A Dream of Sunny Days

by Roranicus

XXXVII General Silvermane

Silvermane almost pushed a servant out of the way as she stormed through the castle halls. She eyed the griffon guards in front of Blueblood's office, defying them to keep her out. "Move," she ordered. "I have to see the prince."

The two guards shared a concerned look, but moved aside. Silvermane wasted no time in opening the golden door. She found Blueblood on the other side, deep in conversation with Ambassador Antoine and Centurion Bouvier who both stood in front of his desk.

Silvermane spoke the moment she stepped inside. "One of my scouts just returned. The enemy soldiers will be here in about a day, with the main force moving from Cloudsdale. Reports indicate that more enemy troops are gathering in Manehattan."

Bouvier frowned. "That doesn't give us as much time as I hoped."

"It'll have to do," Silvermane said. "I already recalled as many of our troops as I could, but the bulk of our forces are still at Vanhoover."

"We got distracted by this campaign," Antoine said as he fiddled with a pencil.

Silvermane nodded. "They took advantage of the Vanhoover siege to attack. It'll take days for our troops to return and reinforce us. We'll have to hold the city in the meantime."

Blueblood massaged his temples. "At least most of the griffon forces are still in the city. It was a good idea to recall them earlier, Centurion." He took a deep breath and faced Silvermane. "So how bad is it?"

"It's bad," Silvermane said. "They outnumber us three to one. Their entire hit and run campaign was a diversion. Soarin was rebuilding his army while he had us believe that he was down to guerrilla tactics. Without spies in Cloudsdale, we had no way to know how much they recruited."

"But we did the same," Blueblood said, his voice shaking. "We recruited heavily."

"And then spread our forces too thin," Silvermane continued. She carefully observed both griffons for signs of a reaction, but found none. "The Vanhoover campaign was a mistake. Also, to put it bluntly, we should have insisted on forced conscription."

"Indeed you should have," Bouvier said as he adjusted his glasses. "But instead, you chose to evacuate the city of most of its civilian population. A sign of weakness if I ever saw one."

"My citizens have suffered enough," Blueblood said. "My wife did the right thing. Don't any of you dare criticize her again."

"Of course, Your Highness," Antoine politely replied with a bow.

Interesting, it seems Rarity rubbed off on him after all. Now, if only I could confirm that he wasn't part of the conspiracy to murder Celestia. Perhaps I will be able to use him after all. Silvermane nodded at Blueblood. "What's done is done. We're here to serve both you and the princess, of course. Now, we should plan for the defense."

Bouvier nodded. "That's precisely what we were doing before you interrupted us, General."

"Carry on then," Silvermane said. "I'm curious what you've come up with so far."

"With the forces you have," Bouvier said, "we believe the defense should be concentrated around the castle itself." He motioned for a map of the city on Blueblood's desk. A series of figurines marked both Canterlot and Cloudsdale units. "As you can see, I've suggested a deployment strategy for your troops, favoring an easy retreat back toward the castle. You should be able to hold up, hopefully for as long as a few days."

Silvermane frowned. "I don't see your forces on this map, Centurion."

"That's correct, General," Bouvier said. "My own forces will hide in the Everfree forest. We'll use the night to our advantage and take the enemy from behind. They will be fighting a battle on two fronts."

It took all of Silvermane's self-control to keep a straight face. So this is their plan. They leave the city, let the Cloudsdale army torch it, then come back and eliminate the survivors. If they want to bring Equestria to ruin, this is their chance. She turned to Blueblood. "Do you agree with this plan, Your Highness?"

Blueblood sighed. "I don't like it, but Centurion Bouvier assured me that it was our best option."

Silvermane allowed herself a smirk. "That's because Centurion Bouvier forgets what a well-trained team of unicorns is capable of. I haven't been idle these past few days; I have a plan to protect the entire city."

Blueblood gasped. "How?"

Silvermane tapped her horn. "A magical shield. You remember all the attempts at raising the sun? They might have failed, but Professor Starflare learned a great deal about combined spellcasting. With enough unicorns, we can create a shield that'll protect Canterlot."

"Excellent!" Blueblood said as he rose to his hooves.

"You'll be stretching your forces too thin," Bouvier warned with a severe frown. "I've done my homework on unicorn magic. Such a shield would have weaknesses. Even your predecessor, Captain Shining Armor, wouldn't have been able to pull it off, despite shields being his specialty. A few enemy soldiers will be able to sneak through."

