//------------------------------// // 31. Waiting for the thunder // Story: Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World // by Keeper of Jericho //------------------------------// Wings of Tomorrow Lament of the World 31. Waiting for the thunder Evening had come over the world, and in Stalliongrad all but those on night duty were retiring after a day of hard work. In one of the largest buildings of the city, which doubled as both the town hall and the guard station, the three royal admirals where enjoying their supper together in the mess hall. Aside from them, the room was nearly empty, save for Twilight, her friends, and a few other volunteers. They said little and kept their eyes focused on their plates, though from the way their ears were perked, it was clear that they were listening in on every word spoken by Rainbow Dash and her fellow admirals. “All civilians, aside from those who volunteered to help with the war effort, have been evacuated,” Rainbow Dash said proudly. “Cantropolis has confirmed that all evacuees have arrived safely and are being cared for. So we don’t need to worry about the Republic hitting ponies they shouldn’t.” She scooped up a mouthful of alfalfa from her plate and munched happily on it. “That’s a relief. The less civilian casualties, the better,” Desert Heat replied, after swallowing a bite of his sandwich. He cast a quick, inquisitive glance at Rainbow Dash. “I hope you didn’t have too much trouble with ponies unwilling to leave. Though I guess not, given that you were able to finish ahead of schedule.” “Meh, there were a few that we had to throw aboard the ship, sure, and nopony was happy of course that they had to leave their homes behind, knowing that they could come back only to find it destroyed,” Rainbow Dash said, and she shrugged. “But I think even the most stubborn and grumpy ones realised that a house and a city can be rebuild, while a life can’t once it’s been taken.” She looked to her left to the table where her friends were having their supper. “Though I gotta admit, the credit for everything having gone so smoothly doesn’t go to me,” she added with a grin. “We owe Twilight big time for that. Remind me to nominate for a medal from Derpy once we’re done here.” The two other admirals also took a quick glance at Twilight, who had bowed her head even further at this point in order to hide the blush on her cheeks that Rainbow Dash’s compliments had made appear. “One can’t deny that your friends have made themselves useful,” Amethyst Star agreed, allowing herself to let some approval shimmer through in her tone. “Applejack did more than her share of distributing the supplies, though of course, all guards from my division and the volunteers under my command worked their hardest.” “I think we can all agree that all ponies in this city understood the severity of the situation and worked accordingly,” Desert Heat said calmly. “It certainly shows; we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.” He took a large sip from his cider. “Now all that’s left is wait until it all kicks off, but I don’t think we’ll have to wait very long for that.” “Agreed,” Amethys Star said, nodding curtly. “But long or not, the time ticking down to battle is always the hardest moment of the entire war.” She paused for a moment to take a sip from her own drink as well, then turned her head and addressed Desert Heat once more. “What of our troops? How’s their morale? Are they ready to take on the biggest army Equestria has seen since the outbreak of the war?” “Their morale’s as good as we could hope for it to be in the face of the odds we have against us,” Desert Heat replied. “They all know what we’re up against and that it won’t be a picnic, but they also know that we have a fair winning chance. The Republic may have the advantage of greater numbers, but our airship fleet is more powerful than theirs, and we have the strongest mare in the world to lead us into battle.” He smiled at Amethyst Star. “Your mother is all the morale they need, you know.” Amethyst gave a weak grin. “She’ll be happy to hear that, I guess,” she said, shrugging. “It’s always good to know that the ponies you lead believe in you and support you.” “No kidding,” Rainbow Dash agreed, casting a subtle glance at her friends again. Her gaze lingered on them for a while, before she turned back to her fellow admirals. “Speaking of your mom, Sparkler, what news do you have of her?” “She’ll get here tonight, though I suspect she’s currently in bed. You know she left us in charge of the preparations so she could catch up on some much needed rest, and because she needed a break from all the stress this whole invasion has been putting on her,” Amethyst Star answered. “Celestia knows it was about time she did that. She’s been working as hard as all of us combined the past month.” “She’s dedicated to her goal, as we all are, or maybe even more so,” Desert Heat remarked with a fond smile on his lips. “That’s why she’s the one who became Grand Admiral instead of me.” His smile turned nostalgic as he thought back to the days when a successor for the former grand admiral had to be chosen. “Hey, don’t say that, Desert,” Rainbow Dash objected. “We all know you’re just as dedicated a soldier as the rest of us. You were just as qualified to become Grand Admiral as Derpy was. That you