I sat alone on a bench in Empire’s central square, my thoughts and a half-eaten bar of sea salt ice cream as my only company. Crystal ponies trotted to and fro through the plaza as if each and every one of them had to be somewhere on time. Which was exactly the case; the Crystal Empire had the honor of hosting the Equestria Games, and as the venue, the city had to look its utmost best to impress both attendees and competitors from far and wide.
Despite the pressure of ensuring the Empire was perfect both in aesthetics and hospitality, everyone seemed happy. And why wouldn’t they be? The Equestria Games was the first major event the Empire had hosted in over a thousand years. Having suffered under Sombra’s leash before their disappearance beforehand, the Empire’s denizens deserved the honor.
I wished I could share the enthusiasm, but my mind remained occupied with other things.
It had been a couple days since the debacle on the train. Diamond Dust and the other surviving mercs―contractors, thanks for the political correctness, Uncle Descent―were sent to the lower levels of the Crystal Castle for interrogations. Much to our disappointment, we gleaned little from them, even with Aria Frost’s skillset in persuasion at our disposal. Sure, we confirmed these guys indeed worked for a private military company, but they kept quiet about the name. I expected Uncle Descent to be familiar enough with at least one of the contractors to shed more light on their identity, but no luck there either. Just because he worked the field didn’t mean he’d be privy to every player in the game. Still, it would’ve helped immensely if he knew.
Affiliation aside, all we found out was they had a contract with an anonymous party to abduct Cadance and exchange her at a rendezvous. What they decided to do with her after that was beyond the contractors' knowledge—nor was it their concern, so long as they got paid. Except Diamond Dust; someone out there had a beef with Cadance and was well aware of Diamond’s mutual hatred for Celestia to exploit it for his own ends. She had to be privy to their plans beyond the rendezvous, I was sure of it. Otherwise things would have turned out much differently.
Or maybe I was quick to draw conclusions.
“Figured you’d be here.”
I recognized that edgy bass voice anywhere. I turned from my grieving to find its owner, a dark gray pegasus with a dark blue mane, strolling up to the bench. My mood lifted. Not by much, but I felt happier seeing my uncle and mentor. “How did you track me down this time? Intuition?”
Uncle Descent cracked a half smile. “Your bad choice of haircut.”
I gave him a slight smile in return. “Of course.” It then quickly faded and took the last bite of my ice cream, tossing the stick into the adjacent trash bin. Without a word, he settled in the empty spot next to me. I didn’t mind. I needed the company right then, especially someone who could easily be confided in. My mouth opened a few times, but no words came out. I wasn’t sure how to go about the subject.
“If you wanna talk about something, just spit it out. Otherwise it’ll eat you up inside.” Uncle Descent always had an edge to his voice no matter what mood he was in. Anyone unfamiliar with him would assume he wasn’t the friendly type. On the contrary, he was just direct.
After about the fourth time I opened my mouth, I finally said something. “Do you think we caused more problems than we solved?”
He seemed put off by the question, but quickly put the pieces together. “This is about your last outing.” After a silence, he jerked his head towards the edge of the city and slid off the bench. “C’mon, we’re taking a walk.”
I followed him without question, already figuring out what particular destination he had in mind. By ‘taking a walk’, Uncle Descent meant finding a place less crowded. Better to not risk somepony overhearing a conversation laden with potentially sensitive information, especially with rumors of a leak floating around. Yeah, we had our suspicions; it would explain how the contractors just happened to be at the right place at the right time in the middle of northern wilderness to raid the train.
We left the square and took one of the main streets away from the castle, then turned down a side street that lead to a group of houses. I followed my uncle into our house, the door marked with a simple crescent moon. Once past the hallway and in the living room, he took a seat at the kitchen bar. “What’s eating you?”
“It’s just...“ I sighed as I accepted the silent invitation and sat in one of the bar stools. “Diamond Dust was orphaned in Zebrica. She tried to abduct the princess in order to kill her and make Celestia suffer, all because we didn’t send aid in Zebrica all those years ago.”
He gazed out the window towards the mountains with a distant look. “That was a nasty regime change...”
“The Guard could’ve gone in and prevented so much chaos.” I could hear my tone growing more saturated with frustration. “I mean, it’s our duty to protect others, but what’s the point of being a guardpony if we can’t always protect them?”
“Flash, you’re young, and as a guardpony your age it’s still hard to acknowledge the realities of war.” Uncle Descent turned to me with a firm expression, taking a seat in an adjacent bar stool. “I understand you feel we should have gotten involved, but Equestria stepping into a foreign affair was out of the question. Even if we were not bound by international law, our involvement would have made things much worse.”
