Civil War of Harmony

by SC_Orion

Chapter 31

Princess Twilight Sparkle

The sunrise was always beautiful and watching it was always calming. My very mentor was the one responsible for raising the sun into the sky and setting it on its course for the day. When I was a filly, it had always given me a sense of hope and reassurance, knowing that the same pony who moved the sun was my teacher and looked out for all of Equestria. A cool breeze billowed passed me. I shifted my weight and ruffled my wings. I took a deep breath, the cool air did little to reassure me, and the sight of the sunrise only brought dread. She would know what I had done, that I was responsible for thousands of deaths. And it wasn't my orders that were responsible for those deaths. I lead the strike team, and I cast the spell that killed them. I swallowed and pressed my eyes closed. I had killed thousands in a single strike. 'How many ponies did I take from their foals? How many parents did I force to have to face the reality of losing their foals?' I opened my eyes and glanced out over Ponyville. The town was safe, and nopony who didn't offer to serve under my command or fight against me was hurt. I should have felt relieved, knowing that I was doing my duty, but I didn't. Ponies were dying, and their deaths were on my hooves. I slowly averted my gaze from the town and looked down at the ground below the balcony. A couple soldiers casually walked along, patrolling. 'Will they survive this war?' I wondered.

'Am... I going to survive this war?' I gulped as I felt a chill run down my spine. I shivered. Years, or even just months ago, the thought of my own death was far from my mind, but then I almost died. I could have been killed. 'What if I hadn't survived? What if my spell failed, and... I accidentally killed myself, or my team? What if... I had survived, but my spell killed my team? What if...' I took a deep breath and clenched my eyes closed. I slowly lifted a shaky hoof to my chest, then I slowly extended it straight out while exhaling. Opening my eyes, my hoof still shook. I averted my gaze from my hoof and looked out over the Everfree Forest. The air was so much cooler, crisper, and clearer than I remembered, but at the same time, the coolness wasn't as uncomfortable. It must have been a result of my growth spurt, undoubtedly I wasn't going to be as easy to kill as I was before, so my body was likely more resilient, which apparently included a resilience to the cold.'There's so much to think about...' I felt a grimace pull at my lips. It was overwhelming. I had killed thousands without stopping to consider their lives. I almost died. Ponies were counting on me. 'What would become of them if I failed?'

All of them would be considered traitors to Equestria. I closed my eyes and sat down on my haunches. The cold crystal beneath me made me wince, the balcony wasn't well insulated, especially for this time of year. 'If I had been killed, or if I fail... they will all be considered traitors.' The thought was almost paralyzing. As it was, I started to shake. 'W-would... Celestia or Luna... forgive them?' I wanted to say yes, that they would, but in truth, I couldn't be sure. 'If... I was killed... the Elements of Harmony would be disabled. W-would... my friends... Celestia... n-no, you... you wouldn't...' She wouldn't just sentence innocent ponies to death. 'But... Rainbow and Applejack...' They were both serving under my command. 'And Rarity...' Rarity had helped provide me and my forces with armor. My lips pulled into an even line. 'I have to protect them.' I hung my head. The silence was welcomed, and I was glad that I was alone. 'This... that is why I'm fighting, why I'm doing this. To protect them, to protect everypony, but ponies are still dying...' I closed my eyes. 'And I've killed ponies. But... if Celestia or Luna wins... I can't let them rule Equestria. But I don't have the forces to win...' I opened my eyes and absently glanced back over at the rising sun. 'I killed... thousands with a single spell.' I slowly looked away from the sun and glanced down at my hooves. 'I have the capability.'

I slowly stood up, then turned back to the door. I idly pulled it open, then slowly walked inside. A smile pulled at my lips as warmth washed over my coat, then my smile disappeared. 'Is... is it right for me to do that? Is... it right for me not to?' I closed the door behind me with my magic. I walked around in my room aimlessly, my mind wandering and contemplating the various problems and dilemmas I faced. More than a few of the dilemmas were moral issues. I blinked and frowned. Somehow, I found myself looking back at myself. The alicorn looked regal, yet despondent. I scrutinized her body, though my heart wasn't in it. It took me longer than I wanted to admit to realize I was facing my reflection, that I had walked around to look at myself in the mirror. I closed my eyes, sighing, and let my head fall, then hang limply. "I killed thousands with a single spell... Even Discord hasn't done something like that. King Sombra did..." I said aloud, my voice barely breaking the silence filling the air. I blinked open my eyes and looked my reflection in the eyes, the thought bringing on a new wave of feeling futile. 'I'm on the same level as King Sombra now...' An uncomfortable knot formed in my throat. I closed my eyes, then took a shaky, deep breath and pressed my hoof against my heart, then exhaled and extended my hoof out.

My hoof touched something cold, and I opened my eyes to see my hoof touching a mirror, my hoof meeting its reflection. I slowly lowered my hoof back to the ground, then looked back up to meet my reflection's gaze. The alicorn looking back at me seemed angry like she couldn't believe that I was acting the way I was. I swallowed and stood back up. Taking a deep breath, I reaffirmed my resolve. "Ponies are counting on me. I can't afford to do this..." I snorted and shook my head. "I'm going to regret not dealing with this, aren't I?" No answer, not that I expected any since I was alone in my room. I took another deep breath, then lifted my hoof up and calmly stamped it into the crystalline floor. 'I can't afford to deal with this, ponies depend on me.' They needed me to be strong, to lead them. I was their leader, their princess. Ponies were trusting me with their lives. I couldn't just betray that trust, and that's exactly what I would be doing if I kept struggling with killing. 'I need to be careful...' The thought left my mouth dry. The more I thought about it, the warmer it made me. 'I used dark magic on ponies and... then I killed ponies to save Rainbow Dash. And... then I killed thousands with a single spell, without even thinking about their lives... I could have killed Rainbow and the rest of my team with that spell!'