weren’t picked in the end doesn’t mean you’re somehow less than her.” “I’m not so sure if I really was qualified, Rainbow Dash,” Desert Heat argued softly, to the surprise of the other two admirals. “Certainly, I admit I can hold my own a bit in battle…” There came a snort from Amethyst and Rainbow Dash both that made it quite clear just how much of an understatement that was. “… but I’m not as capable a leader as she is,” he continued, as if they hadn’t done anything. “I have to kindly object to that,” Amethyst Star said. “You’ve been more than apt at leading the first division all these years, Desert. Heck, you’ve been an admiral longer than me and Rainbow Dash combined. By now one would think you’d realise that they wouldn’t have given you the position if you weren’t capable.” “I can lead a division, Sparkler,” Desert Heat corrected her gently. “As an admiral, I am in charge of a great number of ponies, that is true. But I still take my orders from higher up, and all the actions I take and the decisions I make follow the course the grand admiral lays out for us. That’s the point where Derpy surpasses me, and why she was chosen instead of me.” “I’m sure you could have laid out a course for the Royal Guard to follow just fine,” Rainbow Dash argued. “Perhaps, but not like grand admiral Hooves,” Desert Heat explained patiently. “The both of you know that I’m not a stallion who likes to take risks. I prefer to react rather than act, defend rather than attack, to think before doing. I don’t make big decisions quickly, but after long contemplation. My path for the Royal Guard would have been little different from the path former grand admiral Hammer Strike and his predecessors walked.” He shook his head and sighed. “But a defensive stance in this war has no chance of giving us victory. It would only prolong the war even more, as it has been for generations,” he continued quietly. He gave Amethyst Star a knowing look. “Grand Admiral Hooves is different. She prefers to take the initiative, to take the fight to the Republic rather than waiting for it to come to us. She fights this war to win, and she will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. She doesn’t want the status quo to continue, she strives to break it and put an end to the fighting once and for all.” Desert Heat’s lips formed an admiring smile. “She put the Royal Guard on a path of progress, one that took us forward. Be our destination good or ill, it won’t matter in the end, it was better than to remain standing where we were, which is what would have happened had I become Grand admiral,” he said. “She was simply the better choice. Hammer Strike knew that, as did I. So when he called me to him and told me of his plans to resign and nominate admiral Hooves as the next grand admiral, I didn’t object. I agreed that she was the most qualified for the job and that was that. The thought of nominating myself never even really crossed my mind.” There was a silence for a moment as the two other admirals mulled over his words. “Well, I think I can kinda see where you’re coming from,” Rainbow Dash then said. “To be honest, if I had been in your shoes, I would’ve done the same. I can’t see myself being the grand admiral, I don’t think I really have what it takes to be that, either. It’s tough enough simply being just an admiral.” “There’s nothing ‘simple’ about being an admiral, but I agree,” Amethyst Star remarked, a thoughtful look in her eyes. “It would not be a position I could see myself occupying either, nor do I really desire any further promotion.” Her lips formed a small smirk. “If mom ever resigns, finding a successor for her is going to be murder, given how the three ponies most likely to succeed her have no interest in doing so.” “Well then, in that case, I’d say we should pray that grand admiral Hooves doesn’t get any thoughts of resignation for another decade or two, if only for our sakes,” Desert Heat chuckled. “I’ll drink to that,” Rainbow Dash said, and she took a large sip of her cider. The meal continued on for a few more minutes in amiable silence, when suddenly the doors of the mess hall burst open and a night guard stormed inside, coming to a halt before the table of the admirals, panting hard. For a few moments, he was simply too out of breath to speak. His superiors shared worried glances, wondering what had happened to cause such a brusque interruption. When the guard had finally regained his breath, he made a quick salute and started speaking before he had even been given permission to do so. “Admiral Desert Heat, sir,” he said, his voice raspy. “There are emissaries from the Republican invasion force at the gates, bearing a white flag. They wish to speak to the officer in charge of the defences.” The three admirals immediately snapped to attention upon hearing the news, and all other ponies in the room gave up all pretences of not listening in on the conversation, simply looking up and focusing their attention on the guard and the admirals. “How many are there? Do you know who they are?” Desert Heat asked, his voice serious, his face dark, even as he stood up from his seat and put on his cape. Next to him, Rainbow Dash and Amethyst Star were already doing the same, with the former also grabbing her lance from its resting place against the wall behind her. The guard gave a quick