//------------------------------//
// Parley 
// Story: War of the Fallen Race 
// by PegasusKlondike 
//------------------------------//

Amongst the humans was none other than General McGoff. McGoff swore he would tear off that little traitor's head as he charged out unprotected to end this foolishness. Reaching the center of the battlefield, the soldiers with him stood in a line and raised their weapons.

The pony force sent out Princess Celestia and a set of her commanders along with several unicorn battlemages. They too spread out in a line, their horns glowing with magic.

General McGoff stopped a few feet from his fellow human, hand on his holstered pistol. "Aaron, get out of our way! This is our conflict, not yours!"

The single man stood like a stone, firm in his belief. "Never."

The unicorn commander with the pony party took a step forward. "Princess Luna, get away from that monster! He will turn on you!"

Luna held firm as well. "No, Commander. You will listen to me! I once fought for his kind's right to live and for their very souls. And I will be damned before I fail them again!"

Aaron continued to speak to General McGoff, an air of a son pleading to his father in his voice. "General, we can choose. It was never our destiny to die fighting some pointless war. We don't have a destiny, it was always our choice. We came here because we chose to, we fought the War because we chose to. Please Tyler, just talk to them. Give peace a chance."

The General softened, slowly removing his hand from his holstered weapon. "We never had a choice, because their kind never gave us one. I will parley with them, but this is the end of us, Aaron."

"For once I do not care what you think about me General. I don't want anyone to suffer for my mistakes anymore."

Luna talked to Celestia and her commanders. "Please sister, do what is right. Nothing will be solved through mindless bloodshed."

The unicorn commander burst out in anger. "I will gouge out my own eyes before I talk peace with a demon!"

Celestia glared coldly at her commander. "Then you are relieved of duty. Leave my sight!" The commander cringed, then bowed to his Princess and teleported away.

Celestia lifted her head and spoke to Aaron. "We will talk if they will talk. But they must undergo the test first."

Aaron muttered to Luna, "What test?"

"They have to choose correctly or we will have war," Luna whispered back.

He directed his attention back to Celestia, nodding and accepting this on behalf of his race. "Alright, we'll do your test."


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Princess Celestia and General McGoff approached one another, levitating between them were two arrows and two apples, one set for each side. Behind McGoff stood his personal guard unit, all with their guns trained on the unicorns that stood behind Celestia.

Without words the leaders regarded one another, giving a slight nod to their foe. Celestia spoke first.

"I am Princess Celestia, Bringer of Day and ruler of Equestria."

"I am General Tyler McGoff, leader of my people and of our city."

The Princess gave a short bow to her adversary, the General giving an unpracticed and unexpected bow back. "Well met General, being that neither of us called this parley, I should ask of you to choose first."

The General looked at his selection, to his right lay an arrow, its tip barbed and its shaft black as night. To his left lay the apple, golden with a distinctly green shimmer in the light.

"Come on Tyler, do the right thing," Aaron muttered.

McGoff considered his choices. Life, death; harmony, chaos. Something within him spoke, telling him to think for his race, to think of the innocents, the loved ones, and the children of humanity. The General raised a hand, it hovered for a second in the center, then drifted to the apple. He looked up and his eyes met Princess Celestia's, her lavender eyes filled with fear of what he might choose. McGoff cleared his mind, sought serenity within this turbulence, and then brought his grasp down on the arrow. Two hundred thousand humans and ponies held their breath, the delegations both gasped, the humans chambering shells in their guns.

General McGoff felt the smooth grain of the arrow, the softness of the fletching belying the pure deadliness of the object. He brought the arrow to his chest with both hands.  

"I'm tired of fighting," he said, and the arrow snapped in his hands. He reached and took the apple as he cast aside the pieces of the arrow. "I choose life." Celestia's eyes watered with joy, and without a second thought lifted a hoof and grabbed her own apple.

General McGoff pulled out his gun and raised it high above his head. Turning back to the human army he shouted, "MEN! THE WAR IS OVER!" and cast aside his pistol. 

The words hung in the air, a stillness coming from both sides. A single human soldier emerged from the trees. Standing alone, he unslung his weapon. He held his rifle over his head, showing it to his comrades. Without ceremony he threw it to the dust. More and more human soldiers emerged from the trees, pulling the magazines out of their guns, tossing their weapons to the dirt. A cheer began to rise as they realized they could finally live with peace and harmony, that they could live on this Earth without fear.

