Chapter 46
Spirit knelt next to yet another mortally injured pony. This one was suffering from numerous punctures to the chest and back, a dislocated shoulder, and Celestia only knew what else. “You’ll be okay,” Spirit muttered, pouring in some healing magic. Ribs cracked back into place and blood stopped pouring from the stallion’s mouth, which was always a good sign.
As his magic worked, Spirit took a moment to look around. This had been a nice neighborhood yesterday, and the Requiem Guard had killed nearly everypony in it. Spirit felt his lips curl back into an angry snarl. Fighting enemy soldiers was one thing, but turning monsters loose on civilians was crossing a line. He gave one last burst of magic, to make sure the stallion wouldn’t die of internal injuries, then moved on to the next pony.
That one was already dead.
Spirit moved on to the next, stepping over shards of rubble as he went.
Autumn was off somewhere with the other ponies in the Everfree Platoon, using her empathy to detect wounded ponies among the ruins of their houses. Meanwhile, Spirit was one of five wyrms available to heal whoever they found. The other wyrms were already at the wall, doing what they could with the army’s wounded.
“How can I help you?”
Spirit glanced up, and found Trixie standing in front of him. Grime and powdered crystal streaked her coat, and it looked like she had been crying. “Help Autumn and the others look for survivors. She’s off in that direction.” He waved. “Just follow the ponies that are dropping off the wounded.” Spirit finished healing the pony he was working on then skipped two more dead ones before finding another that he could still help. “How are things at the wall?”
“Worse than it should be,” Trixie replied shakily. “Celestia would have been able to kill that Guard with the hammer if Everfree had been supporting her along with the Solar Unicorns.” Trixie shook her head angrily. “You shouldn’t have left us.”
“We had to at least try to stop the others,” Spirit said.
“Seven more of my friends in the Solar Unicorns died!” Trixie stepped toward him. “Celestia used so much magic that she can barely stand, and Luna might be dead for all we know!”
“Everfree has six confirmed deaths, and my brother’s entire team is missing.” Spirit grit his teeth. “And don’t you dare say that what happened is our fault!”
“It’s what cowards do,” a new voice said.
Spirit looked toward the sound of it and saw Blueblood stumbling toward them with an injured wyrm held in his flickering telekinetic field. “We blame others … It’s what we do.”
“Blueblood,” Spirit ran to the wyrm, “where are the others?” His breath caught when he saw the butterfly pattern on the wyrm’s shoulder plate. “Oh Celestia, is Cliff okay? What happened to him?”
“One of the Requiem Guard,” Blueblood said, setting Cliff down. “Fire Eyes and the others were still fighting it when I left.” He flopped to the ground and pulled off his helmet. His normally pristine coat was streaked with sweat and dirt.
“You ran out on your teammates?” Trixie gasped. “And you accuse me of cowardice?”
Spirit ignored them and focused on Cliff. Even a brief glimpse let him know that his brother’s right arm had been shattered. The entire thing was mangled and twisted to the point that Spirit wondered if it would be easier to just cut it off and grow a new one. Cliff’s ribs didn’t look right either. They were partially caved in, which probably meant internal injuries. He was in danger of bleeding to death from the inside if his arm and ribs didn’t get fixed immediately.
“He would have died if I hadn’t gotten him away from that monster,” Blueblood said defiantly. He pushed himself up and glared at Trixie. “Saving an ally’s life isn’t the work of a coward.”
“Oh, and I suppose fighting on while a different Guard killed ally after ally makes me a coward?” Trixie stepped forward until they were practically nose and nose.
Blueblood held his ground. “No, it makes you a hero, and I’m sure you’ll never let us forget it.”
Spirit frowned. Something was wrong with Cliff’s injuries. It was like they were fighting against his healing magic.
“I wish I could forget all of it,” Trixie said angrily. “My friends are dead now because I couldn’t think of a way to stop that monster!”
“I wish I could forget everything too,” Blueblood almost shouted. “Even if it was to save Cliff, I still ran away. The rest of my team might be dead by now!”
“So you’re as big of a failure as Trixie, is that what you want to hear?!”
…
Spirit glanced up, just to make sure that one of them hadn’t killed the other, and his jaw dropped in confusion.
