Hammer and Harmony: Corruption

Spike stood upon the outer wall of Canterlot as the sun set illuminating a blood red sky. The griffons had already set up their tents, and were waiting for tomorrow, for that was when the battle of Canterlot would be fought.

Spike dwelled on thoughts of his friends, especially on Rarity. He knew that he should be with her as a shoulder to lean on, now more than ever, but something stopped him. He wasn’t sure what.

Its been only seven days since I came to Canterlot, and now I find myself ready to defend it, Spike thought to himself. But at what cost?

Behind him, Twilight Sparkle slowly climbed the stairs, stopping when she saw his armored back. “Spike,” she called, her voice trembling slightly.

Surprised, Spike woke from his thoughts and turned to see Twilight with tears in her eyes. He quickly stood and embraced her, asking “What’s wrong?”

“It’s… It’s nothing. Just . . . just overwhelmed by everything,” she replied, wiping her tears away. “Rarity wanted to see you . . . but I want to say something first.” Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I just want to say . . . I love you Spike. No matter what happens tomorrow.”

Embracing Twilight harder than before, Spike responded, “Same here. I love you too, Twilight,” The pair sat there for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company, before Spike left without another word to go see Rarity.

During this time, another pony joined the pair atop the wall. As Spike disappeared into the sky, he spoke, “Twily, we need to talk.”

Jumping in surprise, she quickly turned around and saw her brother standing behind her. “Shining!” she called as she ran over and hugged him.

After a moment, Shining Armor broke the embrace and spoke, “Twily . . . I need you and your friends on the front lines tomorrow. You six are our best hope for beating the griffons.”

With an unsure expression, Twilight responded, “I don’t know if Rarity and Fluttershy will be up for it.”

A distant look overtook Shining Armor’s eyes as he spoke again, “Twily, can i ask you something?”

“Wh-What?” she asked.

“If anything happens to me . . . can you help take care of Cadance?”

“What are you talking about?! Nothing’s going to happen to you!” Twilight responded, sure of her statement despite her shaking voice.

“Twily, this is war. Anything could happen, and I do mean anything. Promise me you’ll look after Cadance if something happens.”

Twilight gulped hard, then spoke softly, “Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye!” She repeated the familiar motions as she spoke.

With a smile, Shining Armor embraced his sister once more, “Thanks, Twily. We should head back.”

The two ponies slowly made their way down the wall. Shining Armor went back to the Captain’s quarters while Twilight went back to the infirmary to check on Rarity.

She saw something she didn’t expect: Spike was surrounded by the five of her friends, each of them taking warmth and comfort in his somewhat-familiar form. All were fast asleep. From a distance, Spike looked like he was covered in cats. Any other time, she’d have thought this amusing.

She was surprised by a slightly familiar voice from behind her, “It seems in even the hardest times, friendship reigns true.”

Twilight turned to see the blacksmith that had come to Ponyville what seemed like forever ago. “Oh. Hello Kajiya . . . I thought you’d be in the forge.”

“The forging of metal is done. Now, only the forge of battle.” Twilight noticed a set of guard armor adorning his form.

He looked at her more closely. “I see you are troubled, young Princess . . . what is wrong?”

At that point, emotions boiled over inside Twilight. Tears came as she sobbed out, “Everything! Everything’s wrong! This whole war . . . it’s awful! So many were lost, and it’s not over yet! And . . . ” she paused as more tears came, before continuing quietly, “ . . . what’s happening to us? We’re all . . . murderers now!”

She looked Kajiya in the face. “Why?! Why’d we get pulled into this mess? Why do we fight?! Why can’t everything just be normal again!?” She collapsed on the ground, sobbing.

Kajiya placed a small hoof on the distraught mare, “That is why you fight, young Princess. So everything may be normal once more.”

“Bu-But what about us?!” Twilight waved a hoof at her sleeping friends. “We’re so different now. All of us can kill with a thought! How’re we supposed to go back after this . . . We’re so corrupt!”

Sighing, the stallion responded, “Do you never listen, young Princess? I told you already: I paid for all the sins you make in that armor.”

Twilight tried to speak before being silenced by a hoof on her snout, “Let me speak, young Princess. In my homeland, there is a concept, an idea, called Yin and Yang.” Kajiya drew a circle into the dirt with his hoof. An ‘S’ shaped squiggle divided it evenly in two.

“It tells of two sides to everything. One is Good,” he tapped the left half of the circle, “and one is Evil.” He labeled the halves of the circle with the appropriate runes for good and evil. “This, I believe you already know.”

Twilight nodded, understanding. She tried to wipe her tears, but new ones took their place.

“But Yin and Yang tells that, within the Good,” he drew a small circle inside the “Good” half of the circle, “there is a small portion of Evil. And within Evil,” he did the same for the other half, “there is a small portion of Good. There is no absolute evil, but neither is there an absolute good. Does this make sense?”

She nodded, and tried to speak, “Yeah, I guess, but what does that-”

“It means that everypony, no matter how pure, has a piece of corruption in them. Good ponies all have a dark side, and evil ponies always have a light side. It may be small, but it is always there.

“Nothing ever changed, Princess. You and your friends have not changed. Rather, they have discovered their corruption.” He pointed to the small circle within the “Good” half. “I warn you, do not let that corruption become what defines you.” He pointed to the “Evil” half.

“Bu-”

“What I am trying to say, Princess, is everything will work itself out. But now, you must rest for tomorrow. You must defend your home and your friends.” He walked out of the infirmary room as he spoke.

Twilight, now confused but strangely reassured, sat down next to Spike and let sleep take hold.

