The Runners

by Hope

Scout duty

When I awake, the princess has left to begin the fight.

My orders sit in a satchel in the corner, and I commit them to memory before burning them in the flame of a candle.

I stretch my legs and make my way out of the camp.

My one great weakness is I can carry no supplies with me. If I am carrying something small like a scroll, I must keep it in my magic at all times or it becomes visible.

I've always wondered what it must be like to not see me, am I a ripple in the air? Am I a missed sight on the edge of a pony’s vision?

I hope I never know.

The orders had outlined the planned battleground and the landmarks we hoped to use to our advantage. As I make my way southeast of the current battleground, the sounds of war fade.

This nearly peaceful land is covered in low shrubs and wild grasses, the greenery interrupted occasionally by rocky outcroppings and trees.

This is the sort of land I grew up in, a rural part of Canterlot at the base of the mountain. I curse the day I ascended to the gilded towers above, sealing my fate.

My reverie ends as I reach the boundary of the land we seek to use, marked by a tree split in two by lightning.

I begin looking over the place, it is a wide swath of land in between a mountain ridge and the current battlefield, made all the more promising by its natural pitfalls to the west, which is where we hoped to push the Nightmare and her troops.

I check over the barely visible sinkholes, making sure that none of them have easy escape routes or vines hanging down.

As I look over the place, I start to hear noises approach from the northwest, likely Nightmare’s troops, taking advantage of our tight formation to sneak around towards Canterlot.

I make my way towards them, careful to keep to the grass where my hoofsteps are muffled. The group looks like they have seen better days, two unicorns and a pegasus in full regalia, marching blindly across the landscape towards the capital.

They look right through me as they pass, I can see the sweat on their brow I am so close.

“Iris, I have to stop. Please let me rest.” one of the unicorns begs the flying equine.

The pegasus doesn’t reply, she just keeps marching her group east.

I start to follow them. “Iris, please. What has gotten into you?” The tan unicorn grabbed at Iris’ tail with her teeth and in a flash she is on the ground, a wingblade at her neck.

“We must follow orders.” the flier growls.

I get close enough to see the panic in the unicorn’s purple eyes, and the dead unfeeling mind control in the pegasus’ green ones.

“Iris please...”

“We do not have time to rest. When we have taken the capital, we can rest.” Iris released her companion and stood, beginning her march once again.

The two unicorns don’t move, watching her walk.

My curse is, if I talk to them or help them, they will have to die to preserve the princess’ secret. I am a secret that can end lives by simply being brushed up against.

A few lucky souls have been sent to the vaults below Canterlot until the war is over, but these are enemy soldiers. Celestia is merciful, but not stupid.

I don’t have to intervene though, as the pegasus plunges through one of the sinkholes, taken by surprise too quickly to open her wings in time.

A brittle snap echoes through the still autumn air. Shortly afterwards, screams and sobs begin to echo up from the hole in the ground.

“M...Maria? Shade? Where are you? Where am I?”

Mind control cannot survive past trauma to the body, unfortunately. Freedom comes at a heavy price, in this case it is assuredly mind wrenching pain.

The two unicorns move to the edge of the hole and I watch for the better part of an hour as they calm their friend down and slowly levitate her out of the hole.

“We should defect. If the Nightmare was willing to send us on a death march, I... I don't think I can do this anymore. Not even if they have my dad.” Iris sobs.

They all agree and begin stripping their armor, preparing to go to our camp and surrender. This is what war does to ponies. It tears them apart and forces them to make decisions they never should have to make.

I leave their side as they start splinting the pegasus’ leg, and continue my survey.

The report I will give will outline the advantages of this place, and I will have to send a group to intercept and capture these defectors.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to work for such an evil creature. Nightmare Moon has brought evil to this world, the like of which has not been seen for countless years. I wander a bit further to the west and spot something in the distance that shimmers and draws my eye.

My meandering course takes me slowly towards the shine and soon I am able to make it out as a dragon. He is young, as dragons go, and decked out in armor. A scout, I would guess. He is shuffling through a sheaf of papers that seem to be his orders with the same lack of enthusiasm I watch with.

I move a bit closer to get a better look at what he is reading.

His orders are to deliver something to a contact outside of Canterlot after ensuring all three of those I had recently passed meet their end.

He has set his spear down next to him as he looks over his papers. He seems to be trying to figure out how he is supposed to kill 3 armed soldiers. Younger dragons are sticklers for detail and hate vague or incomplete orders, so they look for clarification on everything.

His spear vanishes from his sight. He doesn’t move but looks down at where it was.

I am lifting it slowly in my magic, high above his head. My eyes fill with tears as I prepare to do what I know must be done. The sound of snapping bone breaks the silence as the spear punctures his skull, and the dragon is no more. I gather everything of importance and depart, washing my hooves of another death that I can attribute to the evil of Nightmare Moon.