Dawn's Candor

by Clarke Otterton

Chapter 15

The sand gave way to firmer clay halfway down the path towards the pirates’ position. Dawn’s company broke into a full gallop behind her as their hooves found the better footing. Only Applesnack and Big Mac paused briefly to retrieve the colors. Each grabbed the same flag they had carried back from Paardenburg, waving the blue and white silks to spur the ponies around them forward.

The third salvo from the artillery screeched overhead. The shells exploded 200 lengths in front of the ponies, white smoke puffing upwards. Increased fire from the zebras accompanied the smokescreen. Most of the bullets whizzed harmlessly overhead or splashed into the tanks on either side. A few managed to bury themselves in the clay being churned by the ponies’ hooves, but they did not notice.

Dawn pushed her nose through into the murk, jumping down to land in the trench. A pirate raised her rifle to club the unwelcome pony. As Dawn saw the pirate and spun her saber around to parry, it struck her that she had never seen a pirate before. She noted the simple black frock the zebra wore but soon regretted putting her attention on the pirate’s clothes as she misplaced her parry. The weight of the rifle glanced off her blade, sending reverberations to ring through her teeth. A split-second later the stock bounced off her helmet. She stumbled backwards, trying to regain her grip on her saber.

The pirate lifted the rifle for another blow. Dawn took her saber in her hooves to meet the new threat. She pulled the blade to the side, ready to slice the zebra as she charged. A bayonet poked through the pirate before Dawn could swing at the now collapsed zebra.

“The point always beats the edge, ma’am.” Applesnack yanked his bayonet free before roaring at another pirate.

An exotic phrase screamed behind Dawn. She spun around, just missing the edge of a sword that darted past her nose. The zebra wielding the weapon was different than the others, carrying about him an air of confidence that was accentuated by the black mask he wore and the black piping decorating his frock. Dawn realized he must be some sort of officer as she ducked his follow-up slice. The blade nicked the top of her helmet, but Dawn recovered quickly. She swung her saber to slice at the pirate’s left side. A sharp clank rewarded Dawn as the blow was blocked.

The pirate took the offensive, forcing Dawn to backpedal as she clumsily parried a series of slashes. The pirate lunged forward, the force of his blade against Dawn’s pushing her into the floor of the trench. Dawn squirmed on her back to recover, her exposed stomach twisting in anticipation of the pirate’s steel. But he hesitated a moment to long, giving Dawn enough time to spring a kick. Her hooves landed squarely on the zebra’s jaw. He staggered back, hoof held to his mouth as he spat out a mess of blood and teeth. Dawn lept up and plunged her point into the pirate before he could bring his sword around to parry.

The death of the pirate officer sapped the fight out of the remaining zebras. They jumped out of the trench as more khaki-clad ponies filled it with their steel. Behind Dawn’s company the remnants of A Company had reformed and were surging forward to join the line. B and D Company were behind them, the mass of khaki kicking up clumps of sand and clay as they trotted forward.

“Ditty!” Dawn shouted as she felt the adrenaline of the charge cool down, allowing her to assess the battle and think about her next orders.

“Right here, ma’am,” the unicorn spoke right beside Dawn, “been with you the whole time. One pace to the rear and left.”

“Really?” Dawn admired Ditty’s sprightliness as the unicorn grinned and nodded. “You could have said something to warn me about that pirate that wanted to skewer me.”

“I did, but you probably couldn’t hear me over your screaming,” Ditty said, “so I just used some magic to push the blade away.”

“I was screaming?”

“Ayep,” Big Mac jumped down beside the two mares. “’tween you an’ Applesnack I don’t know who’s the scariest to be honest.”

“It’s obviously me,” Applesnack said as he cleaned his bayonet on the grass along the top of the trench.

“Stop kidding yourself. You obviously have nothing against the lieutenant here,” Crag said, folding his wings as his arrival completed the group. “In terms of a war face that is, lieutenant. You still need some work on your technique, ma’am, but we’ll get you there. And Ditty, you don’t have to follow the regs so closely – maybe give the lieutenant some space until she improves, eh?”