The last thing she saw before sleep took her was the Yin and Yang drawing:

It was a time of night that someponies considered to be night and others early morning. The clocks around Canterlot showed zero dark thirty as two hundred ponies climbed up the steep cliffs along Canterlot Mountain. All were laden with cannons and cannonballs, desperate to get into position before the dawn rose and the battle began.

Octavia struggled with her cannon as her partner, a daft white unicorn stallion by the name of Sour Chord, pulled along a large set of cannonballs.

Finally, the division reached their destination as the first glimmers of sunshine touched the horizon.

Setting down her load, Octavia spoke, “Alright everypony, listen up! I’m no General Pie, so I can’t help much when it comes to strategy.” She paused slightly as she surveyed her troops, who all bore a concerned face. “But I do know what needs to happen: everypony here must do their part to sink those airships!”

She waved a hoof at the valley below, where over 300 airships floated gently over the ground. “I want every group here to act independently when everything starts, that way everypony lasts as long as possible. Remember, the ponies down there are counting on us!”

The gathered ponies stood quietly, silenced by Octavia’s speech. It wasn’t a call to arms or a warcry, but a simple statement of what needed to be done. All those gathered contemplated the battle to come as they watched the airships rise with the dawn.

In an instant, it all started. A loud clash from Canterlot signaled the commencement of the siege. The airships opened fire upon the city, cannons striking the millenium-old marble and stone. 100 cannon teams responded with their own fire at a single word from their commander.

Cannonfire ripped through engines and masts, sinking dozens of ships with the first volley. A small griffon stood where Bloodbeak once did, taking his place as General. He watched the carnage ensue.

A loud voice rang through the ships, “Return Fire, Cannons 5 degrees up, 10 degrees north by northeast… FIRE!”

After they sent the first volley, the pony cannon teams began to move swiftly from their first position so the return fire would be less damaging. However, several teams were too slow as the cannonballs struck the mountainside. Debris went flying, burying several teams alive.

So the battle went, cannonfire and return fire from the ponies and airships. Each pony team downed was accompanied by three airships sinking to the valley below, impacting hard upon the roots of the mountains.

An eternity passed for those in conflict, but in reality, it was mere hours as the sun climbed to its apex.

Sour Chord spoke, “General, Ma’am we are down to two cannonballs… there might be more in the debris…”

Octavia looked at her partner, then the team next to her, then at the airships below. “Alright, load em up!” As she spoke, the airships opened fire the cannonballs striking the team next to her. One unicorn, bless their soul, was struck dead on by a cannonball which sent limbs, blood and guts splashing up the mountainside.

Ignoring the gory scene next to him, Sour Chord loaded his shot and fired. By the grace of Celestia, he hit the perfect spot in one of the airships. The cannonball ripped through the engine, sinking it to the valley almost immediately. As the impact resounded through the valley, the last ship, the General’s ship, opened fire upon Octavia’s group.

The cannonball struck the next group over instead, sending Sour Chord flying into the cliff behind them, breaking open his head upon a sharp rock. The impact splintered a piece of the cannon Octavia held, implanting large pieces of wood into her left forehoof.

The pain was mind-boggling, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins made her able to somewhat ignore it. Her left hoof now hung limply and barely attached. She had no option but to sink that last ship, and she was out of cannonballs. She looked over to where the other team had fallen, and saw a single cannon still loaded and ready to fire.

Second after agonizing second, she limped towards the cannon. She tripped on a small rock and fell onto the cannon, which sent a bolt of pain coursing through her body. She hooked herself into the cannon as she slowly realized that she heard none of her comrades fire their own cannons at the airship.

The shot had to be perfect. It had to be that one shot that sank an airship without any assistance. But Octavia was perfect . . . she had to be perfect. All her life, she’d trained to be a musician. As a musician, she had to have perfect aim and timing. She absolutely couldn’t miss. In this one moment she took aim at the last airship.

In that moment she breathed out slowly, and prayed to Celestia and all the Gods above as she lit her cannon and let forth one last shot.

On the deck of that airship, the small General paced. They’d lost all their airships to a group of mere ponies, and he seethed with anger. It was embarrassing.

But at last, it seemed they’d eliminated the resistance. There wasn’t any return fire coming from the ground. Victory seemed assured.

Suddenly, a shot rang out. He turned to where it came from, and saw a cannonball hurtling towards him.

Fear flooded his veins. He’d prided himself on being able to work artillery like it was an extension of himself. He was always able to work out where the cannonballs were going, and what damage they could do when they hit. As he looked at this one coming towards him, he noted with a cold lurch that it was perfect it every way. The arc, the speed, the spin, was all dead-on. It was unavoidable.

It ripped through the engines, and his last ship joined its brethren at the mountain’s roots.

Octavia sat by the cannon as she watched the last airship sink in the midday sun. She allowed herself a small victory, overjoyed that her last shot had been perfect.

Then, pain coursed through her body from her injury as it finally registered that her leg was completely useless. She heard a shifting of rocks behind her, and saw a white unicorn mare struggle out from under a pile of debris.

The unicorn had a brace on her shoulder, along with a new wound: a large splinter had broken her sunglasses, and was now impaled in her eye. It was gruesome to look at. The unicorn made her way slowly towards Octavia before speaking, “Looks like we’re both banged up, eh? But its over . . . over now . . . Shall we head back, General?”

“Yes . . . ” Octavia said as she struggled to stand. It occurred to her that she didn’t know who she was speaking to. “What’s your name, soldier?”

“Vinyl Scratch, Ma’am. Permission to speak freely?”

“Granted,” she grunted through pain.

“Let’s get the Buck out of here,” the unicorn said. She helped Octavia take the weight off her useless leg, and the two ponies made their way down the mountain towards Canterlot.