nod. “There are two of them, sir,” he replied. “Commander Spitfire, as well as marshal Shining Armour himself.” “WHAT?!” The eyes of the three admirals had widened in shock, but the outcry had not come from them. It was Twilight who had shouted, who was now standing up in her chair, her forelegs on the table as she watched the quarter of royal guards, her face a mask of stunned surprise. Then, with a shake of her head, she snapped out of her daze, her eyes full of fury. Before anyone could stop her, Twilight’s horn glowed brightly and with a flash, she was gone. Desert Heat sighed and rubbed the side of his head. “Amethyst, please teleport after her and make sure she doesn’t do anything rash,” he said. The unicorn admiral nodded, then promptly vanished in a flash of her own magic. Satisfied, Desert Heat glanced to his right, where Rainbow Dash and the rest of her friends stood waiting. “Now then, let’s go see what they want…” --- “So, why did you pick me to accompany you on this little venture, marshal?” The question was asked by a genuinely curious Spitfire, who was eying her superior with one eyebrow raised and an inquisitive look in her eyes. The commander of the Republican Pegasi Division was wearing an elegant, phoenix-shaped helm and a light suit of armour, underneath it a skin-tight blue body suit, much like her Wonderbolts’ uniform in her previous life. She was leaning casually on her glaive, which had a white flag tied to it. She appeared entirely relaxed, as if she was not at all waiting at the gates of a city filled to the brim with enemies. Shining Armour turned his head to look at her, his brows held high in surprise. “You mean, besides the fact that you’re the only one who I could trust to behave herself during this?” he asked in return. “Negotiations tend to go better when my partner doesn’t anger those you try to negotiate with by either being incredibly short-tempered or by having an unbearable character, commander. I’d like to leave here without having the entire city on our tails.” Spitfire allowed herself to grin faintly. “Point taken,” she said, after which she glanced back at the gates of the city, which were still closed. She did notice that there was an ever-growing number of ponies atop of the walls, however, most of them trying to keep out of sight by hiding behind the merlons. She looked back at Shining Armour. “Remind me why we’re trying to negotiate in the first place, though? We both know they’ll never surrender.” Shining Armoured shrugged. “You’re probably right,” he admitted quietly. “But it is common decency to at least try. Every chance to avoid the loss of lives, no matter how small, should be taken. If they refuse, so be it, but then at least we know that we had no other choice but to fight.” “Fair enough, I suppose,” Spitfire replied contemplatively. Her orange eyes observed her superior officer as he waited stoically and patiently for anypony to come out and meet them. He seemed so calm and collected now, but she wondered how much of that was genuine and how much of it was an act. It wasn’t exactly a secret that he’d grown more and more stressed the past few weeks. Which was entirely understandable, she thought, given the amount of pressure the stallion was under. Surprisingly, she wasn’t as stressed as she well should have been under the current circumstances. She didn’t really feel any worry about the coming battle, knowing full well that her chances of making it out unscathed were pretty high. But even if they weren’t, even if it had been certain that she wouldn’t survive at all, she still wouldn’t have worried. She didn’t even worry about the possible outcome. She just wanted it all to be over, no matter who won. It had to end and Spitfire had vowed to see to it that it did just that, no matter the cost. With a wry smile, she realised that it was that mindset that made Shining Armour a better leader than her. Not that Spitfire begrudged him his position or even had any thoughts or hopes about replacing him someday, knowing all too well that even if she had there was no chance for a pegasus to climb to the highest military office in the Republic. Shining Armour was simply the better choice, even if one didn’t take the fact that he was a unicorn into consideration for a moment. Even before his ascension to the rank of marshal he had been the most popular amongst the higher officers of the Republic, not in the least because he was fair and didn’t participate in tribal discrimination unlike a certain other unicorn commander. Even his marriage to the niece of the Republic’s greatest enemy hadn’t been able to tarnish his public image. The higher instances tolerated his marriage with Cadance because he happened to be damn good at his job and it would be a nightmare to find someone as capable to replace him. A subtle shift in Shining Armour’s posture pulled Spitfire out of her thoughts. “On your guard, commander,” he said, his narrowed eyes fixed on the massive gates. “I think we’re about to get visitors.” --- “It’s really him,” Twilight muttered quietly, as she was looking down from atop the wall at her brother, while hiding behind one of the merlons. It didn’t look as if he was at all aware that she was here, he was too busy conversing with Spitfire, though she couldn’t hear what they were saying. As she watched the armoured form of