Convergence

Starblink slid out of his uniform, sighing.  Though he hadn’t been on the battlefield itself, He had carried out the tasks of coordinating an army spread over a twenty mile front.  Not to mention the inconvenient fact that the humans still hadn’t set up a very sensible chain of command.  And the even more inconvenient fact that every time he closed his eyes, he saw a certain white Alicorn staring back at him.

He had made mistakes today.  Mistakes that could have cost brave ponies their lives.  Starblink felt like punching himself in the face.

All because I can’t focus…

He glared at the face in his mirror.

I can’t keep doing this…

Starblink looked over to his uniform, eyeing the insignia of colonel on the right shoulder.  He was not fit for command, and for once, he felt like he couldn’t help it.  Starblink sighed, he couldn’t trust himself to command others in his current state.  He would have to report himself unfit.

His blood ran cold as he came to a sudden realization.  With Stronghorn dead, his direct superior officer was…

No…

He stared at the mirror again, his face pale.

Unfit for emotional reasons… emotional reasons… that’s all…

He gulped.  Suddenly, there was a knock at his door.

“Colonel Starblink!”

Starblink hurried over to the door, swinging it wide open.

“Yes?”

The messenger pony outside started talking;

“Princess Celestia… are you alright colonel?  Looks like you’ve seen a windigo.”

Starblink shook himself.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it.  What were you saying?”

The messenger eyed him questioningly for a moment, before shrugging.

“Princess Celestia has ordered that you see her immediately.”

What are the odds?

“I’ll be there immediately.”

<(^)>

The door to the command room opened slowly.  Celestia looked up from the map of Equestria as Starblink’s voice timidly sounded.

“You wanted to see me, your majesty?”

“Yes, I had you summoned here, please come in.”

The white pegasus strode into the room.  The door swung lazily shut behind him.

“Starblink, it is good to see a friendly face.  It has been a hard day.”

Her voice danced in Starblink’s ears.  He nodded.

“It’s… nice to see you too.”

Celestia turned back to the table.  Starblink looked at the insignia on the table.  He suddenly felt more nervous than he already was.  Celestia started to speak once more.

“Starblink… you know that General Stronghorn was slain in combat earlier today, correct?”

Starblink sighed.

“Yes.”

Celestia turned to face him again, her eyes gazing at him.

“Then it is also safe to assume that you know that our forces are currently without a direct leader?”

“Yes.”

Starblink simply repeated his first answer.  He didn’t like where this was going.  The Generals insignia lifted from the table, surrounded by a golden aura.  Starblink shifted nervously.

Celestia sighed.

“I have put much thought into finding a suitable commander for our forces, and so far, only one pony has come to my mind.”

The insignia hovered in front of Celestia.

“Colonel Starblink, I, Princess Celestia herby decree, that you shall henceforth be given the rank of high general, second only to myself and my sister in the control of the Equestrian military.”

The insignia was joined by a ribbon, and then hung around his neck.  Starblink stared at the medallion, his mouth agape.  Celestia smiled at him.

“My Princess…  I’m honored that you would think of me, but…  I can’t!  I…”

The Princess merely continued smiling.

“I understand that this is a vast responsibility, General, but I can assure you, I have watched your military performance from the first day you arrived here, nearly ten years ago.  I know that you are capable of commanding my army, even if you don’t think you are.”

Starblink wanted to jump out the window, even if he did have wings.

“Princess…  It’s not like that…  Just a few moments ago…”

He sighed.

“I’m afraid that I need to report myself unfit for command.”

Celestia merely stared at him, her smile shrinking.

“I am still willing to fight, but right now, I cannot properly perform my duties, not as a colonel, or a general.  My thoughts are simply too clouded.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed.

“I see… and is there a reason for this sudden inability to command?”

Starblink gulped.

“Um, emotional reasons, my Princess.”

Celestia thoughtfully tapped the floor.

“I thought that you had mostly recovered from the loss of your family.”

He sighed.

“I had to burry both parents and three brothers on the same day.  It was more than anypony should ever have to experience.  However, it is not what troubles me most right now.  Please, Princess, give this command to Skyrider, or some other pony.  I can’t bear… the responsibility at this time.  The knowledge that I might make a mistake that causes the deaths of hundreds, merely as a result of my own inability to concentrate, is far too much for me.”

