//------------------------------// // Three. Twenty-Eight: Twi Fawkes // Story: Sins Never Die // by CodenameOne //------------------------------// Three. Twenty-Eight Twi Fawkes The afternoon had come. The sun blazed hot today; sweltering heat, radiating into the royal library through the windows. The windows were designed to dissipate heat, but still did the library simmer. It was the kind of heat that kept everypony inside all day. The heat wasn’t what was making Twilight sweat, though. She lied patiently on the sill of the great bay window, the rifle propped up next to her against the wall, the chamber loaded. One of the panes was open, allowing a clear shot out into the gardens. The finely trimmed hedges forming a simple maze that lead into a circular clearing, with a great statue of some legendary pony erected in the center. The location had been designated for the test shoot of the Griffon pistol, and would be the spot where Princess Celestia would fall this day. As the time fast approached Twilight found her nerves creeping up on her, a cold knot forming in her gut. Her mind told her this wasn’t right, that it would solve nothing, but her heart overruled it, dictating to Twilight that this was just. She had read some books on ancient Equestrian law to pass the time and discovered that those guilty of great crimes had been sentenced to death before, but never a Princess. They had always had free reign to change and challenge Equestria’s ways, to alter them as they saw fit. No more. Still did Twilight wait, however, the dread growing ever stronger. What if Celestia didn’t show up? What if she had changed the location for the showing? What if she had sensed Twilight’s intentions and was about to have her entombed? The ancient law books had indicated that those who attempted but failed assassinations or great crimes were forever sealed in stone, like Discord had been. Was this to be Twilight’s fate? The garden doors opened, and out stepped Princess Celestia. She trotted slowly through the maze to the garden center, as the Griffon Minister of Defense and Princess Luna followed. They were talking, though Twilight could hear nothing said. She watched them carefully, making sure they did not look her way. They stopped together in the garden center, talked some more briefly, before the Minister unslung the case on his back, popping it open to show the Princesses the weapon within. Hopping off the window sill Twilight stood on her hind legs, propped herself up on the sill with her fore, and levitated the rifle. Pulling the stock into her shoulder and bracing her cheek on the rest Twilight kept the weapon locked in place with her magic, taking in the sight picture according to the instruction manual. Gently, telekinetically, she pulled the hammer on the weapon back until it went *CLICK!*, the sound reverberating in the great arcaneum. Twilight stilled herself, keeping the front post trained on the Princess of the Sun as the shots from the pistol rang out, the rounds impacting on the target set up for it. Celestia’s right flank faced Twilight, presenting a broad target for the mage to hit. Twilight’s magic wrapped around the trigger, her breath slowing. And she hesitated. “Remember our peaceful ways, my student” Celestia’s voice echoed in Twilight’s head. “Hurt not, unless you are hurt. Attack not, unless you are attacked. We are, all of us, vigils of peace.” It was from one of the Princess’s many lessons to Twilight as a foal, when she taught her combat magic. Defensive spells, for incapacitating violent attackers or hysterical ponies. “You represent friendship, love, tolerance. Now, my student, your learning is not yet over, but I am no longer your teacher. You must teach yourself now, and learn from others” Celestia’s voice echoed again. This was from when Twilight had just become a Princess, a symbol of Equestria. She represented a core tenet of their species, one that was unalienable. Peace. Am I really doing the right thing? It’s... It’s Celestia’s fault that we are no longer a nation of peace, right? It’s her fault I’m holding this gun, that I am training my sights on her? It is. It’s HER fault! It must be! She...she betrayed us! That wench turned her back on Equestria’s ideals! That hypocrite murdered the Dragon God, De’mah, all while espousing ideals of peace! She turned her back on us, and the old law dictates she must die for it Twilight thought. But then, the old law is the old law for a reason, right? It was from a different time, when ponies held ideals of vengeance and retribution in their hearts and minds. We no longer punish criminals by death, so what makes this different? Does Celestia truly deserve to die? Does she not have the best intentions for Equestria at heart? Does she see a future only somepony like her could see, one that requires we fundamentally change our ways to survive? Princess Celestia had moved, so Twilight adjusted her aim accordingly. She kept the sights leveled on Celestia’s barrel, where her vital organs were. The Day Goddess had a neutral expression on her face as she studied the Griffon pistol, as she Minister fired it. Behind that expression, though, Twilight could see...something. She could see a kind of...apprehension, uncertainty. She didn’t want this, nopony did. But then, why did she allow it? She’s a hypocrite, remember? ‘Stay beholden to peace but strike with anger and fury if you’re attacked. Never kill’, but she murdered