//Begin Personal Log
//
//June 18th, 2559
//
//00:19 Local Time
Thirty-eight hours without sleep, ten pounds of high explosive, six hundred and fifty civilians, and one passenger train. What happens when you mix all those together? A lot of dead and wounded civilians, and a bunch of really angry marines. For the past day and a half, we have been helping to assess the damage from what is being called a terrorist attack on the Canterlot train station.
What’s different about this attack? We know who planned it. Our good buddy Domri Windscar might know how to plot a terrorist attack, but he sucks at being discrete. I’m going to be brief... I might expand on this more tomorrow morning.
//End Log
It was ten in the morning, two days after having gotten back from Ecotonia. A group of marines were playing a three-way game of capture the flag against a group of solar and lunar guards. The crew of the Grafton was enjoying some much needed leave in Canterlot. Captain Ryan and Daviston were enjoying a nice breakfast with Celestia and Luna, talking about the events that took place only a few days ago.
Further analysis of the Starchaser confirmed the theory of the blown O-ring. Queen Cervidae and King Sombar had even sent a letter of commendation and thanks. Andrew had continued to look over the findings of the deer engineers in charge of determining what went wrong and how they could fix it in the future. Quicksilver and Andrew had also been working on some new kind of weapon for the Equestrian infantry. All in all, life was good.
“So, Captain Daviston, what do you think of Equestria so far?” Celestia asked as she put a few more pancakes on her plate.
Richard took a sip of orange juice as he formulated his response. “It’s... beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined. Hell, I wouldn’t believe such a place could exist, had it not been for Daniel here.”
“I didn’t even believe it when I first landed. You took it quite well,” Daniel replied with a chuckle.
Luna yawned as she finished a waffle. It had been a long, boring night for her. It was still quite rare for anypony to attend the night court. She continued to nurse a hot mug of coffee, sighing as the caffeine took effect.
“I’m surprised Twilight isn’t joining us,” Luna said as she set down the mug.
“She went out earlier with Rarity. I believe they were going to a little cafe by the train station,” Celestia replied as she poured syrup over her pancakes.
“I wonder if I could get the others to play capture the flag with us?” Daniel mused with a chuckle.
“Well, I’m sure you could get Rainbow Dash and Applejack to participate. Both of them are quite competitive ponies,” Celestia replied between bites of her breakfast.
“Well then, I’ll go see them after breakfast,” Daniel replied.
Luna laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, good luck getting Rainbow up. From what Twilight has said about her, she likes her sleep quite a bit.”
“You wanna play?” Zerom asked the lunar Princess.
“I’m afraid not. I’m barely keeping myself awake fueled by coffee,” Luna answered.
“Eh, no worries. There’ll be other games,” Jonathan said with a shrug as he turned his attention back to the omelet in front of him.
“So,” Celestia began, “what are your plans today?”
Richard set his fork down and thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. I was going to see if these two wanted to head into the city. They’d probably know more about what there is to do, seeing as they have been here longer than me.”
“Well, I can suggest heading to the garden district. There are a few really nice museums. There is also a small theater in that district,” Celestia said, trying to think of other things the humans might be interested in.
“Worst comes to worst, we’ll just wander the city and see what we find,” Daniel suggested with a shrug.
Though, their relaxing day was not meant to last. There was a loud, dull crack, followed instantly by a thunderous boom that shook the very foundation of the castle. Glasses on the table clattered together as the windows shook slightly. Everyone at the table looked to each other, waiting for more to come.
“What was that?” Luna asked, looking to the doors leading to the throne room.
Richard brought a hand up to his ear, listening to the radio chatter from his marines in the city.
“Well... seems our day just increased to suck-factor nine. Marines from around the city are reporting a large explosion and fire near the train station,” Richard said, keeping the earpiece pressed against his head.
“Guards!” Celestia called out.
In an instant, four guards rushed into the room, stopping by her side as they waited for orders.
“Get Captain Silverlight. Tell him to send every pony he can spare to the train station,” the solar Princess ordered.
“Right away,” the guards responded before galloping out of the dining room.
