Chapter Nine
“I think that will be enough for today.” Celestia said, massaging her temple with her right hoof. “Are all soldiers unhelpfully stubborn, or is this something unique to you?”
I shrugged. “It’s a gift.”
Sighing, Celestia stood and started toward the door. Aside from being short, this session had something else different. The princess seemed… off. While I won’t claim to know the princess well enough to tell if something was wrong, compared to the last time I’d been interrogated by her, there was a noticeable difference. I couldn’t possibly guess at what it was. For all I knew, she’d just had it with me for the day.
Though, since we were done talking, maybe I could get a question answered. “Princess?”
Stopping, she looked back at me. “Yes?”
I shifted in my chair. “Something’s been bugging me.”
The princess gave me a curious look. “And that would be?”
“Your former guards said you could just take the information you want. Is that true, or were they just tormenting me?”
Celestia turned to face me, her expression somber. “Make no mistake, I can simply take what I want from you.”
I did my best to cover my unease, and hoped I hadn’t somehow fucked myself over. “And still you haven’t… why?”
“That is a line I am not yet ready to cross.”
I blinked in confusion. “Uh… I don’t think I understand.”
Celestia returned to the table, but remained standing. “Let me explain. While Equestria does have crime, it usually tends to be petty. Things like murder are unheard of.” I had to resist the urge to say anything. “There is one offense we have a problem with, however: mind-altering magic. These types of spells are not inherently harmful, but when used improperly, the results can be terrible.”
“Reminds me of how guns are back home, but doesn’t quite answer my question.”
The princess nodded. “Indeed, and I am getting to that. Mind-altering spells are powerful. With the right amount of skill, one could enter another’s mind and influence a decision, observe memories, learn their deepest secrets, or, with enough power erase or alter memories, or even... wipe the mind completely.”
The thought of everything that you’d experienced, all your aspirations, everything that made you, you, just… gone. I gave an involuntary shudder. Even if starting over were possible, you’d probably never be the same. I think I’d rather die.
If she noticed my reaction, Celestia gave no indication. “We consider the mind to be a sanctuary, and those who would violate the mind of another, to remove one’s free-will, receive the highest of punishments. Though I am a Princess, I will not resort to such an act… unless it becomes absolutely necessary.” Celestia locked a steely gaze on me. “You had best hope your friends do not force my hoof.”
Good thing most of the guys have a brain in their heads, otherwise I’d be fucked. Still, that doesn’t make any sense. War doesn’t make it necessary? “But, why? You could have ended this war as soon as you saw me, but you insist on this course of action.” It did occur to me that I should probably have shut up, but for some inexplicable reason, I just had to know.
“I will not abandon our morals. They have been in place too long to be simply tossed aside.” The princess’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me, Corporal Duran, if we start making compromises just because things become difficult, what is stopping us from finding other reasons to do the same? Where does it end?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t tell you, but all your guards are paying the price for your decision.”
Celestia had her forelegs on the table and was leaning toward me in an instant, her eyes flashing. “Do you think I don’t know that?! Are you insinuating that I don’t care?!” The edge in the princess’ voice was more like that of a drill sergeant dressing down a basic training private, and her expression matched, though there was something else there too. “Do you want me to use those spells on you?”
Where the fuck did this come from? Reflexively, I pushed my chair backwards, trying to get some more distance between us. “No! That’s no–”
The princess silenced me with a wave of her hoof. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, then released it. Regaining her composure, Celestia stepped back off the table. When she opened her eyes, there was still a hint of that something in them. “I take every loss personally, and I will carry that weight for the rest of my life.”
As she said that, I remembered some of the things we'd learned about her, and her sister. If what we had been told was true, then they was immortal, and if they weren’t immortal, then they were very long-lived. Which means, she’ll feel that weight for a very long time. In a little over two hours, I had yet another example of how differently things worked in Equestria, compared to home. It left me dumbstruck.
“We have talked enough today. Your guards will escort you back to your cell.” Celestia’s horn ignited, and I shot from my seat. The chair clattered to the ground as I plastered myself against the wall, trying to get away from the princess. When I looked back a few moments later, her horn was no longer lit, and I noticed the door was now open.
