//------------------------------//
// Family Above All Else 
// Story: My Son, My Soldier, My Hero 
// by That_Random_Pony 
//------------------------------//

As the week went by, pulses of energy washed over Equestria and its neighbors from the training cube. Many questioned it, and all the Signa would say would be vague. "Our greatest hope," as Figanti had announced. Draco was what every Signa, Bestial, and regular depended on to defeat the Iikro and secure them this victory. At the very least, taking out the homeworld would be a game changer for other species in the cosmos. The planet was ready... just another week left before Jaqeluu started the satellite. 

It was a time Celestia had seen some times before. Before Nightmare Moon. Before Sombra and Discord, when the land was medieval and ancient. The sheer anxiety that rattled her to the core, scratching at her mind with every passing day. It was easier for her to dismiss it then. But now she faced something straight from Tartarus, and it had an army from the same pit. It seemed like the very face of evil threatened to devour them in unholy darkness and hellfire. Who was to say they wouldn't? They'd done it to the Loki'irians. What could a mess of less powerful races do against this oncoming horde?

That was what Celestia asked herself as she laid in her bed, the moon in the sky and her sister in the throne room. She'd been without sleep for several days, and even though she was finally relaxing, she was more awake than ever. Tossing and turning didn't work much, just frazzling her mane and ruffling her feathers. With some reluctance, she got out of bed and paced around her room slowly. There were so many things that plagued her mind and kept her mind vamped with questions and concerns. It was an awful thing to do at the moment, but there was nothing more for her to do. A small gleam of light went into her eye, and she glanced over at the window. There wasn't any sunlight, thankfully, so she looked to the reflection on the wall. Following the direction of it, she trotted over to her nightstand and gently moved the picture frame out of the moon's light.

Her magic froze as she examined the picture more closely. It was... when Draco had turned six. The cake and Chef Pan... Cadence and Rainbow... and her wonderful son. It had been so long ago, but it only felt like yesterday. When she first took care of him... Dasher babysat... oh, Draco had been so excited for school. He was the happiest colt she'd ever known. She brought him that happiness, and... he brought her this one. The happiness of being a mother, a proud and loving one, was a gift of an experience to know. She and Twilight were like mother and daughter... but Draco had clung to her when no one else could. His kind were off in the stars and he would think she was his true mother. He never asked otherwise, and he never doubted it for a second.

"Moon was an accident." Celestia jumped a bit before snapping her head to the door, where Luna stood; smiling a bit. "I'd tried animating different animals, and accidentally binded a wolf and pony together. At first he was a wolf with a pony's mind, but he needed more enchantments to keep the two attached."

The younger sister walked in, smiling as she looked at the picture from so long ago. "What were you thinking?" Celestia softly laughed. "You could have combined him with a manticore."

Luna's smile dimmed into a more somber one. "It... he had been my attempt at companionship," she murmured, recalling the little pup she'd created. The way he looked up at her in wonder in his first minutes of creation had wrenched her heart in a way it had never been. 

Celestia wrapped her wing around her sister and nuzzled her. "I'm sorry, Luna... I don't know how many times I can say it before I feel you really do forgive me." Luna returned the gesture and smiled.

"If it hadn't been for my accident, Draco would not be on the path he is now," Luna remarked, chuckling with her sister. "I'm glad to see them so close. Just as us, yes?"

Celestia smiled and gave her a firm nod. "Of course. We're sisters, after all," she grinned.

Luna's horn chimed suddenly, and she sighed before moving out from her sister's embrace. "The night calls," she said. "Rest, sister. It will serve you well for the coming days."

In a flash, she was gone. Celestia sat on her bed and held the picture frame in her hooves, running one over her son's small face. She set the picture down and nestled into her bed, readying for a night of rest. A pulse of energy washed over her, and she smiled as her son's signature stood out from the rest. 

"You can do this, Draco.... you're my little soldier."












Moon stared up at his mother's moon from the bench in the castle's garden. It always served to soothe his mind, either from stress or worry. Tonight was like many of the ones he'd had since the Loki'irians announced they would be starting the war. He didn't want to sleep. He wanted to train, but there was nothing left for him to learn. Nothing left for him to absorb. He was at his prime, and yet he doubted it would be enough for him to take on the coming storm. 

"It's a beautiful moon." He turned as Hutono and Niraka approached, both garbed in regal Loki'irian garbs, which were extremely soft cloths decorated with dragons and leaves. Niraka smiled as she sat beside him and sighed, "Our moons were bigger... but not as bright."

"Moons?" Moon chuckled. 

Hutono nodded as he laid on the grass. "Our planet had two moons. Hudoro and Ikotur. I was named after the first," he proudly answered. 

Niraka yawned softly and leaned back against the bench. "What troubles you so much?" she asked, tilting her head to him. 

He shifted quietly and closed his eyes, bathing in the moon's light. "...I've lived for so long... and now I finally have something to look forward to." He thought to Fluttershy, smiling at the thought of how much they had done in the past months. "I have mate... family and friends... but now... I'm afraid."

