"Mother, if you can hear me, I'm sorry I failed."
Aaron sat imprisoned by his own kind. Deep within the underground city of Lazarus he lay entombed by walls of steel. There was no escape this time, no magic to aid him, no Earth Mother to bail him out. And so he lay curled in a corner of his cell, considering breaking his stitches, letting the blood flow, just to let himself die. What would happen to his soul? He lay ensconced inside a Tesla device's field. If he died, would his soul even escape? Would it wander the earth, forever alone and never finding peace?
"I don't care anymore." His fingernails dug at the stitches in his thigh, close to his femoral artery. He winced with pain as he dug into his flesh, searching for that one little artery that would make him bleed to death in seconds.
"I wouldn't do that, Doctor," said a familiar, hollow voice. A flickering spirit orb came from his chest. Floating out in front of him it took on shape and definition. The shape of a pony.
"Cloud.... how is this possible?" Aaron asked the ethereal shape of the pegasus.
"When the others left, I chose to stay with you my friend. I have been with you this whole time. No shield can prevent you from seeing inside of yourself."
Aaron held back the tears, held back the pain that came with this humiliation and shame. "I've failed, Cloud. Right now my species is marching to fight yours. I failed to bring Harmony." His voice wavered at the admission of his failure.
The shade of Cloud Hoof stomped his hoof and spread his wings. "Not yet you haven't! Harmony was never certain, it never is. What you did was to give your kind the ability to say 'I don't want to fight anymore.' The choice to say it was always theirs. Your kind made bad decisions in the past, decisions which resulted in the death and suffering of untold numbers. But what you did was make them realize they could choose their destiny; life or death, chaos or harmony."
"What do I do Cloud? I'm lost and I can't see the light."
"You free yourself, make your own light. You aren't a pawn in this game, you always controlled your own destiny. At any moment you could have given up and let humanity die or let them destroy us. But you chose to fight for peace, light, harmony, and love."
"But I can't make myself free Cloud. I don't have my magic and Mother cannot reach me."
"Magic is what you make it. Your kind did fine for thousands of years, completely oblivious to magic. You just use what you have, Aaron."
Aaron wiped his eyes. "I never did meet that mare you spoke so highly of."
"Starshine? She is my heart and soul, and I will rejoin her in the hereafter once this is over. You met one of my descendants though; the fiery, rainbow maned mare. She's so much like my little Hurricane, so full of life and passion. I think you would have loved my family, Aaron. And you will meet them one day. But it is not this day, today you need to bring harmony to both our races. If you really brought their hearts peace, they will listen to you."
And with that the shade of Cloud Hoof returned to Aaron, their spirits blending. "And Aaron, you will always be my friend and brother."
"I just have to have faith in Harmony." He stood weakly, then trudged on his sore leg to the door. "Guard!" he shouted.
The viewing visor slid open, the eyes of a soldier peering in. "What do you want traitor?"
"You have to let me talk to the General, I can stop this whole thing!"
"The General is overseeing the frontline preparations as we speak, the enemy army is moving into position and could attack within two hours."
"Then you have to let me out! I can make them see reason."
"Bullshit, now stop wasting my time you filthy traitor." The visor slid closed.
"We don't have to fight! Please, look inside yourself, you know that we can have peace, but only I can talk to both sides." He felt his words fall on deaf, apathetic ears. "What do you fight for, soldier? What made you answer the call to arms?"
There was a sense of hesitation, then the visor slid open again. "I don't know anymore. I used to think I was fighting for love and justice. For freedom and my family."
"Good good! But if we fight this war none of that will ever be possible for us again. Our only hope for peace is to reason with the leaders of both sides."
"And only you have to influence to speak to both?"
"Yes. Please, look inside yourself and see that Harmony is possible." The visor slammed shut. Aaron believed the soldier had gotten tired of it and left. But the jingle of keys and the clank and shifting of gears told him different. The cell door swung open, there stood the soldier with a ring of keys.
"Go on, you have a war to end. And if anyone asks, you hit me." Aaron smiled, he began to limp to the entrance of Lazarus, determined to end this before it could begin.
*********************************************************************
"Princess, all infantry units are in place, no sign of the enemy."
Princess Celestia stared into her mirror, her brilliant white coat obscured by the shining gold armor that she had donned. It was scaled for added movement, with strips of protective metal running down the joints of her wings.
Her gaze never left the mirror, her eyes seeming to peer into her own soul. "Tell me Commander, do you still love me?"
"I would give my life for your safety, my Princess," he said with a sense of duty.
"Would you give your life for Equestria?"
The commander looked taken aback. "Of course m'lady."
"What about for a human? Would you sacrifice yourself for one of them?"
"I...I can't really say that I would, m'lady." The Princess drew in a deep breath, then slowly let it out in a sigh.
"Where are they, Commander?"
"Where are what, Princess?"
"Where is the peace and harmony that I came to this world to give? Where are the light and the dark? Where is the blade of truth to fight against the monster of nightmare? How did it come to this? The lines have become blurred, no longer do I see us as the bearers of all that is good. The old hatreds have never left, now I look upon myself and see not a pony, but a demon. We are the same as them, I look into this mirror and see the faces of both a pony and a human."