“My apologies. I forgot about your phobia.” The princess was back to her unreadable expression and tone, so I had no idea if she was being sincere, or just saying that.
One of the guards peeked in as I tried to get control of my heart and breathing. “Everything okay in here, Princess?” It was Lieutenant Steel.
“Yes, Lieutenant. Take Corporal Duran back to his cell, we are done for now.”
Steel nodded. “Yes, Ma’am. Let’s go, Corporal.”
Moving to the door, I took one last look at the princess, still trying to make sense of what I’d learned. In the hall, as the guards formed up around me, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. When I looked, I saw Shining Armor standing next to the door that no doubt lead to the observation room. He did not look happy… at all. If looks could kill, I’d probably be a fine pink mist. As I was led back to my cell, I wondered if I should expect some company at some point.
“Will you stop, Corporal?”
I paused for a moment, then returned to what I was doing. “This helps me with stress, and it might help me get back to sleep.”
“I can’t believe I have to stand here and watch you do this.”
“So, look someplace else.”
“I don’t see what your problem is, Sergeant. I don’t have a problem with it.” Private Breeze chimed in.
“Ugh. What about you two? Doesn’t that bother you? ” Clipper asked, addressing the unicorn guards.
“Not watching, and not gonna watch, so not really.”
“Really, Sergeant Clipper. I don’t see why this bothers you so much.”
Sergeant Clipper groaned, and glared at Midnight Breeze, while motioning to me with a hoof. “He’s pacing. I can’t stand watching somepony pace.”
I looked back to the guard. “Good thing I’m not a pony then, isn’t it? Or maybe you need to sit down, seeing as you can’t stand it.”
Clipper’s glare was directed at me as Breeze tried not to laugh, covering her mouth with a hoof.
“You’re not helping, Corporal!”
Spinning, I faced the front of the cell. “Well excuse me for not being able to fall back asleep!”
I had tried going back to sleep, but after tossing and turning for the better part of an hour with no luck, I’d gotten up and started pacing. I’d picked up the habit in Afghanistan, during guard duty. When nothing important was going on, pacing helped pass the time while my mind wandered. It worked really well in this situation, though I didn’t know if it would get me back to sleep or not.
Sergeant Clipper huffed and looked back at me. “Can’t you just do something else?”
“Does it bother you that much?”
“I can tolerate it for a while, but after two hours, yes! It’s annoying!”
“... It’s been that long?” I looked at my watch. “Shit, I guess it has… Fine, I’ll stop.” Moving to the bed, I flopped down. It was a good thing I’d have plenty of time for naps during the day, because this was turning into a pretty bad night.
“Thanks.”
“Sure… Hey, Breeze.”
“What?”
Sitting up, I looked across the hall to her. “You never answered my question.”
She looked confused at that. “What question?”
“The one from the other day, whether all bat ponies looked awesome, or if it’s just because you’re in the guard.”
“Oh, uh that… Um…”
The dim light made it hard to tell, but I guessed she was blushing, like the last time. “What? Never gotten a compliment?” Ok, so it wasn’t a direct compliment to her, but still.
The private looked away, down the hall. “No… not really.”
That was surprising. “Whaaat? With how cool you guys look, I find that hard to believe. What, with the wings, the eyes, and fangs.”
“That’s kinda the problem.” Clipper said, getting my attention. “Some ponies believe we were created by Nightmare Moon as soldiers for her eternal night, due to our nocturnal nature, and resemblance to her. Thankfully, most ponies are aware that isn’t the case. Still, being nocturnal keeps us from largely interacting with most ponies, and we’re not very wide spread either, so other ponies can be nervous around us.”
“Oh... Well, I don’t know who Nightmare Moon is, but for what it’s worth, I stand beside my previous statements.”
“Thanks.” Midnight Breeze had looked back while Clipper was talking, and she was giving me a small smile.
“You’re welcome.” I returned her smile. “Just because I’m held prisoner, doesn’t mean I always have to be a prick.” Since these two were being chatty tonight, I decided to keep going. “So, do all you bat ponies have the same fur color, that you also happen share with these other guards?”