Blueblood and Trixie were kissing, and not the polite little peck on the cheek kind of kissing either. This was more like the ‘How do your tonsils taste?’ brand of kissing.
Spirit shook his head and turned his attention back to Cliff. Once his brother’s life was out of danger, he could take a moment to figure out what under the Stars had just happened.
-_-_-_-_-_-
Passing out from magical exhaustion was never a fun experience. In fact, Spirit could say from experience that it sucked a little bit less than having one of his hands frozen off by an ice wyvern. He opened his eyes, then clenched them shut again. Sunlight and headaches didn’t mix well.
The day wasn’t starting horribly, at least. His helmet was off, and he was lying on something comfortable. Warm sunlight shining through his eyelids also told him that he had been allowed to sleep in.
Spirit waited for the throbbing pain to die down before cracking his eyes open and looking around. He was back at the barracks, but it was mostly empty. Only a few other dragons or ponies were scattered around the circular room, and most of them were still asleep.
Autumn was snuggled up next to him with her helmet off as well and her head resting across his chest. She shifted to look at him, and a weak smile played across her lips. It didn’t touch her eyes, though. They were red and swollen, and her coat had reverted to dark gray.
Spirit almost reflexively extended a link, then he cringed from the overwhelming amount of frustration, anger, and fear that was coursing through his marefriend. He quickly pulled together feelings of love and support to counteract them.
The obvious question would have been ‘are you okay?’ but the equally obvious answer was ‘no.’ At least six of their friends had died yesterday. He would be more concerned if she was fine. “You know I’m always here for you,” he said quietly, “right?”
Autumn looked away and pressed herself against his chest a little more. “The Requiem Guard attacked again last night.”
“What happened?” Spirit wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.
“One of them appeared in the middle of the Empire and massacred several dozen civilians before disappearing back into a network of tunnels.” Autumn shuddered. “It was already over by the time word reached us.”
Spirit took a moment to process what he had just heard. Celestia and Luna would still be weak from the battle yesterday. Hay, most of the army would be. They were in no condition to defend against repeated attacks from an enemy like the Requiem Guard. “Has anyone come up with a plan yet?”
“They were still arguing over ideas when I left.” Autumn looked down. “I just stopped by for a few minutes on my way to my mother’s.” Her emotions surged for a moment then were almost-violently pulled back under control.
“Is Verre alright?” Spirit’s arms tightened around Autumn. She wasn’t the type to leave a meeting unless it was for something important.
“Mother is fine,” Autumn said quietly. “She needs me to go with her to a funeral.”
“Would it help if I came along?” Spirit asked.
Autumn shook her head and stood. “I would rather that you represent Everfree at the strategy meeting, but only if you're feeling up to it.”
“Are you sure?” Spirit stood up as well, which made his headache flair. “Oh, dumb move.” He grimaced and pressed a hand to his left temple.
Autumn pressed against his side. “Forget the meeting. Just stay here and relax.”
“I’ll be fine, as long as they’re serving coffee with extra painkillers.” He let his hand drop. “I’m more worried about you … Were you close with the pony that died?”
She looked away. “Your subtlety and tact are overwhelming.”
Okay, so that hadn’t been the best way to ask. “Sorry.”
“Rest here, Spirit.” Autumn stepped away from him and pulled her helmet on. “I’ll return in a few hours.” Then she started walking toward the door.
Spirit grabbed his own helmet and hurried after her. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“It isn’t important,” Autumn said. She pushed her way out the door.
“Autumn, wait.” Spirit caught her shoulder just outside. “I just-” He sighed. “Just stop doing this to me, please.”
Autumn’s ears pressed back against her skull and her head sank. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t pull away either.
“Stop trying to hide yourself from me,” Spirit said quietly. “I know there are things in your past that you’d rather forget, but when they do come up, I want to be able to help you through them. You can’t keep bottling your feelings up forever, so just … talk to me. Please.”
At first she didn’t respond, but then her hoof came up and pressed against Spirit’s hand. “Lieutenant Liberty Valiant.” Her voice was soft and flat, almost a whisper. “That’s the pony whose funeral I’ll be attending. Mother insisted.”
Spirit gasped. “Your father?”
