The Red Sun Rises: Homefront

by The Atlantean

20. Even More Weariness And A Diplomatic Failure

“Colonel?” Princess Cadence waved her hoof in front of Crimson’s face. After a minute, he came back to the present.

“Sorry, ma’am. Flashback.”

“Got it.”

They walked on towards Baltimare. At one point, Shining Armor left the two to keep the docks from hitting chaos. The American fleet was sailing in. Or rather, they had already entered the harbor, but were waiting for the Equestrians to come back before actually tying up at the piers. The ships were at least 150 meters long, meaning they were larger than any Equestrian seaworthy vessel.

Crystal Snow leaned on Silver Comet more than she already had been. The mare was certainly drained. Combined with the wounds she sustained during the earlier battle, the major was prepped to crash. Midnight and Solar Flare came over and helped Silver Comet carry her on. “Only a few hundred hooves, Crystal!”

Cadence watched with a smile. She saw that Crimson didn’t even try to help, but his commanders seemed to have it under control. The Pegasus simply stared on ahead, unbothered by his cousin’s weakness. Cadence thought of it as nothing. Crimson obviously didn’t, probably because he knew his officers were going to handle it so that he could concentrate on the army as a whole. That wasn’t a failure; it was giving the ones below him freedom to do what they felt needed to be done. How this stallion became a war-hardened soldier, Cadence had no idea. What she did know was that it happened, and the stallion was a husk of his former self. The flashbacks and horrors of war must’ve taken a serious toll on him.

“So, Colonel Dawn, how’s your family back home?”

“They’re fine, ma’am. Crystal Shard is busy organizing the Hearth’s Warming Parade back home. All of us let her do it because it’s one of the few things she can still do by herself. And to be honest, she does a phenomenal job. Mom and Dad should be getting plenty of bits from their roof-repair business, with all the wacky weather. Andromeda would be playin’ with the other kids, but she was foalnapped by Sombra. To think the bastard would take fillies and bend them to his will is beyond comprehension. Which is why I plan on invading the Crystal Empire after Winter Wrap-Up.”

“Spring? I agree. However, the weather is going against the Pegasi right now, so I’m not sure there’ll even be a Winter Wrap-Up.”

“There will be one if I say there is one. And that’s what I’m saying.”

Cadence looked doubtful. “If you say so.”

They walked up to the Baltimare reserve militia commander. He saluted Crimson and bowed to Cadence, then reported the available accommodations. Crimson agreed to them, mostly because all the ponies wanted was a heater and that’s what they’d be getting. It was getting to be colder than Antarctica in daylight and the sun hadn’t fallen below the horizon quite yet.

Captain Reynolds walked out on deck of the old USS Ticonderoga into the frigid evening air. He wore only his uniform since he never thought to pack a heavy coat when he originally sortied out to sea as the now-sunk carrier USS Carl Vinson. As he looked out towards the wharf, where a white Unicorn in a scarf organized the hasty construction of a pier large enough to accommodate the 173-meter American cruiser. It jutted out into Baltimare Bay, and two ships would be able to tie up at the pier.

Someone came out with a cup of coffee for him. Reynolds accepted and drank, savoring the heat more than the flavor. Even in December, it shouldn’t be getting this cold right at nightfall, so the temperature issue was really nagging at him. According to Crimson, it had taken a few weeks to take hold, and probably happened because some Princess Twilight had been killed.

The watch bell rang and he walked back in. as he passed the bridge, he said, “Don’t worry. You have the Conn and the Deck, Jean. I’m just passing through.” His statement released the tension on the lieutenant (j.g.) visibly. As he walked out, he sipped on the coffee, getting some more of that precious heat before going belowdecks into the temperature-controlled hallways.

Reynolds walked into the ward. A couple ponies were inside, holding cups of steaming tea in their hooves. Even with the environment, they seemed to be shivering. The doctor acknowledged Reynolds and covered some with blankets, patting them and moving on. He finished and came to the captain.

“Sir, they ain’t cold, but the blankets seem to help a bit. I think it’s PTSD. They did go through a hell of a fight, if you’ll pardon the language.”

“No, it’s fine. Help them out as best you can. I’ll send some blankets to those in the bunks.”

One of the ponies looked up and said, “Thank you, sir. I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re grateful for what you’ve done for us. Harmony bless your souls, sirs.” He nodded to both humans.

Reynolds gestured to the pony and walked out. As he continued down to the mess hall, he contemplated what that might mean for the Equestrian army. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I sure hope the cases aren’t too serious, or these poor horses won’t be around too much longer. Reynolds entered his quarters and plopped down on the bed. It was going to be a long night.

--------------------

Andromeda, alicorn daughter of Crimson Dawn, woke on the cold hard floor of Sombra’s dungeon. A few months ago, she’d been taken from her home in Atlantis to this damp, frigid, alien place. Now she was held hostage as the King of Shadows’ wild card. Andromeda had no idea what transpired outside. She hadn’t even seen Celestia’s sun in four weeks. But her father’s words after her mother was killed kept her hope alive. You need not fear, my little Stardust. I will always be there for you.