Breeze shook her head. “Of course not.”
“Are you gonna give me anything more than that?”
Midnight Breeze and Clipper exchanged a look, which then spread to the other two guards. A few moments later they gave a collective shrug.
“It’s the armor.” One of the unicorns said. “It’s enchanted to make us look alike. You know, for uniformity.”
“Magic using ponies, so that makes sense. Here I was thinking your princesses went to the Emperor Palpatine School of Building an Army, and were mass-producing clones to fill the ranks.”
All four guards gave me confused looks. The unicorn who’d previously spoken, asked the question all of them were clearly thinking. “What?”
I just facepalmed. Of course they wouldn’t get the reference. “Nevermind, don’t worry about it.” After a pause, I lowered my hand. “If you look the same as the guy standing next to you, how the fuck do you tell each other apart?”
As I asked the question, the four guards straightened to attention. Princess Luna’s appearance at my cell a moment later told me why.
“It is a part of the uniformity enchantment.” The princess explained. “While it changes their appearance to match, it also allows them to see one another as they look normally.” She looked to the guards. “You chose to tell him about that, why?”
Sergeant Clipper took a step forward. “It’s harmless information, Your Highness, common knowledge. Even if he were to escape somehow, knowing that wouldn’t give him any kind of advantage.”
Luna studied the guard, then nodded. “Very well, so long as you are not just mindlessly answering his questions.”
“Of course not, Princess.”
Returning her attention to me, Luna gave me a dirty look. Uh oh… “The four of you, leave us. I wish to speak to Corporal Duran in private.”
The four guards exchanged looks again, then, in perfect unison, bowed and said, “Yes, Princess.” Straightening, they all left.
The princess stood there for a time after the guards left, still giving me that look. It didn’t take long for the silence to become too much.
“Why here, and not an interrogation room?”
“This is not an interrogation.” I’m in trouble.
“So, what brings you here this time, Princess?” I was hoping to get Luna to just be direct. I hate when people dance around issues they have with me.
The princess started pacing in front of my cell. “I suppose congratulations are in order, Corporal. You’ve managed to accomplish something that only a hoofful can claim.”
I frowned and immediately began racking my brain, trying to figure out what she could possibly be referring to. I haven’t done anything worthwhile, other than being the first guy to get caught… which isn’t anything to brag about. Coming up with zilch, I shrugged. “I give. What’s this great accomplishment?”
Luna turned, giving me a look much like Shining Armor had before. “You made my sister cry.”
That was not what I was expecting, or wanting, to hear. “... Oh.”
“Oh? Oh? That is all you have to say?!” Luna’s horn lit, sending me scrambling from the bed. Planting myself on the back wall, I watched as the door slammed open, and the princess stormed in. Fuck me!
“Celestia has spent this evening in my company, sobbing!” Luna began, advancing toward me, wings flared. “She has asked, over and over, whether she made the right decisions, if she could have saved some of our ponies if she had done something differently!”
With nowhere to go, I pressed myself against the wall. My magiophobia had faded, but now I was very afraid of the very pissed off princess closing in. Fuck me!
“Do you have any idea how much stress she is under every day?!” Upon reaching me, Luna reared up. FUCK ME! She slammed both forehooves against the wall on either side of my head, a loud crack punctuating the strike. I didn’t even flinch, but that probably because I was too scared to move. To my credit, I somehow stayed on my feet, and kept control of certain bodily functions.
“Then you come along, and callously imply that she does not care about her guardsponies!” Luna growled as she leaned in, bring her nose inches away from mine. She had violence in her eyes, and I was certain, this was the end.
Slowly looking left, I saw a myriad of cracks radiating out from where the princess’s silver-shod hoof was. I closed my eyes and swallowed. Well, I’ve had a good run. Made some pretty good friends, did something worthwhile with my life. I even managed to cheat death all those times. Yep, good run.
For several seconds, the only sounds were of our breathing, then, “Why? Why would you suggest such a thing?”
