Ghosts and Shadows
Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, earlier that day…
Luna stood upon her balcony, overlooking the city. From here she was wont to watch over the country while it slept, and to enter the Dream Realm to guard her subjects in their slumber. It was rare that she stood here when the sun was up. But today she had cause.
By most ponies’ standards, Luna kept odd hours. She was active through most of the night, either fully awake or in the strange half-sleep that she entered when dreamstriding. When the sun rose, she went to bed, to shifting between continuing her dreamstriding for ponies who worked the ‘graveyard’ shift and resting herself with proper sleep. In the evenings she began her mornings, and she performed her other duties while also making the most of her limited free time. During the winter months, her free time became limited, and during the summer months it stretched. In both cases, however, the majority of her waking hours that were not devoted to her specific duties as Princess of the Night were taken up with other royal duties. She did not begrudge this time, and in fact enjoyed many aspects of it. Happily leaving the matters of the Day Court to her sister, she busied herself with matters such as intelligence gathering, civilian logistics, and military procurement. In truth, much of the time she was simply being brought up to speed on what needed to be done and signing off on documents that required royal approval (the Civil Service existed for a reason). But it was necessary work all the same, and she was careful to budget her time so as to balance both labor and rest.
But today had been unusual. She hadn’t gotten her typical morning rest, because apparently a crisis had erupted in Ponyville, spawned by the arrival of a strange creature who had bested a pack of timber wolves with unknown magic and was currently dying in Ponyville General. She and Celestia had agreed that the timing of the creature’s arrival was convenient in the extreme, and her sister had taken a detachment of guards to investigate. This left Luna to handle the royal audiences that could not be cancelled, attend a cabinet briefing, and endure several hours of additional paperwork, all of which left her longing for simpler times when paper had been at a premium and most of the nobles she had to deal were either useful and friendly or else readily dismissed.
Luna had barely had a minute to herself since the unpleasant awakening, but when she’d finally gotten it she’d immediately come to the tower. She’d told Celestia’s secretary, Raven, that she was simply taking a moment to clear her head. In fact, she had an ulterior motive.
If the strange creature is dying in a hospital bed, then there is a good chance he is unconscious. And, if that is the case, I may be able to learn something from his sleeping mind.
There was no guarantee that it would work, as it was more difficult to perform on non-ponies. But Luna reasoned that it was worth the effort.
And so, without ceremony, she entered the trance-like state of the Dreamstride.
Harsh winds whipped sand and gravel into her face as she surveyed the savage landscape. Barren lands, cracked and split for lack of moisture, stretched in all directions, blasted relentlessly by the gnawing bite of the storm. Black clouds blanketed the sky, though the air was filled with an unnatural light that somehow pierced the gloom. Intermittent heat lightning would arc through the clouds, but though she felt the tingle of electricity in her horn, her teeth, her bones, the thunder was muted as though by a great distance, and she heard little over the roar of the wind and the scrape of rock upon stone as the great earthen storm ravaged the parched land.
Luna decided that it was different from what she expected.
Far in the distance loomed a towering citadel. A shaft of pure, unyielding Light lanced down from the heavens, piercing deep into the core of the castle. The moment she perceived it, she took a step forward and crossed the distance separating them, finding herself close enough that the citadel filled her vision: a massive stone fortress, the size of the Canterhorn Mountain, three-tiered and walled in by as many barriers, unbowed by the elements and centered upon the shaft of Light.
The land around her was pock-marked by war, and she saw countless burnt and shattered siege engines of heinous and cruel design lying half-buried in the rushing sands, attended by the corpses of bipedal soldiers, their bones stripped of all flesh and their armor shredded by the ravages of war and the unrelenting hail of sand.
The castle itself was weathered as well, by both the onslaught of the earth and the scars of battle, but its ramparts were in good repair and its iron gates impregnable to offense of any sort. Luna got the distinct impression that it would resist any attack until not one stone stood atop another. From within the castle emanated the presence of a single occupant, the architect of the great walled citadel. She could not see him, but knew him to be in the presence of the shaft of Light.
This was not the first time that the Princess of the Night had encountered a dream wherein the dreamer was sealed within the walls of a fortress. But this was by far the most unusual case.
Not knowing what else to do, she walked the worn cobblestone path that led to the gate.
When she had drawn within fifty yards of the massive entrance, she became aware that she was being watched. Looking up, she saw that hundreds of figures peered down at her; bipedal warriors clad in shining armor from head to toe. Most wore livery of white with red crosses or of black with white crosses, though some wore unique livery styled after animals, weapons, and other heraldry. A few even appeared Saddle Arabian or Neighsraelite in their stylings. Some wore the armor of commoners; others of great lords. None of their faces could be seen, but behind each visor gleamed a pair of pure white-blue eyes.
Eyes that were locked on her.
Luna was not easily unnerved, but this dream was making a fair attempt at it. It was not so much that so many hundreds of eyes watched her movement, but rather that she did not feel the presence of life in their collective gaze. If the dreamer believed an individual in the dream to be alive in the waking world, then she would have been able to sense it. But she sensed nothing.
In a castle the size of a mountain, the sole resident was attended to only by ghosts.
The ghosts were unmoving, save for their eyes, until she had drawn within thirty feet of the gate. Then, as one, they raised their spears and aimed them at her. Luna halted at once. It was not that she was in any true danger, but even in a dream the results of such an attack would have been unpleasant at best. Perhaps more to the point, if she were to fight her way into the fortress it could have countless unknown effects upon its lonely resident. It was hard enough entering the dream of a non-pony without foreknowledge of the creature; to start a fight would be far worse.
Once she was certain that the ghosts were not going to immediately attack her, she took a step back. They continued to aim their spears at her until she had withdrawn three yards, at which point they returned to their guard stance and simply stared at her.