I bit my lip, then turned away from the mirror and paced back and forth. I came to a stop a few seconds later. "I wield a lot of power..." I chewed on my lip and looked down at the floor. "Should I even have this kind of power?" I asked aloud, knowing full well I would receive no answer. "I... have to fight this war. Ponies... have to die, on all sides, but... I need to protect my ponies... There is... no alternative." I released my lip, then took another deep breath. "I... have to protect my ponies first, and then Equestria, second, which means that..." I trailed off, feeling disarrayed and my mind feeling fuzzy, most likely a result of how poorly I slept last night. "There is no alternative," I repeated. "The only alternative is... surrendering." I trailed off, a growing knot in my throat and a void in my chest being filled with dread.

"If I surrendered..." I trailed off, my head falling and my ears pressing up against my head. I absently looked down at my hooves, knowing full well what would happen if I surrendered, although a few of the finer details eluded me. I swallowed and inhaled, then lifted my head back up. "I can't surrender! Luna would destroy Equestria, and... Celestia... she... she... h-how long will Equestria last under her?" I cried out. My only option was to fight and win. I had to. The alternatives were not an acceptable outcome. In the back of my mind, I felt a familiar, unwelcome feeling. I remembered thinking that I was going to have to fight and kill ponies in order to win. I remembered knowing that ponies were going to die because of my orders. Knowing it was going to happen, and it actually happening were two very, very different things. 'I'm not innocent...'

I bobbed my head and grimaced, then resumed pacing. "Would she even accept my surrender, now?" I asked absently, the knot in my throat starting to hurt. I swallowed it back, but it only helped a little. I paused and took a deep breath, then pressed my hoof into my chest over my heart. I held the breath for a couple seconds and felt my heart beating, then released the breath, extending my hoof straight out. Instead of returning my hoof to the floor, I brought my hoof back to my body. I tilted my head to the right and placed my hoof on my neck. I slid it upward, then stopped over where he had stabbed me. "I could have been killed..." It was still hard to believe. 'If I had been a unicorn, if he had cut deeper, if he had been an inch off, if he had stabbed me again...' I slowly lowered my hoof back to the floor. "What would have happened if I had died? Ponies would have died for me and their losses would be in vain. Equestria would suffer."

Still, a part of me wanted to believe that Celestia and Luna were capable of ruling Equestria. 'Celestia had ruled on her own for a thousand years, but that may be why she shouldn't rule anymore.' My mind wandered from that thought. I grimaced sadly. "Is... this... going to happen again? Except... with me in Celestia's place? In... a few hundred years, or a few millennia? Am... I going to be in Celestia's position, trying to keep Equestria together, only to be responsible for its destruction?" I slowly looked down at my hooves. 'That... really puts things into a new perspective...' Thinking of it that way, I couldn't find the will to condemn Celestia for her failures, at least until I thought about how she treated me and my friends. I growled. "You just... Ugh!" I forced the thoughts away, my mind turning to Luna. "And you..." My anger died as I trailed off. "I can't hold it against you, Luna... you made mistakes, and you suffered your punishment, and that punishment has left you in a bad position now. But you're too emotional to rule..." I trailed off. "Am I really any better?"

I pursed my lips and walked over to my bed, then turned around and sat against it. "Here I am, having a breakdown over what I'm dealing with, and yet I'm claiming that I'm more stable than you, Luna..." I closed my eyes. "Okay, Twilight, you can do this. You can deal with this. It's not like you're going crazy or anything, you're just under a lot of stress. After all, waking up from being unconscious for a month and a half, finding out you almost died, finding out that you killed thousands of ponies with a single spell while having a surge of alicorn magic, finding out that the Crystal Empire pledged allegiance to you while you were unconscious, and realizing everything that you need to get done after waking up from being unconscious can't be easy for anypony!" I opened my eyes, taking a deep breath to fill my burning lungs. "No pressure," I said to myself, blowing air out of my nose. "And that's not even including the stress of having their lives all resting in my hooves."

I sighed and leaned back against my bed, letting my head hit the mattress, then letting my horn fall back onto the sheets. "And if I don't act, if I just keep doing nothing, more ponies will die, this war will get drawn out, and more ponies will suffer... but... I... I killed... s-so many..." I trailed off, clenching my eyes and swallowing back the hard knot in my throat. "I... it's my duty to protect my ponies, the ones who pledged their lives to me, but... it's also my duty to protect the innocent..." I trailed off and felt my lips twist into an even, emotionless line. "They... they weren't innocent, but... they were my enemies, but... they shouldn't have had to have been killed. I... I couldn't spare them, though." I groaned and lifted my hooves up, then pressed them against my head. "And... I'm not innocent either. I killed so many ponies..." I trailed off, my voice growing quieter with each word. I leaned forward and hung my head, letting my hooves drop to the floor. Despite the irritation my eyes felt, the deep, aching emptiness in my chest was by far the worst pain. 'I... wish I could just... curl up in a ball and...' the thought died as something hot rolled down my cheek, leaving me feeling bewildered. I sniffed and brought my hoof up to my muzzle to investigate. The warmth spread out over my hoof, then I pulled my hoof back to analyze it. A shiny reflective patch lingered where it made contact with the heat. I snorted and a brief smile flashed across my lips, then disappeared, my lips quivering and twisting downward.

