Night had fallen on Sweet Apple Acres as Big Mac made his way to the farm house. Normally he would have been there by now and happily eating dinner with the rest of his family. However, before he returned home he wanted not only to thank the Guards that had been sent by Celestia to help on the farm while AJ was in the Republic but to also make sure they had sleeping arrangements. Luckily Celestia had the foresight to book them a hotel room for the next week or else they would have had to spend their time here sleeping in the barn. As for his family, his two younger sisters were away right now leaving just him, Granny Smith, and Zecora to look after things.
Thinking of the zebra caused a small smile to appear on Big Mac’s face. Zecora was quite the mare. Despite being told she should be taking it easy, Zecora insisted on doing her part on the farm while she was here. All day she helped out Granny Smith with the indoor chores and other light work thanks to her injuries. Several times she had brought out food and drink to all the stallions who were working hard under the hot sun to keep their collective energy up.
Not only was Zecora a hard worker, but Big Mac also found her to be highly attractive. There was just something so unique about her appearance that he couldn’t put his hoof on. Maybe it was her stripes or her Mohawk that caused him to stare at her for a good couple of seconds longer than other mares. Maybe it was her alluring, rhyming voice that he couldn’t get enough of.
Regardless, there was just something about Zecora that caused Mac’s heart to flutter slightly. Part of him wished that she could stay forever, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. She’d stay until her wounds had healed up or until she found a new place to stay. Maybe, if she stayed close to Ponyville, they’d see each other from time to time. It would definitely be better than her leaving Ponyville or Equestria all together. Not that he’d blame her if she did after what had happened to her.
Finally at the front door, Big Mac let out a sigh as he opened it. As he walked into the kitchen, he was surprised to see that Granny wasn’t there at all. The only pony there was Zecora who was stirring a large pot on the stove. Sniffing the air, Mac found himself drooling at the tasty aroma.
“Ah Big Mac, I was just about to look for you,” said Zecora as she turned to greet him with a warm smile. “Sit down so that you may enjoy this tasty stew.”
Big Mac nodded and, as he sat down, Zecora set down a bowl of the concoction she had been working on. Breathing it in, Mac found that somehow it smelt better when it was up close. Yet, he did not dig in right away. Instead he looked around the empty table.
“Where’s Granny?” he asked as he turned his head to look at Zecora. His eyes widened slightly and his mouth hung open slightly as he found himself looking almost directly at her plot while Zecora made herself a bowl. As Zecora finished pouring some of the stew into her bowl, she turned and gave him a look. It wasn’t a sultry look that he got from some of the mares in town when they were trying to entice him. Which, to be completely honest, he was glad for. If she had, he would have been afraid that she was falling for him like a mare who falls for her doctors just because he saved her life. Instead, it a simple small smile with an added look of warmth in her eyes.
“Some time ago Granny Smith told me that her hip had blown,” said Zecora as she sat her bowl down next to Mac’s. “So she said she’d retire early tonight and leave us alone. I think, perhaps, that something is amiss for she laughed as she said this.”
Big Mac gave a slight laugh. “Ah think ah know what she’s plannin’,” he said while looking down at his dinner companion. “She’s been tryin’ ta hook me up for years now.” As he finished his sentence, Mac picked up the bowl with his forehooves and took a sip from it. The moment the first drop touched his tongue he there was an explosion of flavor that almost caused him to drop the bowl.
Zecora, however, cocked her head to the side as she looked at Big Mac. “So she intends to set us up on a date?” she asked as she tapped her chin with a hoof. “Shouldn’t she trust in you to find your own mate?” Her eyes then widened slightly before looking down at her bowl. “Forgive me for I spoke with too much haste. What I said was in poor taste.”
“Don’t worry about it none,” said Big Mac. “I’ve thought the same thing. Tried ta do my own datin’, but never could find the right mare. An old granny, well she wants ta see her great grand foals before she passes.”
“Well then, I must say I am touched,” said Zecora as she placed a hoof on Mac’s back while traces of a blush appeared on her face. “It seems that Granny Smith cares for you so much. And to think that she would consider me, a mare from a foreign land, would she think me the honor to be by your side and stand. Still there is much about you still alludes me. So let us talk and perhaps we shall see if this is meant to be.”
Big Mac looked down at her and smiled.
“Eeyup.”
-x-
Meanwhile, Hot Pants made her way down the corridors of the Canterlot Hospital while carrying a stack of documents next to her with her magic. Normally, she would not be allowed to see a patient this late at night. Yet thanks to her uncle, and her rank in the Royal Guard, an exception was made. It wasn’t how she wanted to do something like this, but Hot Pants felt it was necessary this one time.
As she walked, Hot Pants noticed several doors were open revealing those who were seriously injured at the battle of the Castle. North Star and Fancy Pants had kept their word, giving these brave soldiers the best care they could give them. Yet still, Hot Pants’ ears could still pick up their whimpering and moaning in pain as she walked. If it was because the pain numbing spells were wearing off or they were simply having nightmares, she didn’t know. And as much as she wanted to check up on them she only had time to visit one pony.
Soon, Hot Pants came to a closed door with a tag on it which read ‘Aerial Ace’. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Hot Pants knocked on the door three times before opening it. Once the door was open, her eyes widened to see several newspapers had been thrown about the room. Turning her head slightly, she saw that Aerial Ace was in a sitting position (despite being covered in bandages from the neck down) with his forehooves crossed and staring at the papers as if they were about to suddenly turn into dangerous vipers or something.
As she entered the room, Aerial shot her a quick glance before his features softened slightly. “Good evening Lieutenant,” he said pleasantly.
“G-Good evening sir,” she replied as she entered the room, glancing at the papers once more as she did. Something that did not go unnoticed.