“He stopped being my father over a thousand years ago.” Autumn turned her gaze up to the sky above. “I know I should forgive him now that he’s dead, but I just can’t. I cried over every pony and dragon that died in the Everfree Platoon, but with him …” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I feel. Anger, perhaps.” She squeezed his hand. “I need to get going, but … if,” she looked at Spirit with an expression that he couldn’t decipher, “if you want … we could … talk about it some more when I come back.”
“I can go with you.” Spirit squeezed her hoof in return.
Autumn shook her head. “No, I, I want to tell you all the things I keep hidden, but I’m … not good at opening up. I need time to try and get ready. Please understand.”
Spirit reluctantly nodded and leaned over to kiss Autumn on the cheek. “Give Verre a hug for me.”
Autumn pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you.” Then she released him and hurried away toward her mother’s house.
Spirit watched her go. “Thank you.” He considered going back into the barracks and resting some more, but his headache was actually starting to calm down, and there was still that meeting at the Crystal Bunker. He turned and set out for it.
He passed a few ponies along the way, but things were generally subdued. This weird, for lack of a better term, fog of silence always seemed to cover the Empire for a day or two after a battle. It was the kind of quiet that Spirit had come to associate with funerals, gratitude for making it through another battle, and anxious fear about the next one.
At least the quiet made it easier to think. Spirit wasn’t a fan of Liberty Valiant by any stretch of the imagination, but he was sad to hear that the stallion had died. Verre really seemed to have hoped that they could share a future together.
Eventually Spirit reached the Crystal Bunker and worked his way down to the meeting room. It had all four alicorns, Shining Armor, Spitfire, Jadeite, and both of Spirit’s draconic parents. Trixie was suspiciously absent, though. Spirit decided not to linger on that, and his sudden wince definitely didn’t have anything to do with imagining what she and Blueblood might be up to. There was also a palace maid standing in the corner in case anyone was hungry or thirsty, like usual. Twilight and Luna giving each other a death glare, however. That was new.
“Did I miss something?” Spirit slid into an empty seat next to Twilight. He motioned the maid over. “Could I get a cup of coffee, extra strong?”
She nodded. “Of course. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Celestia cleared her throat. “Good afternoon, Spirit. We were just discussing the viability of using the Rainbow Harmony Blast to defeat the Requiem Guard.”
Spirit thought about it. “Well, handling monsters from Tartarus is sort of what that power’s for, but we’d have to wait until Fluttershy gives birth first. I don’t know what it would do to Miracle if Flutters went all rainbow powered before then.”
“Tis a negligible risk,” Luna said. “The power of harmony would never harm an innocent life.”
“Except that kirin development is different than any other known species,” Twilight said, her tone clipped. “Everything about Miracle’s DNA was decided by Fluttershy and Cliff’s DNA fighting for dominance. Her fundamental makeup isn’t harmonious at all. Discord even said that her body generates chaos energy to keep her pony and dragon parts working together. All that harmony energy might make half her organs fail or try to rip her in two at a genetic level.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “It would not do either. Pinkie Pie generates chaos energy as well, and the magic of harmony has never harmed her.”
“But Pinkie doesn’t need chaos energy to live.” Twilight folded her hooves across her chest. “I know that the Requiem Guard needs to be stopped, but I’m not going to risk Fluttershy’s daughter.”
“Then are we to simply wait for the Requiem Guard to attack again?” Luna glared at Twilight. “Thousands of ponies could die before Fluttershy gives birth.”
Celestia cleared her throat. “As I understand it, Zephyr is our expert on kirins. We should get his input before we come to a decision.”
Twilight looked from Luna to Celestia and back again before she let out a sigh. “I’ll ask him.”
“Another option,” Celestia said, “is to induce early labor.”
“What?” Twilight stared at her. “I can’t ruin Miracle’s birth like that!”
Celestia calmly returned her gaze.
Twilight slowly looked around at all the other faces in the room. Her expression fell. “This is supposed to be Fluttershy and Miracle’s special day. Not something to rush through so that we can get back to killing.”
“I think,” Celestia said, “that Miracle would be proud to know that she saved hundreds, maybe thousands, of lives, by being born a few days early.”
