Bronygeddon

by pjabrony

Chapter 5

Celestia stared out the window as pegasi prepared heavy gray clouds to be moved in a system toward Ponyville. She had asked them to set up for a heavy storm, fearing that much blood would have to be washed away.

The princess was so attuned to the nature of Equestria that she could sense magic or Earth pony powers just as she could feel the heavy air of the rainstorm. When a figure entered the castle court, she knew it had done so by magic, but could not dare to hope to who it was.

She took a deep breath and turned. The first thing she saw was Olivia.

Her face had the stillness particular to the dead. There was no question of any chance to save her. She was still being carried by Princess Luna, glued to her back by crimson. Luna looked in Celestia’s eyes, and collapsed to her knees, laying her head on the marble floor.

“What happened?” she asked.

“It is done.” Luna’s voice was without emotion. “At the last moment, the human leader was captured.”

“Then we have the chance we hoped for.”

“Yes.”

Celestia turned away from her sister. “I will make the arrangements.”

Luna nodded. Only when Celestia had left the room did she allow herself to collapse to her knees. She refused to let her tears flow. Not yet.

Celestia was only a moment, and on her return knelt and placed her head on Luna’s neck. “What happened?”

“I would not speak of that.”

“Not even to me?”

Luna took a deep breath. “In the last instant, we had their general cornered. He knew that he would be taken, and determined to bring one of us down anyway. I begged in my heart for it to be me. Even though I am the more powerful mage, no matter will come of our victory, I wished I could have spared the child this pain.

“I wonder what he was thinking in that moment. He could have brought his weapon to bear on me. He had to raise it, and I was the lower target and the larger one. And yet, he instead took the more difficult path. He chose to bring down one of his own. Could this be a sign of hope for our cause? That he did not so shun the species that is alien to him, but had a greater fear of what he saw as a traitor to his race? Perhaps there is room to reach him still.”

“Perhaps,” said Celestia. “But his motivation might have been the simple instinct of self-preservation.”

“I saw his eyes. He knew our spell would touch him

“Nonetheless, he might have had a precognitive survival instinct.”

“How do you mean?”

Celestia turned her eyes away. “You see, had he chosen to shoot you, to murder my sister, then his heart would presently be impaled on my horn.”

***

The appearance of Rarity on Earth should have caused a sensation in the news, since it was the first time that a pony had used a Gate. Unfortunately for the media, Rarity proved to be unflappable in the face of their questions, and single-mindedly devoted to finding her goal.

Her technique was one she had honed when facing the fashion press: keep your hooves moving. She would answer any question, even if it was only a “no comment,” but never would she stop, even to look at a map and ask directions, unless there was no one else in sight.

That she was in enemy territory never even occurred to her.

Bastian did not live far from the Gate’s output point, and Rarity was able to locate him before the American government could react. He had heard of her arrival and was waiting outside.

“Rarity, you shouldn’t have come here.”

“Neither should you. Though it is fortunate you are here. We need you in Canterlot.”

“What for?”

Rarity put on her best pleading face. “To end the war.”

“I can’t do that. I don’t even belong in Equestria.”

“Bastian, from the beginning, nothing has happened as it was supposed to. We were supposed to have reached your entire population. You should have been integrated properly into your own society. When humans did come to Equestria, the right thing would have been to welcome them properly and not make them build their own homes. And most of all, this civil war should never have begun. We must learn to act in the moment, on our own principles, not on what we’re told is right.”

He looked around his house. A layer of dust had settled on the furniture, and Rarity seemed not to want to touch anything. “Have you seen any of what the news is saying about the war? No, of course you wouldn’t. They’re saying I won’t be more than another week before everyone’s back on Earth. Their military isn’t taking any casualties at all.”

“It’s true, in a way. But that’s another reason we need you. You know our cause, but not what we’ve had to go through. You’re the only one who can speak for us calmly and rationally.”

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

“We have the American general ready for a, er, negotiating session,” said Rarity, not wanting to disclose how that came to be.

Sensing her deception, he said, “Well, if nothing else, you can’t stay here, so let’s head back to the Gate and get you back home.”

The trip back followed Rarity’s technique of continuous motion. All along the way, through subways and streets, Bastian ran through ideas in his head. Things he would say to the general. Things to distinctly not say to the general. He even considered the weight of what he was being asked to do and how many people, human and pony, it would affect.

What he did not allow himself to think about was that this could be his chance to return to Equestria permanently. That if he became the man who ended the war, his old doubts might leave him, and he’d be content at last.

He pointedly did not consider those.