“An emergency issue of Canterlot Daily arrived about an hour ago,” he explain while gesturing Hot Hants to come closer to the bed. “Already letting ponies know about what happened at the castle, Prince Blueblood taking control until Princess Cadence gets back, Stareye’s new promotion, and about the battle tomorrow to name a few. The Prince was also kind enough to give a complete interview, spouting all sorts of nonsense to get ponies riled. Things like ‘We must endure any hardship if it means getting back our beloved Princess Celestia from those monsters’. Makes me sick!”
“Yeah, I sort of heard about that,” said Hot Pants, who was now standing next to Aerial Ace’s bed.
“So, what brings you here Lieutenant?” asked Aerial Ace, wishing to change the topic of the conversation. As he did, he noticed Hot Pants cringe slightly when he addressed her by her title.
“Well sir,” she began. “I wanted to talk to you about the battle tomorrow. See, Stareye…he’s umm, not really doing a lot of planning for the battle. From what we have gathered, it’s going to be a lot like what happened earlier today.”
Aerial Ace snorted. “Damn fool,” he said. “Given what I saw and experienced first hoofed, they weren’t looking for a fight. That was more of an honor guard and look what they were able to do. If they are coming down here again with bigger numbers I’m willing to bet they will also be bringing more of that science stuff to give them the edge they need.”
Hot Pants nodded. “That’s what I was thinking as well,” she said as she placed the documents on the bed next to Aerial Ace. “So I’ve been talking to many of the newly demoted officers, as well as checking up on some of your old battle strategies, to come up with a plan that goes beyond running at the enemy with greater numbers. I’ve managed to call a meeting today with all of the current lieutenants as well as the demoted officers to explain what I’ve come up with. I’d, er, r-really like it if you could go over what I’ve got first.”
Aerial Ace said nothing at first. He just looked into Hot Pant’s hope filled eyes before turning his attention down to the documents on his bed. Slowly he reached over to the papers and touched them with his hoof, but nothing more.
“You said you talked to the other officers,” he said without looking up. “Don’t they know what you’re planning?”
“N-Not really,” said Hot Pants. “I just sort of asked if some things were possible or if we could get certain equipment.” She paused for a moment. “I also talked to a few of the unicorns who are studying the armor to hopefully get some ideas. After that I went through a dozen or so idea’s before I settled on these plans. I-I just want to make sure they’re good enough sir.”
“You really need to stop calling me that,” said Aerial after a short pause. He then pushed the papers away from him. “And I’m not going to look over these.”
“But sir-” began Hot Pants, but was cut off as Aerial Ace raised a hoof to silence her.
“Look, I know you don’t feel like you earned this promotion,” he began with a stern look on his face. “Buck, when I first found out I thought the same thing. You were too young with no actually on the field experience. The only reason you are at where you are right now is because of your bloodline.”
As Aerial Ace said this, Hot Pants felt her ears flatten against her skull as she looked down. Nothing he was saying wasn’t anything she didn’t already know. She never liked it, especially since she respected Aerial Ace so much. He was a war hero who had deserved a higher rank than what he had even before his demotion and had been a wonderful commanding officer. He had never treated her any different than any of the other soldiers under his command. But hearing him say all of this now, it was like rubbing salt in an open wound.
She then felt a hoof lightly touch her lower jaw and lift her head up so she was now looking at Aerial Ace once more. While he still had a stern expression, his eyes had softened.
“But then I found out that this wasn’t what you wanted,” Aerial Ace continued. “That you wanted to earn your rank unlike most of the rest of those stuck up ‘elites’. You were willing to go to Princess Celestia and let her know what was going on. Not many in your horse shoes would do something like that.
“And when battle came, you rose to the challenge. While others panicked, you kept your head and did everything in your power to not only make sure your brothers and sisters in arms got the reinforcements they needed but also worked to make sure the civilians were evacuated from the danger zone. And then, after the battle, you organized everypony to keep ponies in the city calm while you gave the dead their respect. If anypony has earned their promotion, it is you.
“I know you are still unsure of yourself. That you’re afraid you’ll make a mistake that might get ponies killed. But you need to have confidence in yourself. When you go onto that battlefield tomorrow, ponies will be looking not at Stareye but you. When they see being confident then they will feel confident as well. So I am not going to look at this. Instead, I am going to trust in what you have thought up and I want you to trust in it as well.”
“Sir…” whispered Hot Pants with tears forming in her eyes.
Aerial Ace gave Hot Pants a smile before moving into a laying position. Seeing that she would need a moment or two to compose herself, Aerial Ace stared up at the ceiling as he thought of what she was going to face the next day. Ponies armed with weapons that seemed to defy logic were coming down to the moon and she would be expected to defend the ponies of Equestria with what they had. Even with all the ponies coming in from every corner of Equestria, it still felt like an uphill battle.
‘But I believe in her,’ thought Aerial Ace to himself. ‘I just hope that bat pony doesn’t show up.’
Aerial Ace frowned as he thought of that pony and not for the first time this day. Several times since he had woken up he had thought on how the battle went. In all the battles he had fought, no single opponent had given him this much trouble. The way he fought, always seeming to keep another trick tucked away, spoke greatly about his skills. He battled calmly, even while there was chaos all around the two. Aerial Ace felt certain that he would have proven difficult to defeat even without the armor.
‘Perhaps it’s a good thing he wasn’t born in Equestria,’ thought Aerial Ace sadly. ‘Skill and potential like his would have been wasted.’
“Sir, I…I think I can handle this,” said Hot Pants trying her best to look strong. “I’ll let you rest for now. But I promise that once the battle is over I’ll head back here and tell you all about it first hoof.”
