A Pre-Equestrian Tale - The Legend Of The Crimson Fields

The Legend Of The Crimson Fields

Chapter 2 - Campfire Chatter

With a heavy sigh Sidus´ flanks dropped themselves on a toppled tree´s trunk next to one of the multiple warm camp fires.

After the battle against the earth ponies was won, they quickly buried their fallen comrades and waited for the main force to catch up with them.

General Hoarse Throat - a bulky stallion with light red coat, dark brown mane and a voice that could challenge even the loudest organ the musicians´ guild could provide - insisted to set up the camp a few clearings away from the battlefield to nurse the wounded and reorganize the troops...

...and of course to gather the ones surviving the attack and 'evaluate' their performances.

Sid´s ears still rang from that 'evaluation'. Twenty-three survivors out of fifty fighters of  course were far from a satisfactory result. Mathematical facts and statistics, created by the best of their military scientists said - regarding the advance in technology and fighting skills and added with the unicorn´s natural magical advantage - that any battle with a bigger force of Unicorn Knights than earth ponies should be a victory with at most five percent of lost soldiers.

So twenty-seven out of fifty against forty earth ponies was a tad out of these theoretical statistics.

But praxis and theory never went together hoof in hoof.

Though, their general seemed convinced otherwise, as he had made them clear.

But nopony saw this attack coming.

Most expected the earth ponies to cower at the sight of their shining armors, to hide and gather in greater numbers and fight them in a final huge, bloody battle. Alas, it looked like they had forgotten the earth ponies´ stubbornness and their proud for their holy landmarks. How did the unicorns ever dare to assume the enemy would just give in and leave their home to the intruders?

It at least would be the most intelligent way to act for them, regarding the circumstances.

But the biggest surprise was the fact that they assaulted at night. It was very unusual for earth ponies to attack and fight in the dark hours.

Of course, it was the perfect time for ambushes.

The unicorns´ vision had been limited and it was true luck that Sidus saw the hidden pony´s arrow tip reflecting the moon´s light. Without his immediate warning, they all would be dead now. And his General, furious as he may was, made sure to not only give him an approving clap on the shoulder but highlight Sid´s matchless attention for his surroundings and the fact that he also eliminated the enemy´s leader.

He was the hero of the day!

...Or night, whatever.

But Sidus wasn´t really in the mood to celebrate it.

His brain was occupied with other things while he observed intently the surface of the water-thinned wine in his mug reflecting the warm dancing flames. Somewhere in the distance the soft notes of a lute tried to ease everypony´s mind, casting away the troubling thoughts of camping in a dark forest on the enemies territory, ready to be surrounded and attacked from ambush. Again.

The General also had revealed some very disturbing news regarding the enemy´s weapons, more specific the material they were made of:

Lead.

It wasn´t a very special metal. It wasn´t especially hard or resistive, and viewed in this light pretty much useless for weapons and armors.

But for unicorns it was the most loathed thing in the whole wide world, the most cursed gift 'Mother Nature' - as the earth ponies called their patron saint and wretched founder of their existence - had given to them!

That was because it defied any magical power´s grip and blocked the magical streams inside the body of any unicorn. Gashes, normally easy to heal with a quick spell, denied to do so as long as the dreadful metal was still within.

Any magical being feared it. Flesh scorched at its touch. Blood vaporized instantly. And whoever got lucky enough to survive an attack with the cursed metal earned a scar far worse than anyone could imagine.

Sidus saw it only once. He still shuddered at the memory.

That day, his mentor Sir Galvain taught him about the loathed gift of nature. He showed him the scar across his abdomen, normally hidden by his surcoat. Back then he fought not to throw up from the sight, that ugly dark red stria! It looked like somepony tried to deliquesce a part out of his body and did a very lousy job.

Many brave knights in history perished miserably this way, the despised lead eating away their powers bit by bit without any hope for them to ever mend.

Several times in the recent battle Sidus narrowly escaped being stricken by some arrow or sword or axe made of this devilish creation.

His head rose and beheld the breathtaking display of glittering stars and the crescentic moon above, unspoiled and in all their glory. His eyes closed and his lips began to move. Praying to the moon was a rite as old as his tribe´s existence. The moon was what called them into the world. It was the father of the unicorns, giver of their strength and powers.

Everything happened in its will.

And its children knelt before it in awe.

His prayer eventually ended, and Sid promised that he would immolate something to the moon as soon as he found a fitting sacrifice to offer and had some time for himself.

But not now.

There was still another thing on his mind that disturbed him.

Thoughtful his gaze wandered back to the flickering red and yellow flames in front of him, hoping they would set his soul at peace again...

"Well, well, if that isn´t our 'hero of the night'!"

The sudden shout and a quite forceful slap on his back stopped Sid´s mind instantly in its tracks, primary because he just took a sip from his wine and now tried desperately to cough the liquid out of his lungs.

"Tell me, what in all the stars´ names are you doing here, all by yourself and making a face as if the fairest mare in the world agreed to a nice roll in the hay with you and then just vanished the moment you turn around to lead her to the empty barn that´s just around the corner!"