“Captain Daviston, are any of your marines at the trainstation?” Celestia quickly asked.
“Are any marines at or near the trainstation?” Richard asked into his radio.
There was a pause before a response came.
“This is Sergeant Forester, I’m at the train station with multiple marines,” the sergeant replied.
“Yes, there are marines on site,” Richard said to Celestia.
“Find out where the explosion originated.”
“Sergeant, can you tell where the blast originated?” Richard asked the marine.
“Yes sir, blast looks like it originated from the train that was parked in the station,” the marine answered.
“They’re saying the train is looking like the epicenter,” Daviston announced.
Daniel palled at the answer before grabbing his own radio. “All hands, general quarters, general quarters. Man your battlestations.”
Captain Ryan and Zerom immediately got up from their seats before quickly making their way out to the Tuscany. Guards across the castle were busy mustering, before heading down to the train station.
As Daniel and Zerom walked onto the ship, the Captain pulled the intercom off a nearby bulkhead.
“All combat personnel, prep for combat and rally in the hangar,” Daniel ordered before heading to the armory. “Zerom, you’re my ready five. Okay?”
“Ready to launch in five minutes, got it,” the Commander said as he took off for the bridge.
~~~
Every marine, ODST, and SPARTAN gathered with their gear in the launch bay, eagerly waiting for Captain Ryan to show up. Daniel walked into the bay after a few minutes, clad in his usual black ODST armor. He carried his helmet under his arm with Luna’s feather still hanging from his left pauldron. He quickly ascended a catwalk, overlooking the assembled troops.
“Alright, listen up! About ten minutes ago, multiple explosions ripped through a passenger train in downtown Canterlot. Marine from the Grafton are already on the scene and guards from the castle are en route. We are going to head to ground zero, where we will provide security and help with rescue operations.” Daniel paused as he looked around the sea of faces. “Now, the train had just arrived in the station, so expect high civilian casualties. Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious, and keep a round in the chamber. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!” the crowd yelled in response.
“Let’s move out, marines!” Daniel shouted back, raising his helmet over his head before putting it on.
Everyone in the launch bay quickly grabbed their helmets and racked the bolts of their weapons. They then broke into groups of twenty before boarding one of two waiting Pelicans. Thirty-two humans flew from the Tuscany and headed straight for the pillar of black smoke, rising from the commercial district of Canterlot.
Both Pelicans banked sharply to one side as they flew over the city. Bellow emergency teams rushed through the crowded streets as ponies around the city stared at the rising plume of smoke. Even among the ponies, human marines could be seen running along side the emergency vehicles.
As the Pelicans touched down, pegasi fire teams were already dousing the burning train using dark rainclouds. Five of the eight passenger cars were reduced to charred husks, with parts of the station itself being burned. Everywhere around the train were the bodies of those caught in the explosion and subsequent fire. The smell of burnt flesh hung thick in the air.
With the Pelicans parked, and the troops unloaded, the rescue work could begin. The humans quickly broke into eight groups of three, allowing them to cover the most ground while still maintaining security.
“Silverlight!” Daniel called out as he walked across the soaked cobblestone street.
“Oh thank harmony,” the guard Captain said as he trotted over to Daniel. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
“Oh, I can fathom guess. How are we doing?” Captain Ryan asked, looking to the still burning train.
“Well, the train is still burning and we have over six hundred civilian casualties, most of which we expect are fatalities,” the unicorn grumbled.
“Six hundred?!” Daniel gaped.
“One hundred and twenty ponies in each car. Multiply that by five, and you get the number on the train. That’s not even including the number of dead on the station platform,” Silverlight recounted with a shake of his head,
“Where are the survivors being taken?”
“Canterlot Royal Hospital. Though, we are waiting for the fires to go down before searching the train.” Silverlight responded.
“Woah, woah, woah. You haven’t even searched the train yet?” Daniel asked with shock.
“We can’t, not with the fires still burning.”
“So the fatality number is just going to rise,” Captain Ryan said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Yeah. I’m not expecting any kind of happy ending,” Silverlight replied, pinning his ears against his head in anger.
