The Prince

Chapters

A Bun in the Works, a Wrench in the Oven
Yum
Oh Dear
Internal Strife
Yet It Can Still Get Worse
The Elements of Harmony
The Field of Battle
Aftermath
Waiting
The Second Wave
Escalation
Resentment and Hatred
Wedding by Fire
The Deep Breath Before the Plunge
Family Stress
Sic Semper Tyrannis
The Joy of Victory
Going Home
Johnny Get Your Gun
March to the Front

A Bun in the Works, a Wrench in the Oven

By some unspoken agreement, the two of us didn't talk about anything once morning arrived. We simply woke up, kissed, then I left. There wasn't much more we felt like doing, given the circumstances. We didn't want to have some big, romantic night, we just wanted to feel something other than fear and uncertainty.

Upon returning to my palace, I prepared a press statement regarding the new findings about the scorpipony venom, and how there was no way it could kill Bludworth on its own. Hopefully that would drum up a lot of support on our side. I left out the part of their venom being a hallucinogen, though. It'd come up eventually, but now was not the time.

I spent probably ten minutes on the thing before casually tossing it on my desk and walking back to my room. The sun had risen only half an hour prior, so I had a little time before court started. I planned to use it wisely by sleeping. I still needed time to re-charge. Every guard and servant I walked past seemed to notice my demeanor, as none of them even attempted to stop me to ask for something. I'd go be Prince Antares in an hour when I woke up. Right then, I just wanted to shut the world out.

I wasn’t well-rested, but the mere fact that I could just close my eyes for an hour helped a lot. I guess times of insane stress are another instance where an alicorn's lack of need for sleep goes away.

My alarm clock went off, and I immediately slid out of bed, putting my regalia on and heading out to court within a minute. Hopefully court wouldn't take too long because most ponies realized I wouldn't be hearing war business unless it dealt with stuff like logistics. I truly did not care to hear petitions from ponies asking if I'd change my mind about drafting them.

Though speaking of the draft...

We'd been doing it town-by-town, working our way across Equestria until we had our army drafted. Today we were drafting another town.

Ponyville.

I gave a shaky sigh as I sat on my throne and motioned for my soldiers to open the door. Now, the Mane Six were exempt based on the fact that they wielded the Elements of Harmony, though we had already informed them that they'd be used if we needed them. Still, we wouldn't put them on the front lines and risk one of them being killed and rendering the Elements useless. We were talking about moving them and their families into Celestia's palace, as it was far safer than Ponyville. I know they will hate it, and we didn't like it either, but better that than something happening to them.

That and I still needed to figure out what to do with Kathyrine. Having the former princess, and current rightful heir, of the griffin nation in my palace was a card I needed to figure out how to play. It could cause serious strife in Griffonia if the country at large knew what happened, and I needed as much internal conflict in that nation as I could get. If they were fighting each other, they couldn't very well be fighting us. Eh, I'd worry about that a little later. For now, court. Though, I admit that I pretty much zoned out the entire time and ran on autopilot. It was mostly stuff about how various farms and factories needed more resources and funding if they were going to help with the war effort. I did like that we tried to take as few farmers as possible for the war. It meant that Big Mac would be exempt from the draft as well, as we needed him to work Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack eventually going to Canterlot.

Court ended after a few hours, leaving me with the job I had been putting off for a week, but could do no longer. The Ponyville Draft. I walked out of my throne room, escorted by Lieutenant Rapids and Private Blaze. The three of us had decided that I would be the one, as I was the one least connected to Ponyville. Proportionately. I still had strong connections there.

I entered my office and closed the door behind me, while Blaze and Rapids stood guard. On my desk stood a box with the names of every single pony in Ponyville eligible for the draft inside it. Celestia enchanted it so that, even though I was doing it alone, I couldn't tamper with it and set aside a name if I didn't like it. The second I pulled a name out of the box, it would be magically written down on a list in Celestia's office.

I sat down at my desk and stared at the box. I had to do it. I had to ignore my own emotions and do my job. I was a prince of Equestria, and I needed to be fair to my subjects. I couldn't scold Vichy for trying to get his sons exempt, then play favorites in Ponyville.

It'll all be okay. Someday. I just had to keep telling myself that.

I took a deep breath and ignited my horn, feeling around the hundreds of slips of paper to pick a single one. My magic honed in on one, and I slowly slipped it out of the box to look at the name written on it.

Time Turner.

I shakily gasped and flinched back as the name magically appeared on a list beside the box. Much like the one in Celestia's office.

Push through. It will be okay someday.

I pulled out another piece of paper. Flitter.

Another. Cloud Kicker.

Another. Caramel.

Another. Sea Swirl.

Another.

My eyes widened and I shot to my hooves as I read the name on the next piece of paper. I whimpered and backed into a corner, my ears pinned against my head and tears streaming down my face. I wanted it to go away. The paper floated to the ground as my horn fizzed out, and I squeezed my eyes shut as the name burned itself on the sheet next to the box.

Cheerilee.

* * * *

I stopped after that. I couldn't handle it. I'd come back to it later. I needed a little while to calm down.

My best friend in Ponyville, the mare who taught the foals I loved teaching, which gave me my only purpose in life when I first came to Equestria, and I had to be the one to send her off to a war she'd possibly never come back from. I couldn't give her special treatment. I couldn't make her exempt. Otherwise I'd be a huge hypocrite after what I said to Vichy. Besides, it's not like the foals would be left alone. We'd get a veteran teacher to sub for Cheerilee until she returned.

She would return. I'd make sure of it. Whatever I had to do, I'd make sure that Cheerilee would return to her foals in Ponyville. I still had to make her a soldier, though. Otherwise I'd be no better than Vichy.

After a half hour, I returned to the task at hoof. Given Ponyville's small size, I only needed to pull a dozen or so more names out of the box. I went back into my office and sat down in front of the box, ready to face the worst again.

Thunderlane.

It'll all be okay someday.

Daisy.

Just keep moving forward.

Raindrops.

It'll pass.

* * * *

I canceled everything I could for the day. I really needed more time to get emotionally centered. I couldn't very well make rulings about the war while I was that upset, even if I had gotten really good at alicorn stoicism. I had learned really quickly, and both Celestia and Luna confirmed this, that alicorn stoicism is nothing more than a mask. It doesn't transfer at all to what we're feeling. But we keep it bottled up in front of our ponies. Because they need us to look strong. Unshakable rocks that can weather any storm for them.

I wish. I wish more than anything.

With little else official to do, I decided that I might as well get the most unpleasant thing out of the way: delivering the draft notices. I decided to deliver some personally. Just to let them know that I'd be watching over them. That they'd be okay. Maybe. I gathered up all of the draft notices for the ponies of Ponyville and picked a dozen or so guards to join me in hoofing them out. Ones that I knew could be gentle about it.

We reached Ponyville a few hours later, around the middle of the afternoon. Given the warm weather, most ponies were outside, either in the market, the park, or just socializing around town. A few of the townsponies saw me land and waved to me, some greeting me by my human name. It sounded oddly foreign, really. In a few generations at most it would completely die out and become some legend, along with my former species. But here, they still acted as though I was still TD and just got a really cool job. Heck, they didn't even bow to me.

Granted, when I first ascended I told them I'd raze Ponyville if they did that. The memory brought a small smile to my face as I walked through the town. It faded quickly, and I flicked my wing out, signaling to my soldiers that they should begin hoofing the notices out. They saluted and spread out to their assigned districts while I walked alone to one cottage in particular. One I hadn't been to in... gosh, about three years, I think. Before my ascension, that was for sure. I reached it and knocked on the door and only waited a few moments before it opened up, and my best friend in Ponyville appeared on the other side, smiling as usual.

"Oh, hello, TD. I didn't know you were coming today." Cheerilee motioned to the inside of her house. "If I did I would have cleaned up a bit."

I smiled at her and waved my hoof. "No need for that, Cheers. We're friends, and you don't have to put on a show for me."

Cheerilee nodded and stepped aside. "Well, do come in, TD. Can I get you anything to drink?"

I shook my head as I walked inside her house, shutting the door behind me with my magic. "No, no, that's fine. I'm actually here on..." I took a deep breath. "Official business."

Cheerilee frowned and tilted her head. "Oh? Something about foals or education, or something about the war?"

"The war," I said grimly, motioning for Cheerilee to take a seat. "And I'm afraid the news isn't good." I held up a hoof to forestall her questions, as her expression turned into one of fear. "Don't worry: the Saddle Arabians, buffalo, and Zebrican berserkers are protecting our borders until we get our army ready to join them. They'll keep us safe for now. No, the issue stems more from..." I sighed. "The draft. We just drew the names for the Ponyville draft today."

"Oh," Cheerilee said, flattening her ears. "Yes, I can see how that would be something that would hurt you. You and the ponies here have a connection with each other."

"Yeah, but there's a bit more to it than that." I fired up my horn and slipped an envelope out of a bag I had strapped to my side. I floated it over to her, letting her take it in her hooves. "That's... that's your draft notice, Cheerilee. The draft was done by lottery, and your name came up."

"Oh," Cheerilee said, much quieter than before. My stomach tied itself into knots when she flinched back at the words "your draft notice" like she didn't think it was real. I sat down in front of her and put my hoof on her shoulder.

"You'll come back to your students, I promise you. We'll get a temporary substitute, and you can resume your duties when you get back. But I promise you that you will return."

"How?" Cheerilee whispered. "How can you promise that? You're taking the field with Nightmare Weapons out there, right? How can you promise that you'll come back?"

"Because those Nightmare Weapons will never see the field," I said. "My human weapons are going to end this war very quickly, even with the size of the griffin and minotaur armies. That speech I made when I announced the war to the press: I believe every word of it. This is a scary time, Cheers, I know that, but I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure that you're as safe as you can be. I promise you."

Cheerilee's jaw began wobbling and tears streaked down her face. I moved closer to her and wrapped my wings around her, letting her lean into my chest and cry her fears away. For now.

The war would end soon enough, right? My human weapons would make sure of that.

I had to be right about that.

* * * *

Smoke bellowed out of the train as workers began shoveling coal into the furnace to start it up. I looked down the length of the train, watching for anything suspicious. It wouldn't do for something to happen to it. This was our initial invasion force, after all. There were too many soldiers and supplies in there for anything to go wrong. So far nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Antares' human weapons were a big unknown. We didn't even know what they looked like, much less what they'd actually do. For all I knew, they'd transport the entire country into space.

I was taken out of my thoughts when one of my subordinates, Private Sharpwing, came up to me and saluted. I half-heartedly returned it.

"Captain, I've talked to the rest of the troops. We've scoured the train, but nothing seems wrong. The troops stationed on the train are a little uneasy, but that's to be expected when they're going to war, I guess. Anything can happen. All of the gear in the rest of the train cars looks fine."

I sighed and slowly nodded. "Yes, yes, that sounds good." Maybe I was just being paranoid. Our intelligence said that Antares claimed he had created his weapons, but we had no solid proof of that. He could very well be bluffing. One could only hope. I looked over to the conductor, who looked at me expectantly, waiting for the signal to move toward Equestria. I nodded at him and he saluted back at me. He turned to the griffins shoveling coal and said something to them that I couldn't quite hear, but I noticed them picking up the pace.

"Captain..." I turned to Private Sharpwing who seemed to be a bit uneasy. "Maybe this isn't my place, but... do you think this whole war is a good thing? I mean, I know the Emperor says so, and I would never say that he would want to get us in a war we couldn't win, but I dunno. With Antares' human weapons and what Celestia and Luna did at the Battle of Baltimare, is all of this wise?"

"You are right, it isn't your place," I said stiffly. "Our glorious emperor will lead us to victory, of that I'm sure."

Private Sharpwing bowed his head and muttered some apology. I didn't care to hear it. Truth be told, I had been thinking the same things. Were I a similar rank as he, I would share my misgivings. I looked over to the locomotive, watching it move towards Equestria and a war I wasn't sure we'd come out of in one piece.

That's when the lead car exploded. The coal car followed in seconds.

I squawked and hit the ground, covering my head with my forelegs as shrapnel flew through the air, a few bits striking unfortunate griffins who had rushed towards the noise to see what had happened. Somehow each train car ignited, one after another down the line, each car being completely engulfed in seconds. Even through the inferno, I could hear the cries of the soldiers inside the cars as they burned alive. I stood up, but knew that there was nothing I could do. I could only watch in horror as the train and everything in it was destroyed, one car at a time.

* * * *

"The train was rendered totally unusable, Prince Antares, just as you predicted. Our intelligence indicates roughly three thousand dead and twice that many injured, many severely. The rest aren't going to be going onto any trains headed towards Equestria anytime soon."

I smirked and put down the report. My first use of a human weapon seemed to be a resounding success.

"Thank you, Private Blaze. However, if you could be a dear and sabotage as many of the train tracks as you could, that would be lovely. I'm counting on them being less inclined to move their army and supplies by train, but just in case, let's make it harder for them."

"Sounds like a plan, Prince Antares," Blaze said, saluting me. "Anything else?"

I shook my head. "No no, not right now. I'll be flying to Canterlot later today to update Celestia and Luna about what happened yesterday. This is the first big event in the war. They'll want to know about it."

"Of course, though..." Blaze frowned. "Is Princess Celestia feeling up to it? Last I heard she was under the weather."

I sighed and rested my head against my hoof. For the past week or so, Celestia had come down with... something. It was beginning to worry us. Alicorns didn't really get sick, though there were a few diseases specific to us. Contracting them was still fairly rare. Like once every few decades rare, if that. We hoped that she didn't have one of those. Now would be the wrong time, for sure.

"It comes and goes," I finally replied. "I'm hoping that she'll be better by the time I fly over tonight." I glanced over at Blaze. "Keep her condition to yourself, though. I don't want word getting around that she's not feeling the best. The last thing we need is for her to appear weak in front of Cromwell and Purgle."

Blaze saluted. "Of course, Prince Antares. We'll see you when you get back from Canterlot. Have fun with Princess Celestia."

I rolled my eyes.

* * * *

"Alright, ladies, let's get down to brass tacks." I turned to Celestia and smiled. She said she felt well enough that she could show up for our meeting. So, herself, Luna, Cadance and I all sat inside our private meeting room, ready to discuss the war. "As you know, a Griffonian train was blown up, resulting in heavy casualties and damage. Before you ask: yes, it was one of my human weapons that destroyed the train."

"Yes, We... I am curious to hear about this weapon," Luna said. She'd been trying to cut down on the "Royal We" thing ever since I had pointed out that the "We" also included me. "The explosion was quite destructive. It completely destroyed the train."

I nodded. "Yes. I didn't use napalm to blow up that train. I used a coal bomb."

"A coal bomb?" Cadance said, tilting her head.

"Yup. It's exactly what it sounds like. It's an explosive disguised like a piece of coal. I just get a soldier to slip it into a train's supply of coal, the engineers shovel the bomb into the furnace and..." I spread my hooves apart, mimicking an explosion. "Add some flame potions to the cars and you've got a total loss. It has the dual effect of destroying their supply-slash-troop trains while at the same time messing them up psychologically. I have several coal bombs hidden in military trains around Griffonia. Give it a few more times and no soldier is going to get on one of those trains, nor are they going to risk sending supplies that way. Hence, their mobilization efforts are going to be slowed considerably. They're going to have to rely on supply convoys, which are far easier to ambush. This is all on top of the fact that Mesud is attacking them from the other side."

"An interesting strategy," Celestia said with an approving nod. "If the griffins believe that every time they attempt to move towards Equestria they will face severe casualties before they even see the border, they will be far less inclined to try."

"And demoralization from the griffin troops means that they'll not want to fight, causing internal strife in Griffonia, knocking them out of the war and allowing us to focus on Purgle," Cadance finished.

"Yep." I shrugged. "Of course, nothing ever goes completely to plan, but they have to be at least a little shaken up by now. And if they're not, a few more blown up trains and destroyed railways will do the trick. Until then, the next order of business." I turned to Cadance. "How are your efforts to find all of the leaders of the opposition going?"

"Decently, I'd say, seeing as how I'm pretty sure my Blade Wings found all of them," Cadance said, opening up a saddlebag and putting a manila folder on the table. "I think the hard part about assassinating them is going to come from the fact that there is a lot of security around them. Your best chance at taking out Purgle is on the battlefield. Cromwell isn't going anywhere near that. Auntie Celestia would have an easier time getting into your secret weapon room than you would have getting Cromwell right now."

I grimaced and clicked my tongue. "Great. I was hoping we could cut the head off quickly."

"We do still have Kathyrine," Luna pointed out. "We must find a way to utilize her to cause strife amongst the griffins. Surely there are some still loyal to the rightful heir to the throne."

"That's what I'm thinking too, yeah," I agreed. "I think the first step with that is to talk to her and find out what she's willing to do, then go from there."

"A sound idea," Celestia said."Is there anything else for today?"

"Nothing that I can think of," I said. "The draft is going well enough, I guess. We're up to a hundred thousand, but we still have to train and equip them, something that's going a little slower than I'd like." I sighed and massaged my temple. "I think Las Pegasus is being obtuse about it. Just enough to slow us down a bit, but not enough to be that noticeable. I don't think they appreciated us executing Soaring Skies."

It's not like we hanged her in public, or anything.

"Hmm. That's something that we'll need to deal with, then," Celestia said with a frown. "Until then, I feel that I need to eat. It has been a taxing day."

"Are you feeling better then?" I asked as we all stood up.

Celestia smiled and nodded. "Yes, I feel much better since this morning." Her smile faded into a frown and she tilted her head thoughtfully. "In fact, it's strange. The illness only comes in the early morning. By around eleven or so it is gone. It's like I've contracted this morning sickness that--"

It hit all four of us at pretty much the exact same time.

Cadance squeed and began bouncing up and down, a gigantic grin on her face. I, however, had only a few moments to register the fact that Celestia was pregnant with my foal before Luna punched me right in the face.

Author's Note

By the way, coal bombs? Totally a real thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_torpedo

Yum

"Ow," I said quite eloquently.

Luna somehow packs a bigger punch than Celestia does. She actually managed to knock me to the ground with her blow. I, of course, have come a long way since she snapped my spine over a chair, so I'm not exactly going to let this go right away. Once my head cleared a bit, I snapped out my hind leg and kicked her right in the shin. The force of my kick caused her to stumble back and fall down. Honestly, if it were a normal pony I just kicked, I would have probably snapped their leg in half beyond repair. Luna would likely just be bruised, though.

I leapt to my hooves, the pain from Luna's blow already fading away. Round two wouldn't even start if she knew what was good for her. Luna seemed to have similar thoughts, as she stood up, flaring her wings out at me. I noticed with some satisfaction that she was leaning on her left foreleg a little. Seems I did more damage to her leg than I thought. Good.

Just as the two of us were about to fly at each other for a proper fight, a golden aura surrounded both of us, dragging Luna and I to two separate corners of the room like foals being put in time-out.

"Enough of this, both of you!" Celestia snarled. "I will not have the father and aunt of my foal bickering like schoolfillies!"

"Ooh, an aunt!" Cadance squeed again. She turned to Celestia, her already wide smile growing unsettlingly larger. "Does that mean that he or she is going to be my cousin, Auntie Tia?"

"That is hardly the most pressing matter," Luna growled, as both of us canceled Celestia's magic with our own. "What matters most is that the thoughtlessness of you two will ensure that Tia will not take to the battlefield! She will need to stay here in Canterlot until the foal is delivered!"

Oh...

Yeah. Right. Good point.

"This is unacceptable," Luna continued. "If we alicorns cannot take to the field, then Purgle will see that as a sign of weakness! Tia will become even more of a target than she already is! If our enemies somehow cause a miscarriage, where shall we be, Antares?"

"Okay, firstly, you're only blaming me like making a foal isn't some joint venture," I growled. "Secondly, this is the first time this has happened! Did either one of you even know that you had the ability to get pregnant? Sure, even I went into heat when I was a mare, but when Celestia and I... uh..." I blushed a bit. "Took advantage of that fact with each other, she didn't end up pregnant, and that's what heat is for!"

"Well of course not." All three of us paused and looked over at Cadance, a confused expression on all of our faces. She looked at the three of us for a moment and then huffed. "Look, the particular spell that you two were using for intercourse only allowed Antares to grow a pair. It didn't actually allow for conception."

"But even so, Celestia and Luna had harems of stallions in the past and they never got pregnant from that." I looked at Celestia and tilted my head. "Uh... unless you had them all gelded beforehoof." Celestia shook her head.

"Well of course not," Cadance repeated. "Look..." Cadance walked up to the small chalkboard we kept in the room and, to the horror of all three of us, proceeded to create a detailed drawing of a mare's reproductive cycle. "Now, when splooshy happens during banging and the mare is in heat, the sperm goes through the mare's system trying to find an egg to fertilize, correct?" Cadance updated her drawing for the full effect. "However, most of it dies way before it even finds an egg for various different reasons. Now, Auntie Tia is an alicorn, so her biology is way different from that of an average mare. The seed of an average stallion wouldn't even come close to one of her eggs. It'd be like trying to throw a piece of glass through a brick wall so it could land on something on the opposite side."

Oh please just kill me now.

"However, now that Antares is a full-blown male alicorn, his sperm is much hardier, and would have no trouble finding an egg to fertilize." Cadance finished writing on the chalkboard and put her chalk down before nodding to herself and turning to the rest of us. "At least, that's my best theory. I really can't see any other explanation."

Good for her for figuring it out. As for the rest of us, we were sitting on the floor and trying to not make eye contact of any kind with either Cadance or the chalkboard. For my part, I was blushing so profusely that you could probably cook an egg on my face. Wait... no, no talk of eggs!

Cadance, seeing the reaction of the audience to her little lecture, sighed and clicked her tongue. "Look, we all are, or were, grown mares alright, and one of us just had all of this happen. You were wondering why Uncle Antares got Auntie Tia pregnant, and I just told you."

"Yeah... you sure did," I muttered.

"Regardless, if my theory is correct," Cadance continued, "you are the only pony who could get Auntie Tia pregnant without some serious magic, I'll wager." Cadance tilted her head and looked over to Luna. "And Auntie Luna, too, I guess."

Huh, well if it was awkward before...

If I did that, it would make our foals siblings and cousins. Not completely unusual of royalty back on Earth, but still, not my idea of a big, happy family.

...

Wait, hold on a second...

"'Uncle Antares'?" I said weakly.

"Of course," Cadance replied. "If you're in a relationship with my aunt, what am I supposed to call you, especially since you two are probably going to tie the knot now that a foal has been thrown into the mix?"

"Let's take all of this one step at a time, Cadance, shall we?" Celestia said, raising her hoof. "I hardly think that now is the time to begin planning a wedding when our country is on the cusp of a major invasion." Cadance gave Celestia a flat look, causing her to droop her ears and pointedly look at the ground. "Yes, well, in any case, I propose that we keep this quiet for the time being. I will, of course, be checking up with the royal doctor to determine the health of my foal. This must be handled very delicately."

"I agree," I said, desperate to get the conversation away from why there was a foal and onto what we were going to do now that Celestia was expecting. "You're not showing quite yet, and now that you know why you're sick in the mornings, you can take steps to deal with that. We can put off the announcement for a short while, I think. I think this should be a happy occasion..." I rubbed my jaw and glared at Luna, "but you're right, Moonbutt, we have to consider how this affects the upcoming war."

"Agreed, Scorpibutt," Luna replied nastily. "We should wait on the announcement until Tia begins to show." Luna turned her attention to her sister. "Until then, we must see the royal physician about your condition. We wouldn't want to misinterpret the situation, now would we, and we want to ensure the health of both you and the foal."

Well, that seemed prudent enough.

* * * *

"Well, Princess, it's... hard to say." Dr. Syringe put his stethoscope back in his medical bag and shook his head. "I mean, not the part about you being pregnant. You definitely have a foal in there. Thank goodness for that." He grimaced and snapped his medical bag shut. "I once saw this real hag of a noblemare who insisted she was pregnant. Turns out she had a tumor in there instead." He waved his hoof, forestalling any comments from the rest of us. "But yes, you are definitely pregnant, Princess Celestia."

"They what are you unsure of?" Celestia asked, sitting up on her bed.

"Well... pretty much everything else." Dr. Syringe frowned and began rubbing his jaw. "I can guess that it's because of your alicorn biology, but my ultrasound spell isn't coming through as clearly as it normally would. I can't get a good reading on the foal. I believe I sensed what could develop into wings in there, but I cannot positively identify the race or gender. If I had to guess based on past experiences, you are carrying a colt in there, but, like I said, I cannot be totally sure."

"So..." I walked up to Celestia and draped my wing across her back, a small smile crossing my face for the first time since we had found out about the pregnancy. "I'm going to have a son?"

"If I had to guess, but there are no guarantees at this stage."

My breath caught in my throat and I leaned in to nuzzle Celestia. I had always wanted a foal, but thought the idea was out of reach once I ascended, even after turning into a stallion. But now...

"A son," I whispered. "I... I'm gonna have a son."

"Probably."

"Dang it, Dr. Syringe, let me have a moment."

"Of course. Sorry, your majesty.

* * * *

True to our plans, we did not release information about Celestia's condition to the public. Heck, I didn't even tell my officers or Tulip. It wasn't for them to know right now. Soon this piece of news would be arguably as big as the upcoming war. A pregnant alpha alicorn? I couldn't even begin to list all of the questions that would come from that. Forget Ara, the colt growing inside of Celestia would soon be the most focused on pony in the world. He'd become a chess piece in everyone's game. Although if any of the nobles thought they were going to manipulate my son for their own ends, they were going to be in for the shock of their lives. Perhaps literally. My son was going to have as normal of a foalhood as I could give him under the circumstances.

Still, as happy as I was, I did agree that the timing was a bit poor. If this happened after the war? Nothing but good feelings all around. Now, though...

I pushed the thought out of my mind as I walked down the hallway of my palace to my throne room. If Celestia and I did get married, where would we live? Especially with the foal. I couldn't continue to rule from Baltimare, as it would be pretty bad for the foal if we were married and his parents were on opposite ends of Equestria all the time.

Wait, no focus Antares. Gotta focus. There's a war and stuff going on.

I walked into my throne room and found, of all things, Tulip sitting on the floor and leaning against my throne. I guess as my acting consigliere this wouldn't be weird in of itself, but one minor detail made this image rather odd: she was fast asleep.

Like the kind of sleep that a pony gets when they literally have no energy to do anything anymore. I frowned and walked up to her, casting a quick spell to make sure she was alright. As I suspected, I found no signs of any magic affecting her. Tulip was simply asleep. I frowned and gently nudged her with one of my wings. She groaned and let out a rather spectacular yawn, but still didn't open her eyes. An amused smile crossed my face and I gently nudged her with my wing again.

"Gmgfh," Tulip grumbled. "T' m're minutes."

"Two more minutes it is then."

At the sound of my voice, Tulip's eyes snapped open and she shot to her hooves faster than I've ever seen. She began blushing profusely as she patted down the section of her mane that stuck out from leaning against my throne.

"P-Prince Antares! I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!"

I chuckled and waved my hoof. "No worries, Tulip. You wouldn't have fallen asleep there unless you were really exhausted." I frowned and tilted my head. "Are the twins keeping you up?"

Tulip let out another yawn and nodded. "Yeah, they're getting kind of colicky. I don't know what it is, but they're also starting to resist nursing, too. I'm thinking that we're going to have to start getting them onto solid food here soon."

I raised my eyebrow. "Really? That soon? They're only a few months old."

"Well, whenever they're at the dinner table with me, they're starting to reach out to grab my food. They're getting hungry more frequently, too."

"And it's harder on you with Valiant off training the new draftees," I finished. "I understand." I scratched my jaw thoughtfully. "How would you like it if we got a foalsitter for the twins so that you could get more work done, and get more sleep? You wouldn't have to just rely on magic to make sure that they're okay. We could get a proper sitter for the two of them."

A grateful look instantly crossed Tulip's face. "I know they're my foals and all, and I love them dearly, but... yes, I think I would like that, Prince Antares. I think I need some me time."

"I completely agree." I sat down next to Tulip and gave her a warm smile. "They're your foals and you love them, I know that, but you need to take care of yourself, too. I live by that myself. I love all of my subjects, but I need some time for me. It doesn't make me any less of a ruler, just like you getting a foalsitter from time to time wouldn't make you any less of a mother."

"True," Tulip muttered, leaning against my throne again. I thought she might fall asleep once more.

"Tell ya what: I'll get some ponies together and you can decide who you want to watch over Ara and Veritas when you can't, okay?"

Tulip yawned again and her eyes slowly fluttered closed as she nodded. "Yeah. That sounds... good. Nice."

* * * *

"It will be time, soon."

"Yes, your majesty."

"The ultimate blow to Equestria. Something that not even Nightmare Weapons could accomplish."

"Yes, my king. Should I activate the protocol now?"

"No, there are still a few more preparations to be made. I need to make sure that everything is in position."

"Of course."

"We will move within a few days, though. A week at most."

"Very good, your majesty."

* * * *

"Thank you again, Sunny Breeze," I said, walking the new nanny towards the nursery. "I know that this is a rather daunting task, given their nature, but I don't see any reason why they won't take a liking to you, especially if I tell them that it's okay."

"Of course, Prince Antares," the orange maned, yellow furred pegasus said. "I know that Mrs. Tulip has been working hard, especially with Mr. Valiant gone. She needs some time to herself." Sunny Breeze smiled. "And I'm sure that the two of them are just darling."

"For the most part, yes," I said with a nod. "Just make sure they don't get too grumpy. Their stingers won't come out unless they feel truly threatened, so don't worry about them attacking you if you don't feed them fast enough or something. Just treat them like normal foals, and things should be okay."

The two of us reached the door to the nursery, where two of my soldiers stood guard. They nodded to me and opened the door to let the two of us in. We entered and saw Ara and Veritas inside their crib, sitting on top of their logs and playing with little stuffed Antares dolls Tulip had gotten for the two of them. Their favorite toys by far.

Odd for me, but hey, whatever made them happy, I guess.

The two of them looked over when they heard us enter the room, and smiled at me. I smiled back and sat down in front of the crib, using my magic to lift it off of them and raise the lights slightly.

"Ara, Veritas, this is Sunny Breeze," I said, motioning to her. Sunny gave a nervous wave to the two of them. The twins' happy expressions turned questioning, and they turned to look at me. I gave them a warm smile and patted Veritas on the head. "She's going to be watching you when your mom needs to take a nap and get some work done, okay?"

I turned my head to Sunny Breeze and beckoned her closer. She bit her lip nervously, but walked up and sat down next to me. She extended a hoof towards Veritas, who, to my surprise, leaned forward and began sniffing it. Like a dog would do. Odd. Ara crawled over to her and began sniffing her outstretched foreleg, too. I'd never seen them do something like that. Granted, they had most of their interactions with their parents and me, whom they knew very well, so maybe this was just them getting used to this new pony. After a few moments, the two of them smiled, causing Sunny Breeze and I to do the same thing.

"Excellent," I said, as the two of us got to our hooves. "Well, Tulip is going to be napping for a few hours, and then she's going to be getting some paperwork done. All a part of life as my consigliere, I suppose. There's some formula in the fridge over there for when they get hungry, so you should be all set."

"Thank you, Prince Antares," Sunny said, bowing to me. "I'll be sure to take good care of them."

"I'm sure you will," I said with a smile. "I'll come check on you in an hour or so, okay?"

"Sounds perfect, Prince Antares."

Cool. That's one less thing off of my plate, then.

* * * *

I did hope the real Sunny Breeze wasn't too badly hurt. My queen had specifically ordered me to not kill any of these ponies. It would just make the situation worse. Blood always makes things more complicated. So just leaving her bound, gagged, and unconscious in a locked storage closet would be enough for my purposes. I looked back to my targets, who were both staring at me with wide eyes and smiled at them.

"Just one moment, you two, and then we can get going."

I cast a minor sound spell around the room, ensuring that those pesky guards wouldn't be bothering us, before sitting down on the floor and closing my eyes. I felt my consciousness link with the rest of them before I connected with the one I searched for.

My queen. I am alone with the foals. Antares suspects nothing. I can be out in five minutes.

Excellent, came the reply. And what did you feel when they interacted with Antares?

It was beyond love, my queen. It was a connection that I've never felt before. They're young enough that I think we can mold them to have that connection with you. I've never tasted anything like it. We will feast if we succeed.

No casualties in the palace during infiltration?

None, I confirmed. They'll likely blame this on the griffins or minotaurs. They won't be found once we get them to the hive.

Excellent. You have done well, my pretty. Let me know when you're close.

Of course. I will collect them now.

I cut off the communication and got to my hooves. I turned back to the foals who had both started crawling towards me. I let out a quiet chuckle. "Well, well, anxious, are we? Don't worry, you two. I'll take you to meet your new mother soon enough. Don't worry."

I walked over to the fridge and retrieved the bottles of formula that Antares had pointed out. I collected a large foal bag and put them into the side pockets. Following that, I ignited my horn, bathing the bag in a green glow, and coursed my magic through it. An extending spell. One I'd been perfecting over the weeks. With any luck, I'd manage to make the inside of the bag large enough to fit both foals inside. When I powered down my horn, I looked inside the bag and smiled. Plenty of room. Time to collect the foals and return to the queen. I turned around and let out a slight yelp of surprise when I saw both of the foals closer to me than expected. Perhaps they were hungry? I smiled at them and sat down.

"We're going to be taking a little trip. I promise you that you'll come to like it." The foals reached me and began climbing on me, something that made me chuckle. "Perhaps I should feed you before we go, then? You seem to be hu--"

My side exploded in pain, and I shot to my hooves, dislodging both foals. I stumbled backwards and ran into the crib, sending us both crashing to the ground. I looked over to the foals and my eyes widened when I saw that both had their stingers out and at the ready. I began backing away from them, but paused when I felt myself being bathed in the familiar fire. My disguise had fallen! Had their venom shorted out my magic? I groaned and clutched at my side as I felt the venom course through me. I needed to leave.

"Pathetic."

I raised my eyes and gasped when I saw my queen standing in front of me. How did she get here?!

"M-my queen?" I groaned.

"You have completely failed me. I thought that I could trust you." She turned her nose up at began circling me like a shark. "I realize now that you're nothing."

"N-no, my queen," I moaned. "I can still--" I screamed when I felt another sting in the small of my back. The room began fading away, and I found myself in the hive, surrounded by my brethren.

"Failure!" one called out.

"Useless!" said another.

"I thought this job would be simple for you," my queen said with a sigh. "Now I realize that I misplaced my trust. I will not make the same mistake again." She turned her back on me and began walking away. "Goodbye. I don't expect I shall even remember your name soon."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry out, but all I could do was lay there as I felt something sharp dig into me.

* * * *

"Well, good afternoon, Tulip," I said, smiling at my consigliere as she rubbed the last bit of sleep from her eyes. "I didn't expect you to be up this soon."

Tulip yawned and shrugged. "Well, I woke up and couldn't fall asleep again, so I thought I'd check on the twins and see how the new nanny is working out for them."

"I hope well," I said with a grin. "It took you three days before you picked one you liked."

"I wanted to find a good fit," Tulip said with a shrug. "I didn't think they'd go for any old nanny off the street."

"True enough. I was actually heading over to go check on them myself. I thought you'd be asleep for another hour or so."

"Well, we can do that together then get some work done."

"Sounds good."

The two of us approached the door to the nursery and the two guards saluted us.

"Good afternoon. Any problems so far?" I asked them.

"Not that we're aware of," the one on the right said. "All is quiet, so I'm guessing she's put them down for their nap or feeding them."

"Sounds good," I said. "We're just here to check on them."

"Excellent." The guards pushed open the door, allowing us to walk inside.

The first thing that struck me was how... dark the room was. I mean, if the twins were down for their nap, of course the lights would be off, but Sunny didn't even have a light for herself? I frowned and ignited my horn to shed more light into the room.

I spotted the scene before me instantly.

Instead of Sunny Breeze sitting next to the crib, the crib sat on its side as if something had crashed into it. But far worse than that was the scene on the floor. Tulip instantly screamed, and the guards rushed in, gasping when they saw what we were looking at.

Instead of Sunny Breeze, a changeling lay on the floor, with Ara and Veritas on top of it, covered in its green blood.

They were eating it.

Author's Note

What? Scorpion ponies get hungry. Although soon they'll have to start feeding them like this.

Fun fact: scorpions have an excellent sense of smell. They use it to find prey and sense danger. You know: kind of like Ara and Veritas did in this chapter!

Help update the TV Tropes page!

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Oh Dear

Oh geez. Oh holy me. I mean, I'm not holy, but ponies say "Holy Antares" when they're freaking out, and I hear them a lot, so...

Uh...

Bgwah?

I couldn't really decide which fact I find more disturbing at the moment: the fact that a changeling had managed to sneak into my palace, or the fact that Ara and Veritas didn't seem to be fooled by it in the slightest, so they decided to kill and eat it.

Before that I had to do something about the screaming. I folded my ears and put my hoof on Tulip's back, only succeeding in getting her to sit down. She still shrieked in horror at the sight of her foals eating a changeling. I groaned and cast a quick silencing spell over her. Her screaming would not help the situation in the least.

Well, noticing that no sound was coming out of her mouth, Tulip closed it and put her head in her hooves, tears of horror streaming down her face.

Yeah, I could kind of get where she was coming from. A lot, really, but screaming wouldn't help anypony right now. I ignited my horn and turned Tulip to face me, dissipating the sound spell as I did. She seemed to be about ready to start screaming again, but I raised a hoof to cut her off.

"Okay, Tulip, I know this is shocking, but I need you to go outside while I handle this." I tried not to look over at the foals, who continued happily munching away on the dead changeling. I failed. Shudder. "I don't know what they're going to do when I try to take it away from them, but I know that they can't hurt me, okay?"

Tulip's reply came out as a whimper, but she nodded and slowly walked out of the room. I didn't miss her body convulsing with heavy sobs. I couldn't really blame her. I wanted freak out myself. Once she left, I gently closed the door and turned back to the foals, who were still happily eating the dead changeling. I laid down in front of the two of them, catching their attention. They looked over in my direction with a curious expression, but smiled when they noticed it was me. I weakly returned it.

"Uh... hey, you two. You, uh, should probably stop eating that. You wouldn't want to get a stomachache, right?"

Ugh. Not my best line. Their looks of confusion returned.

"What, uh, what I mean is, that's not really something that you should be eating." I ignited my horn and gently lifted the two of them off of the changeling before sliding the changeling out from underneath them and setting them down away from it. Their eyes followed the changeling as I put it in a corner of the room, but they didn't make any effort to get to it. Good thing they had that connection with me. Any other pony and it might not have gone so well. I gave them my best attempt at a comforting smile, given that my heart felt like it was beating a thousand times a minute. I levitated the foal bag over to me and took out some wipes.

"Okay, let's get you two cleaned up."

Their looks of confusion didn't fade away, but they didn't resist as I wiped the green changeling blood off of them. It took a few minutes and a lot of wipes, but eventually they didn't look like characters from an Eli Roth film anymore. I continued smiling weakly at them and once more ignited my horn, lifting their crib up and motioning for them to go under it.

"It's about naptime, don't you two think? You've had a... busy day. You two need your rest."

They tilted their heads at me, and I motioned to the direction of their crib. After a moment, the two of them grumbled something in foal-talk, then crawled underneath their logs with continued encouragement from me. Once I felt they had settled, I gently set the crib down and turned off the lights.

Well, that's one problem solved. Now I have to deal with the me dammed dead, half eaten changeling in the room! I gulped and turned to the corner I had laid it in. Nope, it hadn't gone away just because I really, really wanted it to. I groaned and levitated the foal bag into the air. I figured that I could get it out that way. Just cast an extending spell on it and...

Huh...

There was already an extending spell on it. Not a great one, but it would have done the job. Guess I know how they were going to get the foals out. I levitated the changeling and gingerly slid it into the foal bag, trying to make the process as clean as possible. Ara and Veritas had done a number on this thing. As such, I failed miserably. I cleaned the bag off as best as I could before zipping it up and walking out the door. Tulip waited for me on the other side, her face, already tear-streaked, went a little green when she noticed the bag. I groaned and flattened my ears.

"I'll... I'll buy you a new one." I began walking towards my secret laboratory. I had to be discreet about this thing. Tulip quickly followed.

"Prince Antares, what are we going to do?" Tulip moaned.

"We're going to get rid of this thing, then I'll talk to Celestia and Luna about it," I said, trying to keep my voice as even as possible, despite my inward screaming.

"That's not what I mean," she replied. "I'm talking about my foals! I d-didn't know that they'd do something like this!" Tulip paused for a moment to wipe her eyes, then ran to catch up with me. "What do we do about them?"

"Tulip, if you can figure that out, please do let me know." Realizing that I said that with a bit too much bite, I adjusted my tone a little. "I'm going to be working on this. I'm not just going to get rid of the body and be done with it. We're going to figure out what happened here today, so don't worry."

Tulip nodded glumly, but didn't say anything else. The two of us reached the door to my research lab, and the pegasi guarding it saluted me. I returned that with a small head tilt.

"Okay, I need to get in there pronto." I hoped they remembered the stress password. "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again!"

The two pegasi looked at me like I had gone nuts. I groaned and tried again.

"It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again. It does this whenever it's told!"

"Uh, Prince Antares, are you...?"

"That's the stress password, remember?!" I snapped. "Put the freaking lotion in the basket!"

The two guards flinched back, but saluted me and opened up the door. I held my hoof up so that Tulip wouldn't follow me before rushing inside. I closed the door behind me and threw the bag underneath the closest table before sitting down, grasping my head in my hooves, and letting out a shriek of uncertainty, fear, and horror.

Good thing the room was soundproof.

* * * *

After taking a few minutes to calm myself down a little, I focused my attention back on the bloody bag full of dead changeling. I grimaced and got to my hooves. Celestia would definitely need to know about this. I mean, if changelings were sneaking into my palace, then that put a definite damper on our plans to move the Elements to Canterlot. I mean, who's to say that they hadn't started sneaking into Celestia's castle, too? It would be a bad idea to move the Mane Six there, only to have them captured or killed by changelings.

They only needed to get one for them to not work. We would have to ward Canterlot Castle and hopefully get them there in a couple of weeks. We'd also double the Blade Wings in Ponyville until then.

I needed to talk to Celestia about all of that first. She might not be in the best physical or emotional state being that she's pregnant with our foal and... gah, I did not need this right now! One stressful event at a time, please!

But, given that our latest intelligence reports indicated that the minotaurs were massing on our western border, and had already had a few skirmishes with Saddle Arabian and buffalo scouts, it would probably get worse before it got better.

I sighed and walked out of the room. The changeling would keep for a little longer while I figured out what to do with it. I had to calm Tulip down to start with. That and find the real Sunny Breeze. There was no way that the mare I initially hired was a changeling. I hope.

I shut the door behind me and nodded to my soldiers before looking down the hall, expecting to see Tulip waiting for me there. I turned out to be mistaken. Frowning, I turned back to my soldiers.

"Do you know where Tulip went?"

The one on the left shrugged. "She just kind of ran off. She said she needed to go get something. Something that would help her protect her foals and Equestria." The guard looked to her fellow. "I think that's how she put it."

My frown deepened. "So wait, is she still in the castle?"

"What castle, Prince Antares?" said the one on the right. "I've been standing here so long, that my whole world has become this door and this bit of hallway."

"Okay, so you don't know." I groaned and rubbed my temple. "So that's... okay. Sure, whatever."

So I suppose that I had to add "find Tulip and figure out what she's up to" on top of everything else. Great.

* * * *

It turned out that, yes, she had left the palace. I didn't really find that ideal, of course. Now more than ever I needed my consigliere, and she needed to be there for her foals. I know she said that she was going to get something to protect them, but come on, she still needed to take care of them!

I guess that's why it's a good thing we found the real Sunny Breeze. Yep, the changeling had left her tied up and gagged in a storage closet. We found her while scouring the castle for any more changelings. Of course in each room we put a changeling detection spell over each doorway. So I guess those were a few more things off of my list.

At least, that's what Celestia, Luna, and I had discussed. We managed to incinerate the body of the changeling Ara and Veritas had gotten to, and had the Blade Wings scouring Ponyville to see how many more there were.

Hopefully the answer was zero. I didn't need the Elements in danger.

A week passed and there was still no sign of Tulip. Sunny Breeze had been looking after the foals all of that time (with an armed guard, of course) which had proved a little more than difficult. Ara and Veritas were quite aware that Sunny was not their mother, and so they became rather fussy whenever she tried to do anything with them. When it got really bad, I had to come in to calm them down. They listened to me. However, I suspected that wouldn't last much longer if their mother didn't appear. I would consider having Valiant come back to the palace to help with them, but I needed all of the veteran soldiers that I could get to train the draftees.

But, every now and again the universe looks at me and decides that it's been too hard on me, so it decides to give me a break. It happened while I sat in my office, doing paperwork, trying to get lost in it so that I didn't have to think about how rough things were.

Then I heard a knock on the door.

I groaned and put my quill back in the inkwell. I ignited my horn and opened the door without even standing up. To my chagrin, I saw Time Keeper on the other side, bouncing up and down like a filly who had no clue where the bathroom was. I subtly grimaced, making a mental note to slip some Ritalin into his morning coffee sometime.

"Yes, Time Keeper?" I said, trying to mask the exasperation in my voice. "Is something the matter?"

"No, I mean, yes, I mean..." I raised my hoof ever so slightly, giving him the signal to calm way down. His eye twitched, but he took a deep breath before continuing. "Tulip is back, your majesty, and you need to see what she brought with her!"

I frowned and stood up. Tulip being back was indeed good news. Her foals would be happy to see her, at any rate. That didn't explain why Time Keeper was going nuts, though. What could Tulip have brought back that would make him act this way?

"Where is she, Time Keeper?" I walked over to my office door and Time Keeper moved aside so that I could get out. "Where is she and what has she been doing?"

"In the courtyard!" Time Keeper yipped. "Tulip has them in the courtyard! More ponies!"

"More ponies?" I began walking down the hall in the direction of my courtyard. "What do you mean? You know I don't like the pronoun game."

"I don't know how to describe it, Prince Antares." Time Keeper whispered dramatically. "I don't even know who these new ponies are!"

That troubled me. It could definitely be Time Keeper being his nervous self, something that the war didn't help in the least, but this was Tulip we were talking about. Her loyalty towards me bordered on fanatical, so I couldn't discount the idea that she'd done something dramatic, especially with this talk of more ponies.

Still, even thinking like I was, I found myself unprepared for the sight before me when I entered the courtyard.

There had to have been at least a hundred ponies standing at perfect attention before me. Each of them wore ornate battle armor, emblazoned with my cutie mark on the breastplate, The armor style itself struck me as something out of the Middle East, but I knew enough about my subjects to know that these ponies were from the southern tribes in Equestria. Standing at the front of the formation, head held high and also decked out in armor, was Tulip herself. She looked like a commander showing off her fresh recruits to a nearby general.

And it kind of freaked me out.

When the soldiers saw me come out to the courtyard, each of them, Tulip included, sunk into a low bow. Not the usual kind to show me respect, no, this was reverence. Bordering on worship.

And I thought I was freaked out before.

I slowly walked up to Tulip, stopping inches in front of her. I had to wait for a moment for my brain to re-boot, but when it did, I spoke quite eloquently, if I do say so myself.

"Huh?"

Tulip snapped to attention, and the rest of the ponies did the same. They had practiced this, it seems.

"Prince Antares, may I present to you my kin." She motioned behind her. "I went to my homeland because I knew we needed more troops. And, um, I talked to the nomadic tribes and told them the situation. These are the sons and daughters of the nobility of those tribes, here to assist you in any way that they can. They came to protect Equestria, its ponies, and, most importantly, you. So..." Tulip bowed to me again. "So yeah, I got some more ponies for you."

Given her speech, I began to wonder if she thought I'd be mad at the offering. I totally wasn't, more troops was always a good thing in this situation, but who she had gotten baffled me.

"Uh..." I blinked once, scanning the scene before me. "Well... I can say for sure that I'm surprised. This is... good."

Tulip looked back up to me, a hopeful smile on her face. "We want to help however we can, Prince Antares. We'll follow you to the end." She followed that up with some kind of war cry in some language that I couldn’t understand, something that the new troops promptly mimicked. But not only them. As the war cries went through the room, I heard the shouts grow louder, until the noise became almost deafening. It seemed that Tulip had brought more than just these few nobles. I flattened my ears to block some of the noise. I have to admit, it was kind of intimidating.

This is going to be interesting.

* * * *

I walked through the muddy, chaotic field that we were using for our supply train. After six more trains exploded during attempts to move troops and supplies into Equestria to begin combat, we decided to forego them. Not that they would have gotten very far anyway. All intelligence indicated that the tracks had been severely sabotaged.

I didn't like it. Supply trains are slow and far too vulnerable. Not to mention the fact that this accursed rain had made moving the wagons nearly impossible. It always came at night, when most of the troops were too exhausted from pulling the supply wagons. We had attempted to put scouts up to catch the ponies involved in this weather, but the first night we tried that, we woke up to find all of their heads on pikes outside of my tent, one of whom had the words "nice try" scrawled on his forehead in blood.

It went on like that for a week. I couldn't understand how they kept doing it. It wasn't until we noticed that the clouds were mixed with some corrosive element on top of sound and camouflage spells that we understood why our scouts weren't coming back. That plus the speed and skill of whomever was doing this, likely Cadance's accursed Blade Wings, meant that no griffins wanted to go up to disperse the clouds. Especially since one head read "acid rain next time" when we found the latest patrols.

Morale was low, and I wasn't sure how it could get any worse unless the ponies followed through with their threat of acid rain.

I reached my tent, ignoring the salutes and murmurs of 'General' from my guard, and set my helmet down on the table that had been set up for me. I ignored the pang of hunger in my stomach as I looked over maps, troop reports, supply counts, and the rest of the boring nonsense that goes into being a field general. I confess that if I was in charge, I'd end this rotten war. We'd lost too many troops with nothing to show for it, and that was just on the western front. I didn't want to know how bad things would get when Mesud finally sent his troops into Griffonia.

We were in for a rough time, and I wasn't sure that whatever our Glorious Emperor had cooked up would get us out of it.

I heard my tent flap open and saw a servant coming inside, a fully loaded plate and a goblet of wine in his claws. I pushed aside some papers and motioned to the empty spot I had created. Some food would likely do me good. The servant put the plate and goblet down before bowing to me and backing out of my tent. I picked up my fork and absentmindedly took a bite of the steak I had been provided, just as my tent flap opened again and one of my subordinates, some lieutenant whose name I didn't quite remember, walked in and saluted me.

"General, I'm here to report on the current state of the war."

I nodded and motioned for him to continue as I took another bite.

"The troops are, well, not happy." He uneasily scratched the back of his neck. "Between the rain and our losses just getting this far, there's talk of desertion among some of them. I had anyone who spoke such nonsense put in the stockade for the night."

"That's a tactic that will only work for so long, I imagine," I muttered. "We need something to get the troops' morale up. Something that shows them that we can win this war!"

At that, the lieutenant grinned before pulling a piece of paper out of a satchel he had strapped to his side. "I think this will do nicely, sir."

"What is it?"

"It's some intel from one of our agents." He placed it down on the table in front of me. "I think this might do the trick."

I picked up the paper and quickly scanned it. It had better be as good as he promised or...

My eyes widened as the words registered in my mind. No. It was impossible. It had to be. But if it was true, then...

I put the paper down and put a claw up to my beak. "Is this accurate, Lieutenant?" I whispered.

His grin widened and he nodded. "Yep. There's no doubt about it at this point. Princess Celestia is pregnant. Antares is the father."

"But that means she won't be able to take to the field. A royal foal... they're not going to risk that." I could feel my face growing red at the idea. "This is... this may be exactly what the troops need. We won't face Celestia until she delivers the foal. Maybe we won't have to!" I stood up and began pacing around my tent. I felt a small itch at the back of my throat and I coughed to clear it up. "We... ah..." I cleared my throat again. Shock does odd things to me, I suppose. "We have to tell Emperor Cromwell if he doesn't... doesn't know already. If the war is still going on when Celestia delivers, we'll have to try to get ahold of it as a hostage to..." I felt the air around me become warmer by the second. I coughed and thumped my chest to satiate the itch. "To sue for peace. Antares and Celestia won't risk their foal for anything. Not even..."

"Sir, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I said with a wave of my talons. "Just..." I thumped my chest again. "I think something went down the wrong pipe. Just need something to drink." I walked over to my desk where my goblet sat. My steps were becoming heavier, as though weights had been attached to my legs. I collapsed onto my chair and shakily grabbed my goblet to take a sip.

The moment I did, pain shot through my body, the likes of which I hadn't thought possible. I fell to the ground, twitching, not even able to scream. I heard the lieutenant rush out of my tent, shouting for help, but I knew it was too late. It wasn't more than a few moments before everything went black.

* * * *

"It sounds like everything went according to plan," I said, putting the listening gem back in my saddlebag. I took out a sheet of paper which bore the images of each of the high ranking griffins and minotaurs, and put a big red X through the picture of the griffin general we had just poisoned. "Agent D, if you could sent word back to Canterlot of our success, I'd appreciate that."

The pegasus mare behind me saluted. "Yes, Commander Skies."

"One more thing, Agent D. Don't tell anypony about Princess Celestia's pregnancy. We can't have that getting out. Obviously she'll start to show here soon, but the royals want to keep it quiet for as long as possible."

Agent D saluted me again, and took wing towards Canterlot, allowing me to turn my attention back to the tent below me, which was already being flocked by griffins hoping they could save their already dead general.

"It seems things are going well, Agent L," I said with a grin. "Have you gotten to the rest of their food supplies?"

"The next phase is ready to go," Agent L said, saluting me.

"Excellent." I nodded. "We'll see how willing the griffin army is to get any closer to Equestria when they all have the runs. They're all going to go back to Iselin and let their dear old emperor know what they think of this war."

"Of course."

I stood up and stretched my wings out. I felt we'd had a really productive day, if I do say so myself. Time to get some rest. As I walked back towards my cloud tent, a thought struck me, and I turned back to Agent L.

"By the way, in case the poisoned food doesn't get the point across, activate the acid rain tonight if you would."

Agent L enthusiastically saluted me. "Yes, Commander Skies."

Content that the griffins would be out of this war soon, I went back to my tent for some shut-eye.

Internal Strife

"My lord."

"Good morning, soldier."

"Heavenly Father, it is an honor serving you."

"Thank you, soldier."

"All hail the Scorpion Prince! Is there anything I can do for you, my master?"

"Er... no thank you, soldier. I'm fine."

"Allfather, it is my honor serving you. Is there anything I can do?"

"Uh... as I told the last one, I'm fine for now. Thank you, soldier."

"Hail to you, my lord."

Sigh. "Good morning, soldier."

Once the latest soldier walked by, I looked down to Tulip, trying my best to keep the exasperation out of my voice.

"Tulip, you know I appreciate the extra soldiers, I really do. However, can you tell them that they don't need to stop everything they're doing and greet me every time I walk by? It's really unnecessary."

Tulip frowned at that. "Well they're just showing their devotion to you, Prince Antares. Is there something about that you don't like? Are their shows of devotion displeasing to you in some way?"

"Not the acts themselves, more the frequency of them. I don't doubt their devotion." Unfortunately. "You've worked for me long enough to know that ponies grovelling to me isn't something that I particularly care for."

Tulip smiled and walked a little closer to me. "It is that selflessness and humble attitude that inspires so many of us, Prince Antares. We know we can never be like you, but we can strive to follow your example."

Oh for... She's not really listening to me, is she? To be fair, when she gets all "Jerusalem Syndrome" on me, she ignores that I really am not the kind of pony who enjoys being worshiped. I kind of have to let it run its course.

"Well, be that as it may, we are going to have to have a talk about them and their interactions with my Snarcasti-guard. I've gotten a few complaints that these new troops are trying to kind of take over around here. Soldiers will go to start their shifts only to find a few of the new soldiers already at their posts. I don't think that I have to explain how that counts as them overstepping their bounds a little."

"Well they're just trying to be helpful, Prince Antares," Tulip replied. They don't mean to step on any hooves."

"Well, I'm afraid to say that some of my troops don't quite see it that way."

"But they are your troops, Prince Antares."

"You know what I mean." I took a deep breath before continuing. Like I said: I didn't want to sound exasperated or unappreciative. "Look, my guard is just trying to do their jobs, and some of them have told me that they feel that by taking their shifts without permission, the ponies you brought are... usurpers."

Tulip raised an eyebrow at that. "Usurpers, Prince Antares? They're only trying to help."

"And none of them have asked me what I need done. They've all just started doing what they feel I need done." I frowned at Tulip. "You wouldn't have happened to give them any orders, right?"

Tulip's face flushed red, and she flattened her ears. "Er... well, they wanted to know what they could do to help you, and you weren't saying anything, so they deferred to me as your... well, given my role as your consigliere, a few of them see me as a sort of prophet, given that I'm so close to you and all."

If alicorns could get headaches, I'm sure a rather smashing one would be creeping up right about then. "Very well, I'll make this clear: all orders are to come from me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," Tulip said, her voice barely above a mutter. I'd embarrassed her, no doubt about that, but she wasn't the one in charge here. She'd officially turned the troops over to me when they arrived, so she couldn't give orders to take jobs from ponies who had been with me since I ascended.

"We'll talk more about this later," I said, waving a wing dismissively. "Right now, it's time for court, then to talk to some of Princess Cadance's Blade Wings to see how the war on the eastern front is going." For the first time in a few days, a smile crossed my face. "Not well, last I heard. They've started getting deserters."

"Well that can only be good, Prince Antares," Tulip said, confidence returning to her voice. "That leaves us with more resources to fight the minotaurs."

"Precisely." We reached my throne room, and I noticed with some distaste that a few of the new troops had helped themselves to some spots inside. My real guard kept shooting the new soldiers nasty looks. This was going to get out of hoof if I didn't intervene. I cleared my throat as I walked up to my throne.

"Mares and gentlecolts, my court will be starting soon. If you have not been given a direct order from me to be stationed in this hallway, I'm afraid you need to leave."

I saw a few smug smiles on the faces of my guard, while the new troops looked like I'd just told them I was sentencing to them to Tartarus personally. Tulip gave a few of them apologetic smiles, but none of them would dare disobey a direct order from me. Without a word, but grovelling bows, the half dozen new troops trotted out of the hall.

I'd really need to set up some kind of big meeting with them.

* * * *

Court just dealt with war stuff. Same as always. I'd stopped getting requests to help noble families dodge the draft, so that was always a plus. Of course, given that not every single eligible noble had been drafted, that left some strife too. No doubt those families saw that as me favoring them. I'd sent most of them off to the training camps, but in the interest of social order and stability, I couldn't send all of them. The nobility had their uses, and I couldn't destroy it during one war.

I'd planned on that sort of thing being done over a few centuries or so. Not a few years.

"Next pony," I called out after finishing up a deal to procure some lumber for our army.

The door opened up, and, to my mild surprise, a teenaged pegasus mare came in with her forelegs in hoofcuffs and her wings bound at her side. Beside her stood a rather irate looking noble by the name of Duke Banks, making me that much less excited about this. Two guards flanked the two of them, and I noticed with some distaste that one of them was a soldier that Tulip had brought.

I really needed to get them to the training camps.

The group stopped before me, and Duke Banks bowed low to me. The pegasus mare bowed as well, but I noticed that it held less respect than normal from one of my subjects.

Oh dear. This one looked nasty.

"This is the case of Duke Money Banks versus Ms. Quick Wing. Apparently Ms. Wing vandalized Mr. Banks' property."

"She sure did!" Duke Banks said snootily. "Caught her at it myself!"

"Duke Banks, if you would wait to speak until I ask you to, I would appreciate that," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral.

I didn't miss the look of confusion on the duke's face, but I ignored it in lieu of levitating Tulip's notes on the case over to me so that I could read them personally.

Alight, so vandalism. The notes indicated that Quick Wing had thrown a few rocks through the windows of the Banks manor, on top of painting the word "coward" several times throughout the property, most notably underneath the window of Duke Banks' son.

And I'd had such a good streak of avoiding cases about the draft.

Well, apparently I wasn't reading fast enough for Duke Banks. Either that or my reprimand didn't really sink in for him. Either way, the duke chose to break his silence as I read over the notes.

"Er... Prince Antares? If I may--"

I gave him the best princely stare that I could, adding just a hint of a glare to it. I had given him an order, and he wasn't going to defy it. My look did the job, and he fell silent once again.

Finally, I couldn't put it off any longer. In truth, I'd read the whole thing fairly quickly. I just didn't want to deal with this, and Duke Banks had defied me.

"Very well. I've read the case notes." I turned my head to look at Quick Wing. "Ms. Wing, do you deny these charges?"

Duke Banks' look of disappointment at not being allowed to speak first sat very well with me, but he'd have his turn. Quick Wing, for her part, looked like she wanted to be resolute, but given that an alicorn was looking at her, she faltered a little.

"Er... well, no I don't deny the charges, your majesty." Quick Wing glared at Duke Banks and bared her teeth. "But I didn't say anything that wasn't true! Him and his family are cowards!"

