After removing the messy cellist from her highly organized bedroom and studio, Vinyl immediately began looking over the slip of music. She put it into her computer, and played it back, hearing a solemn melody fill her ears. She floated a pair of over-the-ear headphones over, setting it upon her head, and playing it back again. And again. And again. Little by little, she formulated a possible bass line and counter-melody to go with it. She kept the tempo relatively slow, and toyed with the beat, finding what sounded good and what didn't quite fit. She played with it, but only managed to get a beat and a short intro. Unsatisfied, she went back to the slip of paper, inspecting it once more. With nothing more upon it, she sighed in frustration, and sat down to read more.
My halberd missed its mark, slicing only a few hairs off his mane. Seeing that the risk of staying where he was was far too great, the youngling flew away into the night. I never saw him again.
When I turned to keep fighting, I noticed there were no more enemies to fight. Everyone was either dead, dying, or fleeing. Thousands of dead were left of our own troops, gallons upon gallons of blood drenching the ground, the bodies left without a single drop in them. Occasionally, there were bodies missing a limb or two, and those would be halfway across the battlefield. I remember the putrid odor of death as though the battle had just taken place today this March the seventh, six-hundred and ninety years later. I remember it drained what little strength I had left like the Loonie weapons had drained my brothers-in-arms of blood. I collapsed next to my wingpony, Tic. I waited for death to come to me, as it had to my brothers, but it was not swift enough.
Hoo damn, Vinyl thought to herself at the page break. The intensity of the book was enthralling, and she knew she'd have to somehow mirror that without destroying the feel of the melody. She calmed herself down with a few deep breaths and a scan of her room to remind herself of where she was. But once she got her bearings, she dived straight back into the book.
The next day, when I'd recovered from my fatigue, I was moved to a reformed unit, as I was the sole survivor of my own, as my new squad mates the sole survivors of their own respective units. It was me, Magnes (a unicorn), Strong (an earth pony), and Ice (also a unicorn). Magnes worked with swords, Strong with a club, and Ice a hammer. We traded stories right off the bat. I went first, telling of my run-in with the youngling. Magnes followed, sharing how he'd spared a very small thestral, simply taking its weapon and telling it to run. He even protected the tiny thing from his unit. Ice told about his ice magic, and how he could make a shield out of ice harder than diamonds and stronger than steel. He teleported an enemy combatant out of the way of his hammer because he was unarmed and too injured to fight. He then protected that combatant by only fighting those around him who came after him. And Strong told a similar tale. He even went so far as to fight with non-violence, using his massive club as thick as his body (and he was a very big stallion) as a shield. He would then proceed to take hold of enemy combatants and detain them for a short while whilst he rendered them unconscious. There was a pile of sleeping thestrals in our Medics' Tent (bound of course) who had escaped the battle unscathed because of him.
As one of the "strongest" units available, we were hoof-picked by the Princess to go with her into Noc'tren, which was illuminated by bright sunlight in the distance. We knew better than to question our beloved Princess if she'd hoof-selected us for a task. When ponies had been assigned to something by her, they were always the only ponies capable of doing that job.
So we marched with four other units and the Princess, in full gear towards the capital of the Starlight Empire. The walk was filled with stories from many different perspectives of the battle, Celestia personally asking each and every one of us about our experiences. But she told us nothing as to why she wanted to know. And as I told my side of the story, I thought I saw tears in the princess' eyes out of the corners of my own. When I had finished, I dared ask, "I trust you were safe during the fight?"
To which, after being glared at by everyone but the princess, she answered, "…no. No far from it…"
She paused a moment, and we all stopped with her, staring in silence. "I lived my worst nightmare…" the Princess of the Sun finished weakly, "My beloved sister…hath been banished by my own self in the final battle of this forsaken war."
That hit us the hardest of everything that war had thrown at us at that point. Our beloved leader being forced to fight and banish her own sister to the moon. We'd seen some messed up shit, and done some messed up shit in order to keep on living through this day. But our leader, the national symbol of prosperity, grace, and happiness, had been forced to fight her sister, the embodiment of calm, beauty, and love. It shattered our hearts into hundreds of painful fragments for two primary reasons. The first was the obvious loss of one of our beloved princesses. But the other was sympathy. We could not empathize with the Solar Princess, as she was on a different scale, but we all from the sound of it, had siblings we'd fought with many times. But never would any of us have to reach that level of ill-will towards each other. And the toxicity of that wound was the most painful part. And so in pain were we all, that the instant our Leader wept, we wept with her.