"And we'll have patrols ready to fight them off," Silvermane said. "I won't punish the citizens who chose to remain in Canterlot and defend their homes. Furthermore, I won't retreat to the castle before the battle even begins. That, Centurion, would be a gesture of weakness." She glared at Bouvier, looking for any sign of doubt or hesitation.

Antoine interjected himself between the two. "I don't believe our forces should risk taking part in such a foolish plan."

Bouvier eyed Antoine severely. "Keep your place, Ambassador. Leave the military matters to me."

Antoine stepped back, his step appearing nervous to Silvermane. "My apologies, Centurion."

"Nevertheless, you're right," Bouvier said with a sigh. "I will not risk my forces by keeping them inside the city. As planned, I will hide them in the Everfree forest. Should your plan succeed, I'll attack the Cloudsdale forces while their guard is down."

Silvermane raised an eyebrow. "What if the battle isn't going to your satisfaction? You could easily fly your troops in the opposite direction and abandon us to our fate."

"Enough, General," Blueblood said, glaring at Silvermane. "I trust Centurion Bouvier's judgment. We'll crush Soarin, and finally put an end to his rebellion."

"I hope so, for all of our sakes," Silvermane quietly said.

Bouvier nodded. "If we're done here, then I'll go see to my troops."

"You may leave," Blueblood said. "Thank you all for your advice."

Antoine smiled as he placed a claw on Blueblood's shoulder. "I would never let you down, old friend."

Both griffons left the office, leaving Silvermane alone with Blueblood. I'm not sure if I can trust him. At least not while the griffons are still in Canterlot. She bowed. "Then I'll make sure my forces are ready as well, Your Highness."

"Go," Blueblood said. He opened a cabinet and grabbed a bottle of wine.

Silvermane hurried out of the office and back to the barracks. With Blueblood blindly trusting the griffons and Rarity now aware of everything she had done, she had few allies left. Rarity had even used an old secret passage to free Octavia. If Silvermane survived the coming battle, she would have to make sure that tunnel and other similar passages were permanently sealed. Hopefully the loss of such a valuable prisoner wouldn't cost them the battle, or the war.

Silvermane ignored the various soldiers who saluted her as she passed them, heading straight to her office and locking the door. A yellow pegasus mare wearing light military armor saluted as Silvermane entered.

"Ma'am?" the soldier asked.

Silvermane nodded. "It's just as I expected. You are to fly to Ponyville and meet with Captain Boulderhoof and Princess Rarity. Explain that the griffons are leaving Canterlot and could betray us. The princess's safety is paramount."

"Y... yes Ma'am," the mare replied with a hesitant salute. "I assume I should tell nopony else?"

"Correct," Silvermane said. "Tell them that the griffons told me they'd be hiding in the Everfree forest, which makes it almost certain their forces will be hiding elsewhere. Now go."

The soldier saluted. "Yes Ma'am." She left Silvermane's office to carry out her orders.

Silvermane eyed her spear on the wall. She levitated and studied the weapon. This is what it all comes down to. Three armies fighting for Equestria's future. As long as I can crush the rebels and keep Rarity's foal safe, this will all have been worth it.

---

Outside in the courtyard, soldiers were busy sharpening spears, polishing armor, and building improvised fortifications using anything they could get their hooves on, from castle furniture, to carts, to blocks of ice. In the event that the shield fell, the castle could quickly become their last line of defense. What used to be a flowery garden where nobles would take afternoon strolls had been turned into a line of trenches and barricades.

Snow had begun to fall again. Soldiers shivered as they prepared their equipment. Silvermane walked through the makeshift installation, giving them a cursory inspection. She admonished a few of her troops who didn't stand straight, sharpened their weapon poorly, or otherwise slacked off. Ponies quieted down the moment she came into earshot, but their downtrodden expressions and averted eyes told her what she needed to know — her troops were afraid.

She found Captain Wind Rider giving orders to a group of junior officers under a makeshift command tent. "Report?" she asked as she approached him.

Wind Rider stood at attention. "Everything is going as planned, Ma'am. We're making good time."

Silvermane ground her teeth. "Don't embellish it, Captain. The troops are scared, and we're building walls out of ice blocks and castle furniture. This is not what anypony planned for."

