Shining Judgment

by Bad_Company

The Open Field

Shining Armor sat at his command post staring out at the valley below. It was not a pleasing sight. The main body of More Dread's legions covered several large fields. Even at this distance he could tell Dread's army was very well organized. The straight regular gaps through each line of soldiers which would allow for better maneuverability and allow more efficient supply transport and quicker movement of messages. This was not the rag tag mob that the nobles back in Canterlot had led him to believe.
Smaller groups of troops were scattered far across the landscape that were sent to forage for food and water. The moving black mass of men sort of reminded Shining of a horde of black ants crawling around disposed food. He didn't know how many of them there were, but the original estimate of fifty thousand now seemed a huge error in counting.
It was his duty to now be seemingly fearless to his men. Yet, looking down at the long sloping field he could not help but notice his own lines were very thin in comparison. The horde below was beyond just ominous. More Dread had more experience in warfare than Shining, but he had hoped that reading the mass amount of military books his sister lent him would give him an edge.
“Colonel Armor, how do you want the regiments deployed?” asked Major Snow his adviser and close friend.
Shining racked his mind for some sort of formation that would give him the edge over the mass below. There were times where it didn't matter how damned skilled you were, you just couldn't win. Armor was beginning to fear that this was one of those times, but if he fell here, More Dread's forces would be within striking distance of many of Equestria's smaller towns including where his sister now lived. He did not want to imagine his sister at More Dread's mercy. His judgment call could mean everything right now.
“Okay, so I need infantry deployed on double line to either side of that milestone. Light cavalry will be in the trees there. Heavy cavalry needs to be in a wedge on the far flank where they will also be able to use the open field to their advantage. I want archers in a single line behind any sort of cover. If we can raise a barrier closer to the edge of the hill, that would be ideal. I want the archers hidden at first from the enemy and also have them be able to give them plunging fire from the high ground. I want pegasi defenders close to us so we don't get bombarded by whatever they've got. I want pegasi bombing squads to stick close to us too so if their infantry or cavalry start getting too close, we can hit them hard. Any questions?”
“No, sir,” said Major Snow who turned to give the orders to the regiments.
He was trying to use advice from every military book Twilight had ever gave him. He had studied them long and hard. If they helped him achieve victory here he may as well give any sort of medal he earned to her. Something told him the tactics alone wouldn't be enough. Every other battle in history he'd read about could easily be won with shear numbers alone. There was one story though that inspired him greatly: It was about three hundred pegasi warriors who defeated twenty thousand griffin warriors back in antiquity. It was most likely inaccurate, but telling the men this story boosted their morale and that's what he needed right now, not historical accuracy.
“Very thorough, Colonel,” a voice said behind him. He turned and saw the rich unicorn and his wife who had come with them to offer moral support and donate food to the troops. Fancypants was his name and Shining forgot his wife's name which was a shame, she was quite a beauty. “Didn't even take you less than a minute to figure out where you want your men. Most impressive.”
“Thanks, Mr. Pants. The Equestrian army appreciates you and your lovely wife's support toward our cause,” Shining replied. He was genuinely grateful the rich guy was here, he and his wife had been talking to and giving moral support to every soldier there. Damn fine mare and gentlecolt both.
The Wonderbolts had shown up too to boost morale. They weren't fighters but if they boosted his troops' morale, Shining didn't care. He had made good friends with one named Soarin'. The kid had a strange fixation on pies though. One of the other ones, Spitfire, had been acting a little too flirty with the colonel so he had been avoiding her for a bit.
Shining paced back and forth. The sun was beginning to show through the mountains. It would have been a beautiful day that the colonel would look forward to if it hadn't been for the dark work laid out before him.
Just then a few small dots that detached itself from the teeming mass started moving up the hill toward them. He could just barely make out the flag of parley that waved in the air above them. Major Snow approached Shining.
“Heh, maybe we scared them a bit when we got in formation.” He grinned down at the approaching soldiers. He looked back over at Shining. “Well colonel, do you have the terms you're going to lay down for them.”
Shining took the scroll from his desk in his tent. “I doubt Dread will accept them considering what he wants, but it never hurts to try. I want two pegasi archers covering me and two unicorn spearmen for bodyguards.” More Dread was usually honorable in military conduct, but there's a first time for everything.