"And why do you think that, Ms. Wing?"

"Because he's using his position to avoid sending his son off to fight the minotaurs!" she spat. "My brother has to go off and fight, but his son gets to stay at home with some cushy desk job?" She made a noise of disgust. "It's not right!"

I sighed. "Ms. Wing, Duke Banks' son was not spared from the draft because of his position. We did the draft by lottery, and his name didn't come up. It's that simple. Causing property damage isn't right, especially under these circumstances."

"With all due respect, Prince Antares, but it's not fair!" She shot Duke Banks another dirty look. "I heard his son sitting in a bar and talking to whoever would listen that he wasn't going to go to the war because you favored his family, and his dad had an 'in' with you! He was bragging that the 'lower-born weaklings' and the 'weak noble houses' were gonna die because of this, but because his dad was more important, he wasn't gonna have to fight!"

"Ms. Wing, I can't deny he was completely out of line saying such things, and that he is absolutely incorrect..." I turned my gaze to Duke Banks. "Absolutely incorrect. But the fact stands that his incorrect behavior doesn't justify your actions."

A triumphant smile crossed Duke Banks' face, while Quick Wing looked at me as though I'd betrayed her somehow. "B-but Prince Antares, why shouldn't his son go? I get that not everypony was drafted, but it isn't fair that nobles are doing everything that they can to get out of the draft, but we can't do a thing about it!"

"His son is no more obligated to volunteer for the army than you are, Ms. Wing."

"I volunteered two days before all of this," Quick Wing grumbled. "I'm set to leave for Canterlot tomorrow morning. Still, though, it's not right that the nobles around here do everything to keep their children here..." Quick Wing jerked her head to one of Tulip's ponies. "While noble ponies from his neck of the woods happily volunteer their children!"

Oh.

So that's what this was all about.

A group of affirmative mutters from various ponies in the room confirmed my suspicions. Oh dear.

Duke Banks didn't really care for her assertion, if his sputtering and beet-red face gave any indications.

"N-now see here!" he snarled. "As Prince Antares said, my son is perfectly within his rights to not volunteer for the army if Prince Antares chose not to draft him! If the southern nobles want to volunteer their children, then that is well within their rights, too!"

"Now look, Duke Banks, who says that I 'chose' not to draft--"

"Yeah, I guess so!" Quick Wing retorted. "But if that's the case, then you need to stop telling all of Baltimare that your son wasn't drafted because you and Prince Antares are so close! You stupid nobles would do anything to get out of real work, while the southern nobles don't have to wait to be drafted, they volunteer willingly! They're ten times the ponies you are!"

Both Tulip and the guard preened at that comment, not to mention the louder affirmative mumbles. I'd stop them, but apparently this belief went beyond Quick Wing, and I needed to know about that. Even a few of my guards looked like they agreed with Quick Wing.

"My family runs the banks in three major cites, Ms. Wing," Duke Banks retorted snootily. "Prince Antares realizes that I need all of my family members to help manage the money in this country during the war!"

I slammed my hoof down on my throne. I imagine that if it hadn't been enchanted, a piece of it would have broken off.

"Duke Banks," I began, my voice deadly calm. "I thought you understood this, but since you clearly don't, I'm going to have to speak plainly. Your son is only not going off to war because his name didn't come up in the draft. That is the only reason. It has nothing to do with his standing, so if you could stop telling him and the ponies around you information to that effect, I'd appreciate that, please and thank you." Before either side could respond, I turned back to Quick Wing. "Now, Ms. Wing, what you did was wrong. You may believe that Duke Banks erred morally, but vandalizing his house is not the proper way to express that. I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense, so I'll cut it off here. I sentence you to thirty days in prison, after which time you will begin your tenure in the Equestrian army. You will also pay to repair all damages to Duke Banks' house." I stomped my hoof on my throne. "That is all. Next case, please."

Duke Banks smirked at Quick Wing as the two guards led her out of my throne room. Before he could leave himself, I cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Duke Banks?" He turned back to me with a smile. "She was in the wrong here, and my actions reflect that matter. However, if I hear that your son has been telling other ponies that he was not drafted because I play favorites, I will be extremely unhappy. Is that understood?"

Duke Banks flattened his ears and lowered his head, but nodded all the same. "Y-yes, Prince Antares. I will let him know not to spread such falsehoods around. Thank you."

As he left, I leaned in closer to Tulip. "I really hope his son is an isolated case. A pony from his walk of life saying such things can really shake the hornet's nest, as it were. Let me know if you hear of other ponies saying the same thing."

"Yes, Prince Antares."

* * * *

After the headache of court, I had Tulip ask around to see if she could find out any more cases of that kind of thing. Not the vandalism part, but more ponies being mad that more noble children weren't being sent off to war. I was especially curious to see if the new troops from the south played a part in that opinion.

Yeah, pretty much, that turned out to be the case.

Now again, I'd been very fair in doing the draft. It's not as though no noble children would be going off to war. Several of them would be. It seemed that the new opinion of most of Baltimare was that not volunteering children to the war effort in some way was cowardice, since the southern nobles had done it. To make matters worse, the opinion started spreading beyond Baltimare too. Not good.

I did not miss the conveniently forgotten fact that several non-noble families were complaining about the nobles, but had children who would not be sent off to war. That fact told me that this was less about fairness and more about just how much the common ponies really disliked the nobles. I guessed that this kind of strife would have come up sooner or later. The war just happened to trigger it.

I obviously wasn't going to start sending more noble children to the front lines to appease the masses, but something had to be done about it. My best option was to really drill it through the heads of the families who didn't have children going that I didn't do it out of favoritism. That seemed to be the worst cause of it. Quick Wing didn't get angry about it until she heard one of the nobles bragging about it.

Oy. Nothing can ever be simple around here...

I put those thought aside for the moment, and entered my war room, where Captain Skies sat with one of her troops. They both bowed to me when I entered.

"At ease," I said, taking my seat. "What news from the eastern front?"

Captain Skies smirked and pulled out two pieces of paper from her saddlebag. She unrolled both of them and laid them out on the table. One was a map of Equestria, and the other bore a dozen pictures with names underneath them. All were pictures of griffins, but one had a big red X through it.

"Well, in terms of the eastern front, I'd say that things are going very well, Prince Antares. Our efforts to cause disarray among the griffin army have succeeded quite beautifully. Between the torrential rain, the poisoning of their food supplies, and the death of one of their top generals..." She pointed at the picture with the X through it. "There is already major discontent in the army. We're already starting to see both deserters and some small riots in Iselin. Most of the deserters have been re-captured and executed, but either way, they're not taking the field."

"Good, good," I said with a nod. "And what of the other griffins on this list?" I pulled it over to me and saw that it bore the pictures of a few more generals, some advisers, the dukes, and Emperor Cromwell. They were on a hierarchy tree, representing their importance "What is being done with them?"

"Well, after the death of their general, most of them that would be with the army have been pulled back to Iselin for their safety. These are some of Emperor Cromwell's most trusted allies. It would be devastating for both the war effort, and his hold on Griffonia if they were killed."

"Well, wouldn't that be a shame?" I said with a grin. "Are there any of these that you have a location on?"

"Not as of yet, Prince Antares, beyond the obvious of Emperor Cromwell and the other dukes being in Iselin. They're holed up there pretty tight, so I wouldn't bet on being able to take them down." Commander Skies pointed at a couple of pictures. "We believe that these two here are with the main army, but it's hard to tell exactly. We know they're not in Iselin."

"Very well. Keep us updated on all of that." I pushed the list back over to her. "And what of the western front? Is all quiet?"

"Beyond a couple of preliminary skirmishes with our Saddle Arabian border guard," Commander Skies said with a nod. "They weren't particularly bloody, only a few dozen dead and wounded on both sides. My guess is that they were merely testing our defenses. All intelligence points to the fact that the main minotaur army is stationed about fifty miles outside of Equestria. I gotta admit, Prince Antares, even with Mesud's troops guarding our border, we wouldn't be able to hold an army of that size back for long. We need to get our army together, and soon."

"We need a few more weeks for that," I said with a grimace. "We're up to a quarter million with the draft, but I'd say just over half of that is ready to take the field."

"Which might be enough for a few major battles," Commander Skies said. "It all depends on how well we can do against the main army. We've been trying to do to them what we're doing to the griffins, but it's not been nearly as successful. Sure, we've killed a few of them and ruined a lot of supplies, but there's this sort of cult of personality around Purgle. These minotaurs really believe in what they're fighting for, I'm afraid. We don't have the means to damage them psychologically yet outside of killing Purgle."

"Which will be hard to do outside of the battlefield," I finished. "What do they know about..." I looked around the room to make sure we were truly alone. "Uh... Princess Celestia?"

"Hard to say, though we haven't heard much talk about it. The griffin general we poisoned had been told about it, but he's dead. We killed the subordinate who brought the news to his attention too, so that might help. Honestly, the griffins have been too angry at Emperor Cromwell for getting them into this mess to bother with what's going on with Princess Celestia."

"That's good," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That can only help us. It's going to get out sooner or later, though. She's going to start showing in the next month or two."

"Yes. However, we haven't heard anything about it from the minotaur side, but it's not like we can just go ask them. It sounds like the kind of information Purgle would keep until he found the best way to use it."

"True." I shook my head. Like I said: it'd get out sooner or later. We just needed to make sure Celestia wouldn't be hurt before we did. The last thing we needed was to lose her or our son. "Is there anything else, though?"

Commander Skies nodded. "Three things, actually. I've already spoken with the princesses about this, and they wanted me to fill you in. One: Purgle has already started sending emissaries to the yaks up north. I'm sure I don't need to tell you why an army attacking us from that direction would be bad."

"Naturally. We'll have to send some emissaries of our own, then." Once again, I was glad alicorns couldn't get headaches.

"Two: we've not heard from either the diamond dogs or changelings about their part in the war one way or another. Once again, it's not like we can just go up to Queen Chrysalis and ask her, but we've had a few freeminds infiltrate her hive, and they haven't heard her talk about joining. They did mention that she's rather unhappy about what happened with her soldier and the scorpipony foals, though."

"I expected nothing less from her." However, on the plus side, we knew who sent the changeling after the foals, now.

"I'm not surprised either. On the diamond dog end of the spectrum, they haven't declared a side just yet, but intelligence indicates that they're leaning a touch more to Purgle's side. They, ah, they weren't happy about what we did while looking for Nightmare Weapons down there."

Great. Still, I'd rather have angry diamond dogs than Nightmare Weapons.

"And the third thing?"

My stomach clenched up when Commander Skies grimaced. With everything she'd already told me, that wasn't a good sign.

"The minotaurs and griffins are planning something big, Prince Antares. Something that doesn't have to do with armies and troop movements. They're planning on some sort of precision strike, from the sound of things. We don't have all of the details just yet, but we're working on them. It sounded like some big "ace in the hole" for them."

"Do you have any idea what that might be?" I asked.

Commander Skies shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Prince Antares. We know it's some kind of attack, but not with the main army. It's coming soon, too."

"Maybe they're going to raze some small town in the heart of Equestria, or something," I muttered. "Or on the border. Make sure nopony on our end feels safe, no matter where they are. Or an assassination of some kind. The Elements, Princess Cadance..." My eyes widened when another thought struck me. "Commander Skies, are you certain they don't know about Princess Celestia? Even I have to admit: causing a miscarriage would absolutely destroy our morale."

"Like I said, I'm not sure," Commander Skies said. "But we're looking into it around the clock. We've set up more security around Ponyville, as well as the other princesses. We'll have Canterlot Castle ready in a matter of days, so we can move the Elements there very soon."

"Good. That's good." I sighed and rubbed one of my temples. "War is going to be here very soon, Commander Skies. I'm not sure how ready we'll be for it when it gets here."

* * * *

The next day came quickly, but no good news arrived beyond the internal strife with the griffins. It did bring one thing that I didn't really care for, though.

A minotaur ambassador.

We'd been sent word of his arrival about an hour before he crossed into Equestrian territory from the griffin side of the border. From all accounts he was unarmed and alone. A mere peaceful ambassador during a war, therefore it would break a few rules if we were to kill him as a message to Purgle.

The one problem was that his name was on the list of minotaurs we really needed to take out. It was underlined, as matter of fact.

So my day was shaping up to be just peachy.

My whole palace was on edge when he showed up. I sat on my throne when the announcement came that he had arrived. Unarmed and alone, as expected.

When the doors to my throne room opened, a shorter, leaner minotaur walked in. No... strutted in. Kind of like he owned the place, or expected to in the near future. He smiled and nodded to each one of my guards as he passed them by, even giving a few of them waves. He stopped about ten feet in front of my throne, but didn't bow.

"Good morning to you, Prince Antares. Lovely to see you. We have a lot to talk about. King Purgle sent me to talk to you about why all of this..." He spread his arms and motioned to the room. "Is just a really bad idea. War? It's kind of a silly thing, if you ask me. Especially this war." I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. "My name is Marller. Personal adviser to King Purgle, but I imagine you already know that. I've come here unarmed and alone as is befitting someone of my profession."

"Yes, I noticed," I said evenly. The jerk had already put me in a tough spot. He seemed the type to really enjoy pushing peoples' buttons, so I imagined that the only thing I would accomplish by telling him to not interrupt me would be letting him know that it bothered me. Of course, not bringing it up would do the same thing.

"Excellent, then we can talk." Marller gave me a friendly smile, but one filled with enough venom that it made me shiver inside. Like a spider sizing up its next meal. "So, we've seen what you've done with the griffins. Those were all very smart things you did. King Purgle sends his congratulations."

"Yes, though soon he won't have an ally to attack our eastern border," I retorted.

"I agree. We won't really need them, though. I don't think we ever did. It's like my lord said: congratulations on your successes. I'm sure you all must be very proud."

I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly. "What is it exactly that Purgle sent you to talk to me about?"

"Good question. The long and the short of it is that King Purgle doesn't see the need for any bloodshed between our nations. He wishes to know what you'd do to see the war ended before it ever really began."

I raised an eyebrow. "What we'd do?"

Marller nodded. "Absolutely. You were the aggressor nation, after all. Those experiments of yours killed our most valuable general. Would you be willing to turn them over to us to see peace between our nations?"

My eyes narrowed a little more. "No."

Marller's smile widened a hair, and he nodded. "Of course not, of course not. It's hardly fair for two babies to stand trial when they didn't understand what they did." He frowned and tapped his chin. "Or wait, did King Purgle say that it was just the brother who should stand trial, but you can keep the sister?"

"We're not giving either of them to you, so I'd suggest you refrain from that line of thinking."

"Oh, no need to get testy, Antares," Marller said, backing a step away. "I thought we were merely having a dialogue about what would need to happen before the end of the war. It was merely an idea we had."

He was trying to get to me, but, unfortunately for him, I'd learned a bit since my meeting with Purgle on our joint border.

"Not all ideas are good ones, I'm afraid." I said with a nod. "I'm certain that you wouldn't be open to the idea if the roles were reversed."

"Well, we don't experiment on pregnant females where we come from, but I can see your point, I suppose," Marller said with a nod.

"Mr. Marller, if you have only come into my court to throw baseless accusations at me, then we will end this meeting right now."

Marller inclined his head in a small bow. "Easy there, Antares. I mean no disrespect. No need to get upset, like I said. I was just going off of information that I'd been given. I didn't know that you viewed it a different way."

It's only thanks to years of alicorn stoicism that I didn't throw him out the window. Back when I was TD, I'd have already punched him in the face several times. I mean...

Wait.

Ah. I got it. He wasn't there to work on any kind of deal with me. Purgle had literally sent him to push my buttons to see what I'd get the angriest about. If that was the case, I needed to end this soon.

"But, back to the topic at hand: we don't want a really bloody war, do we?" Marller frowned and began tapping his chin while keeping his eyes fixed on me. "I mean, all of those ponies who would die. I can't imagine how you'd save any border towns. There wouldn't be anything left by the time we were done with them. Yes, those small towns would surely be a loss. I mean, for all of the talk of cities like Manehattan and Canterlot, it's those small towns full of hardworking, everyday ponies who are really the blood of Equestria."

"Mr. Marller, you're not here to talk about the war, are you? Not really."

"Come on now, Antares, I'm not here to argue with you or hit any sore spots. I'm just stating facts. If that offends you then I apologize, of course."

"Mr. Marller, I am a very busy pony. Either get to the point or leave my hall, please."

"Fine, fine," he said. "We don't want emotions to get out of hand. King Purgle says that he'll forget the whole matter if you pay some reparations. I'm afraid that given the circumstances, the reparations wouldn't be small, but surely no price is too large to end a war of this size before it begins, right?"

"Let me guess: a lot of money and territory?"

Marller shrugged. "Well, if that's what you're offering to make up for the damages, I'm sure King Purgle wouldn't say no."

I sighed and stood up. "Mr. Marller, we have no interest in giving Purgle land and money to end a war that he started. Besides that, if he really wanted peace, he'd set a meeting that included Celestia and Luna as well. That makes me wonder why you're really here."

Marller grimaced. "Well, I'd heard that the alicorns were proud and occasionally a bit too paranoid, but to see it in front of me..." Before I could retort, he bowed to me. "Oh, my apologies, Antares. I didn't mean to say that. A slip of the tongue, if you will."

Yeah, I'll bet.

"I'll tell King Purgle that you think it's best if he sets a meeting with you, Celestia, and Luna to discuss peace before we can get going." He bowed to me again. "But if that's all you want to say to me, then I'll leave you be. I will say that I am glad that you observe the protocol of not harming an innocent, unarmed ambassador who only came to your court to discuss peace. I was worried after you started getting testy." He put his hand up to his mouth. "Oop. So sorry once again, Antares. I mean no disrespect. I'll be leaving now."

I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of an answer. Or even so much as an expression to give away what I was thinking and feeling. I'm not totally sure why, but I thought he could guess the answers anyway. Still, if Purgle was sending him over here instead of to Celestia, that didn't make me feel any better about this.

Marller walked towards the door of my throne room, but stopped just a few feet shy of it. He turned back to me, giving me that insufferable smile again.

"Oh, I almost forgot. My congratulations to you and Celestia. Having a child is no small thing. I'm sure the two of you must be very happy." He seemed to deflate a little bit, to my surprise, and he slapped his palm against his forehead. "Oh. Darn. I'm so sorry. I'd forgotten that you hadn't officially made the announcement to your nation yet. My mistake." He frowned slightly and tilted his head in a questioning manner. "But that's tomorrow, isn't it? When your newspapers all over Equestria print it on their front page? I think that's what I heard. I hope I didn't spoil anything for anyone. I'd hate to do that."

Before I could say another word, he walked out of my throne room, leaving me alone with my guards, all of whom were staring at me in shock at the revelation that I'd gotten Celestia pregnant.

Author's Note

I just randomly got on a roll with this one. No idea where it came from, but here's a nice, long chapter for you guys.

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Yet It Can Still Get Worse

A ROYAL FOAL: PRINCESS CELESTIA IS PREGNANT! PRINCE ANTARES CONFIRMED AS SIRE!

In a stunning turn of events, an anonymous source leaked medical documents confirming that Princess Celestia is pregnant with what appears to be a colt. Prince Antares is the sire. How and why the two of them chose to keep their relationship a secret is overshadowed by the fact that this will be the first foal born of an alpha alicorn since recorded history began. Prince Antares gave an official statement regarding the pregnancy.

"Yes, I am here to confirm the rumors circulating our nation over the past few days. Princess Celestia is pregnant, and I am the sire. Yes, Princess Celestia and I have been in a relationship for over a year now. Now I know that all of this is shocking to you, but think about this: our foal was conceived in wartime, but it is our greatest hope that he will be born in peace. We cannot allow the warmongering minotaurs and griffins to endanger him. I do not say this because of who he is or who his parents are, but I say this just as I would say it for any of your sons and daughters. I think that above all this is a reminder that we fight this war not for glory, but to protect our families from those who would seek to hurt them."

When asked about a potential name, Prince Antares merely responded "Titus. We've decided to name him Titus."

To further matters even more, we were able to secure an interview with Marller of clan Banag, the minotaur ambassador to Equestria. He declined any comments about the war but said of the pregnancy: "I think it just shows that your rulers don't trust you. I mean, Celestia and Antares have been in a relationship for a year and don't think that their subjects can handle that knowledge? Then they find out they're having a foal and decide to keep that a secret, too? Who knows what other secrets they're hiding from you? I'll grant that I'm not a head of state like they are, I'm just a simple ambassador who still wishes for some peaceful resolution to the unfortunate conflict between our nations. For me, there's a difference between important state secrets, such as military plans and whatnot, and lying to your subjects because you're embarrassed about something you may view as a mistake. I see their relationship and pregnancy as the latter. I'm not even talking about not trusting you in wartime. Their relationship has been going on for over a year and that was long before this unfortunate war. I'm just not sure why they felt they needed to hide it from you."

With a burst of my horn I incinerated the paper. This Marller fellow was really starting to become a thorn in my side. Oh we had Blade Wings following him at all times. If he committed any act of war whatsoever, we'd have his head on a pike so fast he might as well have woken up that way.

I think he knew that. He's been perfectly behaved while in our country.

But yes, Celestia and I have decided to name our foal Titus. It just seems to fit. That and it's an Earth name that I'm really rather fond of, given the various historical aspects of it.

However, we wouldn't really need to get into that for another eight months or so, unless alicorns had an accelerated birthing process. It was possible. Either way, we'd learn more about alicorn biology through this pregnancy than ponies had in millennium.

"It's okay, Prince Antares, I think he's a jerk, too."

I grimaced and turned my head to see Lieutenant Rapids behind me. I bobbed my head in a slight display of affirmation.

"Well if I can help it, he's not going to survive the war. Or he's going to return to his home with his tail between his legs and spend the rest of his life cowering in fear."

"Minotaur tails don't exactly work like that, Prince Antares."

I glared at Rapids. "You know what I mean. He's put us in a quandary. Either we remove certain parts of freedom of the press and make it so that Marller can't give an interview like that, which we’ll be poorly looked on for, or we let him demoralize our nation with his twisted words. I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils right now."

"Probably the first one, Prince Antares." Lieutenant Rapids shrugged. "I mean, you tell the newspapers not to print a few things. Big deal in the long run. Marller can do some serious damage to our morale if we let him."

"True."

I pushed aside the remains of my breakfast and stand up, letting a servant take my dishes away. I have a full schedule today and I can't waste a moment of my time.

"Lieutenant Rapids, let Princess Celestia know that I'll make it to the Crystal Empire this afternoon to sit in on the talks with Yakyakistan."

Oy, there was another thorn in my side. See, our intelligence indicated that the yaks had started talks with the minotaurs to join on their side. I'm assuming because they want the Crystal Empire out of the deal if they win the war. I had no doubt we could win a war with the yaks, but it would divert precious resources away from the western front. I didn't worry about the griffins. The riots starting in Iselin had severely crippled the morale of their troops, particularly after Cromwell used violence to shut down a rally. Fifteen dead, so I heard.

"Also," I continued, "I'd like reports on how the training camps are coming along. I want as many troops as possible armed and ready to march in two weeks."

Lieutenant Rapids snapped to attention and saluted me. "Yes, Prince Antares. If I may ask, is there any particular reason for that date?"

"I'm not sure if the buffalo and the Saddle Arabians can hold out too much longer without reinforcements from us. It's just been skirmishes now, but that can end at any moment. They're testing us. Seeing what our defenses are like. I want to be at full strength when they march towards our country. Besides, they're trying to invade Equestria. It wouldn't be fair to have Mesud do all of the work."

"Yes, Prince Antares. Understood, Prince Antares. I'll have a report on your desk by this afternoon."

"Very good."

With everything that had been going on, I hadn't been as up-to-date with how the training of the draftees was going. I kept meaning to, especially to keep up with the Ponyville draftees. However between the pregnancy, Marller, the griffins, and just a hundred other little things, I'd never given it the attention I'd have liked. I wasn't told if on the first day of training, the commanding officers did a training montage to "I'll Make a Man out of You", so I'm forced to assume that was the case.

The early half of my day consisted of checking up on various weapons and armor dealers that we had contracts with to make sure that the newly trained troops would be well supplied for when they did eventually make the move to the front. I couldn't have my ponies marching to war with inferior weapons. Plus I had to let Las Pegasus know that I was keeping an eye on them. I don't think they'd stoop so low as to send an army to war with shoddy weapons, but given the mild displays of distaste they'd thrown our way after the execution of Soaring Skies, it didn't hurt to be careful. No open rebellion yet, but they really thought that I'd infringed on their rights.

Yeesh, Las Pegasus seceding in the middle of the war would be just the worst. I didn't think it'd go that direction as the vast majority of the ponies there were completely loyal to the crown, but the one percent of ponies with power who didn't like us could make things difficult.

Still, after checking over everything, things seemed to be going okay. I think that beyond just obeying the crown that was paying for their weapons they realized that if Equestria fell, or was severely crippled during the war, then their bit purses get hit pretty hard. I'll take pragmatist allies. They're better than nothing.

I arrived at the Crystal Empire around lunchtime to meet up with Celestia and Cadance. I noted with some sadness that several groups of crystal ponies were doing military drills around the city, as well as putting up fortifications everywhere. It's as if they expected our negotiations to fail and that this city would start looking like Stalingrad if that ended up being the case.

Not that I could blame them too much. The crystal ponies had always been a twitchy bunch after Sombra.

I entered the throne room of the Crystal Palace where Celestia and Cadance were waiting for me, the latter sitting on her throne with Shining Armor beside her. However, what interested me was the obscenely hairy creature in front of the throne, flanked by two equally shaggy beings.

Mares and gentlecolts, the yaks.

"Good afternoon Prince Antares, it's nice of you to join us," Cadance said, inclining her head in my direction.

"It's nice to be here," I replied, taking a place beside Celestia. "I hope that our two nations can find a peaceful solution to this potential problem."

The lead yak sported one of the most impressive scowls I've ever seen in my entire life, which didn't do much for my hopes that we wouldn't be fighting a three front war. Four if the Diamond Dogs got together and attacked us from the south. He didn't say anything, so Princess Cadance took the lead.

"Uh... Prince Antares, this is Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan. He's been sent here by his father, King Albert the Second, to talk about our counter-offer to the ones the minotaurs have given them.”

"Yaks want things ponies have," Rutherford growled in a depressingly monosyllabic tone. "Yaks want things perfect. Otherwise yaks go to war with Equestria."

"Okaaayyyy," I said uneasily. "So what exactly does that mean?"

"Yaks want more crops. Secrets of Equestrian farming. Wheat and sugar imports doubled. Embassy in Crystal Empire and Canterlot."

Not too bad so far.

"And yaks want the Crystal Mountains. Want to mine it instead of ponies."

Ah, now the other shoe dropped.

Cadance, Celestia and I exchanged a tired glance before Cadance took a deep breath to counter.

"Prince Rutherford, we can do everything you want up to giving you the Crystal Mountains. I'm sorry, but it isn't happening."

"Ponies don't want war! Yaks want things perfect, so ponies will do everything that yaks want!" Rutherford snarled. "Otherwise yaks will go to war and take everything anyway, including all of Crystal Empire!"

"Prince Rutherford, I was under the impression that you came here to negotiate, not make demands," Cadance said with a frown. "I will not allow you to hold my country hostage." Cadance glared at him and got to her hooves. "The Crystal Mountains have been a part of the Crystal Empire since before Celestia and Luna. We protect and cherish them as we would our foals. I will not allow you to turn them into strip mines, is that clear?"

"Crystal ponies can't protect them once yaks invade!" Rutherford replied snootily. "Yaks promise to take good care of them, but we want them to help our economy!" Rutherford nodded as though he'd made a rather solid argument. "Yaks not unreasonable. Will trade resources from mountains with Crystal Empire."

Cadance narrowed her eyes and flared out her wings. Good going, Rutherford. Piss off the alicorn with the best special ops force in the world.

"Rutherford, I know that you think the Crystal Army is a joke. I know that everybody in the world does, but I think you'll be quite surprised at what happens when you try to fight us."

"Yak army twice the size of Crystal Army!" Rutherford retorted. "What could crystal ponies do to our army?"

A smug smile crossed Cadance's face as she quietly chuckled at Rutherford. "We have weapons hidden all over the city. My ponies have gotten very good at fighting with crossbows as of late. Should you invade with a force twice the size of my army, my ponies will shoot twice, then go home."

I knew she'd use that line after I told her about the Swiss. To be fair, I totally would too.

Rutherford didn't seem as pleased as Cadance by her statement. I could practically see steam pouring out of his ears.

"Ponies can't talk to yaks like that!" he roared. "There will be no peace between our nations! I leave and come back with more yaks! We declare war!"

Cadance tilted her head in thought for a moment before looking back at the two guards flanking the door to the throne room and nodding. The guards saluted her and stepped in front of the door. Oh dear. I exchanged a glance with Celestia as she leans in closer to me..

"I wouldn't interfere if I were you."

"I wouldn't either," I mumble back.

"So..." Cadance began, her voice deadly calm. "Let me try to understand what you just said. Are you saying that our two nations are currently at war as of this moment?" Rutherford grunted angrily and nodded. Cadance returned it.

It suddenly dawned on me that this Rutherford fellow might just be so stupid it bordered on tap-dancing lunacy. Even I felt uneasy at Cadance's demeanor. Heck, Shining Armor had started shifting nervously where he stood.

"Very well, I accept your declaration of war. The Crystal Empire declares war on Yakyakistan. We are now fighting and as such..." Cadance took a few steps forward and ignited her horn. "It would be foolish of me to allow an armed aggressor such as yourself to remain in my capital. As you are the prince of Yakyakistan, you are a valuable prisoner of war should I decide to go that route, which I will."

Before the yaks could respond, crystals shot out of the floor, wrapping themselves around the legs of Rutherford and his guards. They began shouting at Cadance, but a quick burst from her horn silenced them.

"So, Prince Rutherford, you will spend the entire war in my dungeons. Maybe then you'll learn that I can handle a lot of things, but promises of slaughtering my subjects is not something that I'll take lightly. I love and care for my ponies as though they were my own family. You may think that my army is a joke, but I assure you that my special forces are not. All it will take is one word from me and I'll have your entire family's heads surrounding your cell."

"Ponies can't do that!" Rutherford screeched. "Otherwise you would have done it to Purgle!"

"Your army is one fifth the size of his," Cadance responded coolly, "Purgle didn't walk straight into my throne room, armed to the teeth, and declare war right in front of me. Had you come unarmed you would be peaceful ambassadors and I would allow you to leave, but armed as you are, I can tell you that you won't see Yakyakistan for quite a while."

"Ponies are making a mistake!" Rutherford yelled. "Ponies will be destroyed!"

Even though I wished he would just shut up so that he would stop digging himself deeper, I couldn't help but notice the desperation creeping up in his voice.

"That's nice." Cadance ignited her horn again, and the crystals around the legs of Rutherford's guards receded. "So, you two I'm going to let you go. I need you to send a message to King Albert. Tell him that he has three days to get all of his females and children out of the capital of Yakyakistan. On the fourth day at dawn, Prince Antares here will personally lead a detachment of some of our finest troops to your borders. Once they're finished, Yakyakistan will be nothing more than a perfect crater in the ground.

Wait... hold on a moment, I'll what?

"Prince Antares has some new weapons he wants to try out," Cadance continued, using her magic to strip the yaks of their weapons. "He has to make sure they'll be effective against Purgle after all."

I think I missed some important meeting because this is all news to me.

"If he so wishes to end the war before it begins, I'll listen to his pleas for mercy." Cadance nodded to her guards again as they stepped out of the way of the door. "I'm keeping Rutherford, though." She waved her hoof in the direction of the door. "You are free to leave, gentleyaks. My soldiers will escort you to our borders."

Now if I was one of the yaks in this instance, I'd probably do what Cadance said, because she was freaking me out right now and I would have no way to fight her in her own throne room surrounded by a few guards and two alpha alicorns. It would just be the smart move.

No one ever called the yaks smart. I mean, maybe it was just these three that were complete idiots. I don't know.

Anyway, I think that one of the yak guards saw his chance because he pulled a hidden knife out of his coat and charged directly at Cadance. The other yak guard wasn't quite that dumb and began backing away, something I think Rutherford would be doing if he wasn't glued to the floor.

Well, obviously seeing a princess being attacked got everypony in the room in "go" mode. Celestia, Shining Armor and myself all ignited our horns, while the two door guards charged forward, spears at the ready.

Cadance turned out to be a hair faster.

Tapping into the strength that comes with being able to surround an entire city with a forcefield, Cadance caught the yak in her magic before he even got two steps in her direction, lifted him into the air, then hurled him straight through the nearest window like he was the freaking Comedian at the beginning of Watchmen. The remaining yak guard screamed in terror and ran straight for the throne room door. The door guards followed after him. I imagined that he wouldn't stop running until he made it to the border.

So... holy cow, I knew Cadance had a touch of a ruthless streak when the situation called for it, but not like that.

Nopony said a word as another pair of guards came in and took Rutherford out of the throne room. Rutherford tried to get out a few paltry words in his defense, but Cadance merely turned her back on him, completely ignoring his efforts. After a few moments the guards had taken Rutherford out, leaving just the four of us in the room.

All eyes were on Cadance but she didn't say anything for a few moments. We didn't even know what she was thinking until she started sniffling.

Shining Armor rushed up to her and pulled her in for a hug. They both sat down, allowing Cadance to nuzzle into Shining Armor's chest.

"I don't like me when I have to be like that, Shiny," Cadance whimpered, wiping her eyes with her hoof.

"I know, Cadance," Shining Armor said, rubbing his wife's back. "It's gonna be okay. They're not going to beat us."

"Yeah, about that..." I took a few tentative steps forward and lowered my head to Cadance's level. "So you said that I'm going to be leading a charge into Yakyakistan to pretty much kill everything that I see. And that I'd use some of my weapons as a 'testing ground' or something. So... was that decided just now, or...?"

"I was just trying to scare him," Cadance muttered. "After everything I said, I don't think King Albert will want to come anywhere near us. We have his son, too. That should help, I guess."

"I guess," I echoed. "But do you have plans if he still wants to go to war?"

"King Albert is a little more level-headed than his son," Celestia chimed in. "He's much more of a pragmatist when faced with difficult situations."

A wry smile crossed my face as I allowed myself a little chuckle. "I was more level-headed and pragmatic when I ripped a house in half to stop a foal abuser. I'm rather surprised that King Albert allowed his son to have this mission at all."

"Well, Rutherford will be king in the event of Albert's passing," Celestia mused. "I suppose that he wanted his son to have some diplomatic experience so that when he was king, he'd know not to do..." Celestia grimaced and flattened her ears. "Exactly what he just did."

"Can we talk about all of this later, Auntie?" Cadance asked. "I kinda want to stop talking about the war for the day."

"Yes, of course. Antares and I can handle things from here. I would suggest taking the rest of the day off Cadance. Recenter. Come back tomorrow fresh and ready."

"Okay."

Celestia and I walked out of the throne room, leaving Cadance alone with her husband. She didn't look any better. I guess the war was getting to all of us in some ways.

Once the two of us were alone, I cleared my throat to get Celestia's attention.

"So, with that now finished, we need to talk about some things."

"I suppose we do," Celestia agreed.

"The big one is that I think that we have an informant in one of our palaces. The minotaurs didn't just guess that you're pregnant, someone on the inside told them."

"I have been having similar thoughts," Celestia admitted. "It might be more than one. I doubt it's freemind changelings. We have enough wards to expose them if they tried to get within a mile of either of our palaces. No, I believe we have at least one traitor in our midst."

"Which will further complicate moving the Elements anywhere. We can't have them in either palace as an unknown informant can easily turn into an assassin. Moving them somewhere else wouldn't work either because if this informant or informants can leak info about your pregnancy, then they'll tell the minotaurs and griffins where we hid them."

"I fear you are correct," Celestia muttered. "But at the same time, I don't like the idea of just leaving them in Ponyville. It's too exposed and they only need to get one for the Elements to cease working."

"Ponyville is in the heart of Equestria, so it would be difficult to get minotaurs or griffins in there," I reasoned. "We have Blade Wings watching every single move they make. We can ask one of them what Twilight had for dinner and they'd be able to give us that information going back a month. I think they're as safe as anypony right now."

"Perhaps."

I have to admit, I didn't fully believe it either. But until we found the informants, we couldn't move them to Canterlot or Baltimare either.

“I can’t wait until all of this is over,” I groaned. “Once we win we’ll not have to deal with these kinds of beings for a while, right?”

“Win?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Oh Antares, if there’s one thing I learned in the many wars that I’ve fought, is that nobody ‘wins’ a war. Do you think that just because one side ends up in a better position than the other, that there aren’t mothers who lie on the ground sobbing for the loss of their dead sons and daughters? That there aren’t widows who will feel forever alone now that a key part of them has been taken away? No, we will have many of those ponies in the coming days. The only side who ‘wins’ is the one that has those grieving families believe that their loved ones died for something. Whichever side ‘loses’ will lose because they see the never ending sea of gravestones and believe that it was all for nothing.”

“Then what can we do, Celestia?” I muttered. “What now?”

Celestia sighed and nuzzled against my side. “We make them believe that there’s a point to all of this bloodshed.”

“But in the end there’s not. Not really.”

“Of course not. In the end this is all because of one madman’s pride. Someday another will arise and we shall go through this again. It is the way of things. But we’ll have to make them believe otherwise.”

Author's Note

You may think that Rutherford was an idiot this whole chapter, but... if anything I made him smarter from what he was in the show.

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The Elements of Harmony

As a safety measure, Celestia and I agreed to kick Marller out of our country. We knew he was talking to an informant of some sort, so it was better safe than sorry on that front. When we told him, he just nodded... then left.

But not before shooting me that freaking smug/condescending smile I'd gotten too familiar with.

Needless to say, we didn't like it. Plus we weren't any closer to figuring out the identity of the spy or spies. We knew that none of them were changelings, which meant that some of our own subjects had turned against us.

I really didn't like executing my subjects. Hanging Soaring Skies was definitely one of the low points of my reign, but it had to be done. Once we caught the spies, we'd have to do it again. That kind of betrayal only had one outcome.

No reports of any other Nightmare Weapons had surfaced. Either that meant that the remaining few were too well hidden, or an enemy nation had gotten ahold of it. I'd prefer the former option. Either way, we had ponies searching for them. Once we won the war and taken all of the ones that Cromwell and Purgle had, we'd be in pretty good shape. The knowledge of how to even make them was lost when Nightmare Moon lost the civil war she started.

But above all of that, at least on a personal level, was the fact that Celestia had started to show. Somehow that drove it in even more, that we'd be having a son together. Every time I thought about it, my drive to end the war quickly renewed.

"You look lost in thought, Antares," Celestia said, snuggling up next to me in bed. "Anything in particular?"

I shrugged. "Not really. Just everything, I guess. Sometimes I feel like we can't even just focus on one problem at a time and fix things that way."

"I know the feeling," Celestia admitted, laying her head on my chest. "It's at moments like these where I am glad you ascended and Luna returned to me. I have fought wars as the sole leader of Equestria. It is not an experience that I wish to relive."

"I imagine not," I admitted. "Though were any of them on this scale?"

"No, but they were no less terrible." A slight frown creased Celestia's face. "I am uneasy these days. I cannot shake the feeling that the hammer has not yet fallen, but it will very soon. Our draftees and volunteers are not quite ready to take the field. The border skirmishes we've had so far are nothing more than tests of our defenses. They are trying to discern what we can and cannot do."

My mind wandered back to my weapons room and the napalm. I hadn't told Celestia, but I'd been perfecting the recipe over the past few months. On top of trying out new things with scientists under the effect of secrecy spells.

We were reaching a prototype for a pistol. We'd already figured out bullets.

"There are those who are wishing for us to use mega-spells to wipe out the invaders." Celestia chuckled and nuzzled my chest. "I do find it flattering that they think we are that powerful."

"Well, you and Luna move the sun and the moon," I reasoned. " Not to mention what I did when the griffins attacked my palace. I can see how they'd jump to that conclusion."

"Of course. However, I do not think that we have the time to create a spell of that scale."

"Not to mention that even if we did create one quickly, I can see it being too crude to be used as a precision weapon."

Celestia nodded. "Naturally."

I sighed and slid down further so that my head laid on my pillow. "But I do wish we had something that could end this war quickly."

"We have the will, the magic, and one hundred and fifty thousand ponies who will all fight to the death to defend their home," Celestia pointed out. "I foresee the minotaurs enduring the same morale problems that the griffins are currently suffering."

"Possibly."

We really did need to start exploiting that more. Cromwell had fully barricaded himself in his palace by this point. Not even the Blade Wings in the area could get near him. Still, no griffin soldiers had come within a hundred miles of Equestria in the last month, so that was an obvious plus.

"Antares?"

I looked down at Celestia. "Hmm?"

"You're lost in thought again."

"I guess I am." I moved one of my forelegs into a more comfortable position and wrapped it around Celestia's shoulder. "I can't help but agree with you though. The hammer hasn't fallen yet, but our ponies aren't quite ready to take to the field if the minotaurs began their invasion in earnest. We might not have time to fully train them yet."

"I think it would be wise to start sending whatever ponies we can to the front in the next few days," Celestia said. "That way when it does come, we won't be completely unprepared."

"I agree. We should talk to Luna about it tomorrow."

"Agreed."

With that decision, a creeping feeling began taking hold. One that said that the war had now truly begun.

* * * *

"Any news, Agent L?"

I looked up from the sights of the crossbow I was wielding and shook my head. "No, Agent H. Twilight and Pinkie don't appear to be in any danger right now."

Agent H nodded and sat down next to me. "Good. I'm here to relieve you. After all, a daffodil sandwich sounds nice this time of day."

I tilted my head in acknowledgement of the password Princess Cadance gave for us to use. "Of course. Though I prefer rosemary soup."

"Then go get some," Agent H said as I scooted the crossbow over to her. "I can handle things over here. You can go send out the reports to Princess Cadance. Agent D and Agent B are waiting for you in the usual spot."

"Who's got duty for the rest of the Elements?" I asked.

"Agent R has the Apples. Agent D is going to relieve Agent T for Rainbow Dash. Agent B is watching Rarity, so the usual spot is around her today. Agent C has Fluttershy."

"Good. So everything's set then." I started to get up off of my spot on the roof opposite Sugarcube Corner. Laying on my belly for an hour really didn't do any favors for my spine. Before I did, I chanced one last look at Twilight and Pinkie.

Just as Pinkie began shaking like she'd swallowed a ten pound joy buzzer.

"Pinkie Sense." I said, laying back down next to Agent H. "You know what this one is?"

"Not off the top of my head, no," Agent H said.

I grimaced and opened up a manila folder. I scanned the documents listing all of Pinkie's little twitches and my eyes narrowed when I landed on one in particular.

"Full body shakes indicate a 'doozy'." I snapped the folder shut and looked back to Agent H. "That can't be good."

"I agree. Go get Agent D. Tell her to get a message to Princess Cadance. It could be something relatively benign, but I'm not going to take that chance."

"Neither am I." I got back on my hooves and began making my way towards the ladder leading to the interior of the building, when Agent H's voice put that thought to rest.

"Uh... Agent L? You're going to want to see this."

I frowned and moved back to my previous spot. I immediately saw the issue.

"That's not supposed to be, is it?" Agent H said.

"Uh... no, it isn't."

It's not every day that you see an exact copy of yourself moving through a crowd of ponies like a shark hunting for prey.

"She's moving towards the Elements," Agent H said.

"We've got a changeling," I said through gritted teeth. "Take the shot!"

"I know. I need a clear line of sight."

"If he has a weapon then you might not have time!" I hissed. "Take the shot!"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Pinkie convulse again. Twilight looked worried. She should be.

Agent H took a deep breath. Just as she exhaled, she squeezed the trigger of the crossbow.

She always was a better shot than me, even though I'm no slouch.

The bolt embedded itself in the neck of my doppelganger, and it flew back from the impact. Its disguise fell as it hit the ground, revealing a changeling. Not surprised.

I swore and picked up my knives, strapping them to my back. I could already hear the screams coming from the townsponies. "I'm going to go get the Elements to safety." I took a communication gem out of one of the pouches at my side and slid it into Agent H's ear. "Let the rest of them know that we've got a situation. See if you can't get Agent D to contact one of the royals for backup!"

"Roger that," Agent H said, her voice coming through the gem I was wearing as well.

I put on my mask and teleported down from the roof of the building all the way to the ground outside. Without missing a beat, I made a beeline for Twilight and Pinkie.

* * * *

"Pinkie, I think we have to move!" I shouted, my eyes still locked on the dead changeling. "Get inside, quick!"

"We can hide in my room, Twilight!" Pinkie said, shooting up out of her chair. "I have a hidden room in there!"

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

"Miss Pie, Miss Sparkle, I need you to come with me."

I whirled around and saw a pony dressed in light armor and a blank mask walking towards us. She was armed with a pair of kukris strapped to her back.

"It's not safe for you here," she said with a metallic, clearly magically disguised voice. She motioned to the changeling. "We don't know how many of them are here!"

"How do we know we can trust you?" I said, backing away from the mysterious pony. "You could be one of them too!"

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. I work for Princess Cadance."

A feeling of relief flooded through me, and I took a step closer. That was today's password so that I would know if a strange pony worked for Cadance. It changed every day.

"Where are you taking us?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"I think they're trying to assassinate you, Miss Sparkle," the pony said, nudging us into Sugarcube Corner. "I'm here to make sure that you get to the secret room safely."

A plain white glow surrounded the pony's horn as I saw one of the kukris being unsheathed. "Don't wait!"

"What about the Cakes?" Pinkie asked as we ran up the stairs of the confectionery.

"I'll check on them. If they're the real deal, then I'll get them down there with you."

We reached Pinkie's room and the pony hit the hidden switch to Pinkie's party planning room. She hopped in first to see if it was compromised.

"It's all good! Come on down!"

I let Pinkie go first, then went down the slide after her. The pony unsheathed her other knife and floated it over to me.

"If anypony comes down that slide who doesn't have the password, do what needs to be done."

I flinched back and didn't take the kukri. "What?! I'm not a fighter! I couldn't kill anything!"

"If it comes to that, you have to." She poked my chest with the butt of the knife. "You have to be a soldier now, or Equestria could lose the power of the Elements. We can't have that. Just be brave and remember that these aren't ponies, and if you don't do it, they'll kill you and Pinkie. The Cakes, too."

I bit my lip, but hesitantly ignited my horn and took the knife from her magical grasp. "I'll try," I whispered.

"Don't hesitate. I'd say disable it magically, but you don't know what they're capable of. Do it quickly just to be sure."

"Okay," I said even quieter.

The pony nodded and moved to the slide. "Remember. No hesitation. I'll bring the Cakes down here personally. Find a place in here to hide so that if something bad does come down, they won't see you right away."

Before I could say anything else, the pony ran back up the slide.

* * * *

The door to my boutique burst open in a manner quite unbefitting an establishment like mine. I set my glasses down and put my pencil behind my ear as I walked into the main room of my home. My eyes widened in shock when I saw a pony in armor shutting my door and moving furniture in front of it.

"Excuse me, but who are you?!"

The pony didn't respond right away. She merely threw a few more dress forms in front of the door.

"Is Sweetie Belle home?" the pony asked.

"Yeah, I'm right here."

I looked down next to me and saw my sister. She looked just as nonplussed as I felt.

The pony turned around and extended her hoof. She was holding a bright red gem of some kind. She was pointing it at Sweetie Belle! I made to light my horn up to get her behind me, but before I could, the gem glowed green and the pony nodded.

"Good. I just had to make sure it was really you two." The pony moved quickly towards us and motioned her head to my basement. "I need you two to get in there and don't come out until you're told. Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake. I work for Princess Cadance."

I admit that my confusion did lessen after she said the password, but that quickly gave way to fear.

"What's going on?" I asked as I levitated Sweetie Belle onto my back and moved toward my basement.

"Changelings are here. They're here for you. They've already made an attempt on the lives of Pinkie and Twilight. We neutralized the threat and they're safe. We're securing all of you."

"Changelings?!" My breath died in my throat at the mere idea. Sweetie Belle whimpered on my back as we reached my basement. I removed her from my back and wrapped her in a tight embrace. "They're here for me?"

"You and your friends," the pony confirmed. "We don't know how widespread it is yet, but we're going to get you out of Ponyville today."

"I understand. What do you need me to do until then?"

"Just stay put. Don't trust anyone who doesn't have the password. Anypony who's on our side will give it to you almost immediately. So you don't--"

The pony's ears perked up and she turned her head to listen. I paused to listen as well as I heard hoofsteps coming from upstairs.

"Rarity? You home? I'm here to place an order."

I frowned at that. It sounded like Cloud Kicker. Oh, of all of the times to place an order!

I opened my mouth to get the attention of the soldier, but my heart sank when I saw her holding the gem again. It glowed a dark red.

"That's no more Cloud Kicker than it is Princess Luna." She stuffed the gem into a pouch strapped to her side. "Wait here. Don't come up no matter what you hear. Hide and find something you could use as a weapon."

The pony moved up the stairs with an impressive amount of quietness, given her speed. Once I heard the door shut, I moved Sweetie Belle into a dark corner of the basement and began looking around for something.

"I know you don't like the dark, Sweetie Belle, but you'll have to be very brave for me, okay?"

Sweetie Belle nodded, and I even heard a sniffle from her. Poor dear. She didn't deserve to live with this kind of fear.

I spotted an old sewing machine of mine and decided it would do. It wasn't a precision weapon by any means, but if I hit with enough force, it could certainly do some damage. Content that I had armed myself adequately, I sat next to my sister and doused the lights. The basement went pitch black, and I felt Sweetie Belle grab ahold of one of my forelegs. I couldn't risk light, otherwise I'd illuminate my horn for her.

I did my best to quiet my breathing as I heard the sound of two ponies taking above us. I couldn't make out what they were saying, or even their tone, but in a moment, I heard a crash and yelling. I gripped my sewing machine in one hoof, and Sweetie Belle in another. I wagered a guess that this intruder knew the two of us were home.

I flinched back when I heard a scream. I couldn't tell who made it. The soldier had her voice disguised.

I needed to be brave for Sweetie Belle. If the soldier lost the fight, the changeling would tear my home to its foundations looking for the two of us. My basement wasn't an impenetrable fortress. All that stood between myself and a fight was this soldier and a flimsy wooden door.

My jaw wobbled when another scream echoed through my home. A groan quickly followed, and I knew that somepony had won the fight. The anticipation was starting to get to me. .

As quickly as the noises began, they stopped. The upstairs of my house became deathly silent as we waited. Finally, the hoofsteps began again, and the sound of my basement door opening up filled my ears. Somehow it sounded louder than a rainboom.

"Rarity?" My breath caught in my throat, and I adjusted my grip on my sewing machine That voice didn't sound magically disguised. It wasn’t fake Cloud Kicker’s though. Yet it did sound familiar.. "Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake. Threat neutralized. Don't come up here for anything short of that password."

Before I could respond, the basement door shut once more.

* * * *

I set down my teacup when I heard a knock on my door. How strange. I wasn't expecting anypony today. I looked over at my calendar. No, Rarity and I weren't set to go to the spa until the day after tomorrow. I gently shut the book I'd been reading and set it next to my teacup. Angel Bunny hopped off the sofa and began bouncing to the door. I followed him and looked through the peephole.

I let out a quiet gasp at the sight on the other end.

A pony I didn't recognize was holding a knife in his magic. It had blood all over it. The blood of the dead soldier lying on the ground behind him. The pony looked straight at the peephole with a grin and waved at me. Before I could run away, the pony slammed into my door and broke it down. I screamed and opened up my wings to get away, but the pony swiped his knife at me. The screams of terror turned into screams of pain as it left a deep cut on my left foreleg. I tumbled back and hit the coffee table. I tried to get up, but the impact had knocked the wind out of me.

"Good morning, Miss Fluttershy," the pony said, twirling his knife in the air. "I've been wanting to see you for a while now."

"Please," I whimpered, grabbing at my cut and squeezing my eyes shut. "Just go away!"

"But I spent so much effort getting here!" the pony said. "It's hard to kill one of those accursed Blade Wings. Why, if she wasn't just about to knock on your door when I hit her, I don't think I could have won. But I did, so--"

My eyes snapped open when he made a noise of pain and annoyance. My birds had begun flying around him and pecking at his face. He swiped at them with the knife, but they moved out of the way. A ferret charged at the pony and bit him right on the leg. He started to attack him, but several mice came out of the wall and swarmed his legs, biting every part they could. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor. He dropped his knife when one a raccoon bit him right on the horn.

I whimpered and backed away as more and more animals attacked the pony. I didn't like hearing his screams as my friends bit and clawed at his body. I shut my eyes and flattened my ears so that I didn't have to see or hear it. That just made me remember how much my leg hurt. I tried to stand up, but the pain meant that I couldn't.

The last thing I heard before I fainted from the shock and pain was a bear charging through my front door.

* * * *

Speed up. Loop around. Backflip. Backflip and loop around again. Fly higher. Dive. Pull up just before I hit the ground. Perfect.

Yeah, I'm kind of awesome.

Though I was getting a little tired. Not too much, but enough to call it a day, maybe.

I flipped onto my back and lazily propelled myself though the air. It was some good cool down exercise stuff. It made me realize I was kinda getting a little hungry, though. Maybe I could stop by Sugarcube Corner. It'd be cool to catch up a bit with Pinks.

"Miss Dash."

I turned my head to the source of the voice and saw Thunderlane flying next to me. I quirked an eyebrow and gave him a little wave.

"'Sup, Thunderlane. What are you up to?"

Thunderlane smiled at me. Not the friendly kind, either. It creeped me out, to be honest.

Not as much as when I noticed that he had a sword in one of his wings.

He swung at me and I dodged, but not fast enough. My left foreleg started to really hurt when he hit me with the sword. I did a barrel roll and backflipped to get behind him and kicked him in the back before he even knew what had happened. My leg stopped hurting, though. I guess that was the adrenaline.

Thunderlane spun out of control and dropped his sword, but he recovered a lot faster than I expected him to. He righted himself and pulled a knife out of his feathers before charging me again.

Okay, this was seriously bad. I like a good scuffle as much as the next pegasus, but he was trying to kill me. I'm not a scaredy-pony, but even I know when it's time to fight and when it's time to get away.

I turned tail and put on as much speed as I could. No way he could match me in pure speed. Though I had to admit, I was feeling kinda... woozy. My leg started aching a little bit. Guess he cut me pretty deep. I had to slow down or I might crash. But if he caught me, it was game over then, too. But I couldn't fight him with my head that fuzzy. Just had to take a break for a minute.

"Rainbow!"

I heard some metallic voice calling my name, and I slowed down enough to see some pony in armor flying towards me. Body type of a mare. She was carrying a crossbow and pointing it in my direction. I managed to do a barrel roll just as I heard the soldier firing the crossbow. It didn't come close to me, but I heard it hit something behind me. I righted myself and turned around to see Thunderlane falling like a rock. The pony had hit him right in the chest. Something weird, though. He burst into green flames as he fell. I realized what it was almost immediately. A changeling had just tried to kill me!

"Rainbow, we gotta get you to a medic! Come on!"

A medic. Yeah, that made sense. Starting to feel really woozy. Worse than before. I turned my head and nodded at the soldier, who had just come up beside me.

"Yeah, sounds good." Geez. My voice had started to get a little slurred. "Gotta..." Felt kinda tired. "Gotta get fixed up, you know?"

I grabbed at my leg to rub some feeling back into it, but my hoof hit nothing but air. Weird. Guess he did more damage than I thought. Not so coordinated right then. I looked down at my leg, and all of the drowsiness went away. The pony grabbed onto my side as I began whimpering.

"Come on, Rainbow. We need to land so I can start to help you."

"W-where's my leg?" I whimpered. "W-where's my leg?"

"Rainbow, I need to get a tourniquet on that or you're going to bleed out!"

"Where's my leg?" I moaned, desperation creeping into my voice. "Where's my leg?"

"Rainbow, calm down and land with me, alright?"

"Where's my leg?!" I screamed. "Where's my leg?! Where's my leg?!"

* * * *

I poked my head out of the clubhouse when I heard what sounded like screaming. Weird. It sounded like somepony was really scared or something.

Maybe Applejack would want to know about it.

I put my hammer down and hopped down the ramp of the CMC clubhouse. I heard the screaming again. Sounded like somepony was saying something, but I couldn't really make it out.

It scared me. I really wanted Applejack now. Something felt wrong. Really wrong.

Right as I was moving to the house, I saw a pony dressed in armor walking to me. I stopped and began backing away from the pony. She looked kinda scary with that blank mask she had on.

"Apple Bloom, it's okay," the pony said. "Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake. I'm here to help you."

I stopped backing away when she said that. Applejack said that if ponies told me that, it meant that they were working for Princess Cadance to protect us.

"What's goin' on?" I asked. "Ah heard screamin'."

"I'll explain when we get back to your house. Is the rest of your family there?"

I nodded and walked up to the pony. "Should be. Is everything gonna be okay?"

"I'll make sure that it will be. Just follow my instructions, okay?"

I wanted to agree with her, but before I could, I saw two griffins flying at us! I screamed and pointed at them, making the pony in the armor turn around and pull out a sword. The griffins attacked the pony from different sides. She managed to hit one griffin with her sword, killing him I think, but the other griffin shot her right in the neck with a crossbow before she could do anything! I felt something warm splash on me. Blood. I screamed again and tried to run away, but before I made it even two steps, the griffin grabbed me by the neck and threw me to the ground.

"Don't hurt me!" I wailed. "If you do, mah brother and sister are gonna kill you!"

The griffin chuckled and began shoving my face into the dirt. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt you if you cooperate. I just want to have a talk with your sister Applejack, that's all."

"Yer a liar!" I shouted. "You're never gonna get mah sister! She's too strong for you! Yer gonna--"

I screamed in pain when he slammed one of his legs into mine. I didn't need to be a doctor to know he'd broken it.

"I told you. I just want to have a talk with Applejack." I began crying in pain and fear as he picked me up by my hair and started dragging me to the house. My broken leg kept bumping on the ground. "It'll be a short talk, I promise. Then I'll leave you alone."

I tried to shove his claws off of my hair, but he slammed my head into the ground again when I did. When he lifted me back up, he tore out some of my hair. I think I heard my hair bow ripping.

I groaned in fear when I saw the house get closer. Applejack and Big Mac were already running out the front door to fight this griffin, but he threw me to the ground and put a leg on my back. I felt him poke me in the back with his crossbow. Applejack and Big Mac stopped in their tracks right then.

"You wouldn't want your dear little sister to be hurt, would you?" he sneered. "If you wish her more agony, then by all means keep moving forward." He lifted his leg off of my back and stomped on my other back leg. I heard the crack that time. I didn't wanna scream. I wanted to be brave for Applejack, but it just hurt so much. "Big Mac, you can go back inside. I just want to have a quick talk with Applejack."

Applejack and Big Mac glared at the griffin, but Applejack nodded at Big Mac to go back inside. He never took his eyes off of the griffin as he backed into the house. When he got inside, he glared through the screen door. It was only me, the griffin, and Applejack.

"Ah can guess why yer here," Applejack growled. "You'd better let mah sister go. She don't have no part in this."

The griffin shrugged. "She does now. It's just you and her out here. Nopony's coming to help you. Nopony's going to come crashing through those apple trees to tackle me at the last minute. Somepony might have at some point, but I already killed that one."

"The griffins don't even wanna be in the war no more!" Applejack yelled. "You have no cause to do anythin' to me or mah family! We ain't even gonna be doin' any fightin'!"

"I know you're not."

"Applejack, no!" I wailed. "Run!"

"AB, just hush now. Everythin's gonna be fine."

"Applejack!"

"Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!" the griffin said mockingly. "Yes, call out to your sister, dear Apple Bloom. I wonder how close she'd get before I managed to kill you. One step? Two? I doubt even that."

"Applejack, just go! You don't halfta do this!"

"Apple Bloom..." Applejack stopped glaring at the griffin and sighed. She looked tired. "Like Ah told ya. It's gonna be fine. Just you see."

"It certainly is," the griffin said, raising his crossbow. "Just keep telling her that. Maybe it'll make it true."

I could see Big Mac pounding on the floor. He wanted to kill this griffin. I wanted him to hurt the griffin too. Make him go away! Applejack looked scared, though. I saw her legs shaking.

"Just run, Applejack!" I pleaded again. "Go get TD or Princess Celestia!"

"Apple Bloom..." she said softly. She took a slow, shaky step toward the griffin, never taking her eyes off me.

"Hush little filly and don't you cry,
know yer sister loves ya, this isn't a goodbye,
for we'll see each other in paradise's halls
in a beautiful land where darkness never falls."

"Applejack, stop it! Run!"

"Yes, Applejack," the griffin said softly. "Run. Run away. I won't stop you. I'll even leave your brother and grandmother alone."

"Don't cry little filly, dry those sad tears,
your sister's love will abide throughout the years,
I'm going to a place that badness cannot touch,
we'll see each other again, Big Sister loves you very--."