“Uh, thanks,” Dawn blushed at the compliment, but the darker implication of the old pegasus’s warning brought a bitter feeling back into her throat. She let it linger for a moment before pushing it to another corner of her mind. It was a conversation she needed to have later, but not now.

“Right,” Dawn said, “all in good time.” She propped her telescope against the wall of the trench, training the lens to follow the retreating pirates. The black frocked zebras scampered up a trail, which was obscured by low bush and beach grasses, towards a wooden redoubt that sat on a spur branching out from the main fort. She collapsed the telescope and returned it to her saddlebag as Major Bolt and the other company officers jumped in the trench beside her.

“That was close,” Bolt panted. “Good work, but now we need to get inside the fort. Spitfire says the fire is still too intense for the Wonderbolts to fly in – we’ll have to take control of the parapets.”

“What about an airburst volley of smoke on the walls? That’d give them some cover, sir.”

“I forgot you used to be a red-cuffer. I’ll pass the message back, but we still need to get into that fort. Any ideas?” Bolt scribbled a note on a piece of paper and handed it to one of his pegasi aides. The company officers peered over the trench towards the fort before bringing their heads back down with mouths drawn in bemused expressions.

Seeing as no other pony had anything, Dawn spoke up. “There’s this redoubt on the side here that every zebra is running to. I bet you that might be our way in.”

Bolt looked towards the redoubt with his telescope, studying the terrain while he stroked his chin. His and Dawn’s ears perked at the sound of renewed musketry coming from the far side of the fort. “It looks like our only option. I believe that over there is from the dragoons getting pinned down. Here’s what we’ll do.” Bolt grabbed his saber in his mouth and started scratching lines in the clay with the blade.

“The redoubt is here,” Bolt drew a square and several curved lines, “and the terrain looks to fall sharply on these far sides but seems smoother here on the right side and on the back.” Several arrows appeared in the dirt as Bolt continued. “A Company will move to far side to link up with the dragoons and draw the enemy’s attention. Meanwhile, C Company will move to this smooth side and provide fire suppression while B and D Company form up behind. Once the dragoons are ready, we’ll storm the redoubt from both sides then push into the main fort. Any questions?”

“No, sir,” was the unanimous response. The officers trotted off to return to their commands. Dawn studied the ground in front of her once more, trying to ascertain the path the zebras had taken. She gave up after swinging the image in her lens back and forth several times.

“Sprint, Polish, Belle, get over here!” Dawn shouted. Sprint landed next to her first, with her brother following close behind. “Where’s Belle? Cornet Belle!”

“She’s not here, ma’am,” Sprint said.

Dawn’s stomach dropped a few inches in her barrel. “She wasn’t hit, was she?”

“No, ma’am. She stayed behind to look after the … err…body of Co-”

“Cornet Star, ma’am,” Polish finished his sister’s sentence.

Dawn winced at the name, but that feeling was quickly replaced by another that was directed towards the silver unicorn who had caused her so much strife. But now was not the time. Dawn vented her frustration with a single word. “Damn.”

“Well, she has been a bit shaken up since the ambush and the two of them were close,” Sprint mumbled.

“It’s fine, I don’t care,” Dawn huffed. “She can do whatever she wants. Sprint, you’ve got 3rd and 4th platoon. Take Private Crag with you and find a path for us to get on the flank of the redoubt. Set up in extended order and keep their heads down. Polish, you’ll take 1st and 2nd platoon and follow Sprint. There’s a good slope so we can get a second line firing behind Sprint’s.”

The cornets wasted no time carrying out the lieutenant’s orders. Crag flew beside Sprint as the two pegasi wound their way up the slope. Lines of khaki followed, the ponies stretching their necks forward to balance themselves in their climb.

“How come you don’t have any special assignments for me, ma’am?” Applesnack grumbled, obviously jealous of his partner.

“You have your own talents, private. Besides, I need you to give me your pointers – and give your point to any pirate trying to slice me up,” Dawn said. She pulled herself up the wall of the trench as Polish led the other two platoons behind Sprint’s force.

