Shining Judgment
by: Bad_Company
Cover image is from Equestria-Prevails on deviantArt
Shining Armor sat at his command post staring out at the valley below. It was not a pleasing sight. The main body of More Dread's legions covered several large fields. Even at this distance he could tell Dread's army was very well organized. The straight regular gaps through each line of soldiers which would allow for better maneuverability and allow more efficient supply transport and quicker movement of messages. This was not the rag tag mob that the nobles back in Canterlot had led him to believe.
Smaller groups of troops were scattered far across the landscape that were sent to forage for food and water. The moving black mass of men sort of reminded Shining of a horde of black ants crawling around disposed food. He didn't know how many of them there were, but the original estimate of fifty thousand now seemed a huge error in counting.
It was his duty to now be seemingly fearless to his men. Yet, looking down at the long sloping field he could not help but notice his own lines were very thin in comparison. The horde below was beyond just ominous. More Dread had more experience in warfare than Shining, but he had hoped that reading the mass amount of military books his sister lent him would give him an edge.
“Colonel Armor, how do you want the regiments deployed?” asked Major Snow his adviser and close friend.
Shining racked his mind for some sort of formation that would give him the edge over the mass below. There were times where it didn't matter how damned skilled you were, you just couldn't win. Armor was beginning to fear that this was one of those times, but if he fell here, More Dread's forces would be within striking distance of many of Equestria's smaller towns including where his sister now lived. He did not want to imagine his sister at More Dread's mercy. His judgment call could mean everything right now.
“Okay, so I need infantry deployed on double line to either side of that milestone. Light cavalry will be in the trees there. Heavy cavalry needs to be in a wedge on the far flank where they will also be able to use the open field to their advantage. I want archers in a single line behind any sort of cover. If we can raise a barrier closer to the edge of the hill, that would be ideal. I want the archers hidden at first from the enemy and also have them be able to give them plunging fire from the high ground. I want pegasi defenders close to us so we don't get bombarded by whatever they've got. I want pegasi bombing squads to stick close to us too so if their infantry or cavalry start getting too close, we can hit them hard. Any questions?”
“No, sir,” said Major Snow who turned to give the orders to the regiments.
He was trying to use advice from every military book Twilight had ever gave him. He had studied them long and hard. If they helped him achieve victory here he may as well give any sort of medal he earned to her. Something told him the tactics alone wouldn't be enough. Every other battle in history he'd read about could easily be won with shear numbers alone. There was one story though that inspired him greatly: It was about three hundred pegasi warriors who defeated twenty thousand griffin warriors back in antiquity. It was most likely inaccurate, but telling the men this story boosted their morale and that's what he needed right now, not historical accuracy.
“Very thorough, Colonel,” a voice said behind him. He turned and saw the rich unicorn and his wife who had come with them to offer moral support and donate food to the troops. Fancypants was his name and Shining forgot his wife's name which was a shame, she was quite a beauty. “Didn't even take you less than a minute to figure out where you want your men. Most impressive.”
“Thanks, Mr. Pants. The Equestrian army appreciates you and your lovely wife's support toward our cause,” Shining replied. He was genuinely grateful the rich guy was here, he and his wife had been talking to and giving moral support to every soldier there. Damn fine mare and gentlecolt both.
The Wonderbolts had shown up too to boost morale. They weren't fighters but if they boosted his troops' morale, Shining didn't care. He had made good friends with one named Soarin'. The kid had a strange fixation on pies though. One of the other ones, Spitfire, had been acting a little too flirty with the colonel so he had been avoiding her for a bit.
Shining paced back and forth. The sun was beginning to show through the mountains. It would have been a beautiful day that the colonel would look forward to if it hadn't been for the dark work laid out before him.
Just then a few small dots that detached itself from the teeming mass started moving up the hill toward them. He could just barely make out the flag of parley that waved in the air above them. Major Snow approached Shining.
“Heh, maybe we scared them a bit when we got in formation.” He grinned down at the approaching soldiers. He looked back over at Shining. “Well colonel, do you have the terms you're going to lay down for them.”
Shining took the scroll from his desk in his tent. “I doubt Dread will accept them considering what he wants, but it never hurts to try. I want two pegasi archers covering me and two unicorn spearmen for bodyguards.” More Dread was usually honorable in military conduct, but there's a first time for everything.
