The Impossible Choice

by FireMaster

Chapter 29: Perspectives

Author's Note:

It has been a while! Between work, school and a little uncertainty about how this chapter should progress it has taken too long! This chapter had felt like a transition chapter making it hard to write while keeping it interesting. I apologize if it’s a little underwhelming but I hope you enjoy!

~ April 20th, 1020 ME ~

‘8:05am‘

The sun crested the horizon, marking the start of a new day. Twilight Sparkle yawned as she left her room, eyes drooping but still awake. The night had been restless, worry for her brothers and friend plaguing the princess's mind. She had tried to follow Celestia's advice, but sleep had only found her for brief moments of time. With the morning now upon her, she was unwilling to wait any longer. She would seek out the reports on the battle straight from the records official.

Upon arriving at the office located between the guard and employee wing of the castle, Twilight went straight to the front desk where a secretary sat levitating papers into various stacks. Outside the window, the sound of a drill sergeant instructing new recruits could be heard. "How can I help you?" The secretary asked without looking up.

"I need to know what happened last night!" While Twilight wasn't exactly yelling, her eyes were bloodshot and slightly bigger than normal, and her stress was clearly mixed into her speech.

"I'm sorry Princess. While you have the clearance to request that information, Princess Luna has personally requested that no pony read that particular report until the royal sisters have had a chance to address it publicly. The latest news I have received is that the situation has been fully resolved and the response team is on its way back."

"I just need to know if everyponies okay..." Twilight was on the verge of tears as she visibly slumped. If only I hadn't let this happen. I could have figured out what was going to happen and prevented it! Now ponies could be dead, and I couldn't do anything about it...

The staff member glanced around uncomfortably before finding her resolve. “You know there's talk that a certain white stallion was saved by a mysterious creature."

Twilight looked back up towards the pony at the desk finding a small sense of relief washing over her. Shiny might be alright! While many fears remained, Twilight thought it best not to overstay her welcome. It was time to go look for answers at the source. The response team was supposed to be back soon after all. Before she made for the exit, she thanked the secretary who had gone back to organizing papers as if nothing had been said.

The day was still young as Twilight made her way to the nearest balcony facing Ponyville. She wanted to know the moment they were approaching. Seconds felt like hours staring off into the distance. The streets below were becoming more and more active as ponies headed off to work and went about their business. Nothing could distract Twilight from where her gaze was fixed. After what felt like an eternity her eyes saw the familiar banner signifying the lunar guard followed by The Princess of the Night, and a large number of chariots loaded to maximum capacity. She began flying out to meet them before they got anywhere close enough to land. While there was a large number of chariots, it didn't take long before she spotted the eye-catching pink of her sister in law's coat. There he was! Shining lay unconscious, being tended to by a hovering Cadance. Spike was also there. Thank Celestia they were all right! A torrent of relief washed over Twilight. He looked awful, and his coat was looking a little gray, but her brother and number one assistant were alive! Tears of joy filtered out of her eyes as she flew in and gave a big hug to an exhausted Spike.

That's when she saw it. She had been still looking around for one more pony when she spotted the large and lanky form of... actually she had no idea what it was. Never in all her years of study had she come across a creature such as this one. It could have been a distant relative of the diamond dog, but it had hardly any hair and strange attire that Rarity would have definitely found interesting. It was sitting up against the side of the chariot fast asleep with bags under its eyes. She would normally have been concerned with an unknown creature being this close to so many important friends and family, but she recalled the report she heard about a suspicious creature saving her brother and thought better of it.

"I'm so glad you're all ok!" Twilight was fighting back tears of joy as she hugged Spike. "With both Sombra and now Tirek on the loose... We have to do something to get everypony's magic back! Cadance where's Blazing? Was he not with Spike?"

Cadance's response was pointing a hoof in the direction of the furless creature. Twilight couldn't help being a little confused but thinking back to just ten days ago she was reminded of what Blazing had called his species: Human. He had evidently lost his magic to Tirek and in the process reverted back to his original self from before he got teleported to Equestria. "We have Blazing to thank for the rescue of everypony. He is one special stallion." Cadance said, sounding both tired and relieved.