“With pleasure, ma’am,” Applesnack smirked as he followed Dawn.

“I don’t doubt it,” Dawn said before the need to breathe on the climb silenced her.

The path, although steep, was well-worn and provided good footing. Most of the ponies were out of breath by the time they reached the top of the slope. The ground leveled out into a slight dip before the wood-and-clay walls of the redoubt. The wall on this side was longer than the other three and subsequently had greater firepower available to protect its approach. Dawn was glad she was using rifles instead of bayonets.

“Five rounds, independent, FIRE!” Sprint’s platoons finished their deployment on the lower side of the slope and opened fire towards the pirates who offered sporadic return fire that mostly shot high.

Dawn trained her telescope to watch the movement of A Company as more of her ponies filed past into the second line. The dragoons seemed to have gotten the message, the dark blue formations dashing over the terrain to form up behind A Company’s extended firing line.

“Goddess-damn!” Dawn swore as a bullet glanced off the metal tube of her telescope. The lens shattered and the bent instrument fell from her hooves. A surge of indignation filling her, Dawn turned her head to Ditty and nodded. “Let’s give it to them, C Company! At my command, magazine, independent, FIRE!”

Above the roar of C Company’s rifles, a faint bugle and more pops of musketry sounded from the other side of the redoubt as A Company opened fire. Shells whistled overhead on their high, arcing trajectory and burst in the air above the redoubt’s spur. The cloud of smoke billowed outwards, the cue spurring a cheer from the ponies of B and D Company as they surged past Dawn’s lines.

“Cease fire! At the trot, FORWARD!” Dawn ordered her company to follow the rest of the battalion. On the other side, the dark blue coats of the dragoons cut through the smoke inside the redoubt, sabers flashing as they hacked through the pirates’ defense. More and more khaki hopped over the walls to mix with the blue and black uniforms.

All the zebras in black, though, were either on the ground or retreating as Dawn’s company jumped inside the redoubt. She trotted to where Major Bolt and Noctilucent were standing in front of the small tunnel that the pirates had fled into.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Bolt said. “And it looks like we found our way in.”

Dawn peered into the dank interior, a shiver running through her back.

“Uh, I think we’ll fly in with the Wonderbolts,” Noctilucent said, her eyes drifting to the sky where the sleek flight suits of the pegasi dashed between gaps in the smokescreen.

“Oh no, I agree,” Bolt said. “Best not for all of us to get trapped down there. Personally, though, I think this route will take us to the hostages faster than either your or Spitfire’s pegasi.”

“Are you suggesting a race?”

“Maybe,” Bolt chuckled with his counterpart. “Seriously, though, the quicker we get our ponies out of harms way the better. We’ll take this route. See you on the other side, major.”

The tunnel itself had proven free of surprises, being only a hastily excavated pathway big enough to fit two or three ponies across. The presence of a few old roots that wrapped around the walls and evidence of washing suggested that the tunnel had been dug long ago, likely by who ever had last laid siege to the fort.

Dawn blinked as light blinded her from the exit of the tunnel, which led into the open grounds behind Fort Pasterndt’s walls. Her eyes readjusted just in time to see the line of pirates bringing their rifles up. She and the leading ponies hit the dirt as bullets whizzed overhead and slammed into the walls behind them. Shards of clay and wood fell down next to the prone ponies. They hastened to bring their rifles into the ready position.

“Magazine, independent, FIRE!” Bolt roared from inside the tunnel. Dawn echoed the order.

More and more ponies poured out of the tunnel, ducking low as they extended the firing line on either side and added their rifles to the steadily increasing crackle. A few pirates fell from the musketry, but the black line continued to hold and pin down the Equestrians.

“We can’t stay here, ma’am,” Big Mac said, trying to keep his massive frame as low to the ground as possible.

“I know that,” Dawn replied. She looked around, her eye following the line of black frocks until it came to the edge of a tall clay structure. The building held the flank of the pirates, but also connected with the outer wall and the smaller buildings that lined the grounds. Its domed towers rose high, offering clear views of the fort. Behind Dawn, steel clashed on the walls, indicating the progress of the dragoons. On the far wall, the blue uniforms of the Wonderbolts dived onto the zebras. Renewed musketry from windows in the buildings forced the Wonderbolts back, pinning them to the cover of the parapet.

