from another side.”
Climber spoke up, finally having fully prepared himself. He still looked somewhat messy. “How much resistance can we expect, boss?”
“We’ve got sinisteeds and manticores. Positions and numbers are marked on the map,” Lucky said, motioning to the figurines on the table, “but overall, our scouts report minimal forces. Either they don’t expect us to attack, or they don’t consider it important.”
Spell Trick mumbled to himself, scowling at the table. “Why would they not expect us? Or else, why would they not deem the town important, as close as it is to Manehattan?”
Lucky shook his head. “We don’t know.” His lieutenants all showed varying degrees of skepticism, and he added, “Look, we all know what happened here last time, and we all know it was a fluke. Things happen and ponies die, which is why we’re going to play it safe. A larger army division is here to back us up, and if the siege takes us longer than two days, we’ve been authorized to fire on it with cannons.”
He pointed further south towards the figure of a ship. “An airship from Fillydelphia is hauling some up here, but it’s undesirable for three reasons: one, we need to save the ammunition for Manehattan, two, the more structures left standing, the better our forward base is, and three, there may still be survivors in the town. Though, seeing as how long it has been in enemy possession, this is… unlikely. We’ve not received any orders to pull our punches in the attack, or to conduct any thorough search afterwards.”
“So what is the plan of attack?” Lightning Sky asked.
“Good question. I have my orders, but the higher-ups have seen fit to give me the power to carry them out however I please. I have a plan, and I’d like all of your input.” He reached nearby on the table and withdrew a small burlap sack of figurines. He emptied it, and spread a few of them out before him. “Here’s what we’re going to do…”
**********
Celestia stood just outside of the tent by the door, idly listening in to the grand battle strategy of Commander Lucky Break. From what she understood, it seemed sound enough, but she became lost in the specifics and military jargon that her superiors spoke to each other in. In any case, barring the occasional concern, question, or comment, the lieutenants seemed to think it was good enough.
Celestia was not there to understand the strategy of the war, however. She merely wondered what her role in it all would be.
The battalion was divided several ways; in “columns and rows”, as Crumble had described. The three different races were split three ways, and were managed by their respective lieutenants. However, perhaps as yet another blessing of Harmony, it had been long since proven that ponies fought more effectively in mixed units. Therefore, any given soldier belonged simultaneously to two different groups: a Tribe, as indicated by their race, and one of three Companies, consisting of an equal number of soldiers from each race. From there, it was divided down further into Platoons, Sections, Squads, and Patrols.
Celestia belonged to none of them. Or rather, her peculiar circumstance had seen her belong all of them, at one point or another.
Over the weeks of marching, Celestia had rotated between duties in the battalion, far more wildly than another ‘normal’ soldier might. Being an alicorn, she was able to perform the tasks of all three races, and her superiors were still trying to get a feel for where and how she might be most useful.
Wearing heavy plate armor while on guard duty made her into a veritably indestructible juggernaut, just like the rest of the earth ponies she served with. It covered literally every inch of her body with thick golden metal, gleaming from her hooves to her head. She rather enjoyed the protectiveness of it, and it simply felt right beside. However, while she could indeed move about effectively in it, the weight of the armor made it almost impossible to fly, even though part of the back plates had been removed to leave room for the wings.
While on scouting missions with the pegasi, the lighter-weighted plate and chainmail gave her freedom of movement and allowed the use of her natural agility, but left her joints and limbs exposed, as well as large parts of her underbelly and, of course, her wings. This was ideal for the quick hit-and-run tactics of the pegasi, but it made Celestia’s strength-based talents much more risky to use, which was, as everypony knew, her best area.
The unicorns’ armor was either the most fitting, or the least. For obvious reasons, their helmets were the only ones she could wear, and to her disappointment, most of them lacked the protective facemasks of the earth pony helmets. The unicorns wore a slightly modified version of the earth pony plate armor; it was girded fully about their torsos, but the usual tall protective collar was downsized, so as to allow the neck freedom of movement to direct the horn. Chain was set below their armor, stopping just above the knee in a fashion similar to the pegasi, but more interestingly, every single set of unicorn armor came with a hooded, protective cloak. A pale yellow, almost cape-like covering made of a heavy, durable material was attached at the neck and draped across the armor until it almost touched the ground. Though Celestia had first thought it was for show, she had eventually been told it was actually in place to protect the unicorns from the backlash of their own spells, should a misfire occur, or should power leak from an overcharged, unfired spell.