“But …” Twilight paused, then her head sank. “I’ll see if Fluttershy is willing.”
“Will Cliff still get to go home for the birth?” Spirit asked.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room, broken only by the maid coming back with Spirit’s coffee.
“Oh,” Spirit said quietly. He looked down at the steamy brown liquid. A headache suddenly seemed like a minor problem.
“I wish it were otherwise,” Luna said gently, “but every soldier is required if there is to be any hope of-”
“I get it,” Spirit said without looking up. “I just … I don’t know how I’m supposed to tell him is all.”
More silence, until Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. “He’s still unconscious. I can delay going back to Everfree until he wakes up, though. That way we can tell him together.”
Spirit gripped her hoof with one hand and took a long drink of coffee with the other. “We can’t afford the delay. I’ll figure something out. Thanks anyway, Twi.” He turned his attention to the rest of the room. “Alright, what’s next on the docket?”
Jadeite, the leader of the Earth-shakers, stood up. “As you all know, the Empire’s shield was adjusted to keep out diamond dogs as soon as we learned that they are working with the Alliance. However, last night’s sneak attack proves that we haven’t found all of their old tunnels yet. We need to map the tunnels out as soon as possible, but exploration teams would be easy targets if there are any members of the Requiem Guard still around down there …”
Spirit had trouble paying attention as the meeting dragged on. Important things were being discussed, sure, but his thoughts kept wandering back to Cliff and Fluttershy. How would they react when they found out that Cliff wouldn’t be able to make it home for his daughter’s birth?
-_-_-_-_-_-
Yol Toor stared back at one of his ten guards. There was little else for him to do during his incarceration. He could feel his magic slowly building, in spite of this accursed cage’s draining influence. Unfortunately, it would take months before he had gathered enough to risk an escape attempt, and so he watched the guards.
They were clearly experts in controlling themselves. Yol Toor had a lifetime of experience in reading the expression and body language of others. The thoughts and feelings of most creatures were an open book to him, and yet these guard ponies were difficult to read even for him. That, of course, only made the challenge more enjoyable.
Today, Yol Toor’s attention was drawn to a unicorn guard that wouldn’t quite meet his gaze. Instead, his eyes shifted constantly over Yol Toor and his cell. The pony’s expression was mostly neutral except for a slight narrowing of his eyes. Also, his stance was relaxed but ready. He had been standing in the same position for the last five hours.
Anger. Yol Toor nodded. This pony was definitely angry at him. It wasn’t the explosive type of anger, which tended to burn out. Rather, it was the kind of simmering heat that could last for centuries. Well, decades. Pony lifespans were so short.
The anger was well controlled. This pony clearly valued duty and honor above settling whatever personal grudge he had against Yol Toor. Furthermore, he acted with confidence and precision in his role as a guard. If he had been a drake, Yol Toor would have considered offering to mentor him.
Perhaps that was still possible, in a way.
“Why have you readied yourself to charge at me?” Yol Toor asked. “It seems that your abilities as a unicorn would serve you better in a ranged battle.”
The guard didn’t respond, although the other nine did glance at him.
Yol Toor hadn’t been expecting a response. It had been six weeks and two days since he awoke in this cell, and the guards still had yet to address him directly.
After several more minutes, the room’s only door opened and Princess Celestia entered. Her movements lacked their normal crisp elegance, although she still walked with far more grace than a normal pony. Yol Toor could make out faint coloration in her cheeks and along her neck. Also, her jaw was slightly more tense than normal.
Celestia was normally far more in control of herself than this. Something had affected her. Possibly multiple things. She was showing signs of exhaustion, frustration, and anger in equal measure.
All ten guards snapped to attention as soon as they noticed her.
She acknowledged them with a nod. “Leave us.”
The guards did so without complaint.
Yol Toor closed his eyes for a moment to ready himself. Celestia had all the signs of a warrior who had recently returned from battle.
As soon as the door closed, Celestia turned to him. “Silver Tail has released the Requiem Guard.”
The name tugged at something in Yol Toor’s memory, but it took him a moment to place it. “Those creatures that you locked in Tartarus?”
“Yes.” Celestia stomped her way around the room, her wings and tail flicking randomly as she went. “They attacked yesterday morning and then again last night.”