“We’ll move to that building over there,” Dawn pointed at the looming structure.

Big Mac turned his head to follow the hoof. “Ayep, that’ll do.”

“Let’s go,” Dawn pushed herself up, taking a deep breath. “C Company, sprint to the building. Take position when you arrive. At the gallop, MOVE!”

Seeing Dawn’s ponies get up and gallop off, the rest of the battalion kept up the intensity of fire by working their bolts with furious energy. The increased volume caught the pirates’ line off guard, buying Dawn just the time she needed. She slammed her body against the wall, working to control the heavy breaths in her chest that strained against her saber belt.

The line of zebras shifted to counter the maneuver. Black frocks rounded the corner of the building, rapidly rendering the cover unusable.

“Sprint, get your platoons in line!”

“Fall-in on me,” Sprint roared, a khaki line forming on either side of her as ponies shuffled into place and loaded more rounds into their rifles. “Five rounds, volley, FIRE!”

“Ma’am, I’ve found a way in,” Crag shouted into Dawn’s ear over the crash of the volleys.

“Great. Polish, bring your platoons with us!” Dawn followed Crag to a small wooden door near the middle of the building. Ponies lined either side of the archway, bayonets held at the ready.

“Allow me to do the honors?” Applesnack said. Dawn nodded as the stallion balanced on his forehand and extended his hindlegs in a powerful buck. The door flew off its hinges, clattering several lengths away to echo throughout a large hall that expanded beyond the doorway.

Pirates opened fire from the dim interior, hiding behind piles of barrels and thick wooden columns. Dawn rushed in, dispatching a zebra that lunged at her side with a quick slice of her saber. More ponies rushed in through the door behind her, taking cover behind the columns. Dawn pressed her back to one as bullets flung chips of wood around her.

Applesnack and Crag kneeled next to the lieutenant, taking aim at the pirates that lined the balcony on the far wall of the hall. Polish took cover behind an ornate fountain and started directing the fire of the Equestrians, his voice ringing above the deafening clamor with the help of his magic.

Dawn peered from behind her column. A bullet struck her in the shoulder. She spun back, crashing hard onto the stone floor.

“Fuck,” she cursed, clutching the wound as blood soaked her sleeve. Ditty was beside her in a moment, pulling out bandages from her saddlebag. Big Mac dropped his rifle to prop Dawn up as Ditty wrapped the bandages around her leg.

“Nightmare Moon!” Dawn squealed more blasphemies as Ditty tightened the bandage.

“You’re alright, ma’am, I just have to keep pressure on it,” Ditty said, her voice remarkably calm. She whistled a tune as she worked.

Seeing the lieutenant down, Polish sprinted through the row of columns to check on his commander. “You alright, ma’am?”

Dawn answered with another whimper. She gritted her teeth as Ditty pulled even harder on the bandage, shooting spikes of burning pain throughout the leg. Dawn leaned her head back. Her eyes landed on a staircase, barely visible in the low light, at the corner of the hall. She smiled despite the pain, which quickly faded as she accepted a potion from Ditty. She addressed Polish once the medication was down her throat.

“Perfectly fine. Polish, keep a platoon down here and keep up fire on those zebras. I’ll take the other platoon and start clearing upstairs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Polish dashed back to his position behind the fountain. Dawn recovered her saber, wincing as she put weight on her leg.

“Ma’am, maybe you should stay down here,” Big Mac said, posturing himself to catch Dawn as she wobbled on her leg.

“No, I can still lead. Let’s go. 1st platoon, on me!” Dawn led the way to the stairs, her leg feeling better as she climbed up to the balcony.

Reaching the top, she tried to duck as a pirate swung his cutlass. Her eyes instinctively closed as she flinched at the blurred steel about to slice her nose off. She opened her eyes when the blow didn’t land. The blade quivered inches in front of her nose, held in Ditty’s telekinesis. The unicorn flung the blade over the railing, kicked the zebra, and hopped beside Dawn all in one fluid motion.