her brother, Twilight caught herself feeling strange, like a mix between nostalgic and sad. With a small start she realised that it was the first time since she had ran away from home that she had been this close to him. Even during the parade a couple of weeks ago she hadn’t been able to get a look at him as good as she could now. But here he was now, completely unaware of the emotional storm his presence invoked within his sister. Completely oblivious to the fact that his sister couldn’t decide whether or not she hated him. She wanted to. Desperately. During her self-imposed exile to Ponyville, she had thought she hated him. After all, every time she had seen his smiling mug in the papers when yet another article glorified his exploits in the war, she had been seething with rage, desperate to do something extremely violent just so she could get rid of the ache in her chest invoked by his image. Likewise, when she had seen him at the parade, it had made her blood boil and her head had been full of ideas about kicking him in the groin. Hard. Repeatedly. But if she had truly hated him, would she have kept the sole picture of her and her whole family she had taken with her to Ponyville? The one she had vehemently told her friends she did not have because she did not miss her brother or her family, but secretly held in her hooves as she cried herself to sleep at night, alone in her bed? The one that showed her parents, her mother leaning against her father, her head snuggled against his chest, as the two of them smiled tenderly at their two foals sitting in front of them, with Twilight squealing in merriment as Shining Armour embraced her tightly and ruffled her mane? “Probably not,” she thought, swallowing hard. She sighed inwardly. If she had truly hated him, she would have gone to join the royalists the moment she had ran away from home. But she hadn’t, she had gone to Ponyville and stayed there, because she didn’t want to fight her own brother. She had tried to deny it, had done her utter best to hate him, because it would have made everything so much easier. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. The fact that his actions hurt her so much was proof of just how deeply she cared, how much he mattered to her. She had so many wonderful memories of the close bond they had shared in her previous life, making the lack of it in this one all the more painful. She simply couldn’t understand him in this life. In his previous one he had been so devoted to his job as Captain of the Guard, to protecting the Princess and her subjects. His allegiance had always been only to what was right. Why was it different in this life? She knew he remembered, just like she did. He knew what the Princess was really like, so why would he actively help those horrid nobles to continue inflicting their unjust actions upon her? She didn’t understand and it made her angry. It enraged her, made her furious… But it didn’t make her hate him. She was disappointed in him, she supposed, but she couldn’t hate him. He was her brother. She suddenly realised that she had been staring at Shining Armour for a long time, unblinking and unmoving, which probably looked a tad odd to Amethyst Star standing right next to her. The admiral had teleported right after her to stop her from doing anything rash, but had stood down once Twilight had explained that she wasn’t planning on confronting him or anything hasty like that, she just wanted to see him with her own eyes. “What do you think he’s doing here?” she asked the other mare, before glancing back to her brother. She bit her lower lip pensively, a worried frown forming on her face. “Do you think it could be some kind of trap?” “Doubtful,” Amethyst Star replied calmly, her eyes fixed on the two Republican emissaries as well. “Marshal Shining Armour isn’t the kind of pony who likes to make use of dishonest tactics. He’s the type who meets his enemies either at the negotiation table or out on the battlefield.” She shook her head and sighed. “I’m guessing he wants to offer us the chance to surrender.” Twilight stared at Amethyst Star in surprise, her eyes wide. “Does he really think we’ll do that?” she asked, incredulous. To ask for something so outrageous didn’t sound like something the Shining Armour she remembered would do. Amethyst Star gave her a sad smile. “Of course he doesn’t. He knows all too well that we’ll throw his offer back in his face,” she said. “I don’t think he expects any different, either.” This only caused Twilight’s frown to grow deeper. “But if he knows you’ll refuse, why would he even bother trying? It doesn’t seem very logical.” she wondered aloud. “My guess is that it’s the thought that counts,” Amethyst Star replied, finding it somewhat amusing that she was showcasing a better understanding of the marshal than his sister did. “I think he just wants to know that he tried everything to avoid the war, that he did everything he could to avoid the loss of lives.” Her icy stare seemed to thaw a miniscule amount, and for a moment it almost appeared as if she felt some form of respect towards her foe. “I can respect that, even if it is a wasted gesture.” “It does sound like something he would do,” Twilight admitted reluctantly. “At least, the Shining Armour I remember would…” she added, her voice growing quieter as she bowed her