Celestia carefully eyed the stallion in front of her, trying to analyze what could possibly be troubling him.

“Starblink… I want you at the head of my army.  If this trouble is anything that I could help with.”

“NO!”

Starblink stared at the Alicorn, eyes wide.  She stared back at him, surprised at the interruption.

“I mean, no Princess… there isn’t anything that you can do.  You may actually make the situation worse.”

She looked at him curiously.

“Starblink… you’re right about your thinking being clouded.  Tell me, what is the problem?  I have lived for three thousand years, and the odds are, it is something I’ve dealt with before.”

Starblink bowed his head.

“Princess…”

“Tell me, Starblink.”

Her voice was gentle, but firm.  Starblink trembled slightly.

“It’s… it’s a mare, your highness.”

She looked slightly amused.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can’t help myself!”

He facehoofed.

“No matter what I try, I can’t get my mind off of y… her.”

“You were starting to pronounce ‘you,’ Starblink.”

Starblink shifted, nervous.

“Just a miswording, heh, slip of the tongue.”

“Oh, I have no doubt of that.”

Celestia watched the way he was moving, how nervous the pegasus soldier looked.

“Starblink… I think that you need to be a little more”

“I’m sorry ok?”

The pegasus was standing with his face to the floor.

“I’ve already told you, I can’t help myself!  No matter how hard I try, I can’t get my mind off of…”

Starblink jerked his head up, looking the white Alicorn in the eye.  Her face shone with the radiance of the sun, thoughtful, and concerned.  Starblink stared.  He couldn’t lie to that face.

“Off of you.”

He quickly began examining the floor again.

“I’m sorry, I know that I could never hope to even be considered by you, that it would never even work out.  I know that your position would never allow for any… distractions.  I know that your about one hundred times my age…  But I still can’t stop.  I can’t think.  I’m sorry.  I’ll”

“Starblink.”

“I’ll resign my commsion, I’ll pack up,”

“Starblink.”

“You can redeploy me to some outpost three thousand miles from here, or tell me to scout…”

“Starblink!”

He stopped rambling, and returned his gaze to the Alicorn.  He was shocked to see her expression was not of anger, or hate.  She simply smiled.

“Starblink, I believe that the proper way to go about it would simply have been to confess your feelings to begin with, then we wouldn’t have had to go about this whole awkward conversation.”

Starblink simply stared at Celestia, mouth agape.

“Bu.. But… You’re not… angry with me?”

She laughed then, and the sound made his head spin.

“Angry?  You’ve handled the situation surprisingly better than the eleven suitors that have come before you.  It was them that I was angry with.”

“Others?”

Starblink stared at her.

“All of them were looking for a marital alliance, or some other form of political gain.  I for one, have no interest in pursuing such relationships.”

“But …”

Starblink stumbled over his own words.  Now that he had finally confessed his feelings, he felt like the fog had been lifted from his mind, but he was still trying to process the recent turn of events.  He looked into her eyes, confused, and unsure of what to say.

“What now?”

Celestia seemed to ponder the question for a second.

“I believe now would be a good time for you to accept your new position.”

Starblink suddenly remembered the medallion that hung about his neck.  He looked down at it.  The golden emblem sparkled against his white coat.  He looked back to his Princess.

“Yes.”

Then he bowed before her.

“Thank you, for this monumental honor.  I will not fail you.”

Celestia’s smile grew larger.

“Rise, General Starblink, your service is very much appreciated, even if it did take a while to get.”

He rose to his hooves before looking up at her again.

“What now?”

She thought for a moment, before leaning down and whispering in his ear.

“I believe that now would be a good time for us to continue talking about why you were so reluctant to accept my appointment.”

“Yes Princess Celestia.”

<(^)>

General Anderson looked around at the assembled men.  It was hard to discern their features in the dark room.  Were they scared?  Nervous?  Proud?  Perhaps all three emotions were present, and probably more.  The general sat on a crate, located in the corner of a dimly lit and seldom used storage building.

He heard the faint sound of footsteps padding into the building.  His hand dropped to an M4, partially concealed by the crate.  He flicked off the safety, and peered into the darkness.  The footsteps stopped just short of the assembled men.

