Chapter 34: Move, Countermove
Students scattered from around the empty classroom, leaving the artifacts of their new day of study littering the ground like leaves. Star Swirl hadn’t had to tell any of them to flee, but Hayden could see the emotion on his face. His horn glowed faintly for a few seconds, as though examining several different spells before ultimately rejecting them all.
“That’s it, then,” he finally said, the chalk that had been levitating beside him snapping into little pieces and raining down like powder. “Princess Celestia’s actions are telling. They frame the conflict—but they do not help us resolve it.”
“Frame it?” Hayden made no claim to the kind of discipline this master-sorcerer could muster. She felt like she might break something at any second. What she really wanted to do was summon Achelois and destroy some evil for a few hours. But thanks to Sideswipe's rifle, there was no evil left. “Princess Celestia ordered me executed. How the fuck can she expect me to defend all of Equestria? There would be less than a thousand members of the guard still here if they’d actually followed their orders.”
Star Swirl stormed past her in a rush of fur and magical glow, to the polished center of the room where he did all his spells. Hayden was unsurprised to see him grab more chalk along the way, along with one of the students’ cases of spellcasting materials, apparently at random. “It reveals more than she wishes, I suspect. The princess failed to summon you—this will undermine her trust with the other high officers. Her fear of you was so great that she suffered that loss rather than permit you to defend yourself.”
He stopped, levitating over one of the brushes, and started sweeping away at the floor. He cleared a wide patch and began to draw, exactly as he had done when he first arrived. Only this time he didn’t keep looking at her—whatever this spell was, she wasn’t connected to it. Unfortunately, Hayden couldn’t tell what any of the sweeping lines and elegant runes actually meant.
“She’s the princess,” Hayden said, shrugging one shoulder. “If she really wanted me dead, she has the power. I’ve seen Luna fight, and her older sister must be even more powerful.”
“No.” Star Swirl didn’t look away from his work. “A monarch undermines her own authority when she is forced to act herself. Coming here in a flaming chariot and using her magic to capture you might frighten the ponies in the gutter, but those who are a true danger to her will see it as an opportunity. A leader who has to execute her own dissidents shows she doesn’t have either the loyalty or the strength of organization to police. Princess Celestia will avoid raising her own sword against you unless you leave her no choice.”
Hayden’s ears flattened, and she looked away. “I, uh… didn’t tell you how it ended.”
“You sent them away, obviously.” Star Swirl kept working. There were already hundreds of lines, every one of them perfect. He had an eraser, but never used it. “In shame. Burned their chariot.”
“Lord Glow tried to kill me,” she said. “My marshal acted so fast… I’ve never seen a sword cut through a neck like that.”
Star Swirl dropped the chalk, spoiling the line he was working on. His whole body tensed. “A pony under your command killed Lord Glow.” It wasn’t a question. He straightened, no longer seeming to care about what he was drawing. “You are an ignorant stranger who pretends to understand her world. You can’t even imagine what he’s done.”
“I didn’t just let it happen!” Hayden protested, stomping one hoof and glaring down at the wizard. “I’m controlling the narrative! It was a failed assassination attempt! We’re going to—”
Star Swirl cut her off. “Hayden. House Glow is the most powerful in all Equestria. Its holdings are the largest. In levy, its armies dwarf all others. By treasury, it is richer than the crown.”
The rest of Hayden’s objection died in her throat. Star Swirl took a step away from her. Again his horn started glowing, flashing through several more spells he left uncast. “Princess Celestia is Equestria’s protector. In practice, that means she protects the interests of its noble houses, who protect the ponies who live in their land. House Glow won’t care what you say the circumstances are, and they won’t believe any number of witnesses. They’ll demand the protection promised to them by peerage.” Star Swirl shivered. “Stars above, it’s happening again. This is our punishment for reaching beyond the boundaries of our world. All Equestria is doomed.”
“No,” Hayden barked. “Shut up for a second. I don’t care how pissy these nobles get—Equestria is being invaded. They know by now our army isn’t going to be leaving Icefalls. That means they’re going to have to fight it off themselves.” Or they’ll fail. A few years from now, we can make our way south as Equestria’s liberators.
But no matter how much she hated Celestia, Hayden didn’t wish that on the ponies of the south. She had seen the works of the Stonebeaks firsthand. There were those in the army who wanted to see the south suffer for the way it had ill-used them. After all the years of empty granaries and thin coats. Hayden was not one of them.