Twilight opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water trying to put to words her feelings about seeing a human for the first time. She struggled to find the words to say. Blazing opened his eyes for a moment coming in and out of the waking world but not staying awake for long. The man that she had been developing a friendship with looked different, yet Twilight knew that it was Blazing from his beautiful aqua blue eyes. The waterworks she had been holding back could be held no more. The dam burst and Twilight let loose a river of tears very grateful that those closest to her had made it through the storm.

---

~ April 20th, 1020 ME ~

‘11:22am‘

Blazing woke up fatigued, feeling like he had run a marathon, but mentally in a better state than when he had collapsed earlier. He couldn't even recall falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was feeling the freedom that came with stepping out into the morning light after they had escaped. The fact that he had been the recipient of so much misfortune in Equestria and in his life prior was overwhelming. The stress and adrenaline of running for his freedom had worn off which meant he had time to think. All things considered he was happy to be alive, the probability hadn't been in his favor. Unfortunately, that only reminded him of his brother who hadn't made it this far. He would press on. Push ahead for his brother and for his new friends.

Speaking of new friends, Blazing wasn't alone. He had woken up in the same medical wing from when he arrived in Equestria, only this time he was surrounded by many other injured ponies and he was also back to only having to worry about two feet despite just barely figuring out how to manage four. Twilight had fallen asleep beside the bed between him and Spike. Thank goodness they hadn't taken his clothes off because that would have been awkward.

Sitting up he spotted a note at the end of the bed. It was addressed to him and sealed with the royal crest. It read as follows:

Sir Blazing Waters,

Following your heroics in the rescue of numerous citizens of Equestria, it has been decided that you are to be awarded the Golden Heart award to recognize your bravery and selfless service to the crown. I find it unlikely that many ponies or humans for that matter would have been able to do what you orchestrated. My sister and I have also decided after seeing your human self for the first time that you shall be given possession of an important magical item given to us by Discord. Attached to this letter is a ring that wouldn't fit on anypony but instead seems sized for a human. While the nature of it is still unclear, we trust that when the time is right you will know its use. Thank you for supporting me, my student, and this country in our greatest time of need.

~ Princess Celestia

The ring in question, which had fallen onto the comforter, was a golden ring with a 6-sided diamond star as the centerpiece. The star pattern on the top looked somehow familiar. Its diameter was oddly close to the size of his finger but that wasn't the weirdest part. On the inside edge of the band was a small engraving that would normally be overlooked without a close inspection. On the face opposite from the 6-sided star was a tiny circle with a dot engraved in the center of it. ☉

Blazings heart nearly skipped a beat at the familiar symbol. He wasn't sure if Celestia had seen it, but he knew now that he could never unsee it. This ring was not something he wanted to mess with, and he certainly wasn't going to put it on! What was Discord trying to do kill him?! Rather than continue to sit and think about what the ring was capable of he shoved it in his pocket rather forcefully, not going so far as to throw it away, but secretly hoping it would fall out of his pocket and he would never see it again.

Trying to take his mind off of the curse in his pocket, Blazing turned his attention to Twilight. If only problems could always be solved by putting heads together. Twilight certainly had plenty of smarts and he loved her motivation to learn. He wouldn't consider himself a slouch when it came to academics either, but that didn't translate to how to win a war. War was a beast that until recently had only existed in history books for both of them. How could they outsmart an enemy that always seemed to know what they were doing, had shapeshifters, dark magic, an army of monsters, and the ability to steal magic (one of the few advantages of the ponies)?

"You're awake! Are you hurt in any way?" Twilight had evidently woken up while he was spacing out and it was good to hear her voice.

"I'm fine. Just a few bruises and a little soreness. How's your brother?"

"They say he should be alright... It's a good thing he got treatment when he did... His body is healing slower without magic and his breathing was hindered by a broken rib. I owe you even more now than before. Thank you for saving my brother."