I sat my hoof back on the floor and closed my eyes. Eventually, the warmth faded and was replaced by an almost uncomfortable coolness. "I can't afford to do this! Everypony needs me, I can't just let my emotions... but... that's..." I closed my eyes, my mouth contorting into a scowl. 'If... I had to, I would do that again, wouldn't I? It would be a mercy. Fewer... ponies would die, but... their deaths... would all be square on my hooves... But to protect my friends and my ponies, I would do it again.' "How..." I asked, my voice breaking from pain. "If I do this, then... h-how am I supposed to look anypony in the e-eye again?" I asked. Silence returned my answer. I bit my lip hard enough that I recoiled from pain, immediately releasing my lip and feeling it throb, a hint of the smell of blood escaping my nostrils. "How can I look my friends in the eye? If... protecting my ponies means killing ponies..." 'But... logically, it is for the greater good. If they are fighting for Celestia and Luna, they are enemies of Equestria, my ponies, and myself. I can't afford to let them remain to pose a threat to my ponies. Not acting would draw out the war, which means more lives would be lost, but if I act, then... how many... will I kill... before this ends?'

I opened my eyes and looked down at my hooves. I could almost picture them being bathed in crimson red blood from all the lives I had taken. Nothing remained of the vast majority of the ponies I had killed, except for their memories. I had taken countless ponies from their families, taken their lives before they were meant to pass, and nopony would ever know for sure how many I had killed with that spell. 'Will the Elements of Harmony even allow... me... and my friends to use them now?' The thought caused a sharp, stabbing pain to permeate my chest, yet it was so different from actually being stabbed. This was an emotional pain while being stabbed was physical, which lead to emotional and mental pain. 'Would... what would they... do to me, if I... was on the receiving... end?' I shivered and licked my lip, wincing as my tongue rolled over my injured skin. 'I can't deal with this. I'm supposed to be strong for everypony. I need to reassure them. I... have to.' I heard a knock on my door.

My body went rigid as I tensed up. My breath caught in my throat, and my eyes shot toward the door. Fear pierced my mind. Somepony on the other side of the door wanted me. 'I-I can't be seen like this!' I bit the other side of my lip, then chewed on it. I looked around my room, searching for any way to mask how I felt. I glanced at the clock and winced. 'I'm late for my briefing...' I swallowed back the knot in my throat, then scurried to my hooves. 'I... could pretend I'm not here!' Another knocking came from the door.

"Princess?" Rainbow's voice called.

'Don't panic don't panic she's your friend don't panic don't panic." I swallowed and closed my eyes, then hastily pressed my hoof against my chest, then started rapidly repeating my breathing exercise. At first, it did nothing but make me feel jittery, but after the tenth breath, I started to calm down, although I was also starting to feel a little lightheaded. I slowed down my pace and started holding the breath for a few seconds before releasing it. With one final breath, I opened my eyes, then swallowed again. I ruffled my wings and rigidly shuffled across the room to the door. I hesitated once I reached the door. 'I can still pretend I'm not here or... or I could just leave.' I hung my head, letting it fall against the door. "I can't do that, ponies lives depend on me..." I whispered to myself. I lifted my head back, took a deep breath, and forced a smile. I stepped back, then light my horn and opened the door with my magic. "Let's-" the words died in my throat.

"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, then jumped on me. I didn't have any time to brace for the impact, but because of my new stature, she didn't tackle me to the floor. She enveloped me in her arms and squeezed. I wheezed from the force, tensing up even more than I had been.

"Twilight, dear, look at you!" Rarity exclaimed, jumping into the room with a little more reservation than Pinkie Pie, although her hug was still overwhelming.

"G-girls..." I grunted out as the rest of them joined the hug. "C-can't... breathe..." I wheezed out. "O-oh, s-sorry!" Pinkie said as she released me, then jumped back, smiling nervously.

"But it's just so good to see you, Twilight! You were unconscious for a really long time after..." she trailed off, the joy in her eyes fading a little.

I shivered and averted my gaze from her. As strange as it was to see them all being so much shorter than me, I was grateful for it. I didn't have to look at them and see how much pain I had caused them. I shook a little and closed my eyes, then sat down on my haunches. 'I-I can't do this!' Here they were, all surrounding me and comforting me. 'You're all so innocent, how can you even want to look at somepony like me, let alone be near me or comfort me? I'm a killer, no, worse than that, I... I'm responsible for thousands of deaths, I used dark magic on ponies who were defenseless. I killed a defenseless mare! How many families did I break?' Yet the warmth from their hugs remained, as reassuring, as kind, as honest, as generous, as optimistic, and as loyal as ever. Even though it was meant to be reassuring and comforting, it felt condemning. I had been killing ponies and using dark magic, and here they were, hugging me.

I shied away from them, standing back up, then backing away from them. Despite their attempts to hold me there, I easily broke out of their grasp. I kept backing up until I hit the bed, all the while looking at them with fear, disbelief, and horror. Their gazes held nothing but bewilderment and concern. Without missing a beat, they started over to me again. "S-stay back..." I whimpered out, closing my eyes.

"Twilight, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you," Rarity said, taking the lead. "Poor dear, she's scared half to death," she whispered.

"She almost died and was unconscious in the hospital for a month and a half, can you blame her Rarity?" Applejack whispered back.

"She... wasn't like this yesterday," Rainbow said in an unsure whisper.