Celestia still considered herself poor at magic, and always felt awkward when serving in a unicorn’s capacity. Levitation was easy enough, and she had even learned a defensive spell or two, but none of it was more effective than applying a few pints of sweat and the edge of a blade. She even found herself manipulating objects with her hooves and mouth, even though telekinesis would have undoubtedly been easier. The medium-style unicorn armor was the right weight, but its style and placement of protection was obviously tailored to one playing that of a support role, something she was almost sure she would not be doing.
She knew what her talents were; she would have made an excellent addition to the battalion as an earth pony. Her flight was passable for a soldier, but was not yet on par with the 21st’s pegasi. Her magic was certainly not terrible, but its contribution was minimal in comparison to the great magical shields she had seen some of the unicorns conjure, or the impressive firestorms they weaved.
Celestia was not the best soldier, but secretly, she wished they would allow her to simply stay in an earth pony patrol. Still, even she knew that was not using her talent to the fullest. But then, what was?
On the eve of the battle, she still had no designated group to speak of. This, she hoped to remedy.
Celestia’s ears perked up. It seemed as though Lucky Break and his lieutenants were finishing their discussion. She heard him give them some final instructions. Soon after, he wished them success and dismissed them. She gave a brief salute as Lieutenants Spell Trick and Climber walked out, followed by Lightning Sky, who gave her a nod and amused smile before taking flight.
Celestia returned the favor and watched him go, stalling her entry to the tent for as long as she could. Eventually, when he was out of sight, and the rest of the camp around her was minding its own business and could not serve as a distraction, she took a deep breath and entered the tent.
Lucky and Crumble were facing away from her, hunched over the strategic table in the middle of the tent and muttering to each other. They had not noticed her entry. She stomped a little louder as she stopped, and saluted.
“Sir.”
Finally noticing her presence, Crumble turned towards her. Lucky only glanced back.
“Private,” he said. “Is this important?”
Celestia gave a small nod. “Yes sir.”
Lucky let out a quiet, impatient sigh. “Alright then,” he said, turning to face her. “At ease. Go ahead.”
She let her hoof down, and slackened her stance just a bit. “It’s about my placement, sir.” She saw Crumble’s eyes flick towards Lucky and back again. “I have yet to be designated with a tribe and company, nor have I been recommended a specific capacity to serve in. With the attack planned for tomorrow morning, I feel like it would be appropriate to do so.”
Celestia nodded to herself. Yes, that had been her whole memorized speech. Now to see where they put her…
Lucky and Crumble cast a meaningful glance at each other. She tried to interpret the exchange between them, but all she understood was that Lucky was somewhat uncomfortable. He motioned towards her with his head while looking at Crumble, who only did the same thing, a bit more emphatically. Lucky opened his mouth as if to say something to his lieutenant, but only ended up closing it again, exhaling through his nostrils as he looked back to Celestia.
“Of course,” Lucky said. “For obvious reasons, your tribe is prone to change, but for now, we’ve placed you in the earth pony tribe, under the management of Lieutenant Climber. Aside from that, you are to serve in the 4th Company.”
4th Company? Celestia thought. There is no 4th Company. Unless he means…
“Until further notice, your current duty will be to act as an assistant to Engineer Cotton Cake, who will be your superior.”
Celestia blinked. “I… sir?”
“Yes?” Lucky said casually.
“I am to serve in the support group?”
“That is indeed what the 4th Company is. So yes.”
“I’m not being deployed?”
“Oh, you’re being deployed. All companies are deployed in the event of conflict.” Lucky walked turned away from her, walking to the edge of the tent to retrieve something from some other table. “Just not to the battlefield.”
She paused for a moment, thinking about what to say, and how to say it without offense. “With all due respect, sir, I feel my talents might be better suited elsewhere.”
“Very well,” he said, without looking. “Take it up with your company leader, Doctor Red Cross. I’m sure he can find another use for you.”
Doctor Cross joined the battalion? How long had he been with them? She shook her head, it did not matter.
“No, sir, I mean-”
“I know what you mean, private,” he said, cutting her off. He returned to the front of the tent wearing an extra saddlebag. “You might make a valuable asset on the field, eventually. Right now, we don’t know where you fit in. All of your armor has to be custom made, and even then, nothing seems to work quite right. I’m sure there’s a role for you to play, but we don’t know what that is, and even if we did, we don’t know how it would work with our current structure. An alicorn soldier is something entirely new to us, so until we know what we’re doing, we’re going to play it safe.”