“Shit... do we have any kind of confirmation on how this happened?” Daniel asked as he walked beside Silverlight, heading toward the train.
“Survivors are saying all train cars exploded at the same time. Each blast seemed to originate in the middle of each car. This all happened as passengers from Fillydelphia were getting off, so the station was very crowded,” Silverlight said, continuing to walk.
“Maximum effect. Anyone see anything before hand, er, hoof?” Captain Ryan inquired.
“No clue. We can question survivors after we contain this situation,” Silverlight answered, waving a hoof in the air.
“Fantastic...” Daniel grumbled.
It took almost twenty minutes for the fire teams to extinguish the blaze, even so, they continued to dump rain on the smoldering wreck. Though it did nothing to quell the stench of burned flesh. All around, medical personnel were laying white sheets over the dead. Royal guards and marines had finally set up a secure perimeter around the train station. Daniel walked along the length of the ruined train, looking for anything out of place.
All around the train, and inside, was the burned luggage and debris from the train. Daniel even passed a number of blackened and burned bodies of passengers and bystanders. Though, one thing caught his attention: a single piece of color stood out amongst the black and grey. At his foot was a lightly scorched stuffed doll of Celestia. The Captain slowly knelt down and picked up the waterlogged toy, knowing that whoever this belonged to had likely died in the train. On the underside of the toy was the name “Periwinkle”. With a sense of dread, Daniel pulled himself into the train car beside him, still holding the toy.
The smell of burnt upholstery and bodies was even more prevalent in what remained of the train car. Slowly, the Captain made his way forward toward the next car, passing dozens of dead ponies, many of whom were still in their seats when the blast occurred. He then came to a stop when one seat caught his eye. The remains of three ponies were sitting across from each other. One body in particular was much smaller than the two others.
Looking around the burnt car, there was no doubt in Daniel’s mind that this was the owner of the toy. The Captain sighed as he continued to look around the car. The rain from the pegasi overhead still fall over the rescue teams as they dug through the debris. Though by now, it was more of a recovery than a rescue.
“Captain?”
Daniel slowly stood up and turned around. A lunar guard was standing a few feet away from him, trying to get his attention.
“What is it?” The Captain replied.
“Captain Silverlight wanted to know if you needed any assistance?” the batpony asked.
Daniel looked back at the charred remains of the passengers. “Yeah, you can start by carefully removing these bodies. Make sure you keep them all together. We need to know what car they came out of so we can later identify them.”
“I’ll go grab some help then,” the batpony replied, pausing to stare at the bodies.
“Hey, listen to me.” The mare broke her gaze and looked up at the ODST. “Just get them off the train and move on. I know it sounds cold, but you can’t grieve for them now. We have a job to do first.”
The thestral nodded silently before leaving to find extra hooves to help move the bodies. Daniel finally put the toy in a pouch on his thigh and moved on to the next train car. He was met by the same scene as the previous car. The roof was blown off in the middle, everything was burned to a cinder, bodies lay in their seats, and everything smelled of burnt and metal.
The Captain silently made his way through, taking pictures and thoroughly documenting everything in the hope that they would be able to piece together this disaster. He was about finished with the car when his radio came to life.
“Captain Ryan?”
“Go for Ryan,” he replied.
“It’s Silverlight. Are you still in the train?” the guard Captain asked.
“Yeah. I’m about finished documenting car number three. What’s up?” Daniel replied calmly.
“I have teams offloading the remains of the other cars. They’re keeping them all together as for easier identification,” Silverlight replied.
“Alright. Anything else?”
“Well, I was going to send a few guards to talk with some of the survivors, see if there is anything we might have missed,” the unicorn said.
“Sounds good. Go ahead and take any of my guys, I’m sure a few of them can be useful to you.” Captain Ryan responded as he finished his observations.
Daniel shook his head in disbelief as he looked back over the car. Hundreds dead or wounded and very little evidence to analyze. Their only hope for finding the culprit, or culprits, would be with the survivors of the attack.