For a supposed ugly, old tyrant, there was nothing old or ugly about him. He stood calmly before Shining on the field. A rather handsome face outside of his terrifying helmet, he had a black coat with gray eyes. He sported heavy black armor covering the rest of his body. The earth pony began to grin at Shining as he approached.
“So you are currently Equestria's man of the hour, eh? Ah but where are my manners. I am Prince More Dread, rightful ruler to Equestria and I have chosen to speak to you on behalf of my troops.”
“I am honored your highness,” Shining spoke carefully. If there was any chance he could save everyone a lot of bloodshed today, it would be through flattery. “I am Colonel Shining Armor and I currently speak on behalf of the Equestrian army.”
More Dread surveyed the Equestrian forces above. Shining could not help but get the niggling feeling that he was picking apart every flaw that he had with his army. Shining stared back at the mass behind the prince. He had never been up against anything like this in his life.
“So, I take it you are here to fight?”
“I have come to either fight or negotiate. Preferably the latter.” Shining cleared his throat and prepared to make his statement. “Equestria, while not supporting your claim to the throne, agrees that you have legitimate demands. The House of Nobles has instructed me to offer you concessions.” He offered the scroll over to Dread. He opened it and began to read. The more he read, the more amused he looked.
“How cute. I would find these terms insulting if they weren't so funny. Do they honestly believe that I would accept these?”
Shining searched for the appropriate phrasing of what he was about to say. “I did not write these terms, but if you will wait and let me send word to the council, they could meet with you and possibly set up an appropriate negot-”
More Dread came closer to the colonel. “You are the little mediator aren't you? You like to flap your lips more than you do fight.” The prince turned back towards his army. “You see that? Among those legions are dragons, diamond dogs, griffins, pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, oh and did I mention I have dragons? Because I have a lot of those. Do you honestly think the Equestrian council has any right to be setting terms for me?”
Dread turned back toward Shining and gave the soldiers on the hill a second glance. “Here's the deal. I know you don't want to fight. I can see it in your eyes, colonel. You don't want to be presiding over one of the largest massacres in history because 'colossal defeat' won't even describe what you are going to suffer if we fight. So here's what I am offering: You and your legions defect to our side. If you defect, this all but guarantees Equestria will surrender. Do you understand what this means?”
Shining gathered up his courage and responded. “It means I would be a traitor to her highness.” Though he had an idea of what Dread was really trying to offer him...
“No, colonel, it means no hellfire or arrows raining down on your towns and cities, it means not having to protect your citizens from countryside raiders, it means not having to allocate all your resources to the military. It means I'm giving you a chance to save countless lives. It means peace, colonel.”
That's exactly what Shining had feared. He didn't want to think of all the innocent people running and screaming as cavalry bore down on and slaughtered them. He imagined his sister, Twilight, galloping for her life as dragon's fire set to engulf her. His parents back in Canterlot trying to escape a tower about to fall on them. The soldier's families who would never see their loved ones again.
Then he imagined taking up More Dread's offer. Shining would be spat on and reviled by everyone he knew and history would remember him as a coward and a traitor. His sister would be shamed and hated by all of her friends. His family name would be forever soiled and his parents wouldn't even be able to look him in the eye. Worst of all, he imagined Princess Celestia and Luna being taken by More Dread's soldiers and either executed or thrown in the dungeon and all those loyal to her as well.
“Are you awake, colonel?” More Dread's question snapped Shining back into reality. He looked back at his army and then back at More Dread's in the distance. He needed time to think all of this through. He made a valiant effort of keeping his composure.
“Well, that's quite an offer your highness. Would you let me think on it for a moment?” He stared off into the distance.
“You can have a whole day to think about it, I know it's a huge weight I have set on your shoulders,” More Dread said in a soothing tone. “I will return in the morning to hear your answer.” And with that he trotted off back toward his lines.
Shining looked back at his line, any hope of reinforcements arriving within a day was slim at best. The field marshal and his generals were back managing the defenses of Equestria so there was no point in requesting reinforcements as they would arrive too late anyhow. Dread had backed him into a corner.
The wind blew through Major Snow's hair. He could hear crows off in the distance as he slogged his way through the marsh. He never felt so low in his life. A laugh escaped him as he slipped into a sinkhole. The situation was so ridiculous at this point it just seemed funny.
