//------------------------------// // "Tell me why you are not happy." // Story: Caligula's Legacy // by CCC //------------------------------// Walk with me, ordered the Princess, rising from her throne. Megan Faust complied, standing up and accompanying her Ruler out to the balcony. Talking with a Unit that could not, itself, talk Language was always a tricky proposition; Princess Celestia was equal to the challenge, but few others could manage their side of a conversation entirely in orders. It did not help that there were very few units with the authority to order Megan. Princess Celestia led Megan out to the balcony, and they looked out over the capital city of Canterlot for about half a minute in silence. Then Princess Celestia ordered again - Tell me why you are not happy Megan hesitated only a moment. This was how conversations with her mount-turned-Ruler always went - she was not certain it was possible to hide anything from Celestia. "I... miss combat, Princess. I recognise that my... my ability to speak Language is an irreplaceable asset for our Side, and I am proud to serve, but... negotiation and diplomacy were never my joy. They are... tedious. Combat is - there is a kind of primal joy in combat. When you are facing the enemy, and the enemy is facing you - even when you have every advantage, combat is always dangerous. The most careful commander can always fall to a lucky crit. You are always playing for the highest stakes, and there is no telling whose turn it is to go to the City of Heroes. It -" Megan sighed. "It is not something which the only unit capable of negotiation on a side should risk. Even - even when all that I am doing is presenting the terms that you order me to present." Megan smiled weakly. "Did you know that some Sides are now starting to worry at the mere idea that I might negotiate with them? Apparently the phrase 'Faustian bargain' is becoming the centre of some very scary stories." Princess Celestia turned, and raised one eyebrow. Continue to tell me why you are not happy "I... Princess, it is... there is nothing that can be done about it." Princess Celestia half-smiled, and gently reiterated the order. "I am... I am isolated, Princess. Our Side has produced no units capable of Language since you became Ruler, and I have no-one to talk to. We still have a few - some stabbers, a few pikers here and there, even a couple of archers in Stalliongrad. They are... they are limited, Your Highness. I can talk to them, and they can talk to me, but I can't converse with them. I can't discuss hypotheticals, or talk strategy. I, I feel very alone. Your Highness." Princess Celestia nodded, finally satisfied. Then she changed tack. Tell me about Princess Luna "Princess Luna?" asked Megan. "The first warlord popped under your reign. Specialised in taking advantage of terrain and wearing a foe down before they even got to the battle. Chief Warlord, and your heir, until she unexpectedly Turned to the side of Moon. You'd sent her with a few stacks to take care of a patrol of Moon Twolls that had got a bit too close to the old Capital, but when she got there, she Turned, took out her own Stacks, stacked up with the Twolls, and led the attack that forced us to abandon the old Everfree Capital." Megan shook her head. "I'm not about to Turn, Princess. I'm feeling lonely and frustrated, not traitorous. I know how vital I am to the Side." Princess Celestia frowned, then snorted. Stack with our newest caster in the entrance hall. Travel, as swiftly as possible, to the city of Ponyville. In case of combat, take no losses, preferring retreat where possible. Ensure that the new caster survives to take over city management duties on arrival. Megan bowed. "Yes, your Highness." There were some things, Megan knew, which could not be easily said in orders. She wondered what it was that the Princess had been trying to say. As she left the balcony, she received one more order. Stay alive. It was Princess Celestia's way of wishing her luck. "Thank you, Your Highness." -------------- "Hi! You must be Megan Faust. You are Megan Faust, right? I mean, you're a warlord with only two legs, and we've only got one two-legged warlord, right? My name's Twilight Sparkle!" Megan stretched out a hand, hesitantly, to shake the purple unicorn's offered hoof. "You can talk," she said. "No," said Twilight. "But I'm a Foolamancer. I can make you think that you hear me talking. And that's pretty much the same thing, isn't it?" "I, I guess so." "You know where we're going, right?" asked Twilight. "You've been briefed?" Megan nodded. "I have my orders." "Right!" Twilight nodded at a nearby pair of white pegasi. "There's a couple of forest and hill hexes between here and there, so we're going to take flying mounts most of the way there, and then walk the last eighteen hexes. Do you have enough move?" Megan shook her head. "Not for eighteen hexes," she admitted. "Then you'll be riding me for that portion of the journey," said Twilight, firmly. "Princess Celestia wants us in Ponyville today. Tomorrow is the thousandth Turn of her reign, and we need to have everything in order before she gets there." Unparalleled mobility, Megan reflected, was very much an advantage of a Side that was made almost entirely of mounts.