I heard the crossbow fire. I saw Applejack drop like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Just like a rock.

My legs didn't hurt anymore. Everything did, but a lot worse than just the kind you get when you get hurt. I screamed. I kept screaming, begging Applejack to get up and run. She didn't move.

"One down..."

I heard the griffin loading his crossbow. I guess he was gonna kill me next. I didn't care. Then everything would stop hurting.

He never shot me, though.

I stopped screaming when I felt Big Mac charging straight at us. The griffin didn't even have time to finish reloading before Big Mac hit him with his back hooves. The griffin flew through the air, and I heard his back snap in half when he hit a tree. Big Mac reached him again before he even hit the ground. He let out a kind of feral screech and began pounding the griffin with his hooves hard enough to break rocks. But after the third hit I saw that it wasn't a griffin. It got surrounded by green flames, and when they stopped, I saw it was a changeling instead. Big Mac didn't care. He just kept pounding on it until I couldn't even tell what it was no more. I didn't wanna watch. But I couldn't look away. The only other thing to look at was Applejack.

If those were the only two things to look at, I didn't want to see anything anymore.

* * * *

"Prince Antares? They need you in there."

I didn't move. I just kept staring at the blank wall in front of me.

"Prince Antares, Princess Celestia asked me to get you."

"Th--" My voice cracked and I cleared my throat before continuing. "Thank you, Private Blaze."

How could I possibly help them when I didn't even know what the Tartarus to do?

But they needed me, I guess. And that's what being a prince is about. Or whatever. I didn't really care right then.

I got to my hooves and walked past Private Blaze. He started to talk to me again, but I didn't listen. I just walked straight into the private waiting room that the hospital had given us.

Being inside made me want to leave again. Celestia had wrapped Twilight in a wing hug as Twilight was sobbing into Celestia's chest. Pinkie laid on a bench and just stared at the floor. She didn't even blink. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were both crying into each other, while Scootaloo paced around the room. Cadance focused on comforting Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Big Mac was sitting against the wall with a destroyed chair in front of him. Luna sat beside him with a wing around his shoulders. A group of Cadance's soldiers stood watch around the perimeter of the room. We'd already talked to them, but I still couldn't believe it. My brain said that they'd done their jobs to the best of their abilities. Most of the Elements had made it, half without a scratch. They'd lost friends too.

But my emotions wanted to blame them for everything. If they'd just... something. If they were better at fighting, or... I don't know. They should have seen this coming! It's what they were there for! Or Cadance should have gotten more Blade Wings! Forget keeping track of Purgle and Cromwell! Just...

I don't know.

Cadance had allowed us to know their identities once they'd started guarding the room. Derpy, Lyra, Bon Bon, Berry Punch, and Redheart. Roseluck had been killed at Sweet Apple Acres, and Carrot Top had been killed trying to protect Fluttershy.

But for now, all we could do was wait. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Apple Bloom and Applejack had all been taken away by medical personnel. I figured that the only reason they hadn't taken Applejack in a body bag was because they didn't realize her situation.

I could hardly believe it myself.

Not knowing what else to do, I walked over to Celestia and sat next to her. Twilight seemed to have fallen asleep in her embrace. Good. One less pony suffering right now.

"What now?" I whispered to Celestia. "This can't go unanswered."

"It won't," Celestia said, her voice like iron. "There is no part of this that will go unanswered. We have been too passive in this conflict. We haven't taken enough action. That ends now." She looked over at me, and I admit feeling a little uneasy at her expression. "You will have everything you need to make as many human weapons as you can imagine. The heads of Purgle, Cromwell, Marller, those dukes... they will all be put on pikes outside of my palace. They will not survive long. I will teach you every combat spell I know. We will decimate any foe that dares step into our nation."

"Agreed." I nodded and looked around at the other ponies in the room again. "Agreed."

The door opened, and a doctor walked into the waiting room. Twilight woke up and nuzzled into Celestia's chest, keeping one eye on the doctor. He didn't wait for any prompting from us to begin speaking.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine what this must be like," he said, bowing his head. "I've done all I can for all of them. I'm optimistic, actually. Fluttershy just needed thirty five stitches. She just needs to rest and not re-open the wound and she should be as good as new. Outside of the scar she'll carry for the rest of her life. Apple Bloom's legs have been re-constructed. She'll be fine as well. It will take a lot of time and physical therapy, but she will walk again. We've given her some medication to help with the concussion she suffered as well."

The doctor sighed and began idly cleaning his glasses on his lab coat. "Rainbow Dash... well, she lost her leg. But as I'm sure many of you know, prosthetic technology has come a long way. She'll be able to fly, walk, anything she'd normally do." He paused again and took another deep breath. "And Applejack..."

* * * *

A cheer went through the drunken crowd as another effigy of an Element of Harmony was set alight. I admit feeling a little disgust at it all. I could see why King Purgle wanted to have this celebration. It was a big blow to Equestria, after all. It let them know we could hurt them, and hurt them badly.

A three day celebration felt excessive to me. And on top of that, I knew that what we'd done wouldn't be enough.

I pushed past a minotaur tossing a stuffed blue leg up and down to the amusement of the crowd around him. Tasteless. If this is how we treated our enemies in defeat, I wasn't so sure I wanted to be part of this anymore. I wouldn't dare say such a thing to King Purgle, though. Nor would any of the other minotaurs who felt exactly the same way. I'd lost count of how many times I'd heard such murmurs among the troops. No one had been punished for it. Yet.

I pushed through another crowd and reached King Purgle, who had just finished draining another tankard of beer. He saw me approaching and let out a loud, gleeful laugh.

"Marller! The minotaur of the hour! The one without whom, none of this would be possible!" He clapped me on the back before handing me a small crossbow. I felt my stomach drop when I saw an effigy of the Element of Honesty strung up to a tree in front of us. King Purgle giggled drunkenly and pointed at it. "Fifty points if you get it right through her eye!"

Goodness, I wanted to vomit right there. This isn't what I did all of that work for. We were protecting our nation from Equestria. That's what he said in the beginning. I was so stupid to believe that, I realized. A lot of us were starting to realize that on some level.

I grimaced and gently set the crossbow down. King Purgle frowned at me. "What's wrong? You can't get into the spirit of things?" He motioned to a nearby servant. "Bring this minotaur an ale! He works far too hard!" Another cheer went through the crowd.

"King Purgle, I don't want ale, I want to speak with you."

"Like I said, you work too hard. It can wait just one night."

"No, King Purgle, it can't. You need to hear this."

King Purgle groaned and motioned for the crowd to be silent. "Apparently our greatest asset has something to say." He threw his arm around my shoulder and poked me in the chest. "Well, go on, spit it out!"

I wanted this be in private, but the drunken lunatic wouldn't allow that at the moment. Just as well. Everyone would find out soon anyway.

"It's about the Element bearers, your highness," I began. Another cheer went through the crowd, and I could hear some congratulations being thrown my way, including from the king. I waited for it to die down before continuing. "I was checking up on the health of the ones who had been wounded in the attack. I wanted to see if we could do anything else, but I didn't have time to think about that." I took a steadying breath. I wasn't looking forward to this. "It was during those investigations that I heard news about the Element of Honesty. It seems... it seems that when she was hit with the crossbow bolt, she turned her head just at the right time. The bolt hit her skull instead of going into her brain. She's alive, King Purgle. And from the looks of things, she'll make a recovery. Obviously they couldn't save the eye, but..."

There I said it. I wanted to leave right then. Let these drunken fools handle the news as they wished. I did notice the complete change in the atmosphere. It was like all of the revelry had been sucked out of the courtyard. Good.

"You are sure of this?" King Purgle said quietly. "I need you to be sure."

"I'm completely sure, King Purgle."

"I see." King Purgle took a deep breath and rubbed his jaw in thought. "Well... then we'll have to try again. Maybe--"

"King Purgle, you'd have a better chance at killing Celestia's foal than seeing a single hair on the heads of an Element bearer or their families. The freemind mercenaries were our best shot."

"Hmm..." Purgle removed his arm from my shoulder and began pacing. I wished to leave, but I knew he'd never let me. The joys of being his "greatest asset." Whatever the Tartarus that meant.

Finally he stopped and turned to the crowd, who stared at him without blinking. Here we go.

"You have all been very patient. The time for patience is over. We have tested their defenses enough. Tomorrow at dawn, we will march upon Equestria with our full strength. They will burn before this has ended."

Author's Note

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The Field of Battle

The ground nearly shook beneath me, but I didn't flinch. Looking out into the sea of ponies around me I could see that, for the most part, they were holding strong. None of them moved. None of them glanced around nervously. We presented a united front to the endless tide of minotaurs that marched upon our homeland. Above us, a thick blanket of cloud rolled over the battlefield, almost completely covering the sky.

The scouts didn't exaggerate. I had never seen such a large force in life or even in the movies as the one that came to me with the intent of killing everything that I knew and loved. I scanned the horizon for any end to their army, but found none. From what I could see, most of them were protected by simple leather armor and armed with swords or axes that, while not top-of-the-line, would be deadly enough to anything that found themselves on the wrong end of them. I saw a few minotaurs decked out in plate armor. The commanders no doubt. I focused my attention on the small gem in my helmet.

See, in a particularly genius move, Celestia had all of the helmets that our soldiers received embedded with a small gem inside. Each of them were "coded" to a specific unit. That meant that not only could I give orders to individual units as needed, but also the entire force. The ones for the commanders could go both ways, allowing them to communicate back with me. It took a lot of doing to get them that way. Even Celestia, Luna and Twilight helped in their creation and distribution.

I lit my horn and the gem glowed green for a moment.

"Cloud snipers if you could focus most of your attention on the ones in plate armor, that would be great. Napalm units as well."

"Roger, Prince Antares," the voice of Commander Rapids said.

I lit my horn again, and the gem glowed red. "Flame units, shock and awe. You have a limited amount of ammo, so don't waste it on individual troops. Try to focus on large groups. Hit their flanks and, once you're out, come back for additional orders."

"Yes, Prince Antares," the voice of another commander said.

I lit my horn one more time, and the gem glowed blue. "All units, this is Prince Antares. You have your orders. Follow them as best you can, and we're going to send them back to where they came from with their tails between their legs. At least, those of them whose tails haven't been burned off. Think about your families. Think about your homes. Think about how they're not going to get within a hundred miles of either of those things. Think about your buddy next to you, and fight as hard as you can to make sure that he or she makes it home. You do that, and they don't stand a chance."

"Ooh rah!" seventy thousand ponies screamed back at me.

"Excellent. I'll see you all once this is done. Don't break ranks. Make them regret ever even looking at our country."

The minotaur army, which had been marching towards us, stopped completely about five hundred yards away. I tightened my grip on Reginald, the name I'd decided to give the hammer as a whole, not just the staff, and readied myself to give orders. However, two minotaurs broke free from the main force and began walking towards our army. One of them held a green flag. A flag of truce in this world. I sighed and activated the gem again.

"I'm going out there. They won't hurt me. If they try anything, and I mean anything, I'll evaporate them and be back in time for fireworks."

"Roger that, Prince Antares," Commander Rapids said. "The one on the left seems to be on your list here."

"Marller?" I asked hopefully.

"Doesn't look like it. Looks like one of the old clan chieftains. Johland, I think his name is."

I grimaced as I spread my wings to meet him. Johland had a reputation for sadism with defeated enemies. By all accounts, he was just kind of a prick in general. He'd stab you in the back no question if his culture didn't expressly forbid that kind of thing.

Just my luck that he also happened to be one of the greatest swordsmen in the world.

Johland and his squire stopped about two hundred yards from the main force when they saw me coming. The cloud cover had already spread that far, so I wasn't terribly worried that they'd try something, even if their culture forbade them from attacking under a green banner. Granted, Johland also had a reputation for being kind of a bastard like that, and his actions might be overlooked in the event that he managed to take out an alpha alicorn.

Well, if he even tried to poke me on the shoulder with his finger to irritate me, he'd break his whole hand.

I landed in front of the two of them and slung my hammer over my shoulder. We both inclined our head in small bows, as courtesy dictated.

"Antares, such a delight to see you out here," Johland said, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. "I've been looking forward to this."

"So I've heard. Funny that Puggle can't come out here and face me himself. He has to send a servant girl to talk to me. Do you wipe his arse for him, too?"

Johland's grip on his sword tightened and his eyes narrowed a fraction, but he didn't rise to the bait. "King Purgle doesn't even think that you're worth his time. Why would he bother with some wind--"

"Window washer who was hit with shiny necklaces? I really hoped he'd come up with one better than that. It'd be like if I called him 'bull-headed.' No originality at all."

Johland paused for a moment to collect himself before speaking again. "I'm here to offer you one last chance to give us what we want. You've brought your army here to face mine, but you must realize how futile of an effort this is. We will break the back of your pathetic army with as much effort as it takes to lift a sword. You will beg for mercy, but none shall be given." Johland shot me a nasty grin and slid his sword out of his sheath a few inches. I didn't need to see much more than that to tell that it was a Nightmare Weapon. "I will personally bring your head back to King Purgle if you choose to go that route."

A thought crossed my mind that I filed away for later. Focus on the idiot in front of me.

"I'm sure by now you've heard about my human weapons," I began. "Well, if you had, you'd know that I really am not going to tolerate your army taking one more step into my country. Should you ignore me, I will destroy your army and then make your dreams about me destroying Schunie come true."

"So you admit that your plan all along was to take our capitol?" he sneered.

"If the best you can do to get legitimacy for your actions is to take a sentence and twist it until it no longer resembles what I actually said, you're going to have some real problems going forward. Now, I could reiterate my desire for you to turn around and leave us both in peace, but I know that I'd be wasting my breath. That's hard for an alicorn to do, since we have an unlimited supply, and even if we didn't we don't actually need to breathe. Still, even though I literally have all of the time in the world, I'm not going to waste a moment more talking to a being who just got done sucking at his cow of a mother's teat. I'd say that I'll enjoy hearing you beg for mercy, but you're so far beneath me that even if you screamed your pleas in my ear, I doubt I'd notice."

Johland glared at me and grasped his sword. He almost got it halfway out of his sheath before a crossbow bolt from the clouds thudded on the ground next to him about half an inch from his leg. He stumbled back and almost fell down. Top heavy things like him don't tend to be very graceful in full armor.

"Leave it on the field," I said, taking the bolt out of the ground and storing it in a pouch at my side. "We haven't said 'ready, set, go' yet."

"You will pay for your insolence with the blood of every single pony in your nation," Johland growled. "I don't think I'll kill you today. I think I'll have King Purgle keep you as a pet so that you can watch while I tear your unborn child right out of the parts of Celestia that I’m done playing with."

My eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch. Barely enough to be noticeable unless you were paying attention. I ignited my horn and lifted up my war hammer, feigning some sort of intimidation thing. He pulled his sword halfway out of his sheath again, but didn't notice that I was splitting my magic. Without him noticing, I picked up a tiny pebble and teleported it directly into the brain of his squire. It's nice that he stood still for me so that I knew exactly where he'd be when I teleported the pebble. Otherwise it probably wouldn't have worked.

His squire flinched back for a brief moment, then fell down dead without a single sound. Johland flinched back, his eyes wide.

"What did you do?!" he roared.

"Nothing," I said, lowering my war hammer with a frown. "I can't help it if your armed squire is so freaked out by the sight of me with a hammer that he faints." I shrugged. "If that's the stock of your entire army then you're in deep trouble." I began backing away, my gaze never leaving him. "We're done here. Leave and live. Stay and die. I promise you that."

Before Johland could respond, I teleported back to my original spot on the hill. My alicorn eyesight saw Johland stomp back to the main army, leaving the body of his squire on the field. I fired up the communication gem again.

"All commanders, if this was a bad movie or if I was dumb, I'd tell you all to leave him to me. However, I only need his head, so if you spot him on the field, don't hesitate to take him out by whatever means necessary."

"Roger," said the commanders.

"Alrighty, mares and gentlecolts," I said, flipping communication back to the whole army. "They're mad. Mad enemies are stupid. Like I said before: just do your job, fight for the pony next to you, and we'll come out alright. Don't die for your country. Make them die for theirs."

Just then, a deafening cry went through the entire minotaur army as they all raised their weapons to the sky. They instantly went silent for a few moments, then began stomping in rhythm and screaming chants in some language I couldn't understand. They beat their chests with their fists and slammed the ends of their weapons on the ground, just like their ancestors going back thousands of years.

The minotaurs went quiet, which was my cue. Even as mad as he was, I suppose that Johland felt that we should still observe protocol. I raised my hoof and shouted a curse in ancient Equestrian. The moment the last syllable left my lips, my entire army shouted their response. I slammed my hoof in the ground and screamed another curse, and my army responded in kind. As nice as it was to have a haka for my guard, I couldn't deny that the traditional Equestrian haka carried far more weight, especially when seventy thousand ponies screamed it across the battlefield instead of a few hundred.

Just as we finished our haka, the minotaurs began theirs again. I followed suit, and the two armies fought to have their haka overtake the other. I even noticed the Saddle Arabian, buffalo and zebra soldiers following along with the hakas of their cultures. We screamed, we pounded our chests, we slammed our weapons together, we united as one. Each side let the other know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was no going back now. We were going to fight to our last breath. If they wanted us to stand down, they'd have to make us.

The hakas ended, leaving the previously deafening atmosphere silent for a few moments. On the other side, a few minotaurs shouted something that I couldn't quite make out. A deafening roar went through the minotaur army, and within moments, the mass charge began.

Tens of thousands of minotaur hooves thundered at us, but none of my ponies so much as flinched. The front line raised their shields and shoved spears into the gaps between the shields. Any minotaur who got that far would hit a strong, spiky wall. Among other things, of course.

Three hundred yards.

The first arrows and crossbow bolts began raining from the clouds. Dozens of minotaurs fell to the ground as they were struck. Those that survived the initial wound were trampled by the tide of minotaurs charging at us.

Two hundred yards

A few minotaur crossbowmen raised their weapons to the sky and fired even as they ran. Few made it high enough to actually pass through the clouds, but a pang went through my chest when I saw a couple of pegasi fall through the clouds with arrows sticking out of them, the magic that allowed them to walk on clouds leaving them at death. The pegasi fired back, many aiming at any ranged troops they saw.

One hundred yards.

Too close, morons.

At about seventy five yards, the ground gave way underneath the front minotaur line. Hundreds of minotaurs fell into the hole in the earth and impaled themselves on the spike pits we'd spent the past few days making. Many tried to stop, but the sheer number of minotaurs charging us meant that any that slowed down for even a few moments were either trampled or shoved into the pits.

"Now!" I shouted.

A wall of unicorns ignited their horns, and ten foot long spiked poles emerged from the earth. Each unicorn focused on the one they'd been assigned to, so each one had the proper amount of support. The unicorns stuck the poles into the ground at about a forty-five degree angle, high enough that the minotaurs would have trouble getting over them, but not so high that my archers couldn't fire on them at their leisure.

The pits we'd dug were becoming so full of minotaur bodies that the advancing army found that they could just walk over their fallen brethren to get to us. Several vollies of arrows felled many of the ones who made it across the pits, but more kept charging forward.

"Mares and gentlecolts..." I took a deep breath. "I think it's time we introduced them to our human weapons. Fire at will."

With that, warfare changed forever.

Black napalm bombs began falling from the sky. I followed them with my eyes and held my breath as they got closer to the sea of minotaurs. Here goes nothing.

I didn't need to worry.

The instant the bombs made contact, they exploded in sticky fire, engulfing everything in its path. The ones directly underneath the bombs were almost immediately reduced to little more than ash, while the ones merely splashed by the fire began screaming and convulsing with pain. However, there was so little room between the minotaurs that in their attempts to run, they'd catch the minotaurs around them on fire, too, albeit to a lesser degree. I tried to ignore the smell of burning flesh as we dropped five thousand degree sticky fire on our enemies. The minotaur army slowed down considerably as they began to realize that they didn't really like the idea of running straight at a wall of fire. Unfortunately for them, I'd decided to space out the attacks a little bit. More napalm bombs began falling from the sky at points of about a hundred feet apart. Several walls of flame erupted on the battlefield, causing mass disarray among the army. Vollies of arrows continued to fly from the sky, striking many minotaurs not aflame down.

"That's it for us, Prince Antares," the commander of the napalm unit said. "We're switching to longbows."

"Thank you, commander," I said evenly.

Even with everything we'd done, we'd only taken out a small fraction of their army. Not nearly enough to send them packing back to Purgle. I had more napalm available for future battles, of course, but as for this one, we were out.

Thankfully I still had one or two tricks up my sleeve.

"Catapults ready?"

"Ready to fire on your command, Prince Antares."

"Fire now."

Dozens of boulders sailed overhead and slammed into the chaotic minotaur army, annihilating anything they came into contact with. The minotaur bodies began stacking so high that I began to wonder if we needed the spike wall at all. Their dead seemed to be doing that job for us.

"Catapults away, Prince Antares. We'll need a few minutes to reload."

"That's fine," I responded. "Send flame boulders next time."

"That'll tack on another minute or two."

"Do what you have to do. They're afraid of any fire we send at them. We've stopped their advance for the moment."

The fire of the napalm began dying down a little, just enough that a few minotaurs began charging at our defenses again. A volley of arrows flew forth from our main force, dropping many minotaurs as they charged. Still, even with those casualties, more kept advancing. I looked out into the field in front of us and saw that we'd barely made a dent in their forces. I still couldn't see the end to the minotaur army before us.

The minotaurs reached the spike wall and began trying to scale it. The archers in my ranks began to focus on them. After a minute of that, we were treated to a repeat of the situation in the spike pits. So many minotaurs died trying to scale the wall, that their bodies turned into a stepping stool of sorts, allowing the minotaurs to begin actually making it over the wall.

"Cloud snipers, focus your attention on the spike wall. They're about to make it over."

"Roger that, Prince Antares," Commander Rapids said. "Be advised: we're almost out of ammo."

I cursed and began wracking my brain for a solution to that. I'd left them up there with a ton of ammunition, but I suppose that I failed to grasp just how big the army was. I figured they'd run out eventually, but I'd hoped that it would take longer than it did. To make matters worse, the napalm fires had started going out. It did allow both sides to see the absolute devastation that it wrought. The minotaurs charging past the charred bodies looked scared. Really scared. Still, it wouldn't take them too long to figure out that we'd run out. I turned on my com gem again.

"Flame units, shoot at the front line of minotaurs trying to come over the wall. We've fireproofed the logs so you don't need to worry about that. Conserve your ammo! Shoot for exactly three seconds, then get out of there!"

At my command, about a thousand troops wearing pitch black armor and grotesque masks began filling the gap between the spike wall and the shield wall. They raised flamethrowers and fired into the minotaurs, setting many aflame before beginning their retreat back to the main army. To compound that, the catapults fired a volley of flaming boulders right at the enemy.

Now, I knew that the flamethrowers weren't the best open combat weapons out there. However, after the napalm attack, the minotaurs would be deathly afraid of any fire I sent their way. I counted on it more as a weapon to attack their morale rather than one to inflict mass casualties.

Suddenly, the ponies who made up the shield wall stumbled, as if an earthquake jolted the battlefield. Strange. I hadn't felt anything. I couldn't figure out what the issue was, unless...

My eyes widened as it hit me, but it was too late now. The ground underneath the shield wall opened up, and diamond dogs began pouring out of the holes in the earth. They began slashing at the shield ponies with sharp scimitars, or even just digging claws and teeth into whatever exposed parts they could, which tended to be the neck. To make matters worse, a fair few flame ponies found themselves caught in the middle, and most dropped their flamethrowers to take out swords to fight the dogs.

"I'm going down there!" I shouted to Grina, who was taking a potion out of her bandoleer.

"I expected no less," she replied. "We'll be joining you shortly."

With that, Grina downed the potion she'd just taken out, and I saw the berserkers around her do the same. A few of them even had rather large rottweilers that they fed the potions to before taking one of their own.

The second the potions kicked in, I found out firsthoof why no one want to fight a berserker.

The eyes of the berserkers began turning a solid blood red. No iris, no pupil, just a solid red. Their teeth actually sharpened themselves into fangs, and their hair began thinning out. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it reminded me of, but even I flinched back when Grina let out a shriek so terrifying, that I couldn't compare it to anything I'd heard before or since. The berserkers charged forward at speeds that Rainbow Dash would be impressed with towards the fray. I didn't want to be a diamond dog when they got there. I fully believed Grina when she said that she'd bitten someone's face off during battle.

I took wing and flew straight down to the battle, noticing that minotaurs were starting to come over the wall much quicker. Some of the diamond dogs were even digging underneath them to take the spike poles out of commission entirely. I landed right next to a diamond dog hole and smashed my hammer into the first dog that popped his head out. It briefly reminded me of shooting a rotten pumpkin with a shotgun. Suffice to say, he didn't have a head anymore.

I followed that up by picking up one of the fallen flamethrowers shooting into the hole until it was empty. I heard the screams of dogs as they burned alive in their tunnel with no way out. Open combat wasn't the best place for flamethrowers, but clearing out tunnels? That was exactly what they were for. I used my magic to cover up the hole and moved on to the next one. The berserkers had reached the battlefield by that point. They slashed and kicked and bit and tackled their foes into submission. I saw one tackle a minotaur and sink his spiked teeth into his neck. He jerked back and tore out a large portion of the minotaur's neck before slamming his hoof into the minotaur's head and tackling the next one he saw.

Despite my best efforts, the diamond dogs succeeded in taking out enough of the spike wall that minotaurs began pouring through our lines. The shield ponies did their best to hold them at bay, but many fell to minotaur weapons. A few more arrows hit the attacking minotaurs, but I could already tell that our archers had just about run out of ammo.

Time to see who the strongest really was.

I turned on my com gem once more. "Cloud teams! If you're out of ammo, start using weather!" I dodged a minotaur swinging his sword at me and returned it with a blow from my hammer that sent him flying. "Make tornadoes!"

Pegasi began streaming out of the clouds above the minotaur army and flying in circles by the hundreds. Even with the armor, the sheer number of pegasi creating tornadoes meant that they had more than enough wingpower to pull it off. Within minutes, at least half a dozen tornadoes began tearing through the minotaur army.

But still the minotaurs did not slow down. Both sides smashed into each other, no longer caring about formations. We couldn't keep them up anyway. Thankfully, the Saddle Arabian and buffalo soldiers charged into the sides of the minotaur army, collapsing their flanks. I tightened my grip on my hammer and began swinging at every diamond dog and minotaur that I could see. I didn't have to look for targets. Any of them that saw me knew my identity, so many a foolish enemy charged at me, hoping to be the one to slay an alpha alicorn. Most didn't get within five steps of me.

As I continued to fight, I saw one minotaur armed with a large black sword, swinging it at ponies and cutting many down. I narrowed my eyes and began running toward him. Johland. Even with his helmet covering his entire head, I recognized the armor and sword.

Johland turned around just as I fired a beam of magic into his chest. He stumbled back, but didn't fall completely, which would have been game over for him. His armor must have been strengthened with some anti-magic wards. They wouldn't hold up if I hit him with everything I had, of course, but a quick hit wouldn't destroy him.

Johland swung his sword at me, and I dodged with a few inches to spare. Like I said: I didn't really feel like testing to see if a Nightmare Weapon could actually do damage to my armor. He swung again, and I blocked it with the shaft of my hammer. Even with the combined strength of my magic and Reginald, I could feel the raw power behind his blow. I began doubting that my armor would completely protect me if he scored a hit. I couldn't make the whole thing out of mithril, after all.

I swung my hammer at him, and, foreseeing that he'd dodge it, twisted my body to the other side and followed it up with a swipe from one of my wing blades. The blade scored a hit and left a deep gash on his chestplate. A small trickle of blood began dripping out of the gash, but if it bothered him at all, he didn't show it. He used the fact that the momentum of my attack caused me to lunge forward faster than I probably should have, and he brought his sword down. I quickly raised a wing to block his swing, and the force of the colliding blades sent a vibration throughout my body. If I survived this, my wing would be sore in the morning.

However, my wing blade swipe had enough strength behind it that he stumbled back when his sword bounced off of it. I pressed my advantage and swung my hammer at his leg. It scored a direct hit and I didn't doubt that I'd shattered every bone in it, even with the armor he wore. He fell to the ground clutching his leg. His sword slipped out of his hand, leaving him defenseless, which suited me fine. I'd finish him off then teleport the Nightmare Weapon somewhere else so that no one else could pick it up and try to use it against me.

Before I could bring my hammer down, two diamond dogs jumped on my back, their surprise weight bringing me to the ground. One scratched my face with his razor sharp claws to no real effect other than severely irritating me. I reached out with my magic and snapped his neck before punching the other dog as hard as I could. His neck broke on impact, allowing me to get up.

My movement saved my life.

Just as I began pushing myself back up, pain coursed through my body in a way that I hadn't felt in a long time. I fell to the ground with a scream that was drowned out by the chaos of battle around me. I regained my senses long enough to see that Johland had picked his weapon back up and sliced my shoulder open with it. As I suspected, the magic of the Nightmare Weapon nullified the magic of my armor, and the force of the blow cut through the steel with relative ease.

He did make one mistake, though.

Even though it hurt a lot, I knew immediately that the wound wasn't nearly as dangerous as the crossbow bolt to the chest that Sinosis had given me. He'd cut me pretty deep, but not deep enough to take the leg out of commission completely. However, that wasn't his mistake. His mistake was not remembering one thing that happened when I got hit with Nightmare Weapons.

It tended to really piss me off.

With one powerful flap of my wings, I began hovering a few feet in the air and called upon Luna's ice dagger spell, creating dozens that I shot into every enemy even close to me. Then, I completely engulfed Johland in my magic. The anti-magic wards on his armor fizzled out as my power overloaded them completely. I pumped more magic into my horn and began crushing his armor like a tin can. His problem consisted of the fact that he hadn't taken it off yet. He tried to struggle free of my magic, but his bones began breaking as the armor designed to keep him alive crushed him to death instead. He screamed and wiggled his neck, the only bone left unbroken that he could really move. With one more burst of magic, the armor flattened completely, killing Johland almost instantly.

I released what was left of him and picked up the Nightmare Weapon, still stained with my blood. I teleported it back to my tent before flying straight into the air, focusing my attention on the half dozen tornadoes still wreaking havoc behind the main lines. I activated my com gem and ordered all of the pegasi to disperse. They began flying away from the tornadoes they had created, which did mean that the minotaur archers had an easier time picking them off. Not for long.

With no pegasi to keep the tornadoes controlled, they began to both disperse and move erratically. I reached out with my magic and took control of them, fusing my pegasus magic with my unicorn magic and lighting them on fire. Content that I had a suitably deadly weapon, I began whipping them all around the battlefield, pouring more magic into them to make them larger and more deadly. I flew over their army, casually shrugging off the arrows they fired at me while dragging the tornadoes behind me in the direction of the rear army.

Feeling my magic beginning to drain, both from the strain of keeping six giant fire tornadoes going and the wound from the Nightmare Weapon, I dispersed the tornadoes and spent the last of my magic tearing chunks out of the earth and bringing them down upon the heads of the minotaurs below. After throwing the last one, I flew down as fast as I could into the middle of the minotaur army, hitting the ground with enough force to both dent the earth below me and send out a shockwave that pushed a few troops back. I summoned my hammer and began swinging it wildly, smashing into scores of minotaurs. It only took a few moments for the minotaurs to completely give up hope that they could fight me, even with the painful shoulder wound.

I don't know how long I fought. I don't know how much extra damage I did to my shoulder, but I kept pushing. I needed to kill them all. It felt like ages before I heard several loud horns sounding. They didn't sound like pony horns. I pulled out of my blood lust just enough to see all of the minotaurs around me running back in the direction they came. Shouts of "retreat" and "fall back" echoed around me. At the same time another shout began, this one louder than the fearful cries of the minotaurs.

A shout of victory.

I slowly, gently took to the air and saw the remnants of my army raising their weapons high and shouting at the retreating minotaurs. It took my mind several moments to realize that I wasn't imagining it.

We'd won.

I flew back to my forces, ignoring the retreating minotaurs beneath me. I landed next to somepony I vaguely recognized as Commander Rapids. I guess she'd flown over to meet me.

"Prince Antares, should we pursue?" she asked.

I turned around and stared at the retreating minotaurs. Even as I watched tens of thousands of minotaurs fleeing for their lives, I slowly began to become aware of the bodies. More bodies than I could count on both sides littered the battlefield. My mind went absolutely blank as I tried to register it all. I just couldn't.

The last of my magic faded away completely, and my hammer thudded to the ground next to me. I slowly blinked once and sat down on my haunches, becoming more and more aware of my shoulder injury.

"No, Commander Rapids. We're done."

Author's Note

I hope that was everything you were hoping for. It should be. We've all been waiting, what 100,000 words or so for a giant battle like this? Something like that.

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Aftermath

"Prince Antares, what would you like for us to do now?"

I blinked at the question. In truth, not a single thought flitted through my mind. Between the wound from the Nightmare Weapon and the fact that I didn't have a scrap of magic left in me at the moment, I found it difficult to think about anything. My gaze flicked over the battlefield, where the medical corps were looking through the destruction to find the wounded. Another group of ponies got to work collecting the dead. I stared at a stallion who couldn't have been more than twenty, who picked up the body of a mare roughly his age and put her on his back. Outside of the fatal wound on her side, she looked like she could be sleeping.

An image flashed in my mind of those two ponies moving through the streets of Baltimare. They were a couple who were finishing up a long, fun day. The mare had fallen asleep on her coltfriend's back, content with the knowledge that she was the happiest mare in the world. Maybe they'd both be smiling.

I blinked and returned to reality. The two probably didn't even know each other, nor would they ever. I stared into the face of the mare and tried to fully realize that she was dead, not just sleeping. I couldn't really.

"Prince Antares?"

I tore my gaze away from the two of them and looked back at Commander Rapids. I took a slow, deliberate breath and took my helmet off.

"The medics and cleanup crews are already dealing with our dead and wounded. If you could gather a group to check on the minotaur casualties, I'd appreciate that. Those that are wounded but can move, start gathering them together. We have a P.O.W camp that we'll be transporting them to soon. If they can't move, we'll have medics look them over before sending them to the camp. If they're on death's door... do what needs to be done."

"Y-yes, Prince Antares," Commander Rapids said, slowly backing away. "And what counts as 'on death's door'?"

"I'll leave that up to you."

"Yes, Prince Antares."

Commander Rapids took to the air and flew in the direction of some survivors. I stood up, making sure to keep my weight on the side opposite my injury. No doubt Celestia would freak out when she heard that I'd been hit by another one, not to mention the guilt that Luna would feel. I looked out into the vast expanse of bodies before me and, to my surprise, I saw a pony walking alone among the minotaur corpses. I frowned and took a few steps forward to see who it was. He didn't have any armor on, nor did he wear any markings that identified him as a medic. I tried to recall if I'd seen him walking from our side, but couldn't.

Before I could ponder the issue any further, the pony turned around to face me. My stomach clenched when I recognized him. Death himself stood among the bodies I had created. He made eye contact with me and gave me a little grin and wave before continuing his walk through the battlefield. My jaw clenched, but of all of the beings I wanted to interact with, he was next to last on my list. I made a noise of disgust before making my way back to my tent.

* * * *

"Now hold still, Prince Antares. You're going to be just fine."

I stared blankly at the top of my tent as a pair of medics cleaned my wound. I didn't move when they began dabbing at it, even though it did hurt a little bit. My armor was back on its stand, immaculate except for the large gash on the left shoulder. The Nightmare Weapon I'd taken from Johland leaned against the stand. I didn't have the next clue of what I'd do with it. Luna would probably want to take it so that she could destroy it.

Although, now that I thought about it, I'd never actually seen her destroy one. Heck, I don't think I've ever heard her talk about destroying the ones she gets. I just assumed she did. Maybe it's just because of how much it hurts her that they exist at all, so she'd rather not talk about it.

Although to be fair, and I'd certainly not say it to her face, the fact that Nightmare Weapons exist has hurt me more than anypony in Equestria. I seriously cannot adequately describe the amount of pain they cause me. The closest thing that I can relate it to was a kidney stone I had once. Even that isn't quite severe enough.

My eye twitches as the medic presses more sterilizing alcohol against my injury. Other than that, I don't show any indication that it hurts. The medic puts the bloody cloth she's been using to clean my wound in a bowl that she sets aside. She picked up a long roll of bandages and begins wrapping them around my shoulder. Great. I can't imagine how long I'll be out of commission with this. Certainly not as long as when Sinosis scored a direct hit on me, but if the minotaurs attacked again tomorrow, I'd probably not be able to get up to fight them. That could cause all sorts of problems.

Having said that, after the beating we gave them, I don't foresee them actually feeling up to attacking us again. I hadn't received the casualty reports quite yet, but from everything that I heard, they suffered more fatalities by far. Not that we walked away completely unscathed. There would still be thousands of grieving families from this battle alone.

My tent flap flew open and, to my surprise, Celestia ran in, followed closely by Luna. I opened my mouth to ask her what the heck she was doing right at the front lines, but she stopped that by forcefully pressing her lips to mine.

"How are you feeling? Are you hurt too badly?" She whipped her head around to stare the medics down. "How bad is it? How long will it take for him to recover?"

"For Celestia's sake, Celestia, calm down," I said as I nuzzled her leg. "It's just a scratch, honest."

"I'd rather not take that risk." Celestia sat down next to my cot and took my hoof in her own. "And I truly doubt it's little more than a scratch."

"Celestia, just relax. Try not to get too worked up, if not for my sake then for the sake of our foal, alright?" The medics finished wrapping up my shoulder and, once they'd put all of their medical supplies back in their bags, they bowed to us and backed out of the tent.

"So how are you truly, Antares?" Luna asked, sitting down next to her sister.

"Well, I'm pretty much drained of my magic." I tried to pick up Reginald, but only succeeded in producing blue sparks. "I guess between the wound and creating and maintaining half a dozen large fire tornadoes, it makes some sense that I'd be drained."

Celestia lit her horn and began her own scan of my body. She must have found something she didn't like, because she grimaced. "You have dark magic festering in the wound." She began pouring her own magic into me. "I doubt that you'll be able to completely recharge your magic until that is taken care of."

Luna nodded and lit her own horn, mixing her magic with Celestia's. As they worked, I felt the pain in my shoulder slowly start to fade away until it was only a dull ache. I hadn't really been fully aware of everything going on the last time I'd gotten hit with a Nightmare Weapon, instead focusing more on thoughts such as "ow, ow, ow, holy me this hurts."

Content that they'd stemmed the flow of dark magic into me, Celestia and Luna powered their horns down. "You should be able to re-charge your magic now, though I think that will take several days, if not a few weeks," Celestia said. "You cannot take to the field again until you are fully re-charged. If you were hit with a Nightmare Weapon again while you were not at full strength, the consequences would be severe."

"Also it hurts like a son of a bitch."

I glanced over at Luna to gauge her reaction to that little quip. The back of my mind told me that it might be a bit insensitive, given Luna's extreme regret over creating them in the first place. She didn't look hurt by it. That doesn't mean that she wasn't, though. I made a note to be a little more careful about Nightmare Weapon jokes.

Still, it did hurt a lot.

In lieu of an answer, Luna walked over to the Nightmare Weapon I had in my tent. She ignited her horn and picked it up before teleporting it away, presumably to her room. Fair enough. I didn't really want it around either.

"So what now?" I asked. "I can't see the minotaurs attacking soon, not after the survivors telling stories of what we can do. A lot of them are going to dislike the idea of trying to attack us now if they think they're going to die horribly."

"Agreed," Celestia said. "I think it might be prudent to test the waters a little with some diplomacy. We can talk to some of their leaders to get an idea of exactly what they are thinking. Some may want to open up talks to end the war."

"And if they do?" I ask. "What are we going to be asking for?"

"I am unsure," Celestia admitted. "I think it would be best if Purgle was removed from power. That must be the end game of this entire war. Otherwise he will merely regather his strength and attack once more. They suffered severe casualties yesterday, enough that there might be a split in opinion with their soldiers."

"We can only hope," Luna said. "Perhaps if we are lucky, they will depose Purgle themselves just to end the war."

"I think we might need another battle or two before that happens," I admitted. "If they think that every time they enter Equestria they will be met with brutal death, they're going to not want to come into Equestria anymore." I gently sat up, doing my best to ignore the dull pain in my shoulder. "I think we could feasibly assassinate Purgle now, if we can find him. There should be enough unease in his camp that doing so wouldn't create a martyr out of him."

"Perhaps, though I feel that it is too early to tell," Luna said. "You have only won one battle. There is still much to do."

* * * *

Ninety thousand.

Ninety thousand minotaurs had died or were captured during the last battle. Almost a fifth of their entire army. I was surprised that Purgle had the sense to not send his entire army after us in one go. I suppose that something in the back of his mind told him to send out a test force just in case we could actually back up what we were saying. Well, I think he realized that we could.

That still left us with roughly four hundred thousand minotaurs who wanted us dead, and leaders that had a better idea of what they were up against. I had to admit that if he sent his entire army after us, I wasn't completely sure we could win that battle; at least, not without significant casualties. They'd probably burn a large portion of Equestria before we finally managed to beat them back. Just the first battle had severely tested our forces.

And destroyed some of it.

While it didn't compare to the minotaur losses, our army suffered fourteen thousand casualties. Nine thousand dead, and five thousand wounded. Granted those wounds ranged from missing limbs all the way to cuts that needed stitches, so some of them might be able to take the field again. Meanwhile, Luna would be taking my place at the front. We told the troops that I was completely fine and I was needed back in Canterlot to deal with the griffins once and for all. A half truth. Emperor Cromwell did seem to be getting things under control.

For now.

We did have ponies taking pictures of the carnage to use as propaganda against the griffins. Once the average griffin saw what we'd do to them if they tried to get near us, Cromwell would start losing control again.

I walked out of my tent alongside Celestia and Luna and surveyed the battered army before me. The euphoria of a major victory had all but died down by that point. Many of them were walking around with blank expressions on their faces. It made sense. They'd just seen some major destruction, and I'm sure each of them knew that it could of been them that died. I'm positive that most of them lost friends.

As we walked through the camp, many of them bowed to us. Some didn't. Some merely poked at food or ignored us in lieu of hushed conversations with each other. Some just stared at the ground. My heart leaped when I passed by a tent and saw Cheerilee inside, though she didn't look up. She didn't even blink. She just stared at the ground, her armor half off and her crossbow laying a few feet away from her. I realized then that the mare I knew in Ponyville who found joy in teaching foals was gone. Maybe she'd come back someday. I'd do everything for her that I could to make sure that happened. For now, the mare looking at nothing in particular with a thousand yard stare didn't even look like Cheerilee.

We passed a group of zebras, one of them Grina, who were sitting in a circle with their heads bowed and humming what I presumed to be a song of mourning and beating their chests in time with the music. A few had some rather nasty cuts that they didn't acknowledge. A nearby group of buffalo were stomping the ground while one that looked like a chieftain sung in his native language. A row of weapons lay before them and, after a moment, one buffalo moved up to them and began setting them on fire with a blue powder I didn't recognize. The weapons burned blue, but the fire didn't spread beyond the weapons. The chieftain's singing grew louder as the powder reduced the weapons to ash as the fire burned out.

"This war will end soon, I feel," Celestia said, looking sadly at the buffalo. "I truly do believe that."

"Yeah," I muttered. "One way or another."

We reached the chariot Celestia and Luna had arrived in. Celestia stepped in first while I took Luna's spot. Luna stood on her hind legs, propping herself up on the chariot, and leaned in to talk to Celestia. They had some whispered conversation for a few moments that I didn't hear before they nuzzled each other. Luna went back down on all fours and smiled at me before walking back into the camp. Celestia gave the signal to the ponies pulling the chariot, who then took to the air.

"It feels wrong, you know?" I said as I watched the camp grow smaller as we got farther away. "I should be out there with my ponies."

"Withdrawing in the state you are in is not a sign of weakness, Antares," Celestia said, putting a hoof on my foreleg. "You barely have enough magic in you to lift your food. You are in no condition to fight."

"There are thousands of ponies out there who have never used magic to fight," I countered. "They're still fighting."

"Yes, but they haven't been injured as you have been. All of the wounded are leaving the camp. It does not do anypony any good if the wounded fight. If you try to fight and you are slain or captured, what then? Our forces are shaken up enough without having to see one of us killed. Luna will handle things just fine while we are gone." She smiled at me and began rubbing my leg. "And you will not be gone for long, I feel. Just long enough to recover. Then you will lead our ponies to victory once more."

"Yeah." I scooted next to her and leaned my head on her shoulder. She wrapped her wing around me, which warmed me up a little bit. We stayed like that for the entire trip back to Baltimare.

* * * *

We touched down outside of my palace as several ponies rushed to meet me, Tulip among them. I gave her a slight nod, and she moved to trot alongside me.

"Prince Antares, I am delighted to see that you are well."

"Well enough, Miss Tulip," I said. "I also saw your husband today. He's doing fine."

Tulip let out a huge sigh of relief, and I even saw tears brimming in her eyes. "Antares be praised," she whispered. I don't think she meant for me to hear that, but I did.

"How did the battle go?" Tulip continued after a few more moments. "Did we lose a lot of ponies?"

"All things considered, no," I said. "We won, and I think they're going to hesitate a bit before attacking again, which will work to our advantage, obviously. It'll give us time to recover and think up some more plans."

"I'm happy to hear it, Prince Antares," Tulip said as we entered my palace. "Speaking of, I found the Flim Flam brothers for you. I've given them a room in the palace while they waited for you to return."

"Good. I'll speak to them today, then. They have skills that I want."

"Yes, Prince Antares. I have also been holding court for you. I have a list of things for you to attend to, but I can certainly do anything you desire if you wish for me to do so."

"You're holding court for me." I said flatly. "I didn't ask for you to do that."

"I know, Prince Antares," Tulip said, blushing. "It's just that ponies kept showing up to ask for stuff and... well, one thing led to another so I just decided to hold court until you got back. It's okay, I had some of my clansponies around in case things got out of hoof."

Oh me dammit. I knew it was a mistake to leave some of the southern ponies here. I really needed to get them to the front. I made a note to start moving the rest of them out tomorrow.

"Tulip, you are to never do that again, do you understand me?" I said, trying to keep the fury out of my voice. "If I wish for you to hold court in my absence, I will tell you to do so." I glared down at her. "Should you do that again, I will give your job to Time Keeper completely, is that understood?"

"Yes, Prince Antares," Tulip said, her head low and her tail between her legs. "I just... thought that it would help you out, you know? You're my god, and... and I want to make sure things run smoothly over in your house."

"Tulip..." My eye twitched, and I would have absolutely blown up at her if it weren't for Celestia putting a hoof on my back. I calmed down a little and took a few deep breaths to center myself. In hindsight, I didn't know what the deal was. I mean, yeah, she overstepped her authority. A lot. Usually I'm better about not letting my annoyance get to me. She wouldn't do it again. I took another few deep breaths before continuing.

"We'll talk later. For now, all I can say is that you're worrying me. At the end of the day, I'm just a pony who's as flawed as you are. I appreciate your devotion, but there are times to tone it down."

Geez, she looked like I'd slapped her once I said that.

Tulip, Celestia and I entered my throne room, where we found Kathyrine sitting on the floor in front of Ara and Veritas. It looked like they were playing peek-a-boo.

"Where's Auntie Katy?" Kathyrine covered up her face with her claws before pulling them away after a few seconds. "Here I am!" The twins giggled and clapped their hooves together.

"Auntie Katy?" I said, raising an eyebrow as I walked over to them. "That's new."

"Well, I'm around enough that they really like me," Kathyrine said with a shrug.

"I suggested it actually," Tulip said, sitting next to her foals with an obviously forced smile on her face. She picked up Ara and held him close. Really close, like she was using him for emotional support. Ara must have sensed this, because he nuzzled his mother's chest while Veritas happily crawled up to me. I draped my wing over her back and ruffled her mane.

"Actually, I'm glad you're here, Kathyrine." I said. "We've been wanting to talk to you."

Kathyrine's smile fell and she slowly nodded. "Yeah, I've been wanting to talk to you guys, too."

"Well, no sense wasting the day about it, then," I said, getting to my hooves. Veritas made a noise of displeasure, which made Tulip use her magic to draw her into a hug. I gave Veritas a comforting smile. "I'll be back soon, Veritas. I just need to talk to... er... Auntie Katy for a little bit."

The three of us left the room, going into one of my conference rooms before we started talking. I put a sound spell around the room before sitting down at the table. I really needed to look into making sound spells a permanent addition to the conference rooms.

"So," I began, taking a seat. "I think it's time we--"

"I want you to get me back in Griffonia to kick that bastard off of my throne."

"Talked about that," I finished. "Yeah, we'll definitely help you with that."

"He's been on too long. Every day he's alive is an insult to my dad's memory." Kathyrine glowered and tapped on the table. "I want him gone. I don't even care if I fight him and it kills us both. I want him dead."

"As do we," Celestia said. "We will do everything in our power to make sure he is removed from office with minimal loss of life."

"Sounds like the way you'd go about things," Kathyrine grumbled. "Just help me get there, and I'll take care of the rest. You won't have to worry about griffins fighting you guys anymore. Maybe we can be allies after I take power. The least I can do for you, I guess."

"Well, it'll be up to you as empress," Celestia admitted. "Though I feel that an alliance between our nations would be mutually beneficial."

"Like I said: just get me on the throne, and I'll take care of the rest from there."

And so we began forming a plan.

* * * *

It was night before we finished talking. Celestia went back to her palace not long afterwards. She offered to stay with me, but the ponies in Canterlot needed her, especially once we started telling ponies that they'd lost their loved ones. Heck, since I was going to be in Baltimare for that, ponies would be looking to me to help them.

I dragged myself into my room and sealed the door behind me. I didn't want to be bothered for anything short of news that the griffins were attacking.

I just about reached my bed when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw my laptop resting on one of the tables in the room. It had been there for as long as I had lived in Baltimare, but now that I thought about it, I didn't really do anything with it. I laid down on my bed and floated it over to me. Its batteries were dead, so I charged it with my magic and turned it on.

I have to say, opening my laptop again made me flash back a little to the time when I first ascended. Back when I was still TD and this job was being more or less thrust upon me, whether I liked it or not. I quietly exhaled and floated a pen and my headphones over to me. I plugged the headphones in and put the earbuds in my ears. I used the pen to open up the music folder before clicking the first song in the playlist.

I put a pillow under my head and closed my eyes, letting the music of my home world wash over me. Anything to forget my troubles for a little while.

Author's Note

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Waiting

"And the guards have been making rounds around town, right?" I gently set my teacup down and forced a strained smile onto my face. My friend, Quick Time, took a sip of her own tea before continuing.

"I'm afraid so, Pearl," she responded. "They're delivering the news to the ponies who lost family members during the big battle on the border." She flattened her ears and let out a sad sigh. "They came to Flurry Chill's house yesterday."

I gasped and put my hooves near my mouth, my wings fluttering uneasily. "She has five children in the army, doesn't she?" Quick Time nodded sadly. "That's terrible! Do you know which one she lost?"

Quick was silent for a moment, choosing to poke at my cloud table for a few seconds instead of responding. "She... she lost all five of them."

I gasped again and my eyes began brimming with tears. "Are they all d-dead, or merely wounded?" I asked, hoping that I had somehow misinterpreted what she was saying. A pony could be wounded in battle but still be counted as a casualty.

"Dead," Quick muttered. "Three were killed in the battle itself, and the other two died of their wounds not long after. I was there with her when they came to her house."

"She must have been utterly devastated!"

"Most likely," Quick said quietly. "But she didn't even cry when they told her. She just nodded at both of them, thanked them, then went back inside and finished the food she was in the middle of. She didn't really say anything the rest of the time I was there, but she didn't break down or anything like that. I didn't even see any tears."

"Most likely she's in shock," I said.

"That's what I was thinking," Quick replied. "She's staying with Storm Cloud right now. She didn't really say anything when I told her about that either. She just nodded a little bit then packed a suitcase." Quick flattened her ears. "The only time I saw her with any emotion is when she passed by a picture of her children on one of her shelves. She picked it up and hugged it for a few seconds before putting it in her suitcase."

"Terrible," I replied. Despite myself, my eyes trailed to the banner hanging on my window. It was in the colors of the Equestrian flag with three golden stars, representing the three children I had sent off to war. I inwardly shuddered when I thought about it.

"Well, I think I must be off," Quick replied, glancing over at the clock. "I was going to check in on Flurry at three."

"Let me know how she's doing," I said, standing up with Quick.

"I will." Quick grimaced and looked over to the window. "I've heard that the guards are still doing their rounds in Cloudsdale. I pray they don't come to your house."

"Me too," I whispered. "There are times when I'm kind of jealous of you. You didn't have to send anypony off to fight those evil minotaurs."

The older mare smiled warmly at me and put her hoof on my shoulder. "Don't you worry about the guards. I'm certain that your children are doing just fine. Maybe they'll write to you soon to tell you that?"

I gave Quick a weak smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. The war is gonna end and then I'm gonna cook them the biggest and best meal they've ever seen in their lives. We can make a party of it, or something."

"I look forward to hearing that they're all well," Quick said.

I escorted Quick to the door and gave her a hug goodbye. She opened my door and turned to leave, but before she did, she turned back to me.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Sky Chaser told me to tell you that she'll be coming at some point today. I think she said she was going to return some things she borrowed from you."

"That sounds good," I said, a more genuine smile crossing my face. "She has told me that she keeps meaning to return the pan she borrowed from me."

"Well then I'm sure the two of you will enjoy catching up then. See you later." Quick gave me one last hug, then left.

I took a deep breath and leaned my head against the door, my gaze flickering over to the banner hanging in the window beside the door. I hadn't actually gotten a letter from any of my children since before the big battle on the border. I did hope they were keeping warm and getting enough to eat. From what I'd heard, they made sure to not put ponies who were related in the same unit, just so that if that unit was wiped out, a mother wouldn't lose all of her children in one fight. It didn't seem to do anything for Flurry Chill, though. Luna above, I couldn't imagine losing every single child in one day.

The guards were still making the rounds across Cloudsdale. So many ponies had died during the battle. Over ten thousand, last I heard. I didn't even think I'd seen a picture with ten thousand ponies in it, so the idea that after a few hours of fighting that many of them were dead didn't make any sense to me. None of them were my children, of course. We had a quarter of a million ponies in the army. Ten thousand was a small fraction of that, so the odds that I had lost any of my babies was low.

But Flurry Chill probably thought that too, and now she'd be getting five folded Equestrian flags...

I pushed those thoughts out of my mind and walked away from the door. My husband would be home in a few hours. I needed to think about getting something together for dinner. Maybe some roasted vegetables.

Before I could think further on that, I heard a trio of loud knocks on my door. I froze in place, and my mind began racing. It wasn't the guard. Didn't Quick Time say that Sky Chaser was coming over? Yes, that's right. She'd have gotten here faster than I expected, but oh well, I didn't care. It wasn't the guard. My children were fine. Nothing wrong with them.

I let out a little whimper and slowly walked back over to the door. My children were fine. They'd come home and we'd be a family. I'd ask them what they wanted for dinner and I'd make it, whatever it was. That army food must be terrible.

Oh Luna I can't do this.

No, no, they're all fine.

I reached the door and took a deep breath. Nothing to worry about. I'd been meaning to get that pan from Sky Chaser anyway. Now was a good time. I grasped the door handle and slowly opened the door.

* * * *

"You know he's sending Marller," I grumbled, pacing back and forth in Celestia's throne room. "Shouldn't we have a Blade Wing put a blade wing through his face one of these days?"

"As therapeutic as that may seem, I don't think that's the best use of military resources, especially since Purgle would expect something like that," Celestia said with a faint smile. "Marller probably hasn't touched any sort of weapon since the war started to protect his non-combatant status. Besides, if we can get to Marller we could probably get to Purgle as well, and we both know Purgle isn't going to let that happen."

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but it'd be nice."

"Perhaps." Celestia ignited her horn and cast a relaxation spell over me. It helped for all of five seconds before the stress I'd been feeling over the past year or so blocked it out.

I hate it when that happens.

Celestia must have figured out her spell didn't work so well, because she rang a little bell next to her throne. Instantly a yellow earth pony mare with a light brown mane done up in a tight bun appeared beside Celestia. She bowed low to Celestia and I.

"Duckworth, if you could fetch Prince Antares and I a pot of tea, I'd appreciate that." The mare bowed low and disappeared as quickly as she arrived. I grimaced and sat down between Celestia and Luna's thrones.

"It must be nice having a consigliere who doesn't worship you with an uncomfortable amount of fanaticism," I groused. "I appreciate Tulip's devotion most of the time, but Duckworth seems to be a bit more... professional."

"True, but she can be a little overly stoic," Celestia said, sticking her tongue out a little bit. "Even I have difficulty reading her sometimes."

I opened my mouth to respond, only to be cut off by the reappearance of Duckworth, who had a tea set and a small plate of teacakes resting on a cart she had beside her. Duckworth poured two cups of tea and set a single teacake on the saucer beside the cups. Blegh. I hate teacake, which is probably why I serve muffins with my tea instead.

"Princess Celestia, Prince Antares, your tea," Duckworth said in a voice that wasn't quite monotone, but it threatened to get there if it got any more bland. "I must also inform you that the minotaur ambassador Marller has arrived. He is currently being searched and will be escorted to the throne room shorty."

"Thank you, Duckworth," Celestia said, giving her consigliere a grateful smile.

"In the meantime, I must inform you that Dr. Stethoscope had a meeting cancelled. He can see you for your monthly checkup at your leisure."

I allowed myself a tiny smile at that one. The monthly checkups were our way of figuring out how our foal was doing. So far things seemed to be progressing well enough, but Celestia's innate alicornness meant that the usual spells for checking out the foal didn't work as well. Dr. Stethoscope and Dr. Scalpel couldn't even agree on the gender of the foal. I personally was still hoping for a colt.

I was taken out of my reverie when Duckworth's ear flicked ever so slightly. "Princess Celestia, Prince Antares, I believe that the minotaur ambassador has just been cleared to meet with you. He is outside the throne room doors now."

I got to my hooves and brushed my coat to make sure no fur was sticking out. Celesta gave Duckworth the go-ahead to let him in. She nodded and set the tea cart behind Celestia's throne before nodding to the guards flanking the doors. They nodded back and ignited their horns, opening the door and allowing my second least favorite minotaur to strut into Celestia's throne room.

"Good afternoon to you two," Marller said, his smile surprisingly smug for somebody who was on the side that had just lost a fifth of its entire army in one battle. "May I just say how lovely it is to see you again." He nodded to me. "I hope you are doing well, Antares? I've heard those Nightmare Weapons can be nasty."

"That? Barely a scratch," I said with a wave of my hoof. "I hope that your king is doing well also. He strikes me as the kind to feel physical pain when his side endures a thrashing."

"On the contrary, he wishes for me to congratulate you on your minor success." Marller crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "I hope it's not going to your head, Antares."

"Perish the thought. We're just getting warmed up." I grinned. "No pun intended. I'm sure the scant few survivors gave you plenty of stories about the new weapon we tested on your forces." I straightened up a little more. "You come to say you've had enough? I think you'll find that the griffins aren't going to back you up anymore, not to mention the fact that the diamond dogs aren't a real military force. Merely mercenaries. What happens when you run out of things to pay them?"

"End the war now?" Marller tilted his head as though the thought was odd to him. "And you think that you would win if you saw the war to its conclusion? The griffins aren't going to help us out anymore, as you said, but they were never the focal point of our plans. I think you'll find that despite your victory, you have over four hundred thousand minotaurs on your western border who now know what you're capable of. I've heard the reports from the survivors, Antares: you ran out of your new weapon very quickly. You didn't have enough to do much more than some shock and awe. Besides, what point is there in sending more of your subjects to die? Over ten thousand ponies, beings that you love like they were your own children, horribly slaughtered in battle. Are you willing to see that number go even higher? King Purgle would listen to negotiations. We just need some money and land and the war could be over in the next couple of days."

"I hardly see why we should give in to your demands when we have the clear advantage here. We have not yet begun to show you what we are capable of," Celestia said, her face bearing the slightest glare.

"Are you talking about those, what did you call them, tanks that you're making?" Marller asked.

"It gets worse than that," I responded, keeping my face neutral so that he didn't see how much I was freaking out that he knew about them. Granted, at the speed Flim and Flam were working, we might have them ready for field use in a few weeks anyway.

"If you say so," Marller said. "Though I wonder why a nation that preaches love and tolerance and friendship will so readily accept unthinkable brutality, even during war."

"You are not here to actually talk peace, are you?" Celestia said. "State your true purpose."

Marller shrugged. "Well, I guess I'm here to figure out where you stand, just as you called me here to figure out where King Purgle stands. It appears that neither of us are willing to give quarter to the other. I'll tell King Purgle that. It's a pity, I did hope that we would be able to put an end to all of this pointless bloodshed."

"I think it will end soon anyway," I said.