~~~
Flitter was having a horrible day. She and her sister Cloudchaser were just waiting for their train to Ponyville when an explosion destroyed the train from Fillydelphia. Flitter had managed to escape the blast without more than a few scratches, but her sister had not fared so well. A large piece of metal had impaled her sister’s back leg.
As she sat in the hospital waiting room, visions of her sister’s blood filled her mind. One second they were waiting on the crowded platform, the next... Flitter sighed deeply as she tried to remain calm. The waiting room was filled with ponies waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones, many of whom were already in tears, fearing the worst.
The pegasus looked up from her despair in time to see a number of royal guards, as well as a few humans, enter the waiting room. They quickly broke into pairs and began talking to ponies around the room. One pair of humans, a marine and an ODST, made their way across the room toward Flitter. She watched as they slowly approached.
“Excuse me, miss?” The ODST began.
Flitter looked up at him as he held his helmet under an arm.
“My name is Sergeant James Hodges, and this is Corporal Chase Drall. We were hoping to talk to you about what happened today. I know it’s rather soon, but we need to find out who did this. Would you mind talking to us a bit?” The ODST asked, crouching down to look at the pegasus.
Flitter looked at James with hesitation, but eventually nodded.
“Thank you.” James and Chase both pulled out notepads and pens. “So, what’s your name?”
“Flitter,” she replied quietly. Both men began taking notes.
“What can you tell us about the moments before the blast. Think of anything that struck you as odd,” the ODST began.
“Nothing really. We were just sitting there, waiting for our train.” Flitter replied, choking back tears.
“You said we. Was someone else with you?” Chase asked.
“My sister.”
“Okay. Think of anything; sights, sounds, smells, odd feelings, anything at all.” James prompted.
“I... I can’t... there’s nothing that was... odd...” Flitter answered with choked breath.
“That’s fine, just breathe.” James said as he tried to calm the distraught mare. “Just, close your eyes and describe everything you can remember.”
The pegasus complied as she followed his instruction.
“Now, think back to before the blast. The train had just pulled up to the station and the doors opened. Where were you sitting?” James began.
“We were sitting on the platform... in front of the fourth train car.” She replied.
“Alright, good. Now, the door to the car opens, and everyone starts to get off. What do you see?” The ODST continued.
“I...I saw a lot of ponies. They were trying to get off the train and onto the platform, while other ponies were trying to squeeze onto the train.”
“Alright, what about the ponies. Was there anything off?” Chase asked.
“There... maybe...” Flitter answered.
“Okay, focus on that. Was this pony getting on, or getting off?” James pressed.
“Getting off... and he... wasn’t a pony.” Flitter said, slightly surprised at herself.
“Ok, great. Focus on that individual. What was he?”
“A gryphon... yeah, there was a gryphon.” Flitter replied, starting to shake slightly.
“It’s alright. Just take a deep breath... Now, are you sure there was a gryphon getting off the train?” The ODST said reassuringly.
“Yeah... he looked... I don’t know... but I just wrote it off as normal,” the mare answered, a bit more calmly.
“Was there anything else?” The marine asked.
“No... that’s all I can really remember before the... well... you know...”
“That’s fine. Do you think you could describe this gryphon?” James asked with a hint of excitement.
“Yeah, I think so,” Flitter replied.
For the next fifteen minutes, James sketched out the gryphon described by the traumatized pegasus. Despite the horrific event, she was able to give a detailed description for the ODST. James looked at his drawing, looking back at him was a gryphon of above average build. This was worth reporting back with.
“Thank you for your time, Flitter. This could help us catch whoever did this.” James said in parting.
“Just.. promise me you’ll catch whoever did this.” Flitter replied with a pleading look.
The ODST nodded as he and Chase made their way back to ground zero.
~~~
The search of the train by EOD had revealed surprisingly little. It was clear where the bombs had detonated, but there was a surprising lack of any physical evidence. Trent had determined that a high power plastic explosive with a powerful incendiary had been used, but he was unable to find any sort of detonator.
“Captain, I’ve searched every car, and still the same thing. Explosive residue, but no detonator,” the SPARTAN said over the radio in frustration.
“Alright, I’m sending Silverlight to you. Getting a second pair of eyes on the area might help,” Daniel replied.