The ponies had reestablished a Gate in Canterlot, and it was this one that Rarity took Bastian through. Since the battle had taken place in Ponyville, there was no visual evidence that anything was amiss. Princess Celestia witnessed the return from the tower of the castle.

“Luna, dear, he has come. We have our next hope.”

Luna nodded. She still clung to Olivia.

“Will you not make yourself presentable and greet him?”

“Nay, sister. I would ask you to advise him.”

Celestia turned away from the window. “I thought you had made a connection with him. Didn’t you take him on a night ride once?”

“I have, but still I would ask you to take the lead in this case. I have reasons I would prefer not to discuss.”

“Poor sister. I sometimes forget, with so many subjects to take care of, to give you my full attention. You did an amazing thing today, sacrificing yourself so that I need not be in the battle. And how long you’ve been away, to return and come so close to losing it all again, it must be difficult.”

Luna smiled and gave a small chuckle. “You speak truth, but I am not so selfish as that. I think of our subjects also, particularly our newest ones. And this poor child still clinging to my back holds the first place in my heart. I did not leave her while the battle was fought. And since it is, in one sense, not over, I cannot abandon her now.”

“Then withdraw and hold watch, for our hope enters now.”

“Do one thing for me. Leave Ponyville alone until the final outcome is known. It is hallowed ground, and should not be disturbed.”

Celestia nodded, and Luna retreated to her room. The guards had been dismissed. Alone at last, she allowed herself to weep once more.

Back in the main chamber, Rarity entered with Bastian. Celestia thanked and dismissed Rarity, then brought Bastian up to speed.

“We need you to convince the general to withdraw. Not surrender, for we have no advantage to press. But to agree to peace, and to leave us alone.”

Bastian shook his head. “I’m not sure he has the authority to do that. He’s a general, but not the leader of the military. That’s the president, and there’s no way to talk to him.”

“Then you must convince him to be our advocate with this president. We have done no harm, and that should help make our case.”

He looked at Celestia, and thought about what a large gap existed between their world and that of the general. Celestia herself could never do the negotiations. Even if she had centuries more experience than him, there was no way that Wallace would listen to her.

Gathering he thoughts, he said, “All right, send me in. I’ll do my best.” Then, thinking that to be indecisive, added, “No, I’ll do enough.”

Celestia led him down to the lower part of the castle. “There is one factor I should tell you about now. In order to bring the general here, we had to use magic.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“But our spell was rather…precise. Here are his clothes, which Luna brought back with her. You may consider giving them to him as an incentive to talk.”

The room that Bastian entered was as close as possible to one on Earth. Unlike the quarry-stone castle walls typical of the palace, this was pure white. Ivory? he thought. No, they’d never use that. Maybe pearl. But if he didn’t pay attention, he could pretend it was a plasterboard-and-paint conference room on Earth. He hoped it would put General Wallace in a comfort zone.

As soon as Wallace was brought in, Bastian realized that he would never be able to conduct the negotiations this way. Talking to a nude man would only throw both of them off. He decided to be the bigger man and handed Wallace the bundle, then turned away while he dressed.

Bastian didn’t find the change much better. The tableau of medals didn’t bother him as much as the hat. He so seldom encountered people wearing hats that it put him off. He took a deep breath.

“General Wallace, I’ve been asked by the Equestrians to come here and see if we can’t sort everything out. The US never gave us a chance to talk before they invaded. Even the axis of evil on earth got an ultimatum before the first blows were struck.”

“Not my decision.” Wallace said. Bastian was put off by the drawl, and emphasized his own Yankee accent to compensate. “But what I want to know is what’s going on with my men.”

The briefing that Bastian had been given by Celestia had not gone into detail. He knew there was a battle. He knew that no Americans had been killed, that all were captured and waiting in the dungeon. But he didn’t know the details of how the Equestrians had achieved their victory. “Your men are being well cared-for. I don’t know if anypony has given them their clothes, but I’ll see to it.”

The implications of the situation hit him. If the negotiations were protracted, the army would have to be fed, and given water, and provided with latrines, and all the other logistics. At that moment, Bastian decided to play a hunch. He hadn’t been given specific authority, but he was used to making decisions.

“However,” he said, “It will quickly be a moot point. At the conclusion of this conversation, you and your men will all be released and sent back through the Gate.”

“Excellent. And the rest of you?”

“We’re not capitulating. We know what you want. If you come back, you’ll probably get it. But we’re going to make you come back to get it. You’re going to have to go to the president and tell him you failed. A second attack might well succeed—you know it will—but he won’t know that. First and foremost, though, will be your failure. And it’s you who has to decide what the next step is.

