//------------------------------// // Soldier's Lament // Story: Second Verse, Same as the First // by Obsidian Chitin //------------------------------// “...Are you going to keep switching that light on and off?” Rose asked with a sigh as Wob mashed the light switch of the bedside lamp. “I'm bored.” Wob replied. “Oh dear.” Rose muttered with a facehoof. “How about this, would you like to hear a story?” “Sure, why not.” Wob said. “What is it about?” “Well, there was this one time where Trixie, Kulart, Cheese, Generic, Radiant, Derpy, Luna and I fought off an army of changelings.” Rose said. She scratched the back of her neck with a hoof. “Er, right, you're a-” “Only technically.” Wob reminded. “And a whole army? How many?” “I don't know.” Rose said with a shrug. “A lot?” “Huh.” Wob said. “I have a hard time imagining any of you fighting a whole army by yourselves. I imagine Luna did most the work.” “Ye of little faith.” Rose said with a twinkle in her eye. “You forget, while we Knights of Harmony are meant to learn about friendship in order to use the Elements of Harmony, we also are combat trained.” Wob raised an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe you could pass as a soldier, but I doubt Derpy or Cheese Sandwich would hurt anypony.” “You underestimate them. Let me tell you the tale...” Rose began. - - - It was right after the royal wedding in Canterlot. Queen Chrysalis had just been defeated, you see. I suppose she wanted some sort of revenge, so she decided to go after the Princess of the Night. If she wasn't going to take Canterlot, she'll take the other major capital: The Castle of the Moon. Of course, rage can do interesting things to a mind. Instead of trying to infiltrate in order to assassinate our Princess, she instead decided on a full frontal assault. The guards managed to hold the attack back, but only for the first half hour. It was long enough for us to get our armor on and get our weapons. Derpy Hooves was the scout, she kept track of where everypony was as well as where the foes were. She got attacked a few times, from what she told us, but while her long-range skills are obviously lacking, her close-range combat abilities are well honed. Radiant Silver stood by Luna's side. Since he was a guard for several years before becoming a Knight, he has the most training out of all of us. Good thing, too. A few changelings managed to sneak by our defenses, and he was there to snap some necks. I myself was a sniper. With a long-range crossbow, I picked off around 100 of the buggers. Though only that much, because that's how much ammo I had. I joined Radiant when I ran out, because my bow also doubled as a melee weapon. It has a bayonet, you see. Slit quite a few throats with that thing. Took forever to get the green out of the wood. Cheese Sandwich was the heavy hitter, mainly dealing with hoof-to-hoof combat. His energetic nature allowed him to be quick on his hooves, effortlessly gliding from one crushed skull to the next. He is an Earth Pony, and with the training he had undergone, his foes fell quickly to his physical strength. Trixie probably got the most kills with that offensive magic of hers. No, Wob, not that kind offensive. Anyways, her spells obliterated several changelings at a time. She was pretty exhausted by the end of the battle. Her assistant, Kulart, mainly focused on protecting Trixie, through use of a crossbow. Anyways, Luna said that the whole battle lasted over two hours. At the end of it, the Queen Bitch herself came up and challenged Luna directly. Of course, while the two had their horn duel, Generic slipped in and slit her throat. You should have seen the look on her stupid face! Oh, right, Generic. He mainly did support, bringing supplies between us. While he's an agile combatant, he's best when using stealth to his advantage. He has a way of staying unnoticed. So when the battle was over, we had quite a few changeling corpses to be cleaned up, as well as several repairs to the castle to be made. Unfortunately, a lot of guards and servants gave their lives to buy us enough time to set up the defense. We held a memorial for them, of course. - - - Wob blinked. “...Uh... Rose?” “Yeah?” Rose replied. “Remind me to never piss you off.” Wob said. “Will do.” “I... I don't really know what to say.” Wob said. “I mean... Wow.” “There's something you should remember, Wob.” Rose said. “I am a lover first, and a soldier second. Still, I killed many changelings.” Wob blinked. “...But the way you told the story... You made it sound like-” “Like a game?” Rose finished. “There's a good reason for that. In training, you learn to shove your feelings aside. The mission comes first. After a while, one just creates a different... frame of mind for combat. I didn't see those changelings as individuals as we slaughtered them. None of us did. We couldn't. The guilt would drive us insane.” Wob closed her eyes. “Why... Why are you telling me this?” “I agree, the timing could be better... But you need to know, if you wish to be with me.” Rose said. She then tilted her head. “...Do you still want to? After hearing what I have done?” “Do you regret it?” Wob asked. “Do I...” Rose said, thinking. “I... I do not. We had to protect the princess, at any cost.” “So, you don't feel any guilt, then.” Wob said as she looked away. “I didn't say that.” Rose said. “As I said before, I'm a lover first. That green blood will never really wash off my hooves.” Wob looked back. “But you said...” “I meant what I said. I do not regret fighting the enemy.” Rose said. “Not everything is as black and white as I wish it was. Here's my question: Do you consider changelings as things, or something more? You said you fought them. Are they just mindless husks controlled by an evil queen, or individuals doing what they can to survive, including following their queen blindly?” “I don't really know.” Wob said with a shrug. “Exactly.” Rose said. “None of us do. We haven't seen anything of the changelings since then, aside from the one you possessed, of course. My best guess is that they have a new queen, one wise enough to stay in the shadows and leave us ponies alone.” Wob sighed. “I don't really like all this heavy stuff.” “Hey, as a writer I'm used to reflecting on things. I don't just write fluffy romance novels, after all.” Wob was silent. She put a hoof on Rose's. “Why me?” “Why you?” Rose said. “That's an interesting question.” “Well?” Rose leaned forward and gave Wob a soft kiss on the lips. “As soon as I know, I will tell you. For now, let's lighten the mood with a game of Battleclouds.” Wob's face lit up. “How did you-” “A lucky guess.” Rose said with a mischievous grin.