The young mare was only seven years old. She had a coat that looked like a late-evening sky and fiery blue-star eyes. Her violet mane and tail, once as beautiful as a sunset over the sea, was unkempt and messy. Not even her looks let her down, however. As her aunt Crystal Shard had once told her, “Life's more beautiful than a fashionista’s dream come true. If you can’t look pretty on the outside, have your personality make up for it.”

A familiar face to the filly now, Crystal Snow’s younger sister Lythia Rose, waved glumly from a cell across the corridor. She heard that Crystal Snow had defected to the Equestrians yesterday, relayed from Queen Chrysalis to Sombra yesterday. In response, Lythia was sent from the crystal mines to prison as another wild card.

“How do you know your father’s coming, Andromeda? Dragonspire Citadel is stronger than the entirety of Equestria’s resistance. He won’t be getting through that. Plus, I saw some weird bipeds ally with Sombra while being brought here. They had a crazy boomstick that he was extremely interested in. They also had flying machines and rolling monstrosities that make a ton of noise. Your father isn’t coming.”

“You are quite optimistic today, Lythia.” There was a hint of sarcasm in the normally soothing voice.

A Crystal guard walked up and opened Andromeda’s cell. He pulled the young alicorn to her hooves and dragged her out. She fussed, but walked once he let go. Only a small escort was needed since she had a horn lock and her wings were tied with a magical bond. Her scowl was improving; she started developing one when the Crystal Empire took her prisoner.

Sombra, King of Shadows, sat on his obsidian throne in the main hall of the Crystal Castle. He was conversing with an image of Chrysalis again, this time about the steel ships with the “stars and stripes” streaming from a mast network. Nearby, the bipeds stood, giving input when they deemed it necessary.

“These are American vessels. They no doubt come from one of the carrier groups initially sent against us. Their carrier was destroyed, and the other disappeared a few hours later. However, hacked American communication lines have given us the location of the remaining carrier. It is on course due north, far to the east.”

“I understand.” Sombra’s voice was even deeper than Crimson’s, and had a harsh tone as well. “But I see no reason to destroy this ‘carrier’ you speak of until it is within known range of the Gem. You have also claimed its escort is heavily damaged. We will destroy it with our new navy once it arrives off Equestrian shores.”

Chrysalis noticed the prisoner and her escort. “Sombra, my dear, our guest has arrived,” she said in her raspy electronic way.

“Andromeda, daughter of the Equestrian commander Crimson Dawn.”

“He’s an Atlantean, and so am I. You got a second nation against you.” Andromeda retorted.

“Ah, picky, picky. That precious father of yours has become quite the problem, hasn’t he?”

Chrysalis rubbed her still-sore head. “His officers are a pain as well. The damn silvery one pounded me with a rock.”

“Captain Platinum Starlight transferred to the Atlantean Navy,” the alicorn stated defiantly. “He doesn’t use rocks.”

“No, not whoever in hell that is,” Chrysalis snapped. She recoiled from the sudden pain. “The lieutenant from Equestria. Sombra, why have you brought a prisoner to this meeting?”

“Because. I am going to send Colonel Dawn a message. If he does not surrender before Hearth’s Warming, I will take something of his. He will not be able to resist.” Sombra cast the spell and tried to tell Crimson the ultimatum. But the reply was less than convincing.

Crimson was sitting with his officers, Cadence, Shining Armor, and Captain Reynolds. They were talking about casual things. Then the conversation drifted around for a few minutes. Shining Armor finally noticed the shimmering image of the Crystal Emperor. He gestured to it.

“So, King Sombra, have you come to negotiate your surrender?” Crimson said in quite the friendly tone. “Because we’re ready to accept.”

“No. I have a proposition for you. You recognize this youth?” Sombra dragged Andromeda into the field of view.

“Don’t listen to him, Dad! I can handle it myself!”

“You’re holding my little piece of stardust hostage. You know that’s a war crime, right?”

Sombra gave a face as if to say Does it look like I care? “Yes, in fact I do. But that is not the point of this. You are to surrender and disband your resistance by Hearth’s Warming or your daughter will no longer be a maiden.”

Cadence shot out of her seat. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“I would.”

Crimson pulled up a list. “Sorry, Sombra, but according to this, the plot cannot contain, and I quote: ‘Sexual content involving human/anthro characters under the age of 18.’ Andromeda is seven.”

“Fine. but something will be done.”

Andromeda looked at her father. “I’ll handle it. Just find a way to win.”

With that inconclusive statement, the spell ended. Sombra fumed, trying to think of a backup plan. “Take her back to her cell,” he ordered, gesturing to Andromeda.

Author's Note:

The rule that Crimson quoted is straight out of the ones here on fimfiction. I couldn't not do a fourth-wall break that wasn't the least bit goofy and serious at the same time. But using the break as a counter seemed like a good enough idea, so I went with it.

No, I do not intend on breaking the rules. There's a reason they're there. So that people like me follow them. I'd rather not lose the trust that's been given to me by those running fimfiction. The only reason I did that was because Sombra would've wanted to convince Crimson to surrender, and raping Andromeda seemed like the most logical way to go about it. We're just lucky he was stopped by the rules of this website while the idea was still bouncing around in his head.

Feedback appreciated!