How long she stood, enduring their gaze, Luna could not say. But when she had finally resolved to leave, something changed. She sensed the approach of another life, this one from behind her.
Turning, she saw a lone, bipedal creature, garbed in a black robe with an eight-pointed white cross hobbling down the path towards the castle. His skin was coffee brown, and on his face was a bushy white beard that nearly covered the cross whenever he bent his neck. But what stood out to Luna the most was this: not only was the strange creature alive, but its life was like hers or the lone figure inside. In other words, he was not some mere fragment of a dream, alive only because the dreamer perceived him to be.
He was there.
Luna readied an attack. Even if she could not enter the fortress, she would ensure that if this creature was a threat to the dreamer that it would not either. But the creature, upon seeing her, simply waved a gnarled hand, his features utterly benign. “Hello, there,” creaked the ancient voice. “Out for a stroll, I see?”
The princess stared. “Who… what are you?” she demanded.
“Merely a fellow sojourner,” he assured her as he drew abreast. “Fret not, Dream Warden. I am not here to interfere with your work. Only to offer comfort and counsel to an old friend.”
He walked past her, towards the thirty-yard mark where the guards had menaced her. “Wait!” she cried out.
The creature waved her off. “I am expected, Princess Luna.” Sure enough, the guards let him approach unhindered. Though the roar of the wind should have cut off his words as he hobbled away, she still heard him clearly, as though he were speaking right next to her. “You did right not to force your way in, Princess, though it is likely that you could have.” Luna wasn’t sure how to take that. “Because of your patience, you will be allowed in one day, and the both of you shall be better for it.” The great iron doors opened, and Luna caught a glimpse of the great Light within. As he entered, the elderly creature turned to look back at her, and Luna could have sworn that his eyes flashed with the same Light as the great shaft. “Fare thee well, Daughter of the Night.”
Luna stood upon her balcony, overlooking the city. She blinked several times as her mind processed what had just transpired. The experience had been rather jarring, even for her, and she felt that it warranted a response appropriate to the gravity of the situation. Since her return, she had picked up on some of the modern slang from the castle staff, and it was to these terms that her subconscious turned, seeking the proper words.
“What the buck?!”
Ponyville General, Ponyville, present time…
Twilight had listened intently with the others as Jacques had described the nature of his visions, his conversation with his mentor, the vision of this Methuselah, and eventually his coming to Equestria. The scholar had many questions, among them who this ‘King Philip’ figure that he had glossed over was, what he had done to Jacques, and why Jacques now belonged to a different martial order. More pressing, however, was a far simpler question:
Why couldn’t these visions ever just come right out and say what they frigging meant?
It was only after she saw everypony staring at her that she realized she’d spoken aloud. “Ahem,” she coughed. “It would just be more convenient, I mean.”
Jacques gave an understanding smile. “I have pondered that many times myself, my young friend. And I am a priest! But I am certain that Providence has a reason.”
“I think it’d make for a boring story if we just got told the answer at the start,” Pinkie assured her.
Rarity sighed. “I think I could stand a little less excitement in my life.”
Jacques shrugged. “Far be it from me to guess at the will of the Author of Life, but speaking for myself I find it practical.” He gave a dry smile. “I very much doubt that if I’d been explicitly told that the land I was travelling to would be populated by magical ponies of pastel hues I would have believed the vision genuine.”
Twilight tilted her head. “Why? Because we’re things of legends?”
“Unicorns and pegasi are,” he answered. “But in my world normal ponies, or earth ponies I suppose I should say, are simple-minded beasts of burden with no intellect to speak of.”
“So what’s the difference?” deadpanned Rainbow Dash, earning a glare from Fluttershy and a hearty smack to the back of the head from Applejack. Twilight rolled her eyes. Rainbow, please try to contain the jokes in front of the world-travelling warrior.
“My point is,” continued Jacques, undeterred, “that I likely would have dismissed my visions as being madness if they’d been more direct.”
Twilight pondered this and other implications, nodding. “That and if visions just barked orders all the time the concept of Free Will would be suspect.”
“That as well.”
Fluttershy spoke up. “So, if you don’t mind my asking, does that mean that every creature that exists in our world is either a legend for you or a non-sapient animal?”
“I would imagine so,” answered Jacques. “Though without knowing all of your apparently many races I would be speculating. I only saw glimpses of a few of the creatures in my vision, ponies, griffons, and a few others, which suggests that there are many more besides what I directly perceived.”
“I hope griffons are just dumb animals,” muttered Rainbow darkly, so quiet that Twilight barely heard her and Jacques almost certainly didn’t.
Rarity gave the pegasus a sympathetic smile and patted her on the withers. “It’s in the past, darling. Let it go.”
Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “Ah don’t rightly know ‘bout visions an’ the like, but Ah do know they ain’t ta be ignored. If’n the friar says we got a storm o’ trouble blowin’ in, we’d best be ready.”
“Indeed,” agreed Rarity. “Though I must say I don’t much like the sound of these shadows lurking at the edges, picking off those who stray too far from the herd. It reminds me entirely too much of—"
“S-s-sombra,” stammered Fluttershy.
“Precisely.”
“Blech,” grimaced Pinkie Pie. “I don’t want to see that big meanie again.” She tapped a hoof against her chin thoughtfully. “Though, on the bright side, a recurring villain would be a change of pace at least. Silver lining?” she suggested with a forced grin.
“It wouldn’t be Sombra,” said Twilight, shaking her head. “The Crystal Heart destroyed him utterly. He’d already been turned to shadow, and without a corporeal form to take the hit like the first time, he was helpless against the Light and Love of the Heart. Right, Princess?” She turned to her diarch for confirmation, but Celestia was just staring off into space. “Princess?” It was at that moment that she realized that neither Celestia nor Argent had said a word since Jacques had begun his story.