I whimpered and hung my head, then laid down on the floor and buried my head in my hooves as they drew closer. My body shook, then I froze as a hoof came to rest on my shoulder. A second later, somepony sat down beside me, then laid down. I went back to shaking, even as whoever it was running their hoof through my mane in a reassuring, slow pace.

"It's okay, Twilight. We're here for you," Fluttershy said in a calm, gentle voice from right beside me.

I hastily swallowed. The rest of the ponies gathered around me. "Yeah, Twilight! We're here to cheer you up, being unconscious for a month and a half must have been terrible!" Pinkie said.

"Oh, if I could get my hooves on whoever did this to you, Twilight..." Rarity trailed off, her threatening voice becoming softer. "Darling, we're here if you want to talk about it."

I whimpered, still shivering and trying to wrap my mind around how they could stand to be in the same building as me. 'Maybe they don't know what I did! Rainbow knows, but she... wouldn't have told them, right? Would Spitfire have told them? Would... no, they would have wanted to know what had happened, but do they know how I was injured? They know I was in the hospital... Do they know what I did or not? They... deserve to know if they don't, don't they?' I bit my lip once more, knowing that my mouth was going to end up being sore. 'But... I can't tell them that! It's... they don't need to know,' I reasoned. 'But I... killed... thousands...' 'If they don't know, they should know so that... so that... they... know... what I did and... what I'm... responsible for...' I released my lip from my teeth and grit my teeth. 'But... what if they abandon me? I'm fighting to protect them! What... no, I'm... fighting to protect everypony... They'll hate me! How can they forgive me if I tell them what I did.' I shook on the floor, my stomach churning in fear. I whimpered again. "I just killed thousands of ponies with a single spell!" I blurted out, then froze. Fluttershy's hoof came to an immediate and complete stop. Nopony said anything and I heard no movement. 'I... why... why did I do that? Stupid!' I clenched my jaw and pressed my head into the floor.

Seconds seemed to stretch on to infinity as they must have tried to wrap their minds around what I said. There was no way they could easily understand what I was responsible for. Fluttershy's hoof shook a little, and she started stroking my mane once again, though significantly slower than before. "It's..." she trailed off, her voice heavy. Silence lingered for another eternity before she spoke again, "It... was the right thing to do." Her hoof shook a little more.

I hesitantly slid a hoof away from my eye and glanced over at her, afraid of what I knew I would see. My heart felt so lifeless at the sight of her tear-filled eyes. She still wore a small smile, though it wavered. I removed my other hoof from my muzzle and hesitantly lifted my head up, then glanced at the others. They wore similar strained expressions, though they still lingered around me, not chastising me.

"I..." The words died in my mouth. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back to the floor. "I... used dark magic on ponies before, I... I had to in order to get information and rescue Rainbow Dash. I... used dark magic on a mare, then killed her when she was defenseless because I couldn't risk leaving her alive. I... killed thousands with a single spell. I could have killed myself or my team with that spell. I almost died..." I listed off, clenching my eyes closed. "H-how... can you s-stand... t-to be... h-here?" I asked, my voice breaking as more beads of heat rolled down from my eyes, then cooled.

"Because we're your friends. We support you, Twilight. We know this is hard for you, but... we believe in you," Rarity answered in a soft, gentle voice.

"B-but... I'm... I'm a m-monster... Discord... H-he didn't even d-do s-something... l-like th-this!" I shot back. "I-I'm a killer!"

"You're not a monster, Twilight. You did what you had to do... it was you or them," Applejack affirmed, though she didn't deny that I was a killer. "And frankly, I'm glad you chose you," she added.

I snorted and my lips twitched into a smile. The smile faded but still lingered. I swallowed, then slowly lifted my head back up and looked at my friends. "Th-thank you," I said, my voice just barely coming out above a whisper and cracking. They seemed to understand, as one by one, they all embraced me again. I closed my eyes and leaned into their embrace, wrapping my arms around as many of them as I could.

---

Unsurprisingly, everypony stared as I walked into the room. A few of them looked more taken aback than others, while some managed to maintain their composure. Being the center of attention wasn't my favorite thing, and it made me uncomfortable, even if I had known to expect that I would draw more attention than normal. 'Will I ever get used to this? Let alone being a princess...' I guess in the grand schemes of things, I was getting used to being a princess, and that was a good thing since after this was all said and done, I was going to rule Equestria. I ruffled my wings and took a deep breath, then calmly walked into the room, closing the door behind me with my magic. I towered over the sitting ponies, which didn't help me feel any more comfortable. Their gazes followed me as I strode across the room. I glanced at a few of them, and they immediately looked away from me.

I calmly took my place at the head of the table and looked around while Rainbow took her place at my left. Captain Light and Sergeant Bolt shifted their weight as my gaze fell on them. I quickly averted my gaze and turned to Spitfire. The pegasus sat up straighter, then glanced around. "Alright, I think everypony's here," she said, then turned to look at me expectantly.

I swallowed and sat up straighter, then did a quick look around the table. After I finished, I turned back to Spitfire and nodded. Spitfire returned my nod, then stood up and walked down to the opposite end of the table "As you're all aware, Princess Twilight has been unconscious for the past one and a half months due to injuries sustained in the last major engagement she partook in," she said in a lecturing tone. She glanced around the room. "Since Princess Twilight has been out of the loop for a while, this briefing is a recap of what's happened and what we've been doing since she was disabled. The battle was a complete victory, with our forces suffering minimal casualties compared to General Hoof's forces. Most of his casualties, including his own death, were a result of Princess Twilight having a surge of alicorn magic, which she used to level his primary camp."