Wind Rider nodded. "Well, the walls are ugly, but they should hold for a while. It won't keep a pegasus out, obviously, but it should keep their earth pony and unicorn soldiers at bay."

"Which is why I ordered it in the first place," Silvermane said. "I'm more concerned about troop morale."

Wind Rider sighed. He motioned for her to follow him to the back of the tent. "It's bad," he said once they were out of earshot. "We already caught six soldiers trying to desert. These are just the first, more will try. Between this makeshift wall and the city evacuation, none of these ponies believe they'll live to see their families again."

Silvermane sighed. Perhaps Rarity was right, and fighting was pointless? Morale was at an all-time low, and the griffons were on the verge of abandoning them. No. I have a duty to protect Canterlot. "We need to do something about it, and fast. These soldiers have to believe that they can win this."

"Agreed," Wind Rider said. "But between you and me, General, can we win this? You have my loyalty regardless, and you know I'm willing to give my life for this army. I do need to know though."

"I don't know, Captain. Half of our troops are green rookies who haven't seen combat yet. I'm fairly certain the griffons won't be reinforcing us, and the Cloudsdale forces have air superiority over us."

"Meaning that if the shield fails, we'll be facing hurricanes and hailstorms."

"Precisely," Silvermane said. "Whatever ponies they sneak in will go after the unicorns powering the shield."

Wind Rider moved toward a table in the middle of the tent and studied the city map placed on it. Multiple points had been marked on it. "It is really necessary to spread out our unicorns like this?"

"I'm afraid so. Professor Starflare left very specific instructions. If we leave all our unicorn mages at the palace, the shield's strength will be concentrated at the peak, leaving the city's periphery vulnerable."

"I was afraid of that," Wind Rider said with a sigh. He pointed at a few more markings on the map. "I assigned groups of soldiers to all of these positions, as well as a few decoys to keep the enemy off-balance. I set up a command post here, at the opera. I'm going to take command of our reserves from there, while you lead from the castle."

Silvermane nodded. "Good. I should be able to see all of the city from one of the tower balconies. I will have Prince Blueblood with me. Perhaps I should have him say a few words to the troops?"

Wind Rider frowned. "Princess Rarity would probably do a better job of it, but it can't hurt. The troops need to know who they're fighting for."

Who they're going to die for, you mean, Silvermane grimly thought. She took a deep breath. "I also need you to take advantage of your old Wonderbolts tricks. I don't care how many speeches and air flips you have to make. Get our soldiers on board."

"I'll do what I can."

Silvermane left through the back of the tent and finished inspecting the improvised camp. The state of her troops was an absolute disgrace. Random junk and broken equipment littered the passages, and a group of soldiers were carving Celestia's cutie mark onto their armor — a ridiculous superstition that began a few weeks ago. Silvermane overheard talk of certain death. She even saw a mare vomit a few meters away from her.

She headed back inside the castle to find Blueblood. Hopefully the prince's presence would be enough to motivate this sorry lot.

---

Blueblood's royal carriage returned to the castle shortly after Silvermane received a report from one of her scouts informing her that the enemy was hours away from Canterlot. She'd been scanning the sky with her eyes, but the Cloudsdale soldiers proved impossible to spot in the darkness. The snow had intensified, making it even more difficult to see anything.

Two guards opened the carriage door and helped Blueblood out. The prince shivered in the cold wind as he walked to Silvermane. "I did a tour of the various defensive positions, as you suggested. You were right. Seeing me gave our troops the courage they needed."

Silvermane nodded. "Good, hopefully it helps them." Appealing to Blueblood's ego had proven an easy way to convince him to talk to the soldiers.

"So, what now?" Blueblood asked.

"Now, we head up the tower," Silvermane said as she escorted Blueblood inside. "If we had daylight and it wasn't snowing, we'd see the enemy approaching. I want to get the shield started."

Blueblood nodded. "And what about me?"

"You'll remain with me for now. If ponies see you up on the balcony, it might motivate them to fight." They walked up a winding set of stairs as Silvermane explained the plan. "I chose this tower because it gives us a good vantage point of the city. From here, we can send out pegasus messengers to relay orders. Our troops can communicate using colored flares. We'll also be far enough away from the battle that you'll be safe."

Blueblood's ears perked up. "So the troops can ask for reinforcements, let us know they repelled the enemy, that sort of thing?"

"Precisely," Silvermane said as she kept climbing the stairs. "I also have a few flares of my own, signaling general orders."