“She will,” Star Swirl said. “Princess Celestia will not exercise the same restraint against the enemies of Equestria she would when dealing with interference from within. And she did withdraw the majority of the army. When the Stonebeaks flee…”
They’ll flee here, Hayden realized, before he’d even finished speaking. She knew it then as surely as she’d ever known anything. “We’re the only city further north. And they’ll realize Equestria’s army won’t stop them—they already abandoned us once.”
Star Swirl shrugged, finally erasing the smudge in the middle of his spellwork and going back to drawing. He had to be nearly finished now, at least judging from just how much space he had taken. “If that’s true, it does us few favors. We may stand a better chance against a reduced force of Stonebeaks than we would against their grand fleet. But even if we win… there will be another army when we’re done. The beginning of a civil war.”
Hayden could almost see it then—thousands of gold banners arriving outside a city with depleted supplies and broken fortifications, demanding its surrender. Perhaps Celestia would even exterminate the bats herself. That seemed a step too far for the princess, but Hayden couldn’t be sure.
“God,” Hayden whispered. “He really did try to kill me, Star Swirl. Doesn’t that help?”
He shook his head. “Princess Celestia didn’t have the right to try you—for the same reason, you didn’t have the right to kill him. It’s essentially the same thing, except that you’re still alive and he isn’t. As you are his superior, you will be held responsible as well. You will certainly be executed.
Hayden hardly even heard him. It was as though he were talking about someone else. But what happens to princess Luna if I die?
“Keeping Icefalls safe is what matters right now,” she said, as confidently as she could. “Maybe when that happens I’ll… go on the run, or something. But we have to survive first. Unless you think the Equestrian army is going to decimate the Stonebeaks so badly that they aren’t willing to have another fight, and they avoid us on their way back north.”
“There is no chance of that,” Star Swirl said. “Even if Princess Celestia personally incinerates most of the fleet with the sun itself, that wouldn’t happen. The Stonebeaks are creatures of pride. They might flee from one battle to another they think they can win, but… they won’t just give up. All their leaders would be killed if that happened. Each individual clan would destroy itself. But they may not come to us. Equestria has many cities. It’s possible we will wait for them for years and never see a bird. They may carve out some other part of the nation.”
He set down the chalk in front of him, opening the pack of ingredients and distributing a few throughout the diagram. There was incense to be burned, a spool of wire, a few others. Hayden didn’t really know the significance of any of them. “Regardless, I will be leaving now.” He set the case down, meeting her eyes again. She could practically smell his regret.
“You don’t have to go anywhere,” she said, though she could already tell he’d made up his mind. There would be no other like him in Icefalls. More importantly, it would mean they would have no magical defense if Celestia brought supernatural weapons against them. But I knew he was never going to fight her from the first.
“I do,” he said, though not with any spite. “Equestria is in danger. You should know… I do not blame you. A pony reaps what she sows, and no amount of magic can fool the land into thinking there were seeds that were never buried. Princess Celestia must have known this was a possibility. If she was not prepared for the invasion that would follow the fall of Icefalls, that is not your responsibility. Perhaps if Princess Luna had confronted her more directly and retaken control of the army… but at this point, I am not even certain Celestia was wrong.”
He touched his horn gently to the edge of the diagram, and the whole thing lit up brilliantly blue. The sugar cubes in their little pile dissolved, the wire began to uncoil—each of his ingredients moved in their way. “I will not share anything I have seen with Princess Celestia, when we meet. I will not raise my horn against you or this city. But I will probably not be able to persuade her to stay her sword. She is correct about the dangers your new race poses. You fought them yourself, you must know.”
“I do,” Hayden said, her voice low. “Maybe you could send messages back to us. Warn us if she’s coming. Make sure we’re prepared.”
The space in the center of the diagram rippled and shifted. Darkness poured in, and then a crack in the air. Through the sliver of broken air, Hayden could make out a city under orange lights. Ponies running, panicked and desperate. None of them even noticed the spell. “I will try,” Star Swirl said, after a long time. “You have done much to convince me of your value, Hayden. You have renewed my faith in my methods. Goetica’s power remains as real as ever. Do not forget what you represent to Princess Luna. If Celestia kills you…” He trailed off, stepping through the portal. There was a harsh crack, an implosion of air, and the remaining ingredients went bouncing and flying away. There was nothing left behind but a few stray lines.
Hayden walked slowly from the empty hall. She passed a few worried students outside, who chatted nervously with each other about how much more work Star Swirl would give them to make up for an hour of missed instruction. “He’s gone,” Hayden said, once they were all watching her. “Take the rest of the day off. The court wizard will take over this class starting tomorrow… for those she can still instruct.” It was likely that some of these students were beyond anything a court wizard could teach them. It was a shame—many of these frightened faces had been some of the lowest unicorns in Icefalls. She had only poor and broken ponies for recruits—and these had excelled.