Celestia turned back her own host. "THE WAR IS OVER!" she shouted mightily. A pony walked forward and threw his spear on the ground, all of his comrades following suit. Soon the entire pony force cheered for the lives that had been spared, for the guilt that had been averted, and for the blood that would not be spilled in their names. 

One of McGoff's guards dropped his gun and walked to a unicorn, extending a hand. The unicorn drew his sword, dropping it in the dirt, looking up to the fatigued and armored human, he extended his hoof, gently placing it in his outstretched hand. 

Aaron laughed with joy, grabbing Luna around the neck he gave her a hug. "We did it Luna! WE DID IT! HAHA!" he laughed.  

"We...we did it," she said with quiet incredulity. "WE DID IT!" she screamed again, and threw both of her wings around her ancient foe and newfound friend.


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Down in Lazarus a single soldier rushed down to the main area. "Everybody! We made peace! THE WAR IS OVER!" Thousands of humans raised their shouts in joy, shaking the very earth.


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Though banished by Celestia, the six friends did not leave. They witnessed the acts of Luna and Aaron, working together for peace. And they rushed down the hill to meet him when Celestia and the General McGoff both chose the magic apples that gave peace and healing.

Aaron was surprised by the half dozen warm pony bodies that joined his and Luna's embrace. Looking to them he cried out in joy, throwing his arms around as many ponies as possible. 

"Aaron, you did it!" cried Twilight.

"No, we all did it," he replied, throwing an arm around her neck and planting a thankful kiss on her cheek.

Princess Celestia and General McGoff stood aside from the thousands of elated ponies and humans that now filled the fields. Both had grins on their faces, but at thought occurred to the Princess, and Celestia turned to McGoff. 

"General McGoff?"

"Call me Tyler, Princess."

"We still have to discuss the terms of our armistice, Tyler."

General McGoff nodded, realizing that though their war was over, they still had to lay down some rules. "Well, first I would ask for your recognition to our right to life. As a condition of that I would also ask for sovereignty and our independence."

Celestia smiled, giving a slight nod. "Granted. I would ask for free and open trade between our peoples, terms of which will be discussed at a later point."

It was Tyler's turn to smile. "Granted. I request a permanent ambassador in your court."

"Granted, but only if you do the same."

"Agreed, Princess."

Though satisfied that they had been able to do in seconds what normally took years of diplomacy and negotiations, Celestia had one more issue. "However, I have one more demand, Aaron must come back to Equestria with us to face his crimes."

The General took on an offended look, stepping back from his one time enemy. "Absolutely not!"

Aaron himself walked over, his friends and Princess Luna in tow. "Tyler, I did a few things that I should be punished for. Princess Celestia, I submit to whatever judgement you may lay on me."

General McGoff placed himself between the Princess and Aaron, placing his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Like hell you are Aaron, we have a society to rebuild! And we need you to be a part of it."

Princess Celestia took a few steps closer to her human friend. "Aaron Patterson, for your crimes against Equestria, I sentence you to a year imprisonment. However, being that we cannot build a prison cell that seems to hold you, I place you in the custody of the Embodiements of the Elements of Harmony. And as for the legality of such an action, I declare you a citizen of Equestria, with full rights."

A tear threatened to fall down Aaron's cheek, and he smiled at the Princess. "Thank you, Celestia," he replied quietly.

General McGoff did not understand. "Aaron is a citizen of our sovereign nation, he falls under our jurisdiction!"

Aaron placed a hand on McGoff's shoulder, looking straight into his eyes. "General sir, this is something I want." He looked the General straight in the face, then he looked back, walking over and encompassing as many ponies as he could with an embrace.

The General had his son back, and Celestia had her daughter. Both of their hearts melted at the sight. "Oh alright, but you come right back here to Lazarus after you bail out. We need you, Terra needs you."

"Terra?" Aaron asked in confusion.

"Our nation, The Republic of Terra." McGoff glanced out at the world, giving a name to his nation in honor of the world which had given them another chance. The general looked out to his people as he continued discussion with Princess Celestia.

"Aaron, what happens now?" asked Twilight.

"I don't know, it's a whole new world for them, for us. I'm going to start by going home, home to Ponyville with my family."

Up in the sky, rainbows flew and flashed as Mother cheered for her children who had made peace. Great fields of the most beautiful flowers sprang up around the feet of the humans and the ponies. For the first time her family was complete and she wept in joy as human and pony shook hands in friendship.

General McGoff and Princess Celestia stood facing their now mingled peoples, as one they held up the apple of peace in an image that would become an icon in the cultures of Equestria and Terra.