Vinyl lifted her shades to wipe away the tears in her eyes.
The devil beat his wife that day*. The clouds above poured the tears of a being that had far more power than she could truly ever consciously control, though the sun still shined as it always did. Thunder and lightning demanded the silence of all things but the rain and the princess' silent sobs. Though the sun shined on us, it gave no warmth because she who controlled it had no warmth left in her. We moved onwards, each taking turns to be the shoulder upon which our broken leader cried. And when it was our turn, we cried with her.
We made it to the mighty gate of Noc'tren, which was left open by the guards there. Looking around, I noticed no guards at all. Not one armed pony, save for those in our party. The citizens were a might too skinny for what we'd originally thought they would be. I could easily see the ribs of the remaining males who were too old to fight, as they had probably given up what food they had to the army, or to the mares and foals who needed it. We passed through the stone streets and past the stone buildings of the mighty city in the mountain, the civilians watching us with broken hearts visible in their eyes. Some bore contempt, but we could see that they were unwilling to continue fighting. Most of them, though, were just… broken, as Celestia was.
We eventually reached what appeared to be the city square, where a large number of ponies were gathered. They were all staring at us, as though they expected Celestia to say something. I guess that would be customary after a leader of a warring nation has been defeated upon the field of battle. She motioned for us to remain where we were, and stepped forth to the center of the crowd.
She looked around with a heavy gaze, observing the crowd assembled there in the square of Noc'tren. She spoke, "Ponies of Noc'tren, I am no longer your enemy."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves, uncertainty coursing through them.
"Ponies of Noc'tren, gather here at the city square, and hear me out!" she called in the Royal Canterlot voice, letting it resound throughout the several layers of the city. They came in droves, they came in waves. They came one by one, and all at once. Miraculously, there was enough room for all of the ponies in that square, though the princess had to lift herself to a balcony behind her. "My name is Princess Celestia, elder sister of your beloved Princess Luna, daughter of Faust. I am no longer your enemy, nor are any of my subjects. We have come to deliver two messages to you."
We soldiers felt a bit uneasy at the mention of this. Strong's tail twitched, as did Ice's ear, and Magnes' hooves. I felt a deep pit grow within my gut, and a sense of dread rushed in to fill it. Something was incredibly wrong. Someone was watching us, waiting.
"Princess Luna is not dead," Celestia continued, generating an excited murmur from the crowd, "but for the safety of our nations, I have been forced to banish her to the moon."
The crowd went dead silent again. I could have sworn I heard the sound of shattering hearts in that silence.
"It has also come to my attention that this war could easily have been prevented by simple charity, and the swallowing of my own pride. So I would like to personally apologize for the pain you've suffered at my hooves, and donate a four years' supply of food to the city of Noc'tren. The first shipment shall arrive tonight at midnight. We will also be bringing back every soldier that fought upon the field of battle last night, be they alive or dead, for reunion with their families, or for final goodbyes and honors respectively.
"Ponies of Noc'tren, I know I cannot undo the damages I've done unto you, and some of you shall hold hatred towards me for the rest of your lives. I know that I am responsible for all of the pain and suffering I've caused, and I can never atone for it. But I can damn well try, for Luna's sake."
I remember to this day that melody (see back of book). Just one of them started singing, a soul-drenching melody that told of incredible, unfathomable loss. One by one, round by round, more of the thestrals joined in, singing the same dirge, in the same key, in near perfect harmony. Every single one joined in, singing that song, tears falling to the ground like rain, the thestrals playing the part of the dark gray clouds. When Celestia rejoined us, we began walking back to the gate. But even as we left the mountain and stepped back out into the sunny rain, we could still hear the song of the thestrals. I could hear it in the wind, that melody that they sang, letting us know that it was over. I remember it vividly in my nightmares and dreams to this day, and when I do, it still brings tears to my eyes.