"One way or another," Marller agreed. With that, he inclined his head in a bow and began walking out of the throne room. Before he made it more than a few steps, he stopped and turned around. "By the way, congratulations on your wedding. King Purgle was a little offended that, despite our differences, he wasn't invited to the ceremony."

Both Celestia and I frowned at that. "Wedding? What are you talking about?" Celestia asked.

"You and Antares were married several months ago, were you not?" Marller asked. "I mean..." His eyes widened before a questioning look crossed his face. "But you are pregnant, Celestia. If you're not married, doesn't that mean that little Titus is a bastard? Perhaps I misunderstood some of your cultural complexities, or I may be referring to things in the past, but isn't it true that bastard foals cannot inherit land and titles? If something were to happen to you two, Titus couldn't take the throne by virtue of his being a bastard, correct?"

Celestia's eyes narrowed, while I tried to keep myself from obliterating Marller where he stood, to Tartarus with the consequences.

"We are done here," Celestia growled. "I have other matters to attend to."

"Of course, my apologies," Marller said, tilting his head in another bow. "I hope that the war doesn't drag on too long."

With that last barb, Marller left. The guards shut the door behind him, leaving Celestia and I staring at the spot he had been standing.

"I didn't think he'd go that low," I growled, anger coursing through my veins.

"He'll hit as low as he must to achieve his goals, and one of his goals is to hit our weak spots," Celestia said, clear distaste in her voice. "Having said that, I must admit that I needed to refrain from evaporating him where he stood. A minotaur ambassador? Why, I'm afraid that he never arrived."

"Yeah, but it'd get out somehow," I grumbled. Still, I entertained myself with the idea for a few seconds.

"He's dangerous, Antares," Celestia said, standing up from her throne. "Possibly more dangerous than Purgle himself. I have no doubt that he is in contact with the traitors in our midst, yet every report I've read about his time in our country shows nothing that would indicate how or when he's talking to them."

"Must not be when he's actually here, then," I replied. "It would be stupid of him to do that. It's not like there are really many minotaurs in our country to begin with."

"I suppose you're right, but something must be done about him soon. Anything."

I couldn't argue with that.

"That aside, when you can, come over to Baltimare." For the first time in a while, a genuine smile crossed my face. "I think we've finished a gun."

* * * *

I grunted in disgust as I finished filling out my report of my meeting with Celestia and Antares. There were some days when I wish I didn't have to be King Purgle's "best asset." It made me a little sick to my stomach every time he called me that. I put the report back inside my bag and stepped out of the carriage King Purgle sent for me to take me back to camp. I grimaced at the sight of the four pony prisoners who were forced to pull it. This had to be a war crime of some sort. If I were in charge I wouldn't demand things like that.

Of course, if I were in charge, I wouldn't have gotten involved in the war to begin with. Too many minotaurs had died already and we were set to lose tens, if not hundreds, of thousands more. Despite the fact that our insider gave us the information that the alicorns were making tanks, we still weren't completely sure what they were capable of and, if I had Antares pegged right, he'd keep making more and more destructive weapons until we were in real trouble.

I walked into camp and ignored the greetings of the various minotaurs who saw me. I paid more attention to the ones who weren't actually doing anything. All over the camp I saw minotaurs sitting around, just staring at the ground. I knew many of them had been involved in the first battle on our border. I can't imagine what it was like to see so many fellow soldiers burned alive like that. King Purgle would say that it was proof that the Equestrians were dangerous, but we were the ones who had provoked them to do that in the first place!

I reached the middle of the camp where King Purgle's headquarters had been set up. He was there, as he usually was, but instead of planning another battle he was sitting on a tree stump with a minotaur calf on his knee. The calf had King Purgle's helmet on, which was comically oversized for him. I tried to force a smile on my face as I approached, catching the attention of both King Purgle and the calf.

"Daddy!" The calf hopped off of King Purlge's leg and ran up to me, his arms outstretched. I bent down and wrapped my son up in a crushing hug. "Didja make those nasty pony alicorns scared of us? They're gonna run away when they see our grand army next, aren't they?"

"I hope so, Daret," I said, taking the helmet off of his head. "Everything is going well here?"

"Uh-huh!" Daret said with youthful enthusiasm. "Uncle Purgle was showing me some fighting moves!"

"Well, that's sounds interesting. You learn anything useful?"

"Your son is a natural, Marller," King Purgle said, coming up to us and taking his helmet back. "He'll be a valuable soldier to me once he grows up. He even has the potential to be one of my personal guards."

Daret's face lit up and he pulled away from me with a big grin on his face. "You really mean it?"

"Of course I do!" King Purgle said, slapping Daret on the back. "You have the gift."

"Didja hear that, Dad?" Daret said, grabbing my hand and pointing at King Purgle. "Uncle Purgle says I have the gift!"

"That's wonderful," I replied, doing my best to hide my utter displeasure at the very idea. King Purgle sent out a hundred thousand minotaurs to die a few weeks ago. He could have my son as fodder for the Equestrians when Tartarus froze over. I tried to make my smile a little more genuine.

"You run along now and attend to your chores. Uncle Purgle and I have some things to discuss."

"Okay," Daret said, snapping a salute to King Purgle before hugging me and running off. King Purgle watched him go with a fond smile.

"You have a talented son there, Marller. You should be very proud."

"I am, my king."

"It's for calves like Daret that we got involved in this war to begin with," King Purgle said with a wistful sigh. "It truly is unfortunate that he has to grow up during a time of war, but when we beat the Equestrians he'll have a much better life than he could have before I united the clans."

"Yes." I couldn't think of a better response.

"You should really have him assigned to a warrior as soon as you can. In a few years he'll be old enough to actually go out on the field and fight any nasty pony invaders." King Purgle shot me a confident smile. "Not that the war is going to last that long, of course."

"I'll think about it," I said, my voice carefully neutral.

"Good. Calves like him are the future of my new country. We're building the foundations of it now, but we'll need minotaurs like him to make our country truly great."

"Thank you for saying so, King Purgle."

"It's only the truth. Now..." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and began steering me in the direction of his tent. "How did the meeting with the Equestrians go?"

"Well enough, but..." I grimaced. "I can't help but feel I went a little too far this time. I pointed out to them that their foal is a bastard. I don't have to explain to you why that might make me uncomfortable."

"I suppose so, but it's not the same for us." King Purgle released his hold on me and waved his hand. "Even if Daret is technically a bastard, I don't see him like that, and neither do you. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. In my new country, it won't matter one bit."

"Thank you."

"Of course. Now..." King Purgle went behind his desk and sat down, motioning for me to take a seat as well. "Did your contact reveal anything we can use?"

"No, I wasn't able to get in touch. They watch me a little too closely whenever I get within ten miles of their country. I do expect to hear some news through the usual channels soon. The best that I have right now is that these tanks of theirs, whatever they do, aren't the last trick they have up their sleeve."

King Purgle grunted and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. "They've hit us with the best they have and we're still standing. I'm not terribly worried about it. Antares is still too injured to take to the front, and he's the best way for them to actually use whatever weapons he comes up with. I think the next battle is going to go our way.”

Before I could respond, an aide entered the tent, already bent over in a bow.

"King Purgle, they've arrived."

"Ah, excellent!" King Purgle said, straightening up in his chair. "Send them in at once!"

The aide backed out of the tent, leaving King Purgle and I alone once more. "I don't like this, King Purgle," I muttered. "They're not the kind of beings that give anything for free. There are going to be strings attached."

"Of course there are, but it's the ponies who are going to pay for that," King Purgle said. "Whatever price we have to pay personally is going to be minimal compared to what they can bring us."

The tent flap opened once more, and I got to my hooves as a twisted reflection of an alicorn stepped inside, flanked by two of her soldiers. She turned her sweetly venomous grin to to me before waking up to King Purgle.

"Queen Chrysalis, it is an honor to have you in my camp," King Purgle said, inclining his head in a bow.

"Likewise," Chrysalis responded, her voice coming out like a hiss. "I must admit that I was surprised by your offer. I wasn't quite sure what to make of half a dozen minotaurs wandering through my territory." Her poisonous smile widened. "I do hope that you aren't terribly offended by the fact that I only let one return, but he was the only one who managed to explain what they were doing after I took them into my hive."

"An innocent cultural misunderstanding," King Purgle said with a wave of his hand. "He was, unfortunately, not able to recover from the experience, though."

"A tragedy, but, as you said, an innocent misunderstanding." The two changelings beside Chrysalis made an insect-like noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter. "But we're here now, so we can put that whole mess behind us." Chrysalis took a few more steps toward King Purgle. "So, you wish for me to join your side in the war against Celestia? I'm quite flattered that you asked."

"I figured that we had a common enemy and could both benefit from seeing Equestria knocked down a few pegs," King Purgle said with a nod. "I'm certain that there are things you wish to do once we've won the war."

"But of course," Chrysalis hissed. "As you know I already tried to take it once. It was a failure, but my motivation for taking that land remains, with the additional motive of good old-fashioned revenge."

"Naturally. If I may ask: what are your goals for after we've won the war?"

"Oh, this and that," Chrysalis said, spinning her hoof idly. "I think I'm going to start by taking that irritating ex-captain of Celestia's and dissecting his perfect pretty pink wife in front of him. Of course, he'll be brainwashed again so he'll probably enjoy it. Then I'll suck him dry and leave him as a withered husk of a pony. Then I'll probably finish what you started with the Elements. Kudos on taking one of them out, by the way. She's still in that coma, isn't she?"

"As far as we're aware."

"As such, the Elements are useless." Chrysalis grinned again. "Although, I think even if the mud pony wasn't in a coma, the rainbow one is probably still whimpering in a hospital bed about her lost leg. I doubt even she'd get up to use the Elements. Discord could be outside of her hospital and she'd be too busy bemoaning her misfortune."

"I don't doubt it," King Purgle responded. "I'll have to let you know if we ever find out where Celestia is keeping them."

"Please do. If you had come to me in the beginning then none of them would be alive today. You can never trust freeminds to get the job done."

"I have figured that out, yes."

"A lesson well learned." Chrysalis's smile faded and her expression turned into a glare, one so extreme that even King Purgle looked a little nervous. I almost wanted to run out of the tent right there. "There is one final thing, outside of the usual cocooning and feeding that I'll be doing to every single pony in that country that you don't kill. Those sick experiments that Antares calls foals. The scorpions. You are to let me deal with them personally. If the war ends and they are not delivered to me personally, I shall turn my army against you next."

"I... see," King Purgle said, shifting uneasily in his seat. "Why might that be?"

"They're too dangerous to be left alive. It's enough that the likes of dragons and hydras and manticores sometimes view changelings as prey without having to deal with a tribe of ponies that can not only see through our disguises, but have no problem killing and eating us. I wish to extinguish that little problem myself. I will not accept hearing that one of your brutes has done it for me."

"You have my word that I will deliver the foals to you," King Purgle replied.

"Excellent." Chrysalis's smile returned. "It's settled, then. I shall commit a hundred thousand changeling soldiers to you war effort. I foresee much success with this alliance."

"A hundred thousand?" King Purgle's eyes lit up at the number. I could see why. It essentially replenished all of our losses during the first battle. "My, my, you have been busy."

"I'd been considering another invasion long before you marched on Equestria," Chrysalis responded coolly. "You've merely provided me with the perfect opportunity to do so."

"It seems I have." King Purgle stood up and bowed to Chrysalis. "Very well. We plan to march again in the next few days. How soon can your army be ready?"

"If you postpone your plans by a week, I can have my full strength there with you."

"It's a deal."

As the two shook on it, I couldn't help but get a sinking feeling in my stomach. None of this would end well. I'd as soon make a deal with Discord. Chrysalis shot me one last grin as she exited King Purgle's tent, which did nothing to change my mind in regards to whether or not we'd made the right move.

"I don't like this, King Purgle," I muttered once we were alone again. "You know they can't be trusted."

"You worry too much, Marller," King Purgle said with a wave of his hand. "I personally think I've just shifted the balance of this war."

Author's Note

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The Second Wave

I sighed as I walked towards the commotion. In truth I'd expected this kind of thing to happen at some point, ever since we lost the first battle to the Equestrians, followed by King Purgle's alliance with the changelings. I'd heard rumors that some of our soldiers were planning to desert, but nobody had done it until now.

I reached the group of minotaur guards who were surrounding a pair of minotaur soldiers who were on their knees with their hands on their heads. King Purgle circled them like a shark while one of our most valuable generals, a former clan leader named Grorim, stood above the traitors, his sword at the ready. Nearby Queen Chrysalis stood with two of her changelings, looking at the scene in amusement. King Purgle stopped when he saw me and smiled.

"Ah, Marller. Come to see the execution of the traitors, have you?"

"I have," I replied, trying to keep the sympathy I felt for the minotaurs in question out of my voice.

"Excellent." King Purgle wheeled around and faced the deserters. "I suppose you're going to beg for mercy now, are you? Promise to fight harder for me now that you know you can't get away?"

One of the minotaurs glared at him. "Absolutely not!" he snarled. "You weren't there, Purgle! You didn't see Antares's weapons! I saw several of my clan mates destroyed by the fire he dropped from the sky! Then to combat that, you side with the likes of her?" He pointed at Chrysalis, who gave a bored roll of her eyes. "The alicorns are going to destroy us all, and there is nothing we can do about it short of ending the war! I will not be a part of that."

"You are cowardly scum," King Purgle retorted. "With these new allies, we will wipe the Equestrians off the face of the planet. The alicorns will bow to me!"

The other minotaur prisoner glared at King Purgle, then spat at his hooves. "Arrogance is not befitting of a fool, Purgle."

King Purgle's eyes filled with fire as he took his sword out of its sheath. With one mighty swing, he lopped the minotaur's head clean off of his shoulders. As the head fell to the ground, King Purgle wheeled around, pointing his sword at the gathered crowd. "Does anyone else challenge my supremacy? Do any of you doubt that I will bring the alicorns to their knees?"

I did, and I knew a lot of other minotaurs felt the same way, but no one would dare say such a thing.

"You have more dissenters in your ranks than you know, Purgle," the other minotaur growled. "You think you hold the loyalty of these minotaurs? You may have at one point, but your mad schemes have lost you their support. I foresee an alicorn holding your head up high for the world to see."

With a cry, King Purgle turned and sliced the other minotaur's head off as well.

"On the contrary," he snarled. "It is I who will hold the head of an alicorn." He spat on the bodies before turning away. "Burn the corpses. I want no mention of those two ever again."

As a few minotaurs moved to take away the bodies, I made my way over to Grorim, who had looked at the proceedings with no emotion on his face. I reached him and leaned in close for a private conversation.

"What do you think about all of this?"

He pondered his response for a moment. "I think the Equestrians are honorable opponents. Antares could have pursued our retreating army, but he did not. I know many good minotaurs who are alive because of that. This... alliance, or should I say parasitic relationship, with the changelings will turn this into something I'd rather not be a part of. I don't suppose I see a problem with changelings on the battlefield, but they're not going to be used for just that. I have already heard Chrysalis and King Purgle making plans for the towns they are going to attack, and that I cannot abide. We would be appalled if Antares dropped fire from the sky upon our calves, so I see no reason to dishonor ourselves by attacking civilians, particularly foals." He grimaced. "It leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"I cannot help but agree," I responded. "But what are we to do about it?"

Grorim shrugged. "Not much to do at the moment. We'll be attacking soon, and I think that we'll be able to get a better reading of the situation once the next battle is over. The Equestrians still have their 'napalm', but Antares is not on the field. Between that and our new allies, the battle could swing either way."

I was about to respond, but my words died in my throat as King Purgle stomped up to us. "Ah, Grorim. I wanted to speak to you. Tell the troops to begin moving out. I want to attack again."

"Yes, King Purgle," Grorim said with a bow. "However, if I may be so bold..."

King Purgle raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Well, the troops are rather demoralized after the last battle. Those scant few survivors have spread the word around of what Antares's human weapons can do, and it frightens them. I think it would do them a world of good if their king were to take the field alongside them."

King Purgle's eyes narrowed, and he took a menacing step forward. Oh dear.

"What did you say?"

"I said that you should lead our troops into battle. Show them what true bravery looks like," Grorim said calmly.

"You know full well why I cannot do that," King Purgle said. "What if I were killed? What would become of our nation then?"

"I suppose it would be bad, but consider the fact that Antares and Luna have taken the field to fight alongside their troops, and they fight twice as hard, if the first battle was any indication. If you took the field and our troops fought just as hard for you, our army would be unstoppable, even with the human weapons."

King Purgle stared at Grorim like he had absolutely lost his mind. I wanted to back away and not see what was about to happen. If King Purgle didn't want to take the field and lead from behind, then Grorim's suggestion could be very dangerous. We needed good generals like him if we were going to have a shot at winning.

I suppose King Purgle thought the same way, because he snorted and shook his head. "Ready the troops to march out. You have three hours."

Grorim bowed low. "Yes, King Purgle. I will begin preparations at once."

King Purgle didn't respond, choosing instead to turn and walk away. Grorim straightened back up, the barest of grins on his face. He turned that tiny grin to me before walking away himself.

* * * *

Celestia and I reached the door to my secret weapons room, which I opened using some old phrases from a German class in high school. I tightened up security even more after the battle, and phrases from a language that didn't even exist on this planet would be nearly impossible to copy.

It's just as well that the translations were things like "hi, how are you" and "what is your name?"

Hey, as long as they couldn't actually get into the room, I was fine with it.

"So what is this 'gun' you're talking about?" Celestia asked. "What does it do?"

"Well..." I walked over to my weapons box, the same one that housed the napalm I showed her those many months ago, and leaned in close to it.

"Ich bin ein Berliner."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"It means 'I am a Berliner', or basically, 'I am from Berlin.'" I opened up the top flap of the box. "Any references to jelly doughnuts are merely urban legend."

Celestia looked like she wanted to ask about that, but with one burst from my horn, I levitated a pistol out of the box, turning to show it to her. Celestia frowned and tilted her head as she stepped closer to get a better look.

"I... see?" She looked up at me. "And what does that do, exactly?"

"Well, the closest thing I can relate it to is a crossbow. Basically I pull this trigger..." I rotated the gun to show her the trigger. "And it fires a projectile. Except this projectile fires at around 1700 feet per second. It doesn't matter what armor our enemies are wearing, this is going to tear right through that and go out the other side."

"Indeed?" Celestia glanced at a training dummy I had in the room. "Can you show me?"

I shrugged, but nodded. "Yeah, I don't see why not. Be prepared, though, it's... kind of loud."

I turned towards the dummy and raised the pistol. Celestia took a few steps away, and when she stopped, I took a deep breath, flattened my ears to help with the noise, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet fired perfectly, blowing a nice hole right through the head of the training dummy. Stuffing shot out the other side as the bullet hit the wall behind the dummy. With a satisfied smile I turned back to Celestia, whose ears were nearly pinned against her head.

"That was indeed loud."

I laughed and put the gun back into the box. "Just a little, yeah. I suppose I could make a silencer if I wanted, but I want to get these produced quickly, so I'm not sure how much time we have to do that, and I think the loud noise will freak out their side. That's on top of the fear that will come from seeing a weapon that even their best armor does absolutely nothing against."

"I suppose so, but how long will it take you to mass produce these weapons on a level that would make them effective on the battlefield?"

I grimaced as I closed the box. "A lot longer than I'd like. Plus these guns aren't really good for ranged fighting. I'm working on guns that can be used from a longer distance." A small smile crossed my face. "In the hands of a sufficiently talented sniper, the best rifles on my world could kill a target from up to a mile and a half away."

"That does sound impressive," Celestia admitted. "How are you progressing with making weapons of that type?"

"Honestly, we may be several weeks away from getting a prototype ready," I admitted. "But we're getting there. Every day we get closer."

"I pray you will have something ready soon."

"So do I."

* * * *

I walked through the camp, merely observing the goings on of the soldiers. Many of them passed by me and bowed with mutters of "Princess Luna" or "Your Majesty" or some other title. I couldn't miss the expression in their eyes. Their first taste of battle had changed them. I suspected that many of them had lost friends. It made me hearken to the times when I had lost friends upon the field of battle. The loss truly never went away.

As I continued looking at the soldiers I passed, I spotted a familiar face inside one of the tents. Dear Cheerilee of Ponyville. Rather than the happy, passionate mare of times past, I saw her curled up in a ball on her cot, not moving in the slightest with half of her armor off. I sensed she needed a friendly face. Antares would be best for that, but he was back in Baltimare. I entered the tent and gently placed my hoof on Cheerilee's back, causing her to flinch back, but not move more than that.

"Dear Cheerilee, how are you?" I asked, sitting next to her.

Her ear flicked, and she finally turned around to face me. Her eyes held no life in them. She barely even blinked. "I'm alive," she muttered.

"That is good to hear," I said, giving her a comforting smile. "You are not wounded?"

She slowly shook her head. "No. I'm fine, I guess."

"I am glad. Is there anything I can do for you?"

For the first time, emotion flashed across her face. Fear. Her jaw wobbled and she reached out a hoof to touch my foreleg. "Don't make me go back out there," she whispered. "Please. Just let me go home. I can't do this anymore."

"I wish I could," I said sadly. "I would give anything to end this war now."

"I know," she muttered. "I know you can't send me home. I gotta stay here and k-kill more things." With a shaky breath, Cheerilee leaned forward and wrapped her forelegs around one of my own, holding it tight like it was some stuffed toy from her youth. "I killed him," she whimpered. "I-it was during the battle. I was standing with the other archers a-and the minotaurs were coming over the wall. Everypony around me was shooting at them, so I pointed my own crossbow at the minotaurs. I saw one come over and start to go to some ponies near the front, so I... I just squeezed the trigger. I think. I don't really remember doing it, but the next thing I knew, he was falling down with an arrow in his neck. I guess it was me because I needed to reload."

I felt tears begin dripping on my leg, so I wrapped a wing over her. "I thought about killing during basic, of course. It's what they teach you to do. It's what our job is now. When I imagined shooting somebody, I thought it would be like a movie, you know? They'd dramatically fall down and gasp out a few breaths. It wasn't anything like that, though. He just dropped like his strings had been cut. I don't even know if he felt it. At first I didn't even realize what I had done. I stared at him like he was going to get up and it would just be some kind of misunderstanding, or something. I almost wanted to shout for everypony to stop fighting so that I could go see if he was okay. But I knew he wasn't. I eventually realized that he was dead and it was my fault. I just wanted to run back to my tent and start screaming. I couldn't, though. I wanted to more than anything, but we had to keep shooting. So I reloaded and fired again. I don't think I even aimed at anything."

"I would give anything to take that memory away from you," I replied sadly.

"I know." Cheerilee took in a shaky breath. "Does... does it ever get any easier?" She looked up at me with wide, watery eyes. "You've been in a lot of wars and battles, so you'd know if killing gets easier." She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Do the nightmares at least go away?"

I hesitated. Should I tell Cheerilee that it never gets any easier, and that the next battle will tear her apart just as the last one has, or do I say that it does? That with every being you kill you lose a bit of what makes you the pony you used to be until you walk back through the door of your home and you don't even recognize yourself? I settled on a smile.

"Yes, dear Cheerilee. They do." I would make sure of that.

"And the rest of it?"

"Don't think on that. Think on how happy your students are going to be when you return, safe and sound."

"You're avoiding the question," Cheerilee said bitterly, pulling out of my wing hug. "And I don't think my students are going to have the slightest clue about who I am when they see me."

"You need not worry about that. Try to take all of this one day at a time." I stood up and walked over to Cheerilee's stew bowl. "Have you eaten recently? I will obtain food for you if you have not."

"Princess Luna, stop it." Cheerilee sat up and glared at me. "I don't want to hear the answer, but somehow you avoiding the question is worse. Answer me."

I paused for a moment, putting Cheerilee's bowl down. I met the mare's gaze and found no falter in her resolve. I quietly sighed and lowered my head. "In truth, Cheerilee, the answer lies somewhere in between the two options you presented to me. In the moment it gets easier, but once the heat of battle has died down, and there's nothing left but your thoughts and memories, it never hurts any less."

"I... see." A pair of tears streaked down Cheerilee's face. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This is war. Not some summer camp, or something."

"A war that will not last forever," I said, trying to make my voice comforting. "It will soon be over, I promise."

"One way or another," Cheerilee muttered.

I was about to respond when a page poked her head into Cheerilee's tent. She bowed to me before entering. "Princess Luna, I have been instructed to tell you that we have reports that the minotaurs are moving toward us again. There appear to be changelings with them."

My eyes widened and I moved toward the entrance of the tent. We had heard that Purgle attempted to sway the changelings to his cause, but we had not been told if he was successful. It appeared he was.

"How soon will they be here?" I asked the page.

"About ten hours, they think," she responded.

"Good. That should give us enough time to prepare." I hesitated for a moment, looking back at Cheerilee. She was whimpering and she had curled up into a ball and began stroking her tail. I desperately wanted to rush back over and comfort her, but the time for action had arrived, as much as I hated it. I sighed, but left the tent to formulate our defenses.

We had largely reset a lot of the traps used during the first battle. I was not quite sure how well they'd work if changelings had gotten involved, as they could merely fly over them, but they could still do damage to the minotaurs. Of course, now the cloud units were in far more danger, as now there was an enemy that could fly up to meet them. We would have to fuse the clouds with the acid spells that we used when fighting the griffins, something that would take time I wasn't sure we had.

I reached the main camp and began giving orders to move to the front. My ponies utilized their training well and within an hour, they had begun moving out. I had our unicorn spellcasters do what they could for our clouds, but I did not think we had done enough to truly protect our cloud units. They would likely have to fight any changelings that came our way.

As we moved out, I received constant reports on the status of the minotaur army. As we feared, a large number of changelings were marching with them. We could not specify the exact amount, but I feared it was enough to turn the tide of a battle. As we moved out, I noticed a zebra move over to me. One of the berserkers. Grina, I think they said her name was.

"Princess Luna, how are things?" she asked.

"They could be better, now that the changelings have taken Purgle's side." I grimaced at the notion. "How much experience does your kind have with hunting changelings?"

Grina grinned and pointed to one of the potions on her bandoleer. "You throw one of these at the ground, and the resulting blast will short out any changeling magic for a good hour, which is more than enough time to cut its head off."

"Good. How much of it do you have?"

"Not as much as I'd like," Grina admitted. "Maybe it was dumb of us, but we didn't actually expect the changelings to side with Purgle, at least not on this scale. We brought enough for a small assault by the changelings, but not nearly enough for an army the size of what they apparently have. I hope you have some magic that will bring us the rest of the way."

"I will do my best. I have not fought a changeling army in over three thousand years. I am unsure of how it will differ from the last time."

Grina frowned at me. "You weren't at Canterlot when the changelings invaded then?"

I shook my head, pausing to give a few orders to passing officers before continuing. "I was out searching for the threat. I hoped to neutralize it before it reached the wedding. I failed, as you can see." My eyes narrowed. "So I will admit to having a bit of a personal stake in facing Chrysalis on the battlefield today. She slipped past my nets. I wish to repay her for that."

Grina tilted her head in as shrug. "Well, your captain and his wife managed to blast them pretty darned far. They retreated all the way out of Equestria to lick their wounds..." A nasty grin crossed Grina's face. "Right into our nets." She motioned to the potion she had pointed out earlier. "That's why we have a supply of this stuff around."

"I had heard that your people did battle with the changelings. I did not know that it was the leftovers of the Canterlot invasion."

"Yup. Only a few dozen managed to escape once we got through with them, and dear old Chrissy was not one of them. A buddy of mine got to her before I could."

"Did he? Well, perhaps I should speak with him before we do battle. I would like to know exactly what she is capable of," I said.

Grina grimaced. "Got his throat cut by a Diamond Dog in the big battle the other day."

"Oh." I flattened my ears. "I am sorry to hear that."

Grina raised her eyebrow at me. "Why? He was a berserker who died in battle. He went to Paradise in glory! He went down staining his teeth and blades with the blood of a ton of enemies. You have any idea how many corpses I found around him and every berserker who died? The only reason I know it was a Diamond Dog who got to him in the end was because I found that dog dead right next to him. Still had his blaze in my buddy's neck, too." Grina and I stopped at the front of our lines as she stared out into the horizon with a smile on her face.

"He's wearing a shroud of glory in the next life, and, if I know him, he hoof-bumped Charon before getting off the boat into the next life. Now that he's there, he's probably chasing zebra mare tail all over the place."

"But do you not miss him?" I asked. "Do you not wish that he were here beside you during the coming battle?" Grina shot me another look, and I raised a hoof to forestall any response. "Forgive me. I have not studied berserker culture in detail. The last time I had major interactions with your kind was when we were on opposite ends of the battlefield."

"Makes sense." Grina gave me a wry smile. "We still tell stories about you and Celestia, by the way. Sort of like ghost stories around the campfire, but in awe instead of fear. I can't tell you how many times I heard stories about you and your sister charging into battle against us when I was a filly training to become a berserker. Almost as many times as I heard stories of how we beat you back."

"That was an unnecessary war, in hindsight," I said bitterly.

"A lot of wars are," Grina admitted. "Still, it's like I was telling Antares: that's for you immortals to get your tail in a knot over. My kind are weapons. Beings point, and we go kill what they're pointing at. We're always looking for that glorious battle against a worthy opponent." Grina's gaze landed on a pegasus mare carrying a cache of napalm up to the clouds, and her previously relaxed mood vanished. "That stuff, though..." She pointed at the mare. "That napalm stuff isn't glorious. It's just barbaric. Any potions I use are designed to kill my target quickly. Except for the beings who suffer a direct hit, there's no quickness to their deaths when you hit them with that stuff. I don't like it. It's not how war is supposed to be."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "And how is war 'supposed' to be? This is not a game we play, berserker. I stand here today to defend the subjects I love more than life itself from death and subjugation at the mercy of one who will make their lives miserable. We are fighting a defensive war. There is no such thing as 'fair' on defense. My ponies will do what they must to win."

"I guess you're right," Grina muttered. "It's just not how my kind was raised, you know? Since I was old enough to walk I've been taught how to fight. I strapped on my first pair of blades when I was four years old. I first went feral at age seven. I had my first kill by age nine. So what I'm trying to say, I suppose, is that I know war. I know it better than maybe even you. The way I see it, you get close enough to your enemy that he can see the scars on your body before you kill him as quickly as you can. Drawing it out isn't honorable, it's sadistic. Raining this fire of yours from the sky is painful and prolonged. Even if I had imagined something like it could be possible, I'd never even think about using it. Then I hear rumors that Antares is trying to develop things that are even worse than that?" Grina shuddered. "It doesn't seem right."

"Nothing about any of this is right," I pointed out. "We did not ask for this war."

"No, you didn't." Grina sighed and ran a hoof through her mane. "I did, though. I heard about it and charged right in. I don't regret a single moment of it, and neither do any of my fellow berserkers. This is what I was born for."

Before I could respond, one of Antares's soldiers, Valiant Shield, approached me. He stopped a few hooves in front of us and bowed low. "Princess Luna, we need your help coordinating some of the defenses. We need your magic to coat the clouds in those spells you wanted to use."

"Yes, of course," I replied. I turned back to Grina and gave her a parting nod. "I hope to speak to your more."

"So do I," Grina said, a small smile on her face. I turned to leave, but only made it a few steps before she spoke again.

"To answer your previous question, Luna: yeah, I do miss him. I know he's happy now, but I miss him."

* * * *

Our first indication that our enemy had arrived was the sound of their hooves on the ground, followed by several horn blasts in the distance. It was not more than a few minutes before their front line appeared on the horizon. Antares was right: there seemed to be no end to their army. I had never before seen such a massive force in all of my days. I looked up at the blanket of cloud above us and realized that the small amount of napalm we had would do next to nothing against an army of this size.

As they grew closer, I saw changelings marching alongside the minotaurs. Tens of thousands of them by my reckoning, though I found it difficult to ascertain exactly how many we faced. I spotted Chrysalis herself in the crowd and made a noise of disgust. She was riding on a chariot being pulled by four pony slaves. She held a long spear in her magical grasp and wore thick black armor. Even from where I stood I could see her grin. I promised to wipe it off of her face with my blade.

I ignited my horn and activated the communication gem inside my helmet, contacting all of my forces. "Mares and gentlecolts. Do not fear. We shall beat them back, just as we did before. You each know what you have to do. They will not take our homes from us."

"Ooh rah!" eighty thousand ponies shouted in response.

The army before us seemed to be stopping, so I spread my wings to meet their commander, as protocol dictated. I did not know whom I would be facing today, but I wished to know so that I could make him a target, if I could.

That did not end up being the case.

Before I could take off, I saw Queen Chrysalis shout something. Instantly my ears were filled with the sound of thousands of buzzing wings as the entire force of changelings took to the air. They flew at us with great speed and I surmised that this was not part of the battle plan, as the minotaurs had not begun charging. In fact, they seemed to be confused. I could not focus on those matters. A giant army of changelings was charging our position. I activated my gem.

"Cloud units, fire on the changelings! Fell as many as you can!"

Arrows began raining from the sky, striking many of the charging changelings, who fell to the ground. Those not killed outright by the arrows would certainly be killed from the impact of striking the ground. However, even as I watched I saw that our best efforts did not even make a dent in their forces. To complicate matters further, the force split, with nearly half of it flying into the clouds. I activated my gem once more, but I could not reach any of the commanders. Instead all I heard was screaming as I watched the bodies of slain pegasi and changelings rain from the sky in untold numbers. I began considering ways to help them, but I could not. The rest of the changelings were nearly upon us, flying over the spike wall we had created. Once they were over it, they landed and began charging at us on hoof. I grimaced and readied my sword.

"Troops, the time has come!" I motioned forward with my sword. "Charge!"

The ground shook as my forces changed forward to meet the changelings head on. A volley of boulders flew overhead, smashing into the front line of the changelings. A volley of arrows quickly followed suit, felling many more. The archers behind us could only fire twice before they risked hitting their own troops. Seeing the changelings in front of them fall gave my own troops more courage, and they charged with more speed and vigor than before.

However, there were still thousands of changelings before us and, just before our armies collided, we were met with what appeared to be a wall of green fire as each changeling turned into a doppelganger of the pony directly in front of them. Seeing a mirror image of themselves on the battlefield before them caused many of the ponies to slow down or flinch back, giving their enemies precious moments to gain the advantage. Moments that they took advantage of. With a sickening noise, the two armies collided. Many of my troops were felled by mirror images of themselves or their comrades as they tried to discern friend from foe.

"The ones without armor!" I cried into my communication gem. "Fight the ones without armor!"

I swung my sword and neatly severed the head of an unarmored pony in front of me. As he fell to the ground, green flames surrounded him as his ability to shapeshift left him at death. At my command, my troops began fighting back with more organization than before, but a wall of ponies still charged at us, sowing fatal confusion among our ranks. I fired spells all over the battlefield trying to remove the disguises, which succeeded, but left me open for more attacks. I tried to tune out the sounds of hundreds of screaming wounded from both sides, while all around us pegasi and more changelings slain in the battle above hit the ground. The largest saving grace for our forces were the buffalo and Saddle Arabian troops, whom the changelings either could not disguise themselves as, or had a far more difficult time doing so. After a few moments, puffs of blue smoke appeared on the battlefield as the berserkers threw their potions, shorting out the changeling magic of any nearby foes, which made them easy prey for the feral berserkers. All told, both sides were relatively evenly matched.

However, it was merely the first wave, and the second was far worse still. Unbeknownst to me in the moment, the changelings who were not fighting had begun dismantling the spike wall alongside the Diamond Dogs who had appeared out of the ground. The Diamond Dogs also used their skill with the earth to begin filling in our spike pit, giving the minotaurs a free path to the fray. It was a chance that they took advantage of. With a blast of a horn I could only hear thanks to my heightened alicorn senses, the minotaur army charged.

"Cloud units! Throw down what napalm you can then help us down here if you can!" I shouted into my gem as I fought off changelings and Diamond Dogs. A paltry amount of napalm dropped from the sky, but nowhere near as much as I knew we had. What napalm was used did damage to the charging minotaurs, but not enough to halt their charge. I grimaced as a relatively small number of pegasi flew out of the clouds. I began to fear that we had suffered severe casualties. A few more stragglers flew out of the clouds and back in the direction of base camp. I could see their wounds and knew many of them would likely not even make it back to the medics. I slew a pair of changelings who approached me, then took to the air. I shot beams of magic towards many of the wounded pegasi revealing them to be changelings. I could not allow even a single one to make it back to our base of operations, for even one could wreak untold havoc against unarmed medics. A few pegasi must have thought the same thing, for they joined me in my attempts to clear the skies of false ponies.

I could not stay in the air for too long. Content that I had troops who would protect our camp, I flew back down to the main fight and began striking down minotaurs as they reached my forces. Several tried to hit me with their weapons, but I felled each challenger in turn. Many arrows bounced off of my enchanted armor as I returned the arrows with magic, killing many archers. I alternated between fighting and revealing changelings on the field, allowing my forces to cut them down. I turned to fight more oncoming troops and growled when I saw who was not even fifty hooves away from me: Chrysalis herself. I readied my blade to face her, but had to dodge when I heard someone charge my left. I readied to face my attacker just in time to block an attack from a black spear. A Nightmare Weapon. I snarled at the armored minotaur who held it and pushed him back with my magic. It did not knock him over as I had hoped. His armor must have had enchantments, too.

The minotaur commander leaped into the air and brought the spear down upon me. I deftly moved to the right, causing his attack to miss me completely. I swung my sword at his exposed side but, with surprising speed, he blocked my attack with his spear. I moved my sword to hit his other side, but he blocked that as well. We locked weapons as I tried to overpower him, but he held firm. Realizing I needed more than just brute strength to win, I conjured up several ice daggers and shot them at him. He managed to dodge a few, but the rest hit home. Unfortunately, the quality of his armor meant that, while many punched through it, he suffered little more than superficial cuts. He thrust his spear at me once more and I made to block it, but realized too late that it was a feint. He pulled his spear aside at the last second, causing me to overextend my swing. He took advantage of my moment of weakness and shoved his spear right into my neck.

The two of us paused as he tried to register the fact that the tip of his razor sharp spear hadn't even pierced my skin. I only allowed him a moment of shock before I swung my sword at him, slicing his right leg off. He fell to the ground with a scream, dropping his spear as he did. I caught it before it hit the ground and stood over him with a glare.

"I will not be undone by a weapon of my own creation," I growled before dispatching him with my sword.

I readied myself to join the fray once more, but paused when Valiant Shield ran up to me, blood trickling from a wound underneath his helmet.

"Princess Luna, we're taking heavy casualties!" he cried. "We need to do something quick or--"

His words were cut off when a beam of green magic slammed into his head. His head snapped back with such force that his neck broke instantly. I suspected he died before he even hit the ground. I wheeled around to face his killer to find Chrysalis grinning at me. I fired a beam of magic back at her, which she easily dodged. I attempted to follow it up with another, but she threw up a shield to counter the spell. She took to the sky and summoned hail, which she began raining down upon me. I teleported above her and swung my sword at her neck. She ducked low and thrust her spear up towards my belly, while at the same time firing off a rather nasty spell. I conjured a shield spell of my own and dodged the physical attack. I put some distance between us and gathered stones from the ground, which I threw at her with lightning speed.

Unfortunately for her, it was merely a diversion.

While she dodged, I split my magic and hurled the Nightmare Weapon at her. She hadn't even recovered before the spear pierced her armor, embedding itself into her chest. She fell backwards, allowing me to teleport above her. She hadn't even finished falling before I gripped the Nightmare Weapon in my forelegs and pushed down, pinning Chrysalis to the ground. Instantly all of the changelings on the battlefield froze as the black magic from the weapon combined with the death of their avatar interfered with their hive mind. They were merely drones, and without a queen to give them orders, they could not fight. My troops made quick work of the frozen drones when they could, but we still had a minotaur army to contend with, and Valiant was right: we were taking heavy casualties. We could not continue fighting them this way. We needed a better strategy. It pained me to do so, but there was only one option left to me. I activated my communication gem once more.

"All units fall back to the base! All units fall back to base camp!"

Instantly my forces began retreating, while I stayed behind to protect any of my subjects who fled. The Saddle Arabians and buffalo had also begun retreating, leaving precious few troops on my side who continued their fight. We needed to buy the rest of the army more time before we made our escape.

* * * *

ponies retreating. ponies can't fight anymore. lots of death. grina still fights. grina has to fight.

grina kills minotaurs. lots. hundreds, maybe. lots of killing.

fellow berserkers around me. lots of killing. lots of dying, too. have to fight. ponies want to get away. let them.

charge forward. bite out minotaur's neck. don't kill frozen changeling. no point.

slash. bite. kill. not so many ponies around now. only dead ones. still many minotaurs. lots to kill.

possibly surrounded.

fellow berserkers fighting and dying. gone to glory.

maybe this time grina goes to glory.

surround myself with remaining berserkers. not too many left now, but enough. grina grins and rallies the rest with last cry.

"Charon awaits!"

* * * *

“General Grorim, the Equestrians are retreating!"

"Yes, I see that," I replied to my squire. "My eyesight isn't yet bad enough that you have to narrate the goings on of the battle."

"We should pursue!" my squire responded, pointing his sword at the retreating army.

"That would be a bad idea." I pointed down at the Zebrican berserkers holding the line, cutting death and destruction through my forces. While I had no doubts that we would eventually defeat them, they would cause massive casualties before we reached that point. I hated to do it, I really did, but there were times when I had to put the safety of my troops before an honorable fight. I raised my hand and motioned to my archers, who loaded their arrows and aimed at the berserkers.

With one small signal from me, my archers fired a volley of arrows that rained death down upon the berserkers. Most of them were killed outright by the first volley, while a second volley dispatched the few survivors.

All save one.

I signaled for my archers to cease firing and walked over to meet the lone survivor, who bucked and snarled at the minotaurs surrounding her. She didn't even seem to notice the two arrows sticking out of her. I drew my sword and stepped into her line of sight. I think even in her feral state she knew that I was important from my armor. She paused, almost as if to acknowledge me, before charging. Once she was close enough, she pushed herself onto her hind legs and swung her bladed boots at me, and I'm certain that if I hadn't dodged, her blow would have easily been the end of me. I swung my sword at her, which she dodged just as easily. However, she stumbled when she landed, going down on one knee. She might not feel any pain, but she had lost a lot of blood from her wounds. I backed away and pointed my sword down.

"It doesn't have to be like this. If you surrender peacefully, I will personally guarantee your safety. I will have your wounds treated by our finest medics." I gingerly stepped forward. "You will be very well treated. You have fought honorably and bravely, and I would hate to see you end like this."

The zebra responded with one of the most unsettling snarls I'd ever heard, before or since. She pushed herself up to her legs and charged me, which I once again easily dodged.

"Sir, should I wound one of her legs to take her out of the fight?" one of my archers asked, drawing his bow back.

"No, she's made her choice, and I will not take that last thing from her. Besides, I doubt she'd even notice."

The zebra charged at me once more, but only made it a few steps before completely collapsing. She still had some fight in her, I could tell that much, but her body had given up. She was hyperventilating as I approached her, unable to do more than glare at me and weakly swing one of her blades at me a few times. I knelt down next to her.

"You fought bravely and honorably. May you find the glory in the next life that you strove for in this one."

With one blow from my sword, I quickly and painlessly ended her suffering.

My troops around me cheered as the last shred of resistance was snuffed out. My squire ran up to me and helped me to my hooves.

"Sir, now that all of the zebras are dead, should we pursue the Equestrians now? We could do great damage to their army!"

"We already have, I think."

"Well, of course, but we can do more!"

I shook my head. "No. We will not pursue."

My squire's eager smile fell and he tilted his head at me. "B-but General Grorim, I--"

"For one thing, the changelings are out of commission for a while. We need to focus on helping them how we can. For another, if we pursue, then the Equestrians become desperate, and a desperate foe fights the hardest of any army. Finally, when Antares scored his first victory against us, he did not pursue our army, even though some would say it was his right to do so. I wish to extend the same courtesy to him as the one that preserved many minotaur lives."

I turned and stared in the direction that the Equestrians had fled in.

"Once."

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Escalation

"That's it. You're doing great, Miss Dash. See? Nothing to it. Just like regular walking."

Rainbow Dash shot the nurse a dirty look while she tried to hobble around on the prosthetic leg that had been made for her. She put pressure on it and must not have liked what she felt, as she sat down and began fiddling with the thin strap around her barrel. "Stupid bucking thing gets loose..."

"Oh, here," the nurse began, lighting up her horn. "Let me help you with--"

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Dash snapped. "Jeez, lady, I lost a leg, not my brains!"

"Of course, Miss Dash," the nurse replied, backing away. Her smile never faltered.

"How's AJ, TD?" Rainbow asked as she tried tightening the strap. "She awake yet?"

I nodded. "She's tired. Sleeps a lot. We got her fake eye in yesterday. There doesn't seem to be any real damage to her brain, so that's a positive. She should be out of here in a few days."

"Good. Maybe by then I'll have figured this..." She growled and tried to get the strap tighter. "Feathering..." The strap slipped in her grasp, and the whole thing came off. Before the nurse or I could say or do anything, Rainbow let loose a scream of pure fury, picking up the fake leg and throwing it against the wall as hard as she could. It hit the wall and bounced back towards her, allowing her to grab it in her foreleg and begin slamming it on the ground, screaming profanities. She threw the leg across the room again, but before either of us could get it for her, she got to her hooves to get it herself. She tried to walk over to it, but the instant she put any weight where her leg used to be, she fell to the ground. I caught her with my magic.

"Just let me do it, TD!" she snapped. "I'll get the feathering leg, okay?"

I released her from my magic hold, and she crawled over to the leg. The nurse ignited her horn to help again, but Rainbow wasn't having any of it.

"I said I'll do it!" Rainbow shrieked. She snatched the leg off of the ground and began trying to put it back on. "Sheesh, it's not like I can bring you over every morning when I have to get this feathering thing on."

"Come on, Rainbow, she's just trying to help," I said.

"It's alright, Prince Antares," the nurse responded. "If she wants to do it on her own, I think that's a good thing."

"Blah, blah, blah, whatever," Rainbow grumbled as she worked on the strap.

The two of us watched Rainbow struggle with the leg for a few more minutes. She didn't seem to be doing any better with it, but she'd just get mad at us if we tried to interfere again. If she wanted to do it by herself, then we'd let her. Besides, she was right: we couldn't just do it for her every day. She had to figure it out on her own at some point.

At this time she needed some help, and she was too stubborn to let us do it.

A quiet knock on the door brought our attention away from Rainbow Dash. The nurse silently walked over to the door and opened it to poke her head through. She talked with the pony on the other side for a few moments before opening the door completely.

"Miss Dash, you have a visitor."

"Tell them to go away," Rainbow growled. "I'm not gonna talk to anypony until I've figured this out!"

"Aw come on, RD, ya won't even talk ta me?"

Rainbow's breath died in her throat as she slowly turned her head to see none other than Applejack standing behind her. She wore her trademark stetson and a welcoming smile. Despite that, if one looked at her left eye, they could tell that it didn't quite look as real as the right. Rainbow stared at Applejack for a few seconds before turning back to her leg.

"Go away. I'll talk to you when I've figured this stupid thing out."

"Rainbow..." Applejack moved closer to her friend as the nurse and I went to the end of the room closest to the door, where Apple Bloom stood waiting for her sister. "Ah don't care about that." She sat down next to Rainbow and reached a foreleg out to the strap. "Come on, sugarcube. Let me help you with--"

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Rainbow snapped, jerking away from Applejack. "For Celestia's sake, won't you ponies just give me two freaking seconds to figure this out?!"

"Rainbow--"

"I don't wanna hear it, AJ!" Rainbow Dash retorted. "I'm the one who was dumb enough to get my leg chopped off, so I'm the one who's gotta figure this all out!"

"Rainbow, you weren't dumb, you were--"

"Stupid! Too slow! Not smart enough to get away fast enough!" Rainbow jerked the strap around her barrel a little tighter. "I should have rolled to the right! I should have known it wasn't Thunderlane!" She rotated until her back was to Applejack. "It's my fault, so I'm the one who has to get it right!"

"It wasn't yer fault, sugarcube," Applejack said, giving me a helpless look before scooting back to Rainbow's side again. "You didn't ask for it any more than Ah asked to lose mah eye."

"Whatever! You weren't there so you can't..." Rainbow lost her grip on the strap again, causing it to loosen enough for it to start coming off. Once again she let out a scream of frustration and tore the whole thing off before throwing it against the wall. This time I caught it in my magic before it hit. Rainbow didn't seem to notice. She began violently rubbing the stump where her left leg used to be before letting out an angry sob and slamming her hoof on the floor. Applejack sighed and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow's shoulders.

"It's gonna be okay, Rainbow. It's all gonna be fine."

"No it won't!" Rainbow cried. "Everything is just... it's..." Rainbow's body began convulsing in silent sobs. She only tried to hold it in for a few more seconds before she gave up and leaned her head on Applejack's chest.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she moaned. "I was gonna be a Wonderbolt."

"You still can be, Rainbow," Applejack said, stroking Rainbow's mane. "Once ya figure the leg out you can get back on yer hooves and into the air in no time at all."

"It w-wasn't supposed to be like this!" Rainbow began sobbing harder, and I saw tears pouring from her eyes. Single tears began streaming out of Applejack's eye as she tried to comfort her friend. "I w-wasn't s-supposed t-t-to get hurt!"

"It'll all be okay, RD," Applejack soothed. "Yer alive, and that's what matters. Ain't nopony gonna hurt you now."

Rainbow began crying too hard to respond. She simply rested in Applejack's grasp and wept. I noticed both Apple Bloom and the nurse began crying a little themselves. I couldn't, though. I needed to be strong so that they could see that somepony was going to be.

I hated it. I wanted to cry with them like I had cried the night after it all happened.

Feeling that the two needed a moment alone, I walked out of the room and into the hospital's hallway. I needed a few moments, too.

"Prince Antares, news from the front!" a guard shouted as he ran up to me.

Sigh.

"Yes, what is it?" I asked, turning to meet the guard. "Did the minotaurs attack again?"

"Yes, Prince Antares!" the guard said, sinking into a bow when he reached me. "The combined forces of the minotaurs and changelings overwhelmed our army! Both sides suffered massive casualties, but ours were more severe. They beat us back!"

I cursed and rubbed my temples. "Any good news?"

"Yes, Princess Luna captured another Nightmare Weapon and used that to kill Queen Chrysalis. It is unknown how long she will be out of the action, but the changelings were slaughtered once she was killed. I suppose the black magic in the weapon severely disrupted their hive mind."

"Well, that's good. One less thing to worry about."

"Yes, but there's a bit more." The guard grimaced and flattened his ears. "When our army retreated, the zebra berserkers stayed behind to hold the line. None of them survived."

My heart sank at that news. That was a massive blow to our forces, one we couldn't really afford. They were our best asset, and with them gone completely...

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," I replied. "I have a few ideas of how to spin that. Until then, what other news? Any casualties I know?"

The guard's head bowed low. "Yes, there was one major casualty among your ponies. According to the report from Princess Luna, Queen Chrysalis hit Valiant Shield with some of her magic. He was killed instantly."

Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no.

Tulip. I had to tell Tulip that her husband was dead. I began walking down the hall of the hospital, my guard struggling to keep up with me.

"I'm going to the front."

* * * *

I flattened my ears as River let out another piercing scream, but I didn't let her go. I held her down for the medic as per his instructions.

"Shh, River, it's gonna be okay," I soothed. "You're going to be fine."

"He bit my ear off!" Rapids screamed. "He bit my feathering ear off!"

"I know, I know," I said softly, dabbing at the deep cuts on her face with a clean washcloth. "You're going to be okay, River. You fought bravely. You got the changeling that did it, so there's that."

"I w-wanna go home, Blaze!" Rapids moaned while the medic cauterized the inch or so of ear that remained. "D-don't wanna fight anymore!"

"You are going home, River," I replied. "You can't fight like this. Prince Antares will know that, and he'll make sure you can go home with the other wounded, alright? You just keep being brave."

Rapids stopped screaming, choosing instead to begin sobbing. Her tears mixed with the blood on her face, which I kept dutifully wiping away with a clean cloth. The only sound for a few minutes was Rapids's crying while the two of us did everything we could for her. Eventually the tent flap opened up, and I heard somepony curse behind me.

"Hey, Commander Rapids, how is it?" Prince Antares asked, going to Rapids' side. She sniffled and her jaw wobbled as she turned her head to look at him.

"Lost an ear," she muttered thickly. "Wanna go home."

"Don't worry, you will," Prince Antares said with a comforting smile. "You're gonna go home and rest and you don't have a thing to worry about, alright? You did your duty to Equestria a thousand times over. More than I can ask of any pony."

"It hurts," Rapids whimpered. "It really hurts."

"I can help out with that," the medic said, preparing a syringe in his magic. "This will help you sleep. You need rest more than anything."

The medic injected the painkillers into Rapids's foreleg, and she was out like a light in only a few moments. Content that she was resting, I got to my hooves, which were stained with Rapids's blood. I grabbed another clean washcloth and began wiping the blood off.

"Are you okay, Private Blaze?" Prince Antares asked. "How was it out there yesterday?"

"Tartarus," I grumbled. "I still don't know how we survived. We should have all been slaughtered, the way we were over matched. Princess Luna though, she kept us all together, and when she killed that changeling queen, things started to turn our way a little bit. At the very least, it gave us a little breathing room. I didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back by some changeling disguised as one of my buddies. We could focus on the minotaurs. That didn't last too long, though. It basically allowed us to get away." I sighed and looked back to Rapids. "Don't know what we're going to do without her. She was the backbone of the pegasus forces. Heck, she was the backbone for the entire army once you left. Everypony knew her and what kind of leader she is. She didn't believe she had it in her at first. I always knew it, though."

"So what do you think now?" Prince Antares asked. "Who should take her place as the backbone of the army?" Prince Antares took a step closer to me. "Who do you think she'd want to take her place?"

My response died in my throat. I knew what he was getting at. Heck, I knew he was probably even right. I just...

"I don't know if I can, Prince Antares," I muttered. "The last time I took control of a battle, you got shot."

Prince Antares sighed and shook his head. "Blaze, I promise that me getting shot had nothing to do with your prowess as a commander. Everypony who survived that battle praised you for taking charge. You can do it, I know you can. Besides, I'm not even on the field currently, and Princess Luna is immune to the Nightmare Weapons."

"But I might make a dumb mistake that gets a lot of good ponies killed."

"And if I was on the field, I could make a dumb mistake that gets a lot of good ponies killed," Prince Antares retorted. "Does that mean that I should just give up, or should I realize that there are still thousands of ponies who need a good leader?" Prince Antares put a hoof on my shoulder. "And you are that good leader. I've seen it a dozen times over. If you weren't you would never have made it to the captain's post in the first place. It's like I said before: we need you. I need you."

Behind us, Rapids stirred a little bit. She groaned and weakly pointed a hoof at me. "D'it ya bg idjut."

I stayed silent for a few moments, thinking it over. One one hoof, it was the right thing to do. On the other, I could get a lot of ponies killed. I could mess up and lose an entire battle because of my stupid orders. I could...

I could go through my life as a total coward, but I won’t be a coward for Prince Antares. I sighed and slowly nodded.

"Yes, Prince Antares. I will do my best."

Prince Antares smiled and nodded. "Excellent. I know you'll do well, Commander Blaze."

* * * *

I walked through camp, largely ignoring the ponies greeting me. After my meeting with Blaze, I kind of wanted to go back to my palace, but that would mean informing Tulip of her husband's death. I know it was kind of cowardly of me, but I didn't want to deal with that right then. Of course, that meant dealing with the devastation that our army had just gone through. Last I heard, there had been some deaths from Ponyville. Raindrops and Time Turner had both been killed in the battle, while Sea Swirl and Flitter had both been severely wounded. Flitter we were hopeful about, but Sea Swirl didn't seem like she'd last the night. There was always hope, though, but even if she did survive, she wasn't going to ever go back to one hundred percent health. Still, they weren't the ones I was completely focused on at the moment. I opened the flap of a nearby tent and walked in.

Oh Cheerilee.

I sat down next to her bed and put a hoof on her back. She didn't even flinch. She looked catatonic. I picked her up in my magic and wrapped her in a comforting hug. Her gaze flicked up to me, but she didn't move more than that.

"I know you're not okay, so I won't even bother asking," I muttered. "We're going to do everything we can to help you." Cheerilee slowly leaned her head against my chest and managed to blink. "You're no good to anypony here like this. You've seen enough war, Cheers. I'm sending you home. We'll get you some help, then you can see your students again. Would you like that?"

Cheerilee slowly nodded, and I felt tears drip onto my forelegs. "Don't wanna anymore," she whimpered.

"I know, I know," I said gently. "You won't have to. I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure you get better, alright?"

"Don't make me kill anymore. Too many."

"I know, Cheers, I know. You're not gonna have to see another battlefield again. You've done your duty to Equestria. You can rest now."

Cheerilee sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof. I guess she decided that I wasn't lying, because she nuzzled up against my chest and closed her eyes. Within a few moments, I could hear the light breathing of her sleep. I didn't mind. She needed it after everything she had just gone through. She needed to feel like she was safe after fighting and killing.

As Cheerilee rested in my forelegs, I began planning. I needed to up my game if we were going to win this war fast. We needed more weapons. Better weapons. Mustard gas was illegal on my home world, but it wasn't here. Gatling guns would tear through their forces. I needed to get the tanks to the front soon.

Had to kill them all, no matter the cost.

* * * *

“Absolutely unacceptable!" King Purgle roared, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him. "First that changeling queen is lost, then you let the Equestrians get away?! How could you possibly be so stupid?!"

"I hardly think repaying the honor and mercy that the ponies showed us is stupidity," I calmly responded as more and more minotaurs walked up to us to see what the commotion was. "It is a courtesy that I will only extend once. The next victory we will pursue them, especially now that the berserkers have all been killed. We even captured a little of Antares's napalm."

"You should have pursued them in the first place, Grorim!" Purgle snapped. "We could have completely broken the back of their army that way!"

"With Princess Luna at the head of the army? And her immunity to the Nightmare Weapon she had just captured from us? We would have lost tens of thousands more minotaurs before we broke their army."

"And we would have made up for all of that if we had managed to capture Luna! She couldn't have fought forever, and she would be a valuable hostage that could help us win the war!"

"Unlikely," I responded. "It's extremely hard to keep ahold of an alpha alicorn unless you have powerful magic, or a Nightmare Weapon that can be used to cripple them. We have neither."

"You... you are insolent! Perhaps I should choose another commander to lead my forces!"

"If that is my king's wish, then I will not stop you." I drew my sword and offered it to him. "If I have displeased you in any way by my victory over the Equestrians and the complete destruction of their berserker allies, then you may do with me as you wish. Clearly my victory has shown that I am an unfit commander. I offer you my life in return for my incompetence on the battlefield."

King Purgle's eye twitched, but he made no effort to take my sword and behead me. I even thought I could see a vein bulge in his forehead. Silence reigned over the scene for a few moments before King Purgle let out a noise of frustration and stomped on the ground.

"Just don't do it again!" he replied lamely.

"Yes, King Purgle, of course." I sheathed my sword again and bowed my head in respect.

King Purgle made a noise of disgust and stomped back to his tent, leaving me alone with the troops that had come to watch. None of us did anything for a minute, but eventually one of my clan approached me, his head bowed in respect.

"Clan Leader Grorim, should we withdraw our clan from this mad scheme? Many others will follow if we do. He can't execute everyone from one of the largest clans he has supporting him. Many of us don't want to die for his crazy schemes anymore."

I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. It is tempting, isn't it? Tell you what: I'll let you know what his next move is and plan accordingly. All in my clan are good, honorable minotaurs, and I would be a terrible clan leader if I led you to your deaths for no reason."

"You should be king," another minotaur muttered, drawing murmurs of agreement from the crowd. I scoffed at that.

"King Purgle is our king."

"But you would end the war," another minotaur pointed out. "You wouldn't send us out to die for no reason!"

"That is true." I smirked at the gathered minotaurs. "I don't know if we should be thinking about this right now. Yes, I would end the war. Yes, I wouldn't send you out to die. Still, King Purgle is our king for right now. An open rebellion would divide our forces, even if it would lead to him being overthrown and the war ending. We should be loyal to him."

The gathered minotaurs began murmuring among themselves as they dispersed. I did wonder what would come of my words. I wondered indeed. For the moment, I needed to take a look at the napalm we had captured. It could help us considerably if we did get into another battle with them. As I walked back to my tent I locked eyes with Marller, who had been watching the whole scene.

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Resentment and Hatred

I snarled and overturned the table in my tent, snatching up the maps that fluttered on the ground and tearing them to shreds. I picked up my crown off the ground and threw it against the back wall. How dare that insolent minotaur challenge me! How dare he let the Equestrians escape after we finally had them on the ropes! Antares was off the battlefield, many of their troops had been killed, and we'd mitigated all of our losses by allying with the changelings!

Where did it all go wrong?