Aerial Ace allowed himself a small smile. “I’ll hold you to that ma’am.”
-x-
Cadence held her breath as she looked down at the weapon pressed lightly against her neck. While it crudely made (more like a sharp, pointy stick than anything else) all it would take was a single thrust and her life would be over. If that happened, the life of Midnight Blossom and those of her guards would be in danger as well. So for now she remained as still as she could as she did her best to think of something she could say in order to defuse the situation.
“Isn’t this funny,” said Jackal as he lightly pressed his spear against Cadence’s neck. “I thought something was off when I left the Appleloosa colony. Like there were other ponies in the room with Weeping Willow and Darkwing. And it looks like I was right. But I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be catching one of the lazy, deplorable princesses of Equestria and some filthy traitors to the bat pony race!”
Jackal then pressed the spear a little harder against Cadence’s neck to the point where blood began to drip out. Yet the princess kept her cool, not flinching or giving away any sign that what he said or did affected her. Years of experience with the nobles of Canterlot told her that showing any kind of weakness right now would give her opponent all he needed to destroy her as well as her efforts. And with so many lives on the line right now she could not afford that. Especially the young life sleeping on her back right now.
“Jackal,” said Cadence in a slow and controlled tone. “I am here to speak with your Flight Master Lone Wolf. I wish to discuss-” Before Cadence could say anything else the spear was pulled away from her neck and swung around, smacking her on the left side of her face. Her guards and Darkwing made a move to go to her but were stopped by the other spears pointed at them.
“Go ahead,” said Jackal as he retracted his weapon, a wicked grin on his smug face. “Make a move. I dare you. And then we’ll see who is standing in the end.” He watched Cadence, hoping that she would give him any excuse to kill her on the spot. A glow from her horn, flaring her wings, anything at all. But instead she lifted a hoof to her mouth to wipe away the blood as she stared at him intently.
“I am not your enemy,” she said slowly and evenly. “I just want to help.”
Jackal let out a growl as he tightened his hold on his spear. A sickening feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach as he looked at her. How dare this…this princess say such a blatant lie to them?!
And as he stared at her with hate in his eyes, Cadence stared back with pity in hers. She had expected to meet a bat pony like this sooner or later. One so filled with so much hate and rage that he or she would lash out at members of the three tribes as well as the princesses. One that would get a sick sensation of pleasure as they did so. A bat pony who had most likely never been shown any kindness or compassion from any pony except from other bat ponies. Yes, she did pity Jackal because he was the way he was because of what Equestria had done to him.
“It’s true,” said Darkwing gaining everypony’s attention. “The Princess of Love is here to help you like she is helping the Appleloosa colony! I know you are doubtful but-”
Jackal moved like a blur over to Darkwing, striking him with the blunt end of the spear several times. The first blow hitting Darkwing’s jaw, interrupting him. The next few blows landed on the stallion's legs causing him to fall to the ground and, before he hit the ground, once more on the back. When it was over, Darkwing was laid on the ground bleeding and whimpering.
“You stay silent, traitor.” hissed Jackal as he jabbed the pointed end of the spear towards one of Darkwing’s eyes. “You…you are the one who brought her here. How do we know your colony didn’t sell the rest of us out to save your own desert loving hides?! I should kill all of you right here and now.”
“But you won’t.” said Ruby, causing Jackal’s head to snap in her direction. That bat pony’s lips curled into an ugly sneer.
“And why won’t I?” he asked.
“Because Lone Wolf has order everypony from our colony not to kill anypony.” said Ruby as she did her best to stay strong and look unafraid. However everypony there could see her legs shaking under Jackal’s gaze. “Something you should know since Wolf has had to tell you several times. In fact, didn’t he at one point tell you in front of the entire colony that if he ever found out that you actually killed a pony he would lock you up?”
Jackal’s nostrils flared and his eyes became the size of pins by the end of that sentence. He then began to breathe hard while kicking at the ground with his back legs. All of the bat ponies who he had brought with him now began to back away while Thunderclap and Dusk seemed to shrink a bit. Ruby could not stop herself from gulping as she took a single step back.
That’s when he snapped. Jackal lunged at Ruby, knocking her to the ground. He was now foaming at the mouth while he tried to snap at the bat mare’s neck. Luckily Ruby did not lie there like a dead fish. Instead she swung her head back and forth trying her best to keep it out of reach from her attacker while trying her best to kick him off. Looking around and seeing that nopony was going to help her, Cadence charged forwards and bucked Jackal off of Ruby. The bat stallion was flung into the air, but managed to right himself so that he landed on his hooves several yards away, panting angrily as he did.
As for the ponies that Jackal had brought with him, they stared in awe of what they had just seen. Some dropped their makeshift spears as their jaws hung open. It was if they were having trouble processing what they had just seen. But which one was more shocking? That Jackal, the most savage of them, had been knocked back or was it that the one who had knocked down Jackal was a princess? Or maybe, just maybe, the truly shocking thing was who the princess had been protecting.
“My thanks Princess,” said Ruby as she slowly got back onto her hooves with Cadence’s assistance.
“Nopony will EVER lock me up again!” raged Jackal as the rest of his ponies surrounded Cadence’s group. “It will NEVER happen again! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I will not go back to that life.” He then walked up to Ruby and snapped at the air in front of her, causing her to flinch. He then turned to address the rest.
“We’ll take them to Lone Wolf like they want,” he snarled. “Then, once they are done wasting their breath, we will make sure they will never breathe again!” He turned to look at Ruby and Cadence once more. “The walk there will give me plenty of time to decide how to kill them.”
As the now expanded group entered the Everfree forest Cadence looked back towards the still soundly sleeping filly on her back, slightly surprised that her little Midnight had managed to not wake though Jackal's hostility.