I sank back in my chair and glanced around the room. Everypony pointedly avoided my gaze or watched Spitfire. I shifted my weight in my chair. 'I just finished thinking about that, and that's what you want to start with?' I grimaced as Spitfire nodded. Two unicorns dressed in formal attire walked around the table, one on each side, each passing out a manilla folder. I took a copy from the unicorn to my right, then opened it up and read it over.
"As you will see, this is a more detailed report about the battle," Spitfire said.

I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it. On one hoof, my actions more or less won the battle, but my actions resulted in thousands of deaths. 'How many lives did I save?' I wondered as my gaze lingered on the final casualty count of losses we had suffered. It left my mouth dry, even if it was almost an eighth of the upper end of General Hoof's estimated casualties. It hurt, knowing that so many ponies who put their trust in me, who counted on me to protect them, were killed in battle, fighting for me. 'I'll never know how many lives my actions saved...' I inwardly sighed at that realization.

"We thoroughly exhausted our supply of lightning bombs before the battle was over, and without Princess Twilight's intervention, the battle likely would have ended differently," Spitfire said grimly. "However, it is not a complete loss, as while Princess Twilight has been unconscious, we've managed to resupply the bulk of the munitions we had, and enlistment has skyrocketed as shown on the next page."

I hesitantly pulled the first page out and laid it aside, then carefully read over the second page. I felt a smile pull at my lips and glanced up at Spitfire. "As it stands now," she continued, "We have approximately fifteen thousand combat ready ponies, with another three thousand in training. The vast majority remain pegasi, however, we're making significant gains in earth ponies. On a related topic, the Buffalo have started to enlist. Their help will be a major force multiplier in close combat. We still have limited unicorn support, mainly due to the population makeup of Princess Twilight's territory which consists primarily of earth ponies and pegasi."

I looked away from Spitfire and read the rest of the page, then laid it aside on top of the first page. "As per Princess Twilight's request, page three contains financial information and projected estimates about how we'll be doing in the coming months. However, due to several projects in the works, accurate estimates are difficult to come by. However, our economy is doing very well. One specific note to make about this, is that the Diamond Dogs running the Everfree Mine have determined that the crystals can regrow in the Everfree after being mined and depleted, however the rate is rather slow, but it shows no signs of slowing down."

I pursed my lips as I read over that information. 'How can crystal regrowth be detectable already?' I wondered. I frowned and read over the related information. It was definitely something that seemed worth looking into, although the implications of what the report indicated perplexed me.

"We have an ample supply of raw crystal, however, we only have a limited ability to process it into useful military components," Spitfire added.

I glanced up to see her looking at me as if prompting me to say something. I leaned back and glanced around to find everypony looking at me. "I will need to look into it. I've been busy so I haven't had time to work on perfecting the crystal processing spell. Having access to ample crystal resources, and the ability to convert the raw material into useful crystals will give us a significant advantage if we can utilize it."

Spitfire nodded slowly. "Also of note on the economic front, there are a few more factories being built, but it's unlikely they will come into play for several months, although after they're complete, we will have significantly more manufacturing capability. Cloudsdale weather interests are reluctantly pledging their support to Princess Twilight- while they're happy to do business with us, they're used to following Princess Celestia's lead on the weather and seasons. Princess, they've been requesting to talk to you personally for a while."

"I'm not sure when I'll have time to, but I'll make it a priority," I answered. 'Trying to bring in Winter early was stupid, Celestia... Did you even think about the possible consequences!?' I fumed silently.

"Page four," Spitfire said.

I pulled page three out and read over the fourth page. I couldn't help but smile. They were actually making progress on research and development! It was so exciting! "I'll want a more detailed report about this to go over personally," I said, licking my lips as I practically salivated at even the limited information available to me.

"Right. I think that the Professor could give you more information about it than me." Spitfire paused and glanced at Fleetfoot, then nodded her head.

Fleetfoot glanced around then stood up. "Right, well, development on cloudforts is going slow since the production of military-grade cloudcrete is suffering a hit because of the heavy demand on the weather industry. However, we've applied some unicorns and crystal experts to attempt to speed up the process. On the topic of crystals, R and D is working on a prototype arcane accelerator cannon. It's too large and bulky for ponies, but it could be an excellent addition to cloudforts. They're working on miniaturizing it and making it more powerful, but it's slow going."

I nodded slowly. 'Another thing I'll have to look into.' "Do you have any blueprints available?" I asked.

Fleetfoot shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. They're all locked up tight right now. I can have a copy sent to you if you'd like, but you should go over it with somepony who understands the technology better than I do."

I nodded slowly, frowning. "Please continue," I prompted.

Fleetfoot nodded at me in acknowledgment, then continued, "We're also developing more advanced explosives. Although our ability to manufacture them in any significant quantity is limited, it's worth investigating them. On a related note, there's a small side project going on in an attempt to weaponize fireworks." I pushed myself up straighter in my chair.

"Weaponizing fireworks?" I inquired, my mind already considering what she meant by that and the potential uses for them. Fleetfoot opened her mouth, then closed it and nodded. "They're capable of launching an explosive charge, so it's worth investigating. It may be possible to improve the load capacity and range of the fireworks, then combine that with guidance spells to have the ability to launch explosives across a significant distance with some degree of accuracy, Princess." I nodded slowly, though most of my attention was directed at the concept behind it. "Development of defensive technologies hasn't been progressing quite as well, unfortunately."

