Chapter 1: The General
They want to parley. Bah! Since when have the Solar Empire ever wanted to discuss things? I smell a patch of rotten horse apples. Unfortunately, the will of the Moon Goddess is that we play their game. She is blind.
It wasn’t like this in the beginning. It started as a political argument between two ruling entities. It was kept in the castle. But then they started playing dirty. Those nobles that sided with the tyrant, Celestia, began killing those that supported the glorious Princess Luna.
Everything fell apart after the first few deaths. Nobles called on friends and associates to side with them. Families tore themselves to pieces, throwing their lot in with opposing sides. A father might wake up one day to find his son with a dagger at his mother’s throat because they had differing views. It became a bloodbath until Princess Luna called for her ponies to found Luna’s Hope, City of Night.
Within a season, the Sunseekers, the best troops the Empire has, had laid siege. It was only by the power of the moon that we survived those first months. We pushed them back nearly to the Moonshine River. Since then, we’ve been trading blows with neither side gaining the upper hoof.
It’s been like this for two years. And now they think they can negotiate with us.
---
“General! The diplomatic party has arrived.”
The General closed the journal and returned the captain’s salute. “Thank you, Captain Blade. Have them escorted to the main hall.”
The captain saluted again, neatly spun around and marched out.
Sighing, the General rubbed his temple. Slowly rising from the desk, he walked over to where his formal regala sat in the corner. He levitated the chestplate over his head and lowered it onto his shoulders. The helmet came next, coming to a hover in front of him, he took a second to look at his reflection.
A rust coloured face glared back, the scar that stretched from his snout to lower jaw a reminder of what war could do. Brushing a few strands of dark red mane out of his face, he looked away and slowly brought it to rest on his head. His hoof rested for a second on the hilt of the ceremonial sword. He grunted and slung it over his shoulder. Lastly, he clipped on a red cape.
Red like me. Red like my mane. As he passed his desk, he stopped and looked at the one picture on it. He blinked several times, holding back the tears. Finally, he knocked it down and hardened his gaze. Swiftly walking through door, he turned and headed down the hall.
Every guard saluted as he passed, but he paid no attention to them. When he reached the grand oak doors to the grand hall, he stopped and nodded to the two ponies that flanked either side. Without a word, they opened the door.
“... Neither side trusts the other. We will be keeping our weapons or we will leave now...” The blue pony who was speaking looked at the General as the doors crashed against the wall, echoing through the room. She grinned and gestured at him. “Ah, finally a pony with some authority. But not the one we need. Where is Nightmare Moon?” Her smile faded and she glared at the new comer.
The General glanced around the room, counting at least two dozen of the Sunseekers. Their white cloaks, emblazoned with the sun that identified them, hid their faces. Each one looked tense, ready to pull blades at a moments notice.
“You will not address Princess Luna by her field name,” the General said calmly as he strode to the table and sat down across from the ambassador. “Furthermore, she does not trust you, none of us do. She will speak with, and only with, Celestia, if these negotiations go well.” He shuffled some papers around as they were passed to him before continuing. “For now, you will parley with me, Clear Skies.”
“That’s Captain Clear Skies to you!” she cried, her wings flaring as she stood up, pounding the table with her hoof. The room remained completely silent for a few seconds before she slowly sat back down. “I’m sorry. That outburst was unwarranted. It will not be the Sunseekers who start a petty fight.”
The General snorted and replied, “Heh, just like this war. You didn’t start it either, I suppose?” Shaking his head, he waved the hoof away as if to swat away an unwanted idea. “But we did not come here to insult each other. You were the one to initiate this. What do you want?”
Clear Skies leaned back and grinned. “A truce. A temporary one, but one nonetheless.”
The ponies around the General glanced at each other. Before any of them could speak, he stood up and walked around the table to Clear Skies.
“That can’t be the only thing you want. The Empire always wants more.” He leaned in close to her and whispered, “Because enough is never enough, is it?”
She shoved him away and waved her guards back. “I’ll ignore that gib for the sake of parly, but you are correct. In exchange for the temporary truce, we want Trottingham.”
The room burst into a hubbub of noise as ponies all around began whispering to each other.
“Preposterous!”
“An outrageous demand! She surely doesn’t think we’d give up a city that deep in our territory.”
“She cannot demand—”
The General pounded the table and roared, “Silence!” He waited as peace reigned once again. Finally, he spoke. “That is out of the question. Any soldier worth their salt would be against that. It’s too important to us. Too close to Luna’s Hope as well.”
“I see.” Clear Skies tapped her chin. “We’d also be willing to trade a three month truce for New Haven.”