The general opened his mouth, calling out in the darkness.

“The world is unaccustomed to oddities.”

Another voice cut back.

“That is so, but a cheese cake may walk, but never will it talk, so long as the moon is full.”

A few sighs of relief could be heard around the room.  Anderson returned the M4 to safe.  The footsteps continued forward, and a man materialized out of the dark.  He was clad in the dark sports coat of a politician, though that certainly wasn’t his job.

“Daniel Huston of the secret service, it is nice to finally meet you General Anderson.”

“A pleasure to meet you Dan, I’ll be honest; I was beginning to think that you might not show up.”

The agent smiled.

“Sorry, my boss is a real jerk.”

This drew a round of hushed laughter from the other men.  Anderson returned to his seat, motioning for Daniel to sit across from him.

“I must say, I didn’t really expect that anyone from your agency would be willing to… help out.”

The other man became more serious.

“The secret service is supposed to protect the president, no matter what.  Unfortunately for Mr. Nickelson, he is far out of line.  If it ever comes to the point where I have to choose between protecting the president, and protecting the rest of the world from him, which it has, I pick the rest of the world.”

He took a breath.

“I’m fairly certain that if I had sworn to protect Hitler, or Stalin, before they started murdering by the millions, that I would do all in my power to stop them.  Unfortunately, what Nickelson is currently proposing is almost the same thing…  Even if the victims are from a different species.”

Anderson nodded.

“I very much appreciate your decision.”

He turned so he could better address the rest of the men.

“Though you all know why we are here, I’ll say it anyway.  Gentlemen, we have assembled in the shadows today, because what many thought was impossible has happened.  The United States of America has entered a conflict, and almost unimaginably, we are on the wrong side.”

Anderson’s gaze drifted over the men.

“Thankfully, although we fight, is it not a result of public opinion, or even any legal declaration of war.  We fight as a result of our president overstepping his bounds.  That my friends, gives me hope that a peaceful solution can be reached, and reached quickly.”

Anderson paused for a moment, before continuing on.

“As we speak, the president plans additional action against the innocent population of a foreign country.  Already, we have inflicted much pain upon them.  We can’t allow for the president to continue this rampage, even it means severing ties with this new world.”

Anderson sighed.

“It would be a great loss for research, and advancement, but a great gain for the wellbeing of these poor souls.  Thankfully, a force has already committed themselves to the defense of the innocent, and though their work is hard, and the odds are against them, they have at least bought us time to take care of the real problem.”

The general’s resolve hardened.

“The problem that our president, arguably the most powerful man on Earth, has decided to completely overstep his authority, and violate the very laws and rights that he swore to defend.  Gentlemen, though I wish there were, there is no time for an impeachment, not while thousands die.  We must all resort to rash, and drastic action.”

Anderson stood, and walked to stand in the middle of the room.

“Therefore, though it pains me greatly, we must make every effort to arrest to President of the United States.”

Anderson turned slowly in a circle, looking each man in the eye.

“You must all do everything in your power if we are to succeed.”

He finally stopped turning when his eyes were upon Daniel.

“Agent Daniel, due to your position, you have likely become our most valuable asset in this entire operation.  Is there anything that you can share with us about the president immediately?  We need to make the arrest as soon as possible, preferably within forty eight hours.”

The Secret Service agent thought for a moment.

“I can’t do to terribly much, I am just one guard out of dozens, but...  I can get a couple of you, five or six at the most, close to the president, real close.  Anderson, you’ll be able to get close to him anyway, being a General and all.”

He looked around the room at the close to two dozen shadowy figures.

“Then, you can make the arrest.”

Anderson nodded.

“Thank you son, that’s more than any of us had dared to hope for.”

Anderson turned to the rest of the group.

“Now the big question is going to be, who all is going?”

<(^)>

Alex slowly trotted through the hallways of Canterlot castle, studying the stained glass windows.  He took a long look at the images of ponies planting what he had come to know as the Equestrian flag on a hill, the defeat of two great evils at the hooves of the elements of harmony, and many other sights.  He saw battles and treaties, construction and demolition, alicorns and dragons.  The further he went, the more ancient the windows seemed.