I looked up at Fleetfoot and grimaced. 'I guess that's to be expected, it'll take longer to develop and improve defensive capabilities than offensive capabilities...' "Anything else?" I asked.

Fleetfoot shook her head. "No, Princess."

Spitfire took a deep breath. "Thank you for the update, General Fleetfoot." Fleetfoot nodded, then swiftly returned to her chair. She glanced around the room, then nodded to herself. "Now for the biggest developments. As you're all aware, the Crystal Empire declared allegiance to Princess Twilight while she was unconscious." I leaned forward and listened intently. "In my communications with them, we've been discussion how this alters the balance of power, among other things. They wish to speak to you in person as soon as possible, Princess. They wish to personally pledge their loyalty to you, and discuss strategies to invade Equestria from the north."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "If you think you can manage things here for a day or two in my absence, I think I should go visit the Crystal Empire as soon as we finish here."

"Um, Princess... if you don't mind me saying, you can't exactly get to the Crystal Empire right now. There are no safe means of transportation right now," Fleetfoot commented, her voice filled with uncertainty.

I exhaled calmly and bobbed my head. "I can... probably teleport that far now. I've not really had a chance to see how much stronger my magic is now, but my estimates easily place the Crystal Empire within my range." Everypony looked at me unsurely. "I can tap into the Element of Magic, too, if I can't get there using my own magic. Do keep in mind that the Elements of Harmony were powerful enough to send somepony to the moon," I said, forcing back a smirk. It seemed to alleviate some of their concern, but a few of them remained uneasy, including Spitfire.

Spitfire noticed my gaze on her and shook her head. "Right, well... with the addition of the Crystal Empire's forces, we have an additional sixty-five thousand soldiers. Page seven."

I opened my mouth to speak, then promptly closed it. I flipped to page seven and quickly read over the page. After I finished, I read the page over again.

"Which means we now have enough forces to be on par with Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna, however, their combined forces outmatch ours," Spitfire continued. I glanced up at her to see her smiling. "It should be noted that the Crystal Empire's forces are far more experienced than most Equestrian military forces, however, they consist of solely Earth Ponies, save for some ponies from the Equestrian ranks. They do however have experience with Winter warfare and are much more resilient to magic than normal ponies, however, this is countered by kinetic penetration spells."

I pursed my lips. "Princess Celestia still poses a threat then, but we should be able to match Princess Luna's forces," I said aloud, nodding to myself. "I'll start working on figuring out a way to balance the odds..."

"However," Spitfire said as soon as I stopped. "Another important development needs to be noted now. Princess Celestia's forces are faltering under Princess Luna's assault. It's already to the point that they're starting to pull out artillery, and they're taking over the zeppelin production in Manehatton, according to reports. Princess Celestia's forces aren't doing very well, and our liberal estimates project that she won't last much longer than a year at the current rate, and that's assuming she's able to hold off Princess Luna, without our intervention, until she can marshal her forces. This poses a threat to us. If the war between Celestia and Luan ends too quickly, one of them will find themselves with one enemy and enough military might to crush us."

I gulped, then took a deep breath. "General," I said firmly, drawing everypony's attention to me. "Are... you suggesting we use an attrition strategy?"

Spitfire hesitated. "Not necessarily," she answered cautiously. "The longer we draw out the war, the more likely we can succeed. Letting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna exhaust their forces fighting each other puts us in a better position."

"And the worse state Equestria will be in," I added firmly, looking at her with a stern expression. She shifted her weight uncomfortably under my gaze. "And the more ponies who will suffer and die."

"It may be worth considering helping Princess Celestia fight Princess Luna in a battle or two," Soarin commented.

"If we helped Princess Celestia, it would buy her time which she could use to field more forces and weapons which we can't match," Fleetfoot warned. Soarin glanced at Fleetfoot, then looked back at me, grimacing.

Spitfire looked at Fleetfoot and Soarin, then turned back to me."Nopony wants to draw out the war, Princess, but if you want to succeed, we'll have better odds if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna deplete their forces on one another, then we can sweep in and win."

"General, I want a strategy that will end this war as quickly as possible," I said, putting my hoof down on the table in a show of force and finality. "Drawing out the war will only cause more suffering."

Spitfire swallowed and glanced around the room, then nodded. "Yes, Princess. We will get to work on a strategy that will end the war quicker, however, I cannot guarantee our success. Any war plan which ends the war quickly will be very risky. And we're still not in a position to take either princess head on right now, even with the Crystal Empire's forces- our forces are split in two right now."

I grimaced, realizing the truth of her statement. I stood a better chance of winning if I conserved my forces and let Luna and Celestia wear each other out until they were too weak and I could sweep in and crush them both in one swift move, but that would mean prolonging the suffering. "It needs to be balanced," I admitted. "I'll talk to the generals in the Crystal Empire about it," I added, frowning. "They should have some good ideas on how we can win the war in a quick, decisive matter."

"If we act quickly we might be able to defeat Princess Celestia in one swift move, but once Princess Luna realizes what we're doing, she's not going to wait for us to win. She will counterattack. And even if we defeat Princess Celestia, we have no guarantee that her forces will pledge their loyalty to you. We could end up in an even worse situation with our forces depleted and Princess Luna on our doorstep," Fleetfoot cautioned.