The friar cleared his throat. “If I may, Princess, I’d wager that you and the good captain know something that these others don’t, yes?”
Celestia sighed and shut her eyes. The last time Twilight had seen her this solemn had been right before being sent off to investigate the Crystal Empire. Before that it had been Discord. The realization made her shudder.
At length, the diarch spoke. “It is not Sombra, if that is what troubles you. He is, as you said, rather emphatically dead.” Somehow, the words failed to comfort Twilight. Celestia opened her eyes, and for a brief, horrifying instant, she looked old. “But the approximation to his power is understandable. After all, he was not the only pony to follow that dark path.” Her gaze flicked over to Argent. “Captain, please tell them about the incident in the throne room.”
The officer raised an eyebrow. “With respect, Your Highness, are you certain? We don’t yet know the full details, and our investigation is making little headway.”
Celestia gave a humorless smile. “A warrior has travelled the cosmos to face a dark foe in our land, Argent. I believe a certain measure of transparency is called for.”
“True enough, I suppose,” admitted Argent, who then turned to address the others. “It goes without saying that this is a matter of national security, not public knowledge. You would do well not to disseminate what you hear today outside those within the Princess’s immediate confidence.”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” grinned Pinkie, making her usual oath. “Don’t worry, Cappy! We won’t tell anypony who’s not in the knowie. Losing a princess’s trust is the fastest way to lose your head!”
Celestia gave a pained look at that. Twilight face-hoofed. Jacques just nodded.
Argent seemed unfazed by the outburst. She’s learning fast, thought Twilight.
The captain began her story. “Three nights ago, an as yet unidentified assailant attacked Canterlot Castle.” The others gasped in horror and Twilight was about to bombard Argent with panicked questions when the soldier forestalled her with an upheld hoof. “There were no civilian or military fatalities, as the attack was successfully repulsed, but unfortunately we know precious little about what led to the attack in the first place. The attacker was a unicorn stallion who appears to have had tan coat and dark mane at one point, but it is difficult to say for certain because he had been using Dark Magic.” Argent’s eyes narrowed. “His features had taken on the countenance of Sombra.” She glanced at Jacques and clarified. “An ancient unicorn who succumbed to darkness and wielded shadow as a weapon. It transformed his body, giving him reptilian eyes, living shadows that moved at his command, fangs, and more. This stallion had many of the same traits, down to the eyes and fangs.”
Fluttershy eeped.
“How tacky,” observed Rarity.
“I sent Raven to go find Celestia while two Lunar Guards and I faced the intruder. After making it clear that he wanted to speak with the princess, and was planning to kill anypony who interfered, he attacked us with living shadows that manifested as never-ending tentacles and claws capable of attacking even through the ground. He managed to severely wound one of the guards and use him as a hostage. Celestia arrived and bandied words with him. He claimed that he had no affiliation with Sombra, but that rather he was one of a group called ‘the Shades,’ and that they had come to destroy Celestia. Since it was clear at that point that he was intent upon killing the guardpony, Celestia destroyed him.”
Twilight and the others stood in silence for a moment, processing what had just been said. In all, it was rather a lot to take in, especially for Twilight. She’d grown up in the city, and had a military family; as such, she was intimately familiar with how unprecedented the event was. With the exception of the Changelings, it’s been a long time since anycreature had been brazen enough to attack Canterlot outright, much less Celestia herself. The fact that a lone assailant, and a pony no less, was enough of a threat that Celestia had no choice but to… kill him…
She shook off her worries and forced herself into the comforting embrace of analysis. “Well, you said that his dark magic prevented you from identifying features like his proper coat color and cutie mark, but what about the autopsy?”
Argent blinked. “Celestia destroyed him,” she repeated.
“Oh.” The words clicked. “Oh.”
“There was no choice,” said Celestia, sorrow evident in her voice. “He would not yield, and would not listen to reason. I only hope that it was madness that brought him to that end; perhaps there would be some mercy for him if it was not fully his choice.”
“One can hope,” murmured Jacques.
A morbid pallor hung over the room, restraining the six’s usual enthusiasm.
Rainbow rallied first. “All right, then!” she exclaimed, zipping into the air. “Who are these ‘Shades,’ and where do we go to bring the Harmony?”
“It is not that simple, my little pony,” cautioned Celestia.
“Of course it’s not,” grumbled Applejack.
The diarch didn’t seem to hear her. “The Shades are a threat with which I am familiar, but they are not a name that I have heard in centuries.”
At the word ‘centuries,’ Jacques gave a strangled noise. Twilight looked over, concerned that he’d had some sort of attack, but it appeared that he was merely staring with bulging eyes at Celestia, visibly restraining himself from asking a few hundred questions. Is that what I look like? she wondered.
Celestia either didn’t notice the friar’s discomfort or else chose not to acknowledge it, and strode over to the window to look out at the lengthening evening sky. “The Shades are an old enemy; one of the last ones that Luna and I faced before the coming of the Nightmare. At first we thought them to be survivors of Sombra’s cabal, or else a cult that had risen around him. They were, after all, practitioners of the Dark Arts, sorcerers of the foulest and cruelest kind, that had risen in the wake of Sombra’s first defeat.” She shook her head. “Perhaps it would have been better if they had been.”
Twilight and the others exchanged glances. Better if they had been more like Sombra?
“Better how, exactly?” asked Applejack with her typical frankness.