“General Wallace, I don’t know much about you. I assume you fought overseas. I’m sure you fought with distinction and honor. Tell me, honestly. Have you encountered any other enemy more deserving of achieving their aims?”

Wallace hadn’t been given back any jewelry, but he fingered his hands as though used to a ring or a watch. “I’m sure all of them would have said the same thing, had they gotten me in a room like this. But it doesn’t matter. I’m given an order, and I follow it, same as I would expect any of my men to do.”

“That’s the difference here,” said Bastian. “We’re not following orders. We’re all acting on our own impulse. That’s been the case since the first day. Every one of us chose to flip on our TVs or hop on YouTube and watch My Little Pony. You can’t tell people what to like. But from there we grew to a fandom, and a family, and now part of a nation. The territory you’re invading doesn’t have its borders defined by lines on a map, and we’re not part of a fighting force because of where we were born. Hell, I’m just as American as you are. I love the US and all it stands for, when it stands for all the good things in the world. But chief among those is freedom. Freedom and friendship. You can’t be friends if you’re not free.”

“How are we any freer? You took away all the people we need to keep the country going?”

“Where are you from?”

Wallace looked at him skeptically.

“That’s what I thought,” said Bastian. “That doesn’t sound like a Texan talking. This isn’t the same type of conflict as you’ve dealt with. We’re not holding back some resource like energy or workers that we’re planning to sell you later and gouge you for. We’re genuinely saying, ‘Just leave us alone!’ Surely a Texas man can understand that.”

For the first time, he saw the flicker of engagement in Wallace’s eyes. It only lasted for a moment, though, as he went back to scanning the room. “Pretty speeches, but what are you holding out for? You can’t be expecting any reinforcements.”

“We’re not holding out for anything. Look, if I can’t get you to listen to me like I mean what I say, then there’s no point in being here. But if that’s what it comes down to, the proof will come when you’re let go.

“This will be my last word to you. You have the power, right now, to go back, call a news conference, and tell everyone that we’re innocent and should be let go. You could do that. What the result will be, I can’t say. But you could do it. You just have to decide whether or not it’s worth it.”

He walked toward the door, then looked down at his notes. “Oh, there was one more thing I was supposed to mention. You’re aware now that your men were only captured, and never in any actual danger?”

“Yes?”

“Apparently one of them, fellow named Stone, knew that all along. Just thought you should know.”

Bastian left the room, heading back up toward Celestia. On seeing her inquiring look, she said, “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. I told him we would let everyone go. I’m trusting to one man’s judgement. But I am going with him to see what happens.”

Wallace wore a skeptical look as he was led from the castle to the new Gate. The men were still stripped and were only handed their clothes as they walked through. They kept the groups to no larger than four. Wallace insisted on watching each of them go and kept a count as they did. To Bastian’s eye, he was deep in thought as he counted.

When the last man had gone through, Equestria was free from invaders for the nonce. The Gate was open to any who had survived and wanted to go back to Earth. Bastian made the first trip and, to his distaste, glued himself to the news.

It didn’t take long. That night, Wallace appeared on all channels. Down in Washington, President Steuben watched with his staff. The initial briefings he had laid out the situation in Wallace’s succinct style: we lost, but they lost worse. He expected a reiteration of that in the conference as he raised the volume.

“Thank you for listening. I’m here to report on our efforts to reclaim the lost citizens known as the enhanced bronies. As some of you may know, they profess a strong desire to remain in their new land, despite all the damage done here at home. And so it is that they fought valiantly and bravely in defense. Nonetheless, our armed forces were able to enter and, without any casualties, destroy the infrastructure. A second incursion will be necessary, but there is no doubt as to its outcome.”

Bastian, watching from his home, swallowed and got ready to head to the Gate with the news as Wallace continued.

“But if that second incursion occurs, I will not be there to lead it. As of this moment, I am resigning my commission in the United States Army.”

Steuben stood up. “What the hell?!”

“While in that other land, I witnessed things I’d never seen before. Not only breaches of the laws of physics, but people acting contrary to every known psychology of war. The Equestrians are not our enemies, and if we make them so, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of history. Still, that is for you to decide, as I am no longer in charge of this.”

In the White House, Steuben reached for a phone to call the networks. “We’ve got to cut him off.”

His chief of staff shook his head. “Can’t do that. Makes you look like the bad guy. And some schmuck with a cell phone will have the rest on the internet in ten minutes. Plus I think he’s done.”