I sighed and nodded. "And... that's not even addressing another issue. How am I supposed to defeat Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in direct combat? And if... once I do, how am I supposed to prevent them from..." I trailed off. "Trying to regain power. I can't simply lock them in the dungeons- they would be able to escape and tear wherever they were held apart, and they'd likely come for me." I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "I... I'm going to need time to figure that out. I have a few ideas, but I need to work them out, and even then, there's no guarantee it'll work. I can't just use magic suppression rings on them since that won't disable their magic..." I trailed off, grimacing and wondering if I would be able to defeat a magic suppression ring now. 'Maybe I should test that...' I shivered. If I could defeat one, that might not be such a good thing, since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wouldn't have an easy way to control me if one of them won, which meant that the easiest way to stop me was to kill me. I found my mouth dry, and my mind wandered back to earlier in the morning. I took a deep breath and forced the thought aside.

"Princess," Soarin said. I glanced up from the table and met his gaze. "It... may end up being that your only option to disable the princesses is to kill them." As he ended, silence once more descended over the room, bringing with it a sense of finality.

I averted my gaze from him and closed my eyes. 'I... I don't... could... could I? Could I... do that? If I had to? If it was the only option? Could... I kill my mentor? Could I kill Luna? She's... my friend. They... don't deserve to die... They started the war, but...' The aching feeling of dull emptiness returned. "I... will figure something out," I said quietly.

"Princess. What if it ends up being the only way?" Soarin asked once more.

I took a deep breath. "Then... I will kill them," I answered, not looking up from the table. I didn't want to have to see anypony when I said that I'd kill the princesses if it was the only way. 'I'll find another way, I have to...' I steeled my resolve and lifted my head back up. 'But if killing them is the only way...' I grimaced and felt a cold feeling creeping up my spine.

A heavy silence lingered in the air. Spitfire eventually broke it, which I was thankful for, "Right, well. Princess Luna's forces have been victorious at almost every turn, but not without heavy losses. Right now, she's not on any major offensives. She's licking her wounds and reorganizing. Intelligence reports also indicate that Princess Celestia has ordered Princess Cadance to help hold off Princess Luna until more weapons are delivered."

My lips twisted into a thin grimace, and my brow creased. "You... can't be serious? Princess Cadance isn't a fighter, nor a tactician!" I implored. 'Celestia... why would you do that? Cadance isn't a fighter, that's... that's... are you... trying... to get her killed!?' I closed my eyes.

"Unfortunately, that's not our biggest problem. Princess Celestia has reorganized the remained of General Hoof's forces, along with mobilizing some guard from regions not in danger. She's put them under the command of your brother, Prince Shining Armor."

I opened my eyes and had to close my mouth. "No, that's... he..." I trailed off, shaking my head and groaning. I pressed a hoof into my temple. "How bad is it?"

"His force is about the same size as our own. Princess Celestia doesn't have the forces to spare for the time being. Intelligence indicates his job is simply to keep you out of her domain while she re-arms and focuses on Luna," Spitfire answered. "But once Princess Luna is defeated, she'll be able to turn all her attention on us."

I grimaced and looked around the room. Rainbow grimaced and shifted her weight on her hooves as my gaze passed over her. I swallowed and calmly inhaled. "We need a swift, decisive strategy for victory, then. Once we start making headway into Princess Celestia's domain, Princess Luna isn't going to sit by while we win. She knows better than to do that, so whatever plan of attack we come up with, we will need to act fast and not get bogged down in any major or long lasting battles. Any successful plan will necessitate capturing Canterlot before Princess Luna could break through Princess Celestia's forces and push to Canterlot. And once we start moving, Princess Celestia will try to stop our attack."

Fleetfoot nodded in agreement. "We should be able to pull off a decisive victory as long as we don't get bogged down in any major battles and retain momentum, however capturing Canterlot is going to be a nightmare."

"Does anyone have a report or a map with the locations of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's forces and troop numbers?" I asked, glancing around. A few ponies looked around and murmured, while a couple looked through the files in front of them. One of the lower-ranking unicorns standing around walked over to Spitfire, then whispered something in her ear. Spitfire nodded, and the unicorn hastily retreated from the room.

"We don't have completely accurate intelligence on that, but we'll get it in here in a second," Spitfire said, looking at me. "While we wait for that, it's worth noting that Princess Celestia has brought in Winter earlier than planned for, and the weather industry is taking a hit with everything going on, but they're going to wait until it was scheduled to really start on Winter. However, the Winter shouldn't make things impossibly difficult, since we're well supplied and have the capability to negate any foreseeable pitfalls from the season. The colder temperatures will, however, make things more unpleasant," she added.

"The bulk of Princess Celestia's forces are tied up with holding off Princess Luna," Fleetfoot said, looking down at one of the files in front of her. She looked up and glanced around the table. "If we strike soon enough, we might be able to punch through before Princess Celestia could react and before she has the weapons fielded she will need to win. But if we wait too long and Princess Celestia can fully mobilize, I don't see us being able to win."

I frowned. "I thought that you said Princess Celestia wasn't going to last much longer than a year?" I asked, glancing at Spitfire and Fleetfoot.

Spitfire grimaced. "We can't accurately gauge that, I'm afraid. If Princess Celestia is able to field enough equipment, then we might not be able to match her. Her scientists are developing weapons specifically to counter pegasi right now, and since the bulk of our forces are pegasi, that would prove quite detrimental."

My lips twisted into a scowl. "So we can't attack yet, but if we wait too long, we won't be able to attack without suffering heavy casualties?" I asked.

Spitfire looked around the room for support, then turned back to me, grimacing and nodding hesitantly. "There are a lot more factors than that, but that's the jest of it."