Opening an eye, I cautiously looked to Luna. The rage had dwindled, slightly, but she was still pissed.
“You’re not a bad individual, even under these circumstances. A little rough around the edges, a bit of a smart alek, but you have a good heart.” Luna’s gaze bored into me, as if she were trying to fathom how my mind worked. “So how could you say something so heartless?”
I looked away again. “Because I can be an inconsiderate asshole, who speaks bluntly without thinking. I’m sorry.”
“That’s not good enough!” Luna snapped. She pushed off the wall, returning to her hooves. She turned away from me, her wings folding. “It pains me to see my sister that way, and I do not know what to do to make her feel better.” The princess took a few steps forward, and I moved away from the wall. “And here I am, with the one responsible for her pain. Retaliation could be swift and decisive, and nopony could stop me… but by law, I cannot harm a prisoner.” Luna paused, growling. “Damn our rules, and damn this war!” She punctuated each curse by stomping the floor. “It is so frustrating!”
Physical retaliation didn’t seem to fit with these ponies, especially a princess, so I asked, “Would hitting me really make you feel better?”
Looking back, the princess fixed me with a mixed look. “It might.”
“Well, if it would help you not be so mad at m– fuuuck!” The wind rushed from me with the last word, and I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. I was going to suggest that we find something that would help that didn’t involve me getting hurt, but whatever. Before I could react, Luna’s left rear leg had come up and driven her hoof into my gut. Shit, I deserve that for so many reasons, the least of which was assuming she wouldn’t actually do it. After seeing what she did to the wall, I considered myself lucky that I only got winded. Lying on the ground, wheezing and holding my stomach, I watched the princess turn around. A small smile appeared on her face.
“That was rather satisfying.”
After several seconds, I managed, “Feeling… better?”
“More than I was. Thank you for your permission, Corporal.”
I took a deep breath and coughed a few times. “Happy to help.” Better than having her mad at me, I guess. I can’t even imagine the kind of things she could do to me.
Luna turned and started for the exit. “I do not accept your apology however. You will apologize to Celestia when you next see her. If she forgives you, so too shall I.”
Groaning, I sat up. “Yeah, I can do that.” Shouldn’t be too bad, as long as she doesn’t want to kick me as well.
“Splendid. Now…” She trailed off, tilting her head. “What could this be?”
The sound of hoof steps approached rapidly, then a night guard bat pony skidded to a halt in front of the cell, followed by Breeze and Clipper… I think. I really needed to find a way to tell them apart. They all seemed confused as to why Luna was in the cell, but that ended when the first guard saluted.
“My apologies for interrupting, Princess, but we need the Corporal.”
Luna looked back to me again, bewilderment written all over her face. I gave my head a small shake, my own expression mirrored hers.
Looking past the princess, I asked, “What could you possibly need me for?”
The guard regarded me with a serious expression. “We’ve run into a problem… with a new prisoner.”
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Great chapter.
I'll say it because he won't. They should have used their mind magic on him.
In essence, Celestia is holding her morals above the lives of her people. But more importantly, above the prisoner too. She wants him to compromise his morals without losing any of her own. It's almost insulting in a way, that she believes his morals will crack long before hers.
She could even offload the burden onto somepony else, to keep the corrupting effects of it away from them, so they know they are of sounds mind making the decision. Or do the duty herself, to be sure as little damage as possible is done.
From his point of view, it would remove his moral culpability from them learning what they want to know. The soldiers weren't trained against such a thing after all, and he did not willing give in. He would not have thought too badly of them for it, and they could have treated him a lot better as an apology.
... Unless, of course, their ability to do such a thing is why the humans declared war in the first place. We still don't know why.
I think that injury might make it harder to make the new guy cooperate. He'd think they're using physical coercion to make Duran cooperate, or something like that.
I thought that said "gay" when I first read it.
I really love this story. It has a great blend of action and philosophical weight that makes it a fantastic read.
The main character is a f**king coward. I don't mean he must be fearless, but... Goddamn, he's a soldier! Dislike.
6051899
I would like to see you not pissing yourself when you have a severe trauma against magic and one of your captor could easily mind wipe you if she please.