-x-
Canterlot Castle was a structure that always seemed to shine. Be it from the presence of Celestia or just from the building itself which was a marvel of magic and hard labor, the castle always seemed to give off a wondrous glow to those who lived in Canterlot. And yet tonight, it seemed somehow less bright.
Only a trained eye could see this, however, due to what was going on at the castle this very moment. Music flowed out from every window and the smell of fancy food could be smelt by those nearby. The building was well lit so the Canterlot elites would not need to squint to see in the darkness or use their own magic as they mingled in the crowd as they sipped the finest drinks bits could buy.
Looking at the castle like this brought some degree of calm to those outside. Seeing the snobby elites who cared only for themselves partying at a time like this, told the commoners living in the capital that everything was alright. After all, if they were in any trouble with Princess Celestia being gone and with an attack on the city in the morning, the nobles would have been the first ones trying to leave. So there had to be some kind of plan or something that made them feel safe enough to stay. And that was enough for the common ponies who looked up at the castle with some degree of envy.
However, there was one noble who wasn’t enjoying this night. Sure there were a few others, but they at least appeared to be enjoying themselves to some degree. But Blueblood was another story.
Normally on a night like this he would have been dressed in his finest, sipping on the finest drinks while making sure he looked as handsome as he could. Yet that was not the case this night. Instead his normally well-groomed mane was looked unkempt with dozens of loose strands all over. His suit looked like he had just worn it while participating in the Running of the Leaves, covered in wrinkles and sweat. Instead of laughing and enjoying this party, he was reassuring each complaining, annoying noble that everything was under control.
‘How does auntie make this look so easy?’ he thought as another noble approached him to complain about one thing or another.
Things had been going downhill for Blueblood all day. After he had talked to Spell Matrix, he had been informed that Trixie had somehow escaped and left the city. So many questions raced through the prince’s mind when he heard this. The first was why. Why would Trixie do something like that? Had somepony tipped her off to his plans or was she working with the enemy? Or did she think she could get something if she was the one who brought Cadence back? Regardless, he needed to kill Cadence before Trixie found her which lead to his next problem: finding a unicorn who could make the compass. After several hours of searching the various magical schools, going from student to student to see if anypony could do what he was asking until he met Moondancer. Once she said she could have it done for him by morning was the first piece of good news he had.
Once that had been taken care of, Blueblood returned to his room so that he could write a letter to the Griffons asking if he could use their advanced telescope. It irritated the prince to no end, writing all of this flattery to get what he wanted, especially when he originally planned on simply taking it. Yes, back when he was considering how this war would go he knew he would eventually have to make a counter attack on the Republic. The only way to do that would be to have a group of talented unicorns cast a teleportation spell allowing a small group of two or three a one way ticket to the moon. The only hiccup at the time was that the unicorns needed to know where to send the target and none of Equestria’s telescopes were powerful enough to get a clear enough view of the Lunar cities. The only ones who did were the Griffons. Blueblood had planned on demanding that the Griffons hoof over their telescopes to help Equestria in their war efforts or else be considered an enemy siding with the demonic Lunar Republic. However, when he had thought about this part of the plan he had assumed that he would have Lunar armor technology to give them an edge for an easy victory and expanding his reach. Without it he would more likely waste what resources he had and divide Equestrian’s armies for an unknown period of time. Thus it was not worth it yet.
So Blueblood had to ask as nicely as he could to get what he wanted. He wrote about the situation, lying that they were targeted for no reason and that by helping them they would be saving innocent lives. He made promises to share whatever tech they managed to capture as well as asking them for their assistance should things look bleak. Once that was finished he sent the letter via magical fire.
Blueblood didn’t have to wait long for his reply. It seemed that the Griffon Embassy had found out what had happened including the accusation that he had been the one who ordered Twilight Sparkle’s death. Emperor Eagle Eyes said that he would not assist them nor did he wish to make an enemy out of the Republic. He also said that he looked forward to seeing how long a dishonorable piece of scum like Blueblood could stay ruler of Equestria now that he had the Republic was had their sights aimed at him. Furious, Blueblood threw the letter away and proceeded to get ready for the party.
And now, here at the party, the nobles were coming to him to confirm the rumors they had been hearing. Somehow, somepony had found out things and was now spreading them around like Nightmare Night candy. About Trixie and the compass getting away from him. About him being unable to copy the armor technology. One by one, nobles that had agreed with him before were questioning him and it was taking everything he could to convince them to stay with him. It just never ended.
Then there were the complaints about Stareye. As much as it pained him to admit it, they had a right to complain about him. Ever since the new High Commander showed up, he had been going through glass after glass of wine all while snorting his white powder. Several times he had smacked a serving mare on the flank, laughing as he did so before ordering her to report to his quarters at the end of the night for some fun and if she didn’t she would be thrown in jail along with the rest of her family. And when anypony asked him about what he had planned for the next day or why several trebuchets he would make it quite clear that he didn’t know what they were talking about. Heck, he made it clear that he hadn’t even had a meeting with him underling to plan out what was to happen in the morning.
Throughout all of this Majesty was the only one helping him. She and she alone stood by his side, backing him up and whispering words of encouragement to keep him going. In fact, at this very moment, she was talking to a newspaper reporter trying to get him to ignore the state Stareye was in and print something more positive. If it wasn’t for her, Blueblood was sure the crowd would have eaten him alive.
“Prince Blueblood!” yelled a mare’s voice. The Prince looked away from the noble he had been talking to and turned to look at another noble storming towards him with several scrolls floating next to her thanks to her magical grip.