Three months is a long time in war. It would allow both sides to recuperate and prepare for the next part. Anything could happen. But the time! The one precious thing we so desperately need.
Captain Blade leaned close and whispered into the General’s ear. “I know what you’re thinking. But as your captain and advisor, I would suggest against it. I smell an Empire trap.”
“You have served under me for this entire war and for ten years before that. In all those years, you’ve proven yourself a good friend. I trust you.” Nodding, The General turned back to Clear Skies. “It would be foolish of us to just hand over any city to you. However, we would be able to trade one hundred prisoners of war per month of peace. In addition to the peace, you will release twenty-five of our soldiers as well.”
Clear Skies thought for a minute before responding. “We can do twenty a month no more, no less, and only if you bump your offer up to one hundred and fif—”
The sound a blade unsheathing cut her off. Every pony in the room turned to the source of the noise just in time to see one of the Sunseeker’s thrust his blade into a pony noble.
“It’s a trap! The Lunar scum are trying to assassinate us!” The earth pony grabbed the blade and swung it around just in time to block the axe of a guard.”
Clear Skies jumped into the air and hovered. “I knew it! Traitors! All of you!” she snarled as she reached back into a pair of sheaths. Two blades followed her hooves out, attached by leather bindings. Screaming, she dived towards the General.
Calmly, he waiting until the last second before deftly whipping out the ceremonial sword. Sparks flew as his blade met hers. Turning around, he lashed out with his hind hooves, sending her tumbling into two of her guards. He landed back on all four hooves and charged into the thick of the battle, his sword floating close behind.
Ducking under a hasty thrust, his own blade swung down, cutting a gapping hole in the Sunseeker’s chest. However, another one of Clear Skies’ guards charged the General before he could regain his defensive posture. He felt the tip of a spear pierce his shoulder. Bellowing in pain, he chopped down, cutting the offending weapon in half. Then, the lopped off the guard’s head.
“To me!” he cried. “Push them towards the corners!” The General whirled around as he felt something brush his side. He stopped just short of gouging Captain Blade. “Dual Blade! Get some ponies and see if you can take some prisoners. Aim for Clear Skies if you can.”
“Yes, sir!” Captain Blade saluted and rushed off towards a group of the Lunar guards.
Across the hall, the General could see Clear Skies rallying the remaining Sunseekers. “Retreat! Jump through the windows, just as planned!”
One by one, a few of the remaining enemy crashed through the nearest window.
The General cursed as he fought his way through the stragglers. I told the Princess that having windows this low to the ground were a bad idea. Her overconfidence will be the end of her. He viciously swung his blade, downing the last Sunseeker between him and Clear Skies.
She turned around just in time to parry a savage swing. Gritting her teeth, she spun away, then dived at the General. He deflected her blow and retaliated with one of his own. Clear Skies tried a downward slash. Her blades slid off his in a shower of sparks.
“Surrender now, and maybe I’ll spare you... after questioning of course,” he growled. He pointed his sword straight at her and sent it flying. She chopped it down and it clattered to the ground, no longer surrounded by the red glow of his magic.
Clear Skies turned, slashing down a Lunar guard that leapt at her. “I would never surrender to you. I would rather die!” Kneeing another guard in the face, she dove towards the window.
“Bow!” The General ran after her. As he galloped, he caught the crossbow that flew from the melee towards him. Letting his magic guide his aim, he pointed it at the fleeing Captain. Just as she jumped, he pulled the trigger. The bolt passed through her left wing, causing her to disappear under the window.
When he looked out, there was nothing. Throwing the crossbow away, he spun around and stomped his hoof, cringing as pain coursed through his shoulder. Snorting once, he examined the scene before him. Out of the thirty guards, plus Captain Blade and him, only fifteen or so remained. Out of those fifteen, twelve of them sported some sort of injury ranging from a slash across the cheek to missing limbs. Their cries of pain grated on his ears, but he did his best to ignore it.
Snorting again, he limped through the carnage. He stopped at the first body and nudged it with a hoof. Captain Blade trotted up. He was one of the few that remained uninjured.
“Shield... she’ll be missed.” He looked around “Spear, Darts, Dull Armor. All of them will be missed.” Shaking his head, he walked away. “I’ll inform her majesty of this treachery. You need to get that wound tended to.”
The General put a hoof on Captain Blade’s shoulder. “Thank you, Dual. I could use the break for once. But when you get back, I think we need to have a chat... as friends rather than military ponies.” Spinning around, he marched past the remainder of his troops. “Dismissed!”