I growled and sat down on my throne, staring at the ground. Grorim was becoming dangerous to my rule. I'd heard that other minotaurs wished for him to become king. I united the clans! I commanded Grorim to victory! I will rule these lands when the alicorns bow to me!

Though I'd heard that Luna was immune to the Nightmare Weapons we'd brought to the field. That would prove... problematic. I needed to ask our informant about that.

My tent flap opened up as Marller walked in. I grunted in acknowledgement at him.

"King Purgle, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," I growled. "Grorim is becoming too powerful to contain. Part of me wants to send him to the front to challenge Luna to an honor duel without telling him that she is immune to Nightmare Weapons. He'd die honorably and his clan would accept that."

"Except for the fact that Grorim already knows that Luna is immune to Nightmare Weapons."

I growled and slammed my hand on the armrest of my throne. "What, then? What shall I do about this potential usurper? I can't let him be or else he will lead our troops in revolution to overthrow me, thereby giving the alicorns the war!"

"I do not know what his plans are," Marller admitted. "I haven't heard what the troops are saying about him definitively one way or the other."

"Then what good are you?" I snapped. "You're here to give me information, and you can't give me information on the biggest thing happening in my own camp?"

"It's not as though our troops are eager to divulge their opinions after you executed those two deserters. They've lost a lot of trust in you, especially once you refused to go to the front."

"I can't go to the front!" I insisted. "If I were to die then the alicorns would win! Grorim would win, and that I cannot allow!"

"Then you'd better really think about what you want your next move to be. Antares will not suffer this defeat lightly. I foresee him upping his game, which cannot happen. Besides, we only have two Nightmare Weapons left. Unless we want to take the four that Cromwell has, we cannot afford to use them flippantly. Even if we did take Cromwell's, we would have to use them very sparingly. If we cannot take out the alicorns, we have lost the war." Marller grimaced and took a seat in front of mine. "Even if we can harm them with the weapons, it is dangerous. Both of the times Antares has been hit by a Nightmare Weapon, he has brought down extreme destruction. The survivors of the first battle still speak in fear of what he did. If you send our troops into another battle that we lose, you will lose the support of whatever meager force Antares leaves alive, and thus the war. Not counting the changelings, who were almost completely wiped out, we lost thousands of minotaurs in the last battle. We've lost over a fifth of our entire army."

"So what should I do?" I growled. "Should I just bow to Antares? Beg forgiveness and hope that they don't chop my head off?"

"I think the only way for you to survive this is to win the war, and even then I'm not quite sure," Marller admitted. "If you'll pardon me for saying so, my king, you might have bitten off a bit more than you can chew. Would it not have been easier to merely take over the Diamond Dog kingdoms, so fractured as they are?"

"Absolutely not!" I roared. "It would have... it wouldn't..." I growled and flicked my hand at Marller. "It doesn't matter. We're here now, so we might as well keep fighting."

"My king, I must urge you to reconsider. We cannot beat the Equestrians now that we know that Luna is immune to Nightmare Weapons. If we wiped out every pony in existence in this war, which we will in no way accomplish, Luna would return the favor. She would erase even the mere memory of the minotaur race. We cannot win this war!"

"We can, and we will," I insisted. "I don't need to wipe Equestria out. I merely need to make them believe that surrendering to me is the far less costly option. They will have to wonder how many more must die before the war comes to an end."

"Yes, King Purgle. How many more must die before the war comes to an end?"

"Hopefully not many more," I said with a nod. "The Equestrians see our true power now!"

"And what power might that be?" a sickly voice replied.

Marller turned around and stepped aside, allowing me to get a good look at who had just barged into my tent. I sneered at the pathetic form of Queen Chrysalis herself. She looked far more gaunt then when I had seen her last, and her legs had more holes than I remember seeing before. Besides all of that, she was hardly larger than a filly. In short, she was useless to me.

"Military power that the Equestrians cannot hope to match," I said confidently.

"Oh?" Chrysalis let out a raspy chuckle. "I seem to recall that the Equestrian army has always been smaller than yours, but they won the first battle quite handily. Admit it: you only won this latest battle because of my forces."

"I will admit no such thing! You were stupid enough to get hit by a Nightmare Weapon, thereby allowing the Equestrians to decimate your forces."

"And your 'genius tactical mind' thinks that having your troops charge straight forward, allowing hundreds, if not thousands, of them to be mowed down by arrows, boulders and fire is a sound military strategy." Chrysalis responded. She paused for a few moments for a few wheezing coughs. "At least mine changed their forms to cause chaos once we reached the front lines."

"Well you need to do better next time," I snapped. "You did good, I suppose, but not as good as you should have."

Chrysalis stared at me for a few seconds, almost as if studying me. I didn't like it. I didn't like her looking at me at the best of times, but now that she looked so... grotesque, it was especially unsettling. It was a few moments before she spoke to me again.

"I will no longer take the battlefield with you."

I snarled and shot to my hooves. "You are a coward!"

"No, a pragmatist." Chrysalis sighed and closed her eyes. "My weakness has always been my pride and my lust for power. Every time I get some power, I become intoxicated by it. I suppose it comes from living in the Badlands where we have nothing, including a steady supply of food. When I felt strong enough to take Canterlot, I attacked. I even succeeded for a while, but my pride led to my downfall. Then I allied myself with an army of four hundred thousand minotaurs, adding a hundred thousand of my own. This time things would be different. This time I had the means to truly take Equestria for my hungry brood. Instead, I was hit with a Nightmare Weapon and caused the slaughter of nearly four fifths of my swarm." Chrysalis shook her head. "I am done with you, Purgle. I see too much of myself in you. Someone who became intoxicated when life handed them power that they did not know what to do with. I suffered a painful death because of my hubris." Chrysalis tilted her head. "What shall happen to you, I wonder?"

I reached beside my throne to grab a spear. Let her talk to me like that with a blade in her chest! Before I could kill that abomination, she walked out of my tent. I could have gone after her. Chased her out of my camp or until I caught her. It wasn't as though killing her would present anything other than a minor, painful inconvenience.

It wasn't worth the effort to squash that bug, though.

"So what now?" I growled. "We are back where we started in terms of troop numbers."

"Farther back, actually," Marller pointed out. "We lost a good twenty thousand troops during the last battle. The Equestrians lost nearly twice as many, last I heard, but..."

I grunted and waved that aside. "We can afford losses much more than they can." I sighed and sat back down on my throne. "I will have my victory against the Equestrians, Marller. We've come much too far to back out now."

"If that's the way you feel, I cannot stop you. However, I cannot help but feel that you are condemning both of us to death with that decision."

"I was going to die anyway, you said so yourself," I retorted, getting off of my throne.

"Most likely, but the troops are questioning what kind of leader would take his subjects down with him?"

I glared at Marller but decided not to comment. I'd been suspecting that Marller was one of those "other troops" he kept mentioning. Minotaurs who doubted my victory. We would see sooner rather than later, I figured. We had an advantage, even with the changelings gone. Soon Cromwell would get his featherbrained subjects under control so we could begin our two-front war in earnest. We'd proven that the Equestrians were not unbeatable, especially if I got my hands on an air force to counteract their blasted pegasi. Reports had said that the pegasi suffered the most losses in the last battle. They were used as ranged troops, not hoof-to-hoof fighters.

Let them all rot.

I walked out of my tent just in time to see a squire walk up to me with a plain brown box in his hands. I frowned and pointed at it.

"What is that?"

The squire stopped in front of me and bowed low. "It is a package from Prince Antares himself, King Purgle."

My eyes narrowed. "Antares sent that package?"

"Yes, my king," the squire replied as a fair number of minotaurs stopped what they were doing to watch. "It was delivered by a pegasus courier not ten minutes ago."

"I see." I frowned and tapped my jaw. "And did you kill this pegasus squire?"

The squire shifted uncomfortably. "Well... no. I figured it was against the code of conduct, and I'm not exactly armed at all times, so--"

"Whatever. I guess it doesn't matter." I sighed and waved my hand at the box. "Go on. Open it. Show me what Antares has for me."

"Yes, my king, of course." The squire borrowed a knife and cut the tape off of the top of the box. He opened up the top flaps and flinched back with a frightened squeak when he saw what was inside. "Oh... um..."

"What is it? Show me!"

"I don't... um..." The squire gingerly reached into the box, almost like it was full of poisonous spiders, and pulled out the contents. My eyes narrowed when I saw what he held. Johland's head, still frozen in an expression of shock and pain. Antares had dared to send me Johland's head! He had kept it preserved until he decided to send it to me. Disgusting.

"There appears to be a note as well," the squire continued. "It says 'you have defeated us once. You will not do so again. I will give you one last chance to end the war. If you do not, I will kill every member of your army that stands by you. Any minotaurs that leave will be spared and allowed to return to their families to a life of peace that we both want. I will make the remnants of your army wish for the days when I merely dropped napalm on them. Goodbye.'"

I snorted steam and stomped on the ground. "Does he think he can intimidate me?!" I roared. "I will put his head on a pike outside Canterlot Castle for all of the world to see!" I pointed at the squire. "Send a reply. I won't let him bully me into submission."

"Yes, my king, of course." The squire looked in the box again. "Though there does appear to be..." The squire reached into the box again. "One more thing in--"

The box promptly exploded, obliterating the squire and shooting what appeared to be nails in all directions. I immediately hit the ground as the force of the explosion pushed me back. A nail whizzed past the spot my neck had been only a moment before. I heard screams of pain as the minotaurs around me dropped from being caught in the blast, or from being struck by one of the nails. My ears were ringing from the sound of the explosion itself. I closed my eyes and grabbed my head until the ringing subsided.

Once I had a clear head again, I noticed a slight pain in my right forearm. Apparently I had been grazed by one of the nails. It will take more than that to kill me, Antares! I shot to my hooves and surveyed the damage. Over two dozen minotaurs lay on the ground, most groaning from the pain of their injuries, while some were clearly dead. I growled and turned to Marller.

"Marller, let--"

My eyes widened when I saw him on the ground, choking on his own blood. Two nails were sticking out of his chest, while another protruded from his left shoulder. I knelt next to him and tried to put pressure on the wounds without disturbing the nails.

"Medic!" I roared. "Get someone over here now!"

A pair of medical minotaurs raced to the scene and immediately began working on saving Marller. The rest could die of their injuries, but I couldn't let my most valuable source of information die. He was the one who had contact with the spies in Equestria, and I couldn't lose that link!

I stared at the medics as they took Marller away on a stretcher. I didn't miss the grim looks they gave each other as they took Marller away. I slammed my hoof on the ground and wheeled away from the sight. He had to survive. I didn't know if I could even control my army without him. I stomped into my tent and stared at the back wall. I would kill Antares. I swore by all of the forces of this world or the next that I would make him suffer for this... embarrassment!

I don't know how long I stood there before I heard the tent flap open again. I turned around, expecting to see a medic with news of Marller's condition. Instead I only saw a minor minotaur clan leader, whose name I didn't even care to remember. He didn't even bow to me.

"Purgle, after the events of today, my clan has decided to withdraw our support."

Hatred filled my eyes as I approached the minotaur, my hand resting on the pommel of my sword. "If you even think about it, I will have you all executed as deserters!" I withdrew my sword. "And it's King Purgle to you!"

The minotaur didn't even blink. "No, it isn't. And we have thought about it. Do try to round up your demoralized force to capture and execute the five thousand of us who will be returning back to our homes. If you try to kill me here, my clan will send one, and only one, assassin after you. I won't do it now because I don't want to deprive Antares of the satisfaction. You are hated, Purgle. You will not survive." With that declaration, he turned around and began walking out of my tent. Before he left completely, he stopped. "I won't wish you good luck in your upcoming conflict. All of the powers of Paradise and Tartarus can't save you now. What use is luck in the face of that?"

"I... you can't..." I threw my sword down on the ground in a fit of rage. "Fine! Then go! Get out of here! I will wipe your clan out once I have my victory against the Equestrians!"

"I look forward to fighting the twelve demoralized and battered soldiers who will be left once this war is over. Twelve, of course, being an optimistic estimate."

"Just go!"

The smug bastard left without another word. I'd have to deal with him once this was over. What was his clan's name again? Bah, no matter. I'd figure it out once I had Antares's head. I'd win. And then I could be king over all minotaurs and ponies. Nobody could stop me then.

* * * *

I won't do it. I won't let a few of Antares's fancy toys force me and my subjects into submission. We griffins are a strong race, and we will prove that to the world. I'll admit that we've suffered a few setbacks, but once I start getting control of my subjects we can restart our war plans in earnest. After their defeat to the minotaurs and changelings, which resulted in the loss of all of their zebra allies, the Equestrians were severely weakened. They lost half of the army that took to the field that day, or so I heard.

But that wasn't at the forefront of my mind at the moment. Before I could send my army out again, I needed to get control of my subjects, who liked spending time rioting outside of my palace. Somehow they'd found out about my plans to continue the war against Equestria, despite the fact that we hadn't even had a real battle with them. That hardly mattered. My army was fresh and had suffered no severe casualties, something I could not say for the Equestrians. After the beating they took, they could not fight a two-front war.

I rested my head on my foreclaw while I imagined what I'd do once Equestria was mine. Oh, I'm sure Purgle would want his portion of it, and he could have his farmland and desert. By virtue of my army being stronger, and having more Nightmare Weapons, I could march all of the way to Canterlot, taking time to sack Baltimare before I did. I'd kill Celestia and Antares, then probably those Element Bearers and Cadance for good measure, then keep Luna as my captive. I’d have her muzzled and leashed to my throne with the promise of mass death among her former subjects if she didn't behave. Given her immortality, she could be passed down through the generations as a sort of family pet. Best have my scientists begin work on a powerful, and permanent, magical suppression ring now, then. After that, taking over the Crystal Empire would be even easier than taking over Equestria. All kinds of good resources there. Ooh, then maybe I'd take Celestia's bastard as my ward. Train it to be loyal to me!

I chuckled while I amused myself with those thoughts, but finally decided that if I wanted this very real possibility to pass, I needed to get some work done. I had quelled a fair few of the draft riots, and it seemed to be about time to start making more preparations to march on Equestria. The loss of our railroads and a few high ranking officers were a mere setback. Nothing more. We'd restore the griffin empire under my watch. Maybe I'd be seen as the greatest griffin emperor ever. How could I not be?

"Sergeant, I'm going to my private dining hall now," I said, stepping gracefully off of my throne. "I would like steak and chicken for lunch with candied apricots for dessert."

"Yes, your highness," the sergeant replied, bowing to me. "I shall have the chefs begin working at once."

"See that you do. I'm hungry and I need my strength if I'm going to be taking over Equestria."

I left my throne room and went in the direction of my dining room. As I was feeling in a particularly light mood, I decided that I could take the scenic route. Get a good view of the hustle and bustle of Iselin before eating. Besides, the chefs would need a short amount of time to prepare my food in the first place. Might as well see the sights so I wasn't sitting in my dining room bored and hungry.

As I approached the dining hall, I heard a strange noise coming from outside my palace. It sounded like yelling of some sort, but... no. That couldn't be it. I had suppressed all of the riots! I left twelve deserters hanging from city hall as a warning to all who would leave my army! Surely they weren't rioting again already? I felt I had been quite clear.

I stepped out onto the balcony where I usually gave my rousing speeches and grimaced at the sight. Unfortunately it seemed my subjects hadn't gotten the message. Thousands of griffins both on the ground and in the air were yelling at my palace guards, who were doing their best to keep the chaos well in claw. I frowned when I noticed that many of the griffins seemed to be holding pieces of paper. They seemed to have photographs on them. I turned to my sergeant.

"Sergeant, what is the meaning of all of this? Why was I not informed of this disturbance?"

The sergeant shifted uneasily and cleared his throat. "Well... Your Majesty did command that you were not to be disturbed for any reason while you were drawing up plans for the war today."

I growled and faceclawed. "Sergeant... I meant for anything other than something like this!"

"You were quite insistent that you be left to formulate your genius battle plans, your highness."

"I...well it doesn't matter now, I suppose!" I wheeled around and went to the edge of the balcony and pointed at the crowd. "Those papers. What are they? What do they say on them?"

"I know not, your highness."

"Well then get one for me!"

"Yes, your majesty." The sergeant took wing and flew down into the chaos, leaving me to wonder just what in Tartarus was on those papers that could have gotten them all so worked up. I felt I was slowly gaining control of the situation with my brilliant speeches, especially after the Equestrians lost their battle. I was unsure of why things had gotten so out of control. Hopefully the papers would explain a few things. If I knew what the issue was, I could combat it before I had to deal with this violently.

The sergeant returned after a few moments, holding the paper away from himself like it was a particularly nasty animal he didn't want biting him. I let out a long suffering sigh. I am surrounded by idiots. What could possibly be on that paper that was truly so bad?

"Well, what is it?" I asked as the guard landed in front of me, still holding the paper away from his body.

"It's not good, Your Highness. It appears to be from the Equestrians."

"From the Equestrians?" I snatched the paper away. "What could they have possibly sent that--"

Oh. Oh dear.

My jaw dropped when I saw the paper. It indeed have a picture on it, but nothing like I'd ever seen before. Oh my word. The paper bore a picture of an entire field of minotaur bodies, blackened and burned from the napalm Antares had dropped on them. A few of the bodies in the foreground of the picture still had their faces in silent screams, with their hands on their bodies as though they were trying to put out the flames. I flipped the paper over and flinched back at the second picture shown. Hundreds of dead Diamond Dogs littered the field. Many had arrows sticking out of them, while others were slashed with blades. A few were as charred as the minotaurs in the other picture as they seemed to be trying to crawl out of the holes they were in. Underneath those pictures were a few simple words.

Stay away or this will seem like foal's play.

No. No, I couldn't let Antares bully me like this. If I withdrew from the war simply because he sent me a few unnerving photographs, that would be silly. I am a strong emperor, and I will be seen as the strongest emperor the world has ever known. Now I just needed to convince my subjects of that. I walked past the sergeant, who had actually sat down and began crying, the weak fool, out to my balcony. I activated the magical gem on the railing of the balcony, which allowed me to be heard over the shouts of the rioters.

"My subjects! My beloved subjects! I must ask for peace, and for you to give me your attention so I can explain this matter!" The noise began dying down as the crowd noticed my words and stopped to hear them. No matter how mad at the situation they were, they'd still take time to hear me out, given my position.

"I understand the unease you may feel upon seeing these photographs. I completely sympathize with your wariness to continue the war against Equestria. It is true that the Equestrians have brought weapons unlike anything the world has ever seen, but it is equally true that the Equestrians have suffered a major defeat on their western border. They are not invincible." I smiled when I saw that the crowd seemed to be completely calm now. It appeared my words were having an effect. "How much more of these weapons can they truly have? They doubtlessly spent all of it fighting the minotaurs. What's more is the fact that any new weapons the Equestrians wish to take to the field would take more time to develop. If we struck sooner rather than later, they would be at our complete mercy!"

Things were going so well, they really were. Unfortunately, any crowd is like a pile of dry timber. All it takes is one spark to set them off. A griffin in the crowd helpfully complied.

"My son died in this pointless war! How many more sons and daughters will you kill before this is over?!"

The whole crowd seemed to be in agreement with that assessment, as they began shouting at me again. I raised my claw to quiet them all down again. This was a step back, but not a loss by any means. I just had to be careful with my words.

"My subjects, that is not my intent. Don't you see? The Equestrians are too weak to put up a big fight. They have lost too much of their army!" The crowd quieted down once more. Good. "I would not sacrifice any of your children needlessly. The few that might die taking over Equestria would be hailed as heroes from now until the end of all things. They wouldn't--"

"No more war! You're lying to us! Put Princess Kathyrine on the throne!"

"Yes, give us Princess Kathyrine!"

Oh no. This wasn't good. I ducked a tomato thrown by an airborne griffin as the crowd began chanting Kathyrine's name. I was about to order the arrest of the traitor who had assaulted me, but the crowd began throwing more produce at me, some even throwing rocks, all while hundreds of griffins chanted Kathyrine's name.

I had to get out of there.

Still ducking for cover, I crawled back through the door to the balcony. My guards stood at attention on either side of the door. Fat lot of good they were.

Things could get worse very soon.

* * * *

"So it looks like things are going alright over there, then."

I smiled and nodded at Kathyrine, who was reading the reports of the recent troubles in her homeland. It seems they met her approval. "Yeah, the plants we had in the crowd did a pretty good job riling them up. I think it's going to be a while before Cromwell gets control of your people again, time we're not going to give him."

"So what's next then, Antares?" Kathyrine asked, putting the report down.

"Next is a bit of waiting, I'm afraid. We have to gather more support for you within the country before we can strike, otherwise any rebellion we try is going to be over pretty quickly, even with his slowly dwindling support. I'd hate for him to get control of the country again by removing his biggest threat to the throne."

"So how long will it all take?"

I shrugged. "Shouldn't take more than a month or so. With all of the trouble we're stirring up there, that should be plenty. He's not going to get control of the country any time soon."

"And if he does, what's going to happen if he marches on your western border?"

I smiled confidently as memories of the Gatling Gun we were days away from finishing flashed in my head. "It's simple. I keep the promise I made in the propaganda I just spread. It's true that both the minotaurs and the griffins have larger armies, but that hardly means they have the advantage. I'm hoping this stupid war is almost over."

"And I get to kill Cromwell, right?" Kathyrine said. I couldn't miss her eager tone.

"My subjects won't even be in the country once the revolution starts. If you get him and the other dukes, they are yours to do with as you please. It's your country, and I'm not going to interfere, so long as you promise to put an end to any conflicts between our nations."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Kathyrine replied, waving a claw at me. "Even if I wasn't indebted to you for saving my hide, I've seen those pictures you dropped on Iselin. I don't want to be on the wrong end of that."

"Good. We're in agreement about that, then." I stood up, and Kathyrine did the same. "If you'll excuse me, Empress Kathyrine, I have an appointment to keep. Something I should have done a few days ago."

"Yeah, yeah, go rule your nation. I'll be fine. Haven't died here yet, right?"

I gave her a smile that held no trace of humor. It was more like a grimace, really. "Of course. I'll see you later."

I exited my meeting room and took a deep breath. It had been two days and I still hadn't told Tulip about her husband's death. Was it cowardly of me? Yeah, I guess so. Regardless, I already knew that Tulip wouldn't take this very well, but I didn't really know how she wouldn't take it well. I took a deep breath and walked into my throne room, where Tulip would likely be doing some paperwork. Sure enough, she'd set up a desk behind my throne and was looking over some things for me.

Oh me, I can't do this.

But I had to.

I gently cleared my throat and Tulip looked up from her work. She smiled at me and got off of her chair, sinking in a bow. "Prince Antares, is there anything you need?"

"Just to talk to you," I said.

"Of course. "Tulip straightened up and walked over to me. "What do you want to talk about?"

"It's about the war. We got in another battle, and we lost this one." Tulip's smile faded, and I could see fear creeping up in her eyes. I took another deep breath and continued on. "We lost a lot of ponies, Tulip. And... there's no real easy way to say this, but--"

"Stop." Tulip sat down on her haunches and put her hooves over her ears. Her jaw began wobbling and she shook her head. "I don't want to hear it."

"Tulip, I'm sorry. If there is anything--"

"Shut up," Tulip whispered. "Y-you don't know what you're talking about." Tears began streaking down her face, and she began shaking her head more violently. "It's somepony else. You'll see. H-he'll be back soon, and we can raise our foals and grow old together a-and you'll be wrong."

"Tulip, I know this hurts. I can't imagine what you're going through. I'm here if you need me."

"Just go away. Leave me alone!"

"Okay, if that's what you need. If you want to talk later, I'm here."

"Just go away!" Tulip screeched, shooting to her hooves. "Get away from me!"

Tulip shot out of the throne room, exiting through one of the side doors. I could hear her sobbing fade away as she ran. Of course she was devastated. How could she not be? I'd give her all the time she needed. And as... a war widow, I'd take care of her for the rest of her life. She never had to worry about that. She probably wouldn't care about that, though. She'd just want her husband back. I'd do anything to make that a reality for her, but even alpha alicorns could not raise the dead.

My ear swiveled in the direction Tulip had left when I heard crying. Not the kind of crying Tulip was doing, but rather the sound of foals crying. I grimaced and trotted in that direction. Tulip was in no shape to take care of the twins right then, and I knew they could be a hoofful at the best of times. As I got nearer to Tulip's apartment, I could hear talking.

"--want you opinion I'll ask for it!" I heard Tulip say. "Just get out of here!"

"Miss Tulip, I don't know what's going on, but if you'll just calm down I can take care of the twins," Sunny Breeze replied. "You can go rest and--"

"Shut up!" Tulip screeched. "Get out of here! In fact, you're fired, you nag!" The twins kept crying through all of this, which just seemed to piss Tulip off more. "Shut up, you two! Why can't you give Mommy just two seconds of peace and quiet? Why did you have to go start a war?!"

I'd heard enough. I threw open the door and stomped inside, not afraid to use my body's impressive size for intimidation to get things under control.

"Tulip that is enough!" I roared. "Be mad, be angry, scream and cry in private if you want, or heck, scream at me, but you will not take your pain out on them!"

"Oh just stay out of it!" Tulip said, wheeling around to face me. "It's... it's your fault my husband is dead!" Sunny gasped, but didn't say anything. "You should have been there! You should have protected him! Was he just worth nothing to you? Was that it? What did we do to displease you to the point where you'd just let my husband die?!"

I stared at Tulip for a few moments, weighing my options. She wasn't going to calm down, and that could be dangerous. She wasn't an especially powerful unicorn, but at the same time any pony can do a lot of damage if they surge. Based on the magic I sensed flowing through the air, she was getting dangerously close to that. I turned to Sunny and motioned to the twins with a wing.

"Get them out of here. Tulip and I need to talk."

"NO!" Tulip screeched, making her way toward her children. "You will not take my foals from me like you took my husband!"

I lit my horn and encased Tulip in a magical shield. She pounded on it and screamed profanities while Sunny collected the foals and rushed out of the room as quickly as she could without disturbing the twins more. When I felt they were safe, I released Tulip and locked the door.

"Tulip..." I gingerly approached her as she lay on the ground, sobbing her eyes out. "I know it hurts. Believe me, I can understand that you're in pain."

"How can you?" she snarled. "What experience do you have that could possibly match mine?"

"Tulip, I lost my whole family forever, and I'm going to have to spend the rest of time watching ponies I care for die around me. I'm not saying you are in the wrong because you feel this way. You are absolutely in the right to feel what you do."

"Just get out of here!" Tulip yelled, getting to her hooves again and glaring at me. "You don't get to talk to me about it! You weren't even there!" Desperation began creeping in her voice as she continued. "What did I do, Prince Antares? What did I do that displeased you this much? I bore a new race of ponies for you! I helped write your holy book! I have worshiped you since the moment I met you, and have spread your word all across Equestria! How did I fail you so much that you'd let my husband die?"

"Tulip, I did not let your husband die! I would give anything to bring him back to you! But this is war, and ponies die in war." I gently extended a hoof, but she backed away from it. "But he died to save Equestria. He died to protect you and your foals from Purgle's evil. He died--"

"He died because you weren't there! He died because you're so weak that a single scratch from some ancient weapon knocks you out like you're a newborn foal!" I stepped back as the magic in the air became stronger. She was beginning to surge, and I wasn't sure if I could even stop it at this point. Sure enough, her horn began glowing with powerful magic. "What did I do wrong?! Is it because I held court for you while you were on the battlefield? Did I not worship you enough?! I tried! I really did! Why is nothing I do good enough for you?!

Her horn sent out a shockwave of magic that I barely managed to block in time. The rest of the room was not so lucky. The magic tore open the couch, shattered vases, and even began peeling the paint off of the walls. Good thing the twins weren't in the room, or they could have gotten seriously hurt. What's worse is that I couldn't even use my own magic to stop her, or the backlash of that much magic with nowhere to go but back would definitely kill her. I had to let the surge run its course and try to keep the damage to a minimum.

"You should have been there!" Tulip cried, her eyes glowing white. "Why did you even have to take him away from me at all?"

"You know why. He volunteered himself to fight! He knew the risks, but he also knew that he had to do whatever he could to protect you and your children! He loved you more than life itself and sacrificed it so that you three would never have to worry about being under the hoof of a tyrant! Purgle will kill your children if he ever gets his hands on them!" I reached out with my passive magic and began trying to siphon some of the magic in the air away to cut down on the time Tulip surged. "Princess Luna was there and said--"

"Fuck that useless cunt of a princess!" Tulip roared, sending out another shockwave that turned the surrounding furniture into kindling. "If she saw it then that means she could have done something but didn't! Why? Why did you send my husband to die? Why was he just fodder for the minotaurs?!"

"He was not!" I roared. This was getting out of hoof. "I would have given up my crown to protect him from this fight!"

"Liar!" As I was in tune with the magic in the air, I sensed that she was about to attack. She tore out whole chunks of her walls and hurled them at me. I turned them to dust with a single spell. I sensed one more attack and raised a shield that blocked the beam of pure energy that she shot at me. I felt enough magic behind it to know that it would have easily killed a normal pony if it had hit. "I hate you! You have no idea what you're doing, do you?!"

"Of course I don't!" I screeched. My admission snapped Tulip out of her pure rage, and a look of surprise crossed her face. Her horn began powering down, and I used the opportunity to remove the remaining magic around her. Once she had completely calmed down, I wrapped my magic around her horn to prevent another surge. The two of us stared at each other for a moment before I sighed and sat down in front of her. I suddenly felt more tired than I had in a long time.

"You think I prepared for this, leading a war? Of course I didn't. How could I? You know my history. I never wanted any of this, but here I am." I stared down at my hooves. "Sometimes I wonder if I even know who I am anymore. I've killed so many beings. More than I care to count, and every single moment I wonder what I could have done differently that would have saved more lives, or even prevented the war altogether. I... I would give up my crown to bring my subjects back. I wouldn't hesitate. Heck, there are days when I'd give up everything just for one more afternoon fishing by the lake in Ponyville." I looked back up to Tulip, who was staring at me like she wasn't sure if she should still be mad at me.

"Prince Antares, I... I don't mean to..." She trailed off, leaving me to return her stare.

"I will see your husband's face every time I close my eyes from now until the end of my life, possibly millions of years from now. You get to die, Tulip. Someday you'll put down your burden and go to paradise. I can't. Not until a time that is so far away that no one alive can even conceive it. I have to live with the burden that I'm trying to protect millions of ponies, when I can't even protect those near me. Your husband was killed, Rainbow Dash lost a leg, Applejack lost an eye, Rapids' face is never going to be the same again..." I sighed and lowered my head. "Since I've been back, I get ponies in court every day begging me to bring their children home, or asking why I couldn't save their loved ones. I've had childless parents come in, clinging to some vague hope that maybe I can bring their children back to them. I'm a god, right? What can't a god do?"

"Prince Antares, you're very powerful. I'm sorry I yelled, I just..." She took a shaky breath in. "Don't do this to me. You can't be just another pony. You're Prince Antares! Y-you can't just be somepony who got hit with the necklaces. You have to be more than that!"

"You'd think so," I said bitterly. "But I've long since learned the curse that comes with my position. You're right: I have more power than all but a few beings in history, and at the end of the day I can't do anything with it. I can't save anypony from this war. I'm not just another pony." I motioned to myself. "But this is what I am. Just a scared being over his head with power he can't use to save those around him. I say that I'd give up my crown to go back to the days when I was fishing by a lake, but I can't. I say I'd give up my immortality to bring back those ponies I failed to protect? Well I can't. I can't, and I have to live with that until the sun itself goes out, and I die. From this day to that, I have to keep failing in the same ways over and over again, just with slight variations." I gave Tulip a humorless smile. "And the most interesting part of all this is that if you ask Celestia or Luna, they'll tell you the exact same thing. Ponies all over Equestria dream of being like us, but it's a nightmare. A hellish nightmare that we can't ever wake up from."

I sighed and got to my hooves. "But maybe I'm just being dramatic, right? It's all just stress? I guess it doesn't really matter."

Tulip shifted uncomfortably, unable to make eye contact with me. "So... what happens now?"

"You take the time you need to grieve. You will be doing it in one of the other apartments in the palace. This one might need some repairs."

"And can I get my foals and magic back?"

I shook my head. "Not right now. You're upset, and you've already surged once. On top of that, you attacked me. I'm sorry, but there are consequences for that. You're not in a state to do your job correctly anyway. Take the time you need to recover, and we'll discuss what will happen going forward."

"Am... am I going to lose my job?" Tulip whispered.

"Like I said, we'll discuss it." I unlocked the apartment door, where several guards were already waiting. Doubtlessly they'd heard the commotion and rushed over to make sure I was safe. I pointed to two of them, then back to Tulip.

"Take her to one of the vacant apartments. She's not allowed to leave." I turned back to Tulip. "If you need anything, anything at all, just ask and I will see it done. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but you need a little time to cool off and mourn." I tried for a comforting smile. "Don't worry. I'm not going to throw you in jail forever."

"Okay," Tulip whispered, her voice barely audible. She followed the guards out of the apartment, her head low and her tail between her legs. I made a note to myself to send a psychologist to talk to her. She needed somepony who had an inkling of what to do about this kind of thing.

"Prince Antares?" I looked over to the guard who'd spoken, my face a carefully neutral mask. "Are... are you okay?"

I tried my best smile and nodded. "Of course I am. What happened with Tulip is unfortunate, but she's going to be alright. I've got everything under control."

Maybe if I said it enough I'd start believing it.

* * * *

It’s nighttime when I reach Canterlot. There are a few patrols circling the castle grounds, but they don’t make a big deal out of seeing me. I’m around all of the time, especially since Celestia is really starting to get bigger from the pregnancy.

I land in the castle gardens and take a few moments to re-center myself. Talking to Celestia about everything that happened with Tulip is going to be stressful, especially since I really had no idea what to do. She’d know, though. She always knew what to do.

Granted, her consigliere/secretary wasn’t nearly as fanatical as mine. Still, she’d probably have some wise words about it, right?

I walked past the statue of Discord and stared up at him for a moment. Gosh, wouldn’t that just be the worst if he escaped again? Granted, the Elements would probably be able to contain him, given that both Rainbow and Applejack were doing far better.

Though did his statue always have that tiny crack on his arm? I’m pretty sure it did. It’s just the effects of stone. Nothing to get too terribly worked up over. He was secure, and wasn’t going to get out.

I took wing and flew over to Celestia’s window. She appeared to be doing some paperwork when I reached it. Somehow she must have sensed that she was being watched, because she raised her head before looking over at me. She smiled and put her quill down, using her magic to open the window for me.

“Hey, Celestia,” I said, walking over to her for a kiss and nuzzle. “How are things with you and the foal?”

“Stressful with me, good with the foal.” Celestia and I walked over to her bed and sat down. She grabbed my hoof and put it on her belly. My eyes widened when I felt a little kick. Celestia chuckled and nuzzled me again. “Little Titus has become very active lately. He or she wants out soon.”

“Probably going to have to wait a few more months there, buddy,” I said to Celestia’s stomach. I raised my head back to Celestia and shrugged. “Unless you being an alicorn speeds that up.”

“It might,” Celestia admitted. “My doctor says that I’m farther along than I should be, so we could become parents sooner than we think.”

“Seems I have to end the war now, then.”

Celestia’s smile faded, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. “Yes, I suppose so. How are things on that front?”

“Tanks are ready to go. We still need a few more days with the Gatling Guns. Unless Purgle gets control of his forces soon, we’ll be ready by the time he moves out again.”

“I have heard that some of the smaller clans have already started leaving.”

I smiled at that. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard, too. That can only be good, both for our war efforts and keeping the country as intact as we can once it’s over. I really doubt they’re going to want to regroup and attack once this is all over.”

“Not in the next couple of generations, no,” Celestia agreed. “Some will try to advance to our technology level.”

“I figured that was going to happen, but we need to end the war now.”

“We do indeed.”

Celestia and I sat in silence for a few more minutes, just enjoying the quiet. I smiled when Titus kicked again.

“He knows his daddy,” Celestia said.

“Seems so. Guess he can’t wait to meet me.”

“And I cannot wait to meet him.” Celestia chuckled slightly. “Or her, if my doctor is anything to go by. He insists that he senses a filly.”

“And mine insists Titus is a colt. I guess we’ll see.” I nuzzled Celestia and wrapped my wing around her. “But either way, I don’t want him or her growing up without parents. When I go back out there, it will be to make sure that he never has to worry about that. And beyond all of that, he needs both of us together as best as we can. I know it will be difficult with me ruling from Baltimare and you from Canterlot, but I think we can make it work.” I squeezed Celestia tighter, and she wrapped her forelegs around one of mine. “So Celestia... will you marry me?”

Celestia nuzzled into my grasp, and I could almost feel her smile.

“Of course I will.”

And then we made love.

Wedding by Fire

"How do I look?"

I smiled at Kathyrine and put a hoof on her shoulder. "You look ready. Go take back your homeland. If you need anything, you know where to find us."

Kathyrine cricked her neck and grinned confidently at me. "I've been preparing for this all month. There's no way I'm going to fail."

"I agree," I said. "You have too much support from your fellow griffins to fail now." My expression turned serious. "But remember: don't reveal yourself until you're in the palace itself and make contact with your allies. The Blade Wings are going to get you as far as they can with magical disguises, but that's not going to last forever. Go to the palace, set the plan in motion, then we'll go from there."

"Don't worry, dude. I've got it all under control." Kathyrine turned around and spread her wings. "Cromwell won't even know what hit him."

"I hope not. There's going to be a lot of conflict after this all goes down, but I think you'll be okay."

"Yeah." Kathyrine's smile turned wistful and she shook her head. "Remember the day we met? When you arrested my dad because you thought he took your ponies? My guards made me empress then. I screamed out that I didn't want to be the empress. Now here I am about to kill a bunch of griffins to get the throne." She looked back up to me. "It's gonna be hard, isn't it? Ruling my country, I mean."

I nodded. "Yeah, it's not going to be fun. But if you show your subjects love and support, they'll return it. And you'll always have allies here."

"Thanks." Kathyrine took a deep breath and looked over at the griffin and Blade Wing bodyguards who were there to escort her back to Griffonia. "Alright. I think I'm really ready."

"I agree." I inclined my head in a small bow. "Go get your home back."

"Yeah." Kathyrine nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah." With one powerful flap of her wings, she took to the air. Her guards promptly followed.

I stared at them until they were little more than dots on the horizon. We were taking a gigantic risk here, even with all of the support Kathyrine had drummed up. I didn't know what would happen if she managed to fail. Cromwell would undoubtedly brag about it to his subjects, saying that it was proof that he was supposed to be on the throne. What bothered me beyond that was what the average griffin would do after that. Would they storm the castle and overthrow Cromwell themselves, believing that he killed the rightful empress? If so, who would take over after that? A competent duke on the throne could be a big problem, and there was no way that they wouldn't do everything they could to take over.

Hopefully our plans today would disrupt any of that. If we succeed today, Griffonia would become completely unrecognizable. There was still speculation of how much control Equestria would really hold in the country. If Kathyrine started relying on us to get the nuances down of ruling a nation, there were several noble families in Equestria who would be more than happy to fill any roles of power in the nation. I'd do my best to crack down on that, of course, but I couldn't stop everything, even with all of my power.

I pushed those thoughts aside. I had a far bigger event planned than overthrowing the griffin's government.

My wedding to Celestia.

In the end we'd decided on a little private ceremony for the two of us. Just Luna, the Elements, and a couple of our most trusted staff, which for Celestia meant Duckworth, and for me that meant Tulip and Time Keeper. Tulip hadn't been doing very well, but she was on the mend. I hadn't returned her magic, but she was taking care of her foals again with the help of Sunny.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Time Keeper walked up to me. "Er... Your Highness, it is time to begin preparing for your wedding.”

I took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is. Lead the way, Time Keeper."

Time Keeper bowed to me. "Yes, Your Majesty."

* * * *

I entered the seedy tavern my contacts had decided on. I kept my hood and cloak wrapped tightly around me. The bar wasn't the most high class place, so seeing somegriffin who looked like she was up to something was a given. As a result, no one paid attention to me. I made eye contact with a trio of griffins sitting at a booth in the back. They nodded to me, and I nodded back before making my way over.

"Empress Kathyrine," one of them whispered when I sat down. "We are honored that you are here."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I replied. "Is everything good to go?"

"It is," the second one said. "We have surrounded all targets. Our troops only await the signal."

"Cool. Once you guys get me into the palace, things are gonna get messy. Just remember one thing." My eyes narrowed, and I looked at each of them in turn. "Cromwell is mine to deal with, you got that? If I find out that somegriffin has even put a scratch on him before I can have my fun, I'm gonna be really angry, is that understood?"

"Yes, Empress Kathyrine. We will bring him to you restrained, but unharmed."

"Good. The dude's enough of a coward that once he realizes he's lost he'll probably start crying and begging for mercy."

"That is my assessment too, Your Majesty," the third one said.

"Alrighty, then." I stood up from the booth. "No sense just sitting around preening our feathers. We have work to do."

* * * *

I stood at the altar that had been set up in Celestia's throne room, staring at the massive double doors which she'd come through. On my side stood Tulip and Time Keeper, while Duckworth and the Elements stood on Celestia's side. Snap Feather, the High Priest of Antarianism, stood at the altar, tears of joy brimming in his eyes.

"Prince Antares, it is an honor to do the ceremony," he said for what must have been the tenth time.

"Yes, I'm glad you think so."

My stomach clenched up when the double doors opened, and Celestia walked in. She wasn't dressed in any fine clothes, and neither was I, but she still walked to the altar with more grace and beauty than I'd ever seen from her. Not even her large baby bump caused her to falter in her steps.

She reached the altar and stood beside me. We exchanged a smile while Rarity dabbed at her eyes with a hoofkerchief, which Rainbow facehooved at, leaning on the fake leg that she'd gotten much better at using.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the holy union of Princess Celestia and Prince Antares." Snap Feather lit his horn up and opened up a copy of the Liber Sanctus. "I would like to begin by reading a passage from the Book of the Scorpion."

* * * *

This was madness. Cromwell was going to lose his crown, of that I was sure. However with the support that Kathyrine had drummed up, I wasn't sure that I could be the one to succeed him, no matter how much it was necessary. We couldn't have Kathyrine on the throne. Clan Zangara should be in control of the nation. I could end the war with the Equestrians just as well as Kathyrine could, and the country surely knew that.

I sighed and stared down at the reports I had been given of current political activity. This was going to be complicated, no matter what it all came down to. My butler set a cup of tea down beside me as I muttered some thanks for it.

"Is there anything else you require, Duke Zangara?" he asked.

"Not at the moment, thank you. I just need to--"

My words were cut off when I began hearing screaming from inside the house. What's more is that I began smelling smoke coming from the lower levels.

"What in Griffonia is going on?!" I cried, looking to my butler for some answers. Before he could speak, the door to my study burst open, and a pair of griffins armed with crossbows flew in. One shot my butler in the head, while the other fired at me before I could dodge. The arrow sank into my chest, and I fell to the ground, clutching at the likely fatal wound. I gasped for breath as blood began pouring out my chest.

"In here, too," one of the assassins said to the other. "Grab anything that looks important or valuable, then let's get out of here."

A third griffin came in holding a bale of hay, which he tore apart and began spreading around the room.

"N-no!" I wheezed, trying to crawl away. "I... I can pay... you. Just... wait for a..." I began coughing up blood as the strength to even raise my head left me. One of the assassins smirked at me and walked over while he reloaded his crossbow. I tried moving away, but I couldn't. The second griffin finished grabbing all of the papers in and on my desk, then began throwing everything that looked valuable into a large bag. I could do nothing to stop it.

"W... why?" I moaned to the griffin standing above me, just as the second griffin finished looting the room. The third griffin tossed a match onto the hay as the first raised his crossbow to my head.

"Empress Kathyrine wishes you a safe journey to Tartarus."

Then he fired.

* * * *

"Prince Antares, Princess Celestia, you have both ruled Equestria justly for a different amount of time, but I see the strength in your rule. You have led your subjects to safety, protected us from those who would do us harm, and you are about to bring new life into this world. Your bond is as strong as any that I have ever seen. With your combined wisdom, I see you ruling Equestria as well as you always have from now until the end of all things."

Snap Feather turned to Twilight with a fatherly smile. "Do you have the rings, Miss Sparkle?"

* * * *

"What's going on?" I demanded, stomping into my living room. "I have heard of some disturbance at Duke Zangara's compound!"

"My apologies, Duke Byck, but I know nothing," one of my servants said, bowing to me. "We have word of a fire there, but nothing specific on exactly what caused it."

"I don't like it," I muttered, turning my head to look at my wife and newborn son who had just entered the room.

"Is there something wrong, my dear?" my wife asked. "Have the rioters begun targeting us?"

I gave her a comforting smile. "I doubt it. They've mostly kept to demonstrating outside of the palace. We are safe from them." I took a moment to center myself. I couldn't get emotional. I had to think clearly and logically about the situation. Something was definitely wrong, but nothing I could not handle if I thought it through.

The door to my living room opened, and six of my bodyguards walked in each wielding crossbows and spears. I frowned at them.

"Is there something wrong, Captain?" I asked. "Do you bring news of the disturbance at Zangara's home?"

In lieu of an answer, the captain raised his crossbow and fired a bolt directly into my shoulder. I fell to the ground with a scream. My wife cried out and ran into my study while one of the other soldiers stabbed my servant with his spear. The captain motioned to three of his subordinates, then pointed toward the study.

"No!" I cried, my eyes going wide. My study was a dead end. My wife and child had no way out. I could hear their cries from where I lay. "P-please! I'll do anything, just spare--"

The twang of three crossbows firing filled my ears, only to be replaced by silence. Neither my wife nor child cried as the griffins came out of the study. I threw my head back and screamed in agony that had nothing to do with the wound on my shoulder.

"Go through the house. Kill everygriffin you find. Take whatever looks important or valuable for Empress Kathyrine," my captain said.

"E-Empress Kathyrine?" I wheezed out. "Impossible."

The captain turned his head to me and grinned. He walked over to me and raised his spear above his head.

"P-please. I'll do anything to--"

The captain brought his spear down.

* * * *

Do you, Princess Celestia, take Prince Antares as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, to comfort and cherish, in richer or for poorer for as long as you both shall live?"

Celestia's beaming smile somehow made her even more radiant and beautiful. "I do."

Snap Feather bowed to Celestia before turning to me. "And do you, Prince Antares, take Princess Celestia as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, to comfort and cherish, in richer or for poorer for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Very well." Snap Feather motioned to Twilight. "You may bring forth the rings now, my dear."

Twilight lit her horn and levitated two pillows next to her. She moved up to the altar and presented the pillows to us. I lit my horn and took the ring off the pillow, gently sliding it over Celestia's horn. One that was done, Celestia lit her horn and slid the other ring around my horn.

* * * *

"Thank you for your report, Captain. I will be in the throne room."

“Yes, Empress. Fire and blood.”

“Fire and blood.”

I didn't make a single expression as I walked through the palace where I'd grown up. I hadn't been here in over six months. It almost felt foreign to me, like this wasn't my home anymore. It didn't seem real.

Maybe part of that was the bodies littering the hallway. Servants, maids, cooks, members of rival clans, disloyal guards who had tried to fight once ambushed. We needed a complete overhaul of the system here. We would have to start from square one.

I reached the large double doors of my throne room. A dead griffin guard lay beside them. Guess he didn't see it coming when the guard next to him had stabbed him right in the neck. Good riddance. I didn't need guards like him if he couldn't even fight back. I pulled open one of the doors to the throne room and stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

My throne room. Weird. Last time I'd been here I'd been with my dad on the day they killed him. Now was the time to avenge his memory. I think he'd be really proud of me for all of this. I know he always wanted me to succeed him. I reached the throne itself and put a claw on one of the armrests. Somehow it felt wrong to actually sit on it. Ever since I could remember, this was my dad's throne. Sometimes, when we'd have nothing to do, he'd let me play on it and pretend that I was a powerful empress that everygriffin loved and worshiped. My mom would laugh at that.

I don't remember her laugh like I used to. She'd be proud of me too, right?

I gulped and slowly sat down on the throne. No, this didn't seem right. This throne isn't for me. It's for my dad. I wanna go back to the days when I was barely the size of a dog, and I'd play on the throne. No more bedtimes! Dessert for every meal! Use all the money to feed the poor! I let out a half chuckle/half sob at the memories.

"Homework is outlawed." I said quietly to myself, pretending to wave the royal scepter around. "There's gonna be a National Cake and Ice Cream day, where everygriffin gets as much as they want. Use the money we didn't spend on feeding everygriffin to make sure nogriffin is poor anymore."

I quietly scoffed to myself and stared at the floor. Guess things turned out a bit more complicated than that.

The doors to the throne room opened again, and I heard the clinking of chains and the pathetic whimpering of the griffin behind all of this. I looked up and saw Cromwell being dragged into the room, both his fore and hind legs chained up. No visible wounds on him. That was good, I guess. I stepped off of my throne and walked up to him as the griffins dragging him along threw him to the ground.

"I can make you dukes!" he cried. "You can both have powerful families that will live until the end of all things! Just don't--"

"Shut up," I growled. Cromwell turned his head to see who had spoken, and moaned in fear when he saw me. I stopped in front of him and put my left claw on his head. "Are you really all that surprised to see me?" My gaze flicked up when a third griffin walked into the room, holding a sack in his claws. I inclined my head to him before turning back to Cromwell. "It's over."

"I know, I know," Cromwell whimpered. "Just don't kill me! I'll go into exile! I'll... I'll become your personal slave! Turn me over to the Equestrians so I can answer for what I've done! I'll spend the rest of my life in their prisons, just don't hurt me!"

My mind flashed back to when Dad was in one of Antares's prisons. My mouth twisted into a snarl. I grabbed Cromwell's head and slammed it onto the floor. He cried out in pain as the force of the blow cut his head open.

"I'm sorry! I'll do anything!" A thought seemed to cross his mind, because his expression went from one of fear to a glare. "You... you really think the other dukes will stand for this? They are loyal to me! They will avenge me!"

"Which dukes are you talking about?" I asked as I motioned for the griffin with the sack to approach. He flew over to me and handed me the sack. I opened it up and reached inside before pulling out Duke Zangara's head. "Maybe this one?" I tossed it on the ground in front of him. "Is that who you were talking about?" I reached into the sack once more and pulled out Byck's head. "Or this one? Maybe you thought this one would come to help you?"

"Th-they--"

"There are no more clans Cromwell, or Fromme, or whoever you are. Doesn't really matter. We're going to erase even the memory of you from the history books. You will be completely forgotten once I'm done with you. It'll be like you never existed. I wouldn't really bother thinking that the clans are going to band together to stop me." I began pacing back and forth in front of him. "Duke Byck had a son in school. Sixteen years old. We had a griffin who said he was a representative of his father pull him out, then he slashed his throat in an alleyway. Duke Zangara's family was attending a play. We shot them all. We even tried to find their cousins and aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews, and anygriffin who could possibly appear to make a new clan. I'm sure some escaped, but we’ll find them. This new Griffonia will begin anew through fire and blood."

"It's not too late to go back!" Cromwell moaned. "I-if you let me go I'll give you everything! All of my power, all of my clan's wealth! You don't want to do this!"

"Firstly, I've already taken all of your clan's wealth. You have no physical possessions to offer me. You have nothing. That said..." I sighed and looked up to one of the guards. In one wing he held the royal crown and cape. In the other he held the royal scepter. I took them from him and set them on the ground before me. "You have one thing right. I don't want to do this. Maybe I still don't need to." I motioned for the guards to back away from Cromwell, then took the crown off of the floor and gently placed it on his head. "You're right. I can still back out." I took the cape and draped it over his shoulders. "I can go back to Equestria and we can never speak of this again. We can just go our separate ways." I reached down and took the scepter off of the floor, staring at it like doing so would unlock some kind of mystery.

"But I'm not going to do that."

I raised the scepter high and brought it down on Cromwell's skull, knocking the crown off of his head. He shrieked in pain and brought his arms up to protect his head. I grabbed one of them and pinned it to the floor before striking him with the scepter once more. He tried to wiggle away from me, but I held him down. Nothing was going to stop my vengeance. Even if Antares came into the room to tell me he changed his mind and didn't want to do this anymore, he couldn't stop me. I slammed the scepter down again, and one of the points on it created another cut on his head. Cromwell had stopped begging. He'd mostly even stopped moving, outside of the occasional twitch. I continued striking him. Both me and the scepter were covered with blood.

Reforge Griffonia through fire and blood.

I threw the scepter down and grabbed one of the guards' spears. I stood over Cromwell and began stabbing him repeatedly. The cape was totally ruined by the blood, but I didn't care one bit about that. I'd get another one. Who cares? My attacks became more violent as I screamed at him; screamed for everything I'd been through since he'd killed my dad. I knew he couldn't hear me. He was definitely long dead. I still needed this.

Eventually I kind of wore myself out and threw the spear against the wall. I moved away from Cromwell, wiping my face with my arm to get some of the blood out of my eyes.

"Empress Kathyrine?" I twitched at the title. I guess I really was Empress now, huh? "What should we do now?"

I turned my head to the guard who had spoken. "String him up outside the palace. Cut his head and wings off. Put him next to the dukes. Just... get him out of here. I'm gonna be fine."

"Of course."

The guards bowed and dragged the mangled remains of Cromwell out of the throne room, leaving a trail of blood behind them. They closed the door behind them as I walked back over to the throne. Once I was sure I was alone, I grabbed the armrest of the throne and wept.

* * * *

"Prince Antares, Princess Celestia, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May your days be filled with joy. You may kiss the bride."

The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

A knocking on the door of Celestia's room brought me out of my deep sleep. Celestia groaned and tightened her hold on my foreleg. I agree. I didn't want to get up any more than she did. We could be rather... passionate with each other when we were in the mood, and our wedding was the happiest day for both of us. The "after party" Celestia and I had once everypony went back to their rooms left us rather worn, alicorn stamina or no.

Still, I'm a prince of Equestria. The day after my wedding or not, I had duties and responsibilities, and with everything that had happened...

I gently slid my foreleg out of Celestia's grasp and made my way to the door, running a brush down my coat a few times just so I could look semi-presentable, even though I was pretty sure I knew who this was. I used my magic to open the door, revealing Raining Skies on the other side. We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us saying anything. I merely tilted my head slightly, which she responded to by nodding once. I returned it and leaned down, allowing her to whisper in my ear for a few moments. Once she finished, I thanked her and closed the door.

Whew. Okay. That's one big thing out of the way. Ten billion more to go.

"Who was that?" Celestia groaned from the bed.

"Raining Skies," I replied, checking the wards around Celestia's room. I highly doubted that anyone could break them, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. "Kathyrine is the new empress of Griffonia."

Celestia shot up out of bed, her eyes wide. "It worked?"

"Yes, it seems so."

Celestia let out a sigh. "I suppose that is good. How do you think she'll do?"

I shrugged with my wings. "I dunno. We haven't heard much from Iselin except for the fact that Kathyrine seems to have taken over." I grimaced. "It, uh, it appears she had the wingless and headless bodies of Cromwell and the dukes strung up outside of her palace."

"I see," Celestia muttered. "And what of the families of the dukes? I know the dukes had young children, so what has become of them? Has she taken them as wards or exiled them from the country?"

I hesitated. On one hoof, this was the day after our wedding, and I didn't want to talk about this kind of thing, especially not since Celestia was so far along, and triggering any extreme alicorn emotions could have an impact on the foal. On the other, she needed to know, and would find out with or without my help. I guess it was best she heard it from me. That way I could keep her calm.

Not that it would really help all that much. Celestia has always had a soft spot for the young.

"Uh..." I managed to look my wife in the eye before continuing. "No. She, uh... she killed them all."

Celestia gasped and put her hooves over her mouth. "N-no." She slowly stood up. "Antares, that sounds nothing like Kathyrine. We discussed taking out the dukes and Cromwell, but Byck had a child only four months old!"

"Yeah, he did. Now there's no one who can revive the rest of the major clans. Kathyrine has complete control of the country, or will very soon. Besides, it's her country now, and you know what their society can be like. She's not nearly the first empress to take control by spilling blood, and I doubt she'll be the last."

"It just does not sound like Kathyrine," Celestia said quietly. "I saw her interact with Ara and Veritas. I knew her from the time she was a hatchling. She never wanted to be empress in the first place, now she has murdered children to get onto the throne?"

"Yeah, she has. She has and there's nothing we can do to bring them back. There's nothing we can do about it now. She did what she felt she had to, and now hopefully she can take Griffonia into a better direction." I cast my glance downward. "Hopefully."

"Antares..." I heard Celestia's hoofsteps approaching, and flinched when she put her hoof on my shoulder. "Did you know she would do this?"

I paused for a moment. Again, this really wasn't what I wanted to be talking about the night after our wedding. Still though, I knew she wouldn't let up, and we needed to discuss this at some point.

"I never supported it," I managed to finally say. "But let's just say I'm not surprised it happened."

"Antares--"

"Celestia, she's not our subject!" I growled, snapping my head up to look her in the eye. "She's the empress of her own country, a country that is not under the control of Equestria! It happened, it's beyond tragic, I would have stopped it if she would if I could, but those are the choices she made, and we cannot play policepony and punish her for it by walking into her country and demanding she step down or apologize. All we can do is find out what she's up to now, and how it affects us. She's going to end the war with us very soon, and we can react to her actions." I smiled sadly at Celestia and draped a wing over her back. "It happened. It's terrible that it happened, and we’ll not let it go unanswered. But we're not the rulers of Griffonia, and we're not at war with Griffonia. We're the prince and princess of Equestria, and we're at war with the minotaurs. That needs to be our focus. We can discuss Kathyrine at another date. Right now, we have ponies to keep safe."

Celestia stayed silent for a few moments, chewing over my words. I could tell from her breathing that she was trying to center herself; make sure that she didn't get overly upset, despite her sorrow.

"You are right," she said after a minute. "The war is coming to an end. We need to finish it. We are not finished discussing Kathyrine's actions, however. I cannot in good faith ally myself with someone willing to slaughter children to gain power."

"I..." I sighed and lowered my head. "No. I can't either. I feel it's partly my fault. I should have offered to take them in. That way we could protect them from whatever happened. I just don't know how we could have done that and still kept Kathyrine's attack a secret." I shook my head. "There's nothing we can do about it now. They're dead, and we can't bring them back."

I nudged Celestia in the direction of her door with promises of breakfast. The two of us did need to eat, after all. We'd be more centered and have a clearer idea of what to do afterward. Celestia was right: the war was almost over. One or two more moves by us should end it, but they needed to be smart. We had the means to end the war with minimal loss of pony life, but we needed to pick our moves carefully.

I opened the door to Celestia's room, finding Duckworth on the other side. Her mane was in its usual bun, and a clipboard floated lazily beside her. She bowed to Celestia and I.

"Princess Celestia, Prince Antares, I have your schedules for the day." She slid two pieces of paper out of the clipboard and floated them over to us. I took the paper in my magic and gave it a quick scan. Mostly the usual, save for a three o'clock meeting with President Mando and Sultan Mesud. That promised to be all kinds of interesting, especially now that the war was almost over and we were all primed to come out on top.

"Thank you, Duckworth. Is there anything else?" Celestia said.

"Not at the moment, Your Majesty, no. You have some paperwork that you need to look over in your office, but otherwise you have a normal day."

"Very good. I shall see you at court in an hour's time."

"Yes, Your Highness," Duckworth replied, bowing low to the two of us again before walking away. Celestia and I watched her go, neither of us really sure of what to say. For my part, I merely thought over what I was going to say during the meeting with Mando and Mesud later that day.

"So, food?" I said after a minute.

"Yes. Food sounds lovely."

* * * *

I roared and tore apart the message, throwing the pieces against the wall of my tent and getting even more frustrated when the paper uselessly fluttered to the floor.

"How can this be possible?!" I shouted, slamming my fist down on the table in front of me so hard it left a crack in the wood. "How can that useless, juvenile bitch be on the griffin throne?!"

"W-well, she did have the support of the Equestrians, as the letter said," my squire said weakly. "Perhaps that--"

"Enough!" I growled and began pacing. "This is a mere temporary setback. We won the last battle without them, and we'll win the rest of them without their help, too! I think it's time that we move out again!"

"King Purgle, I also regret to inform you that Clan Charint left this morning. That... that was ten thousand soldiers they took with them."

"I just... I..." I took a deep breath and collapsed onto my throne. That was the third one this week, bringing the total to nine. With this betrayal, my original army had been reduced by half. Whatever. It was still enough to beat the Equestrians!

"And what of Marller?" I muttered.

"He's doing far better. The wounds have already largely healed up, and he's been moving around." The squire grimaced. "He hasn't been saying much, though."

"Let me know when he's decided to stop feeling sorry for himself. He needs to get off of his tail and start talking to his contacts in Equestria again. We can still win this war. We just need to use a bit more strategy to do it." I walked over to one of the tables in my tent and stared down at the napalm canisters we had captured. So far they seemed pretty simple. Pull the pin and throw it. We needed to figure out a good way to get distance once we threw it, though. The pegasi could simply drop them, but I didn't know of any minotaur who could throw napalm far enough to be out of the blast range when it went off. We could try catapults, but we still might not be able to make them go far enough before they went off, and that was including the fact that it would be rather difficult to move the catapults into position anyway.