“Lady Fine Dining,” said Blueblood, exhaustion clear in his voice. “I am in the middle of-” He got no further before he was slapped so hard that he stumbled backwards. The music stopped for a moment as everypony turned to look at what was happening. Blueblood took several deep breaths before he gestured that everything was alright. Slowly the music began to play once more and the crowd continued to talk amongst themselves while keeping an eye on the prince.
“Please don’t make a scene,” whispered Prince Blueblood. “I would hate to have the Guards drag you to the dungeons.”
Fine Dining rolled her eyes. “The Guards are as useful as you,” she whispered back, her words dripping with venom. “I have been receiving scroll after scroll sent to me via magical fire from the southern area of Equestria where I have several projects going on. Or rather I had! Because that blundering idiot you placed in charge of our military took every troop and brought them here everywhere else has been left DEFENSELESS! The south is being swarmed by changelings! I have lost hundreds of thousands of bits because of this! And that’s not all. To make matters worse, while this was going on, several long silver chariots came down from the stars. They broke into several food warehouses and within minutes took everything before shooting back into the night! You-You did this you moron!”
“Lady Dining, please calm yourself,” whispered Blueblood as he nervously looked around to see if anypony had heard them. “I know you’re upset. But there is no way anypony could have seen-”
“A competent military leader would have!” raged Dining as she threw the scroll in Blueblood’s face. “But that fool left nopony to protect any Equestrian city! They are all wide open. And this is just the one area we know about. How many other cities are being ravaged and couldn’t contact anypony? What is the point of protecting the capital if everything else burns around us?
“And what about the Republic?! They are easily stealing our food! What if this was their plan? To get all of our troops in one location and then attack various other parts of Equestria? And we, or should I say Stareye, fell for it! Did he consider any of these possibilities when he issued the order to protect Canterlot?”
“I assure you that everything,” began Blueblood, but stopped when he heard a mare scream. The two looked over in the direction of Stareye to see that he had smacked another mare’s flank. To make matters worse, the mare who was keeping her slightly reddened flank away from Stareye was Fleur De Lis. Blueblood paled as he tried to go over there and smooth things out but her husband, Fancy Pants, got there first with murder in his eyes.
“How dare you assault my wife?!” roared Fancy Pants, pointing a shaking hoof at Stareye who just grinned in response. Around them, all the nobles had ceased their own conversations to watch the events unfold. While it had irritated them to see Stareye treating the serving staff in a manner befitting a drunken commoner, it was wholly an entire different manner when he did so to a fellow noble.
“You can’t do anything to me,” said the moronic military commander as he finished off his drink and then smashed it against the ground. “Nopony here can do anything to me! I’m-”
“Please forgive him,” said Blueblood as he put his hoof on Stareye’s mouth to silence him. “He’s just had a little too much pre victory drink. You understand.”
“On the eve before war?” thundered Fine Dining, no longer bothering to keep her voice down.
“This behavior is most inappropriate,” growled Fancy Pants. “I would have thought that the son of a noble would know better! Prince Blueblood, once your temporary leadership is over know that I will be having words with Princess Cadence about this.”
“I’d like to see that happen.” said Stareye as he knocked Blueblood’s hoof away. Fancy Pants’ eyes narrowed at Stareye. He said nothing instead turning to his wife and gesturing to leave, not wanting to waste his breath with the fiend. As they stormed out so did several other groups of nobles including, much to Blueblood’s horror, several that had once sided with him. Now it seemed that they were reconsidering their position.
“Prince Blueblood.” said Fine Dining. “I will admit that there were times, many times in fact, that I disagreed with the decisions that Princess Celestia made. I felt like she was being too naïve or too generous for her own good. However, I knew that she always put Equestria first and did everything in her power to keep it safe. In the short time you have been in charge you have put the safety of Equestria into question. If things do not improve very soon then I will make it my personal mission to see that you are removed from the throne even if Princess Cadence hasn’t returned.”
The noble mare turned to leave as Blueblood spoke up. “If you do that then the right of succession will be but into question. Ponies will spend more time fighting over who is in charge then trying to solve the Lunar problem! They could conquer Equestria!”
Fine Dining stopped in her tracks as she listened to what Blueblood had to say. Yet she did not turn around right away. She kept her head forward, staring at the exit for what felt like a small eternity for the prince. She then let out a sigh before turning her head to look at him.
“From how things are going right now, being conquered by the enemy might be preferable than your rule,” she said before looking away and continuing to walk towards the door. “I hope the battle tomorrow turns in our favor for your sake.”
Blueblood stared at the retreating figure until she was gone from sight. Then he looked around and saw that other members of the Canterlot elite were also beginning to leave. Many of those were ponies that sided against him. But sprinkled here and there were ponies who had once sided with the prince, casting him dirty looks as they walked away. It looked like a third of his supporters still remained, but whether it was because they still wished to support him or just wanted to stay to enjoy the rest of the party remained to be see.
This did not bode well for the prince. He needed as many supporters as he could get. The more nobles that sided with him would make ruling Equestria and making the changes he wished to make easier. Without them, this job would become far more difficult if not impossible. Perhaps there were more ponies talking about dethroning him even though it was his first day on the job! How could things have gotten this bad?
Snorting laughter behind Blueblood gave him his answer. His eye twitched as he turned around seeing that Stareye was laughing at Boot Licker who was soaked with wine. How this happened, Blueblood neither wondered or cared. His eyes simply narrowed at Stareye.
“Stareye, would you please follow me,” said Blueblood. “There is something I must speak to you about in private. On the balcony.”
“Must I?” whined Stareye, sounding like a petulant filly. “The wind might make my mane as dreadful as yours.”
Blueblood gritted his teeth. “Yes,” he hissed.