"You would have done it too if the roles were reversed. Listen, you don't owe me anything, but I need some advice and I don't know who else to ask...

"I will try my best, but Princess Celestia would probably be the better pony to ask."

"No, not for this question... alright here goes... What do you do when the right decision also happens to be the hardest one to make?

A pause. "From my experience, if the thing that makes it hard to choose is my own wishes then I often need to move past that. When I first went to Ponyville I had no intention of making friends, only making sure the summer sun celebration was organized perfectly. I even went so far as to ask why everyone in the town was crazy! The truth is that in some ways I had been the crazy one. I had spent all of my time before that holed up in my own books hardly realizing that my study of magic was limited by my isolation. I don't know if that answers your question, but I do know that when I have to make a hard decision, I have to consider how it affects my friends and also that I should never try to deal with those things alone. If you ever need somepony to help you bear the weight of something I can lend my ear. "

"That is a helpful perspective Twilight and thanks. There's a verse I know that says "greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." I just hope that it never comes to that..."

" NO! I mean no, I wouldn't let that happen. I'm from this world and I would give up myself if it meant you wouldn't have to because I'm a Princess of Equestria. Besides you have a home to return to back on Earth... Discord really shouldn't have told you those statistics. Equestria is lucky to have a visitor like you and I really do wish I could help more with bearing the weight." What Twilight didn't realize was that Blazings fear extended well beyond the statistics that suggested he gave Equestria a better shot at peace. Having her worrying about him and saying that she should be the one to make sacrifices was a nice consideration from the Princess and he was glad he confided some of his thoughts, if only a fraction of them.

---

The rest of the day to follow was rather uneventful. That came as a pleasant surprise considering everything prior. Blazing got to eat meat again in the palace kitchens, something he was particularly excited about, and he spent some more time hanging out with Spike who had become a good dragon to relate to. Everypony was on edge, expecting an attack at any moment, but it never came. The Princesses made a public address to inform the nation of the small victory, while trying to lift the spirits of those who had lost loved ones. Later in the day, the Elements of Harmony along with Blazing attended another strategy meeting, which consisted of updates on the new recruits, damage control of the defensive formation, and scheduled watches to sound the alarm through the following several days and nights. Celestia and Luna continued to lead with confidence, but evidence of their tiredness was becoming apparent despite their regal persona's.

Having been attacked the previous two nights, they also discussed the possibility of another night fight only this time making a stand in Canterlot. While preparations were made for this possibility, those proved to be extra when the night of the 20th remained eerily silent. Midnight came and went with no battle, nor monster attack.

The next day was much the same. Intel on the enemy and their plans was hard to come by. Some of the missing ponies were slowly being confirmed as changeling, but the time of the next large-scale attack was anyponies guess. Screening in the cities had continued to confirm that no more changeling infiltrators were spying on the Princess' every move. That night, the moon was out in full. 0:00 hours came and went again, the 21st becoming the 22nd with no sign of Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, or the Nightmare forces. The night almost seemed like it would be written off as another quiet one when it happened. One of the night guards patrolling the southwest wall was trying his best not to fall asleep. It was 3:17am which meant his shift was on the downslope as he continued to walk along the wall. The light of the moon was helping keep him awake but there wasn't much to see in the fields beyond the Canterlot mountainside, especially at this time of night. Since the light from the moon was on this particular guard's mind, he was the first to notice when a wall of black came in front of the moon obscuring its light. Wondering if he was hallucinating, the guard wiped his eyes with the back of his leg. He was a little confused to say the least. A slight indicator of wing movement is what brought him to his senses. In the loudest voice he could muster he began to shout.

"Sound the Ala-"

Smack!

The guard hit the ground hard after being blasted by a magic pulse shot out of the sky, briefly lighting up the faces of hundreds of bugs descending on the city.

Hmmm! Hmmm!

The sound of horns was being blown at every junction in the city walls.

The battle had begun.

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[Luckyfanisaac]

——)The staff member glanced around uncomfortably before finding her resolve. ——)”You know there's talk that a certain white stallion was saved by a mysterious creature."