In short, I needed some good news.

"Is there anything else?" I asked, turning back to my squire. "And scrap of good news you can give me?"

"Uh... well, your clan is still behind you. That's a lot of minotaurs."

"Outside of the few here and there that have deserted," I grumbled. "At least we--"

Another squire burst into my tent, his eyes wide. Something was terribly wrong, and I didn't really want to hear any more bad news today. I sighed and shook my head.

"What now?"

"King Purgle, the most terrible thing has happened!" the squire cried.

"A significant change from the past few days, then. What is it?"

"It's Marller, King Purgle, he's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"He left the camp! No one has seen him in hours! What's more is that the guards who were with him haven't been seen either! I suspect they helped him leave."

"I see." I turned my back to the squires. "Get out. Get out now."

The two squires muttered my name and probably bowed to me before leaving my tent. Who cares about them?

It just didn't make any sense. Marller was my greatest asset! He was the last minotaur I trusted to be completely loyal to me, and now even he had betrayed me? He would die for this unspeakable act of evil. I'd make sure of that.

I sat back down on my throne and took my sword off of my belt. I promised myself that I'd use this to kill Antares. It was one of the two Nightmare Weapons we had left. There had to be a way to replicate them. If Luna could make one while mad, certainly somepony out there could figure out the process. Maybe even tweak them so that Luna could be killed by one. Maybe, just maybe, the alicorns could win the war. It was a possibility. I needed to make preparations in case that happened. I stood up and went behind my throne, collecting the Nightmare Weapon stashed behind it.

Yes, that could work.

I exited my tent and went over to the tent of one of my most trusted lieutenants. This was a risk, but one that needed to be taken. The lieutenant was sitting by a fire and cooking his lunch when I approached. He instantly shot to his hooves and bowed to me.

"King Purgle. How may I be of service?"

"At ease, lieutenant. I have a job for you."

"Of course, King Purgle. What do you need?"

"I need you to take this Nightmare Weapon," I replied, offering it to him.

"Am I to take the field with it?" the lieutenant responded, taking it with an eager look in his eyes.

"No. This one will not see the field during this war. Here's what I need you to do..."

* * * *

"President Mando, Sultan Mesud, it is an honor to have you here. I hope your journeys were uneventful?"

"As well as one could hope," President Mando, a middle-aged zebra in a sharp business suit, said. "I hope things are going well with you and Celestia. I've heard that she'll start foaling any day now."

"Possibly. We're still not totally sure how alicorns do during pregnancy. This is new territory for all of us."

"And that brings us nicely to why we are all here," Sultan Mesud said, smiling at me. "We must discuss what is to happen to the new minotaur nation now that we are about to win the war."

"Yeah, about that..." I turned to Mando with a frown. "You officially declared neutrality, didn't you? I am not sure why you feel you belong in these proceedings, if you don't mind my saying so."

Mando shrugged. "I don't mind you saying so, but I will point out that a hundred of my valuable berserkers fought and died for your people. Berserkers are not a common soldier in my country, Prince Antares. They take a long time to train. This war halved our berserker population, and I want reparations for that."

"I suppose I can kind of see where you're coming from," I admitted. "So long as you remember that it was the minotaurs who killed your people."

"The minotaurs yes, but they were here fighting your war." Mando gave me a comforting smile and raised a hoof to forestall any further comments from me for the moment. "Do not worry. I am not going to demand land or money from you. You are right: the minotaurs were the aggressors in this war. We merely demand part of what you are going to take from them. Their country is on our borders, after all."

"Whatever reparations might be given are slightly more complicated for us," Mesud chimed in. "Minotauria is not on our borders, so we cannot take some of their land without great expense to ourselves. The only city we would really want is Schunie, and even if we had it, it would take a lot of money to establish a trade route between that city and my country; a trade route that would either have to go through dangerous lands, or your country, Antares. Both are risky and expensive options."

"Okay, so what do you want?" I asked. "You both called this meeting, so you both obviously have ideas for what you want in return."

"We do," Mesud replied with a nod. "We would like the opportunity to study the new weapons you have created."

I shot to my hooves. "Now wait a minute--"

"I think that is hardly the most unreasonable request, Prince Antares," Mando said calmly. "You alicorns are already powerful enough without bringing weapons of mass destruction into play. It is in the best interest of our respective countries that we are given a fair shot to create these weapons. It is merely a defensive measure, Antares. We aren't even saying that we'd use them on you. We would like to use them for the same reason you have: to end any potential conflicts quickly."

"The griffins have been at war on and off with my people for as long as we can remember," Mesud pointed out. "And the same is true of the zebras and minotaurs. Before you brought them onto the field, we didn't know such weapons were even a possibility. Now we do, and we'd like to have them."

"Look, I never wanted them to become common weapons," I insisted. "I just wanted to end the war as quickly as I knew how."

"That is your own foolishness, then," Mesud said. "If you did not wish for such weapons to be known about, you should not have introduced them into the world."

"We are not completely unreasonable about this," Mando said. "We would be willing to give up much of the spoils from this war as repayment, which is a generous offer on our parts, given what we've sacrificed for you already."

"We already generally know what your flamethrowers and napalm does. We believe with time we can create them on our own, with or without your help," Mesud said. "We are not saying that you would use them on us now, of course, but what of in the future? We are not ruled by immortal beings, Prince Antares. The leadership in our countries is constantly changing. What if at some point one of our countries are ruled by a warmongering madman? It has happened before, for both of us. What if you felt you had to go to war with that madman? Hundreds of thousands of Saddle Arabian citizens who would likely want little to do with the war would die."

"Oh yeah, and if that hypothetical warmongering leader had those weapons, what could he do with them?" I retorted. "This argument of 'we only have them in case you want to use yours against us' is something that has happened on my world, and with weapons far more destructive than the ones I've presented. It doesn't lead anywhere good!"

"If that is the case, then why did you create these weapons in the first place?" Mando pointed out. "You say you know where this trail leads, so then why did you begin walking down that path? You talk about these destructive weapons in your world. Tell me: were those weapons created and used to end a war quickly?"

My breath died in my throat. "It's not... I don't... We weren't..."

"I think we have our answer, then," Mando said sadly.

"Look, we can talk about this," I said lamely. "We can destroy all of them, even the blueprints!"

"And just make them again a hundred years later when you feel you need to?" Mesud questioned. "I'm sorry, but that's not quite good enough."

"Again, the alternative is you give us a larger share of whatever you take from the minotaurs, then we still figure out how to make these weapons anyway."

"I..." I sighed and shook my head. "Okay, I get your points. I'm going to be talking to Celestia and Luna about this before I make any commitments."

Mando shrugged. "That is reasonable, we suppose. You are all the rulers of Equestria. It wouldn't be fair to them if you were the only one who made such a large decision."

"Agreed." I nodded to each of my guests in turn. "If there is nothing else..."

"Nothing as of yet. We will know more of what to discuss once the war is actually over," Mesud said as he and Mando stood up.

"I only wish to add that we will be contributing five thousand troops to the final fights, including the rest of the berserkers," Mando said. "Just to make the war that much easier for you."

You mean so that you can justify getting spoils from the war.

"I thank you for your support," I said, tilting my head to him. "Until then, you are all welcome to stay in my palace as long as you need. Feel free to make use of my private dining room before you go. Merely contact my consigliere Time Keeper should you require anything."

"You are most kind in extending your hospitality, Prince Antares," Mesud replied, bowing to me.

"It's my pleasure. If you'll excuse me."

"Of course."

"Thank you." I turned and left my conference room, allowing Time Keeper in to see what he what he could do for my guests.

No, this couldn't happen. I couldn't let my human weapons become commonplace. I could destroy the blueprints. Maybe erase my memory of how to make them. I could do that, right?

But they were right. What of when we needed to fight another Purgle at some point in the future, and he had those weapons? We couldn't fight a war if we were at a severe technological disadvantage.

Either way, I needed to talk to my wife about all of this.

* * * *

I landed in Canterlot a few hours later. I could have made the journey quicker, but I needed some time to myself to think about what I needed to do. Mesud and Mando were right: they could probably create my weapons given enough time and resources. Knowing what I know about their economies and scientists, they could do it. They had the capacity. Heck even Kathyrine could probably make some if she had the mind to.

In short, we had a problem; a problem that was largely my fault.

I made my way to Celestia's throne room, largely ignoring the ponies I passed. They couldn't do anything to help me now. I didn't even think Celestia could. We needed a way to completely erase all memory of my human weapons from the world, something we probably couldn't do. I'd let the genie out of the bottle, and there was no way to get it back in.

Celestia's guards led me into her throne room, where she was doing some paperwork with Duckworth. Celestia looked up and smiled when she saw me come in. I tried to return it, but I just wasn't in the mood. Celestia, perceptive as always, picked up on that and frowned. She got up off of her throne and made her way over to me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I just got done with my meeting with Mando and Mesud. It... didn't go as well as I had hoped."

"Oh? Why? Did they demand unreasonable reparations from the war?"

"We might see it that way, but they wouldn't." I sighed and leaned my head on Celestia's shoulder. "They want the blueprints to my human weapons. They said they can probably reproduce them with or without our help, but if we don't give it to them, they'll ask for more and more from the minotaurs. That could really hurt them."

"Regardless, we can't merely give Mesud and Mando our weapons. What if they were used against us down the line?"

"And that's their argument, too," I grumbled. "Sure we're allies now, but what about a hundred years from now? They don't want to be at that much of a technological disadvantage, especially given that they don't have alicorns ruling their nations."

"I understand their concern, but I think merely giving them the weapons would be most unwise. Surely we can think of some other solution."

"They won't accept us just destroying the weapons and the blueprints," I pointed out. "They said we could still make them just in time for the next conflict. Besides, let's say we can totally erase all memory and means of production. What then? I believe them when they say they can make the weapons for themselves. Then they could use them on us and we'd be starting from square one." I growled and began pacing around the room. "This isn't right. It wasn't supposed to go like this!"

Celestia tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I know how this went in my world! I saw what happened when countries created more and more destructive weapons as 'preventative measures.' Hey, they have them, so to protect ourselves, we'll have them too! Oh, and just in case that's not enough, let's create something more destructive to counteract that so we could win any fight quickly! Then it just keeps going from there." I wheeled around to face Celestia. "Let's say that both of us have the weapons. I'd have to try to create more destructive human weapons to get the advantage! Then they'd do the same thing, then I'd continue upping the ante until I proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd learned nothing from the mistakes of my ancestors!

"I was supposed to be better than this! I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could introduce a few of the weapons to the world, then hide them away, never to be used again unless we really, really needed to." I scoffed and shook my head. "I was an idiot. I'm just as stupid as my ancestors."

"Perhaps, but..." Celestia paused, likely thinking of some possible retort for my feelings. Something that could make it all better and let me know that I hadn't completely screwed up the world. I guess she didn't think of anything, because she didn't say anything beyond that.

"Face it, Celestia: I messed up. I messed up and a lot of innocent beings are probably going to die because of that."

"You wanted to end the war quickly, and you have," Celestia pointed out.

"Yeah, I created a big problem by trying for a quick solution. The day will come when a pony is killed with a bullet, and it will be my fault. I don't want to see that day, but I'll have to. I'll have to see that day and know that it was my fault."

"Antares, do not be so hard on yourself. Even the best of us cannot truly see what the future holds."

"Yeah, I guess not. Except I already knew where this path would lead, and I took it anyway. I've seen how this goes. We can't stop it now."

"And we will react when that time comes," Celestia said, putting her wing on my back to calm me down. "I cannot say that we ultimately made the right choice. I share some of the blame, too. In my rage at seeing my student and her friend attacked, I allowed you to create whatever you needed to. You are not the only one to blame for this. Purgle himself bears much of the responsibility. If he hadn't brought war upon us, we would not have created those weapons."

"Yeah, and if he hadn't done it, I would have created those weapons when the next tyrant popped up."

"And what should you have done, then? Purgle's forces would have killed our subjects in far greater numbers if you had not brought those weapons onto the field. Now they are divided and demoralized," Celestia said.

"Yeah, so that's a good thing they've done for this war. What about the next one when all sides have them? I've seen what these weapons do when used on a large scale. The next world war is going to be unlike anything we've ever seen before, and I'm the one who made it all possible."

"Perhaps you are right," Celestia admitted. "Perhaps in solving one problem, we have created a dozen more. I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done about it at the moment. Perhaps you are wrong and no one else can create these weapons. If that is the case, we will destroy what we have and never use them again."

"Or try to," I grumbled. "It's like they said: what about the next big war?"

"We cannot play the 'what if' game now, Antares. Once peace is upon us, we can begin preparing for what to do in the event that Mesud and Mando create the weapons we have brought to this world."

"You mean the weapons that I brought--"

"That we brought upon the world," Celestia said somewhat forcefully. "I know it is difficult for ponies like us sometimes, but we must focus on the here and now for the moment. As I said: once Purgle is defeated, we can--" Celestia's eyes narrowed, and she let out a quiet grunt. She brought her hoof to her stomach and groaned.

"What? What is it?" I asked, my eyes going wide. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't think so. I think little Titus is..." Celestia gasped in pain and slowly sat down. "He or she is--" Celestia let out a pained gasp once more.

"M-maybe I'd better go get the doctor," I said, making my way to the door.

"No need, Prince Antares. I can do it," Duckworth said, moving past me and out the door.

Right, she was there. She's too good at blending into the background. I guess that comes from being as quiet as she is.

"Just hold on, Celestia, it's going to be okay," I said, sitting next to my wife and holding her hoof. "You just need to... um... okay, yeah, your water totally just broke. This foal is coming now."

"Help me up so that I can--"

"No, you're staying right where you are until the doctor gets here," I said, gently pushing Celestia back down. "If you move you could do something bad. I don't know what. Just something bad."

Celestia chuckled and nuzzled my neck. "You are no doctor, Antares."

"No, I'm not," I agreed. "Still, better safe than sorry."

"You could--" Celestia gasped when she felt a contraction. "Fine, then. I guess little Titus wants us to stay here."

"Best listen to him or her," I said, kissing Celestia on the cheek. "He or she knows what she's doing."

"If so, then Titus would be the first of us," Celestia joked as the door to her throne room opened and her doctor ran in.

"What's going on?" Dr. Scalpel cried, running up to Celestia. "Is the foal coming?"

"Yes, doctor, it seems so," Celestia said.

"Okay. Okay. That's sooner than I thought." Dr. Scalpel wiped his brow and opened up his medical bag before turning to Duckworth. "Ms. Duckworth, if you could summon as many nurses to this room as you can, I would appreciate that. I don't want to risk moving her."

"What should I do?" I asked.

"Summon some pillows, or something. She needs to be lying down for this." I complied and Celestia laid back down on the pillows, taking my hoof and squeezing it. "Okay, your majesty, I hate to be asking this, I really do, but I need you to spread your legs. No no, hind legs, Princess Celestia, and I know you know what I meant. Don't make this worse for me than it already is. Thank you."

It didn't take too long from there for the real pain to start. I put a sound spell around the throne room while nurses ran in to help Celestia. She tightened her grip on my hoof as Dr. Scalpel ordered her to start pushing. Celestia screamed in pain, which was odd to hear, but even through the pained screams, I could see her joyful smile. Both of us had taken untold thousands of lives away through the years, but here we were about to finally bring some life into it.

She was still squeezing my hoof hard enough that I began to wonder if she was going to crack it.

"Alright, Your Majesty, just one more push ought to do it! I can see the head!" Dr. Scalpel had one nurse wipe sweat from his brow while I did the same for Celestia. "Just one more..."

With a final pained cry, Celestia gave one final big push. The sound of crying filled the air, but it wasn't from Celestia. The cries unmistakably came from that of a foal. Celestia collapsed back down on the pillows, breathing heavily from the hours long ordeal of labor. I gently removed my hoof from hers. I doubted it would ever work right again the way she had squeezed it.

"Well, doctor? What's the diagnosis?"

Dr. Scalpel gave me a beaming smile, and I could see tears of joy in his eyes. "Prince Antares, Princess Celestia... it's a filly." He held a small filly in his forelegs, and wrapped her in a clean blanked to hoof over to me while muttering something that sounded like "Dr. Syringe owes me ten bits now."

A filly. I had a daughter.

I reached out and gently took little Titus from Dr. Scalpel. Celestia groaned in pain, but managed to raise herself up again to look at our daughter.

"How is she?" Celestia whispered.

"She's... she's beautiful," I whispered back. Titus had stopped crying when I picked her up. I guess Celestia was right: she knew her daddy. I gently lowered Titus so that Celestia could see our child for the first time.

She had dark red fur and a mess of dark blue hair on her head. A small horn poked out from her mane, and I saw her wings before Dr. Scalpel wrapped her in the blanket.

"An alicorn filly," I said quietly while Celestia shakily put a hoof on our daughter's head. "She's amazing."

"I've been waiting for this moment my entire life," Celestia said, tears dripping down her face. "I never thought it would come to be. I always accepted that I would never be allowed to experience this key part of being a mare. And now--"

"Yeah, although I'm not sure that Titus is an acceptable name for her now," I pointed out. "A little masculine, don't you think?"

"Yes, that might be correct. I know we discussed the name Nymeria if she was a filly."

I smiled and nuzzled my wife. "Yeah, I like that. Nymeria."

Nymeria yawned and nuzzled into the blanket. Her yawn allowed me to see the fangs in her mouth. The same fangs as Ara and Veritas. I frowned and gently moved the blanket aside to see her tail. She had a regular pony tail. The movement caused her to open her eyes, and I saw the slitted pupils found in scorpiponies and bat ponies. Seems like she'd gotten a mix between regular pony and scorpion.

I smiled at my daughter. She stared back at me as if she was just drinking in the sights of the world. "Hello, Nymeria," I whispered. "I'm your dad."

"May I hold her?" Celestia asked. I nodded and gently extended my forelegs so Celestia could hold Nymeria.

"Of course. You did most of the work here."

"I cannot argue with that," Celestia said, taking Nymeria out of my forelegs and cradling her to her chest. "Hello, little one." Nymeria nuzzled contentedly against Celestia's chest fur.

And that was it. That's what did it for me. That's when it hit me that I was really a father now. The sight of my wife and child snuggling with each other awoke a need to protect my family. Purgle wanted to stop this. He wanted to kill my wife and child, and that I could not allow to happen. I would burn the entire minotaur race to extinction before I let anyone hurt my family. Purgle needed to die, and soon.

It was time to end this war once and for all.

Author's Note

I be on a roll with this story, don't I? Almost over! Then book 3! Lots of cool stuff in Part 3. I don't plan a lot, but I've been planning a bunch of events for the third book, and it's going to be awesome. I promise that you guys will not see how this book ends coming.

I just ask that you trust me when you see what happens. BronyWriter knows what he's doing most of the time.

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Family Stress

I have a daughter. Holy moley I'm a father! Ever since we found out that Celestia was pregnant, I've been dreaming of this day--sometimes literally-and now it's here. A cute little alicorn filly named Nymeria. That brought the world's alicorn population to five now. What's more is that Celestia could still get pregnant. Who knows how many alicorns we could bring into this world?

Though there was one thought that put a damper on the whole experience. Was Nymeria an alpha alicorn, or a beta alicorn like Cadance? Only time would tell, unfortunately. I couldn't stand the thought that Nymeria was mortal. I was going to watch the whole world die around me. I didn't need to see my daughter go with them.

Given that the danger was mostly over, Dr. Scalpel allowed us to move the new mother and daughter over to Celestia's room, where she'd be more comfortable. That's where I was with Luna and Cadance, while Celestia and Nymeria slept. It had been a hard day for the both of them. I began to feel thankful that I had never gotten pregnant when I was a mare. I couldn't do what Celestia had just done. I don't know if I had the capacity to get pregnant, but I couldn't really see why not.

"She's so beautiful!" Cadance squeed. "I know your doctor said he thought your foal was a colt, but I always hoped for a little filly."

"I'm just glad nothing went wrong with the birth," I said. "Anything could have happened. I'm rather surprised that Nymeria was so early, but I guess alicorn pregnancies happen quicker than other pregnancies."

"It would seem so." Luna stared at Celestia and Nymeria, her face unreadable. I frowned at her.

"You okay, Luna?"

Luna turned to me and gave me an obviously forced smile. "Of course, Antares. Why wouldn't I be? I am quite happy for you and my sister. So very happy. You have a beautiful daughter."

"You've never been a good actress, Luna," I said flatly. "Or at least, I've known you long enough to tell when something's up."

"It is nothing important," Luna said with a wave of her hoof. "I am happy for you. That is all that matters."

"If you say so."

Nymeria began stirring, and we forgot our conversation to watch her. I grinned and laid down in front of my daughter as she opened her eyes. She reached out and touched my muzzle with her teeny tiny hoof. I laughed at that. Nymeria yawned and nestled deeper into Celestia's forelegs. She seemed very content.

I really hoped that she didn't get colicky. That could be really, really bad. Colicky foals are bad enough on their own, but a colicky alicorn foal? Who knows what would happen there? I suspected that we'd find out soon enough what would happen if she magically surged. Celestia or I would need to really keep an eye on her to make sure her surges weren't destructive.

"She has scorpipony eyes," Cadance observed. "Does she have the tail?"

I shook my head. "Nope. She has a normal tail. She got the eyes and the fangs from the scorpion genes. Maybe the omnivorous tendencies, too. We'll have to wait and see on that. Shouldn't be too long before she starts wanting to eat solid food, if Ara and Veritas are anything to go by. She doesn't seem to be hungry now, though."

As if on cue, Nymeria's jaw started wobbling, and she began whimpering. Uh-oh. I just majorly jinxed it, didn't I? I flattened my ears in preparation for the wailing that was about to begin. If she was hungry, I couldn't really do anything about that. I wasn't a mare anymore!

As if by some maternal instinct, Celestia's eyes opened and she looked down at the whimpering foal in her forelegs. She smiled lovingly and nuzzled her.

"Are you hungry, little one? I can't blame you. You've had a long day." Celestia rolled on her side and levitated Nymeria down to her teats to being feeding time. "There you go."

Nymeria instantly latched on and began suckling as if she hadn't gotten any kind of nutrients in the womb, which I wanted to call BS on. Celestia had the weirdest cravings from pregnancy. Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches? Jeez.

"I think it would be best if we gave the new mother and daughter their privacy for the moment," I said, using my wings to start herding Luna and Cadance out of the room. "We'll be back soon, alright Celestia?"

"Of course. This shouldn't take too long," Celestia said. I leaned down and nuzzled my wife.

"We'll be back soon. I want to spend as much time with my daughter as I can. I'll be able to spend more time when this war is over. I'll end it soon for her, I promise."

"Of that I have no doubt."

The rest of us left the room, leaving Celestia and Nymeria to have some time together. I instantly began formulating plans for the end of the war. I had always wanted to end it as quickly as I could, but now that I was a father, the urgency went up a hundred fold. Purgle's mad schemes had killed tens of thousands of my ponies and injured many more. He wouldn't even get to look at Nymeria if I had my way, which I would. The gatling guns and tanks were ready to go. I'd already won the war, really. I just needed to make it official.

"Antares, may I speak to you in private?"

I turned to Luna, who was giving me a weird look. Not sure what that was about, but I gathered that she wanted to tell me. I shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Excellent." Luna nodded to Cadance. "Go to the dining room. The two of us will be along shortly to join your for lunch."

"Okey dokey," Cadance said, oblivious to Luna's mood. She skipped down the hall, humming a happy tune to herself. Content that we'd be left alone, Luna beckoned me to follow her.

What the heck was going on?

I complied and the two of us made our way to the throne room. Once there, Luna closed the door behind us and locked it.

Okay, something is seriously up, because Luna never acts like this. If it weren't for all of the anti-changeling wards around the palace that Celestia and Luna had set up, I'd be worried that I was about to be shivved by Chrysalis.

"So..." I looked around nervously. "What's up?"

Luna wheeled around to face me, her eyes narrowed and her wings flared out.

"Antares, I want a foal."

Oh dear.

I chuckled nervously and began backing away. "Okay. So... should I start researching adoption agencies for you, then?"

"You know what I am talking about," Luna growled.

"Yes, but I'm not sure what you want me to do about it."

"Thou art the only one who can impregnate an alpha alicorn!" Luna roared. "I wish for you to impregnate me!"

Okay, so don't let Celestia give birth when Luna's in heat. Got it. That plus her jealousy issues equals bad things. Good to know.

"So... um... let's think about this rationally," I said, my gaze flicking back to the side door of the throne room. "Celestia and I are married. You're my sister-in-law. I can't really do that for you."

"You can, you just wish not to," Luna growled.

"You're right. I don't want to." I stopped backing away and sighed. "Look, Luna, I get it. This is just another way you feel that Celestia has gotten something you desire. Celestia and I talked a lot about this kind of thing during her pregnancy. Because of all this, she got to feel like a normal mare, not a powerful princess. She got to give life to the world instead of taking it. You want that. I understand that."

Luna sighed and sadly nodded. "I have always wished for a daughter to call my own. One that I had carried and delivered myself. It would be a wonderful thing to adopt, but it would not be the same as holding a foal I had brought into this world myself."

"I get that," I said cautiously. "But cornering me in the throne room and stopping just short of begging me to mount you isn't really the best way to do that."

"You are right." Luna groaned and sat down to put her head in her hooves. "It is not that I am unhappy for you and Tia, but it still hurts. I am sure that I will love my niece more than life itself, but I would love to give her a cousin to play with."

"Yeah, I get it. I mean I can..." I sighed and rubbed my temple. This was a can of worms that I really didn't want to open, but Luna was right: I was the only one who could get her pregnant. "I can talk to Celestia to see if she'd be okay with..."

"Sharing?"

"Oh, no, I really wouldn't put it that way." I groaned. "Just... let me talk to her."

"Very well." Luna stood up and gave me seductive smile. "I hope for your sake that she agrees with it. I think you'll find that I am far better in the realm of physical pleasure than my sister."

Luna must have noticed the look on my face from that comment, because she chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. "I am just playing with you. Go speak to my sister."

It took me a moment to snap out of the shock. "Oh... uh... yeah, right. That. I'll just go talk to Celestia, then."

"See that you do."

She's in heat, Antares. Just remember that she's in heat. She wouldn't do this normally. Just hold onto that fact for dear life.

* * * *

About half an hour later, I made my way into Celestia's room. Celestia was still on her pile of pillows, with Nymeria sleeping contentedly in her forelegs again. Celestia and I smiled at each other as I laid down in front of them.

"How did it go?"

"Oh, very well. She was quite hungry. For such a tiny pony, she has quite the appetite."

"Yeah. How much do you want to bet that she'll always have a large appetite? She's an alicorn, after all. I can see her being very active."

"It would not surprise me," Celestia admitted. "I look forward to seeing what kind of pony she will become. Will she be kind and gentle, or will she insist on joining the guard as soon as possible to go fight evil and right wrongs?"

"Hard to say. Maybe she'll be a mix of both?"

"It is possible. She could be a warrior poet."

"Yeah, that would be interesting." I leaned in closer to my daughter and gently nuzzled her. "I think she's going to change the world, whatever she does."

"Yes, I can agree with that. I will also be curious to see if any siblings she may have will take a similar path to her, or a different one."

Ah. Right. That. Celestia must have noticed that my smile instantly fell, because she frowned at me.

"Antares? Is something the matter?"

"Uh..." I uneasily rubbed the back of my neck. "I mean... I'm not sure. That's up to you, really."

"I see." Celestia curiously tilted her head. "What is the matter?"

"It's Luna. She, uh, she wants a foal now, too. Kind of cornered me in the throne room and demanded that I give her one."

"Oh." Celestia closed her eyes with a sigh. "I see. Yes, we have talked a few times about how she would go about being impregnated. Even before I became pregnant, she had expressed her desire to become a mother."

"And since I got you pregnant fairly easily, I'm her best bet at achieving that goal." I grunted and rested my head on my forelegs. "If she wants to become a mother then I am all for that. I think it could be a really cool thing. But I'm not sure how I'd feel about getting her pregnant myself, which is the only way I can see. Even if we just used artificial insemination, that just takes out the sex portion of it. I'd still be the father, and Nymeria and the new foal would be siblings and cousins. That's a nasty can of worms I don't really want to open up. I mean sure, monarchies on Earth hundreds of years ago did that kind of thing, but what kind of example would that set for our subjects?"

"It is complicated, I will admit that." Celestia rested her head on her pillow as she thought about it. "I think you give our subjects too little credit. Outside of a few small groups, none of them made a big deal out of the fact that Nymeria was conceived out of wedlock."

"I still think 'siblings and cousins' is a step farther from that," I pointed out. "Even if we hid who the donor was, I think they're smart enough to figure it out. I mean, I'm not the first stallion you've slept with." Celestia shook her head. "Right. Not even close, I'll bet. None of them were alicorn stallions, and none of them got you pregnant. I think our subjects would realize that there is only one pony that could get Luna pregnant, and that's me."

"Despite my wishes, I think you're right." Celestia nestled deeper into her pillow, and I could see her eyes starting to droop. "However, I think the fact that Luna had no other choice if she wanted to become a mother might help the public's perception, especially if you were merely a donor for artificial insemination, as opposed to engaging in actual intercourse with her." Her head snapped up and she glared at me. "Which I will not allow, no matter how much Luna wants a foal."

"Noted. It's not something that I would want either."

"Either way..." Celestia rested her head back on her pillow. "It is something that the three of us must discuss together. And even then after the war."

"You're definitely right about the 'after the war' part." I smiled fondly at Nymeria, who was shifting around in her sleep. She must have been dreaming. "It's going to be over very soon, Celestia. Very, very soon. Then I can put all of it behind me and focus on being a good father."

"I have no doubt that you'll make a wonderful father." Celestia grabbed one of my legs and nuzzled it. "Come home soon. Bring our subjects back to their families soon." Celestia's voice went darker. "And destroy Purgle. He must never be allowed to even see a picture of Nymeria."

"That I can do." I slid my foreleg out of Celestia's grasp and stood up. "I will do everything that I can to make sure my family is safe forever. I predict that the war will be over within a week. I promise you, we will be safe."

Author's Note

BTW, peanut butter and pickle sandwiches are an old family recipe for me. Peanut butter, butter and pickles on toasted bread. It's not too bad, actually. Not the healthiest of dishes, though.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

I have to say that being on the front lines again after several months was kind of weird. It all looked the same, except I could tell there were far less tents than when I'd been here last, given that our army had suffered severe losses in the last battle against Purgle. Somehow the camp seemed more sparse, despite the fact that there were still tens of thousands of ponies around.

Well, soon they could all go home. With the griffins already out of the war, defeating Purgle would completely end it. I needed to do that as soon as possible.

As I walked through camp, many ponies cheered my name and bowed to me. They knew I had come to put a stop to all of this once and for all. Nothing could stop us now except for a huge setback, which seemed unlikely. The only way for Purgle to win the war at this point was if he somehow managed to get Mesud and Mando on his side, which wasn't going to happen.

I spotted a new set of tents, and walked over to it. They were all flying a miniature Zebrican flag, so it didn't take a genius to figure out who had shown up. Seems President Mando wasted no time in sending his troops over. A few zebras were talking outside of their tents and, if their bandoleers full of potions were any indication, Mesud had kept his promise about sending over the rest of the berserkers. One of the berserkers noticed me, and he excused himself from his conversation and walked up.

"Prince Antares, it is a pleasure," he began. "My name is Gryt. I am the leader of the rest of the berserker forces President Mando has sent over."

"I am honored that you are here," I replied. "We are glad that we have the support of such fearsome warriors."

"Oh, you flatter me," Gryt said, waving his hoof and smiling. "We figured that it was about time to avenge our fallen comrades. We can't let the minotaurs think that killing berserkers is okay. At least tell me that they went down fighting."

"Of course they did," I said with a nod. "When we came to collect our dead, we found hundreds of dead minotaurs around the fallen berserkers. I think the only reason that they didn't survive was because the minotaurs used ranged weapons to take them down."

"Yes, that does make sense," Gryt said, his eyes narrowing. "Dishonorable is what it is. Not that they could bring down a feral berserker any other way."

"We'll make sure you get the chance to avenge them. It's our goal to wipe out as many minotaurs as we can with our new weapons."

"Ah, yes, those." Gryt tilted his head at me. "I admit that I'm curious to see them and how they do on the battlefield. If they're as good as you say, I'm not sure we'll have much to do other than cleanup, which is rather disappointing. I'd much rather charge straight into the minotaur front lines, if you don't mind my saying so."

"I don't mind, but I would run the risk of friendly fire, and that I do not want to do. I think you'll still kill plenty of minotaurs, though. Our new weapons will kill a lot of them, but not all of them. We'll need you for the rest."

"If you say so," Gryt said with a shrug. "When would we be moving out?"

I grinned at him. "No time like the present, right? I don't see any reason to waste the day. I hope to have my troops moving out in a few hours."

Gryt nodded approvingly. "Well, then I'll be sure to let my forces know. Just don't leave without us."

"I would never. We both have a score to settle with the minotaurs."

With that settled, I turned to one of the officers flanking me. "Captain, let Commander Blaze know that it's time to move out. I want the army ready to march in two hours."

"Yes, Prince Antares," the captain said, bowing to me. "I will begin preparations at once."

"Excellent."

The next two hours were spent rounding up all of our troops. If we could strike fast enough, the minotaurs wouldn't even know what hit them. I wanted to cause as much damage to their army as possible. The more of them we wiped out, the harder it would be for them to raise an army again. I sure as heck didn't want to be doing this all over again in twenty years after the minotaurs grew more soldiers. I mean, we wouldn't kill women and children, if we could help it. Unfortunately, innocents sometimes die in war. It happens.

The army mustered as quickly as I had hoped it would. We were all raring to get this war over with, and I think it did them a lot of good to see me back on the field, on top of all of the reinforcements we had gotten. I think it made the troops feel like we could win this conflict quickly.

However, I hadn't even shown my best weapons yet.

As we gathered to move out, a slight tremor went through the ground. All of the ponies around me stopped and looked around, curious as to the source of the tremors. I grinned and walked over to where I knew they were coming from. After a few moments, it all became apparent. Giant wooden and metal tanks moved into the camp. At least a dozen of them. Behind them, three dozen gatling guns were rolled over to all of us. My soldiers gasped and began muttering among themselves. A few even backed away, as though the contraptions would come to life and destroy all of us. I chuckled and walked up to the foremost tank. It had the word "Harbinger" etched onto the side. Nice.

I knocked on the wood and a hatch opened up on top. A green unicorn mare with messy blonde hair poked her head out of the hatch. She grinned confidently at me and pushed the goggles she was wearing up above her horn.

"Well hello there, Prince Antares. Fine day we're having."

"It certainly did just get better," I agreed. "No problems on the way over, I assume?"

The mare shook her head. "Nope. The cooling spells are doing fine, and nothing broke down, so that's good." Her nose wrinkled. "Though putting four ponies inside a wood and metal box with wheels for a few days isn't really the most comfortable thing you could have done. I don't even want to mention the smell we have in here."

I shrugged. "Well, we'll see about fixing that in future updates. For now, though, we have a war to win."

"Roger that." The mare's grin returned, and she snapped her goggles back over her eyes. She slapped the top of the tank and looked down into the tank itself. "Alrighty ladies, let's get to it! Those minotaur cities aren't going to burn themselves!"

I grinned and turned back to the gathered troops, all of whom were looking on in awe at the new weapons we had. The Saddle Arabian and zebra troops were staring at them with major interest. Let them stare. They wouldn't figure out how these things worked. We had put a lot of little details in their creation that I was pretty sure the other countries couldn't emulate. Same with the gatling guns. Maybe they could get the basic concepts down, but I highly doubted that they'd actually be able to create a working tank.

Within another hour, the army was in formation, ready to move out. I smiled with pride and began moving up and down our line. I cast a speech spell on myself.

"Mares and gentlecolts. Friends from other lands. Today is the day we march out to end the war. The minotaur army has been severely weakened! They are scattered. They are divided. A force as splintered as theirs cannot possibly hope to defeat an army so mighty as ours! We will have victory! We will show them what the Equestrian nation is capable of! Never again shall they march upon our lands, threatening our families! Never again will they even think about trying to destroy us! We are ponies, and we shall not rest until every single one of them is destroyed!"

"Ooh rah!" my troops responded, each raising a hoof high.

"Forward ponies of Equestria!" I cried.

* * * *

I paced around my tent, wondering how it had all gone so wrong. Even with the alicorns on the throne, we were supposed to win this war quickly and easily! My Nightmare Weapons should have made short work of the alicorns! Now I only had a few left, a much smaller army that was getting smaller by the day, and an Equestrian army that had replenished a large portion of its casualties. Not only that, but whispers had begun going through the camp that the Equestrians were bringing new weapons to the table for the next battle. I didn't put any stake in those rumors. They might have a little of their napalm, but I had to imagine they were running out of that quickly.

My tent flap opened up, and my replacement squire entered, bowing low.

"My king, the scouts have returned."

"And? What are they saying?"

"They are saying... they are saying that the Equestrian army is on the offensive! They are bringing their full might down upon us! They will be here in a matter of days, if that!"

I groaned and began pacing again. "I see. And what might do the Equestrians present to us? What can they truly do to us if they are in our lands?"

"My king, they are speaking of great wheeled machines made of metal and wood that are leading the charge. Easily four or five times the size of any minotaur. Behind those, they have some strange weapon that I cannot even begin to describe," the squire said. "I don't know what they do, but it can't be good."

"If Marller's intelligence is correct, then those 'great machines' are called tanks." I grimaced and sat down on my throne. "That could prove problematic for us." I tapped my jaw thoughtfully. "Are the catapults ready?"

The squire nodded. "The catapults themselves are, but we are still trying to scrounge up enough material for ammunition. I'm not sure we have the time necessary for all of that."

I cursed. "That doesn't matter. Even with their new weapons and army, we still hold the terrain advantage. If they will truly not be here for a few more days, that will give us the time to formulate our defenses."

"Y-yes, King Purgle." The squire bowed low, and I could sense that he had more to say. I sighed.

"What? What else is there?"

"The fact that the Equestrians are coming has spread like wildfire throughout the camp. Three more clans have already left, including Clan Rakput."

I growled and slammed my fist on the armrest of my throne. Clan Rakput was the largest remaining clan, other than my own. With their loss, our army was depleted by a good third.

"And did Grorim leave with his clan?" I grumbled.

"Yes, King Purgle, he did."

"Just wonderful." I stood up and stared at the repaired maps on my table.

I needed to think of something to do, and fast.

* * * *

Two days later, the Equestrian army arrived. I have to admit, even hearing consistent reports of what the tanks were, from the few scouts that were not killed trying to gather intel, I was unprepared for how impressive they looked. Giant metal and wooden machines that crawled forward on a dozen wheels, with some long tube coming from the front, whose purpose I could only guess at. I could tell right off that no amount of hacking with swords or axes would so much as dent them. We had to get close enough to them that whatever weapons they possessed were ineffective. Either that or hope that our few catapults could damage them. I rued the fact that the terrain of our country was largely plains. It left little good ammunition for catapults.

The tanks, with Antares at their head, stopped a thousand paces outside of our camp. The remnants of our once invincible army lined up on the outskirts, ready to fight to the death. We still had a good ninety thousand troops. That would be enough to at least do a lot of damage to Antares's forces.

Before I could issue any commands, Antares ignited his horn. I flinched back, but he didn't seem to be attacking.

"Minotaurs of Minotauria!" he shouted, his voice magically amplified. "I have no quarrel with any of you! Most of your surviving army has returned to their homes and families! I urge you all to do the same thing. Every single minotaur who does not will be destroyed by my new weapons! Do not die for one madman's pride! Turn your king over to me for judgement, and this war can end today! Heck, if you do it in the next five minutes, the war can be over in five minutes. Don't throw your lives away. There is nothing you can do to stop the weapons I have brought upon you. Go home, and I swear on my child that you will not be harmed."

"Don't... don't listen to him!" I roared, even as a few minotaurs dropped their weapons and ran away like cowards! "United we can destroy their army, no matter how large or advanced it is!" I unsheathed my sword and pointed it at the Equestrians. "Charge!

No one in my army moved an inch. Cowards. The lot of them. I growled and stomped my hoof. "I said charge!"

A few minotaurs began running forward, which was what the rest seemed to need to actually follow my orders. I noticed a grim look flash on Antares's face as my army ran toward him to slaughter everyone it could.

"So be it." He raised a hoof, and several strange contraptions wheeled themselves between the tanks. I narrowed my eyes and frowned. This wouldn't be good. Antares brought his hoof down. "Fire!

Bright flashes erupted from the muzzles of these new contraptions, and my army began falling dead in droves. Whatever they were firing at us seemed to ignore even the best armor, as I saw a few officers be cut down as quickly as the rest of them. Before I could do anything else, several loud explosions fired from the tanks. I heard a whistling sound for a few moments, then an entire row of tents behind me exploded. I ducked and covered my head as shrapnel whizzed over me.

This was getting out of hand. Even from my prone position I could see hundreds, if not thousands, of minotaurs throw down their weapons and run as fast as they could. Antares's weapons ignored them, but every charging minotaur was quickly cut down by the destruction these new weapons had brought.

Perhaps it was time for a strategic withdrawal. Yes, the battle here was lost. Schunie would need its king to coordinate its defenses for when the Equestrians inevitably arrived on our doorstep. I shot to my hooves and, well, I wouldn't say I ran, but I got out of there as quickly as I could.

* * * *

"Prince Antares, the minotaur army is in full retreat," Commander Blaze said with a grin. "Should we pursue?"

"Not the ones that are running, no, but move the army into their camp. If Purgle is hiding anywhere, I want him found. Take everything that looks important, and burn the rest."

Blaze enthusiastically saluted me before turning back to the army and issuing my commands. The entire force let out a loud cheer and charged at the camp, weapons ready to destroy any minotaur foolish enough to fight us. I'm certain that each wanted to be the one who captured Purgle and brought him before me, ready to face my justice. For someone as proud as him, I'm certain that a public trial in Canterlot itself would be the height of shame.

I looked forward to it.

The sea of tents that stood before me began burning as I walked into the camp. A few segments remained whole, and my army was using them to pile up the loot we had taken from each tent. Nothing looked to be of true value, save for a few pieces of armor and a few good weapons, but we'd take anything from them. It would be a waste to just burn it all.

I was glad that I didn't see very many minotaur corpses around the camp. Despite our rage, we did want to do all of this with the minimum amount of casualties. The minotaur nation needed to be rebuilt once all of this was said and done, and slaughtering every male wouldn't achieve that goal.

As I walked through the burning camp, I glanced inside a tent and saw a minotaur calf inside, shivering from fear with a long cut down his right arm. I trotted over to him and entered the tent, trying my best comforting smile. As much as I wanted this army destroyed, nothing good would come of killing children. It went against my very being.

"Hello," I said gently. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."

The young minotaur's eyes widened, and he let out a piercing scream. He tried to back away, but there was really nowhere to go with me blocking the entrance. He began sobbing, and grabbed a small knife from the table next to his cot. He brandished it at me as though it was a Nightmare Weapon that could slay me in one swipe. In truth, the wound it would cause even a normal pony wouldn't amount to the need for anything beyond a few stitches, unless he stabbed perfectly.

"Hey, it's okay," I soothed, lighting my horn to take the knife from his grasp. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax." I motioned to his wounded arm. "Would you like me to take care of that? I can fix it up so it'll be as good as new."

"Get away from me!" the young minotaur moaned. "Don't eat me!"

I snorted at the very idea. "I'm not going to eat you. I'm a pony, remember? We tend to be herbivores. Even if I wasn't, I still wouldn't eat you. I don't eat the young." I chanced a step toward him and laid down in front of him when he didn't back away. "My name is Antares. What's your name?"

"Daret," the minotaur whispered.

"Good. Daret. If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But before you do, can I please fix your arm? That looks like a pretty nasty cut you have there."

Daret sniffled and on reflex raised his hand to grab his wounded arm. He stopped just before he touched it, then nodded. "If you promise not to do anything bad to me."

I raised a hoof. "I promise. I don't hurt children. Just hold on. This won't hurt a bit." I lit my horn and engulfed his arm in my magic. He flinched back when he felt the magic wrap around his arm, but he didn't scream or try to run. I pumped magic through my horn, and within a few seconds, the wound changed from a fresh cut to one that looked a few weeks old. "There now, isn't that better?"

"I guess," Daret whispered.

"Good. Now, you can just run away, or you can stay and some of my soldiers will take care of you. I promise that nopony is going to hurt you while you are under my personal protection." I stood up and smiled at him. "You look hungry. Can I get you something to eat?"

"I just want my dad," Daret muttered.

My smile slowly faded. "I hope you can reunite with him. It hurts me to see the families that this war has torn apart. I think we can both agree that this was a senseless war."

"King Purgle said that it was because you were gonna take over our lands!" Daret growled. "You were gonna kill all of the clan leaders and take Schunie for yourself!"

I stared at him for a few seconds. I had heard that Purgle had spread some bald faced lies about us to justify his war, but to see a child state them plainly before me as though they were the honest truth... I slowly shook my head.

"If that is what he told you, he is a liar. I have no interest in Schunie. I only care about taking care of my own subjects."

"B-but King Purgle said that your first species really liked war, and you were bringing that to us!"

I shook my head again. "It's true that humans are well-versed in the art of war, but that doesn't mean all of us are. Before I became a prince, I was going to teach children at school. I wanted a peaceful life. Even once I ascended, I wanted a peaceful life for me and my subjects. For my daughter. She's why I'm fighting so hard to end this war. I want my daughter to grow up in a time of peace, not in the uncertainty of war. Tell me: what would your father do to make sure that you were safe?" Daret didn't answer, which was as good as an answer to me. "You have nothing to fear from me. Once this war is over, none of your people do. And this war will be over very shortly, I promise you that. I will try to end it with the least amount of death and destruction that I can manage. All of you were fooled by Purgle's lies. I don't want to punish you for that."

The tent flap behind me opened up, and one of my officers, Sergeant Firebrand, came in, grinning from ear to ear. "Prince Antares, you have to see this. I think you'll find it quite interesting."

"I'll be there in a moment." I motioned back to Daret. “Have him fed and taken care of. If I find out that he even gets a scratch under our care, I will severely punish the one who did it."

"Yes, Prince Antares," Sergeant Firebrand said, bowing low. He poked his head out of the tent and summoned a few ponies, who came in and took Daret away. Hopefully out of the camp. He didn't need to be in this much danger. I wished a peaceful and happy life for him after all that he had endured.

"Okay, what is this thing you have to show me?"

"Follow me," Sergeant Firebrand said. "I think you're going to like this."

I followed him to a tent nearby, which looked a little more ornate than the rest of them. I raised an eyebrow and a smile tugged at my lips. I could guess whose tent this was.

"Interesting." I pulled open the tent flap and walked inside. The throne at the far end of the tent left no doubt in my mind as to the former occupant. "Seems we've found the Royal Tent."

"It does indeed, Prince Antares," Sergeant Firebrand said with a grin.

I held back a giggle. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I walked over to a table and spotted several maps that looked like they had been torn apart and repaired several times. They had battle formations and various other plans on them. They were useless now, but it was still nice to see what he thought he could do to us.

"A throne. He brought a throne all the way out here. My, my. He really wanted to drive that whole 'king' thing home, didn't he?"

"It looks like it, Prince Antares," Sergeant Firebrand said.

I chuckled and sat down on the throne. It was a little small for me, but not so much that I couldn't fit at all. To make matters better, a discarded crown lay beside the throne. I picked it up in my magic and placed it down on my head. "Eh, I like my own one better. Sergeant, what do you think?"

"I dunno, Prince Antares, I think it suits you. A good crown for a conqueror. I think you should keep it."

"I might just do that. Put it in some memento room, or a museum to the war, if one pops up. Either way, I don't think Purgle will have any more use for it." I hopped off of the throne and slid the crown into one of my side bags. "Well, come on, Sergeant Firebrand. We have a war to win."

* * * *

Over the next few days, we took over every single town and village we came across. We did our best to spare any women and children, but any male that raised a weapon against us was destroyed. The second they threw those weapons down, we showed them the mercy that they would not have shown us if the roles were reversed. Thanks to our new weapons, we suffered minimal casualties. Some villages didn't even try to fight us, which was good. We didn't burn any of the towns we came across. We were just focused on Schunie. That was the end goal.

After a few more days, my army stood in front of a little town just like the past dozen little towns that we'd run into during our march to Schunie. However, unlike the rest of those, a group of about five minotaurs stood outside of the town limits with a green flag of truce. I guess they'd heard about us coming. I took Commander Blaze and a few other trusted soldiers and went down to meet them.

"Good evening, good sirs," I said with a smile, nodding to each of them. "I trust you see the futility in fighting us?"

The one holding the flag nodded. "Yes, we have no interest in leading our people into a slaughter. We've just come to ask two things of you."

"I'm listening."

The minotaur nodded. "Good. One, we ask that you not destroy us. We have no weapons here. We barely having anyone here who could fight. You have no reason to wipe out our simple farming town."

"I agree." I tilted my head to him. "We have no interest in fighting civilians. We will leave you alone."

A look of relief spread across the faces of the gathered minotaurs. They needn't have worried. I was never going to stoop to Purgle's level and kill innocents who wanted nothing to do with this war either.

"What's the second thing?" I asked.

"Ah, yes," the minotaur said, turning back to me. "The second thing is that one of the minotaurs here has requested a meeting with you. He'd rather keep his identity a secret until you actually meet him."

"I see." I shrugged. "Yeah, I'll meet with him. A word of warning, though: if this is a trap, if I am attacked in any way, I will rescind my promise to not wipe you out."

The minotaur gulped. "Understood."

"We're in agreement, then." I motioned over to the town. "Lead the way."

"Prince Antares, are you sure this is a good idea?" Commander Blaze muttered. "I mean, what if it's a trap? What if they have a Nightmare Weapon?"

"I doubt it," I replied. "There aren't that many left, and Purgle would keep the ones he has with him. Besides, if this is a trap, we burn this place to the ground. We'll be alright."

"If you say so."

"I do."

I followed the group of minotaurs into the town, my own soldiers close behind me. The streets were completely empty, which wasn't a huge surprise. None of the townspeople would dare go outside to watch the conquering army enter their town. They felt safer hiding in their homes. Eh, let them. I wasn't going to hurt them no matter where they were, unless that was outside with weapons. I really doubted that I needed to worry about all that.

"He's in the town hall building over there," the minotaur said, motioning to the tallest building in the town.

"Excellent. I look forward to speaking with him."

The minotaur grunted and led me into the building. A blast of cool air washed over me, which I appreciated. Alicorn or not, marching all day in heavy armor wasn't all that comfortable. I began to hope that whomever wanted to talk to me needed to do so for more than a few minutes, just so I could hang out in an air conditioned building for an hour or so.

"He's in here," the minotaur said, pointing to one of the rooms. "Just... hear him out before you do anything rash."

"I will." My curiosity heightened as I lit my horn and turned the door handle. I'd pretty much destroyed Purgle's army by this point, so who was left to want to talk to me? That other main minotaur general, what was his name, Grorim? As I pushed the door open, I discovered someone far more interesting than Grorim on the other side.

"Ah. Good afternoon, Marller. Such a delight to see you again."

"Antares," Marller said weakly, inclining his head. "It is nice to see you as well."

"I admit that I'm surprised to see you. I heard that my nail bomb had taken you out."

"Almost," Marller admitted. "You have no idea how much three nails sticking out of you hurts."

"No, but I've been shot by a black magic weapon before, and I know how much that hurts."

"Touche," Marller wheezed. " But I didn't call you here to compare war wounds. I called you here to offer you a deal."

"I'm listening."

"We've lost the war. That much is certain. I know you won't rest until you either have Purgle in chains or in the ground. Do what you must to that madman, but leave the average minotaur out of it." Marller took a deep breath. "If you do, I'll give you the identity of every single spy and traitor in your country that I know of."

Okay, now he had my attention.

"I see. And you'll provide proof that the ponies you're accusing are actually spies?"

Marller gave me a weak smile and nodded. "You insult me by even asking. Of course I can."

"Good." I nodded at him. "Very well, then. I will have some of my medics bring you back to Equestria. We will do our best to heal you of your injuries, and after that, you will tell us everything you know. And prove it, of course."

"Of course."

I turned and began walking out of the room, but Marller's voice stopped me. "By the way, I must applaud you for the weapon you used against me. It almost worked."

"If you can provide the information you say, then I'll be glad it didn't."

* * * *

And so it went. My army marching upon the capital city of Schunie. Given that we didn't run into Purgle the entire time we were taking over his country, I had to assume that he was already there, hiding like the coward we all knew him to be. It was the only place in the entire world that would take him anymore. And I would hunt him down to the ends of the planet to bring him to justice.

It was a full week before we made it to the walls of the greatest minotaur city on the planet. It had upped its defenses since my last visit. The walls were higher, and on every inch of the top of the walls, spikes protruded forth. The front gate to the city had been fortified with metal beams across it. It would be a great defense, if I didn't have tanks and pegasi. Speaking of, a gigantic blanket of cloud rolled over the city, covering the sun and making it seem like dusk had fallen over the land. My army stopped a few hundred feet outside of the city, just beyond the range of any arrows they wanted to shoot at us.

"Mares and gentlecolts, I think it's time we ended this war, don't you?" A deafening cheer went through my army, triggering a grin from me. "Let's see if we can do it without bloodshed, shall we?"

I trotted forward toward the gates. I didn't make it more than a few feet before arrows began raining down upon me. I brushed them aside with my magic, something I didn't even need to do at all. My armor was way too good for that.

"If you'll just listen to me, I think we can come to an agreement that leads to the least amount of bloodshed possible," I said, magically amplifying my voice.

"Begone from here!" One of the minotaurs manning the wall shouted back. "No foreign army has ever stepped hoof inside of our city, and you shall not be the first! Don't waste your precious ponies trying to lay siege to this city!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "If it comes to combat, I will be inside the walls of your city in mere minutes, but I don't want it to come to combat." I took wing and flew up to the top of the wall, balancing myself on one of the spikes that protruded from it. The gathered minotaur archers stared at me, fear in their eyes. I smirked at them. "I just want Purgle. Nothing more, nothing less. I know he's here. Just give him to me and go home to your families. We leave and never have to bother fighting each other again."

"Y-you lie!" one of the archers whispered. "Taking over Schunie has been your goal since you took the throne!"

"Oh for..." I groaned and rubbed one of my temples. "Just... when are you going to stop believing that lie? I've never wanted Schunie. I have enough on my plate taking care of my own subjects without adding you guys to the mix. I never wanted this war." I raised a hoof in a 'I promise' motion. "Pinkie Promise."

"We have ten thousand fighting minotaurs who will die before they see you in this city!" one of the archers growled.

"And I have almost two hundred thousand ponies and buffalo and Saddle Arabians and zebras who will do whatever they can to make sure that Purgle doesn't take power in this world again. Come on, now. Enough blood has been spilled. Just give us Purgle, and we all get to go home."

"Liar!" another archer growled, raising his crossbow. "I'll die before I bow to the likes of you!"

A single arrow shot from the blanket of cloud overhead, embedding itself in the minotaur's neck. He fell backwards without a sound, falling off of the ramparts onto the streets below. I narrowed my eyes at the rest of them. "On your head be it."

Arrows began raining from the sky, striking down every single minotaur manning the wall. Some tried to run for cover, but there was nowhere to hide. I nodded in grim satisfaction and flew back down to my army, activating my com gem as I landed.

"It's time, mares and gentlecolts." I began pacing back and forth in front of my army. "Tank units, focus your efforts on the gates and wall."

"You got it, Prince Antares," the commander of the tank forces said.

"Cloud snipers, focus on anything that looks like it could try to get a higher vantage point. Catapults, fire into the city itself. I want their will broken. Any troops that move into the city: kill only those holding weapons if you can help it. But leave Purgle to me! That is a direct order for all of you!" I picked up my pace and began running back and forth before the front line. Time for the big speech.

"Arise! Arise ponies of Equestria! Your homes shall be defended! Your families will be safe! No minotaur king will ever threaten them again! Today safety will be won! Today all shall know the might of a unified Equestria! This will be a day remembered from now until the end of all things! The greatest city of the minotaurs will fall, and its tyrant king will be sent straight to Tartarus for his lies, for his brainwashing, for his murderous ways! None shall ever fear him again! If he is spoken of, it will be with mockery for daring to try to bring down our mighty nation!"

I turned and faced the walls of Schunie and raised my hoof high. "Charge now! Charge now! Charge! Charge for freedom, and the end of tyranny! Victory!"

"Victory!" my army shouted back.

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

I brought my hoof down. "Bring down the walls!"

My tanks fired a round, each slamming into the walls and gate of Schunie. The three rounds that hit the gate blew it back, shattering it to nothing more than splinters.

"Charge!" I cried, running toward the hole where the gate used to be. My army quickly followed, shouting battle cries that would cow any army into submission. They were the cries of an army tired of war, who were on the cusp of ending it and going back to see their families. Through the destroyed gate I saw a row of minotaurs with long spears pointed at us, hoping to stop the tide of the advancing army. I raised Reginald high in preparation of the fight to come.

"Cloud snipers! They're at the gates!"

Instantly arrows began falling from the sky, striking down dozens of minotaurs and collapsing their spear wall. It gave me all the time I needed to charge into the fray, swinging my war hammer at every minotaur I could reach. Slain minotaurs flew back from the force of my hammer, while more still were cut down by the consistent rain of arrows from the sky. Buildings all around us were struck by flaming boulders. Many of them collapsed from one blow.

"Catapults, cease fire. We're in the city."

"Roger, Prince Antares."

Content that we wouldn't be fired upon by flaming boulders, I turned my attention back to killing as many armed minotaurs as I could. Each swipe from my mighty war hammer felled more and more of them, leaving their army in total disarray. Many dropped their weapons and ran, though some did it too late to protect themselves from the arrows coming from above.

The whole battle spoke of chaos, but a kind of chaos that I had total control over. We were wiping out the remains of their once grand army, leaving little more than a few scattered pockets of resistance. We'd win the day very quickly, of that I was sure.

That's when I saw him.

Standing just outside of the town hall I had no doubt he'd been hiding in, Purgle wildly swung his sword at every pony who even looked at him. None dared approach him, though. My orders had made it clear that I would be the one who dealt with him once and for all.

"Purgle!" I roared, charging straight at him. He wheeled around and brandished his sword at me. A Nightmare Weapon. It wouldn't do anything to save him now.

I threw my war hammer at him, which he ducked just in time to avoid an instant decapitation. It hit the wall behind him, completely obliterating it. Purgle tried to recover, but I grabbed him in my magic, completely overloading any magical protection he had in his armor, and flew into the air. A quick burst of magic snapped the hand he carried his sword in, and he dropped it with a scream.

And still I carried him higher.

I flew closer to him and slammed my hooves into any part of him I could reach. He tried to struggle out of my grasp, but I held him too tight. As I hit him, I used my magic to tear off his armor so I could attack his chest. I felt his ribs cave in from one powerful blow as I carried him above the clouds. I uppercutted him, shattering a few of his teeth and cracking his jawbone. I used my magic to break his legs as I continued pounding on him with my hooves.

Then I stopped.

I stopped and I stared at the pathetic slab of meat in my magical aura. He had difficulty breathing, though I couldn't tell if that was because I had collapsed a lung or if the air up this high was so thin. One of his eyes had swollen shut, and several of his teeth were missing. Only his left arm remained unbroken.

And I stared. I stared at the evil being who had brought so much death and destruction to the world because of his lies and hate. His fearmongering had led to the death of tens, if not hundreds of thousands. This one minotaur and his lies had plunged the entire world into war. And here he was in my grasp, battered and broken.

Purgle spat out some blood and another tooth before slowly raising his head to look me in the eye. And so we stared at each other for a few moments. I wasn't really sure what to do right then. Purgle took a deep breath, and did his best to straighten up as one last act of defiance to me. He wanted to die with his head held high.

Then I let go.

Purgle let out an Earth-shattering scream as he plummeted to his death, his arms flailing about, hoping to find any purchase that could break his fall. None appeared. Not that it would have change anything if any did.

With one final scream, Purgle landed on the very top of the roof of Town Hall, impaling himself on the decorative spire. I angled my body and flew down as quickly as I could, slamming my hooves on the rooftop next to him. With one mighty blow from my wing blade, I neatly sliced off his head, catching it in my magic before it could fall to the ground. I wheeled around and spread my wings to their fullest extent. I let out an unearthly screech while shooting a giant pillar of fire into a clear patch of sky. All the while holding Purgle's battered head high.

Both armies stopped fighting and stared at me. No one said anything as they took in the sight before them. Finally, after a few seconds, the minotaurs all around the city began dropping their weapons. Ponies began cheering my name as we all came to the same realization.

It was over. The war was over.

We had won.