The guards saluted and gathered up the wounded before heading towards the infirmary.
---
“Two more didn’t make it. That brings the death count up to nineteen.” Captain Blade looked up from the papers that littered the General’s desk.
“But how many of them were slain?” asked the General as he grimaced while tightly wrapping the last of some gauze over the spear wound.
“Twenty. Four escaped, including their captain.”
The General sighed and signed the report. “Too many... but now that we have the nasty business out of the way, I want to talk to you.” He glanced towards the door, bathing it in a red glow. Once he was sure they would not be overheard, he continued. “This war needs to end soon.”
Dual Blade shrugged. “I agree, but unless you or the Princess have some grand plan, that’s not gonna happen.” He rounded the desk and patted his friend on the shoulder. “But we’ll think of something. We’ve nearly got them across the river and after that, it’s a hop and a skip to their capital.”
“If we can push them across. They’re well fortified,” growled the General as he brought out a map and frowned at it. “Anyways, I’m not so sure. Why can’t we just stop when we do finally manage to get them out of our territory?”
“What do you mean?” asked Dual Blade with a raised eyebrow.
The General wadded up the map and shouted, “What? Do we become land hungry mongrels like them? Do we push on, leaving them with nothing, same as they’re trying to do to us?” He smashed his hooves into the desk, causing parchment and books to slide off. “If we pursue them across the river, the carnage will never end until both sides have nothing left but the old and weak!”
Dual Blade backed up in surprise. “Of course we pursue them! It is what Princess Luna wants. She should be ruling the entirety of Equestria by right.”
“I... I just want this to be over,” sighed the General. “I never asked for this. Sometimes I wish I had never discovered my talent for strategy.” He glanced sadly back at his cutie mark, both the black and the white king from chess. “Why couldn’t I have gotten something else? I thought I enjoyed writing enough for that to be my special talent. I was good enough with the flute for a music cutie mark. But no, at the time I was infatuated with finding ways to out maneuver my opponents.”
As he picked up the books, Dual Blade said, “Aye, we all wish that it would end. But you’re sounding as if you’re about to throw in the towel and resign.” He arranged things on the desk neatly, stacking papers and righting the picture. “That isn’t the general I know. That isn’t the general the soldiers know. It’d be heresy to them if you just up and left.”
He spun the picture around around and squinted. “I’ve never noticed this before. Who’s that filly standing by your side? You both look so happy.”
The General grabbed the picture. “Get your filthy mud hooves off my possessions!”
“Heh, mud hooves. You used to call all us earth ponies that. Now look at us, best friends.” Dual Blade chuckled. “Though seriously, who is that?”
“War, working with all the other ponies, being in the army changed things. I grew to be tolerant and then I realized that we’re all the same, except built for different tasks. That’s not to say a unicorn couldn’t be a farmer or a pegasus couldn’t be a scholar.” The General looked at the picture sadly. He ran a hoof down it and gulped. “As for who she is? My daughter... was my daughter.”
“Was?”
He put the picture in a desk drawer and went over to his bed. “Things change. You are dismissed.”
Dual Blade took the hint and saluted. He backed out as the magic surrounding the door faded. The door slammed shut behind him.
---
One nap and four hours later found the General training in the courtyard. His sword swung again and again at the target dummy. Straw flew from the packed potato sack, nearly blinding him. Grunting and sweating he finally let the blade drop. It clattered to the ground. The dust settled and rose to his hooves again.
Panting, he picked up two crossbows and loaded them. They hovered about half a meter away from him, but he knew that his aim would be true. The triggers pulled back, sending the bolts flying into the heads of some target dummies on the upper levels. He loaded again, spinning around at the same time. Another two bolts hit the shoulders of two other mock soldiers.
Sighing, he sheathed the crossbows. I’m just not as good as I used to be. Ever since I stopped teaching my daughter, it just hasn’t been the same.
“Impressive.” The sound of hooves clapping on stone came from the archway. “It’s a shame you don’t get to use that talent of yours more often.”
The General immediately dropped to his knees and bowed low. “Your majesty. What brings you to this room?”
“Defend yourself.” Two ethereal rapiers appeared beside Princess Luna and she grinned wickedly.
Diving towards his own blade, a proper broadsword this time, the General narrowly avoided being beheaded. A trickle of blood dripped over his lips. Growling, he glared at the Princess and lifted his sword.
He swung in a tight arc aimed at her chest. His blade flew to the side as it the Princess’s own swords deflected it.