The Princess grimaced. “I do not know, even now, what dark bargains Sombra made to achieve his power. Doubtless they were damnable. But by the time we faced him he was more concerned with the domination of minds than with outright destruction. It was how he sought power, his own deranged quest for deification. But, heinous as his crimes were, he preferred his victims alive, and where there is life there is hope. But the Shades,” she spat, “they sought power at any cost. And to gain it, they performed blood sac—,” she shuddered, and did not finish. “I do not wish to speak of it now. Suffice it to say it was a black mark upon our history.”
The Bearers shared an uneasy look, disturbed that the princess hadn’t seen fit to tell the whole story. Jacques at least, seemed to have guessed, if his dark look and exclamation of “Mon Dieu aie pitié!” were any indication.
After a moment’s silence Celestia continued. “The Shades swept down from the north like a plague, slaughtering entire villages and cutting a swathe of destruction across the countryside.” Her voice shook with emotion as she recounted the deaths of her beloved subjects. “In all my many years, I have seldom witnessed such atrocities. As I said, Sombra, for all his many evils, would rather have slaves than corpses. But the Shades…” she trailed off and gazed silently at the waning sun. “Theirs was a wanton cruelty of a different nature. As far as sheer power, they could not match Sombra; he had become dangerous enough to be able to face two alicorns, after all. But the Shades were a more insidious threat. Where Sombra had relied on raw might, both his own and that of his slave army, the Shades relied on guile and deception. They, too, had an army, but they did not try to take and hold territory, but rather raided and killed in lightning attacks before vanishing. It was… exceedingly difficult to pin them down, and, without a central power like Sombra to face directly, we were forced into more conventional methods of destroying the menace.”
“The army we formed was a coalition force drawn from various nobles and states within the Three Tribes. Its backbone came from the earth pony warrior tribes of the north; its hammer was a hardy cohort pegasi legionaries; its anvil was cavaliers, the elite of the unicorn knights. For many bitter months we waged a rapid, mobile war against an enemy as elusive as the shadows themselves, until finally we found their wretched nest from which all their evils had spawned.” There was grim satisfaction in her voice and fire in her eyes. “There we buried them.”
To Twilight it seemed as though the temperature in the room rose to an uncomfortable level. The ambient power radiating off of Celestia had taken on a fiery essence, like the summer sun in the desert. This was a side of her mentor that she’d never seen before, the relentless and uncompromising warlord who would pursue an enemy to the very gates of Tartarus to keep her ponies safe. She was both frightened and deeply reassured.
But the story had not given all the details, and, given how vague the visions had been, Twilight wanted to know as much as she could.
Eventually, she put words to what she supposed many of them were wondering. “Um… Princess?” Celestia did not look at her. Twilight swallowed. “How did you finally stop them?”
The princess did not immediately respond. Instead, she turned and gave Argent a long, sad look. At length she replied, “At tremendous cost.” She looked back out the window. “Nine hundred volunteers followed Luna and I on our crusade. More would join us as we came across survivors and militia. But when the dust settled after that final battle…barely three hundred remained.”
Twilight blanched. She could tell without looking that some of the others had started crying.
At that sound, the princess finally faced them, remorse on her features as her aura softened and the room became a pleasant temperature once more. “I am sorry for burdening you with the memories of an old warrior. There is a reason that I do not often speak of it.” With her magic, she dried the eyes of those who had wept. “Our era is a gentler one, unaccustomed to such atrocities, and it is better for it. But the intruder claimed the name of a foe long buried, and that concerns me greatly.”
The Bearers were silent. This was not a threat like what they were accustomed to. Monsters like Sombra and Nightmare Moon were at least individuals. Individuals with the capacity to devastate the world, yes, but still individuals who were vulnerable to the Elements. But, as Celestia had said, a movement of evil ponies was harder to deal with. Nopony seemed to know what to say.
That restriction did not apply to Jacques. “So you think these Shades have returned, then?”
“Not necessarily,” replied Celestia. “My sister and I were rather thorough in stomping out their teachings and adherents. We were even aided in dismantling them by a former Shade who had repented and shown us where to look. It is more likely that this stallion, and any other associates that he may have, are a recent cult who are simply imitating one long dead.”
“But even if they are merely copycats, they are still dangerous,” added Argent, taking over the narrative. “And, while it has only been three days, the fact that our intelligence community has been unable to discover anything about this one ‘Shade’ and whether or not he acted alone is disconcerting.”
“Well ain’t that the understatement o’ the day,” grumbled Applejack.
“Whatever the case,” said Celestia, who now sounded more like her usual self, “there is nothing that the six of you can do at present.” She held up a hoof to cut off Rainbow, who had looked like she was about to spout bravado. “I know you are accustomed to facing down these foes directly, and no doubt the assistance of the Bearers will be required when the ultimate threat is determined. But, as of yet, we simply don’t know enough. Until that changes, you would do well to remain here.”
“Remain here?” repeated Twilight. She blushed at her exclamation and continued in more measured tone. “With all due respect, Princess, wouldn’t we be more useful helping in the investigation?”
“Yeah!” exclaimed Pinkie, who produced her detective hat from her mane and planted a bowler hat on Twilight’s head. “Twilight can be my lowly assistant again!”
“De quoi?” exclaimed Jacques at the sight of the pink mare’s antics.
Argent cleared her throat. “Thank you for the offer, but I believe it would be best to let the spies handle this one.”
“Which is not to say that you won’t have a vital role,” continued Celestia, “perhaps the most vital role of all.” She gestured to Jacques. “Welcoming our new friend.”
The friar raised an eyebrow. “Princess, I mean no disrespect, but my feeling welcome is hardly important. I would prefer to begin my work in rooting out this witchcraft immediately.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Recall Methuselah’s dream, Friar. A wounded warrior cannot fight. And, if you are truly to live amongst us and aid us, then you must understand both our land and your new abilities.”