Suddenly, he halted.  The corridor before him was dusty, and looked ill kept.  As if no one had used it in quite some time.  Alex could just make out more windows lining the left wall.  Curiously, he trotted inside.  He looked up at the first of the glass panels.  He stopped, his interest suddenly aroused.  In the background of the panel, a village could be seen, plumes of smoke drifting up from chimneys, ponies walking through the streets, and a small castle, more of a fort really, built up against the side of a nearby mountain.  However, it was the foreground that drew his attention.

In the middle of the window stood two ponies, a white unicorn stallion, and a midnight blue pegasus mare.  The stallion held a rose in his mouth, and was looking directly at the pegasus.  Alex slowly moved onto the next window.  He gasped slightly.  The window showed three great hosts of ponies, one comprised of unicorns, one of pegasi, and one of earth ponies, attacking each other.  Great piles of dead ponies covered the ground.  In the corner, he could see the white unicorn standing in front of the midnight pegasus, shielding her from the attack of several other ponies.

Alex slowly trotted onward, his eyes absorbing the art work.  The next panel was perhaps the most mysterious.  The white unicorn stood in a cavern, six gems levitating in front of him.  His horn glowed, and his eyes were narrowed in concentration.  Peering from behind him, the midnight blue pegasus watched with fascination.  Alex moved on.  The next frame was disappointing.  It showed the Unicorn sitting amidst the shattered remnants of the six gems, tears running from his eyes.  The pegasus sat next to him, nuzzling his neck.  Behind them, outside of the cavern, another battle could be seen.

Alex quickly trotted onwards, eager to see where the story was going.  He froze at the sight of the next window.  As he stared at it, he felt he recognized something.  As if he felt something familiar, yet strange and new at the same time.  In the cavern, the pegasus and unicorn both stared up in shock at the sight of the white Alicorn that had appeared before them.  Her eyes were a deep blue, and looked saddened, while her mane was brown, and unlike Celestia’s and Luna’s, seemed to be made of normal hair.  Alex quickly cantered on, examining the sequence of events.  He saw the Alicorn light her horn, and the gem shards floated up off the ground, and began to spin.  Then his mouth dropped open.  The six shapes that floated in front and in between the Alicorn and the two normal ponies were identical to the cutie marks of Twilight and her friends, and Alex was sure this window had been crafted long before they were born.

He saw the Alicorn smile, and give the elements, for Alex was quite sure that’s what they were, to the two ponies.  Then, in a flash of light, she vanished.  In the next pane, the unicorn and the pegasus strode out into the middle of the battlefield, carrying the elements with them.  Any attack that was made against them failed to make contact, and the weapon or enchantment was vaporized.

The next panes showed the pair directly in the center of the battlefield, where they had become the center of attention.  Then, the entire area was blanketed in multi colored light.  The next pane was much more uplifting.  It showed ponies, pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony alike, all working alongside each other, rebuilding the countryside.  In the center of it all, the white unicorn stood, wearing a fine tunic embedded with a variety of gems, a gold crown upon his head.  Next to him, the midnight blue pegasus stood, a long white dress trailing out behind her body, and a silver circlet upon her head.

Alex knew full well what he looked at as he came to the final window.  It showed the original pair of ponies, seated elegantly upon two thrones, smiling down at the sight before them.  In front of the thrones, two small fillies played.  One was Bright white, like her father, while the smaller one’s coat was identical to that of her mother.  However, unlike their parents, these two ponies were different; they possessed both the wings of the pegasus, and the horns of the unicorns.  Up on the wall behind the thrones, six gems were embedded in the wall.

Alex took a few steps back, and sat down on the cool stone floor, small clouds of dust scattering through the air.

“Wow…”

He said to no one in particular.  In the vast expanse of the empty hallway, the word echoed slightly.  Slowly, Alex rose to his hooves, and began to walk back the way he had come from.  As he turned out into the main passageway once again, he heard the clatter of hooves on the floor.  He turned to see who was coming.

“Twilight?  How are you doing?”

“Alex, I’m sorry, but there’s no time to talk.”

The lavender pony slid up in front of him.

“I’m afraid that we are out of time.  You need to come with me, now.”

Alex turned his head, as outside the castle, he heard the noise of engines starting in the courtyard, and the marching of both boots and hooves upon stairs.  Alex nodded.

“Let’s go.”