6051899 pretty sure that is the reason why he is just a corporal after 2 deployments on Afghanistan and one on equestria. the guy is pretty gutless when things dont go his way, pretty sure he will be ok after he breaks and spills the beans
The more this story goes on the more I am curious as to how the war started or what its about. Looking at everything that has been given it sounds like America is the agresser, I wonder how the international community or even its own citizens will take that (or even if they know in the first place).
New interrogation tactic: crying pony guilt trip.
i.pinger.pl/pgr233/4be2e0a4000f026a501980a6
6052176 It makes my very soul shudder with emotions. o.e
Yeah, poor Celestia. Hard luck to the families of those pony soldiers if they get killed though. I mean, yeah, they'll feel the immediate, direct impact of their deaths for a long time, but Celestia's feelings trumps theirs.
Really? You agree that you deserved that? Because what, you made the pony princess cry? What a champ.
With Luna's strength and them not knowing how durable a human's body is, I wouldn't be surprised if that kick ruptured something or caused internal bleeding.
I get why Luna thinks he should apologize ("my sister is hurting and it's all his fault!"), but why the hell does he think he said something that requires an apology? He reminded her of the weight of her own decisions and nothing more.
6051941
u r welcome
6051940
Good question. Here's your answer: They can't. In the current situation, the humans lack any of the ordinance that could hit Canterlot at a reasonable distance, especially considering the city's location. To use what they do have, they'd have to get close enough that any air patrol would likely find them, either before or after they attack. Plus, the last time I checked, the U.S. tries to avoid killing civilians. As to why they don't have all that fancy, long-range stuff, that will be addressed later in the story.
6052405
that is still something you don't remind someone dick move
6052935
If you're a ruler, you make hard decisions. It comes with the territory.
A ruler that has such a thin skin that she would lash out at somebody for reminding her of this fact doesn't deserve to be a ruler.
6051941
Yes, because she can totally do that and was in no way attempting to use scare tactics against the prisoner.
Enchant something with Want It Need It, hold it out of reach, and tell him he can get the item if he tells her something.
You're in war, people are dying, how much more absolutely necessary do you need things to get? Remember this is Celestia, whose first response when someone she'd petrified for AT MINIMUM 1000 years escaped, her first response wasn't to try and get him help, it was to try and put him back way. I think she's a bit harder than you're making her out to be.
'Difficult' as in people are dying.
Well she doesn't care enough to DO something about it!
He doesn't know that Princess Luna tried to destroy all life on the planet. He's either been living under a fucking rock, or Equestria and the USA haven't been in contact long. But long enough to go to war? What the hell happened?
Yeah, I think Celestia is much harder than you're making her out to be. She had been alive for AT MINIMUM 1000 years, something like someone saying mean things isn't going to make her cry, let alone start sobbing for an afternoon. Unless this is some elaborate mind-game on the part of the princesses... which I can see happening.
Yes. It's not a hard question.
Honestly, I'm not impressed with your Princesses, they're a lot softer and dumber than their natures would suggest. I'm holding out hope that they're just mind-gaming him.
6053018
it still dosent change the fact that reminding someone of hundreds of lives that were lost because of them would make any good ruler sad if not than they would care nothing for the people
6052385
Celestia didn't compare her grief to that of the family's, so I don't see any reason to believe that she was trivializing the suffering of others.
Just because you broke your leg doesn't mean that I didn't stub my toe.
6053775
No. As I said in the spoiler: The weapons they currently have on hand require them to get relatively close to use, putting them in increased risk, and aren't capable of doing enough damage to Canterlot to make the risk worth it. It'll be explained better later.
6053775 Possibly. We know so little about the actual conflict that it's hard to tell. Regardless of whatever started the human/pony war, holding back on the nukes is usually a good idea.
Jeez, a little conceited, huh? I doubt one soldier has enough knowledge of present/future military operations and logistics to cripple the entire human war machine.
Still really enjoying the story. Hope we learn more about why the humans and ponies went to war in the first place.
6054579
IMHO, guys like him must not be in the army.