Yol Toor studied her entire form, searching for signs of deception. He found none. “Do you know which drakes were killed in the attack?”
Celestia paused, sighed, and sank to a sitting position. “No drakes were killed. The Requiem Guards fought alone.”
Yol Toor curled up on the floor as well and reflected on what he had heard. The Alliance must have been desperate to release creatures from Tartarus. Even the Hurricanes recognized how dangerous such a move was.
“Then I had to encourage Twilight to ask Fluttershy to have her baby early,” Celestia said quietly.
Yol Toor had heard enough about those two to understand what Celestia was saying, but he couldn’t imagine how such a thing could relate to a battle or to the Requiem Guard.
Celestia must have sensed his confusion, because she quickly explained that Fluttershy was being asked to have her child early so that she could be ready to summon the Power of Harmony and help defeat the Requiem Guard.
“Assuming you are able to defeat them,” Yol Toor said slowly, “will you continue to attack the Shattered Mountain Caves?”
“No.” Celestia shook her head. “I don’t want to push the Alliance into a corner again. They could release something else from Tartarus, or possibly one of the monsters sealed away in the Arctic Wastes.”
At least some lasting good had come of this.
“There can be no reasoning with the Requiem Guard,” Celestia said quietly. “They exist only to kill ponies. However, once they have been defeated, I would like to open negotiations with Silver Tail and the rest of the Alliance.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “With your help, we may be able to present the Alliance with terms that are acceptable to both dragons and ponies.”
Yol Toor thought very carefully about what she had just said. It was possible that Celestia was lying about the Requiem Guard, but it didn’t really matter if she was. She wouldn’t be asking for help coming to terms of peace unless the end of this war was in sight. That meant that one side or the other, possibly both, was near the breaking point. Of course, there was also the chance that this was just a trick to gain information about the Alliance.
“Every land dispute between dragons and ponies in recorded history has ended in the dragons being killed or forced from their lands.” Yol Toor locked eyes with Celestia. “Prove that you will not continue this trend. Offer the Alliance part of the Crystal Empire’s land, enough that we could keep ourselves fed.”
“Food is no longer an issue,” Celestia said. “Cliff Runner has given the Alliance a rune that produces gemstone from rocks.”
“Does that somehow undo our claim upon the land?” Yol Toor asked. “I am willing to compromise, but you must be as well.”
Celestia’s ears pressed back against her head, all but disappearing into the ever-shifting mass that was her mane. “I don’t have the authority to order anypony to give up their land, but I will speak to the ponies of the Crystal Empire. This is their home. They deserve to have their voices heard.”
Yol Toor nodded.
“There are many other things that we should discuss if we hope to make a lasting peace.” Celestia looked at him pleadingly. The implication of her statement was clear.
Yol Toor held her gaze. “Very well, to put a stop to this mindless killing, I will help you work out terms of peace that may satisfy the Alliance.”
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I honestly don't believe the Alliance deserve any compromise especially with the Hurricanes, maybe earlier but that was before they released living genocide machines from Tartarus. Hell, I don't think it would even be possible, even if the war ends peacefully the Crystal Ponies are going to want the dragons heads on pikes.
Nice chapter 46
But I wish Celestia would have toldYol Toor of the innocent civilians that died during the attack.
7736162
agreed. The alliance reminds me so much of the third reich it is disgusting. Only german(dragon) lives matter. They should be annihilated, justice demands nothing less for those war criminals.
7736144
7736496
I don't buy their sob stories about how Evilbad the ponies were to them in past either. Not for one second.
You remember the one time we saw the ponies "force" a dragon from some place? It wasn't his place to begin with and his staying in battle form threatened to destroy the land for miles.
In other news...
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/7/22/52722__safe_shipping_straight_trixie_sleeping_snuggling_prince+blueblood_bluetrix_artist-colon-flow3r-dash-child.png
Let's hope they can help each other get over their guilt and self-loathing.