“Major, would you slow down a bit so I can help Fleur across this?” Fancypants asked politely. He was still at the bank while his wife simply looked at disgust towards the murky water. Fancypants had Fleur climb on top of him while he trudged through the marsh. Snow had to give him credit, he was a lot stronger than he looked.
Meanwhile the two Wonderbolts waited on the other side of the bank. “Sorry about making you do this,” Spitfire called out to them. “We'd help carry you over but I don't think I could do it by myself.”
Not as sorry as I am. Major Snow thought. Spitfire's partner, Soarin' had damaged his wing when he had crashed after he had tried taking a griffon on by himself. Thankfully he had landed across the marsh which was the direction they needed to go.
All of them had finally crossed over to the other bank and Snow took out the map. “Let's see, we can avoid the enemy lines if we head northwest, but it's a long detour and the colonel doesn't want us to waste time.” To be honest, Snow thought this whole trek was a waste of time.
The colonel had come back from the negotiations with a grim look on his face. He had ordered Major Snow to send a message to his friend, Princess Cadence, whose country was very close by to the battlefield. He wanted it to be kept secret and he wanted it done swiftly. “She's our only hope at this point,” Shining had said. “You need to get to her within the next twenty-four hours. We can hold out for a day or two if needs be, but it is imperative we have reinforcements from her. Do you understand?” The Major followed orders eagerly although he wondered what the colonel had been told at the negotiations and why the fighting hadn't started.
Snow didn't know why he couldn't just send a damn pegasi squad to just fly over to her at the time. However, he found out the hard way when he had sent Soarin' to scout out the land ahead and a griffin attacked him. Now it seemed Snow had instead taken four bricks with him instead of just two. He wished he could have taken a squad of real soldiers, but he knew the colonel needed every soldier he could get at the moment.
So it all depended on this Princess Cadence. A Princess from the neighboring country who had almost little to no ties to Equestria beyond Shining Armor coming to visit her once. Did she even have an army? Let alone one big enough that could put them on even grounds against More Dread's forces?
Fancypants had insisted he helped escort Snow over to the border while the colonel had requested the two Wonderbolts come with him as well. The pegasi could have been useful to him or so he thought. The two unicorns would have been utterly useless if they encountered any of the enemy soldiers though despite both being given weapons of some sort. He doubted any of them even knew a sword from a stick.
Suddenly, he heard hooves approaching him from the trees. “Allo? Who goes there?” An accented voice asked. It sounded as though he was from Fancy. That probably meant he was a mercenary.
Snow turned and responded with the best lie he could think up. “We are just out for a... um a stroll.”
“What? In the middle of a war zone?” Asked the voice from the woods. “State your real business here. You with Prince Dread or are you Equestrian scum?” Now Snow knew which side the mercenary was on and that he could not let whoever that was get away from him. He ripped his sword of its sheath with his mouth.
“Come out where I can see you Fancy frog-eating coward! You're on our side of the DMZ, you should be the one answering my questions,” Snow yelled back in the most threatening voice he could make.
“Um, be careful there my good man. There could be more than one of him in that forest,” Fancypants said to the major. “Last thing we need is to be captured.”
“NO ONE CALLS A FANCYMAN A COWARD!” A blue unicorn with a brown mane stepped out from the woods and drew a rapier with his magic. Five other soldiers stepped out with him. “Let's see if these pigs squeal.” The other men drew their swords as well.
“I'll skewer the lot of ya!” Snow was really angry, he had been having an awful day and he was not about to let some mercenary scum take him down.
“Gentlemen please. We can settle this a proper way,” said Fancypants calmly as he came between Snow and the mercs. “I propose we have a duel.” This was actually incredibly smart thinking, Snow realized. Stallions from Fancy prided themselves in fencing and would never turn down a proper duel. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea having the unicorn after all.
The Fancyman stroked his spaded beard with his hoof. “A duel you say? Well of course I accept. Which one of you Equestrian bastards will be getting a bite from my hungry blade today?”
“I will be fighting you of course,” Fancypants replied. “After all I proposed the duel.”
“What are you doing?” Snow asked in disbelief. “Let me handle this, I don't want you to get killed!”
“Nonsense, major, I was the fencing champion back in my day,” Fancy replied in his usual calm tone. “They knew my name in all the fencing circles back in Fancy and Canterlot.”