For a supposed ugly, old tyrant, there was nothing old or ugly about him. He stood calmly before Shining on the field. A rather handsome face outside of his terrifying helmet, he had a black coat with gray eyes. He sported heavy black armor covering the rest of his body. The earth pony began to grin at Shining as he approached.
“So you are currently Equestria's man of the hour, eh? Ah but where are my manners. I am Prince More Dread, rightful ruler to Equestria and I have chosen to speak to you on behalf of my troops.”
“I am honored your highness,” Shining spoke carefully. If there was any chance he could save everyone a lot of bloodshed today, it would be through flattery. “I am Colonel Shining Armor and I currently speak on behalf of the Equestrian army.”
More Dread surveyed the Equestrian forces above. Shining could not help but get the niggling feeling that he was picking apart every flaw that he had with his army. Shining stared back at the mass behind the prince. He had never been up against anything like this in his life.
“So, I take it you are here to fight?”
“I have come to either fight or negotiate. Preferably the latter.” Shining cleared his throat and prepared to make his statement. “Equestria, while not supporting your claim to the throne, agrees that you have legitimate demands. The House of Nobles has instructed me to offer you concessions.” He offered the scroll over to Dread. He opened it and began to read. The more he read, the more amused he looked.
“How cute. I would find these terms insulting if they weren't so funny. Do they honestly believe that I would accept these?”
Shining searched for the appropriate phrasing of what he was about to say. “I did not write these terms, but if you will wait and let me send word to the council, they could meet with you and possibly set up an appropriate negot-”
More Dread came closer to the colonel. “You are the little mediator aren't you? You like to flap your lips more than you do fight.” The prince turned back towards his army. “You see that? Among those legions are dragons, diamond dogs, griffins, pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, oh and did I mention I have dragons? Because I have a lot of those. Do you honestly think the Equestrian council has any right to be setting terms for me?”
Dread turned back toward Shining and gave the soldiers on the hill a second glance. “Here's the deal. I know you don't want to fight. I can see it in your eyes, colonel. You don't want to be presiding over one of the largest massacres in history because 'colossal defeat' won't even describe what you are going to suffer if we fight. So here's what I am offering: You and your legions defect to our side. If you defect, this all but guarantees Equestria will surrender. Do you understand what this means?”
Shining gathered up his courage and responded. “It means I would be a traitor to her highness.” Though he had an idea of what Dread was really trying to offer him...
“No, colonel, it means no hellfire or arrows raining down on your towns and cities, it means not having to protect your citizens from countryside raiders, it means not having to allocate all your resources to the military. It means I'm giving you a chance to save countless lives. It means peace, colonel.”
That's exactly what Shining had feared. He didn't want to think of all the innocent people running and screaming as cavalry bore down on and slaughtered them. He imagined his sister, Twilight, galloping for her life as dragon's fire set to engulf her. His parents back in Canterlot trying to escape a tower about to fall on them. The soldier's families who would never see their loved ones again.
Then he imagined taking up More Dread's offer. Shining would be spat on and reviled by everyone he knew and history would remember him as a coward and a traitor. His sister would be shamed and hated by all of her friends. His family name would be forever soiled and his parents wouldn't even be able to look him in the eye. Worst of all, he imagined Princess Celestia and Luna being taken by More Dread's soldiers and either executed or thrown in the dungeon and all those loyal to her as well.
“Are you awake, colonel?” More Dread's question snapped Shining back into reality. He looked back at his army and then back at More Dread's in the distance. He needed time to think all of this through. He made a valiant effort of keeping his composure.
“Well, that's quite an offer your highness. Would you let me think on it for a moment?” He stared off into the distance.
“You can have a whole day to think about it, I know it's a huge weight I have set on your shoulders,” More Dread said in a soothing tone. “I will return in the morning to hear your answer.” And with that he trotted off back toward his lines.
Shining looked back at his line, any hope of reinforcements arriving within a day was slim at best. The field marshal and his generals were back managing the defenses of Equestria so there was no point in requesting reinforcements as they would arrive too late anyhow. Dread had backed him into a corner.