De’mah in cold blood. The doublespeak confused Twilight; was she supposed to stay fast to peaceful ideology or strike with anger and fury? Was she supposed to talk softly, or carry a big stick? If you killed her, you wouldn’t have to choose. You could take it all back, and return Equestria to her rightful place; the fair and benevolent rulers of the world. You could return Equestria to her golden age of peace and prosperity. Twilight got down low on the rifle, taking in the sight picture again. She looked at the sights, but looked past them at the same time, focusing on Celestia’s barrel. Her right flank still faced Twilight, her white coat a stark contrast to the green of the gardens. She was not even fifty yards away; it’d be impossible to miss, and she deserved to die. There is a saying on Earth; Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum. It is Latin for ‘if you seek peace, prepare for war’. Nobody wants war, nobody wants death, destruction, but there are always those who would see your homes in ruins, your family dead, for one gain or another. So you must always stand ready to visit upon them extreme violence, always and only in the name of defense. If you want peace, you have to fight for it; words won’t secure it. Present prosperity and mutual gain to your opponent, but back up your words with steel and your opponent will stay amiable to diplomacy. Words of Captain Kuyaki, spoken to Twilight once before. She paid them no heed then, thinking them to be warmongering nonsense, but what if he was right? Celestia, she...she realized that the time for change had come. She realized we couldn’t hide behind our honeyed words and peace offerings forever, the arrival of the humans hinted at it, and the arrival of the Covenant proved it beyond a doubt. These weapons of war are for defense only. That...that’s what the Griffons meant all along, we were just too blind to see it. Too arrogant. They’re for defense, to shield us from enemies like the Covenant, who cannot be reasoned with. With whom diplomacy is irrelevant Twilight thought, realizing her folly in one fell swoop. She was wrong. There was no two ways about it, she was wrong. Had been all along. Equestria needed to change, to adapt, with the times if it had any hope of surviving in the future. Their ideals could still stand, their ways of peace and tranquility, but the means to defend themselves would be necessary. Would always be necessary. For the Goddess’s sake, that’s why they had swords and spears and combat spells, to defend themselves. The gun and the tank and the warship were just adaptations of this concept. Celestia wasn’t a hypocrite, Twilight was the hypocrite! “Twilight?” BAM! Her ears ringing and the glass around the muzzle of the rifle shattering into a thousand pieces Twilight screamed, dropping the rifle to the floor. She fell to her back, the weapon following her, as the wood and steel clattered on the marble. Twilight looked to see who had spoken, and saw Spike doubled over on the floor, covering his ears, his equilibrium knocked awry by the ringing. She hadn't even heard the baby dragon come in. As Twilight’s hearing slowly came back, she heard it. The screams of pain. Celestia had been hit. Shakily crawling to her hooves, her heart racing at a thousand miles an hour, her stomach doing flips, Twilight inched towards the window, mindful of the glass. She stood herself on her hind legs again, supporting herself on the sill with her fore, and looked down into the gardens. On the grass, her flank running red, lie Princess Celestia, Luna at her side. The Griffon Minister of Defense looked on in horror as Luna tended to Celestia’s wounds. The Goddess of the Sun was still alive, screaming in earnest. Twilight strained, and saw that Celestia had moved during Twilight’s musings, the majority of her body out of the path of the muzzle. The bullet, for all its power, had struck Celestia in her rump, right through her cutie mark. It was fatal in no way, especially with Luna cauterizing the wound with a spell. Celestia would live. Backing away from the window in horror Twilight’s frazzled nerves could take it no longer and she upchucked, vomiting onto the floor. Her whole body shook, her coat pale. She turned to look at Spike, whose own face was painted in terror. “Twilight, what have you DONE!?” the baby dragon bellowed. Twilight could not answer, she had lost her words. All she could do was back away, nearly tripping over the stairs leading down to the library proper. She turned to focus on the steps, struggling to stay conscious, putting one hoof in front of the other. She had just hit the bottom step when the great bay window completely exploded, disintegrating in a cloud of glass dust, and Princess Luna entered. Well, Twilight assumed it was Luna. This hovering demon looked nothing like her. It hovered high above the floor, flames of fury as dark as ebony emanating off her body, licking at the air. Her eyes glowed a brilliant white, her horn a sickly red, the only clue that it was Luna being the crescent moon emblazoned on her flank. She scanned the room, finding only Spike and Twilight within, her gaze falling on Twilight and freezing her in place. An exchange of looks, of realization, took place, and Twilight was running, galloping for the door. “PAY FOR YOUR TREACHERY, AND FACE THE NIGHT’S JUSTICE!” Princess Luna thundered, unleashing a terrible spell on Twilight. It paralyzed her in her