“Yes,” interjected Twilight emphatically. “You don’t want to be in a fight and have your magic start going off willy-nilly. Trust me!”
Pinkie bounced in place. “And we still gotta throw you a—
Twilight shoved a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth. “A party. Yes. That too.”
The party planner pushed the hoof aside. “I was going to say ‘celebration,’ but that works too.”
Jacques considered this, then nodded. “Very well. There is wisdom in this. Though I’m afraid I cannot pay for my care or lodging at this time, so I must seek work when I am recovered.”
Rarity snorted. “Oh, please, dear Friar. After saving my sister I would be more than happy to cover all your expenses.”
“That won’t be necessary,” said Celestia. “The Crown shall pay for his medical treatment, and as for employment I will see to it that you are compensated for your service to Equestria, past and future.”
Argent smirked. “The Civil Service is very good at finding money in the budget for such noble causes as financing professional filly-rescuers.”
“As far as lodging, I’m sure that once you have recovered we can put you up in one of the inns here in Ponyville.”
Twilight considered the various inns available in Ponyville. They were good establishments, by and large, but she worried about the human, new to this land and to his powers, living amongst total strangers. The library is pretty big, and we’ve got a spare room. She grinned broadly. Plus, if he lived at the library, I’d be able to study his magic up close! She was about to suggest just that when Applejack stepped forward, holding her hat in one hoof.
“Er, beggin’ your pardon, Yer Highness, but if’n the Friar don’t mind, we’d sure be honored to have him up at Sweet Apple Acres.” She turned to Jacques. “We got plenty o’ headroom, lots o’ space, an’ I know Granny and Big Macintosh will wanna give ya a proper thank you for saving Applebloom. It’d be our pleasure ta have ya.”
Celestia nodded in approval. Jacques considered the offer, then gave a warm smile. “As I said, your gratitude is unnecessary. A man does his duty. But I would welcome the chance to live amongst friendly faces as I adjust to my…” he twisted one hand in the air, “unfamiliar surroundings. Thank you kindly.”
“Well, that’s sorted,” declared Argent. “And, unless there is nothing else, might I suggest that we adjourn for the evening? It is approaching time for the sun to properly set and I’m sure the good friar is quite tired from the day’s trials.”
Jacques yawned. “Well, I wasn’t until you said something.” Argent chuckled.
“I think that would be wise,” agreed Celestia. “We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. I will have the nurses return to bring you anything you may require before retiring, Friar.” She dipped her head respectfully. “Once more, I bid you welcome to Equestria.”
Jacques managed a return bow. “Thank you, Princess.” To the group he said, “It has been a pleasure meeting you all. I look forward to seeing you on the morrow.”
The various ponies bid him goodnight and departed. Celestia and Argent split off soon after to discuss official business. The six friends informed Redheart and Medevac that Jacques was ready for them again and headed for the main door. It was at that point that Lieutenant Morning Song made her return with the three fillies and Spike in tow. Other than looking visibly tired, she appeared no worse for wear after the experience, which earned her no small amount of respect from the elder siblings.
All three girls and, to a lesser extent, Spike were disappointed to hear that they had talked to Jacques without them. But Pinkie, perhaps thanks to her experience with the Cakes’ foals, managed to convince them that all they had missed had been boring grown-up talk and that Jacques would be much more able to talk tomorrow now that all that was out of the way. This had succeeded in placating them, and with a final thank you to Lieutenant Song the friends and their siblings had departed.
By ones and twos they peeled off, heading for their respective homes, until only Applejack, Twilight, and their respective wards remained. Spike was walking some ways ahead, seeming eager to get home and finally finish his comic book. Applebloom, worn out from the day’s events, was dozing on Applejack’s back. This left the two adults time to talk.
“Applebloom will be thrilled to hear that the friar will be staying with you,” remarked Twilight.
“Eeyup,” grinned Applejack. “She sure as sugar will.” Her face fell. “Ah just hope the other two don’t get jealous.”
Twilight snickered. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry that they’ll be jealous. I’d worry that they’ll start camping out in your barn just to pester him!”
Applejack grimaced. “Thanks fer that cheery thought.”
Twilight giggled. “You know, if you hadn’t beaten me to it, I was going to invite him to stay at the library.”
“Oh, Ah know,” admitted Applejack. “That’s part o’ why Ah offered so fast.” Twilight gave her a confused look. Applejack responded with an impish grin. “Ah couldn’t bear the thought o’ you experimentin’ on him.”
Twilight glared and jostled her shoulder. Applejack chuckled and Twilight couldn’t suppress a small smile. “I would not experiment on him, AJ.” The farmpony shot her a look. “Without permission,” she amended. Applejack snorted.
The two lapsed into silence for a moment.
“Twi?” said Applejack, her voice serious. “This business about the…” she glanced back at her dozing sister, “…well, you know.” She bit her lip. “It’s gonna be a bad one, isn’t it?”
Mindful that Applebloom might not be as asleep as she appeared, Twilight chose her words carefully. “We were literally sent a warrior to help us, whose magic seems to counter other magics, especially the really bad ones.” She nudged her friend’s shoulder. “And we’ve still got each other.” With a confident smile she declared, “As long as we hold on to that, we’ll win. Just like we always do.”
Applejack sighed in relief. “Thanks, Twi. Ah guess Ah just needed to hear that out loud.”
Twilight nodded back, keeping the smile on her face. But, in her mind, all she could do was think about her beloved Ponyville, seeing it in flames as ponies wielding shadows bathed it in blood. Honestly, Applejack, I think I needed to hear it too.