Sighing, Stareye followed Prince Blueblood towards the opposite end of the hall where the party was being held. With a wave of his horn, Blueblood opened a set of doors leading out to one of the balconies overlooking Canterlot. But he did not look at the beautiful sight below him instead turning around to close the doors once Stareye had walked through them.
“Now what is so impo-GAK” Stareye got no further, Blueblood’s magic wrapping around his neck before it slammed him into the wall. Stareye seemed to instantly sober up as he brought his hooves up to his neck to try and remove the magical ring that Blueblood had created but it was no use. He simply wasn’t strong enough to physically remove it. And, to make matters worse, the ring began to lift up into the air so that Stareye was now dangling in the air.
“YOU HAD ONE JOB!” roared Blueblood as all traces of the once confident prince vanished. In its place was a stallion whose right eye twitched and veins could be seen on his neck.
“GAK! P-Please,” gasped Stareye.
“All you had to do was appear like you knew what you were doing and follow my orders,” said Blueblood, ignoring Stareye as he began to pace. “It shouldn’t have been too difficult. But somehow you managed to screw that up. You couldn’t even answer basic, simply questions in there! How many troops have arrived? Why are you using certain equipment? Are more troops coming? All basic questions that you, the newly appointed head of ALL of Equestria military forces should be able to answer. But you DIDN’T! You didn’t even think to say that the information they wanted was classified!
“And your behavior! I had ponies coming to me all night because of the way you acted. Did it not occur to you that since I’m the one you gave you your title that everything you do reflects on me? And every time I defend you-”
“A-GAK-Air!” gasped Stareye as his face began to turn blue. “N-neee-dd a-ai-r..”
“It makes me look worse,” continued Blueblood, not paying any attention to Stareye’s condition. “And I need those ponies to be on my side and agree with me if I am ever to make Equestria into what I want! We could have an empire, a Solar Empire, waiting for my dear Auntie when she is finally rescued. But now it looking like that will never happen. That world will just be another empty promise to them unless I can deliver something to them and soon.”
Blueblood now looked at Stareye. The noble’s body was starting to go limp and his eyes looked like they would roll to the back of his head at any moment. Blueblood snorted in annoyance as he undid the magical ring and letting Stareye fall to the ground. After he landed, Stareye began gasping for air as his coat slowly returned to normal.
“Stareye.” said Blueblood slowly, causing the other pony to look up in fear. “You need to win the battle or else we will both be finished!”
“O-Oh I will,” said Stareye nervously as he got onto his hooves. “I did win the last battle for us. That’s why you chose me to be High Commander.”
Blueblood snorted. “Are you really so delusional that you believe that?” he said with a contempt sneer. “No, the reason you I made you Captain and then High Commander are one in the same: you are a noble and an idiot!”
Blueblood’s words caused Stareye to take a step back. “W-What do you mean by that?”
“I want to bring back the old ways,” said Blueblood. “To the days when only our bloodlines granted us places of power over all and not just within the castle. No longer would we have to compete with those filthy commoners to gain those positions. We are, after all, born leaders so why would we need to prove ourselves. And you seemed like a perfect fit at the time. In the Royal Guard, desperate to move up, and too stupid to realize how much I was using you. You’d done whatever I said without asking too many annoying questions nor would you go running to tell my Auntie if I was planning something behind her back. It never occurred to you that if you had told her half the things I’d done you’d have gained her favor as well as a sizeable reward. That’s why I chose you. But now that same stupidity is causing everything to be ruined!”
“Oh...” said Stareye as he tried to make himself look bigger than he really was. “Well if that’s the case then I’ll just inform everypony about what you’ve been doing! That’s right, I’ll tell my father and Fancy Pants about the parasprite, murder of Hard Shell, and everything else you’ve been doing. I’ll tell them you forced me to…” Stareye’s words trailed off when he noticed Blueblood’s reaction. It was angry or fear like he expected.
Instead he was laughing.
“It’s amusing that you would think to do that,” said Blueblood, a ghost of a smile still on his face. “Even more amusing that you would be dumb enough to tell me and expect it to work. After all, who would ever believe you? And why would I allow you to live after admitting to be that you were going to betray me?”
“W-What?” stammered Stareye.
“As you said, I ordered Hard Shell’s murder,” said Blueblood coolly. “What makes you think I wouldn’t do the same to you? And I wouldn’t even need my assassin to kill the likes of you. Why waste the bits when I could easily push you off this balcony right now and claim to everypony that you fell down in a drunken stupor?”
Stareye began to breathe hard as he looked around for any chance of escape yet finding none. ‘This is it,’ thought Stareye. ‘He’s going to kill me.’
“Oh, don’t worry Stareye,” said Blueblood as he read the fear written all over his fellow noble’s face. “I’m not going to kill you. At least as long as you don’t do anything stupid like betraying me. No, killing you would create too much of a headache for me. If I did that I’d have to spend all night finding a replacement for you, hoping my fellow nobles don’t fight my decision, hope they don’t demand a full investigation on your passing, and hope that they don’t considering surrendering.
“Besides, I really don’t think there is any need to replace you. Right now there are hundreds of thousands of ponies down at the base of this mountain ready to fight a measly three hundred in an open field. This should be a simple task that even a cutie markless filly could handle. You are also to make sure that you collect as much of their technology as possible as well as capturing as few of their soldiers so we can figure out how to duplicate their weapons. But if somehow you do manage to screw this up then I will give every last bit I have to ensure that your death is as slow and painful as possible.”
With that said, Blueblood walked off the balcony leaving behind a shaking Stareye with the sound of stone cracking being heard in the distance.