She levitated her helmet over and placed it on her head. "Come Commander, let us join them in their legacy of monstrous acts."
***************************************************************************
The lines stood ready, less than a mile from the forested border to the Demon Lands. An entire thunderstorm had been rerouted by the pegasi to serve as additional artillery, though the shade it provided aided the pony army as well. Princesses Luna and Celestia stood resplendent in their armor, standing at the frontline with their generals and commanders.
To the normal eye the forest remained empty. Commander Steel squinted for any sign of their adversaries, but saw none. "Where are they, Princess? Is there even a threat here?"
"They are there, Commander. In numbers too great to count," Celestia replied coolly.
"How? I see nothing!"
Celestia lifted a wing and pointed her longest feather at the commander's chest. A flickering red dot hovered on his fur. He moved a hoof to smack it, but the dot leapt to his hoof. He looked at it in fear. "What is this Princess?"
"They are watching us, waiting for us to make the first move."
The commander looked more closely at the trees, searching hard he saw the glint of metal. Then shapes that did not fit with the forest, the more he gazed the more he saw of the massive army that opposed them.
*************************************************************************
Human soldiers lay everywhere, in fox holes, behind trees and rocks, anywhere to conceal themselves. They all had rifles trained on the enemy lines, crosshairs placed over those they believed to be officers. There was determination in everyone's hearts, will to fight for their freedom and loyalty to the innocents of their race that would perish if they failed. But most of all there was fear, the demon of emotion that drove mankind to do unspeakable acts in the past. They were afraid of this ultimate enemy, the monsters of nightmare that could summon storms and hurl magic like a fist.
Men prayed to whatever god they believed in, rosaries wrapped around hands that gripped their weapons. Many kissed photographs of those they loved, dead for thousands of years yet still so close at heart. In a solitary fox hole, a young soldier shook with fear as he looked on the horizon darkening expanse of the enemy that had haunted his sleep for two thousand years. He began to sing. Lowly at first, but rising as the verses gave him strength.
"March along, sing our song, with the Army of the free.
Count the brave, count the true, who have fought to victory
We're the Army and proud of our name
We're the Army and we proudly proclaim."
The men next to him started to sing as well, with every word more and more joined.
"First to fight for the right.
And to build the Nation's might
And the Army Goes Rolling Along.
Proud of all we have done,
Fighting til the battle's won,
And the Army Goes Rolling Along."
They now sang in defiance of their ancient foes, the tune of thousands lifting their spirits.
"Then it's Hi! Hi! Hey!
The Army's on its way.
Count off the cadence loud and strong!
For where e'er we go
You will always know
That the Army Goes Rolling Along!"
"Valley Forge and Custer's ranks
San Juan Hill and Patton's tanks
And the Army went Rolling Along
Minute men, from the start,
Always fighting from the heart
And the Army keeps Rolling Along!"
"Then it's Hi! Hi! Hey!
The Army's on its way.
Count off the cadence loud and strong!
For where e'er we go
You will always know
That the Army Goes Rolling Along!"
"Men in rags, men that froze
Still that Army met it's foes
And the Army Went Rolling Along
Faith in God, then we're right,
And we'll fight with all our Might,
As the Army keeps Rolling Along!"
************************************************************************
"Why do they sing my Princess?" Commander Steel asked Princess Celestia.
"They are no longer afraid, they are ready to die for what they believe in. We cannot wait forever. Upon my command signal the artillery to begin bombardment."
"Yes, my Princess," he said solemnly.
She lifted a hoof, and upon its fall the war would rage again for control of the earth. Her breath trembled and her heart pounded, now was the time when she would truly cross that line and become the monster those creatures across the field of battle believed her to be. She held her hoof high, then closing her eyes began to lower it.
"WAIT!" screamed the voice of her sister. "Look!" Luna pointed towards the treeline that concealed the human army. A single human man charged out from their lines, not wearing the camouflage of his comrades. He waved a a crude white flag on a makeshift pole, limping as he ran his way across the field. Stopping midway between the two armies he thrust the flag into the dirt, looked back to the humans and spread his arms to act as a flimsy barrier between the armies.
"It's him, he came back for us," Luna said with a small glimmer of hope.
A voice from the human side shouted out, "Dr. Patterson, stand down!"
"NO! Nobody is going to die here, not while I still stand!" the solitary figure screamed back to his people.
"That is an order! STAND DOWN!"
"Never! Nobody else is going to die for my mistakes!"
Aaron stood panting on the field of battle, his arms spread out wide to protest for peace. He stood alone in this, a single force of true justice delaying the ultimate injustice. A burst of magical energy sounded behind him. Turning his head he saw Luna, standing on her hindlegs, arms and wings spread like he had, but facing her own army. He gave her a nod, she nodded back.
The generals of the pony army shouted to Luna, "Get out of our way, Princess!"
"Never!" she shouted back.
"That is an order, Luna!"
"Nopony is going to die while I still stand!"
A heavily armed group of humans left the safety of the treeline, making all haste for the two creatures standing back to back, preventing a war from happening. A similarly armed group of ponies left their side to retrieve the Princess.
Luna called back to Aaron, "What's your plan now?"
"No plan at all. Just wingin' it."