Two cracks rang beside Dawn as Crag and Applesnack dispatched a pair of pirates taking aim at the lieutenant. More shots rang out on the upper level as khaki-clad ponies filed past and lined the railing, their bullets flying to the pirates on the balcony opposite them. Dawn motioned for half of the ponies to take positions in the open windows, their rifles raining down on the line of pirates that were being pushed back by the full weight of the battalion

Dawn leaned against the archway of one window, taking a bit of weight off her bad leg. The dragoons had nearly cleared the walls and were pushing into the buildings. The Wonderbolts had disappeared from their corner of the fort and were likely already in the buildings as well. From her vantage point, Dawn could see the Phoenix and Berrichonhead moving through the water at full sail. Puffs of smoke erupted from their hulls as they dueled with the recently arrived pirate ship.

Dawn caught the attention of Major Bolt below and offered a salute to him before turning her attention back inside. The balconies converged at the back of the hall with an open archway leading further into the building. Several pirates were falling back there. Dawn raced to cut them off, switching leads halfway through her canter after a few darts of pain drew a muffled groan from her.

Crag, using his wings, flew ahead and reached the door before any pony else. A pirate lifted her rifle at the pegasus. He gave his wings a solid flap and twisted around the zebra, who reared onto her hind legs to react with the butt of her rifle. She lifted the weapon over her head. Crag’s hooves struck her in the stomach, causing her to bowl over the railing. He followed, loading another round into his rifle as he hovered in the open space away from the melee.

Two more zebras ran to support their mate, one of them a mare wearing the full black mask of an officer. Applesnack charged forward with his bayonet at the group. Steel clashed as the officer side-stepped and parried with her cutlass. The second pirate stuck his hoof out, causing Applesnack to stumble as he overshot the pair. The officer kept her footwork well placed as she gracefully turned her body to follow up with a vertical slice on the downed pony. She checked her swing as bits of the floor fractured from a bullet from Crag. He steadied his aim as the second pirate reacted by bringing his rifle up, then fired before the pirate could get off a shot.

The officer scowled and shouted an exotic curse to Applesnack, who recovered and lunged forward with his bayonet. She flung her blade down, catching the wooden stock of the rifle. She pulled back to remove the blade from the grip of the wood. Applesnack used the moment’s hesitation to kick the zebra free of his weapon. She stumbled back, barely blocking another stab by Applesnack. The green stallion roared, rearing to put his full weight into an overhead jab on the zebra. She was quick to dodge, only catching a glancing blow from the bayonet. She gasped as a gash reddened her hip, but she bore through it with a grimace. Her cutlass sped towards the recovering Applesnack. The blade stopped mid-swing, the zebra collapsing as smoke from Crag’s rifle muzzle dissipated.

“She was mine,” Applesnack said. He directed a disappointed scowl at the pegasus as Big Mac arrived and helped him to his hooves.

“You were taking too long,” Crag grinned back. “Except for you, ma’am, take as much time as you need,” Crag said as Dawn finally hobbled to rejoin the ponies.

“I’m fine. Come on,” Dawn said, rolling her eyes. She directed ten ponies to hold off the remaining zebras on the balcony while the rest followed her into the hallways. The sounds of the firefight became muffled and distant as Dawn’s ponies trotted. Only the clopping of hooves echoed against the walls.

Dawn kept her ears perked forward, warry of any pirates hiding around a corner or one of the many open rooms on either side of the hallway. A high-pitched sound, like that of a mare yelping, spooked Dawn from one of the rooms. She side-stepped at the noise then held her hoof up to halt the ponies. Keeping her saber at the ready, she edged to the doorway of the room and peeked her head in, only to let her mouth hang open as she stared.

“Who the hay are you?” said the mare Dawn was staring at, an attractive purple unicorn. A blue Equestrian Merchant Marines shirt, which had been tattered beyond practical wear, clung to her body. She lay on what had one been a lavish four-poster bed amid other decayed furnishings. Her legs were bound, but her mouth was still free to quip. “Well, you going to introduce yourself like a proper gentle mare or just gawk at me like the others?”