head, her ears drooping. “We’ll know for sure in a minute,” Amethyst Star said. Her left ear twitched as it picked up some noise, causing her to look over her shoulder. “Looks like your friends are here, and my colleagues as well.” She clacked her tongue disapprovingly, annoyed that it had taken them this long to arrive. Her gaze returned to Twilight. “You just stay here and watch, while Desert Heat, myself and Rainbow Dash go see what he wants. Don’t even think of interfering, you got that?” “Don’t worry about me,” Twilight replied calmly, sounding not very intimidated by the powerful admiral. Her eyes were staring at her brother again, carrying a distant and hurt look within them. “Even if I did manage to gather the courage to confront him from somewhere, I still wouldn’t know what to say to him…” Amethyst Star stared at the distraught mare before her in silence for a moment, her usual icy demeanour thawing slightly. “Maybe he has the exact same problem, every time he thinks he’s found the courage to confront you,” she said softly, after which she calmly walked away to meet up with her fellow admirals. --- Rainbow Dash had the uncanny feeling that the whole world was holding its breath during this moment. She was certain that, at the very least, all ponies who had gathered atop the wall to watch were doing just that right now. Not that she blamed them. After all, five of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria were gathered in the same spot, divided into two opposing groups no less. If any of them decided that talking was a waste of time, things would get decidedly ugly. It didn’t help that Desert Heat and Shining Armour were facing each other like two alphas of rivalling packs of Timber wolves. Each was trying to stare the other down, and neither of them was willing to step back. It was unnerving, to say the least, and Rainbow Dash shot a worried glance at Amethyst Star, trying to get her attention, but the other mare was too busy having her own little staring contest with Spitfire. Rainbow Dash let out an inwardly groan, hoping sincerely that they didn’t expect her to be the voice of reason here. She was terrible at that. “Marshal Shining Armour,” Desert Heat began, his eyes still fixed on the other stallion. “To what do we owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?” His choice of words and the way he spoke them were neutral enough, but the tension in the air was still so thick one could cut it with a knife. “I came here in hopes of speaking to your superior officer, admiral Desert Heat,” Shining Armour replied evenly, digging into his knowledge of long and eloquent phrasing, as was common practice during negotiations. “I wish to extend an offer to her.” “Grand admiral Hooves is currently taking a well-deserved rest and is not to be disturbed under any circumstance,” Desert Heat said. “She has left me in command during her absence. You may relay your offer to me, marshal.” Surprisingly, this seemed to put Shining Armour somewhat at ease and he relaxed slightly, taking on a less confrontational demeanour. “Very well,” he replied. He closed his eyes briefly and nodded to himself, as if deciding on something important. Then he looked at the three royal admirals gathered before him again. “I’ll just get straight to the point then,” he decided. “I don’t doubt for even a moment that you’ve thoroughly studied the plans you so kindly borrowed from me,” he began, and he shot a quick glance at Rainbow Dash, who couldn’t help but give him a defiant grin in return. Shining Armour chose to ignore her, his gaze settling on Desert Heat again. “You know that what’s coming will be of a scale that hasn’t been seen in a millennium. I know that you have every intention of fighting back. Regardless of the outcome, the battle will be hard fought, leaving countless of good ponies on both sides injured or dead by the time it’ll be over.” His eyes narrowed and he looked Desert Heat straight in the eye. “You know this, admiral.” Desert Heat inclined his head somewhat. “Indeed I do,” he replied evenly. “Your point being, marshal?” “It doesn’t have to happen,” Shining Armour said. “You have the power to stop this conflict before it begins. You can put a halt to the hostilities and avoid the loss of many lives for the both of us, if you would but lay down your weapons and negotiate a surrender.” He spoke with conviction but also with a hint of necessity, or even desperation, in his voice. “Should you choose to accept,” he continued, “I give you my word as marshal of the Free Republic of Equestria that I will do everything that is within my power to ensure that an acceptable and honourable accord is reached, one that is fair to you and the ponies you fight for. Lord Fancypanys has also expressed his desire for a peaceful solution to this conflict, and has given me the authority to negotiate on his behalf.” Having made his offer, Shining Armour fell silent and stood back, knowing that all he could do now was wait for an answer. He was mildly surprised to see that they did not immediately reject his offer, but neither did the admirals discuss it quietly amongst themselves. They merely exchanged a few quiet glances with each other, then looked at him quietly for a long time, each with a different expression on their face. Rainbow Dash appeared determined, Amethyst Star