“How could it have been worse?”
Uncle Descent massaged the bridge of his nose as if he had a migraine coming on. “Look at this from a worldview perspective for a moment: had we intervened by backing one of the other heirs, that crazed bastard Ozgur would have been seen as a true patriot to his country, while Celestia would be branded as a belligerent playing favorites with his rivals.”
I chose that moment to raid his icebox for another sea salt ice cream, both to take solace in my comfort food and do more than just sit. I getting a little stir-crazy.
Uncle Descent continued speaking as I did so. “And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Post-war relations, political backlash, financial deficit due to military spending, casualties... even if I had fingers I wouldn’t have enough to count off the other issues that would've stemmed from our meddling.”
I took a bite to buy time to think. Much as I wanted to believe to the contrary, he was right. Meddling in another nation’s civil war meant sending our reputation as a neutral nation to Tartarus in a handbasket.
That didn’t mean it was an easy truth to accept. “We still should have done something,” I said, leaning my free foreleg against the icebox. “I mean, what’s the point of harmony if we can’t spread it?”
“What, like strut on in with a friendship speech?”
“Well, yeah. If it works for Princess Twilight, then why can’t we give it a try?”
Uncle Descent shook his head. “Because it doesn’t always work that way.”
“Maybe it’s time we try something different,” I rebutted, “Just think how much it’ll benefit everyone if we pushed others to just accept their differences and live in peace. Magic of friendship, and all that.”
“That depends on your definition of ‘push’. If it's a matter of convincing, sure—go crazy with the friendship speeches. Now if you went around forcing harmony on others, it wouldn’t really be harmony. What do you call that?”
“Oppression. Conformity. An imitation of friendship,” I answered with a raised brow.
He nodded. “Totalitarianism is another word for it if you want to take it to the national level, and definitely not friendship regardless of how you put it.”
“Where are you going with this, exactly?” I asked before taking another thoughtful bite. Was it the way I phrased my opinion? It didn’t insinuate forcing ideologies on someone else, if that’s what Uncle Descent thought. Then again, ‘push’ was probably not the best choice of word. I should have said ‘encourage’.
“The whole friendship speech plan is never guaranteed to work. I witnessed one in Zebrica, and that didn’t play out well. You were there when Princess Luna tried it, and you saw how that went.”
I frowned. “I really thought it was going to work.”
“Like I said, no guarantees.” It was rare for Uncle Descent’s face to have an expression other than a smirk or his semi-permanent stink eye, so it was a genuine surprise when his gaze softened for the second time today. “War’s cruel like that, Flash. It takes some unlucky bastards and changes them for the worse, turning them into something else. Sometimes when you offer them a second chance, they’ll just tell you to shove it.”
A long silence fell over us as I chewed over both his words and my comfort food. Diamond Dust lost the only family she had when she was young, all because of an heir’s desperate play for power. With nothing to lose, she could care less about who got in her way as she sought vengeance for what Equestria did—or rather, what it didn’t do. I ought to call Diamond a monster for what she had in store for Cadance and Luna, and what she did to Windlancer—
My chest tightened at the thought of her. Windlancer’s body would be soon sent home to her family in Vanhoover. It was depressing. She didn’t deserve to go like that, not when she had just graduated from the academy. Such cruelty for a rookie to go so early in her career. For that, maybe I should label Diamond Dust a monster. But was it right to do so? Ozgur was the one who shoved her down such a twisted path. And all of that bloodshed just for a seat on the throne? If anything, he was the monster.
“Still, things could’ve been different.” I mentally cringed for sounding like a broken record. “In Zebrica or back on the train with Diamond Dust.”
“If those speeches worked every time, they’d put us out of a job.”
I almost chuckled at the mental image of my uncle as a hobo, bindle and all. Humor aside, Uncle Descent once again had point. The military’s existence would be impractical if the only thing needed to quell a quarrel was a speech about friendship. Of course, that’s not how the world worked. There would be those who would jump at the chance of friendship, and then some who would turn the other cheek. Guess we can’t all be heroes.
“Right,” I finally conceded, “You’re right, it’s a stupid idea.”
“Typical Flash, always wearing his heart on his sleeve. No wonder some ponies hate you.”
Our heads turned to find Lightning Dust trotting into the living room, in one of those rare instances she wasn’t attempting a suicidal speed record through the Crystal Mountains. I guess she managed to break another record a while ago and decided to crash at the house.
“Guess you heard enough?” I asked.