-x-
At the same time, forty or so ponies were gathered in the mess hall of the Canterlot Reserve Base at the foot of Canterlot Mountain. The tables had been moved out of the room and cushions had been set up for everypony that had been summon by Hot Pants. Over half of them were former ranking officers in the Equestria military while the other half were the newly promoted officers as well as members of the Guard who had been there during the first battle with the Lunar ponies. However, due to the nature of how most of the ponies had been demoted there was a great amount of ill will in the room. Many of the former officers were looking at their replacements with nothing short of contempt.
Looking into the room from a side door was Hot Pants, wishing that somepony else could do this. Besides her were various things for the presentation she had planned. Documents, charts, magic crystals to display various pieces of information. All of it ready to go. But seeing all of these ponies caused her doubts to return in full force reminding her that she was too young as well as too inexperienced to be doing something like this. Who was she to tell these experienced soldiers the plans for the morning while knowing they would hate her with the same fury as the other promoted officers? Surely somepony else could do this. Maybe she could give her ideas to Hard Ass or Spitfire or…or somepony!
Just then Hot Pants felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She turned and saw it was Crème de la Crème giving her a reassuring smile.
“Looks like a tough crowd,” she said as she removed her hoof from Hot Pants’ shoulder. “But I’ll know you’ll do fine.”
“I wish I could say the same thing,” muttered Hot Pants as she peaked out once again.
“Hey, you’ll do great,” said Crème. “And don’t worry. I’ll be right there with you. Now let’s do this.” With that said, Crème gave Hot Pants a shove out the door.
Now out in the open, Hot Pants felt everypony’s eyes on her watching her like a pack of timber wolves staring down potential prey. Nervously she gulped before giving everypony in the room a smile that showed off all of her teeth as she looked back and forth. Then, with the fluidity of a mannequin, she walked into the middle of the front of the mess hall. She could feel the sweat forming all over her face yet did her best to stay calm.
Or at least as calm as she could.
“Um welcome e-everypony,” she stammered. “I, uh, hope the trip here was…nice. Ha-ha. Well I guess you’re all um wondering while I called you all here. And there’s a good reason. Really. I think I have a plan for the war and um-”
“I’m out of here,” said a pegasus stallion who was sitting in the back row, rolling his eyes as he got up. His coat was a light shade of purple with a black, Mohawk styled mane that also had a purple stripe. Hot Pants recognized him as former Captain Raging Storm who commanded a military base near the eastern border of Equestria.
“Wait,” said Hot Pants as she raised a foreleg. “You haven’t heard what I have to say!”
“I’ve heard enough,” said Storm, stopping and turning his head to the side to look at her. “And it’s obvious to everypony here that you have no clue what you’re doing. I spent twenty years serving Equestria, actually working hard to get to where I was and what do I get in return? Demoted just so a bunch of high class snobs can take our jobs and pretend like they earned them! I have already been humiliated enough and I don’t want to be forced to watch this farce any longer.”
“Hold your tongue commoner,” said Bitsworth as he stood up. “You will speak with respect to your betters.”
“Like Tar-” began Storm but stopped when he saw Hot Pants gallop over to Bitsworth and slap him causing everypony in the room to stare in shock.
“Apologize,” demanded Hot Pants as she stared angrily at Bitsworth.
“Why should I be the one apologizing?” demanded Bitsworth as he rubbed his check. “He’s the fool who is causing trouble and questioning you.”
“He has every right to question me,” said Hot Pants causing Storm to raise an eyebrow. “Raging Storm…no, that not right. Everypony in this room who was wrongfully demoted has a right to be angry with me and to question me. Like he said, we didn’t earn our ranks. I can understand why he is upset with this situation.”
Hot Pants then turned to look at Raging Storm whose body was still facing the door. “If you want to leave, I understand and I won’t stop you. But, please reconsider before you walk out that door. I have information that I hope will help save lives and hopefully help us win. And if you have anything you want to throw out there you can speak up at any time. I promise whatever you have to say will be taken into consideration.”
Raging Storm raised his eyebrow as he turned around to face Hot Pants as Bitsworth muttered an apology. However, Storm wasn’t paying attention to that. Instead, he was studying Hot Pants. Her expression, her posture, her breathing. He looked for any signs of deception to see if she was trying to manipulate him or the others in the room.
“Let’s hear what she has to say,” said Hard Ass, his voice catching the attention of everypony in the room. “At the very least we should learn more about our enemy.”
“And I’m curious to see what she has planned,” said Spitfire as she crossed her hooves. There was a small murmur of agreement across the room. Raging Storm regarded Hot Pants for a moment longer before he nodded and then took his seat.
“O-Ok,” said Hot Pants as she walked to the front of the room. Once there she took a deep breath before her horn began to glow and projected an image above her. It was a 3D image of the Lunar armor spinning around so that they could see it from every angle. Looking around the room, she could see that they all had their focus on the image, studying with the same intensity that had once been directed at her.
“I thought it would be best to start off with our enemy’s armor and weapons,” began Hot Pants. “Since this is what we will most likely be seeing in the morning. The armor, according to the best minds in Canterlot, is impregnable to our weapons and magic. Not even a dragon’s tooth will scratch it. Therefore we will have to aim at the exposed areas. The face, neck, any area of the legs that doesn’t have armor, and wing if they are pegasi or bat ponies. However, I’m sure they know about these weaknesses and will be keeping on their guard.”
“Then there’s their weapons we’ll have to deal with. On the backs of their ground units are small cannons that shoot out something like a magical discharge that can be used by both unicorns and earth ponies. Another thing I noticed personally was that one of their fliers could also fire energy blasts from his front hoof gauntlets as well as creating magical energy blades.”
Hot Pants closed her eyes and focus on a new image. Now floating above her were images of the Lunar ponies melee weapons.
“In close range combat they will most likely fight you with one of these,” continued Hot Pants. “These weapons are far superior to anything the griffons have every forged. They will cut through you and your armor is if you were nothing at all. So when dealing with these your only option will be to dodge.”