"We do not retreat to the castle unless I say so," Blueblood ordered with a severe glare. "I will not sacrifice the city."

"I certainly hope we don't have to, Your Highness," Silvermane said. "But should it be necessary, I would rather send out the purple flare than lose the battle."

"The griffons will reinforce us before it gets to that," Blueblood said as they arrived at the top of the stairs. A set of double doors were opened, leading to a large, open room filled with pegasus soldiers. The luxurious columns and ornate walls contrasted with the lack of furniture inside.

Silvermane ground her teeth. She turned to Blueblood before entering the room. "I don't share your confidence in the griffons. I believe they would rather flee than face a losing battle. This isn't their land."

Blueblood gasped and slapped Silvermane across the face, taking her by surprise. "I will not have you talk of our allies this way, General! Ambassador Antoine has been nothing but a close friend to myself and to all of Equestria."

Either he's part of a conspiracy I'm not privy of, or he's a bigger fool than he looks. Silvermane rubbed the cheek Blueblood hit. "I certainly hope you're right, Your Highness. Nevertheless, in my experience, blind trust is never the safe option." She kept her voice as straight as possible. "Now, may I show you our command center?"

Blueblood grunted. "Very well."

Silvermane led him inside the room. Most of the furniture had been moved outside and used to build the improvised walls around the castle. Only a few chairs were left, as well as a large table where a map of the city was placed. Another map depicted the lands surrounding Canterlot. A dozen guards stood at attention, mostly pegasi, but two unicorns were also present. One pony stood apart from the rest. A tan-coated unicorn stallion small in frame, he wore his pink mane in a bowl cut and sported thick glasses over hesitant brown eyes.

"Ge... General Silvermane," he blurted out as Silvermane approached him.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Silvermane asked.

The stallion shook. "Oh, I'm Moonshoes. I'm one of Professor Starflare's students." He quickly breathed in and out between words. "He asked me to come here, to cast the shield spell."

Blueblood joined Silvermane in staring down Moonshoes. "Starflare was supposed to handle this himself. Is he too busy to protect the city?"

"I... I'm sorry Your Highness," Moonshoes continued. "The professor left the city during the evacuation. I volunteered to stay and help. Don't worry, I'm his top student when it comes to shields and bubbles of any kind." He moved sideways, revealing the three stars on his flank.

Silvermane eyed him up and down. "I really hope for your sake that you're up to this, Moonshoes. This is the entire city we're talking about."

Moonshoes gulped. "I won't let you down, General, Your Highness. I... I tried to argue with Professor Starflare. I told him to stay. You have my word that I won't abandon the city."

Silvermane nodded. "Good, because if you fail, we all die."

She turned around and headed for the balcony, Blueblood still following her. So Starflare is a coward after all. I should have expected this. I might have to advise for a change of leadership within the magical academy if we survive this. As much as Silvermane couldn't stomach Starflare's decision, she had to admit that there was some merit in protecting their finest scholar from the battle. He would have to be punished, of course, but keeping him in an advisory capacity would be beneficial. Of course, that was assuming she both survived the coming battle, and that Rarity left her with some form of influence.

Silvermane observed the city below. She spotted hints of movement in the distance, even through the growing snowstorm. "Moonshoes," she called.

The diminutive stallion rushed to her side. "Yes, General, Ma'am?"

"The enemy's at the gate. It's time to power up the shield."

"Oh, yes, of course," he replied, his horn lighting up.

Silvermane turned to one of the unicorn guards. "Fire a blue flare." The soldier saluted as he loaded a small canon and pointed it at the sky. He fired a blue sparkling rocket into the sky for all the city to see.

"Do it," Silvermane ordered Moonshoes, who bit his tongue as a golden beam left his horn and formed a thin bubble around the city. Other colorful beams shot from various parts of Canterlot and collided with the bubble, strengthening and thickening it.

Blueblood frowned. "Will the magical beams remain visible?"

"It'll be intermittent," Silvermane said. "The shield will have to be regularly re-powered by unicorn magic. That's why each unicorn has soldiers protecting them."

Blueblood kept his eyes trained on the city. "Do not fail me, Silvermane. The safety of Canterlot hinges on this plan of yours."