“Copy that,” Trent said with a sigh.
A minute later, Captain Silverlight arrived next to the SPARTAN.
“So, this is where the bomb exploded?” The unicorn asked.
“Yeah. I know what kind of explosive was used, I just can’t find any sort of detonating mechanism,” the SPARTAN responded.
“Are you sure there was a detonator?”
“Plastic explosives can’t explode without an electronic detonator,” the EOD specialist said.
“What if it wasn’t electrical?” Silverlight offered.
“I don’t follow,” the SPARTAN said blankly.
Silverlight’s horn lit up as he focused on the epicenter of the blast. After a few seconds, the unicorn’s horn stopped glowing.
“Wow... so that’s how they did it...”
“What did you do?” Trent asked with curiosity.
“They used a magical detonator. Basically a small enchanted crystal that gives off a small spark when activated. This one was activated remotely by an identical crystal,” the unicorn announced proudly.
“So... they used magic to set these off? Oh shit...” Trent quickly began speaking into his radio. “Captain, we have a big problem. These bombs were set off using magic.”
“Set off with magic? They can do that?” The Captain asked..
“That’s what Captain Silverlight is saying,” the SPARTAN replied.
“Alright, good work. Just keep doing your thing,” Captain Ryan responded.
The thought of magically detonated explosives was sinking in, as Daniel thought of the implications of such weapons. Magic was still something he hadn’t fully taken into account.
“Captain Ryan.” James called out.
“Sergeant Hodges, what do you need?” Daniel replied.
“Sir, we interviewed a few survivors. We’ve got something interesting,” the ODST announced.
“Oh?” Daniel took a batch of drawings from James and began to look them over.
There was a diagram of the train station, and the locations of everyone interviewed. What really caught the Captain’s attention was the numerous drawings of gryphons. Even more shocking, was that all these drawings were of the same gryphon.
“All these ponies saw this guy?” Daniel asked as he held up one of the drawings.
“Yes sir. A few of those are from guards who had also interviewed survivors.” Chase replied with a nod.
“Wow... good work guys. I think I know who can help us identify this guy.” Daniel said with a sly grin.
~~~
Orange Glow was worried as to why he had been so hastily brought from his cell and dropped in an interrogation room. He became even more worried when a familiar human and changeling walked in the door.
“H-h-hey now... I told you everything I knew!” Orange Glow quickly said, going on the defensive.
“I know you did,” Daniel said with a smile as he sat across from the terrified pony.
“Then.. then why are you here?”
“Well, I just wanna ask you some things. Did you ever meet Domri Windscar in person?” The Captain asked.
“Yeah, only twice though. We worked through the lower ranked gryphons in the organization.” Orange Glow said, relaxing slightly.
“So do you think you could identify him if you saw him?”
“Definitely. He’s fairly noticeable,” the ex-private said confidently.
“Noticeable? How so?” Spotlight asked with a tilt of his head.
“He has a good sized chip in his beak on the left side. That and he’s bucking huge.”
“So is this him?” Daniel said as he laid out a number of the drawings on the metal table.
“That’s him! That’s him!” Orange Glow replied energetically.
“Wonderful. Once again you have been quite helpful. I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you with Celestia.” Daniel grinned.
~~~
“So you’re sure of this?” Celestia asked with a suspicious look.
“Multiple sources gave that description to multiple artists. Orange Glow was able to describe prominent features before even seeing the drawings. I’m convinced.” Daniel replied.
“Alright. I’ll send a group of guards to have him detained for questioning.” Celestia said as levitated the drawings back to the Captain. “Guard!”
A single solar guard quickly trotted into the throne room and saluted before waiting for orders.
“Find Captain Silverlight, and wake Captain Nightshade. Have them both come to the throne room at once,” Celestia quickly commanded.
“Right away, your highness,” the guard said as he cantered off.
“I will find the responsible party, and I will bring them to justice,” Celestia said with determination.
“I have no doubt about that,” Daniel commented. “This whole thing reminds me of some of what I saw on Reach. This many dead at once was a daily occurrence during the war.”