6051713
6051959
6054579
I don't know about the rest of you, but I get the impression that Equestria isn't all that accustomed to war. And judging by the way the guards (and as far as you trust them, the Princesses) treat Duran, I think it's safe to say ponies are generally kinder and more peaceful by nature than humans. There's plenty of fiction out there that says humanity is a warlike race, but overall you can really only say that if a race can be less prone to war. And why would a race have less war than us? If they objected to it more strongly. To ponies, war and the drastic measures involved are just a much bigger deal than they are for us. Would Duran crack under more serious pressure? Sure. I don't think even he would deny that if he seriously asked himself. But it's silly to criticize the ponies for not taking that step. It's not in their nature. For me, that's part of the beauty of this fic, that the ponies captured a coward who could win them the war, but they refuse to do what it takes to get what they need from him.
Notice that in all the speculation about why there's a war in the first place, no one's suggested that Equestria was the aggressor. Ponies are just different. So I don't think Celestia is wrong to hold off on the mind magic, because I can't claim to identify with her priorities. They're made out to be different than mine fundamentally, so if Radiant says she'd rather the war go on than cross the line of magically interrogating him (or coercing him with magic in any way), then I believe him.
Also, at its heart this is a HiE fic, so the main character immediately becoming friends with the Princesses regardless of circumstance is kind of a given.
6054043
I'm getting the impression that the invading force is cut off from reinforcements (portal travel? Magical barrier around the land?) and simply doesn't have the type of equipment you are considering.
It would also explain why knowing where they are is so important, and how the protagonist could probably end the conflict by 'cracking'.
6053863
it sounds like a similar situation to what happened in Entanglement where the army is basically limited to a single small portal into Equestria. It explains why his knowledge can win the war, know where it is and you could take it out.
6054771
Did you consider that he knows he can't do jack in his current situation? Duran has no defense against magic. His fear of it aside, all it would really take is one simple levitation spell to hold him, and what's he gonna do? Flail around helplessly. Besides, just because you put on the uniform, doesn't make you some kind of fearless machine. At the end of the day, he's still human.
6056413
It's the only thing that makes sense. Otherwise they would be holding territory with fortress like areas.
6056253
Of course it doesn't make you a fearless machine. But soldier must be trained to be one.
6056677
Training can only do so much. Plus there's the things you can't train for.
6056696
Well, as I said before, my opinion is that weak cowards like him are the ones who must not even enter the armed forces
6057842
Army, Combat Engineer.
6057957 Hm, respectable. I wonder who the new prisoner is...
6051713
By the same logic, she should just turn all the humans into ponies so they would stop making war.
Why did I ever think reading the comments was a good idea. The further I get into the story the more it's just people with aspergers and extreme passive-aggressiveness insulting each other/the author
“Will you stop, Corporal?”
I paused for a moment, then returned to what I was doing. “This helps me with stress, and it might help me get back to sleep.”
“I can’t believe I have to stand here and watch you do this.”
“So, look someplace else.”
“I don’t see what your problem is, Sergeant. I don’t have a problem with it.” Private Breeze chimed in.
“Ugh. What about you two? Doesn’t that bother you? ” Clipper asked, addressing the unicorn guards.
“Not watching, and not gonna watch, so not really.”
I wonder what this could be a joke about.
As much as I hate to say it, I'm actually beginning to agree with some of the "pansy" comments from earlier chapters. This is a great story thus far, but, besides Stockholm Syndrome and/or fear of immediate death by royalty, why would Duran give any kind of care or thought to actually feeling bad about hurting the feelings of a foreign dignitary that he's at war with?
Wow yeah, I made it up to this chapter without agreeing with the others who find this guy rather spineless but that was lame.
Also who the fuck made the decision to invade Equestria with like twenty dudes? I'm assuming there's some kind of bottleneck stopping them from just sending overwhelming force but that has got to be the stupidest strategic move I've ever seen.
I feel midnight breeze is fluttershy
You know... I thought his was going somewhere else.
Oh cool I do this to, it's great fir daydreaming especially when mixed with music.
Jesus these comments