almost offended and Desert Heat, finally, almost looked sad. “You have a kind heart, marshal,” Desert Heat said, and he let out a weary sigh. “I respect your desire for a peaceful solution, to avoid the loss of lives. Your loyalty to your subordinates speaks well of you. But you know as well as I do, that we cannot and will not ever accept your offer.” His words were almost kind, compassionate even. “You wish to negotiate, but in truth there is nothing to discuss. The Nobles’ Court will never comply to our demands for an acceptable surrender, and we will never surrender unless they do. Hence, negotiations would be pointless.” The admiral shifted into a sterner, almost royal posture, and his voice became authoritative and determined. “Marshal Shining Armour, on behalf of royal grand admiral Derpy Hooves, by the authority granted to me by royal steward Morning Red, and in the name of our royal majesties, the Princesses Celestia and Luna, I hereby reject your offer!” He held his head high as he spoke, his words powerful and clear. “Thus we shall meet on the battlefield, and we shall triumph, high though the price of victory might be, or we shall die with sword in hoof, knowing we laid down our lives for a just cause.” Shining Armour, to his credit, barely so much as batted an eyelid as Desert Heat shot down his peace proposal. He merely gazed at the admiral in silence for a long time, before finally bowing his head and shutting his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips. “So be it,” he muttered quietly, sounding like a stallion who had at long last resigned himself to his fate. “You have made your choice.” He turned to Spitfire, who had followed the entire exchange in silence, but looked entirely unsurprised by how it had turned out. “We have done what we came for, there’s no more reason for us to be here. Back to camp, commander.” Then, without even a single last look or word at the admirals, he turned around and walked away, Spitfire following quietly in his wake. They knew that, with the rejection of Shining Armour’s offer, the last chance for a peaceful solution had been wasted, and open war had become inevitable. The realisation was enough to render the both of them silent all the way back to camp. --- A few hours later, Derpy Hooves could be found in her office, staring at a lone scroll on top of her desk. Her brow was furrowed, her single eye held a thoughtful look in it, and she was idly rubbing her chin with one of her hooves. She had been looking through the plans of the invasion one last time, to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, when a guard had come in and delivered the scroll to her. It was a hastily penned report from Amethyst Star, which gave her the details of the meeting of the three admirals with the Republican emissaries. After reading it twice, the grand admiral had fallen silent and sat down pondering in her chair. She knew that, with the rejection of Shining Armour’s offer, the invasion would soon commence, no later than tomorrow at most. Perhaps they would not even wait until day and launch their attack tonight, in an attempt to catch the royalists off guard. She didn’t think it very likely, believing Shining Armour would find the idea too risky, but on the other hand, perhaps that was what he wanted her to think. Whatever the case, it was clear that she couldn’t dally here any longer and had to make for Stalliongrad immediately. She would have been there already, if her daughter hadn’t insisted on her taking some rest before the battle. She’d been reluctant to, but couldn’t deny that she had been in dire need of some sleep and it had done her well. Regardless, Derpy still didn’t feel very comfortable with the idea, having the feeling that she had abandoned her post somehow, even though in truth she had done no such thing. Derpy shook her head and got up from her seat. “I’d better get ready to depart,” she thought, suppressing a yawn. She put the scroll away in one of the drawers of her desk, to have it out of the way until she could properly classify it at a later time. Just as she was finished with this, there was a noise coming from the chimney followed by a white dove, covered in soot, flying into the office. Upon noticing Derpy, the bird chirped excitedly and landed gracefully atop the grand admiral’s desk. There it sat, looking at Derpy expectantly with its beady eyes. “Philomena?” the admiral said, surprised by the unexpected arrival. Her single eye narrowed and she frowned. “What are you doing here at this hour? Is there news from Canterlot?” The dove let out a low chirp and gave a curt nod, then it spread its wings and promptly burst into flames. The light they gave off was so intense that Derpy had to shield her eye for a moment, and once the light and the fire had died away, the dove was gone. In its place sat a magnificent bird with feathers like flames. Her name was Philomena, though at one point in her life, forgotten by almost all, she had been known better as Princess Celestia’s pet phoenix. In her beak she now held a sealed scroll, which she proudly dropped in Derpy’s outstretched, expectant hoof. Her task done, Philomena began preening her feathers. After a long flight from Canterlot to Cantropolis, under a magical disguise no less, they could use the careful attention. Derpy broke the wax