All this demand for the Alliance' demise and yet not one comment about Trixie and Blueblood's angry makeout session
7736723 Exactly, and for the most part Yol Toor is ok I think he is going to be the one to end this pointless conflict. Silver Tail and Heart Echo are iffy, I'm hoping Silver comes to his senses soon and come to the side of reason. However, the Hurricanes can go die in a hole a, they are nothing but warmongering heretics that should be purged
7736696
Except that the ponies annexed the dragon's primary food source. It was unintentional, of course, but if you found out a long-standing enemy had done something like that to your people, would you believe them when they tried to shift the blame onto some kind of evil wizard that you'd never heard of? And, despite that, the dragons still tried to issue an official challenge for the land, as is right and proper according to their culture, and were driven off by the military, which they reasonably interpreted as a snub. So, no, they didn't start it. They were responding to what appeared to be a calculated attempt to starve them on the part of a hostile foreign power.
I don't even know what it is they've done that you think is so indefensible.
7736987 How about all lives matter, 6,000 dragons have probably killed 250,000 ponies. How about demanding land when the need for said land is no longer valid. How many times was peace offered only to spat back in the ponies faces. Also, sending a champion with no explanation or use of diplomatic channels is just stupid. How can the ponies even know what the dragons wanted or why. Might does not make right. The ends never justify the means. Also when will the dragons aggression ever stop? If Cliff hadn't solved the food problem what would prevent Canterlot from being the next target after the mines run out which they would eventually. They have crossed basically every moral line and are seemingly unable to see just how wrong they are. They are morally speaking, monsters, sociopaths who only care about themselves unable to truly empathize with another point of view. The world would be better off without them.
And before you say it, no I am not a collectivist. I am an individualist, but I wouldn't want to live in Sparta either.
7736987
... I'm not sure we're reading the same story.
Oh, so only the dragons' culture counts for anything? And the fact that Celestia tried to scare them off and they planned to kill her right from the get-go is also totally not an attack, right?
Unleash a squad of undead fettered loosely to reality under the promise they can murder someone, after their first attempt to simply trick them didn't work, leading to said undead slaughtering civillians?
I'm curious. Would something like that be okay if the ponies did it? You know, summon a troop of zealous dragonslayers who then go after the dragons' eggs? Sounds about fair, doesn't it?
7737061
Honestly, arguing with you had gotten me to think about things more clearly, and I recognise I was being unduly harsh. The situation is the product of a mutual misunderstanding, and has been badly mishandled by both sides.
That said, going after their kids is about the only thing the Equestrians haven't done. At the time the Guard was cut loose, Celestia and Luna were threatening to exterminate the dragons by degrees until they folded. Not on the battlefield, but at their camp, because they knew the dragon's couldn't mount an effective defence.
So, no. I don't feel bad for them now things aren't going their way, 'cause they've always been pretty damn ruthless when they were on top.
7737045
There's nothing wrong with being a collectivist, in moderation. Society can be nice. But anyway...
The dragons just did the same thing the ponies did: They did things the way they always did, then failed to adapt when it didn't work. It basically the situation with the buffalo all over again, only with less pies and more funerals.
Seriously, though, how is anything the dragons have done any worse than what Equestria has done?
You know, at this point there are probably enough "vacancies" in the Empire that all the surviving dragons of the Alliance could just move in without even having to evict any of the (surviving) crystal ponies. The racial tensions involved would make the 1960s US Civil Right Movement look like a Disney vacation, but if the dragons want the land and nopony is living there anymore...
And honestly, I don't see the "Dragon Alliance" making it out of this war as an independent nation. They (and by "they," I mean the Hurricanes who make up fully half of the governing council and hold a ruling majority if even a single Drake Lord abstains or is unavailable *coughyoltoorcough*[hope you're insured for thu'um-induced fire damage
]) have repeatedly proven themselves incapable of pursuing co-existence with non-dragons, peaceful or not, and can likely not be trusted to oversee the complete restructuring their society would need to maintain contact with anyone outside of war. I picture the Empire and Alliance sort of assimilating each other, with the resulting mess essentially being an Equestrian protectorate and relying moderately on royal assistance for stability (read: keeping the Hurricanes from starting another war) until they can work themselves out, at which point they'll be somewhat more independent than Everfree Village, but still close allies of Equestria.
And then those Panthera fellas show up and try to make good on their threats to wreck the shit of anyone who tries to harbor the Wyverns. Much shit-wreckage ensues on both sides, and for once it can't be blamed on the Hurricanes.