Oblivious to his struggles, the knight who had appeared behind him seated himself next to him. With a final cough Sid looked up at the stallion:

"And if that isn´t Eagle Eye, the old bastard!" Sid answered, wiping the remains of wine from his lips with a hoof. "Was that one of your 'true' mare experiences?"

"You bet your flanks! You should have seen her! A coat as white as snow and a mane as black as ebony and lips as red as the blood in our veins...And curves as perfect and alluring as the moon´s roundness!" Eagle answered, flashing Sid his typical broad  'I´m so totally making this up, and know you know, but also know you know it still could have happened'-smile. Sidus prompt countered with his own 'I am absolutely not buying any of this'-smirk, topped off with a raised eyebrow.

Both managed to keep up their expressions for two seconds more, then helplessly burst into giggles.

Eagle Eye was, up to this point, Sidus´ oldest and most loyal friend he ever had. Additionally, he was his only true friend. It wasn´t that he had problems making other friends, no, but he didn´t truly need more. The hazel stallion always gave him a feeling of home and safety. After all, they knew each other since they were naught but little foals.

Eagle´s usually short ivory mane now ran half-way down his neck, thanks to the absence of a barber in their unit. It was no question that the lean stallion didn´t like it. He permanently struggled to keep the long wisps out of his name-giving sharp golden eyes, occasionally trying to clip them behind his ears without success.

"Alright, now, aside from that senseless old mares´ tale-reference...when did you learn to sneak up on ponies like that? Do you secretly take lessons from the dips? And by the way..." he glanced at his empty mug, turning it upside down for emphasis "...you owe me a wine."

"You know as well as me where I learned that..."

"Sure I know..."

He was right. they both practically grew up on the streets of Moonflower.

Neither of them got to know their parents. They only knew what was told them.

Sidus was a crossbreed, a bastard. While his mother was a sophisticated unicorn his father had been a despised brash and barbaric pegasus. And in a time where distrust between the tribes ruled, it was an outright scandal. He could be grateful his mother hoofed him off to the local orphanage than leaving him somewhere in the woods to starve or become food of the wild animals.

Eagle´s story wasn´t very different from his. His parents he never got to know. His mother was a tail-lifter, a simple whore. His father...it wasn´t that hard to figure out. That was all there needed to be said. He was brought to the same orphanage, where they soon became friends - mostly because nopony of the other orphans wanted to have to do anything with 'the crossbreed' and 'the whoreson' as they simply called them.

Trying to repress further thoughts about these old times, Sidus shook his head. Life wasn´t very easy back then. They practically had nothing and stole what they needed, more than once escaping the chasing guards by a mere hair´s breadth.

"And about that wine: If my memory doesn´t lie to me, I´d say you owe me your life, remember? For saving you from that ugly stallion and actually giving you the chance to strike down their leader? I think we are more than quit."

Eagle had a point there. It indeed had been the stallion with an eagle´s pate for a Cutie Mark who saved him from a split head in the recent battle.

"You´re right. And I think I don´t need to tell you how grateful I am. Though, something tells me you didn´t come to me just to rub my nose in that. What´s the true reason you´re here for?"

"Just wanted to talk to my friend, that´s all..."

He earned a lifted eyebrow for that answer. 'Really?' it asked.

"...and...maybe to ask you if you´re up for a visit to the mares´ tent." he added,  a roguish grin spreading on his lips.

"Knew it!" Sid exclaimed.

Out of all places in the camp, the mares´ tent was what one could call Eagles´ second home. It was more likely to find him there, cuddled up next to one or between multiple of the slinky mares. Of course Sid wouldn´t blame his friend for that. Why should he? This was, after all, spirit and purpose of a brothel afield. Every stallion had his needs. And the possibility to satisfy them kept the troop´s morale high.

The mares didn´t even charge very much for their services since the Empire paid parts of their fee. Where he knew that? Well, of course he made use of the mares´ services once or twice, too. Not quite that often than Eagle, mind you! No pony - at least no pony he knew - had such a...drive.

Also, contrary to past times, today there wasn´t any risk of getting one of the mares pregnant. A new spell developed by Moonflower´s new court magician - a talented youngster by the name 'Starswirl' - prevented it from happening without any impairments of the...fun part of reproduction.

Primary the spell was created to control the birthrate of the unicorns on behalf of their beloved King. Thanks to the loathed earth ponies who sold their foods at exorbitant prices it was hard to feed an empire twice as big as theirs. King Bullion even issued a new law which forced ponies that produced more than one offspring to pay high dues to hedge the import of new food - which was even more expensive thanks to the war.

The empire now had to buy it from special merchants at insanely high prices.

At this rate the unicorns soon would only have the grass growing on their hills´ meadows if nothing changed.

"Well? What do you say?"

Oh, right. Eagle still waited for his answer...

"I´m sorry. It´s an interesting offer and I´d love to accept it, but the General assigned me to a solo mission. Just some scouting. Trying to find the village those earth ponies came from. Looking for possible traps. Nothing very special."

"Seems that squaller´s got some trust in you." Eagle elbowed him. "Don´t ruin it, maybe he´ll promote you. When will you leave?"

"In the morning. After Moonfall-ritual."