“Plenty. Kinda hard to get a nap in while you two are talking real life.” She stifled a yawn. “You want my opinion? Forget Diamond Whatsherface. As far as you’re concerned, she’s just another loon who screwed over her team because her priorities outweighed the objective.”
My mouth curved up slightly. “Kind of reminds me of someone I know.”
“Funny. Last I remember, I didn’t tell Spitfire to shove the offer elsewhere.”
Uncle Descent made an amused sound. “Good thing you didn’t. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in the Reserves.”
“Eh, I would’ve made in somehow. Never underestimate what I’m capable of.” With a quick aerial loop that was definitely for show, Lightning hovered next to me and motioned for me to follow. “Well little brother, time to get off your flank. If you’re gonna win gold in the Games, you’re gonna need to squeeze in as much sparring time as you can get to make sure you’re in top form.”
I felt my ego inflate. “Like there’s going to be any real competition.” I had no clue who would be facing Team Crystal Empire in the Games, but whoever they were better be up to snuff.
“Don’t be too sure about that,” Uncle Descent cautioned. “Rumor has it a few vets from the Guard are taking a stab at the fencing event.”
“Either way, Flash, you gotta be the best of the best.” Lightning took note of the half-eaten bar of ice cream in my hoof. “And that starts with cutting down on the ice cream. Seriously, you stuff your face everyday with it. I can already see a food baby coming on.” She poked at my belly a few times.
“Whoa, hey!”
“We need to fix that.” Before I could react, Lightning swiped the bar from my hoof and took a bite from it with a triumphant grin. A part of me died inside as I watched her writhe in delight at the taste. “Mmm … sea salt.”
“Traitor.” I shot a hoof at her. “If I’m going on a diet, you going on one, too.”
“Flash Bradley Sentry, I’m very disappointed in you. I’ve always been eating right. It takes more than just exercise to keep this bod at an eleven out of ten. I think I deserve a little treat for all my hard work.” Lightning took another bite, which knowing her was done out of spite. “You on the other hoof, not so much. So from now on, fruits, veggies, a monitored intake of your starch, and zero sweets. No exceptions.”
I turned to my uncle, hoping he’d be willing to back up his nephew in this time of crisis.
All I got was a smirk. “You’d have to pay handsomely if want me to intervene.”
I groaned and fell back against the icebox. “You’re terrible.”
“No money, no service.” Uncle Descent grunted as he vacated his seat. “Well, I better go check in with the boys and rattle some more cages. Maybe bring old Sergeant Plum along for the ride. Unless our house guests are in a giving mood, we’re not going to learn anything from them just by sitting around on our flanks.”
Lightning pursed her lip in thought before having an aha moment. “Here’s an idea: bring Sunny Flare in. She might get further with her wiles than you guys.”
“Actually, that's not a bad idea,” I opined after some consideration. Princess Cadance’s advisor could easily be described as many things: arrogant, aloof, tactless, but that didn't mean she was incapable of charm. “If anypony can butter those guys up with a few winks, she can.”
“I’ll drop it in the suggestion box,” Uncle Descent said as he laid his hoof on the doorknob. “In the meantime, keep it tidy in there. I’m not gonna clean after you two again.”
Lightning tapped a hoof to her temple. “Got it memorized. Don’t worry Uncle, I’ll make sure he leaves it spotless once we’re through,” she teased.
“You're one to talk,” I teased back.
A ghost of an amused smirk twitched on our uncle’s face before succumbing to his usual serious look. “And one more thing. Your mother and the others should be here later this afternoon, so don't forget the arrival time.”
Oh yeah, that's right, they were coming in on the train today. With the upcoming Games and the train incident, my mind had been rather occupied. We all could afford to take some time away from work and spend it with the family. The last time the family as a whole came together was last Hearth’s Warming, which was… geez, had it been that long ago? Still, we were plenty eager to catch up with Mom, Dad, and Fi once they arrived. Hay, maybe some of the guys from the Twelfth Precinct will be along for the ride as security for the Games. It’d be nice to catch up with them, too.
I could feel the excitement within me. This visit will be a well-needed distraction from the craziness of the past couple days. Not for just for us, but for the others who had family outside the Empire. Star especially; she seemed out of it since we came back. I ought to check up on her and see how she’s doing. That is, once Lightning and I were done with our training session.
“Fifteen hundred hours,” we recited from memory.
With an approving nod, Uncle Descent left the house, leaving Lightning and I all by our lonesome. She turned to me with that competitive smirk of hers. “So, you ready for another round, little brother? I’m all charged up.”
I matched her expression. “Sure. Just prepare to lose.”
“With that food baby of yours? I’ll drop you right here in ten seconds.”
“Try me.”
She did it in seven.
End