The Joy of Victory

After the death of their king, the remaining minotaurs lost all will to continue the fight.

Maybe my giant pillar of fire I shot into the air while holding Purgle's head had something to do with that. I don't know.

Once we sent word of our victory back to Canterlot, I stood on the roof of Schunie's town hall, still holding Purgle's head. I magically amplified my voice to address the minotaurs in the city.

"Minotaurs of Schunie. Minotaurs of Minotauria. We have no desire to continue the conflict any further. We will not burn your city. We will not destroy your homes. We will not keep fighting if you will not. If you do not live in the city, just go home. Go home to be with your families. You have survived the most destructive war in the history of the planet. Many other minotaurs have gone home, and we will not fight them. We will leave them in peace, just as we will leave all of the rest of you in peace. We will not subjugate you. We will not hold any presence in your country. The only thing we desire to do is rebuild whatever we can. Many towns and villages have suffered destruction, including Schunie. I swear on my newborn daughter that we will rebuild what we have destroyed down to the last brick."

I took a deep breath and scanned the crowd that had gathered beneath me. None of the minotaurs seemed to be armed, which I preferred. My gut said that there'd be a few holdouts here and there. Minotaurs that would rather die than surrender to any pony army. If that was their choice, I'd honor it. Otherwise, we'd had enough death and destruction during this war to last an eternity. I didn't want to be at the head of any more.

But hey, immortal. I'll probably be in another one at some point. One that's way worse than this one because I brought about the next level of warfare trying to end this war quickly. Of course, next time there's a war I won't have introduced chemical weapons to the world yet. So there's one more card to play. And then the rest of the world figures out chemical weapons and I've just done the wrong thing trying to do the right thing again.

I flew down to the ground and began walking out of the city. All around me, minotaurs dropped their weapons and backed away as though I'd obliterate them if they looked at me funny. I didn't acknowledge a single one of them. They'd put down their weapons. They could go home.

Before I made it to the city walls, Commander Blaze ran up to me. He had a long cut running from his cheek down to his jawline on the right side. Didn't look too deep. I lit my horn and hit it with a simple healing spell. Blaze blinked in surprise as he put his hoof up to his cheek. Guess he didn't expect me to do that. It'd still leave a rather nasty scar.

"Uh... thank you, Prince Antares." I nodded to him, then walked away. He ran to catch up to me. "Prince Antares, what should we do now?"

I stopped in my tracks and stared at the wooden wall in front of me. Walls that had kept invaders out of Schunie for over a thousand years. Now there I was, standing on the other side of them. The first conqueror of Schunie.

Ugh. I already had enough titles. I didn't freaking want that one, too.

Right. Blaze asked me a question.

"Move most of the army out of the city. Keep a security force in here to keep control of everyone. I still need to talk to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about our next big steps, but I'll let you know. Take the Gatling Guns and tanks back to Equestria at once. I don't want to risk us losing some, or one 'accidentally' being taken back to Zebrica. Pick what soldiers you think would be useful here, then send the rest home as soon as you can."

"Of course, Prince Antares. And, uh..." Blaze looked up at Purgle's headless body. "What do you want us to do about that?"

I looked back to Purgle, staring at the empty shell that was the body of the madman who had caused so much death and destruction. Odd, really. He didn't look all that threatening now. It didn't feel real. His body looked like some sort of worn-out doll that somepony had discarded and abandoned.

"Take his body, all of it, and burn it. I don't even want there to be ash left once it's over. I will not have the spot of his grave becoming a monument of any kind to his actions during the war."

"Yes, Prince Antares."

Blaze bowed to me and went off to gather some pegasi to get Purgle's body off of the roof. He picked up Purgle's head where I'd dropped it and moved deeper into the city.

We'd won. We'd stopped a madman who would become one of history's most evil villains. Hated for all of the destruction he brought down upon millions who wanted nothing to do with his mad schemes. Hundreds of thousands of beings dead from this war. Tens of thousands of ponies whom I loved like my children.

We'd won. It was over.

I wanted to go home.

* * * *

With our permission, the minotaurs managed to scrounge up a small council to watch over Schunie now that their king was dead. We alicorns had already agreed that we wanted to keep the newly formed nation as intact as we possibly could. Was that foolish? Maybe. It allowed them to get together faster if they wanted to retaliate some years down the line. We'd give them that chance, though.

It took a week, but they assembled a council, with their most popular general, Grorim, at the head. I met with them as quickly as I could. We had a lot to talk about.

A few days after their assembly, I walked into Town Hall to meet with the council. Some soldiers did still flank the doorway of the throne room, just as they had when I arrived the first time before the war, but none of them were armed. In fact, all of the pride they had before seemed to be gone. They didn't stand up tall with stoic, yet proud expressions. Instead they just leaned against the wall and talked quietly among themselves. I wouldn't even know they were security, except I couldn't figure out a good reason for them to be there otherwise.

I lit my horn and opened up the door behind them before they could react. One of them flinched up as though he still had a little pride and decorum, but the rest gave me blank looks before continuing their conversation like I wasn't there at all.

I entered the throne room and saw a group of about a half-dozen minotaurs all sitting at a large wooden table. Grorim sat at the head. None of them wore armor or carried weapons, as per the regulations we had put upon anyone in Schunie. It felt weird, seeing a group of minotaurs and none of them were armed in any way. I mean, I'm sure they could still kill with their bare hands and all, but they seemed oddly naked without any armor on.

"Ah, Antares, you're here. Good," Grorim said, nodding at me. "We'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."

"As would I," I replied, taking a seat on the opposite side. "I'm sure by now you realized that I have no intention of taking revenge against your people for the losses my country suffered during this war. We've seen too much bloodshed, and nothing would come of it. Razing Schunie would not bring my lost subjects back to their families."

"We are glad to hear it. We weren't certain you would not demand some form of repayment in return for your losses."

"Let's just say I know where that road leads, and it's nowhere good." I nodded to Grorim. "You will have control of your country again. In fact, we would like to help you rebuild. Obviously your country did not suffer extreme damage like it could have, but we sacked many villages and towns on the way here, not to mention the damage to Schunie itself. We can't bring back the people we killed, but we can make sure the survivors still have their homes."

"That is very generous of you, Prince Antares," Grorim said. "Generous to the point where I'm not sure there isn't a catch."

"I wouldn't call it a 'catch' so much as a reasonable demand." I looked Grorim in the eye and stared at him, unblinking. "All Nightmare Weapons your people possess are to be turned over to us. We're not asking."

"Ah. yes. Of course." Grorim sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'd love to give you a whole stack of them; every Nightmare Weapon in the whole world. Unfortunately, you took our last one from Purgle. We don't have any more."

My eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't lie to me, right? If I leave this city and find out that you still have a Nightmare Weapon in your control, I will be most upset. Upset to the point where I come back and kill everyone in this room."

A few of the other minotaurs shifted uncomfortably at my threat, but Grorim remained perfectly calm. "I promise on the lives of my children that I know of no Nightmare Weapons still in our control. If I find one, I will turn it over to you immediately."

"That's good to hear. You strike me as a minotaur of your word."

"I'd rather die than break my promises."

"Excellent. My second demand is this: you will turn over the names of all of the spies you have placed in my country. All of them."

"Ah." Grorim rubbed the back of his neck. "You see... we weren't exactly made privy to that information. The only one who knew the identity of the spies was Marller, and he seems to be dead."

I shook my head. "No, actually. We have Marller. Found him in one of the villages we took over. You're certain he knows the identity of all of them?"

Grorim nodded. "Completely. You have my word."

"Excellent. I will talk to him about that." I tilted my head at Grorim. "So what will you do now? I promise that my nation will do all it can to keep the newly formed Minotauria as intact as possible. Neither of us want it to go back to nothing more than just largely nomadic bands of minotaur clans."

"We've elected Grorim as our second High King," one of the other clan leaders responded. "We're going to take steps to ensure that Purgle is remembered in history as nothing more than a mad tyrant. The remnants of his clan have been folded into ours. Clan Banag will never form again."

"Good. If there's nothing else..." I stood up and was about to leave when Grorim spoke again.

"One more moment, Prince Antares. There is one last thing."

"I'm listening."

"Your country has made it clear that you will not retaliate as revenge for this senseless war. However, I am not so certain about Zebrica, Saddle Arabia, and even Griffonia. Despite the zebras and griffins suffering comparably small losses, I fear that they will retaliate once they build up their armies again. If you truly wish for our nation to remain intact, I must know that you will come to our aid if they ever invade our country. Our army is years, possibly decades, away from being an effective fighting force again."

"And if Mesud and Mando have their way, we'll never have a strong army again," another clan leader chimed in.

"Yes. That is the way of it," Grorim agreed. "So what is your answer, Antares? Will you help us if Mesud and Mando invade?"

"Well, for starters, I would think that they wouldn't. I will certainly be talking to them about why it's a bad idea for everyone if they start the war back up again for something as petty as revenge. Again: I know where that road leads, and I don't like it. Neither would any of you."

"And if they didn't listen to you and invaded anyway?"

I hesitated. There was no way my ponies were going to be okay with going to war against our former allies to protect our former enemies. I frankly didn't want to either. I never wanted to fight another war as long as I lived. Still, though, these were beings who wanted another war about as much as I did. They were in no position to put up any sort of fight if the combined might of the zebras and Saddle Arabians came down upon them.

"I'll... talk to Celestia and Luna about it."

"Very well."

The minotaurs all exchanged uncomfortable looks. I could tell it wasn't the answer they were hoping for, but it was the answer they had to get. Powerful prince that I may be, I still couldn't make that decision on my own.

"I will do everything that I can to make sure you don't get invaded by Mesud and Mando. You have my word on that, if nothing else.”

"I suppose that's all I can ask for." The minotaurs around the table all stood up and inclined their heads in small bows. "I look forward to speaking more with you, Antares."

"Indeed. I'll speak with you more later."

For now, I had some hard work to do.

* * * *

"Marller. How are you doing?"

Marller smirked at me and patted his freshly bandaged chest. "Oh, much better, Antares, thank you. I must applaud you for your nail bomb. It almost did me in."

"Well, I'm glad it didn't. We have some things to talk about."

Marller's smile faded, and he leaned his head back on his pillow. "I gathered that you didn't take me back to Canterlot and fix me up just out of the goodness of your heart. I suppose you want the identities of the spies in the network I set up in your country now?"

"I'd highly appreciate that, yes."

"And in return?"

I raised an eyebrow. "In return we send you back to your son. We send you back to your homeland in peace, so long as you promise to cease any and all intelligence activities in our nation."

"I can't say that I didn't see this coming." Marller sighed. "I must say this does hurt a little. I feel myself a poor spymaster by giving you all of the names of my contacts."

"Part of being on the losing side, I'm afraid."

Marller scoffed. "I suppose so. You know back when this started I felt like we just might be able to win this one. There are only three of you alphas, and we had a fair few Nightmare Weapons. We just needed one lucky shot."

"War always looks easier than it is before people start dying. I learned that one the hard way this time." I grimaced. "But we've talked enough of war. Let's finish this part now. I'd rather be back with my wife and daughter healing our nation."

"Of course," Marller muttered.

I took a step forward and leaned in closer to Marller. "All I need is the names of everypony you used as spies against me." I lit up my horn. "Do that and we can be done with this."

Marller stared at the parchment for a moment, then took it and began writing. He only wrote down about five names, which shouldn't have surprised me, but did. For some reason I expected him to have this vast underground network of spies, hundreds of ponies strong. Just having a few contacts made a bit more sense, though. Easier to keep track of that way. Once he finished, he shoved the paper and quill over to me before turning his back on me and pulling the blanket over him up to his neck. Eh, let him be depressed. I had what I needed.

I scanned the parchment quickly. Huh. Interesting. I should have known that a few Las Pegasopolan weapons dealers wouldn't take the execution of Soaring Skies lightly. One of my maids? But when did...?

My eyes homed in on the final name on the paper. No. That couldn't be right. I stared at the name for a few more moments before rolling up the scroll and leaving the room.

* * * *

It went down as well as it could have.

We arrested the three weapons dealers Marller accused. They completely denied everything, of course, until we hit them with a truth spell. Then it all came out. We had no right to execute Soaring Skies. We had no right to demand intel from them. The minotaurs would have paid very well for their weapons.

Pride and profit. Disgusting.

My maid didn't even bother trying to lie. She said something about how she had been threatened. They'd kill her whole family with changeling assassins if she didn't give them what they wanted. Nothing big, of course. Just let us know when Prince Antares is leaving Baltimare. Let us know his schedule. That's all. We'd give her a fair trial based on possible extenuating circumstances, but she certainly wouldn't be seeing the outside of a prison cell for a while, regardless of what happened.

Then came time to arrest the fifth pony on the list. Neither Celestia nor I could completely believe it, but we'd get the truth of the matter soon. As we made our way to door to her quarters, we had to mentally prepare ourselves.

"Are you ready for this, Celestia?" I asked, putting a wing on my wife's back. "You can opt out if you want. Go be with our daughter."

Celestia shook her head. "No. As painful as this is and has always been, this is necessary." Celestia turned her head to look at Raining Skies, whose demeanor held none of its usual casual confidence. Her expression held no emotion at all. Celestia gave her a comforting smile and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Do not be too hard on yourself, Ms. Skies. Not even we saw this coming."

"I know," Raining Skies muttered. "I just..." She sighed and shook her head. "It's my job to know this kind of stuff. I should have been better. After you executed my cousin, I should have kept a closer eye on Las Pegasus. I should have screened your staff better."

"You and your soldiers were focusing on gaining valuable intelligence for us outside of the country. You didn't have unlimited ponies to work with. We're not mad at you," I chimed in.

"It doesn't matter." Raining Skies straightened up. "I'm offering Princess Cadenza my resignation once this has concluded."

"Something I'm certain she'll deny," Celestia insisted. "If we accepted the resignation of every pony who made a mistake or didn't perform perfectly in a highly difficult situation, we would have no more good ponies working for us. We all had to learn many hard mistakes from this war. Your entire force is not even five years old, and this is the first war the Blade Wings have been tested by. Take this and use it for the next conflict, as we will. If I cannot expect perfection from myself, I certainly can't expect it from you."

Raining Skies didn't respond. She merely stared at the door in front of us. She wasn't going to say anything else. Might as well get this over with, then. I opened the door with my magic, and we filed in one at a time. Our target sat on the far end of the room, her back to us.

"My dear Duckworth," Celestia said sadly. "How did it come to this?"

Duckworth didn't respond. Her hair was out of its usual tight bun, instead hanging down at her shoulders. I could faintly see her shoulders rise and fall with her breathing. Behind me, Raining Skies took out a pair of hoofcuffs and a horn blocker. Celestia put her hoof out to stop her.

"Duckworth, I need you to answer me." Celestia walked over to her trusted advisor and sat down next to her, while I moved to her other side. "What made you do this?"

Duckworth didn't say anything for a few moments. Even Celestia admitted to me that she couldn't guess what Duckworth was thinking in the best of times. Finally, she took a small, deep breath and bowed her head slightly.

"I offer no words in my defense, your highness, other than to say that it began with a stupid slip of the tongue. All efforts to rectify my mistake resulted only in me falling deeper into my sin. I wished every day that I could take it back."

"Duckworth..." Celestia put a wing on her back. "What happened?"

"Irrelevant."

"Duckworth--"

"Irrelevant," Duckworth repeated. "I have been caught in my sin. I have paid the penalty." Duckworth raised her hoof, showing us a small glass vial in her grasp. "Should be soon now."

Celestia gasped and retracted her wing. "Duckworth, what did you do? What did you drink?"

"A special blend of arsenic and nightshade. There's nothing you can do now, your highness." Duckworth's head started drooping, but she snapped it back up to continue staring at the wall. "I can only ask for paradise. I hope history does not judge me too harshly. History may, so long as you don't."

With that, Duckworth collapsed on the ground. Her eyes closed, never to open again.

* * * *

I shifted uncomfortably on my new throne. I didn't want to sit on it at all, but given who I was meeting with, I needed every bit of power I could scrounge up. Mesud and Mando were like sharks, and I was bleeding profusely. I needed every advantage I could get, otherwise they'd start a feeding frenzy. If they decided to invade my nation, I could do nothing to stop them. Antares had not yet responded with a promise to protect my people in the event that they decided to start the war again.

"Gentlestallions, I thank you for coming to meet me. We have much to discuss."

"Indeed we do, King Grorim," Mando said. "Starting with what you'll be doing to repay us for the lives we lost destroying that madman who preceded you."

"Ah, so we're going to try to put a monetary value on the lives of your soldiers?"

"Do not be flippant, Grorim," Mesud growled. "We have tens of thousands of grieving families back home because of Purgle's warmongering! Now that we are the victors, shall we just leave and take our losses? We demand reparations!"

"And what true reparations can my people give you?" I retorted. "Your victory destroyed a third of Schunie. That's our economic capital that has ground to a halt. We still have to find a way to repair our own country. Besides..." I gave them both a pointed look. "Neither of you were obligated to enter the war, especially not you, Mando. You declared neutrality until the war had been all but won. Those berserkers who died fighting volunteered to go to war, didn't they? And you, Mesud. You were only honoring a defensive pact? One you honored because you value your image more than the lives of your people."

Mesud snarled and slammed his hoof on the floor. "You go too far!" he roared. "You would have honored that defensive pact were you in my position!"

"I would have, that's true." I sighed. "Let's not spend any more time arguing about the cause of the war. I only want to discuss what will happen between my nations now that the war has ended. I have something for both of you. In return for this, you will leave my nation alone."

Mesud and Mando exchanged incredulous looks. "Just like that? We leave and we're all done?" Mando said. "I think you'd have to give us something extremely valuable for that to happen."

"It's a good thing that I have something extremely valuable then. Something that you want, but I doubt Antares will give you." I motioned to a squire, who bowed to me and left the room, returning after a few moments while gingerly carrying two suitcases. He set them before each of the leaders and opened them up.

"Be very careful with these, gentlestallions. I don't know what sets them off. I think you might be able to figure it out."

"Some of Antares's napalm," Mesud said quietly. "How did you come by this?"

"I captured some after my victory. Some dead pegasi had a few satchels. Now I am turning them over to you. Do with them what you wish. Merely leave my country alone. I wish to be a peaceful ruler. One who builds up his nation instead of tearing others down for my own power. Our world is weary of war. Demanding gold from me won't bring anyone back. But I hope you will accept this as proof that I am serious about my intentions."

The two of them leaned in close and quickly conferred between themselves. After a moment, they turned to me, nodding.

"Very well, King Grorim. You have our word that we will not invade your nation, so long as you do not build up your army to the level it was before."

"I doubt I'd be able to find that many willing soldiers." I nodded to each of them in turn. "If that is all, gentlestallions."

"I think that will do." Mesud and Mando each shut their suitcases, then gave them to waiting servants.

"A good day to you, King Grorim," Mesud said.

"And to you as well."

I inwardly sighed as I watched them leave. I was taking a big risk, just giving the two of them powerful weapons in exchange for a mere promise to leave my people alone. Still, even if they didn't, I had a few of the napalm bombs myself that my alchemists were working on at the moment. If they invaded, I might not be able to beat them back, but I would put up a hell of a fight.

Author's Note

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Going Home

The crowds lining the street cheered as Luna and I, both carrying Equestrian flags in front of us, marched toward Canterlot Castle, decked out in our full armor. There were some changes, such as more spikes on the helmet to make us more intimidating, which I didn't really care for, but hey, today was for my ponies. Legions of our soldiers marched behind us in perfect formation. A victory parade. A stupid formality to let our ponies know that we had won. I'd become good enough in controlling my emotions that at first glance my beaming smile was totally believable. I knew Luna well enough to know that her smile was just as fake as mine.

What a stupid freaking war. Just... so much death and destruction for nothing, really. Sure, Purgle was dead, leaving a decently united new nation behind him, but did we need to get through so much bloodshed for that? That was tens of thousands of ponies that we'd never get back, not to mention the minotaurs, griffins, zebras, Saddle Arabians, buffalo and Diamond Dogs that were killed or permanently disabled.

I pushed those thoughts aside and kept smiling at my subjects to let them know that everything was okay now. We'd won. No one would come into our nation to destroy us.

Behind us, thousands of veterans marched, smiled, and waved at the civilians. A small float with a few dozen wounded veterans was being magically moved down the street. I have to say, I was rather grateful to the soldiers who had joined us. It made the parade feel real, like we'd actually accomplished something of note. It drove home the joy of actually winning the war.

I wondered how many smiles were as fake as mine and Luna's.

The spires of Canterlot Castle appeared before me, and I focused all of my attention on the castle itself. Just gotta make it there. Make it there, say a few words, then collapse next to my wife. Hug my daughter. Forget about all of this for even a few hours, if I could. Part of me hoped that there wouldn't be a huge crowd around the palace; that ponies would see their loved ones in the crowd and they'd all be distracted that way. I'd heard a few ponies run up to their loved ones and, I could only presume that they wrapped them in crushing hugs. Let them. The war was over. The draftees and volunteers didn't need to be soldiers anymore. They could try to find some way back to the way things had been before. At least, as close as they could manage. Things would never truly go back to they way they were before.

Unfortunately for me, the crowds lining the street only seemed to get bigger the closer we got to the palace. I really hoped that they wouldn't demand some big speech from us. Given that I was a bit more of a public figure than Luna, I had to be the one to give the speech to our subjects. Like the press conference I made at the start of the war, I envision this being placed in the history books. Every word immortalized for future generations to read and study.

I hated when I had to do that.

We reached the doors of Canterlot Castle, which were open with Celestia awaiting us with a dozen guards surrounding her. Nymeria rested contentedly on her back as she reached out a hoof to me. Her wings spread and she tried to fly over to me, but Celestia kept her close with her magic. She wasn't the best flyer quite yet, and we didn't want her to get hurt on today of all days. I reached my wife and we exchanged a happy nuzzle.

"We did it. Somehow."

"Indeed we did, Antares." Celestia let out a relieved sigh. "We're almost done. The worst has passed."

"Though there is still much to do to help our ponies recover from the war," Luna pointed out.

"If there's one thing I've learned about our ponies, it's that they are stronger than we give them credit for," I said. "But yeah, cleanup from the war isn't going to be fun."

"We'll talk about all of that later," Celestia said. "Right now you have a speech to make."

"Right. Then I'm going to get into bed and pull the covers over my head so that I don't have to exist for a little while."

"Oh, I'll join you," Celestia said happily.

"Sounds like a plan. Auntie Luna gets foalsitting duties."

Luna rolled her eyes, but I could see the first traces of a smirk tugging at her lips. "Very well. You two relax. I shall spend some quality time with my niece."

"Delightful. For now..." I stuck my tongue out. "Let's go talk to our subjects."

The four of us entered the castle and made our way up to the balcony where we always gave our public speeches. The guards followed us, of course, which did feel a little weird to me. I mean, the war was over, right? We were safe. We'd captured almost all of the Nightmare Weapons. Things could... I dunno, go back to the way they were.

Right. Just keep telling yourself that, Antares. Maybe eventually it will be true.

Celestia, Luna, Nymeria and I reached the balcony and looked down on the massive crowd of ponies The parade formation had completely broken up, leaving a giant mass of ponies beneath us. I smiled when I saw soldiers with their forelegs around loved ones, or with foals parched on their backs. I needed to see as many reunited families as I possibly could. Too many had been broken forever.

The din of the crowd quieted down for a few moments when ponies started noticing that us alicorns had shown up, but it didn't take long for them to start cheering. We all smiled and waved, as befitting our station, but after a minute or two, I raised my hoof to silence them. The crowd went silent, which somehow made me more aware of the tens of thousands of pony eyes focused solely on me. I faltered for a brief moment. I hoped that Cadance was having more luck in the Crystal Empire. After a few deep breaths, I cast an amplification spell on myself.

"Mares and gentlecolts. I thank you for being here today to celebrate our resounding victory over the tyrant Purgle and his minotaur forces. Never again shall he threaten our great nation!" The crowd began cheering again, and I let them run out of steam before continuing. "Our nation has gone through a crucible, one that I knew our country would emerge from stronger than ever. I never doubted it for a moment. Let this victory show our enemies that peacefulness is not to be mistaken for weakness. That our nation will rise up and protect itself against any who would seek to do it harm. No madman shall ever mistake us for a weak nation again. We have faced the largest army in the history of the world and beaten it back. No more shall we endure the horrors of war. Our sons and our daughters, our husbands and wives, our mothers and our fathers, they have come home for good!"

The crowd cheered once more as ponies in the audience began hugging their surviving loved ones. It brought a smile to my face. Still...

Once the cheering died down, I began speaking again. "However, not everypony who went off came home. We lost almost sixty thousand ponies to that madman, on top of the zebras, buffalo, Saddle Arabians and Crystal Ponies who died fighting. We must never forget their sacrifice. We must never forget what they did for all of us. So now, I ask for exactly one minute of silence to honor all of those who gave their lives to protect us."

Whatever crowd noise there was during my speech instantly went away as each and every pony went silent. We didn't even hear birds chirping as we honored the fallen soldiers. Most ponies had bowed their heads, but I could see tears from a few of those who hadn't. I made a note to do this every year at this time. Equestria's Veteran's Day. I didn't think that any of my fellow rulers would object.

After exactly sixty seconds, I raised my hoof and smiled at my subjects. "I thank you all. Purgle is no more. We have peace. We have emerged from this stronger than ever. Thank you."

The crowd burst into another deafening cheer as my fellow alicorns and I smiled and waved for a few moments. Even Nymeria smiled from Celestia's back, though she was smiling at me. Her daddy was home, after all. I lifted her off of her mother's back with my magic and nuzzled her.

"Daddy's home," I whispered. "I'm not going to leave you again. I promise." Nymeria cooed and booped me on the nose. I laughed and brought her close for another nuzzle before walking away from the balcony to find somewhere a bit more private to be with my wife and daughter. Somewhere I didn't have thousands of ponies listening to my every word. I made my way to a side room with Luna and Celestia following. Celestia draped a wing over my back and wrapped the other one over Nymeria. I leaned my head against Celestia and closed my eyes.

"It's over. Part of me can't believe it."

"The combat is over. For now we can rest."

"Yeah, I know it's not totally over." I stuck out my tongue, which Nymeria laughed at and mimicked. "So, when are the meetings with Kathyrine and Grorim?"

"In the next week or so," Celestia said. "Kathyrine first in a few days, then Grorim a few days after that." Celestia flattens her ears. "And that is on top of all of the ponies asking about their loved ones during court. I have already received several ponies asking about their missing family or friends."

Great. That I was not looking forward to. I'd just gotten away from the battlefields, and now I needed to come back and have ponies talk about the family and friends who had died around me... Not my idea of a good time.

"We'll think about all of that later," I said. "For now, let's just rest."

"Agreed, Antares," Luna said. "Agreed."

* * * *

Three days later found Celestia and I walking through the halls of Kathyrine's palace. Each guard we passed looked at us with suspicion, or even outright hostility, something our guards were more than happy to return. We kept it civil, though. We weren't here to cause any conflict. At least, nothing that would lead to some shouting match and declaration of war. Even with our new weapons, the griffins would cause some serious problems if we started fighting. Stuff like Gatling Guns and tanks are at their best against ground forces.

Having said that, I think Kathyrine wanted a war with us about as much as we wanted one with her.

The double doors to Kathyrine's throne room opened, and we were allowed inside. Kathyrine sat on her throne before us as we walked in, which I admit was an odd thing to see. The first time I ever met her, she was crying out that she didn't want to be empress. Now she was sitting on the throne after a fair amount of bloodshed. One thing was for certain: Griffonia would never be the same again, especially if the destruction of the clans stuck. I admit that we were hoping it would.

"Empress Kathyrine," Celestia said, tilting her head to Kathyrine. "It is a pleasure to see you."

"Yeah good to see you too, I guess." She gave Celestia an obviously forced smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "And how is your daughter?"

"She is doing quite well, thank you," I said. "She's a very happy filly."

"That's good to hear. So, um... what's up?" Kathyrine instantly let out an almost inaudible growl and closed her eyes while mouthing "what's up?" She took a deep breath and looked back at us. "I, uh... I mean, how can I help you today?"

Celestia allowed herself a faintly amused smile before speaking. "We have come to make sure that peace endures between our new nations. I know that a... change in leadership of the nature your country just endured can be rather tumultuous. When your father ruled, there were several trade agreements between our nations that were cut off when Cromwell took to the throne. We would like to reinstate those."

Kathyrine slowly nodded. "Oh, yeah, that sounds good. So, I guess our trade ministers should talk or something?"

"Sounds good to me," I replied. "We'll send over the paperwork for all of that so you can look it over and tell us if there's anything you don't like or want to improve."

"Yeah. Good. I'll do that."

I smirked a little bit. "You have a lot of paperwork lately, don't you?"

Kathyrine groaned and facepalmed. "Yeah. I didn't think there were that many pieces of paper in the world. I could fill books with all of the crap I have to deal with." Her eyes widened, and she instantly sat up straighter. "But I can handle it. It's not that big of a deal. It's fine. Just a little tedious. But it's fine. Good."

"If you say so. I know when I first ascended I was surprised by the amount I had to do, too," I said.

"Yeah, well, it's fine. It's all going to be okay." Kathyrine took a deep breath and nodded. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Well, that is good," Celestia said. "And you are doing well after everything that transpired?"

"Yes I'm fine!" Kathyrine said a little too quickly and loudly. "It's all for the best, right? The clan system was outdated and overly complicated. I've done what no griffin ruler has done before. I've united every griffin under my rule. That will make things better. We still have a few pockets of resistance, of course, but nothing I can't handle."

"Of course." Celestia's mouth went thin. "And... if you happen to find children among your enemies, do not hesitate to send them our way. We shall take care of them. There is no need for bloodshed among the young."

Kathyrine's eyes narrowed, and she flared out her wings. "What are you saying? Are you saying that I'm a bad ruler because I killed the children of the dukes? It was completely necessary, Celestia!"

"I do not agree, and neither does Antares," Celestia said, which triggered a nod from me. "The slaughter of children is never justified."

Kathyrine scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh give me a break, Celestia. Don't you pretend that you don't have the blood of a single foal on your hooves. You may think it's merely collateral damage, but we all know the truth. You felt it had to be done to secure the future of your subjects. It's better that five chicks die now then to allow the possibility of a civil war that would kill hundreds, maybe thousands of children and orphan thousands more!"

"They're children, Kathyrine! Do you really think that they deserve to die young because of the actions of their parents?" I said.

"Deserve doesn't have anything to do with it," Kathyrine growled, turning her glare to me. "If even one tries to bring power back to his clan once he's old enough, that could lead to a civil war! It's happened to us before, Antares. A clan we thought was destroyed came back when an heir came of age, and that led to violence. It's not ideal, I know that, but sometimes it’s needed."

"We cannot agree with that, and neither of us feel comfortable allying ourselves with a ruler who feels it necessary to spill the blood of the innocent," Celestia said.

"Oh give me a freaking break!" Kathyrine snarled. "Firstly, this is not your country! This is not your culture! Do you seriously think I'm the first ruler to do this, or that I'm gonna be the last one?"

"That's not really justification for terrible actions," I pointed out.

"Okay, then how about this?" Kathyrine snapped. "Just stay out of it. You don't like it? Then stay out of my affairs! Do you seriously think that I liked it? That I wouldn't have done it any other way if I felt like I had a choice?"

"I have presented you with another choice," Celestia said calmly. "Turn over any children to us so that we may raise them as our wards. Kathyrine, you killed a newborn."

"Yeah, and that sucks and all, but what happens when that newborn grows up and decides that he wants revenge? We just got through a big war, and now you want me to allow another one to possibly happen ten or twenty years down the line? I thought you had a little more foresight than that." Kathyrine grunted and rubbed the side of her head. "Look, I didn't want to. I really didn't, but I needed to. Dad once said something like 'a good ruler is only brutal when necessary'. Something like that. I don't remember the whole thing. I'm not going to make a habit of it, Celestia. I'm not going to go out looking for an excuse to kill everygriffin that I come across." Her eyes narrowed. "Only my enemies."

"That's a really dark road, Kathyrine."

"Yeah, and one that you don't have to walk! Like I just said: stay out of it. You don't like the way I run my country? Then come and kill us all so you can run it!"

"We have no desire to make Griffonia into an Equestrian territory," I said. "We're not trying to tell you how to run your country, and if it's come across like that, I apologize. We are merely offering to take in any children that you come across."

"Fine. I'll take that into consideration." Kathyrine crossed her forelegs and glared at us. "I got stuff to do. I'll see you later."

Celestia and I exchanged a brief look, but we ultimately nodded to each other, then Kathyrine.

"Very well," Celestia said. "We shall see you at a later date. We wish you a good day, and good luck."

"Yeah, you too, I guess."

We began walking out of the throne room, pointedly ignoring the glares from the griffin soldiers around us. Our guards had no trouble glaring right back. Just as we reached the door to the throne room, I spared one last glance at Kathyrine. She had her crown in her hands and was staring at it sadly. I sighed and shook my head.

"It's heavy, isn't it? The crown, I mean."

Kathyrine quickly put it back on her head and straightened up. "It's nothing I can't handle. I'm fine." I turned and resumed walking out the door. Just as I reached the threshold, I heard Kathyrine mutter "but yeah. I guess a little."

* * * *

We landed in Canterlot Castle a few hours later after a mostly silent flight. We wanted to discuss all of the developments with Luna before we made any decisions. On one hoof, we didn't really want to ally with someone who was willing to kill children to secure her throne. On the other hoof... well, she was right that she wasn't the only one, and it could prevent a war in the future. I knew Kathyrine: she wasn't the type to be unnecessarily violent. Besides all of that, resuming trade with Griffonia would be a benefit to both of our countries. It did hurt both economies a little when the griffins started trade with the minotaurs instead of us. Resuming that would be beneficial to both countries.

But yeah, I did hope that Kathyrine would take us up on our offer to send any children our way instead of killing them. They didn't deserve to die just because of who their relatives were.

But maybe that's just me being the prince of foal services talking.

We made our way to Nymeria's room, where Luna was foalsitting her. When we walked in, Nymeria, who was sucking on her hoof, was lying on Luna's back while Luna read her a picture book. Celestia and I smiled as we watched the scene, waiting until Luna finished the book before we got her attention.

"Hello, Luna," Celestia said, walking up to her and gently lifting Nymeria off of her back for a gentle hug. "I trust there were no problems?"

"None worth noting, sister," Luna replied. "She is a delight."

"That she is," I said, sitting down next to my wife.

"And how is Kathyrine?" Luna asked. "Is she adjusting to the throne well?"

I shrugged. "About as well as she could under the circumstances, I guess. Part of me feels like we need to keep an eye on her, but another part of me thinks that we shouldn't interfere. As she most passionately pointed out during the meeting: it's not our country. She's willing to resume trade, and I doubt that she's going to incite more violence against anybody. Now, how she reacts if there are rebels in her country is anypony's guess, but I think that there would have to be. She's not going to destroy the entire clan system in one brutal day, no matter how many children she kills."

"I foresee the same thing," Luna said grimly. "However, I know our subjects will wish for us to stay out of it. Griffonia is not our country, nor is Kathyrine one of our subjects."

I chuckled uneasily and rubbed the back of my neck. "Despite her still technically being an Equestrian citizen. Maybe we should revoke that at some point. Quietly. I'm fairly certain that she wouldn't care too much."

"Perhaps. I do think that you are right that we should revoke it quietly. I don't even think we need to let her know," Celestia said, rolling on her side to start feeding time. Nymeria crawled over to her and eagerly latched on, something I pointedly looked away from. I may have been on a battlefield, but there was still some inherent awkwardness for me whenever I saw my wife nursing.

Ugh. Nursing and talking world politics. Only an alicorn would have to deal with that kind of thing.

"Regardless of what we do with Kathyrine, I think that our efforts should be focused on more domestic pursuits, aside from whatever dealings we need to do with the minotaurs," I continued. "Our ponies are going to want to think about their families and friends, not minotaur kings. That'll be easier to do if we're focused on them."

"Agreed. Some foreign focus will naturally be a part of our routines, but our ponies need us right now," Luna said.

"Good. On that note, I think that it's time for me to head out," I said. "I have court soon, and it wouldn't do well for me to talk about helping our ponies only for me to be tardy when it comes to discussing problems with them."

"Of course. We shall see you later." Celestia pointedly looked down at Nymeria, who was still happily suckling away. "And I think it shall be your turn to take Nymeria tomorrow. She needs to spend more time with her father."

"Oh... uh, yeah. Sounds good."

Yeah, I loved spending as much time with my daughter as I could, but actually taking care of her largely by myself for an entire day or two was something else. Still, it was also my job as her father to have a big hoof in her life. I could see her being a hoofful once she realized that Mommy wasn't around, but I could take care of her.

But yeah, that on top of dealing with the aftermath of a war didn't sound like a fun time. Celestia had confirmed to me many times that was the case, so I couldn't do much complaining in that department.

I bade my wife and daughter goodbye, then left the room with every intention of flying back to Baltimare to start up my court. However, just as I spread my wings to fly out the nearest open window I could comfortably fly through, Luna walked up beside me and put her hoof on my shoulder.

"We need to talk."

I grimaced and folded my wings. I had a pretty good idea of what she wanted, given the way she was acting around Nymeria. We'd shelved the issue once we both got into the war, but now that peace had descended upon the land, she obviously wanted to start it up again.

"Celestia and I have talked, and I'm not going to take you into a storage closet to give you a foal."

Luna glowered at me. "That was never my intent, Antares. You are as aware as I am that there are more ways to impregnate a mare beyond intercourse."

"Yeah, but you're also my sister-in-law. Our foal would be Nymeria's cousin and sister. It just... doesn't feel right, okay?"

"You are the only one in the land who is capable of impregnating me, Antares!" Luna snapped. "I have spoken with Celestia on the matter, and she has not given any objections to the arrangement, beyond forbidding intercourse between the two of us. Were there any other way that I knew of to become pregnant, I would not hesitate to take it. As it is, if I am to be a mother, you are the only one who can give me that gift."

Oh just kill me now. Being a sperm donor for my sister-in-law was not something that I really had any interest in. Not to mention how our subjects would take it. They'd reacted to me getting Celestia pregnant well enough, but for me to turn around and get Luna pregnant too? I don't care how often we tell them that Luna and I didn't have sex. They're not going to believe us. I'd really rather not be seen as some stud for Celestia and Luna, especially since Celestia and I were married. On the other hoof, I could see where Luna was coming from. For Celestia, having a foal allowed her to feel like a regular mare, if only in this single way. She'd seen countless happy families in her time, and she always felt like she could never have that. Then I come along and give that to her. It makes sense that Luna would want her turn too. And I know Luna was right: I did seem to be her only shot at becoming a mother. It's not like Celestia and Luna hadn't had sex with stallions before I came along, so they'd both tried to get pregnant before.

Still, just... ugh, I didn't feel comfortable with this. Being a prince meant that I had to put my comfort aside for the greater good sometimes, but this felt a little different to me.

"Look, there's... one more thing you should consider before asking me to do this, Luna." Luna tilted her head questioningly, but she didn't speak. I looked around to make sure the two of us were alone before sighing and leaning my head against a nearby wall. "Look, I must stress that this is just speculation on mine and Celestia's part, but, we've been observing Nymeria, and... it looks like she might be a Beta Alicorn."

Luna's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. "Are you certain?" she whispered. "That would mean--"

"That she's gonna die someday, yeah. And no, we're not certain. All Celestia is going off of is instinct and some observations. Stuff like how Nymeria cut her hoof the other day. I'm not saying it's impossible for an alicorn to get a cut, but it's way easier for a Beta Alicorn. So what I'm saying is that if I do give you a foal, he or she will likely be a Beta Alicorn. You'll lose your child someday." My ears drooped and I cast my gaze down to the floor. "Heck, if we're right, then we're going to lose our child someday, and possibly not even to old age. I think this war just taught us all how unpredictable life can be. None of us really believe that this is the last war that we're going to go through. Not unless the world ends tomorrow. So I guess my big question to you is this..." I raised my head and looked Luna dead in the eye. "Can you handle giving birth to a child only to lose her someday?"

Luna didn't respond for a moment. She merely stared right back at me, but I could see the gears turning in her head. I opened my mouth to repeat the question when she didn't look like she'd start talking, but she cut me off.

"Oh Antares. During the war I confess I forgot how young and inexperienced you truly are. There are moments when I feel that you have been ruling alongside us for centuries, instead of shy of four years. You have been through much, this is undoubtedly true, but you also have much left to experience."

I frowned at that. "Now wait a minute--"

"It is not a remark on your personal maturity. I am not calling you foalish. I am merely observing that you have not truly endured the pain of your immortality. You have never watched a foal be born, then before you can even register it, that same foal is on her deathbed as an old, frail mare. You have not seen the fall of generations that my sister and I have. You have seen your subjects die in battle, but you have not seen time claim them. Not in the long term. You have been there for the birth of Ara and Veritas, but how will you react when you see time bring them to their eternal rest? It is not truly something you ever grow used to." Luna draped a wing over my back. "Consider Twilight Sparkle, if you will. My sister loves her as though she were her own. Someday Twilight Sparkle will die, and Celestia will endure pain like no other. She could have avoided all of that by merely never making a connection with Twilight, or with any pony. Such actions would ensure that their loss does not hurt as it could. That would also mean that she can never truly be a part of their wonderful lives. She would never see what kind of ponies they would become. She would not walk that path with them.

"If Nymeria is truly a Beta Alicorn, then yes, she will fall to time. By your logic you should send her away and never think of her again. Doing so would spare you the pain of seeing her wither away. But that would mean you never get to truly see who she is. You never know her impact on the world. You never see the lives she touches. You will never impart your wisdom on her. You will never help guide her to her full potential. Everything that makes a pony's life special will be lost to you." Luna folded her wing back at her side and gave me a soft smile. "But you would never conceive of such a thing. You love her more than life itself. Parent to child may be the deepest, most pure connection this world knows. I would give all I have to experience it for even a single day. I would gladly walk that path, never faltering for a moment, even though I know it ends in emotional devastation. But even when the pain begins to fade, the love and happiness never does. If Nymeria passed tomorrow, you would grieve no doubt, but you would not regret a single moment spent with her."

I wanted to respond to that, I really did. I guess she was right. A few of the other problems weren't going away, but I couldn't use mortality as an excuse. It's part of the curse we had to live with. Doesn't mean it should break us. I sighed and looked away from her.

"I guess. Celestia and I still need to talk about it some more."

"Of course, Antares. Take as much time as you need."

"Right." With that, I spread my wings and began the long flight back to Baltimare.

* * * *

I spent the entire flight back to Baltimare thinking about what Luna had said to me. She was right: if Nymeria died tomorrow, I would not regret a moment I spent with her. I'd regret not ending the war sooner so that I could be with her more. Celestia and I weren't totally sure that she was a Beta Alicorn, but the possibility had started creeping up in our minds. Even if she wasn't a Beta Alicorn, something could still happen that would kill her, leaving us to bury our foal. I would rather Purgle come back to rule the minotaurs than see that happen. Luna would love her foal. I had no doubt in my mind about that. Of course, that still didn't remove a lot of my other problems with the idea. Like it or not, our public image was very important. It just made things smoother for us. If the ponies found out that I'd gotten Celestia and Luna pregnant...

Ugh. Just... ugh. Screw that noise. Forget why it happened. Forget what would happen as a result. Forget anything positive that comes of it. Nope. They'd just take their initial opinions and hold on to them for a long time, leaving me constantly frustrated by their attitudes. "Well, here are some details and motivations for what happened--" I'd say.

"We don't care! We've already decided that this is a horrible thing!" they'd respond. Not all of them, of course. I'd say the majority of them would be thrilled that Princess Luna became a mother. It's just that the majority often isn't the one who shouts their opinions the loudest.

But hey, we were immortal, right? Give it even fifty years and they won't even remember what they were so mad about. It'll become the new status quo. Antares is married to Celestia and they have a daughter together. Antares was the sperm donor for Luna's daughter. And they'll get used to it.

I hoped.

I sighed as I landed on one of the balconies of my palace. Two guards were instantly by my side, no doubt alerted to my arrival thanks to the comm gems we still had installed in their armor.

"Prince Antares," one of them said, bowing to me. "It is wonderful to have you home."

"It is good to be home. Have things been smooth in my absence?"

"Yes, Prince Antares," the other one said with a nod. "Ponies have started lining up for court already."

I barely held back my grimace. I had hoped for an hour or so for breakfast. Some small private time before I faced the music. Didn't seem like that would be happening now. "Very well. Have the chefs bring me a few slices of buttered toast in the throne room. I'd like to have something before I get started."

"Yes, Prince Antares. I will tell them at once."

"Good. I'm headed there now, then."

The guards bade me farewell with a final bow, leaving me to make my way to the throne room. When I entered, Time Keeper was in his usual spot, ready to take notes. Blaze and Rapids flanked my throne as they usually did these days. I think they both wanted to get back to simpler times, when their biggest stress point was making sure my court ran smoothly. That made three of us. I did note with some distaste that Rapids didn't have her helmet on. She had started to let her mane grow out, which she used to cover up her missing ear. She also let some of it drape over her face to hide her scars. I understood her problems, I really did, but I couldn't let her hide her face forever. At some point she had to come to terms with it. She lost an ear in the war, and she wasn't getting it back. Given that we were still winding down from the war, I allowed it. I probably wouldn't for much longer. She kept insisting to the therapist that she was totally fine, but nopony bought it, least of all me.

"Blaze, Rapids, how are you two doing?"

Rapids gave me a clearly forced smile, while Blaze's seemed more genuine. "Well, Prince Antares. How is Nymeria?" Blaze said.

"She's doing well. We're going to have her over here soon, so be prepared for that."

Rapids's smile turned a little more genuine at that. "We'll be prepared for anything."

"I know you will."

My smile faded as I remembered that I still had court. Time Keeper had started shooting me some rather pointed looks. I nodded at him, then to one of the door guards. The guard bowed to me, then opened the door with his magic.

Time to face the music. Probably mostly ponies asking about the war. It never did get any easier to talk to them. Sure enough, the pony who walked through the door was one of the last ponies that I wanted to see. I knew what he was after, and I wasn't completely sure that I could handle it.

"Hello, Vichy."

County Vichy walked into my courtroom alone, his head, ears, and tail drooping. I subtly grimaced and took a small breath in. This wasn't going to be any fun at all.

"Prince Antares," he muttered when he got close enough. He didn't even bother to bow, which didn't bother me too much. He was grieving.

"What can I do for you today?" I asked quietly.

"Well, I... just..." Vichy took a deep breath and sat down on the floor, still not bothering to make eye contact with me. "I want to know why. I want to know why you took them both from me."

"Your sons died fighting the minotaurs, Vichy. That--"

"Yes, but why did you have to send them both? Why couldn't you have left me with one?" His head snapped up and he glared at me. "My wife and I are devastated! My wife hasn't left the house since she got the news! Why did you have to take them both, Prince Antares? Why did you have to send both to the front lines? I... I came in here and begged you to put my sons out of harm’s way, and you yelled at me! You yelled at me and sent them to their deaths!"

"Vichy..." I closed my eyes and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to yell at you. In terms of your sons, their names came up in the lottery, and those are the areas we needed them. I would have given anything to save your sons. I would give up my crown to turn back time and stop this entire war from happening. You are not alone, Vichy. Tens of thousands of families feel the way you do. Your sons died heroes. You can be proud of them. You--"

"My sons died because you didn't listen to me!" Vichy snapped, shooting to his hooves. "I knew this would happen! From the moment my sons hugged me goodbye before leaving for training, I knew it would be the last time I'd ever see them alive! Why couldn't you have done something? They fought in the first battle; why couldn't you have brought them back home once they did their duty?"

"Because if I did that for every soldier who fought in the first major battle, I'd have a much smaller army to help defend Equestria with. I didn't ask your sons to fight so that they could absorb arrows. I asked them to fight to help defend their homes and their loved ones. They died fighting to protect you!"

"No, they died for you," Vichy growled. "They died because of your mistakes! I begged you, Prince Antares! I begged you to bring them home, but you were so blinded by your cause that you refused to save their lives!"

My eyes narrowed. There was a lot I could take, but he was crossing some serious lines. "We were not the aggressor nation, Vichy. You know that. I needed ponies to defend our country, not to attack another! You know what would have happened if the minotaurs won the war! Our cities would have burned, and our children would have been slaughtered! Your sons would have died then as well."

"Either way, they are dead because of your mistakes!" Vichy snarled. "They are dead because you could not stop a war by destroying that madman before he got started! Now my sons are dead, and my line will die out as a result! I told you this would happen!"

"And as I said back then, Vichy: what of the ponies who lost children who don't have noble blood? There are more families that have died out than just yours! I will ensure that their sacrifice is not forgotten! I will ensure that as long as there is an Equestria, we will know of the ponies who died to save it!" My anger started fading, and my shoulders drooped a little bit. "Vichy, I know this hurts. I know you never thought you could feel pain like this. But remember the love you had for them, and they had for you. Remember them as they were. Remember them, and they'll never truly die."

Yeah, I knew it sounded like an empty platitude even then, but I didn't know what else to do. It's not like I could bring them back. Vichy seemed as mollified by my statement as I would have been in his position, if his glare were any indication.

"You have no idea what I am enduring, Antares," he growled. "But you will." With that, he turned and walked out of my throne room, not even bothering to say anything else. I frowned and turned my attention to Blaze.

"Keep an eye on him. I'm not sure what he meant by that last part, but I'd like to know as soon as possible. He's grieving, and grieving ponies do stupid things."

"Yes, Prince Antares."

I took a deep breath and rubbed my temple. Vichy wasn't the first pony who had come in to tell me off for sending their child off to war, and he wouldn't be the last one. Probably wouldn't even be the last one today. I just wanted to be done with the whole thing already. Hey, someday, right? Sometime in the next year or so we'd go back to ponies asking me about taxes on wheat crops or school funding, or whatever. That sounded nice.

Still, one thought did strike me from my conversation with Vichy.

"I think I have an idea."

* * * *

A few days later, I met with Celestia, Luna and Cadance to discuss my idea. We met in the secret conference room in Canterlot Castle, which suited me just fine. I wanted to talk to my fellow rulers about it before anypony else.

"A memorial?" Cadance said, tilting her head thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but not just one. I'd like to have one for every single city and town in Equestria. Each one would have the names and maybe cutie marks of each of the ponies from that area who died fighting in the war."

Celestia and Luna exchanged a look, then both nodded in approval. "I think that would be a wonderful idea, Antares," Celestia said. "Our subjects would appreciate something of that nature."

"Yeah, it would ensure that the ponies who sacrificed their lives for their nation would never be forgotten. It would let our subjects know that we aren't going to forget them either, and that will help a lot, I think."

"Agreed." Celestia levitated a scrap of parchment and a quill over to her for some notes. "Much work will need to be done to ensure that it comes together like we plan. It will take time and resources."

"Every plan does," I said with a shrug. "But I think this is something that our ponies will be more than willing to put effort into. It's going to mean a lot to all of us."

"I think so too," Cadance said. "So do you have any ideas of what the exact memorials should be?"

"Well, there's a memorial on my home planet of a war that's a wall of names of people who were killed or MIA from the war. If we're going to put these in every city and town, I think that would be the simplest thing for us to to, both in terms of construction and accessibility."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Cadance replied. "We'd just need to get the support of every town and city in Equestria. If I know my subjects, the Crystal Empire isn't going to object to having a memorial for our lost ponies."

"I really can't see any town or city objecting that, at least not on a large scale," I said. "Maybe you'll have some protesters, but on the whole I think it could be a big success."

"Then we are agreed," Celestia said, rolling the scroll up. "I will begin preparations to inform every town and city in Equestria of our intentions. If all goes well then we can begin construction within the month. I do foresee them taking several months to be completed, however."

"Yeah, it's a pretty big undertaking, that's for sure," I agreed. "It's going to be worth it in the end, though. I don't doubt that."

"Excellent. We shall begin preparations at once," Luna said. Before I could begin making my way out of the room, Luna cut me off. "And..."

I frowned and turned back to Luna. "Yes?"

Her even stare told me all I needed to know about what else she wanted, but she would have to be the one to say it.

"I would like to fully discuss my foal."

I sighed and sat back down. Celestia and Cadance also took their seats. "Celestia and I were talking about that. We're still not sure about the social aspects of it."

"I do not care about the social aspects of my pregnancy," Luna growled. "I wish to have a foal. Do not think that I do not understand your concerns in the matter. I merely feel that the benefits would outweigh the problems."

"For you maybe," I grumbled.

"Antares and I have spoken about it many times, Lulu," Celestia said patiently. "There is still much to think about, and--"

"You are avoiding it, Celestia!" Luna snapped. "I can see your little game. I have known you for thousands of years; more than long enough to know when you are dancing around a subject! It is as I said: I understand your concerns, but I think you give our subjects too little credit. They will understand the special circumstances of the matter!"

"I'm all for it," Cadance said with a shrug. We all turned to look at her, Celestia and me in surprise, and Luna in satisfaction. "What? I think Auntie Lulu is right about your subjects understanding the situation. Plus, you all saw how they reacted to Nymeria. They love her, even though Antares got Auntie Celestia pregnant before they were married. Yeah, it's a pretty unorthodox thing, but they've always seen us alicorns as our own species almost."

"For better or worse," I grumbled.

"Yeah, that's true," Cadance said, a sad smile on her face. "The point remains, though: I think they'd really like having another prince or princess foal."

"And what of the international concerns?" Celestia pointed out. "If Luna's foal was an alicorn, that would bring the world's alicorn population up to six."

Cadance shrugged. "Maybe they'll be a bit miffed, but they'll get over it. It's not like you're doing it to start some big takeover, and we just finished up a war that started because someone claimed we were planning that. I think your actions as a result of the war have made it pretty clear that you don't have any world domination plans. Mesud and Mando are smarter than that, and Kathyrine isn't going to get those ideas. I doubt Grorim is either. If you really wanted to take over large parts of the world, you would have kept Minotauria, or made Kathyrine a puppet ruler. You had the ability. Instead you just left them to their own devices for the most part, outside of all of the rebuilding you're doing in Schunie."

"Maybe the current leaders, but what about the next ones?" I said. "Since my ascension I've added an entirely new race of ponies to the world and, if I do get Luna pregnant, two new alicorns. They're going to start wondering what I'll do next. Maybe Mesud and Mando are fine with me giving Luna a foal, but what if I get Celestia pregnant again? Accidents do happen."

"I could resent you for referring to Nymeria as an accident," Celestia said a little playfully. "But you do bring up a good point beyond Luna's foal. What if we start having more? That could be a problem."

"I think that's for us to worry about later," Cadance said. "You're obviously not going to get Auntie Celestia pregnant again right now, and I think you're going to take some precautions in the future. I think you're also giving yourselves too little credit. All that to say, let's just take this one step at a time. I think that one step should be giving Auntie Lulu a foal."

Luna gave Cadance a grateful smile, while Celestia and I stared at each other. At the best of times I couldn't figure out what my wife was thinking, so moments like these were hopeless. I could see the gears working in her head, but not much more than that. I became acutely aware of Cadance and Luna staring at the two of us. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Celestia gave me a small, barely perceptible nod of her head.

Oh dear. Here we go.

I took a deep breath and looked over at Luna, giving her a weak smile. "So... I guess we're doing this, then."

I barely had time to react before the tackle hug hit me full force. Dang it, Luna! We're not doing it that way!

* * * *

Well, we wasted no time at all. After prying Luna off of me, we gathered our collective doctors and a few medical specialists, who were sworn to complete secrecy, so that we could figure out how best to get this going. The first step was actually getting a sample from me. Celestia helped with that.

Did I mention that I was mumbly and beet red the entire time? Or at least, beet red in a way that had nothing to do with my coat. I was doing something wonderful for Luna. I really was.

Why me? For God's sake why me?

Because I was the only one who could. Thank goodness I didn't actually have to have sex with her, or this could be even worse.

Once I provided the sample, we left the doctors and Luna to do their thing, I guess. That gave me time to really start hitting preparations for the memorials. As expected, other than a few protesters, AKA those who protested the war to begin with, the entirety of Equestria was completely behind my idea. There wasn't a single town or village that hadn't lost at least a few ponies to the war. Some of the smaller communities would only have memorials with one or two names, but even those ponies deserved to be remembered. On top of that, dozens of homeless ponies had volunteered to join the army, and many of them had been killed in action. We put their names on the memorials for the city they volunteered in. Of course there were a ton of logistical aspects of it. Transporting materials, gathering all of the names and cutie marks, getting ponies to actually transcribe the names onto the wall... stuff like that. However, much like the war itself, the ponies of Equestria came together to work on it. Every single time over the coming months that I went to individual cities and towns, I found ponies working on them around the clock.

And through all of that, we kept trying to get Luna pregnant. The first round didn't work out, so we... uh... found a conception spell to make Luna's body more... receptive to my... donation.

Just shoot me now.

Two months later, I was overseeing the construction of the Baltimare memorial, which already made for a happy day. Transcribing the names and cutie marks of six thousand, nine hundred and seventy three ponies who had died or gone missing was a sobering task, I must admit. To make it better for my subjects, I had taken it upon myself to help them with the transcribing. I was using my magic to etch names into the gabbro that would make up the entire wall, while a more artistic pony followed behind me and drew the cutie marks, when I became aware of ponies around me bowing. I finished etching the name I was working on and turned to see Celestia and Luna walking up to me. I smiled at them and took a sip of my water.

"Hello, you two. How are things going in Canterlot?"

"Very well, Antares," Luna said, her smile wide. "In fact, so well, we need to discuss it in private."

My smile faltered for a second, but I nodded at them. Given Luna's mood, it wasn't difficult to figure out what she was so happy about. I led them to a private area nearby and put a sound spell around us so that nopony would hear our discussion.

"So, I take it--"

"We have succeeded!" Luna cried, leaping forward and wrapping her forelegs around my neck for a crushing hug. "I am pregnant!"

Goodie.

Okay, look, I wasn't upset for Luna or anything. Under literally any other circumstance, I'd be positively thrilled for her. It's just that I felt waaayyy uncomfortable with me being the father when I was already married to Celestia, not to mention our daughter. Now just a few short months later I'd managed to get Luna pregnant with my second foal. Who would be Nymeria's cousin and sibling. I still couldn't quite get over that. Don't get me wrong: I'm sure I'd love my new son or daughter just as much as I loved Nymeria, but the circumstances were completely awkward. Even so, I managed to maintain my smile.

"I'm happy for you, Luna."

"Thank you, Antares," Luna said, tears brimming in her eyes. "You have given me a gift I can never repay."

"Oh, that won't be necessary, I guess." I looked up to Celestia, who was smiling a smile that looked actually genuine. It might have been less so if I'd actually needed to have sex with Luna for this result, but since I was merely a donor, things could be a little less awkward between all of us. I chuckled as a thought struck me. "I guess you're going to start looking like an actual blueberry in a few months here."

Luna and Celestia both laughed at that, and Luna pulled away from her crushing hug to wipe her eyes with the back of her hoof. "I cannot overstate my joy, Antares," Luna whispered, her watery smile not faltering for a moment. "I have been dreaming of this moment for millennia."

"I'll bet. You have any names picked out yet?"

"Indeed, I have been giving it a great deal of thought," Luna said with a nod. "I was thinking Proteus for a colt, and Maia for a filly."

"Always moons and stars with you, isn't it?" I quipped. Luna rolled her eyes, but her joy meant that she couldn't even pretend to be annoyed with me for long. "At any rate, when should we make the announcement?"

"After the construction of the memorials, I think," Celestia said, looking back to the construction. "We need to focus on that at the moment. One major event at a time."

"Sounds good to me. Of course Luna might start to show before then."

Luna shrugged. "I have every confidence that our ponies can create these memorials with speed and skill. Perhaps we will not need to worry about that. Memorials have already been finished in some places, have they not?"

"Yeah, but those memorials are for small hamlets and such. Places with only a couple of casualties from the war. Those were never going to take as long as the memorials for places like Baltimare or Canterlot."

"Naturally, but the memorial for Canterlot is coming along quite nicely," Celestia said. "I suspect that we shall be done before the month is out."

"Same here. The same issue applies, though. Given how you went through pregnancy twice as fast as normal mares, Luna will probably follow the same timeline."

Celestia tilted her head in thought. "Perhaps. We shall deal with that when the time comes. For now, however, I think our main focus should be on the memorials, at least publicly."

"Right." I glanced back over at the construction taking place. "So are you two going to be working on that today?"

"My sister is," Luna confirmed. "I, however, will take to my bed. Tis best that I rest before my duties tonight. We merely wished to give you the good news."

"Yeah, the good news." I walked over to my wife and gave her a quick nuzzle. "I have to get back to work. If you two need anything, let me know."

"Of course," Celestia said, returning my nuzzle. "Let us know how things progress here."

"Will do."

After a final round of goodbyes, I went back to work on the memorial. I resumed my place next to the pony etching cutie marks on the wall and began writing names down again. When I glanced at the list of names in front of me, it finally hit me. I was writing down the names of dead ponies. I mean, I'd always been cognizant of that fact, but I didn't really begin to realize the full implications until that moment. I blinked once then slowly ran my hoof down a few of the names I'd already completed. Ponies that not too long ago had hopes and dreams for the future. Now they were just... gone.