7737225
7737290
What? They're tough, but the amount of damage they can deal isn't really that impressive. They're just very strong infantry.
7737318
They have a soul-draining aura powerful enough to kill ponies simply by being near them, can each go boot-to-hoof with the Princesses with a fair chance at coming out on top, and deliberately attack civilians to cause as much loss of life as possible.
Those aren't infantry, those are walking acts of terror, and they were locked up in Tartarus for a reason.
7737225 When did Equestria target Civilians? It was stated earlier that all of the non-combat dragons were moved to a hidden location. When did Equestria unleash a force the human equivalent of chemical/biological warfare which is against the geneva convention? The dragons butcher 20+ ponies and then complain about loss of life how hypocritical can you get?
7737197
All well and good, but it didn't answer my question.
Would it be okay for the ponies to summon a bunch of monsters that they can't control and who then start butchering non-combatants?
7737348
They have a good gimmick, admittedly, but in terms of battlefield effectiveness people like Celestia or Tol Shor leave them in the dust. Their offence is simply nowhere near as strong as their defence.
7737438
Would these be the civilians actively contributing to the defence of the Crystal Empire by channelling energy into the Crystal Heart? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that makes them combatants. I mean, they even used the heart to kill dragons when they expelled them from the city.
7737543
All things being equal? I guess it would be forgiveable, yeah. It wouldn't be ideal, certainly, but it would be understandable. The civil population is the engine that drives the machinery of war. They provide the metaphorical bombs, bullets and bandages needed to sustain a war effort. It's why Equestria has had the upper hand throughout the majority of the conflict, and why attacking them there would be an essential step in any realistic plan to defeat them. As long as all those ponies are propping the army up, they're virtually unbeatable.
7737629
Well, that's definitely a consistent approach, and I respect that.
7737602 first killing in self-defense is usually lawful. The dragons are the aggressor here after all. Second powering the crystal heart is passive, they are still civilians. It is their home after all. The dragons are asking for everything and are committing atrocities and are unwilling to compromise even after Equestria has solved their food problem and paid untold amounts of blood and souls the dragons don't have a ground to stand on morally.
7737597
That's really not saying much, considering they tanked the entire Equestria army for over a minute, and all they lost was two arms and a leg (which grew back!). Their "gimmick" is that they can kill ponies through proximity alone, suck the life from a mature drake in moments just by touching it, and are effectively immune to any form of direct magical effect. And that is their defense!
Their offence ignores shields and magical defenses, punches holes through fortress walls, and shears through the Armor of Unfairness Mk5 like wet tissue paper. The only member of the Alliance to kill a member of Everfree Platoon was Yol Toor himself. The Guards killed three times as many with only a fraction of their forces, and likely would have slain even more damage if one of their own wasn't bogged down by the Everfree God Squad and a second god on top of that.
In one engagement they did more than the entire rest of the Alliance over the entire rest of the war and their only casualty was back on its feet (one of which was left behind on the battlefield) by the end of the day. Even if the total body count was lower than some previous engagements, they can keep coming back again and again, day after day, without food or sleep ad infinitum, until everything that stands against them is ground to dust beneath their boots.
Like I said, those things were locked up in Tartarus for a reason: it was the only way to stop them from destroying Equestria through shear attrition.
So... the Alliance sets lose eight monsters who wantonly murder innocent civilians and they fucking get what they want?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Dude, I adore your writing and I really like the depth of the characters, but if that happens, I will downvote. The Ponies are the heroes here and the Alliance are the villains. SERIOUS villains. Since when does Equestria give in to the demands of murdering bullies?
*still in dragon form*
Me: super heat the air and then cause the metal to turn into liquid and gas so they could not reform
Robot: Then the gas could cool and form into another larger guard.
M.wolfdragon: Then we can just fight them giant on giant
F.wolfdragon: ya, the magic we are using to keep this form is drain and we are screwed.
aftermath chapter, yep made me hate the hurricanes more and feel bad for Autumn's father. Dude tries to keep daughter safe, daughter rebels and father must live with what he did to her upon capturing her and killing her friends. Autumn had a right to hate him but holding onto it is all she has left after the tainted memories.