“But Lucky!”
He raised an eyebrow at her, and she grimaced.
“But Commander… perhaps we don’t know where I am most effective, but there are indeed places I can at least be effective. Why not pretend I’m an earth pony? I can do everything they can.”
Lucky closed his eyes, and grimaced. “I’m well aware of your record, but I’m not going to ‘pretend’ you are anything but what you are.” His eyes reopened. “So no.” He began to walk towards the exit.
“But-”
“Enough,” he said, stopping beside her. She cringed, her ears lying flat at the forcefulness of it.
The commanding edge of his voice softened, just a bit. “You don’t need to prove yourself to me, Celestia.”
He glanced at Crumble. “I’ll be back momentarily.” With that, he continued, pushing aside the tent flap and walking outside.
Celestia helplessly watched him leave. Her face was a mask of utter dejection. Was this not her purpose? It was the very point of her summoning, the solitary drive behind her continued existence: to exact revenge upon Discord. And how the demon so deserved it!
“Celestia.”
And yet, weeks of marching had led to this moment, in which she was outright rejected from service. The alternative was ridiculous. Helping Cotton? Helping her do what, exactly? Tinker with devices beyond her comprehension? She could picture it now; Cotton would be hunched over some unknown machine in the corner, poking at it with some unknown tool. Celestia would offer her help, to which Cotton would decline. Kindly, of course – Cotton was no less than utterly benevolent. It would only lessen the sting by a fraction.
“Celestia?”
She wanted to fight. She needed to fight, she deserved to fight! This was her conflict too, how did Lucky not see that? What, did he want all the vengeance for himself? How dare he not let her into battle!
“Oi! Sunshine!”
Celestia gave a start, fluttering her eyes and drawing a sharp breath. Her head was lowered towards the ground, she realized. She brought it back up, and brushed her pink mane out of her eyes, simultaneously wiping away some of the sweat on her brow. It was hot in here.
“Y’okay?”
She looked over at Crumble, who was casting a concerned look. His wings were deployed, though he did not seem ready to really do anything with them.
“Yeah,” Celestia responded innocently. Her tone was a little more airy and out-of-breath than she expected.
Crumble took a step closer, curiously peering into her eyes. “Hmm,” he grumbled. His wings unconsciously folded.
Celestia stepped back. “I apologize. I’ll just be going, now.”
“Wait.”
She froze in place. Crumble’s eyes still had not wandered away from her.
“Yes, sir?”
It was another moment before he responded. “So, yeh want to fight, Celestia?”
Her heart skipped a beat, and her eyes lit up. “Yes.”
Crumble drew his head back. “Well then, let me ask yeh a question. Why?”
Celestia blinked. “What?”
“Fer what reason do yeh want to fight?”
“Oh. Ummm…”
Crumble stood still, patiently waiting for an answer. She did not know what he wanted to hear. Was there a right answer? Would he put her on the battlefield if she answered correctly?
“Because I… should?” she said slowly.
Crumble seemed unimpressed. “Are yeh askin’ me, or tellin’ me?”
“Um.” She shook her head, and tried again. “Because I should.”
“An’ what does that mean?” Crumble asked, his tone not unfriendly, but certainly demanding. “You should. Why should you?”
Celestia shifted uncomfortably. “Because… other ponies expect me to. I was summoned for it. That’s what I’m here for. To fight.”
“Well.” Crumble took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “That,” he said, letting out the last of his sigh, “is a very poor reason.”
Celestia’s heart dropped again. “Don’t you think I should fight?” she said, her tone more pleading than she intended.
“Yeh want to know what I think? I think we need every soldier we can get. I think even if yeh didn’t do well in battle, at least yeh’d do.” Crumble shrugged. “But it don’t matter what I think, ‘cause it ain’t a matter of thinking, and it certainly ain’t a matter involvin’ ponies other than yerself. The battlefield is an unkind place. When you are out there, you gotta be out there for the right reason. Otherwise, yeh’ll be crushed by the stress of it all. Yeh gotta figure it out, and most importantly, you gotta be honest with yerself: Why am I fighting?”
This time, the question was hypothetical. Crumble turned away, walking back to the strategy table to idly study it. It felt horribly like a dismissal.
“So… I can’t fight?”
“That’s what the commander said, huh?” Crumble paused, and spoke after a moment of no response. “Surely yeh don’t expect me to go behind his back.”
Celestia was beginning to feel a mixture of frustration and confusion. “But- but-,” she stammered. “Why even ask me, then?”