“You think Domri is involved?” the Princess asked again.
“As I said, I’m convinced he’s involved.”
“I suppose we'll find out when we get the chance to question him,” Celestia mused.
A few minutes later, both guard Captains entered the throne room and stood at attention.
“Thank you for coming. I apologize for having to wake you, Captain Nightshade,” Celestia said. “But we have a possible lead. I want you to send some guards to detain Domri Windscar. He has a residence in the noble district of the city. We need to ask him a few questions.”
“I’ll have some guards sent out right away, your highness,” Silverlight said with a bow.
“Excellent. Captain Nightshade, I need you to rouse your guards and have them bolster the defences around the city.”
“Right away, your majesty,” the thestral mare bowed as she flew off to wake the other guards.
Daniel glanced down at his wrist as he checked the time. Eight hours had passed since the blasts had been reported, making it six in the evening. Though, Daniel suspected that he would be awake for much longer. It would be about forty minutes before the guards returned with Domri, a time period in which Daniel spent coordinating his troops and going over data with the teams in the field.
An hour passed without any word from the six guards. When two hours passed, everyone began to worry. Their fears were realized when a single guard limped into the throne room. His armor was dented and torn, with blood flowing freely from multiple lacerations.
“Spotlight! Go to the ship and get Doctor Tetrow!” Daniel yelled as he ran to the wounded guard. Spotlight nodded and galloped out toward the Tuscany.
“What the hell happened?” Daniel asked as he began tending to the injured stallion.
“They... they ambushed us... as soon as we knocked...” the guard said weakly, “killed everypony... left me... to warn you...” he said as he coughed up a good amount of blood. Celestia watched in horror as the unicorn fought for every breath.
“Alright, just hang in there,” Daniel replied, trying to stop the bleeding. Though it was too little, too late. Daniel watched as the life faded from the guard’s eyes, holding the unicorn tight as he finally died.
Doctor Tetrow and Spotlight then ran into the room, only to see Daniel slowly close the unicorn’s eyes. Celestia and the guard Captain’s stood in stunned horror at what had just transpired.
“Princess, I would like to retract my previous statement about Domri,” Daniel said, armor covered in the unicorn’s blood. “I would consider this an admission of guilt.”
“I would agree. Silverlight, muster every guard you can. We need this gryphon.” Celestia ordered.
“Right away,” Silverlight said as he ran off to gather his remaining guards.
“Princess, we have no idea how many gryphons he might have. Perhaps some reconnaissance would shed some light on that,” Nightshade offered.
“I agree, though how would you like to go about that?” Celestia asked.
“I can do that,” Daniel replied, raising his hand.
“How?” The thestral Captain inquired with a raised eyebrow.
Daniel smiled. “Magic.”
~~~
It was night time as Daniel and Master Gunnery Sergeant Graves stood atop the highest tower in the castle. It just so happened that the observatory tower offered a great place to stargaze, as well as a fantastic place to set up a sniper.
From his vantage point, Mike could see just about the entire city. The ODST calmly laid down on the floor and set up his bipod, next to him was Daniel with a spotting scope, while Captain Nightshade sat behind the pair.
“So... what is this thing?” The thestral asked, pointing to the rifle.
“Remember the weapon that I said could shoot over a mile and a half?” Daniel asked. The pony nodded. “Well this is it.”
“All teams, this is Spectre Actual, we have eyes on target building. Count five occupants, all gryphons,” Mike said into his radio.
“Copy that. We have all exits covered. Is our target inside?”
“Affirmative. We have solid I.D. on Domri.” Daniel replied.
“Understood. On your go.”
“Alright... here we go.” Mike mused as he took aim at the gryphon near the front door. This gryphon had the misfortune of being the only stationary target with a clear line of sight through the window.
Mike took a deep breath and put his finger on the trigger. The ODST slowly released the breath, pulling the trigger as the last of the air in his lungs escaped.
There was a thunderous bang as the rifle recoiled from the supersonic projectile. Daniel had a perfect view of the gryphon as the bullet shattered the window and hit the gryphon square in the forehead, practically vaporizing what was once the gryphon’s face.