Dawn snapped out of her haze and replied, “Um, Lieutenant Dawn Glean, 2nd Battalion, North Equus Regiment of Hoof. We’re here to rescue you.”

“Name’s Captain Tulips of the La Mare. Damn, it’s about time you showed up, although I was kind of expecting a dashing pegasus in Wonderbolts Blue.” Captain Tulips sighed then offered a suggestive smile as her eyes sized up the blue earth pony in front of her. “I guess you’ll have to do.”

Dawn seriously reconsidered freeing the mare. She compromised by slicing aggressively through the ropes binding her legs together. Captain Tulips rubbed the marks on her hooves, then stretched them out, leaning her head on one while resting the other on her hip.

“Thanks for that, lieutenant.” The emphasis Captain Tulips put on her title robbed Dawn of a breath. “That’s a handy saber there; I’d say you’re pretty well hung. So’s your sergeant there.” The mare fluttered her eyelashes.

Dawn blushed, hard. She could feel even more heat radiating off Big Mac behind her. She burned even harder when she realized she was sub-consciously raising her tail.

“Nightmare Moon,” Applesnack swore upon seeing more of his lieutenant than he thought he ever would, spurring a hearty chuckle from Captain Tulips.

“Enough playing around,” Dawn said, quickly pressing her tail back to her body. She felt more pain from her wounded modesty than the bullet in her leg. “Captain, do you know where the rest of your crew is being held?”

“Damn, lieutenant, I was just trying to have some fun. Unfortunately, I don’t know where they are. I’ve been kept apart up here the whole time, and I’ve got to say, I hoped the pirates would be more attractive, but I guess zebras aren’t my type.” Captain Tulips sat up on the bed, her smirk vanishing. “There was one pony who visited me. Asked me all sorts of questions, mostly on how to work a tele-fire machine.”

Dawn’s ears perked up. “Did you get a good description of this pony? Any others working with him?”

“What’s with ponies asking me questions? All the zebras did was hit me; I kind of enjoyed that.”

“Holy Celestia!” Applesnack blurted, an uncharacteristic giggle following the outburst.

Dawn turned to investigate. She caught Big Mac looking much redder than usual. “Um, you okay there, sergeant?”

“Ayep,” Big Mac gulped and nodded violently to affirm his response.

Dawn rolled her eyes then looked back at the captain. “As I was saying, any information you can give us will help us figure out what the pirates are up to and put a stop to it.”

Captain Tulips snorted. “Any pony can figure that out. Gems. Money. Greed. Everyone’s looking for something, lieutenant; I’ve been on the seas too long to not accept that.” The mare scowled. “But I did overhear a conversation between that pony and some other zebra. Something about a pony, or zebra, working inside the military; not sure which species, they weren’t exactly speaking Ponish.”

Dawn’s mind calculated several probable theories of who that pony, or zebra, might be. Was it the same pony working with the Boerperds? Could that pony actually be a zebra seeking to sabotage Equestria as revenge for some wrong? Dawn found herself with more questions than answers. Questions that would have to wait as a renewed roar of musketry sounded outside the room’s window with more crackling coming from down the hallway.

Dawn shifted her eyes and one ear towards the sound. “Applesnack, Crag, escort Captain Tulips until we get her back to safety. We’ve still got a battle to win.”

“Pirates on the left!” Big Mac shouted as he and Dawn ran into another hallway. A score of pirates rounded the corner at the far end, their eyes whitening with momentary surprise at the appearance of the Equestrians. The expression turned to fear as they saw the double line of khaki ponies form a solid wall of bristling rifles next to the blue lieutenant and her red sergeant.

“FIRE!” The zebras defense disintegrated as the volley crashed down the hall. Dawn charged through the smoke before it cleared, her saber clamped firmly as she led her ponies to pursue.