Edit
I had to make a couple corrections to the 'My Dear Readers' interlude chapter. Specifically, I clarified that the rules concerning evil supernatural magic still apply even if it is an outside source that has worked the magic upon you (e.g. a curse). I also clarified the section on hell to be more explicit in my phrasing:
"Hell is most properly understood as an eternal state of being. With God is all of life, creation, harmony, and existence. Thus, if one is separated from God, the only remaining option is the hell; the absence of Life. Or, to put it more bluntly, eternal Death. When life and death are talked about theologically, it is thus vital to discern whether it is physical or spiritual life and death which are being discussed. It is further important to note that God did not make hell. Rather, hell is a state of void made by the very people who imprison themselves there by cutting themselves off from the Source of Life. To be clear, when I say ‘void,’ I do not mean that the place does not exist. Hell is very real and hell is a place of eternal punishment and damnation. When I say ‘void,’ I mean that it is an eternity of not-God/not-Life/not-Happiness, an unending absence of anything good. Hell is the result of a free choice to decide on ‘not-God,’ and thus be in a state/place of eternal separation and misery."
And, if this makes no sense to you because you didn't read the 'My Dear Readers' chapter, then you have no one to blame but yourself. 
As far as this chapter goes, yes, it is more exposition. Turns out I still needed to clarify more than I thought. I don't have the knee-jerk hatred for exposition dumps that most people do (a byproduct of being a historian), but I do prefer a more human touch... 
... so to speak. Now that the exposition is done, more personal chapters will follow, and I'm as happy about that as you are. God willing I'll have another chapter ready next weekend, but I know better than to make a promise that I'm unsure I'll be able to keep.
In direct contrast to a mostly serious chapter, today's recommended reading is the Cuil Theory, a story that takes your fragile grasp on reality and sets it on existential fire. What's that, you say? Existential fire isn't a real thing? Facts like that don't matter when you apply the Cuil Theory. Do not read within one hour before operating motor vehicles or heavy machinery. You have been warned.
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Okay. Now “What in the world?” is English-only. There is jut no expression (at least that I know of) that could be equivakent to this one in French.
How about “De quoi?”, “Plaît-il?” or more bluntly “Pardon?” or a plain “Hein?”?
lol cuil theory
Pony Israelites confirmed!
While fantasy worlds often have their versions of Egyptians, Babylonians, Chinese, Aztecs, etc., the Israelites are almost never included. Thank you for being an exception to that rule.
While my education wasn't solely in history, I'm not lost on the need for establishing facts or one to let a little dry reading. One class I had focused on Eleanor of Aquitaine. She led an...interesting life, but good grief did the accounts make for dry reading
. 
or 'Uh oh. Skipped a sentence. Now I'm really lost.' 
And I can certainly understand the necessary evil of exposition. Better to have a few exposition chapters than breakneck pace and action that comes to a sudden stop with the thought 'Hang on. How did they know about the stuff they weren't there for?'
Looking forward to more as always
.
8883714
Thank you
if you manage to lose 2 thirds of your army against edgy shadow bois you have got to be an incredibly incompetent leader
888417
Well, one I never specified how many of these guys there are (hint: many). Two, hit-and-run tactics. Very competent armies with good generals have suffered heavy losses against competent guerilla fighters. See the Battle of Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam. Or any of the Roman campaigns in northern Britain.
I liked this chapter, and I want the ponies to know all about our world, but....something tells me when Jacques goes into Satan, they're going to shit their pants.
8883758
"WE SHALL TAKE JERUSALEM! DEUS VULT!"
8883786
Yay, update! More horse-words with templar!
8884177
Shadow ponies could have caught a lot of them by surprise, ie. one trap/spell that took out 200? Also, nothing was said about the K/D ratio.
8884258
if you manage to be taken by surprise you are an even worse leader
8884365
No general is omniscient, and no plan survives contact with the enemy.
8884258
More like "Hashanah haba'ah birushalayim habenuyah!"
8884460
but a good enough plan does for example generals like alexander the great,skanderbeg and sun tzu were some of the greatest hell sun tzu teachings are even still used today even tho he lived around 2500 years ago
8884952
And what happens when you have two excellent commanders on opposite sides? Alexander the Great was largely successful because he was brilliant and audacious and most of his opponents had no concept of how to counter him. In contrast, Rommel was a brilliant commander who literally wrote the book on infantry tactics and mechanized warfare (a book that is still used), but Patton defeated him because he learned his tactics and devised a counter that Rommel hadn't anticipated because Rommel was merely human. When two generals of roughly equivalent skill face off, both will have victories and defeats due to unexpected actions by the other, environmental factors, troop morale, logistical problems, and sheer luck. Richard the Lionhearted was killed by a stray arrow. Agincourt was an English victory in large part because of the heavy rains. Baldwin IV defeated the legendary Saladin with a direct frontal assault with an inferior force at Montgisard which should not have worked. The Germans were starved out of Stalingrad because the Poles had so thoroughly sabotaged the supply lines leading to Russia. Many a brilliant general has been defeated (or at least made to suffer) because their enemy was just as good. Many a brilliant general has lost because of circumstances beyond their control. Many a brilliant general has lost because of bad intel or sheer dumb luck. The idea that combat is perfectly predictable or perfectible is a historical and practical fantasy. If all it took to win wars was to be a good general, then history would look very different.
8885158
patton was noothing but an overblown fool who slapped soldiers that had ptsd and rommel only ever lost because hitler dicked him over rommel even wanted to use every single panzer he had at d day but hitler said no imagine what whould have happened if rommels panzer where there
8885158
skanderbeg fought venice AND the ottoman empire at same time as a albanian king and won against both,battle of szigedvar (hope i spelled that right) a force of 3000 led by a former soldier killed over 50k ottomans and their sultan died too,cortez killed the entire aztecs with nothing but his skills in diplomacy and cunning and a handful conquistadors,battle of red cliffs,50k chinese defeated an army of around 220k-800k other chinese
8885158
besides engaging the foe as you described it in mobile warfare is on its own not a great idea towns,cities and villages should have atleast a garrison and defenses against evil magic users well because equestria has magic if celestia where officers under my command at the time i whould have either dicharged them without honors or execution and if i was an officer under them i whould do a coup or something like fragging
8885158
theres also a nice side note story or whatever in my copy of the art of war and its about a soldier who sneaked into the enemy city and captured 3 enemy generals.............he was executed for disobedience
8885193
...which actually makes my point.