Hutono chuckled lightly, earning a minor glare from their runt. "What do you think we feel?" he laughed, sitting up and patting Moon's back. "We're not fearless warriors, Moon."

Moon swatted his pack member's hand away and huffed. "You all have an easy time hiding it," he muttered, lowering his head to the bench. "And where are Orgos and Inagro?"

Niraka hummed softly as a bird landed on her shoulder. "My brother is helping the other Alphas move their packs into appropriate terrains. We're much more efficient in environments that compliment us," Niraka explained, rubbing a small bunny's ear in her lap. "And your brother, Hutono?"

He shrugged. "Either he's training with other Betas or resting. He hasn't rested since... the Iikro." None of the Signa liked mentioning it. Nor did the regulars or Bestials. "Ever since he's been going through more and more... and he's trying to have me tend to our wounded when the time comes."

"He won't succeed," Niraka assured him. "Inagro needs us when the time comes." 

"And what exactly will we be doing?" Moon asked.

"We're going to be isha nagoshu. Ship hopping." Moon furrowed his brow and tilted his head. "We'll be going with regulars up to the ships to cause havoc. The Signa will keep other ships away while we take control and send them into one another."

"We're going inside their ships?" Moon repeated, not believing entirely what he was hearing. 

Sadly, Niraka nodded. "If we can disorient them, the ground and Nera'ak forces will have an easier time fighting without orbital strikes hammering them," she elaborated, turning to him. "Moon... our mission can change the tide of battle. We can even the fight if we can get rid of the ships that come."

"That sounds like we're all going on suicide missions," he grimly stated. Niraka and Hutono glanced at one another, giving each other solemn nods.

"In a sense... it is." Moon stared at them in horror and disbelief. "Moon, we will try our hardest to live, but if we are to die, we will bring them with us."

"Are you insane?!" he exclaimed. "You Loki'irians don't care about your lives! Doesn't that bother you?! You could DIE! And you embrace it?!" He stood up and bared his teeth. "I'm going to fight so that I can come home! I am fighting for all of you, but I'm also fighting to see my family, my friends, and the one I love! Doesn't any of that matter? What will everyone think when you're gone? Your lovers, your friends, your family!"

Niraka held her hands in her lap, grinning as she exhaled. "Moon... if we win this war, we have nothing left." He looked at her with a stunned expression. "The only evil this universe has left will be wiped out, and we will no longer be needed."

"And with Drepshol gone, another war like this is bound to never happen. If we are to fight our last fight... we should make it worthwhile." Hutono stood up and looked down at Moon. "It's all we have ever known."

Moon smacked him. Niraka gasped and Hutono did the same, both glaring at Moon. "You... you're crazy... both of you!" he snarled. "No... no, you're selfish. You don't care what others will think. You think you'll be remembered in glory, like legends. But what about those who loved and knew you? Who trained with you, who talked with you? They'll just forget about you?" Hutono eased up, looking away in slight thought. "We're all coming back... and I want you to sear that into your heads! All Bestials! We're not fighting just for others to live. We're fighting so you can all find a home and live for once!"

Niraka and Hutono were silent. The animals had all fled when he had started yelling, and now they watched from the trees and bushes. A small cough came from behind them, directing their attention to Inagro.

"I'd say it was my job to do this, but you've beaten me to it." The three stood up, waiting for him continue. "On behalf of our pack, I have pledged us to this planet's mantra. A new code we will fight for."

"And that is?" Hutono questioned.

Inagro smiled at Moon and said, "Tomorrow." They all waited for more, and he sighed with a small laugh. "We are not fighting for the Signa beside us, or the equines or any nation. We are fighting for our tomorrow... the tomorrow that includes us and those we know."

The pack glanced to one another in question, but Niraka was the first to acknowledge it. "If... if you believe that... then I will follow you," she nodded, earning a meaningful nuzzle from her brother. "Hutono?"

He tugged on his attire and shrugged. "It seems... more personal than it is for all others... you're sure? Both of you?" The siblings nodded without hesitance. Hutono looked to the ground, then took a deep breath. "I'm one of your runts, Inagro. If Orgos will follow you, then... I trust you've both made a better decision."

Inagro nodded and glanced to Moon. "I'm sure tomorrow is what you seek?" he laughed loudly. It was strange for Moon to see the man so jovial. It was... weird. 

"Yes... I'm fighting for my tomorrow." Inagro nodded and gestured to the castle. 

"The three of you sleep. You've earned it after all these days." The subordinates hesitantly made their way inside, but Inagro stopped Moon. "Thank you."

"For... for what?"

Inagro sat on the steps and adjusted the sleeves of his clothing. "I want to thank this world... it has shown me so much that I would have never known." He shook his head and smiled brighter than before. "You ponies weren't like us... but you were happy. We felt we were happy... but it was all just an illusion. An escape to this war. But... but now I see it. I see it now, after all this time."

He let the first tear since he was a child fall. 

"This pack... it's full of my friends and family... and I will fight to make sure I can come back to say that."