seal on the scroll and unrolled it on her desk, taking a brief and worried glance at the phoenix as she did so. “Let’s see what she has to say,” she muttered to herself, scanning the words on the parchment. It was all in code, of course, but Derpy’s trained eye deciphered it with practiced ease. When she read the first sentence, however, her face grew visibly pale. By the time she had finished the letter, Derpy had stopped breathing. She stared at the scroll, speechless, while desperation and panic clawed at the back of her mind, trying to take control of her. She desperately wanted it to be a bad joke, but she knew it was not. Her informant wouldn’t risk discovery just to play a prank by sending false information. Her mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of the water, trying in vain to form words that could give voice to her feelings. When she finally regained her voice, she could only mutter three words. “Celestia preserve us…” “We fear that our sister in her current position is fit to preserve nary a pony, grand admiral Hooves. Perhaps we could in her stead, should thou see it fit to tell us what thou needst preserving from?” Startled by the sudden declaration, Derpy’s reflexes kicked in before her brain could and, believing she was under attack, made her whirl around and lash out at the unknown speaker in the blink of an eye. Fortunately her brain and common sense regained control of her body just in time, as the pony who had just spoken to her was decidedly not an enemy, and she lowered her hoof before any harm could be done. “High Chancellor,” Derpy greeted, trying to act as if she had not just almost attacked one of her Princesses by mistake. “I did not hear you come in.” “Evidently so, grand admiral,” Luna said, sounding amused. If she was at all bothered that she had almost been struck by the mare fearsomely reputed to be the strongest in the world, she didn’t show it. When Derpy sputtered and tried to apologise, Luna held up her hoof to silence her. “Peace, ‘t was entirely our fault. We should have announced our presence properly instead of sneaking up on thee. We apologise.” “It’s fine, your eminence,” Derpy replied, wanting to put the small mishap behind her as quickly as possible. Now that she had recovered from the alicorn’s sudden appearance, she was more concerned about the meaning of said appearance. “Pardon my impudence, but did you wish to speak to me, your eminence? I fear I don’t have much time, I’ve just been informed of a matter most grave and I must deal with it immediately.” “So we had surmised, given the presence of our sister’s dearest pet,” Luna said, as she lifted one of her forelegs. Philomena saw the invitation and happily flew over to the Princess, landing on her outstretched leg. The phoenix rubbed her head affectionately against Luna’s cheek and received a warm nuzzle for it in return. She squawked contently. Luna focused her attention on Derpy again. “What news be there from Canterlot that has thee in such a hurry, grand admiral? Prithee, tell us.” Derpy didn’t answer, but instead merely handed Philomena’s message to the Princess, who took it in her magical grasp and lifted it before her eyes curiously. It took Luna a bit longer to decipher the coded language it had been written in, and soon enough she lowered the letter again, her face grim. “Forsooth, this is most ill news indeed,” she admitted quietly. Derpy nodded and could not suppress a sigh. “I suspected from the start that Shining Armour was planning something like this,” she admitted. “But without knowing where and when, there was little I could do. They really went all out with keeping this under wraps, our spies and scouts didn’t catch so much as a whisper of this.” She rubbed her temple with one of her hooves, letting out another sigh. “Seems even our informant didn’t know about it until the very last minute. We should count ourselves lucky, though. If it hadn’t been for her, we wouldn’t have known at all until it was already too late.” Luna gave the grand admiral a pensive stare. “How dost thou intend to deal with this?” she wondered. “Surely, thou didst not expect the enemy to place all their eggs in one basket, so to speak. Thou knowest better, we are certain. What were thy plans?” Derpy let out a groan. “I’ll deal with it, somehow,” she sighed. “The problem is that no matter what decision I take, it’ll have a negative impact on the defences of Stalliongrad, when that was already going to be a close call before I got this wonderful little piece of information.” She shook her head and rubbed her tired eye, then gave Luna an apologetic look. “No matter, I will find a way to deal with it. My apologies for burdening you with my problems, your eminence. Was there something else you wanted to talk to me about?” “Thy troubles are not a burden to us, grand admiral. To provide thee with a listening ear and council is a task we take upon us gladly. Verily, we wish we could be of more assistance than this,” Luna replied calmly. “But thou art correct, we had another reason for coming here. A matter has arisen that requires our immediate attention, and we wished to inform thee of this before our departure, so that thou wouldst not be startled by our absence.” “Your depar…” Derpy repeated, the meaning of the words not immediately sinking in. Once they did, however, her