---

Silvermane's heart raced as the battle approached. The shield blocked most of the snow from entering the city, and she was thus allowed a better view of the Cloudsdale forces and their movements. Pegasus soldiers were placing clouds around Canterlot, no doubt using them as mobile bases. All the while, fliers gathered up around the shield, often testing its strength by throwing rocks or other objects.

Silvermane used her spyglass to look for weak points in the enemy's formation. She tried to find officers, but the highest rank she could spot were a few captains. It seemed Soarin had learned from the battle of Ponyville and kept his senior staff well away from the front lines.

She turned back and found Moonshoes' eyes closed as he concentrated on keeping the shield up while Blueblood glared angrily at the enemy. As for her troops, they shared nervous looks and gulps. None dared say a word in Silvermane's presence, but she could feel their fear. Something had to be done.

A pegasus stallion saluted as Silvermane turned to him. "Go down to the barracks, and have them send out the first sabotage team," she ordered.

"Sabotage team?" Blueblood asked as the pegasus flew off to carry out her order.

Silvermane gazed down toward the city. "We have a few infiltrators wearing Cloudsdale uniforms. They're going to poison their food supplies, bust their clouds, cause mayhem within the ranks. If the shield holds, it could help us win through attrition."

"That could take days!" Blueblood snapped as he moved in front of her.

"This is a siege, Your Highness," Silvermane explained, barely containing an exasperated sigh. "Either the shield holds, and we keep them at bay for days, or it fails, and they kill us all. Either way, it'll take at least three more days for our Vanhoover forces to return and reinforce us."

"The griffons will return before that," Blueblood said.

Silvermane ground her teeth, but only nodded. She had better things to do than to get into another pointless argument. A pegasus messenger flew to the balcony and landed in front of her. "Something's happening, General. The enemy soldiers have started flapping their wings, blowing the wind against the shield."

"Then it's starting," Silvermane said as she took out her spyglass again. Just as the messenger claimed, the Cloudsdale pegasi were gathering their wingpower against the shield.

"What do we do?" Blueblood asked, panic in his voice.

"We remain calm and hold the line," Silvermane said as she kept scanning the enemy lines for weaknesses. "We let the enemy tire themselves out, and we win through patience. Soarin is angry at the death of his ruler. It will make him reckless and impatient."

She scanned the city again. A unicorn beam in the western part of town was particularly bright. Silvermane turned to another messenger. "Relay the following order to station number eight. Tell the unicorn there to pace himself, and not burn away his magic. This will be a long siege."

"Yes General," the messenger said with a salute before flying away.

Let's hope that it is a long siege, Silvermane thought as she observed the ripples the wind created in the magical shield. If the shield fails and the storm breaks through, there might not be much of a city left to protect.

---

The battle had been raging for hours. Between the wind blowing against the shield and the intensifying snowstorm, it was hard to even make out the Cloudsdale army. The enemy often struck the shield with lightning, causing Moonshoes to wince as he struggled to keep the defenses up. Twice already, holes large enough for enemy soldiers to sneak through were opened. The situation had quickly been contained, and Silvermane's forces only suffered minimal losses. Still, things would get worse before they got better.

"The griffons should have been here by now," Blueblood mumbled, his panicked eyes glued to the rippling shield.

"They're not coming," Silvermane said. "We need to focus on what we can do, which is holding this shield up."

Blueblood grunted. "It looks like it could fail any moment. I'm losing confidence in this shield of yours, Silvermane."

"It'll... hold," Moonshoes managed to blurt out.

Silvermane nodded. "Keep it up. You'll be remembered for your heroism." She considered sending for a relief unicorn. The spell could prove too taxing to Moonshoes in the long run.

A pegasus captain landed on the balcony. "Report," Silvermane ordered.

"It's bad," the officer said. "I had our engineering crew check the city support structure, just as you ordered. Even behind the shield's protection, it's struggling. Some of the bolts on the secondary support beams have been loosened. I have a crew working on it, but it'll take hours."

Blueblood rushed forward. "That's impossible! Centurion Bouvier sent some of his own soldiers to check the integrity. He did so under my order."

Silvermane's breathing became erratic. She paced away from Blueblood before turning back toward him in a swift gesture. "You absolute moron! No one except the griffons went down there prior to our engineering crews just now. Everything points to them betraying us, and you're still too stubborn to even admit it. You've been played, Blueblood, and you're too much of an idiot to even notice it."

"You dare?" Blueblood snapped back.