tracks, freezing her running form solid. She dared a look, and saw her body rapidly being encased in stone. This realization was the last Twilight knew, and she found peace in darkness’s embrace. “Stand fast, and turn at heading 2-5-9! Arm MAC cannon and twenty Archer pods! Track all incoming dragons and Covenant fighters! Excalibur, arm one wildcard!” Captain Adam Kuyaki yelled, the Kabato and RaptorTooth Five high above yet another Covenant base, this one the largest on the planet. The day had brought many victories and few losses, but the enemy ship had yet to make an appearance, and this worried Kuyaki. Aldurmaax still breathed, but the Kabato had suffered little damage from wyrm or alien. Once again did thousands of coalition ground forces stream to the surface to take the enemy base. Marines, Minotaurs, Griffons, Equestrians, a pact of arms that fell upon the Covenant like a mighty hammer. Many dragons fell this day, the legendary beasts no match for the bullets and rockets of the UNSC and the Griffon Republic. RaptorTooth Five and her crew had slayed twenty of the wyrms alone. On the surface the massive Covenant stronghold was subject to a great missile barrage, many lesser structures falling to the earth, as the first lance of ground forces arrived. A Marine Colonel, a Minotaur Centurion, a Griffon Battlelord. Kuyaki had personally watched as the Centurion felled many a Grunt and Jackal with a sword, as the Battlelord sent Elites to their graves with whispers of death from his sniper rifle, as the Equestrian Captain rended apart Hunters with a mighty spell. They stabbed, shot, blew up, beat, broke, and obliterated those who came before them without pause, until they stood before the Covenant’s master base. A dark shadow fell over the Kabato before passing as Aldurmaax screamed overhead, the High Lord’s armor dented and charred from the fighting, his dark scales a stark contrast to the setting afternoon sun, his shape unmistakable even as hundreds of his kin swarmed the skies. RaptorTooth Five chased without hesitation, peppering the mighty dragon with thousands of rounds. He dove, he banked, he rolled and he dodged, but it was enough to keep him out of the fight. He might get lucky now and again and take out a Pelican, but for the most part he was a non-issue. “New contact! High tonnage” Excalibur exclaimed, Kuyaki’s eyes adding to the truth of the AI’s words as the Covenant cruiser appeared from a lightspeed jump, the air displaced in its wake. Its starboard side faced the Kabato, but it was quickly turning, the lateral lines already beginning to glow. Several dozen Spirit dropships streamed from its hangars, many diving for the surface, but one strayed, and headed for a nearby mountain top, one with a peak as flat as a table. “Target the enemy ship with the MAC and the dropships with the Thunderheads, aim for weakspots and key weapons systems on the cruiser and target them with Archer pods! Keep the wildcard on standby!” Adam commanded, gripping his command chair. The lateral lines on the Covenant glowed a brilliant red, the shields dropped, and the plasma projector discharged. But not at the Kabato. A stream of red fire lanced down towards the surface of Equestria, impacting the Covenant base with the force of a nuclear bomb, and turned the sky a violent red. The plasma stream turned the entire stronghold into a glowing crater in seconds, as the MAC cannon and Archer pods discharged, scoring many a hit on the cruiser. “What the hell?! They just glassed their own base!” Captain Kuyaki shouted, realizing as he spoke the purpose; thousands of coalition forces had just been vaporized, along with Covenant soldiers. The Covie soldiers were immaterial to a battle that was to be won in the sky, but the blow to the coalition forces was extreme. The worst casualties of the day lost to one measly strike, performed with such apathy on the part of the Covenant. With their ground forces gone, the battle came down to this; the Kabato and the Covenant, the RaptorTooth and the dragons. Steelbeak versus Aldurmaax, Kuyaki versus the Covenant Shipmaster. The MAC cannon was loaded, the Thunderheads ready, the Archer’s primed, and the wildcard armed. The sky swam with wyrms, the RaptorTooth thundered, and the Covenant ship glowed with a hellfire unmatched by any other. “Excalibur, turn us portside on heading 7-7-7. Drop the wildcard and drift it towards the enemy ship, arm all Archer pods, continue to track the dragons with the 70mm’s and Thunderheads and drop any that get to close. Get a firing solution on the neck of the cruiser with the MAC and prime all emergency thrusters” Adam rattled off as the Kabato began to turn. “Yes, sir, firing solution acquired, Archers locked on, dragons tracked and wildcard fired, awaiting your detonation signal” Excalibur responded, the Kabato racing to the cruiser’s starboard side. “I want that wildcard attached to the enemy ship, and do not let me order its detonation until the enemy ship’s shields are at full strength” the Captain declared, the AI wordlessly obeying, getting to work. “Yes, sir, the SHIVA tactical nuke will not be detonated until it is attached to the target’s hull and their shields are at full strength.” The chips were down, the pot was full, and the players were set. The entire Equestrian campaign boiled down to this very moment, where the world would be won by one side, and lost by the other. The King’s gamble was about to pay off.