8885207
One, these are the early days of Equestria where not everything is built up. An open village is difficult to defend. Think Vikings vs. villages. Two, leaving a garrison from your already small force further divides you. Sometimes there is no good solution, especially when no commander ever has the full picture of the battle and what the enemy is planning.
8885202
It is a logical fallacy to assume that one unique event within military strategy (or even many) can be used as a broad standard across all wars and all battles. These feats are impressive, yes, but the enemy must also be taken into account (the Ottomans had a tendency in this era to produce unimaginative commanders who relied entirely too heavily on numbers alone). And, even in cases where a brilliant commander triumphed over impossible odds (see the Siege of Malta in 1565, where a few thousand defenders defeated an Ottoman force between 40 and 80 thousand in number), casualties were often monumental (over a third of the island's defenders were killed, and the fortresses were reduced to rubble). No commander ever has a perfect vision, human error and environment always play a role, and even if a commander makes a brilliant maneuver it can still be undone by a brilliant counter, poor fortune, the weather, and any number of other factors. There is no such thing as a perfect strategy or a perfect soldier.
8885193 And yet Patton won.
Besides, the soldiers he slapped were a whiny little pussies. I'd have kicked the guys in the nuts. My grandfather was in the Pacific Theater and HE was a soldier Patton would have admired! He led his small force to hold an island in the Philippians for 3 days against a much larger Japanese force for 3 days until reinforcements arrived. During that time, he had a shell explode right behind him and embed hundred of small shrapnel fragments into the back of his neck (I recall the scars vividly)... and he kept right on fighting. He received two Purple Hearts, 2 Silver stars and 5 Bronze stars during those battles, and at the end of the fighting a Japanese general surrendered to him personally, having been so impressed with my grandfather's ferocious and tenacious battle prowice that he gave my grandfather his family katana, which we still have to this day. It's at least 250 years old, from what we've been able to find out about it, and I keep it neatly polished and it's still as sharp as a razor blade.
On D-Day, Rommel was preparing for an invasion in the wrong location. He believed the main invasion force would land as Pas-de-Calais. Hitler was actually right for once, and suspected the main attack would land at Normandy. Even after the June 6th landing, Rommel wanted to move more forces to Northern France as he believed the Normandy landing was only a diversion. By the time they began to move Panzers on the 7th, the Allies were already established AND Allied air and navel power along the coast was such that Panzers would have been sitting ducks, as tanks are quite ineffective against air power and don't have the range of battleship cannons.
Rommel's strategy at that point was to have been a retreat from the coast to regroup and mount a counterattack. It's hard to say if that would have been of any use at that point had he been allowed. It may even be that by then he'd given up hope, as he was directly involved in the July 20th attempt to assassinate Hitler, with evidence he'd begun to associate with the conspirators by mid-May, and was forced to commit suicide in August (he was very popular with the German people and Hitler could not risk executing him). The bomb plot might have succeeded if not for the strafing attack which severely injured Rommel on July 17th.
Regardless, the front was far too wide for the remaining Panzers to accomplish much by 1944. If anything, they'd have been stretched so thinly they'd have been too vulnerable to attack themselves and a huge number of them would have been lost.
As for Patton, there is absolutely no question that his strategies were exceedingly effective. He replaced Major General Fredendall as head of the US II Corps after the latter had led them to a humiliating defeat and demoralized condition due to Frenendall's stubbornness, irrationality, impatience, and unwillingness to listen to any advice. Patton had the entire formation reorganized and retrained with staunch discipline and order in a mere 10 days, and led them to a swift victory in North Africa.
He then commanded the 7th Army into the invasion of Sicily, which was exceedingly swift and resulted in only 7,500 Allied casualties compared with 113,000 Axis soldiers killed or captured.
For D-Day, Patton was part of a Phantom Ploy to deceive some of the German forces into deploying in the wrong location, which worked; all the while he was secretly training the Third Army, which made enormous breakout inroads into France rapidly until literally running out of fuel, to Patton's frustration. The stalemate that resulted was actually due to Eisenhower's order to remain in place, which Patton obeyed despite disagreeing with it. Despite this, a massive Panzer attack sent to counter Patton's Third Army was defeated at the Battle of Arracourt.
After that, he and other commanders successfully fended off the surprise counterattack by German forces in the Battle of the Bulge, and might have even been able to wipe out the majority of their remaining forces had the order not come to bring relief supplies to Bastogne. In any case, this was the last major German offense of the war and cost them so heavily that the final defeat was hastened. There is no question that Patton's leadership had a significant role to play in the victory.
So, you may want to tell your leftist professors preaching the garbage you're regurgitating to teach reality rather than anti-American propaganda. I have the 'right side of history' on my side... that being the actual facts themselves.
8885207 Dude, learn proper grammar before trying to impress anyone with your half-wit tactics.
8885491
Pretty sure your Grandpa has proven that, in spades.
8884591
I'm not getting the reference... please explain?
8885491
One, thank you to your grandfather for his service. It is an honorable man who serves with such distinction that his enemy honors him after his own customs. Two, I yield the floor to you, good sir. You have explained well.
8885600
Hebrew for "Next year in Jerusalem!" More appropriate for "Neighsraelites" than a medieval Catholic Latin phrase.