Indeed, Wallace was walking off camera despite the reporters pestering him with questions. He got into his car and drove away, fast enough that none of the reporters could keep up.

The reaction on the news sites was overwhelming, particularly when someone added up the amount of pay the incursion force needed for the time spent and posted it on a blog at the New York Times. By midnight, Steuben’s approval rating was hovering around single digits. He stayed up late with his staff drafting the resolution against further hostilities.

Bastian, of course, knew none of the private details, but he could still tell which way the wind was blowing. With no need to sleep, he continued monitoring the news web sites into the night. He also packed a bag. As the sun was coming up, he headed for the Gate.

In his mind he was putting together what he would say to Princess Celestia, and so he almost missed the hooded figure also heading to Equestria. He was so preoccupied that he didn’t think it odd that another would be returning through that gate, but when the other fellow said, “Excuse me,” Bastian recognized the accent.

“General Wallace?”

“Justin, now. Not a general anymore.”

“What are you doing here?”

Instead of responding, Wallace lifted the waistband of his hoodie and turned around. Bastian could not mistake the two budding wings growing from his upper back.

“Didn’t want to let anyone know,” he said. “In the first place, it might damage the peace that will occur if some people think I’ve gone over to the other side. In the second, the head of the Air Force would never let me live it down.”

They both had a good laugh over that, then walked through the Gate.

Once on the other side, Wallace headed off in a different direction, but he turned back and said, “Oh, one more thing I wanted to mention. Colonel Stone, the one you told me about, was court-martialed for failing to disclose vital information to his superior in a combat situation. He’ll see some time in Kansas.”

“Was that what brought you over?”

“Somewhat. You make a persuasive argument.”

“And you have those as well,” said Bastian, pointing at Wallace’s wings.

“They didn’t start until after I made my decision.”

Bastian nodded, and they went their separate ways.

Back in the castle, he reported the good news to Celestia. “There is still some work to be done. It is now when we must send ambassadors to work out a permanent peace treaty, but we will be able to dictate the terms so long as we aren’t too greedy.”

Grinning, she penned a proclamation to be sent out to all ponies and humans.

“But do not send it yet,” she said to her scribe. “There is one who, above all, deserves to know our good fortune before anypony else.” She climbed the stairs to Luna’s chamber.

Luna had laid out Olivia’s body on her bed, and kept her head with its flowing mane draped over the child’s heart. At hearing Celestia enter, she opened her eye, but did not move her head.

“It is done, and we have won.”

Luna exhaled. “Then it was all worth it.”

“Was it? What cost have we paid?”

“Perhaps less than you think. Tell me, what is the good of having two princesses?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Luna shifted slightly, but still kept her close contact. “Deep within the Canterlot archives, there are spells that are forbidden for most ponies to read. It would do you ill to be aware of them, for nopony who rules should have that much power. But for a younger sister, a regent such as myself, it can be trusted to me, since you will always be there to control me at need. One such spell may let us speak to our friends again.”

“Are you saying you can reverse death?”

“Strictly speaking, no. A pony called Twilight Sparkle died, and a human called Lisa Chang died. But the friendship of Twilight and Lisa is immortal, and can be restored. Same with Rainbow Dash and Luke, and so on. I will return to Ponyville and use the spell, but the consequences afterward…the humans and the ponies will not be able to go very far from each other. They may be privy to one another’s thoughts. But they will be alive.

“And this is why I have asked you to leave the site of the battlefield alone. They could not be separated, and so returning the humans would not be an option. But of course, who among them would want to be resurrected knowing that we would not be free and victorious?”

Celestia was stunned. “Why couldn’t you tell me?”

“It is one of the spells that can only be used once. With all of the friends we have lost over the years, would you have withheld it until now?”

Luna leaned her head down and flashed her magic. Gently, Olivia’s body was lifted onto Luna’s back. Her wings spread.

“You mean to bring back Olivia as well?” said Celestia. “Then that means?”

“Yes. You are quick on the uptake, as I knew you would be. I must return to the battlefield, and die with my people, if I am to be reborn for the new Equestria.”

Celestia watched as her sister, who she had swore to protect and avenge, sought her own end. As she reached the sky, she looked to the East and raised the moon. Then, slowly but determinedly, she flew back toward Ponyville.

A few minutes later, a light the color of Luna’s mane spread across the horizon and collapsed into a point.

Comments

[TheMainManeMaineBrony]

Wow. Just. Freakin. Wow.

*steadily rising applause*

*standing ovation*

[tsaukpaetra]

Almost expected that. Glad you did it tactfully.