“Sounds easy enough,” said somepony in the back.
“Don’t get cocky,” snapped Spitfire as she turned her head to look at the pony. “A lot of good ponies died today because of this stuff.” She then turned to look at Hot Pants. “Have all the dead been accounted for?”
Slowly, Hot Pants nodded. “T-They have,” she said, with a gulp. “We are sending the dead we could find back to their families. The final count was four hundred and twenty seven.” As soon as she finished her sentence, a murmur went through room.
“I…I don’t believe it,” said a random pony in the room. “How could so few kill so many in such a short amount of time? I-It just doesn’t seem possible.”
“It is possible,” said Crème, all eye now on her. “I was there. I watched as our pegasi were picked off by just two of their aerial fighters. I saw ponies drop like flies when their wings were cut off, throats slashed, pierced by their weapons, or exploded into nothing. Trust me when I say that they can do it.”
“Then what hope do we have?” said another pony in the room.
“Some,” said Hot Pants. “Last time we fought, we had no idea what they were capable of. Now we do. And based on this new information I have come up with a couple of ideas on how to deal with them. I also have several crystals containing the memories of those who fought them and lived so that we can learn about them.”
“Still, all we have to go on is what they brought with them last time,” said Raging Storm in a neutral tone. “It would be safe to assume that they might have a few more tricks up their sleeves.”
“I know,” said Hot Pants with a nod. “However, all I can do is present with solutions for the information that we do have.”
Raging Storm gave a short nod.
“Ok, first off, we’ll be using the trebuchets provided by the Equestrian Reserves,” said Hot Pants. “According to Captain Hard Ass, we have sixteen of them and we’ll be deploying all of them.”
“What good will they do?” asked Bitsworth. “Didn’t you say that their armor impervious to our attacks? And won’t their weapons be able to shoot down whatever we throw at them?”
“That’s correct,” said Hot Pants. “They will be able to stop our weapons, but not the force of the impact. But during the battle this morning, three Lunar Troops were killed on their way to their embassy. They were killed when a unicorn used a spell to cause the ground beneath them to explode. The force of the impact killed two of them instantly while the third was seriously injured by the blast and the debris. Right there is a weak point we can exploit from a distance.”
Hard Ass smiled slightly. “You’re going to use the force of the impact to kill them,” he said. “Or, at the very least, have them break whatever formation they are in in order to avoid being hit. Am I correct?”
“Yes,” said Hot Pants. “But there was one thing you missed. It is true that they can fire energy blasts in order to attack from a distance. And I have seen that they can take down large rocks. However, I have also seen that their technology has its limits. Once whatever is powering them is all used up they become useless. So if we keep throwing big rocks at them, there is a chance we can get them to use up a large chunk of their power supply and take away their long range advantage.
“Also assisting us is something provided to us by Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts: ice arrows.”
“The kind used in ice archery during the Equestria Games?” said a confused Crème as she looked at her friend. “What good will they do?”
“Hopefully they will give us another advantage,” said Hot Pants. “They freeze anything they hit and incase them in ice. My plan is to have all of our best archers in the clouds, firing them at the enemy in order to stop them cold. If it doesn’t affect their armor then we aim at the ground to slip them up. I also have a few other ideas that I’d like to go over with all of you.”
Taking a breath, Hot Pants went over her other ideas for the ice arrows. As she spoke, everypony and donkey in the room listened intently. Some began to take notes while a few other put out their own ideas which they discussed as a group. Once that was done, Hot Pants began to pull out the crystals to show them the combat footage. Once that was done she was going to go over some troop formation ideas she had as well as a communication system using flares.
All in all, it was going to be a long night.
-x-
Cadence and her group felt like they had been walking for hours. The Everfree Forest was unlike anything the Princess of Love had ever been in before. The dark, unkempt trees seemed menacing at times and the strange noises she heard from the animals that dwelt here sent shivers down her spine that she desperately tried to keep from the others. The only thing in the forest that she had seen so far that didn’t seem menacing was a sea serpent that lived in a river that they crossed.
Cadence desperately wanted to talk to Ruby or Darkwing about what their next move was or, well, anything really to get her mind off the growing sense of dread as they walked deeper and deeper into the forest. However all of the other bat ponies seemed to have their eyes focused on them making it impossible for them to have a private conversation. That and the fear that if Jackal caught them doing anything he didn’t like he would most likely fly into another angry rage. So, for now, they walked in utter silence.
Eventually the group entered a clearing and Cadence finally saw their destination. Her eyes widened at the sight of the ruined castle. While it amazed her to find that there was a castle this far into this forest it was even more shocking to see what the bat ponies were doing to it. They were fixing it up! There were five or six of them hauling large stones to patch up parts of the wall and several areas of the roof looked like they had been recently patched up with branches and leaves. Whatever they could find or use they were using it to make this place their home. Glancing around, Cadence could see that many of the bat ponies holding her against her will looked at this site with pride in their eyes. The bat ponies under her command stared at it in utter shock, their mouths hanging open.
Only one seemed unimpressed by this sight.
“Alright, let’s move!” barked Jackal savagely.
At Jackel’s order, the group began to move again. But before they had taken more than five steps something happened. Ahead of them was a chasm or a really deep ditch. And from there three slimy green heads arose, each with yellow serpent like eyes that looked down at them hungrily.
Cadence’s eyes filled with fear as she recognized what she was seeing. It was a hydra! But, what was it doing here inside of a swamp or bog? Was there one nearby and it had smelt them? Or had the bat ponies brought it here to act like a guard dog, unaware of the danger it presented?
The creature then opened one of its mouths.
“Howdy ya’ll!”