"You played into Antoine's plans since the beginning!" Silvermane yelled, pushing Blueblood against the nearest wall. "For all your talk of ruling, you never made a single decision. You did what the griffons told you, what Rarity told you, even what I told you to do. Of course, you ate right out of Antoine's claw. I'm just trying to figure out if you betrayed Equestria through misguided greed or plain incompetence."

"Unlike you, I'm willing to put some faith in our allies," Blueblood spat. "Perhaps if you had trusted Bouvier's experience instead of obstinately taking command yourself, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Silvermane massaged her temples. This had gone on long enough. "The griffons killed Celestia, you idiot! They kidnapped Twilight Sparkle, and probably planned on making you their puppet ruler."

Blueblood moved to slap Silvermane again, but she easily blocked him. "You do not get to talk to royalty this way!"

Silvermane took a deep breath. "I have a city to defend," she said before turning around. The soldiers in the room all blankly stared at both her and Blueblood. "Get back to your duties," she ordered. The soldiers moved to adjust their armor, turn to the city, or study the battle plans on the table.

Silvermane returned her attention to the siege. Multiple lightning bolts impacted the same upper section of the shield. Silvermane swore under her breath. While she was busy admonishing Blueblood, the enemy was piercing another hole. She turned her gaze toward Moonshoes, whose eyes were filling with tears as he stared at her apologetically.

"Bloody hay," Silvermane mumbled under her breath. She raised her tone. "They're about to break through! Defend this position at all cost."

Lightning again pierced the shield, and a swarm of pegasus soldiers flew through the hole alongside a torrent of snow. At least three clouds carrying earth pony and unicorn troops were carried inside. Silvermane gulped at the approaching army, but took a deep breath before issuing her orders. "Fire the yellow flare. All reserve flyers to the sky. Ground troops in the streets. Moonshoes, I need that hole closed."

The unicorn in charge of the flares followed the order, and a group of pegasi flew toward the approaching enemy. Three soldiers shook in their armor, holding back. Silvermane glared angrily at them.

Blueblood stepped froward. "Obey your general, or I'll have you all executed for treason." He shared a nod with Silvermane as the soldiers rushed into action.

Mayhem erupted in the sky. The two pegasus groups clashed against each other. Spears met, and soldiers pursued one another, attempting to impale their enemy from behind. Just as they had prepared, Silvermane's troops flew in tight formation and stayed mobile, attempting to isolate individual Cloudsdale units.

Screams of battle came both from the sky and the streets below. Clouds had been landed, and groups of earth pony chargers were no doubt creating ruckus within the city. All that Silvermane could see was the occasional flash from a unicorn spell. The snowstorm was breaking through the hole in the shield and moving vast amounts of snow into the city.

A group of enemy flyers led by a bat pony headed straight for the balcony upon which Silvermane stood. "Protect the prince," she ordered as she levitated her spear and spun it in the air for good measure.

The eight pegasus soldiers on the balcony flew up and formed a defensive formation around their superiors. They quickly met with the enemy and shared blows. Silvermane took a quick glance at Blueblood, who was nervously backtracking. He levitated a vase and used it as an improvised shield.

The bat pony, whom Silvermane now recognized as Lieutenant Moonshadow, charged at her. "You will die for betraying your princess," he yelled, pointing his spear in her direction.

Silvermane deflected Moonshadow's attack with her levitated weapon. She jumped at him and attacked with her front legs, a move that took him by surprise.

Moonshadow replied with a quick strike from his spear. Silvermane ducked, but too late as the weapon sliced part of her ear. She yelped in pain, fighting the urge to hold her bleeding ear. Instead, she took advantage of her spear, still being held by her magic. She impaled Moonshadow through the back of his head.

Silvermane turned her gaze toward Blueblood, who was hiding under the table from a Cloudsdale pegasus heading in his direction. She threw her weapon at the soldier. The tip of the spear pierced the pegasus's wing and lodged itself deep within his chest.

Canterlot reinforcements arrived on the balcony and finished off the remaining attackers. While the battle still raged in the sky and soldiers from both sides were falling dead like flies, the immediate danger was over. Silvermane sighed in relief.

Blueblood crawled out from under the table and shook the dust from his white coat. "At least you're still willing to protect me," he quietly told Silvermane.

Silvermane nodded. "I promised to protect you and the city. That's what I'll do. After this is over, we'll all have to face justice."