Rounding a corner, she came to an open balcony that overlooked a central courtyard. Several crumbled fountains and statues littered the space, while stone paths cut through plots of overgrown bush, suggesting this courtyard had once been an ornate garden. Now, however, it seemed to be abandoned save for Dawn’s ponies, which she directed to take positions along the railing, and the zebras retreating to the far edge of the courtyard.

Flashes of blue uniforms caught Dawn’s eye from the balcony opposite her. Pegasi from the Wonderbolts filtered out onto the railing, their heads directed to the sky. Several stepped back, wrapping their hooves around a group of disheveled ponies without uniforms. Dawn nudged an elbow into Captain Tulips.

“Looks like your crew’s going to get the Wonderbolts rescue, captain.”

The mare nearly knocked Dawn off her hooves with the bump she delivered with her rump in reply. “Eh, I’ve gotten over that; you’re starting to grow on me more than them, lieutenant, if you know what I mean.”

Dawn knew exactly what she meant but pushed it deep into the recesses of her mind and simply blinked hard before focusing on the Wonderbolts. Two had already secured their passengers and were preparing their wings for flight. Then Dawn saw movement in the shadow beneath the balcony.

“Fuck,” Dawn swore as she watched scores of pirates emerge and take positions around the courtyard.

“Lieutenant, my, you are forwa-,” Dawn placed her hoof over Tulip’s mouth before she could finish and shoved her back into the arms of Crag and Applesnack. She waved frantically to get the attention of the pegasi. The captain, a teal mare with a white mane, smiled and waved back before giving a hoof’s up signal to her pegasi. The two took off with hefty flaps of their wings, climbing slowly off the balcony and into the sky above the courtyard. Dawn screamed as a flurry of shots from below echoed in her ears.

The lead Wonderbolt was hit first, the bullet killing him instantly. He dropped the pony he was carrying, her body flailing through the air before landing in a growth of bushes with a solid crunch. The second Wonderbolt was hit a moment later through her wing. She stalled and entered a spin towards the courtyard before releasing her pony passenger to try and recover. Two more bullets found her, and she crumbled towards the ground.

An aura of magic from Tulips and Ditty managed to catch the falling hostage. The two unicorns strained against their horns, bringing the pony down next to them as the firefight in the courtyard erupted.

“Make ready, FIRE!” Dawn ordered the volley into the courtyard. The zebras shifted their focus to her ponies. Dawn hoped it would be enough to allow the Wonderbolts to withdraw. She also hoped they would take the hint.

A bugle sounded below Dawn, the order to fall-in followed closely by the order to fire. Cornet Polish’s voice sounded over the din, encouraging his ponies in a line spread across the courtyard. The unicorn gave an eye towards Dawn then flashed his saber forward to direct more volleys.

“FIRE!” Dawn yelled again. She undid her canteen and took a sip of the few drops that remained to wet her hoarse throat before ordering another volley. She smirked as she saw the zebras, overwhelmed by the firepower, start to pull back, thus removing their rifles from the courtyard. Polish’s ponies pursued, the line advancing around the stonework and bush until it dispersed into the building.

Seeing the clearing, the Wonderbolts captain resumed her orders. A pair of Wonderbolts retrieved the downed ponies while another grabbed their fallen. The Wonderbolts captain gave Dawn a salute with her wing before taking off with the others. Dawn returned it with her saber.

Outside the courtyard the notes of several bugles carried over the musketry, the slow rising phrases signaling the call for retreat. Dawn nodded to Ditty to echo the order. Their job here was done.

Dawn leaned against the railing on the deck of the Phoenix, her bad leg throbbing faintly as it rested softly on the metal. The air was still except for a small breeze that rustled against her mane and blew stay strands of hair into her eyes. The frigate plowed stoically through the water, her guns having fallen silent an hour ago. In the orange, darkening sky behind the frigate, two columns of smoke rose from piles of smoldering rubble that had once been Forts Pasterndt and Coroneghtbandt. In some ways, Dawn considered the silence after a battle to be the hardest to bear, for while the battle around her was over, the one inside her was raging, and its noise was deafening.