“Ah says who?” Asked the mercenary leader. “Wait, are you THE legendary Fancypants? The one who defeated Laura Flessel-Clopvic?”
“I am the very same,” Fancypants replied pridefully. He drew his own rapier that the colonel had given him.
“Well then I accept your challenge with gusto, my friend. I am Gaston de Neigh and I am one of the field captains for Prince Dread's mercenaries. However, after this duel, I expect I will be the general.”
“Be careful, dear,” Fleur urged Fancypants and then hugged and kissed him. “I know you will do well!”
“Let's waste no time then,” said Fancypants. “Show me when you are ready, Captain de Neigh.”
Gaston lunged with his rapier at Fancypants. Pants parried the first cut and ducked under the second and rolled out of the way. He came up into a crouch readying his sword. Snow's jaw simply dropped.
“Captain, I'm afraid your promotion will most likely have to wait. You seem like quite the amateur.” Fancypants chuckled as he paced into the center of the bank.
“I was only warming up you idiot.” Gaston wiped the sweat from his brow. “You look like you're getting slower with age though.”
Fancypants then got a devilish grin on his face. “Why don't you come find out?”
Gaston sprang forward and their blades met together. The metal rang as they scraped together. Fancypants flicked away a jab, but another one came very quickly behind it he only just got out of the way as the blade punched a hole in his muddy vest.
Fancypants looked down at it and frowned. “I don't appreciate people ruining my nice clothes. Mud I can take. But holes are a different matter.”
“If I were you, I'd be a little less worried about my suit and more about my head falling off.” The captain circled him.
Fancypants feinted left then went the other way and left the captain lunging at nothing. Gaston was quick, but not enough so to avoid the point of Fancypants' sword leaving a scratch across his shoulder.
Gaston looked down at the wound, then summoned up his rage and lunged some more. Fancypants twirled his sword and parried once again. Their swords rang together as each one jabbed, cut, and parried the other. The captain managed to trick him with a feint, switched angle and forced Fancypants to hop away rather ungracefully.
“I take back what I said about you being an amateur.” Fancypants grinned as he panted. The stallion had forgotten how much work this swordplay business required. His lungs were burning and his legs were aching.
“And I take back about you having age get to you.” Gaston then cut at him as hard as he could, jarring the sword in Fancypants' control. “ But you being in peak form will make my victory all the sweeter.”
Fancypants riposted the captain's next effort. Gaston barely dodged Fancy's sword and stumbled a bit. In a desperate attempt, the captain then lunged as hard as he could at Fancypants who then dropped beneath the blade and jabbed his own sword right before the captain's neck.
“I suggest you yield now,” said Fancypants in his usual polite tone. Gaston stared down at the sword looming threateningly at his neck. He dropped his sword.
The ponies watching the exhibition were all staring wide-eyed at the two duelists completely in disbelief. Snow still wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. Gaston then approached the major.
“Well, as the duelist code dictates, the victor who spares the loser's life gets to decide the terms for the defeated and he has deferred me to you. So what would you have me do?” He had a sour look on his face. Clearly none too happy about his defeat. Fancypants then followed up after him still smiling.
“I suggest that you make them escort us to our destination, major.” Then he went back over to his wife who once again hugged and kissed him.
Major Snow stared for a moment, regained his composure and then replied. “I think I will go with the victor's suggestion, Captain.” Gaston then turned around, yelled to his soldiers in the Fancy language and picked up his sword and sheathed it angrily. The rest of Snow's group followed after them.
Snow stared there for a minute. He had been completely wrong about the unicorn from Canterlot. Hell, he would probably be able to pick up a few pointers from the man. Maybe this mission would succeed after all. The major also realized how dumb and brash he had been. If he had been on his own and charged the mercenaries himself, he would have been killed. He then trotted after the group and went up to Fancypants.
“Hey listen, I'm sorry,” the major said sheepishly.
Fancypants looked at him in surprise. “Whatever for my good lad?”
“Well I mean, if I had charged and tried to fight them all and all that... well that could have you know, put us in a lot of danger...” Snow replied staring down at the ground.
Fancy gave him a warm smile back. “It's all right. I was the same way when I was as young as you. One day, you'll grow up to be as good of a leader as Shining Armor.”
Snow smiled at that and felt a little better. He looked up at the sky and realized the sun was beginning to set. He hoped that they would make it in time to Princess Cadence.