single eye widened in surprise. “Surely your eminence does not intend to leave the palace, not now, of all times?” “Aye, that be our intent, and we shall not be persuaded otherwise,” Luna said. Her voice still sounded calm, but had a firm, serious undertone to it, that warned anypony of speaking out against her plans. “The timing is most unfortunate and we bitterly regret it, but there is little choice. This matter can neither wait or be ignored, verily we fear that we are late already.” Her voice trailed off and she turned her head to the side, a distant look in her eyes. “We should have spoken him much earlier…” “Spoken to whom, your eminence? Who are you talking about? What might already be too late?” Derpy asked, utterly confused. For reasons she did not understand, a shiver had run down her spine while Luna had been speaking, as if she was somehow frightened, though by what she could not fathom. “We fear we cannot say, grand admiral,” Luna replied, her voice genuinely apologetic. When she saw Derpy open her mouth to protest, Luna held up her hoof to silence the pegasus. “This matter concerns only our sister and I, there is no need for thee to burden thyself with it. Thou hast a war to win! Many good soldiers are counting on thee to guide them to victory, and it wouldst not do to distract thyself now with matters that need not trouble thee.” Derpy sank down on her rump and let out a tired groan. She held her tired, heavy head between her hooves for a moment and rubbed her tired eye. She had to admit that Luna had a point; with the invasion being only a few hours away and the news from Canterlot needing to be dealt with, now was really not the time to start worrying about whatever secret the Princesses were keeping. After all, Luna had said she didn’t have to worry about it, that she was going to deal with it, and the Princess had given Derpy no reason to distrust her. She let out a deep sigh and dropped her hooves from her face. “Very well, I trust you, your highness,” she said. “But please, at the very least, tell me where you are going and when you will return.” Luna gave the pegasus a grateful smile. “Thank thee, grand admiral. Tis for the best, we assure thee.” Then she tapped her chin carefully in thought. “Truthfully, we know not where we will find our answers yet, but we will return at the earliest opportunity. We shall take no longer than two days.” Derpy nodded slowly. “I cannot stop you,” she said. “But I implore you, your highness, please be careful. If the Republic finds out you’re alive, it could put your sister’s life in danger.” “Thou needst not fear for our sister, she is stronger than any of you could imagine. Her life is not so easily endangered,” Luna replied quietly. “Neither should thou be concerned for our safety. Verily we say that thou should worry more about thyself, as our destination, wherever it may be, shan’t be as dangerous as thine.” The Princess lowered her head and briefly touched Derpy’s brow with the tip of her horn. Immediately the grand admiral felt as if all stress and fatigue that had accumulated over the course of the past month had been lifted from her. She gazed at the alicorn in silent wonder, but Luna merely smiled. “Be safe, grand admiral Hooves,” was all the Princess said, after which she turned around and vanished from the room as suddenly and quietly as she had entered it. --- Fluttershy’s peaceful dream of bunnies was brusquely brought to an end by a couple of rough nudges in her side. She tried to ignore them and go back to her quiet slumber, but whoever was pestering her was being quite insistent about it and would not relent. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, her eyelids still feeling heavy with sleep. “Gaah, this is no time for five more minutes, Flutters!” said the unmistakably impatient voice of Rainbow Dash. “Hurry up and put on your armour, we’ve got no time to waste!” Fluttershy heard the sound of armoured hooves on the tiled floor, meaning Rainbow Dash had moved on to someone else. “Same goes for the rest of you!” she heard her friend shout. “Rarity, this is no time for a beauty sleep! Get out of that bed and into your armour before I force you into it!” By now Fluttershy had managed to sit up in her bed and rub the sleep from her eyes. Looking around the room, she saw her friends, all in varying state of dress. Applejack was already up and wearing her armour, and she was helping Pinkie with securing the last few plates of her armour. Rarity was still lying in her bed, with Rainbow Dash standing right next to her and looking like she was about to lose her patience. Twilight was nowhere to be found. Not wanting to aggravate Rainbow Dash any further, since the admiral appeared to be extremely tense and on the edge, Fluttershy quickly climbed out of bed and started to put on her armour. She struggled a bit with the heavy gear, and was glad when Rainbow Dash came over to help her. “Rainbow Dash, what’s happening?” she whispered meekly. The grim and serious look on the admiral’s face did little to calm her rapidly growing nerves. Rainbow Dash didn’t immediately reply, as her mouth was occupied by the belt of Fluttershy’s armour she was pulling tight. When she was finished with that, she sighed and gave her timid friend a look that said everything. “They’re here.” End of chapter 31.