"What do you mean?" Blueblood said with a gulp. He nervously looked around. "Nopony knows anything. They can't prove I did anything wrong."

Silvermane shook her head. She walked to Blueblood and whispered in his ear. "Rarity found your servant, the one you used to plant evidence. She got him to talk, and she will expose you to all of Equestria."

Blueblood gasped, his face reddening with rage. "That's impossible!" he yelled, pushing Silvermane away. "I gave her everything! She told me she loved me!"

Silvermane turned back toward the city. "Like Antoine, she used you. Do you really think she could ever have loved you after the way you threatened her and forced her to your bed? I do hope you get out of this alive and have a chance to defend your case, Your Highness. Otherwise, you'll be remembered a pretender who stole the throne." And I'll be remembered as the traitor who started this war, she thought grimly, staring at the city so Blueblood wouldn't see the scowl on her face.

The prince was screaming maddeningly, but Silvermane stopped paying him any heed. She made sure that Moonshoes was unharmed and still powering the spell before returning her attention to the city. Cloudsdale forces were about to pierce a second hole in the shield, just as the Canterlot unicorns struggled to close the existing one.

Silvermane took a deep breath. She again took a glimpse at Moonshoes, who winced in pain as he kept the shield going. One of the beams from the eastern part of the city extinguished itself. It was soon followed by a red flare, signifying that the position was overwhelmed. She headed for the flare gun and loaded it with a charge.

"What are you doing?" Blueblood snapped.

"I'm firing the purple flare," Silvermane said. "The city is lost. I'm ordering our troops to retreat to the castle, where we'll make our final stand."

Blueblood tried to wrestle the flare gun away from her. "I refuse! You will obey me, General."

Silvermane shoved him against the wall with her magic. "Stay quiet and let me do my job," she said. She loaded the gun and fired the purple flare into the sky.

"Th... thank you," Moonshoes mumbled, his eyes watering from the effort.

Silvermane nodded. "I'll need you to reduce the shield's size once our troops have retreated. Cover only the castle grounds."

"I'll try."

The ground troops rushed toward the castle. Canterlot flyers stayed their ground and attempted to hold the enemy, trying to cover the retreat. If they could hold the castle, then perhaps there would be hope and their sacrifice would have been worth it. Silvermane briefly considered surrender, but dismissed the idea. She would rather die than fail in her duty and let rebels and anarchists claim the capital.

An earth pony guard slammed the door open, sweating profusely. Silvermane turned her head in his direction. "What are you doing here?" she snapped. "You're supposed to guard the castle entrance."

"The rebels," the guard said between pants. "They overpowered the castle guards. They're coming here!"

"The rebels are all over the city," Silvermane said, grinding her teeth. "Get back to your post and defend the castle."

The guard shook his head. "Not the soldiers, the Luna supporters hiding within the city. We tried to stop them, but all of our troops were busy with the battle. We only have a skeleton crew at the castle."

Silvermane screamed in anger as she kicked the central table, throwing its contents onto the ground. "Defensive positions!" she yelled. "I won't let peasants with pitchforks take us out."

Screams and rabble echoed up from the stairs. The guard tried to close the doors, but a fat earth pony stallion slammed them open and rammed the terrified soldier.

Armed civilians stormed inside the room. What few guards remained inside met them and exchanged blows, but they were quickly overpowered. One pegasus soldier had his neck broken. Another one found himself stabbed by a sharpened kitchen knife.

Two ponies Silvermane had completely forgotten about entered the room. "I should never have trusted you," Twilight Velvet spat as she walked toward Silvermane. She fired a magical bolt, Silvermane barely managing to raise a shield. She blocked part of it, limiting the damaged to singed fur.

Velvet's husband Nightlight rushed toward Blueblood. One soldier attempted to block his path, but a rebel pegasus pushed him out of the way. Blueblood backtracked, stumbling and tripping to the ground. Silvermane dodged a second bolt from Velvet. When she glanced back at Blueblood, his neck was being snapped in two by Nightlight's magic. Blueblood's body fell to the ground, his tongue lolling out.

"Luna's dead, Velvet," Silvermane yelled over the sounds of battle. "You have nothing to fighting for."

"I'm fighting to rid Equestria of you," Velvet spat. "You conspired against Princess Luna and failed to help my daughter, despite your promise to find her. In fact, I was told that my Twilight is still alive. I want her to remain that way, and that means getting rid of monsters like you!" She fired another magical bolt, one that Silvermane dodged.