I sighed and pressed my hoof into my temple. "Right..." I trailed off, exhaling heavily. "What else happened that I need to know about? We can schedule another briefing to discuss a more comprehensive strategy for victory sometime next week." "I think we covered the basics, but if you want more details, we can-" Spitfire was cut off by the door opening. I glanced at the entrance to see the same unicorn from earlier hastily walk in, carrying a large, folded paper and a stack of papers in his magic. Spitfire nodded at him, then he walked over to the table and spread it out before levitating the papers out to everypony.

I took my paper in my magic, then scrutinized the map. A second unicorn walked into the room, carrying several plastic figurines. Glancing at the document I was handed, I had a rough idea of what each figurine represented. The soldier quickly set up the figurines representing Princess Celestia's, Princess Luna's, and my own forces, then hastily withdrew from the room. "Okay, most of Princess Celestia's forces are tied up with Princess Luna, but she still has a significant garrison in Canterlot..." I trailed off in disgust. "And most of the cities are left undefended... And... the northern border barely has anything!"

I wanted to groan at how poorly organized and distributed Princess Celestia's forces were. Princess Luna's forces, on the other hoof, were much vaguer, however, a large portion of them were gathered near the front lines. Several key positions were also held by her forces. I looked over the map and noticed two major things. "We're going to have to attack my brother's forces and defeat them before we can make any major moves into Equestria... but if we do that, it'll take time for Princess Celestia to reorganize and mount a counteroffensive... And the northern border is almost wide open..."

Spitfire nodded. "Most of Princess Celestia's forces are focused on holding back Princess Luna since she is Princess Celestia's primary threat, right now. If we do manage to take Equestria, any attack by Princess Luna will likely break through the Princess Celestia's line of forces. Best case scenario, they pledge their loyalty to you and have to fall back. Worst case scenario, they join Princess Luna's forces, in which case we can't match her forces."

I idly looked over the map, and one more detail caught my eyes. Four alicorn figurines. One in Ponyville, one in Canterlot, and two close to each other, near the front lines. I slumped down in my chair a little. "They might rally around Princess Cadance, if Princess Celestia falls..." I commented. "It's probably not worth bringing up, but it's a slight possibility."

"Princess, if I may speak up," Sergeant Bolt said, clearing his throat and shifting his weight uncomfortably.

I looked over at him and smiled, hoping to ease his discomfort. He avoided my gaze. My smile faltered a little. "Yes, Sergeant?"

"You were unconscious for a while. Some ponies noticed your absence," he said simply.

Spitfire grimaced. "He has a point, Princess. Ponies had started to notice that you weren't around. We did our best to prevent rumors from spreading, but you need to do some P.R. and address more than a few things."

I pursed my lips and slowly nodded. "I'm going to need to make a list." I sighed, glancing down at the table and thinking about everything I needed to do. It was overwhelming. 'I guess that comes with the position.' I looked up and glanced around at everypony to see if anypony had anything to add. "If nothing else, I'm going to take a short break, then teleport to the Crystal Empire," I eyed Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot in turn. None of them were as relaxed as they had been the last time I had been briefed with all three of them. 'Is that because of everything that's happened, my absence, what happened to me, or because of my stature?' I absently wondered. Nopony spoke up. I hopped out of my chair and looked around. "Then, briefing over, you're all dismissed," I leisurely ordered.

I glanced to my left at Rainbow, then headed toward the door as everypony stood up from their chairs, then stood rigidly and saluted me as I passed. I glanced back at them and bit my sore lip. I winced, but hid it and released my lip. I shifted my weight and fluffed my wings, then nodded. "Dismissed..." I repeated, then hastily exited the room. Rainbow struggled to keep up with my pace as I walked down the hallway.

Author's Note:

This chapter originally was going to involve 4 specific scenes, but these two scenes were so drawn out that I decided to cut the chapter into two. Next chapter coming out whenever it comes out (it's not been written yet).

Special thanks to Skydrake and KeyChain for prereading!
Special thanks to KeyChain for edits! Edits posted 6/26/17.

Edits were a nightmare to post because of formatting changes to Fimfiction. On top of that, more formatting issues. Editing isn't something that's easy, and of course, I'm just copying KeyChain's edits from an email, posting them here, then reformatting it. Despite the fact that Fimfiction will destroy my special formatting which I use. Yes. I'm doing it in an inefficient way, formatting it one way for the site to format it differently.

Curses.

Comments

[Korusso]

How much of a difference can the buffalo really make. Because when I saw their size in the show, they could be large enough to just stampede ponies to death, so why are they only being used now?

[DTMgenuis]

Still loving this

[SC_Orion]

8193523
I may have... kind of... completely forgot about them until I started posting edits...
Canonical explanation? It took them a while to marshal their forces... That's believable, right?

[Korusso]

8193570 Maybeeeeee I mean it's ur story

[Pontiac56]

I wonder if the Griffons can be persuaded to ally with twilight. After all, Rainbow and Pinkie helped get Gilda to start getting Griffonstone in working order again.

[SC_Orion]

8351030
Looks like you've been doing a lot of reading! I hope you're enjoying it! I'll go ahead and reply to a few of your comments here.

It's not so much that they would hate her, it's that Twilight's afraid they would- both of them are very sensitive and "innocent."

The Everfree Forest probably won't be a battlefield in this story due to its position behind Ponyville, rather than in between Ponyville and Canterlot. I had an idea for using it, but it wouldn't really make sense, especially since it's well within Twilight's territory.

I don't remember why I wrote this from a first person point of view. I don't think it's really hurt the story, but it's... kind of strange, I think.

[Prince Gray]

So we're now at a bitter stalemate here. I honestly have no clue who is gonna win.