“Kobe,” Mike chuckled as he admired his handiwork.
At the same moment, dozens of guards backed up by SPARTANs, rushed the various doors to the residence. There were a few bouts of gunfire as gryphons tried to resist, only to be cut down. To everyone’s relief, Domri surrendered without a fight.
“Geronimo. Target secured.”
“Good show. We saw that one from up here.” Daniel chuckled into his radio. “Any sign of the missing guards?”
“Affirmative. We have five bodies here. They’re pretty fucked up.”
“Alright. Recover them when you haul Domri in,” Captain Ryan instructed.
“Copy all. Good hunting.”
Mike looked over his shoulder to a shocked Nightshade.
“... Damn it... I can’t think of another witty response...” Mike said as he hung his head in shame.
Daniel patted the fellow ODST on the back. “It’s alright, we can’t win ‘em all.”
~~~
With the fires put out, the injured taken to the hospital, Domri arrested, and a PR nightmare on the way, Celestia sat down in her study. The next part of her job was a painful one; she now had to write a letter to the family of everypony who lost a loved one.
While most rulers would just make a broad public statement, Celestia preferred to take the time to address the family of each victim. She levitated a huge stack of blank paper to the middle of her desk where she then produced a black pen from one of the drawers. Seven hundred and sixty three letters, for seven hundred and sixty three dead. The hospital had done an incredible job of identifying the deceased by using the train’s passenger manifest.
With a deep sigh, the solar Princess began to write.
Two floors down, Silverlight and Daniel sat in the guard Captain’s office. They both sat with a stack of six blank pieces of paper. Silverlight had a stack of official royal letterhead, while Daniel had a stack of UNSC letterhead. For the next hour, the two would write letters to the families of the deceased guards.
“What was the name of the guard who died at the castle?” Daniel asked.
“Corporal Golden Ice,” Silverlight replied, never looking up from his current letter.
With that piece of information, Daniel began to write.
~~~
It was an overcast day in Canterlot. The streets were almost deserted, and many shops remained closed for the day; save for a single Warthog driving through the city. Three individuals had set out to inform the families the fate of the deceased guards. It was a grim task, but Captain Silverlight would not have anypony else do it. These were his ponies, and he would be the one to deliver the bad news, though, he was thankful that Daniel and Jonathan were with him. Both humans had insisted on going with him, Daniel claiming that he was equally responsible, since the ponies died on his intel.
Daniel brought the Warthog to a stop, just outside a townhouse in the residential district of the capital. It was a modest, three story building. Land values in Canterlot made it a lot cheaper to build high than wide.
The two humans, dressed in full dress uniform complete with pressed officers caps, carefully dismounted. Captain Silverlight, clad in his golden armor, followed them to the door. The guard Captain stood between the two humans, a letter and a flag in his saddlebags. Daniel held his letter in his left hand, while Zerom held a UNSC flag in his left.
“Ready?” Daniel asked, looking straight ahead at the door.
“Not really, but we have a job to do,” the stallion replied as he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
The sound of hooves scurrying inside was clearly audible to the three soldiers. The door quickly opened as the three were met by the gaze of a small foal. Daniel cringed internally. Having a child involved in this would make it incredibly more difficult.
“Hey there. Is your mom home?” Silverlight greeted, trying to put on a brave smile.
“Mommy?” The child called over his shoulder.
A few seconds later, a beige unicorn mare walked up to the door. Her expression of curiosity quickly melted and was a replaced by a look of sheer dread. Her fears were only realized as the three individuals at her door slowly brought up formal salutes. It was the sign that every military family feared. The foal looked at the three with curiosity, unsure of what the display meant. His mother though, quickly pulled him into a tight hug as she began to sob.
Silverlight and the two humans lowered their salutes as they produced the letters and flags. The mare looked at the pair of flags and letters and then to the soldiers who stood silently at her door. With a nod, she took the objects in her own magic as she set them on a nearby table. The unicorn then slowly closed the door without saying a word.
The three turned around and walked back to their vehicle. Through the entire exchange, not a word was spoken. Nothing needed to be said, their actions were loud enough.