She countered with a downward thrust. Princess Luna growled when he threw himself back, avoiding the strike. The anger turned into surprise as he dove forward, nabbing one of her blades in his mouth and whipping it towards her. She felt the wind over her head as she ducked and it passed overhead.
The blade dissolved before she could get ahold of it again. Spinning around, she swung her remaining rapier viciously. However, the General had disappeared. Snarling, she looked around the room suspiciously. “Come out! Let’s finish this quickly and maybe I’ll give you your next task.” She listened carefully, for any telltale sign of her opponent. Suddenly, her ears perked up as the castle bells began to ring.
At that moment, the General launched himself from his perch on a second floor alcove. His blade swung low, aiming for the Princess’s legs. To his surprise, instead of backing up, allowing him to roll into her and gore her with his horn, she stepped forward. His blade bounced off her enchanted breastplate and onto the ground. Her sword came up to rest on his throat.
“Do you yield?”
“As always, you have bested me, Princess.” He breathed a sigh of relief as the rapier disappeared. Falling to the ground he sat there, panting in exhaustion. “You said you had a task for me?”
Princess Luna strolled around the room, stopping at each target dummy, two in each wall, before replying. “Yes, We do.” She stopped at the archway. “You are to go to the Moonshine River, the main crossing, and take an active role in pushing out my sister’s forces. You’ve been idle too long. You’ve given us strategies that are good, but don’t quite work or work, but only for awhile.”
She trotted out, but just before disappearing, she turned back and frowned, saying, “We feel that your heart is no longer in this war. Choose your side now, or we will retire you ourselves.” She spun around, her flowing mane disappearing around the corner.
The General smiled ruefully and snorted. She’s right. Maybe if I did take to the frontline, I could end this war years earlier than expected. He trotted out towards his room.
---
The moon completed its rotation and began again in the opposite direction.
Dawn, I suppose. Though it’s hard to tell with only the moon in the sky. The Princess’s veil hides the sun from us and frankly, I yearn just to see it once more. Memories of days spent with his daughter running on the beach flooded his mind. He remembered her disappointment when the sun went down and they had to go home. The look on her face reminded him of—
“Now there’s a face I haven’t seen in ages!” The voice of a pink pegasus mare snapped him out of his reverie. “How’ve you been, you old flank wanker?”
The General chuckled. “I’m doing fine Colonel Star. You haven’t changed a bit since we last met.”
Colonel Star tapped her chin. “I... I can’t remember when that was? Care to refresh me?”
“No, no I don’t,” said the General as he tried to suppress a grin with a frown.
“Ah! I remember. The Ragged Mane. That one room if I remember correctly.” She lightly tapped his shoulder with her hoof and giggled. “And it was a good night too.”
The General laughed. “Please, I’m trying to forget. It was a rash action done in the heat of the moment.”
In a softer tone, Colonel Star said, “You let go of your past that night and it was the right choice. It was destroying you from the inside out.”
The grin off of the General’s face faded, turning into a grimace. “I know. Now can we drop this?” When he received a nod, he continued. “Now, is there anypony of higher rank I should be talking to?”
“Not unless you’re planning on talking to yourself.” Colonel Star burst into laughter, but was immediately silenced by a stern glare from the General. She coughed and asked, “So what are you here for?”
“I’m taking command of these troops. Princess Luna has given us a month to push the Empire across the river. We also have to take their first stronghold after the waters.” He looked around surveying the area. “And by the looks of it, we’re going to need the whole month and reinforcements.”
A dozen or so tents were pitched around the central fire. They looked as if they had survived a raid or two, or a dozen. Holes marked the spots where arrows had flown through, and jagged cuts showed just how many times a hit and run had come in and slashed their way into the encampment.
The ponies didn’t look much better. Pegasus tended to ragged wings. Unicorns bandaged their forehead, holding their horns in place as if they were hanging by a thread. The earth ponies apparently took the brunt of the attacks. There were very few and the ones that the General could see all had long scars, broken limbs, or even missing body parts.
He turned to Captain Blade. “You are to go back to the capital and order reinforcements. The three units I brought with me will not be enough. We’ll need at least two more. Also, get more carts delivering supplies.”
Captain Blade saluted and galloped away.
Turning back to Colonel Star, the General raised an eyebrow and frowned. “Why weren’t reinforcements requested? You look like you’re down to your last hundred.”
Colonel Star’s smile drooped. “Three hundred. And we’ve been trying. They’ve been intercepting our runners, though.”
The General cursed and whirled around. “Get two dozen ponies after Captain Blade! Quick! Speed is of essence here!” Angrily, he stomped into the camp, heading towards the biggest tent. “Now Colonel, we have plans to make.”