Silvermane looked for her weapon, but couldn't find it anywhere. She picked up a dead soldier's spear and attempted to strike Velvet with the butt end. Velvet easily blocked it with her magic.

"Did you really think my children never taught me magic?" she mocked. "I'm not the helpless, grieving mare you think I am. What I am is a mother who will do anything to protect her children." She conjured a wall of force and pushed Silvermane back.

Silvermane collided against something hard. She rose and gasped in horror as she realized she had smashed into Moonshoes, who now lay on the ground, his horn extinguished. Silvermane saw the shield disintegrating from the corner of her eye. "What have you done?" she managed to say. "We're all going to die because of your foolish revenge!"

Velvet levitated a spear. Silvermane realized with horror that it was her own, still red with the blood of the last pony she'd killed. She attempted to raise another defensive shield, but the ground trembled and she couldn't remember the rhymes powering the spell. She screamed in pain as the spear pierced her chest. A column collapsed and pieces of the ceiling crumbled around her. The last thing she saw was one of them falling toward her bleeding body. It's all up to you now, Rarity.

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

wow.

[Roranicus]

Only two chapters left.

[The Great Derpsby]

Yup, this just might be the point. We're mostly left with ponies I don't care about.

Also, called it.

Now please somepony murder Soarin for me.

[Sensible Clutter]

good she's gone

despite her intentions, she caused wayyyy more trouble than she was worth. Karma!

[The Good Boy]

8586063
hopefully not 4 more months

[Roranicus]

8586751
Hopefully not, haha. The chapters are already written and just awaiting editing. It's just a question of how much free time my editor and I have. We both work full time jobs on top of other personal projects and family responsibilities, hence the delays.

8586203
I guess the silver lining for me is that you enjoyed Silvermane enough to get this mad about her dying. Still, I hope you'll keep on reading, since it's almost over. The story always was about the mane 6, and as much as I had fun with Silvermane and Blueblood, I always planned the story in a way where they couldn't make it.

8585951
I hope that's a good wow.

8586430
It's definitely how I first envisioned the character. She has good intentions at heart, but her methods are horrible and she places too little trust in those around her.

[Ze1a7in]

8587426
It was. I just had no words to describe how I felt besides wow.

[Roranicus]

8587473
That's good. Glad you got a kick out of it.

[The Great Derpsby]

8587426
I figured. I hoped against hope, but, well, I even called how Blueblood would die. Now we're headed towards a resolution I'm almost certain won't satisfy me with characters I'm not invested in.

Rarity has the evidence to vindicate Luna, so that conflict is over and done. Soarin got his revenge, Twilight Velvet got her revenge, so that conflict is also over and done because I seriously doubt anything is going to happen to them now. Nothing they would really care about at any rate, so even if something did happen it won't matter at all.

The upcoming battle against the Griffons is something that'll happen, but I believe they're mainly there to give Equestria something to rally against and that any real animosity between the sides will then be quelled by Twilight arriving. She might be stern and disappointed, but like I said, most of the conflicts I cared about are over by virtue of one side simply being killed off. If war crimes come up at all, the parties won't care. They already got their revenge.

[Telwyn Freecolt]

Even if the Equestrians defeat the griffon army it does not mean war with the griffion kingdom is over as its leaders may just keep the war going unless the windgos return.

[Roranicus]

8591655
I'm sorry to hear that. I guess it's the downside of having so many subplots and characters going on at the same time, that some people would care about one over the others. Still, I hope you'll at least give the last chapters a chance, even though your favorite characters are gone.

8592985
It all depends on their motivation and what the griffons have to gain through war.

[Roranicus]

8645280
Thanks, always nice to hear. I can't complain though. I'd rather have a few super dedicated fans than a hundred people who just casually read it. To be honest, I think the beginning is also too slow. I thought about rewriting it, but at this point I figured I'd rather use what I learned from Sunny Days and apply it to other projects.

[Roranicus]

8645385
Yeah, it is my first "real" story after all. I pretty much learned the ropes as I went along. I'll probably make a blog post with all the things I think I got right and the mistakes I feel I made once it's all over, which should be pretty soon.

[Dodger2525]

8592985
Zebra army remember

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

Karma's a real meanie huh, Silvermane? Velvet certainly proved that!