“Because I was curious,” Crumble said without turning back, “because it’s important, and because Lucky can be persuaded. But yeh gotta persuade me first. And how in the world are yeh gonna do that if yeh don’t even know what yer doin’ it for in the first place?”
“But I should fight!” Celestia stomped a hoof on the ground, her voice bordering on anger.
“You should fight…” Crumble shook his head. Eventually, he turned back to her. “Yeh know what you sound like, Celestia? A conscript. Yeh had a choice, sunshine, yeh weren’t compelled to come here.”
“Wasn’t I?”
“Were you?” Crumble repeated. “Does it matter? Clover told me that yeh volunteered, that yeh said the words ‘I will fight’ of yer own accord. But say that’s false… it doesn’t change a thing. It doesn’t change what yeh sound like now.”
His voice softened a bit. “Yeh have passion, Celestia, I can see that. Somewhere in there, yeh have the strength of character to do what needs doin’.” He paused for a moment. “But what I’m hearin’ is somethin’ completely different. That you’ll fight because yer expected to. No matter how skilled yeh might happen to be, those are the words of a drafted soldier. The Maiden’s Battalion is made up of volunteers. So what are yeh? A conscript, or a volunteer?”
Celestia merely stood there. She did not have an answer.
“Did yeh know there are other battalions out there that are every bit as small and elite as this one? It’s true. The 7th, 13th, and 17th Mixed Unit Divisions all existed before we did, and have engaged in more operations than us. But they aren’t met with quite as much success, and not nearly the same kind of recognition. The mere mention of the name ‘the Maiden’s Battalion’ inspires hope in the hearts of ponies, which is more than the ‘Spearhead Company’ or ‘the Rainbow Warriors’ could ever hope to do. Do you know why that is, sunshine?”
She silently shook her head.
“Every single soldier in this battalion is here because they want to be. I mean really, really want to be. The Maiden would not accept anypony who was less than a fully dedicated patriot or a faithful observer of the gods. Or, if not those, then something else equally motivating. Yeh could be a full-blown heretic and join up, so long as yeh had passion. Whether yeh fight fer the safety of your kin, or because the Pantheon demands Harmony, or maybe even revenge, your zeal for your cause must be exceptional. Otherwise, you’re not one of the Maiden’s finest. Yer just another soldier.
“So, are yeh here to fight for Harmony? Or are yeh here to fight because that’s what everypony else wants?”
There was a pause. The words seemed to echo, if only in the chambers of Celestia’s head. She could not think of anything to say.
Crumble turned back to the table. “Dismissed, private.”
“Is that why Lucky won’t let me fight?” she said suddenly.
“No. Lucky’s scared yer gonna die out there. He don’t want Trotterdam to be the death of two heroes.”
Hero. She nearly scoffed at the word. “How can I be this ‘hero’ that ponies keep calling me if I don’t get out there and actually do something?”
“Dismissed, private.”
“And what about you?” Celestia pursued. “Do you feel the same as Lucky?”
He sighed. “If yeh had a reason, and if I were commander, I’d let you fight. But you don’t, and I’m not, so I won’t, and I can’t anyways. And even then, Lucky has a point. Do you realize how demoralizing it would be if you perished there?”
“But I won’t perish there!” Celestia protested.
“I agree. You won’t. Because yer not goin’.”
“But-”
“Private Celestia,” he said, turning fully towards her. “You are dismissed.”
She took an unconscious step back. The deep, commanding timbre of his order was not one that could be ignored. She gave a quick, grudging salute, and excused herself. As she stepped out, she walked past no less than a dozen ponies, all casually walking away from the sides of the tent. Celestia felt a furious blush come to her face, and she kept her eyes glued to the ground as she walked to report to her newly assigned station.
**********
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Cotton Cake practically danced in place under the open pavilion that was her mobile workshop. The curls of her pink and purple mane bobbed up and down. “It’ll be just like the good ol’ days! ‘Member how fun that was? When you helped me make candy? Except, well… now it’s with combat machinery, and we’re on the frontlines of a war. But it’s the same basic principle!”
Celestia half-heartedly nodded. “Uh-huh.” She would have been much more glum, were it not for the young mare’s infectious optimism. Even still, her spirits were quite low at the moment.