Eagle frowned. "That´s in a few hours."

"Exactly. And I wanted to catch some sleep till I have to leave."

With that he rose from his seat, yawned and turned around to head for his tent.

"Sorry I can´t accompany you. Maybe at our next encampment. Good night and have fun..."

"...Stop."

The word froze the leaving stallion in his tracks. Did Eagle just sound...serious? He was never serious unless something important was up.

Eagle continued when he noticed that he got his attention:

"What is it that is troubling you?"

For a moment there was silence safe for the flame´s crackling and the distant chatters from the other camp fires. The lute´s calming song had long since passed away. During the entire conversation Sidus had hoped Eagle wouldn´t notice his inner distress. Alas, his friend got a pair of sharp eyes in more than one way. Since denying probably wouldn´t work on Eagle - or anypony in general  thanks to Sid´s miserable skills at lying - he decided to be honest with him. That was, after all, what friends would do anyway.

"I was thinking...We are knights, are we?"

There was no vocal answer, just a nod.

"So...we follow the knights´ code, right?"

One of Eagle´s eyebrows rose.

"Yeah...What is your point?"

Sidus heaved a sigh, contemplating his next words before he continued:

"Well, I thought: Since we are following the knights´ code, it includes that we have to respect everypony´s last wish, right? Well...What if that pony was your enemy and his last wish was to tell his foal one last time that he loves it?"

Some more silence filled the air after these words until finally Eagle decided to break it, a frown adorning his face.

"I guess that pony you mean is that earth pony-leader?"

This time, it was Sid´s turn to nod.

"That´s strange. I thought you´d hate the earth ponies. So why do you even care for this single stallion´s last wish? He wasn´t the only one you killed and you don´t seem to care very much about these others either."

"I do hate the earth ponies! Don´t you even dare question my loyalty to our king! It´s just...I´m loyal to the moon as well. It knows about every single sin of mine. The knights´ code is a result of the rules it gave to us. Breaking it...I fear for my soul! I don´t want it to be thrown into the sun and burn for all eternity."

It was a long pause that followed before Eagle finally answered, looking straight into his eyes.

"You do make a pretty good point there. Though, I think you should reconsider it. Sure, the moon knows about all our sins against its rules. But it also knows about the circumstances coming with them. And there are two facts that speak for you. Fact one: That last wish belonged to an earth pony. The moon´s archenemies. They turned their backs on it and its rules to worship that heathen bitch."

"I know, but the moon punished their betrayal already. It stripped them of their magic and their connection to it. I can´t withhold them the right to their last wish only to punish them further. I would take the moon´s law into my own hooves! It would be an even bigger sin!"

"...So we are coming to fact two: You have no idea who his foal is, what it looks like, you don´t even know its gender. How are you supposed to deliver a message to somepony you know nothing about? Even the moon should know that that´s a pretty impossible task."

"But a task nonetheless. And you know the moon and the stars always guide our ways. If they want me to deliver that message, they´ll sure find a way for me to do so..."

"...You did that stargaze-thing again, huh?"

It wasn´t much of a question. It was a statement. Either way, Sidus had to nod.

"Since we marched off from Moonflower, every night the stars tell me the same story, show me the same pattern: The Maiden gazes upon the Star of Birth."

He pointed out the two respective things at the starry sky.

The first, The Maiden, was a constellation of eleven stars shaped like a mare with a tucked tail - a sign of a shame and abstinence only a virgin possessed.  The Star of Birth was the brightest star enlightening the heavens above, always adorning the centrum of the dark night sky.

Legends said the moon once used its power to create the very first ponies. No pony knew if this story was true, but the unicorns believed in it, nothing else mattered.

"...That is all?"

Sid flashed his friend a grin.

"Yes, that´s all. Believe it or not, but even the stars can be very taciturn. It is our fate to read and understand their 'words' - well, mostly mine." He tapped his armor where it hid his Cutie Mark for emphasis.

"And what is it they are telling you this time?"

"I have no idea!" Sidus deadpanned. "It´s pretty hard to truly understand the stories they tell. Sometimes, I get a feeling, a slight hint of what may lies in the future. Another night, I can understand their meaning like the words written in our books. And yet another time, I´ll only truly understand their story the moment it comes true.

This seems to become one of the latter. Or maybe there´s somewhere a mare that´ll give birth while still being a virgin."

"Oh, come on now. This is plain ridiculous!"

"In a world guided by the moon and the stars, nothing is impossible. Remember that my dear friend. Everything happens in their will. There is no escape from our fates. And whoever leaves this destined path will perish at the try..."

Both took one long last look at the glittering display above them, each stallion lost in his own thoughts. Eventually, Sidus spoke one last silent prayer before he addressed his friend again:

"I´ll go to bed now. Thank you for listening to my problems, I really needed that. Maybe I just have to have more trust into the fate the moon chose for me. As long as I let it guide me, it sure will keep me on the right path.

"No need to thank me. It was only my duty as a good friend." Eagle said with a smile. "Sleep tight, Sid!"

"Goodnight, Eagle! I wish you much fun with the mares!"

"Don´t worry, I´ll have it!"