8885677
Ah, google translate tried to tell me it was Somali... "Hashanah the way we are together habenuyah!"
8885702
Lol! It translates literally as "Next year in the rebuilt [habenuyah] Jerusalem." I forgot about the "rebuilt" part in my above translation.
8885712
Yeah that would fit a bit better, 'DEUS VULT' is an established meme though...
8885494
i got dyslexia
8885491
you dont slap soldiers who have ptsd simple as that
8885491
they could have easily pushed back the western front but hitler constantly ignoored the advise of his officers and even despite that my gfreat grandfather who tfought in ww1 pciked up arms again and joined the volkssturm and even fought in Berlin and at the bulg if ppatton was atleast somewhat competent the allies whould have had atleast half of the original losses maybe even less
8885491
and patton only really won at the bulge because the Germans had their only one decent officer and that was rundstedt
8885491
and btw im already with School for a while and did get always 1s in history
8885491
Roman von ungern sternberg now that is a General mackensen was pretty decent too
8886051
I've seen your type, you've read all the history books, you've read all the tactics books, you think you'd be a real hot shot officer wouldn't you.
Here's what I can tell you.
Your ideals are based on modern technologies, having a garrison in each village is not only immediately implausible abut also useless. As the story says the enemy was a fast moving guerrilla group that came to slaughter, a village can usually only support a guard of a 10:1 ratio. So for every ten villagers there is one guard. Equestrian population has always been low, I would say at most a medium village could support ten to twenty guards long term.
Please explain how having a ten guard defense is going to stop a large scale blitz by people whose only goal is to kill everyone. No capture, no looting just death. Not only that but these shadow wielders were stronger than any normal and even exceptional being, the princess' could only amass an army of 900 soldiers that were capable of fighting with the enemy.
No wait I'll answer you, you're wasting lives.
Also you don't commit treason in the middle of a war, especially against your higher ups, doesn't matter if you had the entire armies support. The normal villagers would rise up or react in fear/anger not to mention you've just butchered the chain of command and have created infighting in the middle of a war against genocidal maniacs.
Also your whole stupid statement about executing the princesses if they were under your command. The fuck? Then you also say that you don't slap ptsd sufferers / shellshock victims. Get your fucking morals straight.
So in the end go fuck yourself, you know nothing of really military tactic, you just like to recite texts from Adolfo hitters generals books because they were 'so good' even though they lost to a tiny fucking island that they previously allowed to recover 300000 troops who had been sitting in the open on a beach? Yeah real good tacticians.
8885364
He's just a hitler/Rommel/'ze Germans should have wun' fanatic. Yes they are annoying, yes they never go away, and yes we can't kill them for it, I've checked in several different countries laws so unfortunately we have to suffer with them.
8886017
Why are you proud that your Great grand father fought for the losing side? Especially considering the fact that towards the end of the war most German citizens were becoming aware of the holocaust. Whether they admitted it or not.
8886143
if their Goal is as far as we knoe jut to kill and be all edgy the perfect way is bait and even if a village cant have a proper garrison you can just Station there troops from other places or at the very least have defenses against Magic which should be obvious in a place that has Magic and what whould you do serve under an incompetent officer that is very likely to get everyone killed or mutiny
8886143
and one has to treat thier armjy that harsh heck sun tzu was able to turn a unit of concubines into an elite fighting force just so he could serve as a General and if you wanna know what exactly he did just ask
8886143
and also getting rid of useless officers like for example patton or montgomoery is better is not the same Thing as hitting ptsd victim also one of the soldiers was later diagonosed with malaria
8886143
A correct analysis.
A quick note on this comment thread about tactics and strategy: as diverting as this has been to watch unfold, I would like to remind everyone that we are here to have fun. It's important not to lose sight of that. Let's keep the vitriol levels down and converse. I've been running in academic circles long enough to know that whenever things get too personal, it starts becoming less about the topic and more about the fight, which often leads to discussions being unproductive and frustrating, or, if they started that way, it prevents them from improving and becoming something better. Feel free to keep discussing, but keep the salt levels manageable. Thank you.
8885491
are you honestly insulting and making fun of soldiers suffering from ptsd? i have talked with a couple friends who are actuaal veterans and they are honestly really disappointed with you and or pissed off as that is honestly just fucking disrespectful do you honestly want People like this to fight on front lines?
Further statement on this comment thread: it would be helpful for everyone if terms and specifics are clarified so that things not be misinterpreted.
8885539 He was a tough bastard, that's for sure. A general who knew him, and whom I got to speak to once at the Officer's Club in Ft. Dix, simply said, "He was too stubborn to let the Japs win."
He was of course incredibly politically-incorrect in his speech by today's SJW standards, but he was also immensely fair. When he was younger and playing football for a New York college, his team went to Georgia and their busboy (an African-American) was told he had to stay in a separate hotel, my grandfather was so incensed he nearly started the Civil Rights movement right then and there. I'm told it took half the team to hold him back and calm him down.
My brother did many interviews with him and recorded quite a number of his exploits. I should probably get those recordings digitally transcribed and compose a book with my brother.
8886289 I know that when you're in the middle of a battle, you cannot have people breaking down. The Romans, the Greeks, the Mongols, the Japanese, the Germans, the Soviets (and the Russians before them)... all of them SUMMARILY EXECUTED soldiers who broke down.
No one ever seems to hold them accountable for that AT ALL. Yet they revile Patton for slappity-slap.
I suspect there is a deeper reason for this than any are willing to admit.
8886027 Given what propagandist BS you're spouting, it's clear it's very revisionist history and you'll do fine as long as you kowtow to the agenda.
8886017 Ah, now it all makes sense. Thank you for so nicely confirming what I already suspected.