She had joined the battalion long before Cotton did, had trained to be a fighting member of it, and had earned the respect and camaraderie of the soldiers. Denied every advantage, she had risen above it, and become a valued member of a team of ponies whom she considered her colleagues, a feeling she knew was mutual. And yet, here she was, rejected from the chance to do her duty. Worse yet, she had been made a peon to Cotton, of all ponies. Cotton, who already had the respect of everpony she met, who joined the battalion on what almost seemed like whim. Cotton, who was undoubtedly intelligent, but completely unused to the physical hardship of military life. Cotton, who seemed too silly to be commanding anypony¸ let alone Equestria’s one and only alicorn soldier.
As an “Engineer”, Cotton outranked the typical soldier, and nearly 90% of the Maiden’s Battalion.
“Aw, Celly! It’s okay!”
Celestia’s eyes widened, and she let out a surprised breath as Cotton met her in a quick embrace. “It’ll be fun, promise!” She let go before Celestia could even think about returning the favor, bouncing off to a table on the far side of the pavilion.
A weak smile came to Celestia’s face. Perhaps it was not all bad. After all, how many superior officers offered hugs to their underlings?
“Alright, Private Celestia!” Cotton boldly declared in a mock commanding voice. “Listen up!”
With that, Celestia was reminded again of her station. She did not exactly snap to attention – how could she, with Cotton giggling at herself like that? – but she was annoyed when the command-taking part of her brain told her to shape up and listen for orders. Thankfully, Cotton reverted to her normal voice.
“Heh heh heh… okay, okay,” she said, recovering from a bout of stifled giggles. “Let me show you the ropes here.”
**********
Working with Cotton had not been as bad as Celestia had predicted, but neither did she feel particularly fulfilled by it. Cotton had found a multitude of meaningful chores for Celestia to attend to, though anypony with two hooves and a brain could have done them. In that regard, it was indeed like Celestia’s time helping out with Cotton’s Candy.
The sun fell mercifully quickly that night. In the morning, when the trumpet sounded and the camp was roused, the sun was still down. The rally point where the attack would be initiated was a few miles north, and the 21st was to attack at first light.
The 4th Company, however, was not required to rise until after the soldiers had already left, being required to remain a safe distance away from the action.
Cotton was still asleep in her tent. Her blanket had been thrown to the side, and she lay flat on her back with all four hooves in the air, mouth wide open. Occasionally, one of her legs twitched, and she mumbled a few dreamy, unintelligible words.
She had been awakened by the horn an hour earlier, but was coaxed back to sleep by Celestia in the cot next to her. It was for the other three companies, she had said. Celestia was curiously lucid, especially considering her previous track record with getting up on time, but Cotton had paid it no mind. After blearily glancing around the tent to see that most of the support staff was indeed still sleeping, she lay her head down, and again drifted off.
Eventually, a second trumpet sounded – this time, it was for them. Cotton snorted and jumped in her cot, coming to a sudden awareness of self.
She rolled to her side, raised her head, and gave a great, wide-mouthed yawn. “Ahhhwww…” She smacked her lips. “Mornin’ everypony,” she called softly to the rest of the tent. Some of her fellow comrades, most of whom were also rising, bid her a good morning. To her left, Celestia’s cot remained motionless.
“C’mon Celly…” Cotton rolled out of her cot, letting all four hooves hit the ground. She put her front hooves forward and leaned her body back with her hindquarters in the air, shivering as she stretched. Soon, after Celestia still seemed to be asleep, she walked over to her side.
“The sun only comes out once a…” She pulled the sheets back. “…day.”
Nopony was there. Cotton looked left and right. She looked at the ceiling to see if Celestia was there to pounce her. Of course, it was only a tent’s ceiling; there was nothing to grab hold of.
“Celestia?”
Cotton trotted outside, and looked around. The last of the soldiers were just barely leaving, all heading in a northerly direction. The support company ponies, doctors and smiths and the like, were all just barely getting up, while the ones who had spent the night helping the soldiers prepare were just heading back for a well-deserved break. There was no alicorn among them.
Cotton frowned with concern. Maybe she was at the workshop pavilion? She trotted off in that direction. When she got there, only the tools and metal were there to greet her.
“Celly?” There was no response.
Something else caught her eye. A small piece of parchment was tacked to a table with a nail, obviously placed to be visible. Cotton magically twisted the nail out of place and picked up the note, casually reading it. Then, she stopped, looked up and around, and back down to read the note a second time, and then a third. Her expression changed from confusion, to worry, to horrible panic.
There was no doubt where Celestia was. Cotton flung the note into the wind, and galloped north as fast as her legs would carry her.