She thought first about the past, looking at the reflections of sunset off the bow where the last edges of the sun sank below the Celestia Sea, its light shimmering on wavetops and glowing orange along the edges of lavender clouds. She sighed. It seemed that with every sunrise, a new problem arose, a new challenge that she needed to solve. And with every sunset, while the problem may have been resolved and the challenge overcome, a price had been paid.

It was a price that she knew but did not understand. It was a price that thousands of miles across the sea, in sleepy towns and pastoral valleys, some ponies would have to acknowledge while others simply carried on in blissful ignorance.

A sigh lingered on Dawn’s breath while a bit of wetness grew on her cheek. She knew the names of that price, for she had written them in her report, updated their records in the company ledger, and drafted letters to their family. But she knew the ponies, too.

Dawn lifted her head, staring up into the sky where the first stars were coming out. Their light twinkled, dimly at first, but growing in brilliance as the sun faded away. Dawn wondered if, perhaps, there was a new star in the sky tonight. She longed, more than ever, for that star to shine brighter than the rest, to guide her like she had promised.

A leather bound notebook rested in Dawn’s hooves, the little ribbon marking a place in the book that had trapped Dawn’s heart. It was the last entry Star had written. And it had ended with a poem, “The Pony of Life Upright.”

Three times she had read through the verses, and three times she felt the weight of them carry her heart while her mind struggled to understand. The poem conjured up a memory she had repressed but now chose to reflect on. Princess Luna had also known of this very poem and used it to indicate the path she was to take. Somehow, Dawn felt that there must be a reason why two of the ponies who wanted to help her referred so fondly to the words of the poet. Who was this pony of life upright?

“What are you doing with that?” Belle’s words spat across the deck despite the relative softness of the approaching voice uttering them.

Dawn flinched, her eyes falling on the notebook just as Belle’s did. She wiped her face with her hoof and answered in a voice barely audible over the sails flapping overhead. “I was just gathering Cornet Star’s personal effects.”

“Give it here. You don’t deserve it,” Belle said, her eyes narrowing. “With all due respect, ma’am.”

A spurt of blood coursed through Dawn’s face. She flattened her ears, then thought better of her next words and assumed a more docile expression. “What’s wrong, Belle?”

The unicorn hesitated but continued with her ears tucked firmly against her head. “You.”

“What?” The blow hurt. Dawn felt another round of tears welling up in her eyelids but kept composure. She had no desire to keep fighting, but she also wasn’t going to give up either.

“She died because of you, you know.” Belle’s pupils burned with reflections of starlight.

“She died trying to help me.” The image of Star holding her hoof towards her flashed into Dawn’s mind.

“You didn’t deserve her help, just like you don’t deserve that book.”

Dawn sighed, glancing down at the notebook. “You’re right, Belle, perhaps I don’t deserve it. But neither do you. None of us deserved a pony like Star. She was a stellar officer with potential. And she was a good friend.”

“She was too much of a friend to you. I told her to stay away from you, told her that you were dangerous, you and all the other earth ponies that don’t understand the path you’re leading us down. Frankly, Equestria would be better off if we stayed true to the magical principles that have always guided us.”

Dawn thought about the unicorn’s words carefully. She knew there was some truth to her words, a truth, as she had come to learn, that had always been present. But she had also learned that there was more to that truth, more that mattered to her, and, as she had gleaned from the notebook, more that mattered to Star. Her mind was made up; she needed to be her own pony, free to find the truth for herself. With a placid expression, she looked Belle in the eyes and simply said, “Frankly, Belle, I don’t give a damn. Dismissed.”

Belle stammered, her mouth trying to form a counterattack, but a glance from Dawn put an end to that. The unicorn snapped to attention then stormed off. Dawn’s eyes followed her before tears blurred the unicorn into a blue and silver smudge. She sighed then wiped her eyes dry to look once more into the starry night sky. She remembered the past and mulled over the present. But most importantly, she considered the future and where she was going next as the words of the poem sang through her and upwards to the stars. Perhaps they knew of that pony whose silent days in harmless joys are spent, whom hopes cannot delude, nor sorrows discontent. A star twinkled just beyond the edge of the moon’s glow. Dawn smiled. Perhaps, just maybe, they did.