“Thank you all for your hard work,” Hayden said, before she finally turned away. “Your help will be needed very soon to defend the city.” She left them in the hallway then, before they could ask more questions.
Hayden wasn’t sure she could’ve answered them even if she wanted to.
The Stonebeaks had given them more time to prepare, but at such a price. Some part of Hayden wished they had just attacked Icefalls. If they had rebuffed the assault, they never would’ve had to fear a second invasion. Now, even if they won, there might be more invaders.
And it’s my fault. That look Sideswipe's eyes at the end—she’d never seen bloodlust like that in Equestria, not even on the griffons who had tried to kill her. The source was obvious.
I hope to God you can find us our cure, Avalon.
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Not to nitpick, but Lodestone didn't actually kill anyone. Sideswipe shot all three before Lodestone could even swing his sword.
I thought at first Hayden was maybe just trying to cover for a lower-ranked guard, but with that bit at the end it seems to be more of a slip in continuity.
EEEEEEEEE
Hmm. Celestia's gonna kill Hayden, which will directly cause her to go nuts and become Nightmare Moon assuming the canon holds.
I kinda hope this is an AU, but this has 'tragedy' written all over it.
This is certainly becoming more and more screwed up.
Though it is as I said....Celestia fucked up and now wants Hayden to pay the price.
The Army doesn't support Celestia, because she looks after The Nobles, rather than The Army.
Even if the Griffons HAD attacked Icefalls, with the way that Celestia left things, there STILL would have been many Stonebeaks to fight the rest of Equestria.
The only real question is...what happens now? Does Hayden ultimate loose her life, thus sending Luna into grief to become Nightmare Moon? Does Hayden actually succede somehow, but ultimate sacrifices herself? SO MANY QUESTIONS!
Keep up the great work! <3
8796231
This story lacks the tragedy tag, giving me hope.
Good job, everypony. Brilliant work.
Celestia will beat off the invasion and then come after the apparent traitors is what's going to happen.
Gee, it's almost like there's an ongoing demonic invasion that is slowly warping the reactions of every infested pony. When Celestia shows up to burn Icefalls to the ground, there might not even be anyone left who can rationally be saved by some miraculous alternative solution.
8796164
Lodestone is so good that he can decapitate you without even swinging his sword.
8796462
That's just proper delegation.
8796164
This is correct. I should get this fixed sometime tonight.
8796231
This story seems to be in the My Little Apprentice 'universe', so Luna fighting her sister will occur in some form; but I don't know how Haden will influence it. Luna might already be pushed beyond the breaking point without Haden's death, so it might be that she survives and tries to rebuild ties with Celestia. Just my bit of being hopeful.
I think Hayden won't be killed, but imprisoned maybe stuck in stone for a thousand years. She did save the north, she is the hope in Luna's soul, the determination to do good, the will for a better future. If Celly kills her, nothing good will remain. She'll have to banish get sister... And likely will exterminate house Glow for forcing her to do so.
And then Avalon will bring the cure, what happened will be revealed... And Celestia will have to face the fact she condemned an alien who was brought to her world against her will and that fought for her ponies despite that. Celestia will never again be able to wield the elements, even if she doesn't use then against Luna, for that would be too much of a betrayal against everything they represent. There's not many ways this can end without tragedy, but I know Star can pull it. We just have to wait to see how.
I feel that the "retrieval" was most likely a bit of miscommunication. Or somewhat intentional misunderstanding at several points along the chain of action due to raw emotion and Celestia's disconnect. Except now everything is on fire and it can only end poorly for everyone.
Many people seem to think that Hayden will either be killed or imprisoned and that will lead us to Nightmare Moon.
There is another possibility, though. Celestia reverses the spell and "returns" Hayden to Luna's mind. No matter if he is real or not he is an avatar of a part of Luna. The combination of Hayden's experience and disgust at Celestia Luna's stress from dealing withthismess could very well be what pushes her over the edge.
So.....are nukes still an option?
Huh. Star Swirl has a point. If Hayden was outside the jurisdiction of one of Celestia's ponies, then the converse must also be true. And that's before taking the political issues into account.
Yeah, this is not going to go at all well in the short term. And given the panic on the other side of Star Swirl's portal, I mean that for all of Equestria.
8797355
I disagree. The withdrawal of troops from the North was very clearly Celestia deciding that genocide was the only workable solution to the thestral "problem", and resorting to a soft approach to executing said genocide in order to preserve her political image as a benevolent and loving ruler.
Hayden and the rest of the Northerners are now guilty of the "crime" of surviving when it was Celestia's will that they perish. Simple as that.