"Prince Antares? Is everything alright?" the artist pony asked.

I snapped out of my thoughts, and it took me a second to remember where I was. Right. Working on the wall. I smiled and nodded at him. "Of course. Everything is just fine."

* * * *

"My subjects... my friends. I thank you all for being here today as we dedicate this memorial for all of the ponies who died during this horrendous war. There is no doubt in my mind that the ponies whose names are on this wall would be honored by the love and support you have shown them. We will never forget their sacrifice. Their deeds will never be lost to time. Join me now in a moment of silence so we may honor these brave heroes who gave everything to protect their loved ones."

Celestia bowed her head, and the rest of us followed suit. I bowed my head with the rest, but I kept my eyes open so I could stare at Canterlot's memorial wall. The names of over five thousand ponies were on there. Ponies who should have been safe at home with their families and friends. Instead they were gone because of one madman's scheming. It... it didn't feel real.

We'd been doing these dedications all week. Every single community in Equestria had some memorial, and we'd visited all of them to give the same speeches. The only place we hadn't done one was in the Crystal Empire, only because Cadance was covering that. For me Ponyville had been the hardest one to get through. Their memorial wall only had a few dozen names on it, but I knew every one of those ponies. Since they had so much leftover space, they decided to put the pictures of each pony next to their names and cutie marks. Seeing the faces of ponies like Sea Swirl and Time Turner and Raindrops and Flitter and Caramel alongside the dozens of other casualties... it wasn't easy. I barely kept it together.

I had to, though. Prince of Equestria and all that. Thankfully since then I'd just shut off my emotions entirely. It didn't hurt so much that way, and it was easier to pretend that I was a strong, stoic prince.

I just wanted to go home.

After a minute or so, Celestia raised her head, and the rest of us quickly followed. Celestia opened up her mouth to speak again, and when she did, I felt a rush of emotion that I quickly stomped down. Keep my emotions away. Just don't feel anything, Antares. Not in front of your subjects, at least. Freak out when you're alone. I decided to just completely tune Celestia out. I couldn't hear that speech again. I just stood there and looked appropriately solemn. Just letting everything happen around me. Tens of thousands of my subjects dead in this awful war. Don't think about that. Just get through today. Canterlot was our last stop.

Eventually Celestia stopped talking, and ponies came forward to pay their respects. Many put flowers by the wall, while others merely stared at the names of their loved ones. All just like the other memorials. Each area had done something special for their memorial wall, such as how Appleloosa had put the names of the buffalo on there with the pony names.

We stood alongside the grieving ponies for hours. They just kept arriving to show their respects. They would bow to us, then go straight to the memorial wall for whatever they needed to do. We would smile sadly at them, then let them be. We stayed until the last pony had left, and the sun went down. By that point I didn't much feel like flying all the way back to Baltimare, so I just joined Celestia and Nymeria in Celestia's room. I collapsed on the bed and didn't move, not even when Celestia wrapped her foreleg around me and pulled me closer. Nymeria slept soundly in her crib beside the bed, while I just stared at the wall.

I just wanted the pain to end. My jaw wobbled, but I didn't begin crying. I somehow managed to hold it together. I felt Celestia kiss my neck and nuzzle me.

"Are you alright, Antares?"

"Y..." My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I'm doing alright. This past week has just been difficult, you know? I can't decide if Ponyville or Baltimare was harder to get through." I gave Celestia a humorless chuckle. "It does make me feel kind of weak, you know? Like I'm too emotional to keep it together in front of our subjects, while you and Luna seemed to have an easy enough time at it."

"Oh Antares..." Celestia nuzzled my neck again. "You were not alone. When Sweetie Belle sang that song to help dedicate the Ponyville memorial, I almost wept myself. You are not weak for nearly crying. If you are, then Luna and I are weak as well. I am fairly certain that Luna did find a time to cry between one of the trips. It was an emotional time for us all. Do not think that you are the only one of us who became emotional and had to find ways to not break down. It happened to all of us."

"I guess," I muttered. “It's over now, though. We're done with our memorial tour, if you will." I sighed and nuzzled deeper into the pillow. "Now I just have to get through more Day Courts of ponies asking about the war that I just want to be completely done with. How much longer is that going to last?"

"I do not know. Hopefully with these memorials ponies will start to get some closure. Many will, I think. Those memorials have shown that we care about our ponies, and do not wish to forget their sacrifices. All will be okay." She tightened her grip on me and scooted closer. "For now, let us rest. Things will be better in the morning."

"Yeah. I guess so."

I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.

* * * *

My eyes snapped open some time later. I realized it was still dark outside, but my body was done sleeping. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was five in the morning. Celestia wouldn't have to raise the sun for another hour and a half. Well, no sense just lying here wide awake. I gently slid out of Celestia's grasp, being careful not to wake her, before walking over to Nymeria's crib. She was sleeping peacefully as well. I smiled lovingly at her.

"Daddy loves you," I whispered. "Throughout your whole life, no matter what happens, you're always going to know that. I promise you."

My mind drifted back to the memorial wall. Somehow I was drawn to it. I'd spent the last week staring at the names and cutie marks of the fallen ponies, and I wanted nothing more than to be done with them. But still... I quietly unlatched the window and flew outside, closing the window behind me.

I flew straight toward the memorial wall. Past the gardens, past Discord's statue, past the perimeter of the castle, until I landed in front of it. I raised my head and stared at the names. Just like I'd been doing all week. I lit my horn so that I could see them better in the darkness. I shuddered when I began reading the names that would be here for all time. We'd hit the memorials with every single protection and preservation spell that we could think of. My eyes began watering as I went down the too long list of names. I hadn't cried all week. Can't let my ponies see that. I heard some noise in the distance, but I ignored it as tears began streaming down my face, and I let out my fist sob. That opened the floodgates, and soon I was leaning against the wall, sobbing my eyes out. It felt like all of the emotion from the past year was coming out, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I felt certain that half of Canterlot could hear me, but I didn't care. I needed this.

"Tragic, isn't it?" a voice from behind me said. I instantly straightened up and wiped my eyes. I couldn't let one of my subjects see me like this.

"It is a tragedy," I said, my voice still marred by sorrow. "But we will endure. We have come through this stronger than--"

"Oh don't waste your platitudes on me, Antares. Although it has been fun to see you sobbing like a little foal. I love you Alpha Alicorns and your extreme emotions. When you lose control, one might almost call it... chaotic."

My eyes widened, and I spun around to see a creature made of mismatched parts floating behind me, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. I took a half step back, but managed a glare.

"What are you doing here?" I growled. "You're supposed to be in stone!"

"Yes, yes I am," Discord agreed. "But my prison has been breaking for some time now. It might have broken sooner if you ponies hadn't become so unified with these silly walls." Discord snapped his claws, but nothing happened. He frowned and looked behind me to the wall. "Hmm. That hasn't happened before. I suppose you alicorns really do want to protect those."

I flared out my wings and lit up my horn for an attack spell. "You are not going to touch those, Discord! It's time for you to go back into stone!"

Discord yawned and floated over to the wall, where he touched a single finger to the wall. "There. I touched it. I suppose you were wrong about that. I should thank you, really. Your chaotic emotions were the final thing I needed to escape." His cat-like grin reappeared. "Now it's playtime."

I fired off the spell I'd been charging, but with a single snap of his talons, Discord turned the powerful energy beam into a stream of bubbles. I fired off another spell, but he lazily floated away so that I'd miss him.

"You son of a bitch!" I roared, charging another spell. "I am not going to let you--"

Discord snapped his talons one more time, and the spell I'd been charging instantly died. With another snap, his magic grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up. I grabbed at my throat to try to open up my airway, but I couldn't exactly push chaos magic away with my hooves, and Discord wasn't letting me fire up another spell.

"Oh you ponies are always the same. I can't believe I can be simultaneously bored and entertained by you!" He giggled and floated over to me. "But the amount of chaos an Alpha Alicorn can cause just from their emotions... it's simply delightful.” He pressed his lion paw against my chest, and I would have cried out if I'd been able to breathe. "There we go. Now I can sense your chaotic emotions no matter where you go. Maybe once I'm bored here, I can come visit you and start playtime there!" He chuckled and rubbed his paw and claws together. "Oh this is going to be so much fun, and I know you're just going to love it, too! You'll thank me later, I promise!" On instinct I kept grabbing at my throat. I didn't know if he could actually choke me to death, but I didn't want to find out. I tried charging up my horn one more time, but a quick snap of his claws put an end to that idea.

"Yes, well, this has been interesting, Antares, but I see no reason why we need to sit here talking when there's all sorts of chaos I could be doing! Oh I do wish I could have been free for the war itself, but there will be other opportunities I'm sure." With that, Discord scratched at the air, but in doing so tore apart the fabric of reality, creating what looked like a portal. My eyes widened and I began thrashing more violently, but to no avail. "I will see you soon, Antares! You have a good day!"

With that, he shoved me directly through the portal.

* * * *

"Antares!" I cried. "Antares, where are you?"

I flew through Canterlot with as much speed as I could. Where could he have gone? The memorial wall was the most obvious place, but I couldn't find him there! With Discord now free, anything could have happened to him. I needed to find him so that we could face him together, or at least buy the Elements some time to trap him back into stone!

Maybe he had gone back to Baltimare and didn't know about Discord.

No, that wasn't like him. He wouldn't have left while Nymeria and I still slept. He always at least stays until after I raise the sun.

Still, maybe he had simply gone to Baltimare.

It did not sound right, but it was my best chance.

In my panic I did not notice the chocolate milk that had begun falling from the sky like rain.

* * * *

"Hey buddy, are you alright?"

I groaned and rubbed my head. What happened? I remembered Discord, but what had he done again? Something... ugh.

My head hurt.

I rubbed my still closed eyes and tried to gauge my surroundings. I felt a slight chill in the air, which didn't make sense. We were in the middle of summer.

"I think he might be drunk," another voice muttered. "Should we call campus security?"

"I don't know," the first voice said. "Maybe an ambulance or something?"

Wait... campus security? An ambulance?

My eyes shot open and I saw, for the first time in over five years, another human looking back at me. There were a few of them, actually, all staring at me with concern on their faces. My breath died in my throat and I shot up to a sitting position, realizing that I'd been lying on a hard metal bench.

"Oh no," I whimpered. "No no no no no."

"Do you remember where you are?" the first guy said, leaning down until he was at eye level with me. "Are you okay?"

"I... I..." No. Please tell me he didn't do this. My jaw wobbled, and I wiped my eyes to prevent tears from falling.

"I'm going to call campus security," a nearby girl said, pulling out her phone. "This is a bit too much for me to be dealing with."

I looked down at myself, even though I already knew what I'd see. I was human once more, for the first time in over four years. I was dressed in just a white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, though I didn't have any shoes. I couldn't hold back the sobs, or stop myself from shaking.

"Hey, it's going to be okay, buddy," the first guy said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You're alright. Just calm down. What's your name?"

My name. My name. Right. My name.

"A--" No, my name. "TD."

"Alright, TD, we have campus security on the way," said the girl, putting her phone back in her purse. "They're going to help you out." She leaned in next to the man and whispered in his ear. "I'm going to be late for class. I have to go."

"That's fine," he said. "I can keep him company until campus security arrives." He turned back to me with a friendly smile. "Do you remember what happened last night?"

I didn't answer. I merely began looking at my surroundings. Even though it had been years, I remembered every detail. I was back on my old college campus. I was... home.

I can't... I just...

"You're okay, TD. Just relax right now. We'll get you taken care of."

Within a few minutes, a pair of people wearing security guard uniforms approached me. One of them knelt down in front of me, while the other one started talking to the man to get some more information. The guard in front of me gave me a friendly smile.

"Hey, how are you doing? My name is Todd. What's your name?"

"TD," I whispered back.

"Wait..." the other guard started. "That TD? TD Powell?" I looked to the other guard, who was staring at me with open-mouthed shock. I gulped and slowly nodded. "Ho-ly shit." She shook her head in disbelief. "You've been missing quite a while. I remember the day you went missing. There was like a car and then you were gone! The whole school wasn't talking about anything else for the rest of the year! The security footage from the crosswalk cameras, like, totally went viral when someone leaked it on the internet! I think the whole country knows about it!"

"Oh," I said quietly.

"Okay... okay." The guard took a radio off of her belt. "Todd, we need some backup here. This is a bit beyond our pay grade."

"Right," Todd said, straightening up and looking at me with come uncertainty. "You just stay there, TD. We're going to get all of this sorted out. We'll help get you home.”

Home.

Help get me home?

"You can't," I whispered to myself.

Author's Note

And we're done! Thank you all for reading The Prince! Tune in next time for the obvious sequel! I'm not just stopping it there. That'd be mean. Almost as mean as how I ended the story. :twilightsheepish: Just trust that I know what I'm doing. I don't plan a lot, but I've been rigorously planning this, because I want to make sure I do it all right.

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Johnny Get Your Gun

"Come, Antares. We must prepare."

I stared down at the letter that stated without a doubt that everything that I had worked for was ultimately for nothing. All of our maneuvering, our gambits, our planning, useless. We were at war, and we couldn't do anything to stop it. All because Purgle couldn't just bucking leave Ara alone.

"Antares." I flinched when I felt Celestia's hoof on my shoulder. "There is much to do."

"I know," I croaked. "I just... want a moment to process this." I sighed and shook my head. "But we're royalty, yeah? We don't get that." I got to my hooves and folded the letter up, stashing it in my feathers for safekeeping. Somehow it made me want to shower again. I folded my wing against my side, but still kept it a half inch out, as I walked alongside Celestia and Luna.

"So, you've done this before. I think I was eleven the last time my country declared an actual war. What's next?"

"Next, unfortunately, is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do as rulers of Equestria." Celestia turned her head to me to look me in the eye, allowing me to see the fear that had started taking hold. "We have to tell them. We have to tell our ponies that they will soon be enduring the horrors of war."

"A concept that they won't even begin to grasp until they get on the battlefield, I'll bet," I muttered.

"That is, unfortunately, the way of things." Celestia gently draped her wing over my back and nuzzled my neck. "Do not despair, Antares. Our ponies have strength in them that surprises even me sometimes. This will be the worst thing in each of their lives, and the last in many cases, but I promise you that we will endure. They may have known peace their whole lives, but when threatened with something like this, our little ponies will rise to the challenge."

I deeply exhaled and nuzzled Celestia back. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess." We continued walking again. "I dunno, I just feel like we failed them somehow. It's our main job to keep them safe and healthy, and with war we can't do that."

"Perhaps," Luna said, coming alongside me. "But you forget that Purgle was going to look for any excuse for his war. 'Tis only grave misfortune that has caused him to blame Ara."

I flinched back at that name. Ara. Poor little Ara, who only struck out in fear and anger without knowing what he was doing. How could he? Then the sight of him contentedly nuzzling up against his father like nothing had really gone wrong at all... I sighed and lowered my head.

"He's going to be the most infamous pony in the world soon, and he's not even going to know why. He just followed instinct against something that scared him. But even beyond that, how is it going to be for him growing up? That one moment is going to come back and haunt him for the rest of his life. Heck, Veritas is probably going to catch some of the flak too, just by virtue of being his sister and just as poisonous as he is."

"Possibly," Luna said with a nod, "though that is why you are there. You are their prince, Antares. Your magic created them, so it is your job to keep them safe from what they will endure, while trying to give them as normal of a life as you can."

"Yeah." We reached my throne room and stopped. I listened to the sound of the paltry few ponies moving about the castle, completely unaware that we were now at war. Well, they would be soon enough. I sighed and shook my head. "Well, I'll make my announcement to the media tomorrow, okay? I'll just give the basic details, talk about the draft, give them a morale boosting speech, and so on. After that..." I shrugged. "I'll start setting up volunteer offices. We need to get factories going for wartime materials, crops to feed our armies, and..." I looked in the direction of my secret room. The one where I designed human weapons. What I had was good, but not enough. I turned my head back to Celestia and Luna, both of whom were giving me curious looks, and rubbed my temple. "And just a million, billion other things that will rear their ugly heads when we don't want them to."

"Such is the nature of things, but do not fall into despair." Celestia gave me a sad smile and wrapped a wing around my shoulders. "I have fought many wars over the course of my long life. More than even Purgle can imagine. We will get through this. I promise you."

"You've fought in a lot of wars, huh?" I softly exhaled and lowered my head. "So does that mean that, given I'm just as immortal as you are, I'll have to go through a lot too?"

Celestia moved closer to me and raised my head with her hoof before giving me a slight nuzzle. "Do not think on that, Antares. Dwelling on the distant future will not help. You are a prince of Equestria, and your little ponies need you here and now. They will look to you more now than they ever have before, and I know that you have the strength to lead them. I have seen it in you, even if you are not aware that you have it."

"I don't want to see them die," I whimpered.

"But they will, for that is the nature of war, I'm afraid." Celestia hugged me closer, and I felt two tears drop onto my shoulder. We both sat down so that I could lean my head against her chest, while Luna sat on my other side and draped a wing across my back.

I sniffled and wiped my eyes, trying to prevent the tears from falling. "I-if you think about it, really, this is my fault. If I h-hadn't ascended, then Purgle wouldn't have started to warmonger, Ara wouldn't have stung Bludworth, h-he wouldn't feel threatened by my human weapons, the battle outside my palace wouldn't have happened, a-and--"

"Antares, stop it." Celestia raised my head, forcing me to look her in the eye once more. "You are not to blame for this conflict. He is. You tried everything that you could to avoid this. If Purgle didn't have you to force his fear and bravado on, he would have done it to Twilight when she ascended. And if he didn't target her, he would have found something else. He was looking for any excuse. You cannot blame yourself for something completely outside of your control.”

"I guess." I paused as a thought struck me. "So since we're now officially at war, and doing so wouldn't incite more problems, can we just assassinate that stupid little jerk now? Instead of removing a figurehead, thereby rallying the minotaurs around a martyr, it would be removing the leader of the opposing army, on top of the fact that their high general also just died." I raised my head as a small spark of hope appeared in my chest. "Yeah, if we decapitate the army, then they'll be much easier to fight. Of course, we'd just throw Cromwell into the mix too, and maybe the other dukes, because why the heck not? Do that, then install Kathyrine as the new Griffonian monarch, totally loyal to the country that saved her life and put her on the throne, not to mention removed several major threats and gave her the revenge she wanted for her dad..." I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, that could work."

"It very well may, though I feel that it is prudent that we take this one step at a time, yes?" Celestia said, standing up and extending a hoof to help me to mine. "What we need to do next is tell our subjects what is happening. Then we should begin production on wartime materials, institute a draft, set up volunteer stations and training camps." Celestia sighed, her eyes closed and her ears flat. "We may be at the start of a tumultuous time in our nation that will last years, and that's not even counting the after-effects. Winners do not walk away from war unscathed."

"Yeah." I took a deep breath and rubbed my temple. "So should we try again to see if we can't get Zebrica on our side? Zebrican berserkers would be invaluable to have on our side during battles."

"yes they would, though President Mando has been rather adamant in insisting that his country will remain neutral in our war," Luna said.

I shrugged. "Maybe, though maybe we can see if some Zebricans would be interested in joining up. I know that during both world wars in my country, individual Americans went to go fight overseas before America as a nation entered the war. Could be something to look into."

Did it make me feel bad talking like that? Seeing if we could snag some soldiers from a neutral country for our own gains? Maybe, but every soldier counted at this point, especially with how outnumbered we were.

One day at a time, Antares. One day at a time.

"Until then, we will return to Canterlot and make a press statement regarding the upcoming war," Celestia said. "You will do one here as well. Keep it simple, keep it brief, and I trust your judgement on what questions you do and do not want to answer. Regardless, we shall exchange the details of our press meetings after the fact."

I nodded. "Roger. I'll have a stenographer there the whole time."

"Good." Celestia lowered her shoulders as if some air of formality had faded away, and she gently nuzzled the side of my neck. "We'll get through this, Antares. I'm sure of it. Keep your head high. Our ponies need that."

"Same to you two," I said with a slight grin, prompting a half-chuckle from Celestia and Luna. The moment of mirth didn't last very long, though, and our expressions quickly returned to ones of grim seriousness. "I'll talk to you two later, okay? Right now I have to prepare my statement for the press. I'll announce it today and make it tomorrow." I turned my head to the side exit of my throne room. "And I have to talk to Tulip. She's been a wreck, and Valiant has had a hard time being the rock for that family. He needs more help."

"Of course, Antares. We shall speak soon," Luna said.

Luna and Celestia turned and began walking out of my throne room, only stopping when I called out to them one more time.

"Celestia, one more thing..." I took a deep breath. "I'm using my human weapons. The ones I've developed on top of whatever else I come up with. It's going to suck, but I want this war to be over fast."

Celestia stood as still as a statue, but I could see the gears turning in her head. Luna looked at her, then to me, then back to her sister, an uneasy look on her face. She leaned in and whispered something to Celestia that I couldn't quite hear, and Celestia nodded.

"I trust you, Antares," she said after a few more moments. "How you use that trust is up to you."

"I understand."

Without another word, my fellow monarchs walked out of my throne room.

* * * *

I hated how Tulip and her family didn't get to spend much time out of their interior suite in my palace, and next to none outside of the palace itself. It was just too dangerous with the country so uneasy about their foals. I didn't want to risk something happening to them. I didn't think that my subjects would go and attack Ara and Veritas, of course, but the staring and the gossip and the photos that ponies might take, even if they were under guard, could potentially be damaging.

Man, Tulip is my most loyal servant, and she had to go through that? Dang.

I reached the door to Tulips suite, which was guarded by two guards at all times. They nodded when they saw it was me, and opened the door, allowing me entry. The moment the door opened, Tulip and Valiant rushed towards it with worried looks on their faces, looks that faded to relief when they saw that it was me. Ara and Veritas rested on their parents' backs, their drooping eyes and calm demeanor telling me that I probably caught them just as they were being put down for their nap.

"Prince Antares, it's wonderful to see you again. I trust that everything is going..." Tulip hesitated and exchanged a glance with her husband. "Better?"

"Well, that's what I dropped by to talk to you two about." I walked closer to the family, drawing the attention of the sleepy foals. They both looked up at me, and through I noticed that they didn't have the energy for more than a small smile, I could see in their eyes, their slitted blood red eyes, that they were happy to see me. Veritas reached a hoof out to me, and I took it in my own, flashing her a smile. She nuzzled up against her mother's back and made a noise of contentment.

"They really do have an amazing connection with you, Prince Antares," Tulip said with a smile. "I think that they're going to be even more devoted to you than I am."

I chuckled and gently patted Ara on the head. "Not sure how that's possible, but I foresee them becoming great ponies. They'll change the world, that's for sure."

They arguably already have.

"Either way, these world changing ponies need to go down for their naps, I think," Valiant said, beckoning the two of us to the side room set aside for the twins. "It'll be easier to talk if we don't have the two of them being grumpy and tired."

"Fore sure," I replied as we entered the nursery. "Besides, what we have to discuss isn't really for them to be privy to anyway. Not that they'd understand it, but I'd still like it to just be the three of us."

"Of course, Prince Antares," Valiant said with a nod as we approached their crib. "Just give us a moment."

"Take your time."

Now, generally when parents put their foals down in their cribs, they set them inside the crib and tuck them in. We figured out pretty quickly that Ara and Veritas had no intention of going along with those sleeping arrangements. The first night that they were able to, about three weeks after their birth, they actually climbed out of their crib. Now imagine Tulip's surprise and fear when she came to check on her foals and discovered that they weren't where they were supposed to be. After a minute or so of frantic searching, she found them in the one place that everyone searches, but no one ever is: under their bed. Turns out the two of them had actually taken each of their blankets out with them and covered themselves up underneath the crib.

Well, they are scorpions, after all. They like darker, more confined places. If I had the same shoe size as I did on Earth, I'd have to start checking my boots for the two of them before putting them on.

Well, from then on, we figured that we wouldn't bother with trying to keep them in the crib, so we rigged a new set up for them. We flipped the crib upside-down, set a mattress on the floor, and put larger versions of those half, hollow logs that people put in snake living spaces for the snake to crawl under. Now, did all of that make the two of them look like pets or zoo exhibits? Yup. Were they happy with the setup, particularly those logs? Oh you'd better believe it. They knew what those logs were for the minute we tried them out, and by some unspoken agreement between the two, they each picked one and didn't deviate at all.

I felt kind of weird about it, but it worked.

Valiant lit up his horn and lifted the crib up, allowing Ara and Veritas to crawl underneath their hiding spots. I laid down in front of them and smiled when I saw them nuzzled up against their pillows, curled up in their blankets. They seemed to be content, as if the world around them didn't have a single problem.

I wish. I wish they were truly as safe as they felt.

I took a deep breath and stood up, beckoning Tulip and Valiant to the other room so we could begin our talk. Valiant cast a Foal Tracker spell on the crib, the spell equivalent of a baby monitor, only it monitored their vital signs as well, before they followed me out of the room, turning the lights off so that their children could sleep.

"I envy them," I muttered as Valiant closed the door behind us. "They look so happy. Reminds me of when I was a kid. Life was a lot simpler back then." I snorted and shook my head. "I wasn't ruling a nation."

"So, uh..." Valiant exchanged a confused look with his wife. "When you say 'kid', you mean human child, right? That's what humans call their children? You're not talking about baby goats?"

I gave a humorless chuckle and rolled my eyes. "Yes, Valiant. Young human." I waved my hoof and walked over to a large, comfy couch and laid down on it. Resting my head on one of the foreleg rests. It didn't look very regal of me, I must admit, but on the other hoof, these were two of my most loyal and trusted ponies. I could relax around them a bit.

"So, I suspect you want to know why I want to talk to you, and you're freaking out because I'm acting serious."

"Well, yes," Tulip said as her and her husband took their seats in front of me. "I take it the news isn't good?"

I grimaced and shook my head. "No, I'm afraid not." I hesitated for a moment. It hurt to see their scared expressions. It really did. I didn't want them to know. Why did I have to tell my ponies these things? Why did it have to happen at all? I sighed and bit the bullet.

"Bludworth died from the sting Ara gave him. Purgle used that as his excuse to declare war. As of about an hour ago, we are officially at war with Griffonia and Minotauria."

Valiant's jaw dropped and he held his hooves up to his mouth while Tulip instantly burst into tears, wrapping her forelegs around her husband's barrel and leaning against his shoulder. Valiant embraced his wife, giving her a comforting nuzzle before looking me straight in the eye.

"Prince Antares... it will be an honor to march alongside my fellow ponies to protect this great nation in your name," Valiant said quietly.

Tulip gasped and hugged him tighter, looking up at him with fear in her eyes. "NO! Please don't go! What about our foals?!"

"Tulip, honey..." Valiant gently removed her forelegs from around his barrel. "I am a soldier. I fought alongside my fellow soldiers to protect Prince Antares, and now the time has come for me to do it again. I'm no coward, and I'd be ashamed to stay behind while my brothers went off to protect Equestria." He hugged her head to his chest and nuzzled her mane. "Besides, I'll have something else to fight for: you and the foals."

Tulip half laughed/half sobbed as she nuzzled her husband. "That was a cheesy speech," she said, wiping her eyes.

Valiant snorted and began rubbing her back. "Yeah, well, no one ever called me eloquent."

"I love you anyway, you big lug." Tulip's half smile fell, and she turned her head to me. "Does he really have to go?"

I nodded. "I'm afraid so. I need every able-bodied stallion and mare that I can get, and your husband is one of the best ponies I have. I am not asking him to do anything that I would not do myself. Literally. I will take my place by my soldiers' side on the battlefield."

Tulip gasped and vigorously shook her head. "No! You can't do that! The other side has a lot of Nightmare Weapons! What if you get killed?!"

My ear flicked at the mention of Nightmare Weapons, but I gave her my best attempt at a comforting smile. "Don't worry about that, Tulip. We're going to do everything that we can to make sure that the Nightmare Weapons never even make it onto the battlefield. Even if they do, I'll make sure that they don't come anywhere near me. My human weapons will see to that." I got to my hooves and walked over to the couple, putting a hoof on Tulip's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Tulip. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and I will make sure of that." I removed my hoof and straightened up, looking towards the door. "I must go now. I'm not sure when we're going to march out to meet the armies, but it will be soon. I'd suggest that you cherish your time together. Equestria is going to change a lot in the coming months. Permanently, most likely."

"Of course, Prince Antares," Valiant said, standing up to bow to me. "We are at your service."

"Of that I have never doubted."

I trotted out of the room, leaving the two scared ponies to talk things over. Ugh. I had a million freaking things to do, and the clock seemed to be ticking faster every second. I left the room and closed the door behind me, nodding to the two guards. I stopped halfway through a nod when I saw that one of them was Private Blaze. He saw me staring at him and saluted me.

"Burning Blaze."

"Yes, Prince Antares?"

"Your soldiers need you, Captain Blaze. I need you."

With that, I trotted away, giving one last glance to my most valued soldier to see tears brimming in his eyes.

* * * *

With a burst from my horn, I cast a spell over my eyes to shield them from the hundreds of flash bulbs going off in my direction. I waked out to the podium already set up for me, my face a careful, blank mask of stoicism that us alicorns are known for. I ignited my horn and adjusted the microphone to an acceptable height, then raised my hoof to quiet down the dull chatter filling the courtyard of my palace. A few more flashbulbs went off, but a look from me stopped any more of that.

"Good afternoon, mares and gentlecolts. Before we begin, I must inform you that I will not be answering any questions at this time. That is for a separate press conference that the Crown will be doing in the next week or so. I am here only to make an announcement. Nothing more."

My mind flashed back to Roosevelt, to Churchill, and I realized that this speech would be repeated in history as long as my ponies remembered this war. I internally said a short prayer for the first time in years.

Help me, and help my ponies.

"Yesterday, the newly formed nation of Minotauria sent us a letter stating that their High General, Bludworth, died from the sting inflicted upon him by one of the newborn scorpion ponies. Bludworth was the last minotaur official that wished for peaceful negotiations between our nations. With his death, King Purgle found the reason he has been looking for since my ascension. The letter ended with the words 'The alliance of the Kingdom of Minotauria and the Empire of Griffonia do hereby officially declare war on the state of Equestria.'"

The crowd went wild at that, to say the least.

The flashbulbs started going off again, and the noise from the gathered reporters was deafening. I heard overlapping questions about what we were going to do with Ara, what our plans were, and so on. I heard ponies panicking, ponies crying, and I saw many ponies just staring at me in shock. I raised my hoof to about face level and kept it there, my expression not changing a single molecule. After about two minutes, the ponies in the crowd seemed to realize I wasn't going to elaborate further until they calmed down, and the chatter faded away, leaving the courtyard silent once again. Once I was sure I had the floor again, I cleared my throat and put my hoof back down.

"We will be instituting a draft, and I assure you that we will not play favorites. Everypony of age and sufficient health is eligible, regardless of race, gender, or social class. The monarchs of Equestria will take the battlefield alongside our soldiers. We do not expect you to do anything that we would not do ourselves. We will also be setting up volunteer stations for any of you who want to sign up to protect Equestria. I must also warn those of you in industry. Much of our economy will be geared towards the war. We have much to manufacture to sufficiently defend our great nation.

"I understand your worry. It is reasonable, and I urge you all to remember that fear is not cowardice. Fear is the first step towards bravery. I know that I have not ruled this land as long as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, or even Princess Cadance, but believe me when I say that during my time as your monarch, I have seen what you ponies are capable of. If the minotaurs and griffins wish to fight us because they see us as easy prey, they will find themselves surprised by our courage, our strength, our resourcefulness, and our resilience.

"Equestria has stood as a mighty nation for longer than anyone can remember, and some warmongering leaders are not going to bring us to our knees for the sake of their egos. They are fighting for pride, but we are fighting to protect our families, our homes, our neighbors and friends, our livelihoods, and when all pretense has been stripped away, and their soldiers are standing upon the field of battle and seeing what they have brought upon themselves, they will realize that they do not want to die for the pride of their leaders. But each and every Equestrian soldier will charge into battle and will fight with every fiber of their being. For they know that their actions are to make sure their families are safe from the tyranny of the invading forces. For every step that our enemies take onto Equestrian soil, we will make them pay with more blood and death than they ever thought possible.

"We do not do this alone. Sultan Mesud of Saddle Arabia has pledged his support, as have the Crystal Empire's forces. Together we shall show them the price of tyranny, and the downfall that it leads to. My beloved subjects, my fellow Equestrians: I will not lie to you and say that this time will be easy. It won't be. It will change us. But we will win. And when their armies are decimated, they will understand that our nation is not one to be trifled with. We love peace, but that is not a sign of weakness. They will understand that, and we will emerge from this crucible as strong as we have ever been."

I tilted my head to the crowd.

"Thank you."

* * * *

The country more or less went absolutely berserk.

After Celestia's press conference that pretty much said the same thing that I did, we began immediately gearing up for battle. Mesud sent twenty thousand soldiers to Equestria to protect our borders while we got our army ready, which was the first thing we started doing. We set up those volunteer stations in every single town in Equestria, and within a week we had ten thousand volunteers, with more coming in every day. That was on top of another five thousand we received from the first round of the draft. The buffaloes had also joined our side, mostly because the minotaurs would be attacking their land, too, so they had every reason to stand and fight. I had scientists working on mass producing my human weapons, which I kept under extremely heavy guard. No need to play that hand until we were ready.

As I had hoped, a few battalions of Zebrican berserkers entered on our side, and we were trying to see if we couldn't use them to get President Mando to support us in full. Unlikely, but a guy can hope.

Great. I wanted to avoid this planet's World War One, and here I am trying to get it organized.

I finished writing a letter to Cadance requesting that the Blade Wings use their contacts to give us a list of every single high ranking officer in both enemy militaries. It would be easier to cut the head off of the minotaur if we knew which head we were going after. With that done, I put it in my outbox on my desk where Time Keeper would pick it up and send it. Content that all of my desk work had been finished, I stood up and walked out of my office towards my throne room. Court was starting soon.

I didn't really look forward to it. Ninety percent of the petitions had been about the war. It got to the point where I had some of my staff go down the line asking the petitioners what they wanted, and if it was a simple question, or something that I didn't deal with, they'd direct them to the right pony.

It cut down on the petitioners by over half.

I walked into my throne room, escorted by Valiant and Private Blaze. I moved to my throne and sat down on it, looking down at Blaze to see if I couldn't discern his thought process. He hadn't so much as made eye contact with me since I asked him to take the captain's post again. Pity. I know he'd take the field with me, that wasn't in doubt, but I needed good leaders like him.

I took my eyes off of Blaze and nodded to the guards manning the doors. They saluted back and ignited their horns, pulling the large double doors open to allow the first pony in. Upon seeing who entered my court, I subtly grimaced.

Two ponies, one mare and one stallion, both with solemn expressions on their faces and dressed in black, trotted up to my throne and bowed low before me. They held the bow longer than I thought to be strictly necessary, but I saw the game they were playing at. Always nice to see my favorite noble this side of Blueblood.

"Prince Antares, we have come to ask for the lives of our children," County Vichy said, still bowing to me. "My sons received their draft notices yesterday evening, telling them to report to some training camp near Canterlot to become soldiers. Please..." Vichy stood up, and nudged his wife so she'd do the same. "They are the only heirs to our family name. Should they fall in battle, the Vichy name will die out for good. I-if they must go to war, give them positions as medics, or some other job where they are not on the front lines." Vichy bowed low again. "I beg of you, Prince Antares. I will give you anything you ask for. Just don't let my sons die."

I stared at him for a few moments, studying him. On one hoof, he annoyed me. I said from the start that the nobility was no more safe from the draft than the farmer picking oranges in a small town. On the other, though, I could understand. These were his children. He had seen them grow up, and loved them dearly. He didn't want them to die. Still...

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat, something that made Vichy stand up straight instantly.

"No." I raised my hoof to forestall any retorts. "I won't just let your sons die, of course. They are not fodder for me. They are not there to absorb arrows while the important soldiers do the real fighting. However, I said from the start that I would not show any special treatment in the draft. I meant it. I'm sorry, but your sons will march to war."

The mare instantly burst into tears, and Vichy looked at me like I just told him he was my new castle toilet cleaner. I could see a mix of incredulity and rage in his eyes as he tried to formulate a response.

"N-now Prince Antares, let's be reasonable here!" He took a step towards me. "You can't expect my sons to just abandon their duties to their family to go to war! You're not being fair!"

"Fair?!" My face twisted into a snarl as I shot to my hooves and flared my wings out to their fullest extent. "How in Equestria do you have the gall to say that to me?! Fair?! None of this is fair! We didn't ask for this war, but it's been thrust upon us anyway! I said that everypony was eligible for the draft from the moment I announced it, yet you come here begging me to play favorites with you?!" I scoffed and stomped towards them, something that made them quickly move back. "What of the other families whose sons and daughters are being sent off to war?! The ones who don't have a drop of noble blood? Many parents will lose their only children, Vichy, for that is the nature of war! What, you think you're better than them or deserve special treatment because of your wealth and standing? That is not the way that my country will be run, do you understand me? I will not have my little ponies look at the upper class and feel resentment because they have to go die, while the children of the nobility sit at home free from the worries of combat!"

I stomped my hoof on the ground and internally grinned when the two of them flinched back.

"I myself am taking the field alongside my subjects! If the highest authority in the land is fighting, what makes you think that your sons should be exempt? I don't want them to die; I don't want any of my subjects to die, but that is the path we walk together."

My anger faded away, and I folded my wings back against my sides. I closed my eyes, lowered my head, and rubbed my temple. The war hadn't even started and already I was tired of the whole thing.

"Should your sons die, we'll mourn. We'll mourn everypony who gives their life for Equestria. But understand that they will be heroes. You can be proud of them; proud that when the time came, and they had to choose between doing their duty or running like cowards, they chose to stand and fight to protect all they knew and loved." I looked back up at Vichy and his wife, both of whom were staring at me in awe, and sighed. "It's the fear that millions will have to endure in the coming months. Not just you." I turned around and began walking back to my throne. "Now go. Cherish what time you have left with your sons. If they don't report for duty when they're told to, they'll be arrested for treason. But that's not going to happen, is it? They'll do the right thing, and you'll be more proud of them than you have ever been in your lives."

* * * *

I groaned when I looked at the clock and saw that it was only five in the evening. I just wanted the day to be over. No such luck, I guess. I finished court and headed to my dining room for dinner. I told Time Keeper to tell my chefs to surprise me. I was in the mental state where food was just food. My brain shut itself off hours the moment I declared court over.

Right then I just wanted to eat something and relax without any interruptions.

"Prince Antares!"

Me dammit.

I inwardly groaned, but turned around to see one of the scientists I had on staff, Bubbling Beaker, trotting towards me, a stuffed manila folder floating lazily next to him. I didn't really like how wide his eyes were, as I knew it meant big news. Most likely bad.

I forced a neutral look onto my face and nodded at him. "Good evening, Mr. Beaker. How can I help you?"

Bubbling Beaker slipped into a hasty bow before shooting back up and waving the folder in my face. "I have been doing research on the venom from the two scorpion pony foals, and I have made a startling discovery!" He took a few sheets of paper out of the folder and shoved them in front of my face. I went cross-eyed trying to read them, gave up after a few seconds, and brushed them aside.

"How about you just give me the short version?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Bubbling Beaker chuckled uneasily. "My mistake. Anyhoo, I took a look at some properties of the venom and discovered that it matches very closely with certain hallucinogens. You mentioned that Mr. Bludworth was brushing his body like he was trying to get insects off of him, right? Well, if my data is correct, he was. He believed he saw insects crawling all over him as a result of Ara's sting."

"Great," I muttered. "So that stuff really isn't something you want to mess around with."

"Oh, but there's more! Something much more important!" Bubbling Beaker stuffed the papers back into his folder. "I ran some further tests on the venom to discern its potency. I know you didn't want it tested on living creatures, but I compared it to known potency levels of other venoms such as cobra, hornet, other scorpions, and so forth." Bubbling Beaker's eyes somehow went wider, and he stepped forward to stand on the tips of his hooves, putting his face uncomfortably close to mine. "Prince Antares, scorpions are just as venomous from youth as they are as adults, and I suspect the those foals are the same. When I checked the venom potency, I saw that it wasn't the type of venom mean to kill, but merely one intended to incapacitate! Keeps the meat fresh, I suppose. A healthy minotaur like Bludworth should have had no problem pulling through after the sting. It would take a week or two before he was back to full strength, but unless he was allergic to it somehow, which I find highly unlikely, the poison didn't actually do him in."

Really? Wait, so that means...

My face paled as the implications of his findings hit me. I gently pushed him back down to his hooves and put a hoof up to my mouth as my brain digested this new information.

"So you're saying that it's very likely that someone murdered Bludworth?"

"I'd say it's almost definite, Prince Antares."

And I had a pretty good idea of who. I really wouldn't put it past Purgle to get his war by murdering the one general of his who was for peace.

That son of a bitch.

I took a deep breath and gave Bubbling Beaker a weak smile. "Thank you for telling me this, Mr. Beaker. Should you find out anything else about their venom, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Of course, Prince Antares. I shall get back to my research at once."

* * * *

The cool night air drifted around me as I landed on one of the balconies of Canterlot Castle, hoping that my trip here wouldn't be in vain. I walked up to the large windows and looked through them, smiling when I saw the object of my affections sitting on her favorite pile of pillows and reading something or other. I raised a hoof and gently knocked on the window, making her jump a little. She looked over to her balcony and smiled when she saw me standing there. I returned it as she stood up, trotting over to her window to open it, letting me in.

"Good evening, Antares," Celestia said, exchanging a nuzzle with me. "How was your day?"

"Awful," I groaned. "And I expect to have a lot of days like today coming up."

Celestia chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I foresee many such days myself. It will be alright eventually. We will win this war and time will heal our nation."

"Yeah..." I paused for a moment. "We did more research on the scorpipony venom. Turns out it's not nearly potent enough to kill someone like Bludworth. It's designed only to incapacitate. I'm guessing that Purgle killed him so that he'd have an excuse to have his war."

Celestia's smile fell, and she sat down on the floor, her head lowered. I sat down next to her and wrapped my wing around her shoulders.

"But... just for tonight, can we forget all of that? Just for tonight, let's pretend that you and me are the only ponies in the world. No war, no death, nothing. Just us."

Celestia looked back up to me and smiled before leaning in for a kiss.

March to the Front

"Apple Bloom?"

I gently placed a wing on her back, something that garnered absolutely no response. She hadn't stopped staring at the wall since she'd been admitted, as far as the doctors knew. Celestia began working on mending Apple Bloom's legs with the same spell she used on me when Luna broke my spine. Still, Apple Bloom did not budge.

"Apple Bloom, can you hear us?" I said, stroking her back with my wing in what I hoped was a comforting manner. "We have something to tell you about Applejack."

"Go away."

The reply came out as barely a whisper. If the room had much more noise, I wouldn't have heard it at all. Apple Bloom took a deep, shaky breath and nudged my wing off.

"Don't wanna anymore," she said, not raising her voice.

"Apple Bloom, I know this hurts, but we actually have good news." Apple Bloom's ear twitched, and she curled herself up into a ball, now that Celestia had healed her legs. "Applejack is alive, Apple Bloom. She's going to be okay."

For the first time since I came in, Apple Bloom looked over to me. Her eyes went wide, and I saw tears brimming in them.

"Sh-she's not gonna...?"

I smiled at her and shook my head. "She's alive, Apple Bloom. You're not going to lose her. I'm not gonna lie, she's hurt really badly. But she'll recover. I swear it."

Apple Bloom whimpered and tears began streaming down her face. She sobbed once and leaped forward, latching onto my foreleg and weeping. I wrapped a wing around her and gently nuzzled her head.

"Don't wanna lose anypony," Apple Bloom moaned. "Can't lose AJ."

"And you won't," I said. "You and your family and Sweetie Belle and her family and Scootaloo and her family, you're all going to be protected. Nothing will happen to you at all, I swear. You'll want for nothing while you're in our care."

Apple Bloom squeezed my leg harder as I felt the fur becoming wet with her tears. "Just want it to stop."

"I know. We do too," I said, looking up at Celestia. I could see tears in her eyes, too. "We're going to do everything in our power to make sure that the war ends quickly. It's gone on too long as it is."

I let Apple Bloom cry for a little while longer. She needed to let it all out. She needed a time to cry in sorrow and relief in equal measure. I couldn't use magic to erase her memories of seeing Applejack shot, but I could help her through it.

After a few minutes, I quietly cast a sleeping spell on Apple Bloom and tucked her into bed. Her fully healed legs meant that she could go be with Big Mac and Granny Smith once she'd woken up. They were both talking to the doctor about Applejack's condition at the moment.

Which, truth be told, wasn't that great. The doctors had decided to put her in a magical coma so that they could see if the arrow had hit her brain in any way. Plus, her body needed to get over the shock of being shot like that, which would take time. Then, of course, was the matter with her eye. They'd already removed it. The arrow had done too much damage. We already had ponies working on making her a fake one.

I nuzzled Celestia before the two of us walked out of the room, closing the door behind us. We nodded to the doctor who was standing outside, making sure nopony entered while we worked.

"So what now?" I muttered as we made our way out of the hospital. "I know you've said that I have a blank check to make my weapons, but that's going to take time, which I'm not sure we have. That's not counting the fact that we've just started moving troops to the front."

"What have you completed?" Celestia asked, putting a sound spell around us. "Do you have anything usable to take to the front?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I have some napalm. Not enough to wipe out their entire army, but enough to do some serious damage. Given that we already have traitors in our ranks, I don't see how we can start mass-producing stuff like that without the blueprints getting out."

"So we can only fight with what we have currently, is that what you are saying?"

I nod. "It's how it looks right now. I will, of course, be working on it throughout the war, but for right now, we don't have enough to win it in one go."

"But enough to decide a battle?"

I bobbed my head. "Possibly. Depends on the size of the battle. Are the siege weapons ready to go?"

"They are."

"Good. That will give us a distinct leg up."

We exited the hospital and used our combined magic to teleport to my palace. We reappeared in my throne room and, to my extreme annoyance, a few dozen of the southern troops bowed low to me.

Not that they were allowed in here anyway.

"Prince Antares!" Tulip said, smiling widely at me. "It is a delight to see you again. I hope the Elements are well?"

"Well enough," I responded. "Though I have an important job for you."

"Yes, Prince Antares," Tulip said, bowing low. Sheesh.

"No need for that, Tulip. I need you to be quick about this: I need you to find a set of twins known as the Flim/Flam brothers. I have need of them."

Tulip's smile faltered slightly. "But... didn't they hurt your friend Applejack by trying to take over their farm?"

I narrowed my eyes, but spoke with complete calm. "Perhaps I misheard you, Ms. Tulip. That sounded suspiciously like you questioning one of my orders."

Tulip yipped and ran right out of the throne room, babbling apologies that I didn't really care to hear. Hopefully once this stupid war was over the southern soldiers would go home and I'd be through with all of this nonsense about being worshiped to that extreme. They would leave me alone.

The ones that survived, that is.

I sighed and motioned for the southern troops to leave my throne room. They did so without question. My guards shot them smug looks. If I wasn't careful, there'd be major strife between the ponies who had been with me since the beginning, and the ones who worshiped me. To make matters potentially worse, I'd side with my guards every time. Tulip didn't really seem to understand that.

She would.

"Now, to business," I said, turning back to Celestia. "Our troops aren't quite ready to fight yet, but I think--"

The door to my throne room burst open, and Time Keeper ran in, his eyes wild. Gosh darn it, Time Keeper. Knock! Every times you burst in, something bad happens.

"Prince Antares, Princess Celestia!" he cried, sinking into a hasty bow. "They're here! The minotaurs have begun their attack on the western border!"

"You are sure of this?" Celestia said.

"We have confirmation from the Saddle Arabian scouts. There is no end to their army, Prince Antares! We're doomed!"

"Calm down, Time Keeper," I said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "Now, are they here yet? How much time do we have?"

"A day or two, if that," Time Keeper said, his eye twitching. "I don't know if we can get our own army in a position to block them!"

"Leave that to me," I said, beckoning Celestia to follow me out of the throne room. "We have to move now. I'll go to our main training camp and oversee preparations there. We'll do everything we can to move out tonight."

"I've sent the trains to move our troops. We might be able to just make it, though that depends on the speed of their attack." Celestia grimaced. "I wish I could be out there with you, but we both know that can't happen. I will try not to dwell on it. I'll go get Luna and send her with you."

"Sounds good," I responded.

The two of us stopped and looked each other in the eyes. Both of us tried to hide our fear but, yeah, that didn't happen. Celestia leaned in for a kiss and nuzzle.

"We will make it through this, Antares," she said, leaning her head against my shoulder. "I have seen much in my long life. Enough to watch maniacs like Purgle rise and fall in more cases than I'd care to admit. He will merely be the next in a long line."

"I hope you're right," I mumbled. "But for now, if he is going to fall, we'll have to help him on his way however we can." A thought struck me, and I tapped my jaw. "I just thought of something: we need to focus more on the griffins. If we can completely take them out of it by installing Kathyrine onto the throne, we'll be in good shape. I don't even care if they join the war. Just so long as we know that we won't have a griffin army marching on our eastern border."

"Shrewd," Celestia replied. "While you and Luna defend our western border, I will do everything that I can to get Kathyrine installed as the next empress of Griffonia."

"Well then, best of luck to you."

"And to you."

* * * *

I stared out into the veritable ocean of tents and a slight grimace creased my face. Until then, the war had seemed like some sort of distant threat. Here, looking at all of the soldiers in front of me, it kind of hit me that this was actually going to happen. Not all of these ponies would survive the war, either. Heck, I might not survive the war. There is no way that they wouldn't use whatever Nightmare Weapons they had. Given that Luna had her immunity to them, we'd do our best to have her neutralize them before they could get to Celestia or I. Cadance could be killed by conventional means, so we'd have to really work on keeping her safe. Not that she couldn't hold her own in a fight, she totally could, but she didn't have the strength that Celestia, Luna, and I did.

My appearance sent a shockwave throughout the training camp. Ponies began running around like ants, trying to make things look good for me. I'd already started sending orders through the camp that it was time to go, and various junior officers had already begun trying to round up their charges. Several senior officers charged toward me and began chatting away at me like some kind of ocean wave. Wonderful. It took me a few minutes to get them to calm down enough to let them know my orders.

Basically those boiled down to "we needed to leave yesterday."

Ponies began strapping on their armor and moving into formation. I could see that many still hadn't gotten the particulars of getting armor on down, so they had to be helped by more experienced soldiers. Officers barked at them for being too slow. Several hundred non-combat ponies ran around packing up tents, which normally the soldiers would do themselves, but we were just running out of time. We'd already moved around thirty thousand troops to the front, which was where Luna had been stationed in case I couldn't get there with the rest of them in time. Still, even between those troops, the zebras, Saddle Arabians and buffalo, we'd be outnumbered ten-to-one if they brought their full might down upon us.

Which they probably would. I needed to get the rest of these ponies to the front, and soon. Luna had means to contact me if they arrived quicker than expected. I still needed to be at the front lines to direct the best use of the napalm. I'd given Luna a crash course on it, but we'd both feel more comfortable if I was the one directing its use.

I wanted to say that I quieted them all down for a few minutes while I gave them some big rallying speech. You know, some William Wallace Braveheart thing that would be used to inspire my soldiers throughout the war. It'd be a nice thing, but we couldn’t do it. It would just be wasting precious time.

After a few hours, issuing orders became routine and I allowed myself to emotionally detach from the situation. A lot of these ponies would be dead before the war was over, even with the weapons we had made. I was stupid in that I didn't focus more on making a ton of napalm. It's not to say that we didn't have a fair amount. We did, but for the size of the minotaur army, what we had amounted to a drop in the bucket. I only hoped that the psychological aspect of seeing fellow soldiers burned alive with sticky fire would be enough to cause some serious problems in their ranks. They wouldn't want to fight an opponent with weapons like that.

I hoped. I really had to cling onto that. I wouldn't be able to tell until we actually entered battle.

My actions almost became mechanical as I watched our army load into trains for the front. Those that could fly were already in the air. I regretted that we didn't have a means of moving more troops faster, but we worked with what we had. We had a circular train track from point A and point B, and that allowed several trains to circle around, picking up and dropping off ponies at much higher speeds than we could normally accomplish with just one or two tracks. All things considered, things went well enough, though it would still probably take a few days before the last of our army made it to the front. That doesn't even count the ponies still in training.

Once I was content that things could run smoothly without me, I flew to the front, giving words of encouragement to the pegasi soldiers I passed. It almost felt like flying among a flock of birds returning from the south at the start of spring. Although these birds wore armor and carried weapons and could talk.

Maybe I should look into weaponizing birds somehow. It wouldn't be the first time it happened in war.

I touched down at the base camp of our army after a flight that lasted a couple of hours. Already the soldiers were setting their tents up or running drills under the command of unit leaders. I flew over to the highest ranking one I could find. Valiant Shield, as a matter of fact, who recently enjoyed a promotion to a captain of the army. Tulip was quite proud of him.

"Captain Valiant," I said, causing him to turn around and salute me as a greeting. "Things are going well here, I hope?"

"As well as they can be, Prince Antares," he replied. "We have scouts reporting in every half hour on the movements of the minotaur army. From the looks of things, they'll be here sometime tomorrow afternoon, if they rest for the night and keep up their pace."

"Anything we can do to buy some time?" I asked. "Anything feasible, that is."

Valiant shrugged and began walking with me in the direction of our main defensive position. "It's hard while they're actually on the move to poison their food supplies and such. We have been doing things like that whenever possible, with a few casualties on our end unfortunately, and not really enough to show for it." Valiant sighed and pulled out the list of high priority targets that we'd given to all officers, complete with the red X through the griffin general we'd already taken out. "We haven't gotten any of these. The griffin general had his own private tent, which made him easy to pick out. The minotaur leaders don't do that, as far as we can see. Any tents they have look exactly the same as the other ones, and that doesn't count the fact that their army is massive."

Valiant's mouth went thin, and his ear flicked. "I've seen the pictures, Prince Antares. Even though I have, I still can't believe just how large their army is. If the front line of the army started here..." He pointed to a spot a few feet in front of us. "Then it would stretch all the way to the horizon and keep going even further. That's on top of the fact that we've spotted a few diamond dogs. We're not quite sure what they're using them for. The siege weapons are ready to go, and we have a decent amount of arrows and such, but even if we used up all of our ammunition and hit something every time, we'd still have a giant army to deal with."

"Well, that's why I brought along some of my human weapons," I replied. "They're used to dealing with things like catapults and arrows. What I'm bringing..." I smirked. "They'll run for the hills once they see what it does."

Valiant shot me a weak, but hopeful smile. "I really hope you're right. If we can make it so that they don't set hoof inside of Equestria, that would be for the best."

"Agreed."

Valiant and I continued to walk in silence for a few moments while I observed the goings on of the Equestrian army. The one prevalent tone that I noticed throughout the camp was one of unease. Not total fear, I think my human weapons gave them hope that I had some trump cards up my sleeve, but all of them realized that any one of them could die tomorrow. Heck, I could die tomorrow if things went completely wrong. Or worse, they'd capture me and use me as a hostage somehow. They could absolutely chop off my horn and wings if they used a Nightmare Weapon. Horns could always grow back. Wings not so much. I inwardly shuddered at the thought.

Granted, if Celestia found out they did something like that to me, she'd go straight to the front, pregnant or not.

We reached the front defensive line, which sat about four miles away from the main camp. We'd chosen it because of the hills that we could set up on that overlooked flat plains. It would literally be an uphill battle for them to overrun our position. We knew they'd come our way, simply because that's where our army was. Purgle thought he could beat anything that we throw at him, so he sent his troops straight at us to prove it. Pride can be such a fun thing to manipulate sometimes.

Of course, that also meant we had a few hundred thousand minotaurs coming with the intent to kill us all.

No one ever said this was going to be easy.

Still, we weren't totally stupid. Luna had taken some troops north, while Cadance took some south, just in cast part of their army split and tried to flank us. There's only so much stupidity we can milk from pride after all, and we couldn't completely rely on it either.

About half a mile out, several groups of ponies worked on another little surprise I had in mind for the attacking minotaurs. Something that would definitely slow them down, provided we completed it in time.

I was just about to go down and check on their progress, when a zebra with messy hair armed with only bladed greaves and a bandoleer holding several containers of potions walked up to me. She shot me a toothy smile and inclined her head in a bow.

"Good afternoon to you, Prince Antares. It is a pleasure to see you here."

"I'm glad to be here," I replied, subtly casting a spell to confirm that I was actually talking to a zebra. "I am also glad that you are here. We need all of the help we can get, and your reputation does precede you."

"Aww, you flatter me, Prince Antares," the zebra said, her grin letting me know that she did, in fact, appreciate the flattery. Well, I meant it. Her and her fellows were coming to fight and die for us. "I see it as my duty. If that rotter Purgle actually did some damage to you and, paradise forbid, you lost the war, there's no way he's not coming after us next. Me and the rest of us are just doing our duty to our country, even if President Mando doesn't believe that."

"Well, I'm sure he has his reasons for not wanting to get involved in a global war," I said with a smirk. "And he has told us that he thinks we'll win."

"I'm sure you will," the zebra said with a nod. "Glory would also be a nice little bonus for helping you out. I've never known a berserker who looked at a big fight and didn't want to join."

"Yes, I know," I said. "I have heard stories about your kind, Ms...?"

"Oh, how silly of me," she said, inclining her head in a bow again. "My name is Grina. I'm the leader of the zebra volunteers. I've been fighting battles for about twenty years now, but me and the rest of them haven't really gotten the opportunity to fight in something like this." A manic grin crossed her face, and I noticed Valiant take an uneasy step backwards. "That jerk really has it coming. We're quite excited, if you must know the truth. When we're not training over here, we're playing poker with those cards you gave out."

Ah, yes, those. That's something else I took from Earth militaries. Basically we'd produced thousands of packs of playing cards with the pictures of the minotaur and griffin leaders we wanted dead on them. We'd been especially diligent in hoofing those out to the cloud snipers we'd trained. Guess the berserkers got their hooves on a few packs.

"Memorized their faces, have you?"

Grina nodded. "Sure have. Cut off the head of the minotaur and the body dies. A leaderless force is a disorganized one, and a disorganized force folds faster than a poker player with a ten high."

"That is the idea," I admitted. "I guess we'll be finding out how well all of our preparations end up working sometime tomorrow then.

"Sure will," Grina said, her grin widening. "And here you are right in the thick of things. I like that about you. It's a weak general who leads from behind. You've gotta get so close to them that you can spit in the eye of the enemy! That's the way to do it!"

"It's an easy way to get killed," Valiant muttered.

"I'm sure the grunts you're sending to the very front line would certainly agree," Grina said with a nod. "Somebody has to be the front. It's a crappy job, sure, but if you're equal parts smart and lucky, I think things will work out."

"Maybe," I replied. "Though there are no certainties in war."

"I know. That's why I like a good fight so much!" Grina said, bouncing up and down, causing a few of the potions on her bandoleer to clack together. I began to wonder if they might break. "One thing I will say, though. Warfare isn't going to ever be the same after tomorrow. Two of the most powerful nations in the world, militarily speaking, are going to hit each other with everything they have, and some of that everything is stuff nobody has ever seen before. It's enough to get the blood pumping, that's for sure!"

"I suppose," I muttered, looking back over to the ponies preparing the battlefield. "I also look forward to seeing what you bring to the table."

"You shouldn't be disappointed," Grina said. "Zebrican berserkers have been doing this kind of thing for thousands of years. We fought Celestia and Luna to a stalemate once. We can handle a bunch of cows with delusions of grandeur."

"I hope so," I said. "However, while this conversation has been interesting, I'm afraid that I must go check on the progress down there."I tilted my head at her. "If you'll excuse me."

"Say no more, Prince Antares, I've got ya. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works just as much as you are. Should be all kinds of fun. I'll see you on the field tomorrow."

Grina trotted away, allowing me to head on down to each of the sites we'd begun work on. Once the ponies working saw me, many of them saluted or bowed to me, but quickly kept on working. I scanned the sites and decided they needed my help. I turned to Valiant.

"Valiant, if you could please gather another hundred or so ponies to come help us down here, I'd appreciate that." I ignited my horn and picked up a shovel. "We'll need all of the help we can get." Valiant saluted me and ran off, leaving me to get to work with the rest of them.

* * * *

We finished around late evening. The sun hadn't quite set yet, but it would in an hour or two. Celestia was keeping the sun up a little later than usual for this time of year so that we could get more work done, but she needed to set it sometime. We did get it done to my satisfaction, so that was an obvious plus.

Having said that, if I wasn't an alicorn, I'm positive I'd need to go back to my tent and just collapse on the ground. I'd done enough work as a human to know what would leave me sore in the morning. Being an alicorn meant that I could have kept going for a few more days straight. Best that I didn't, though. I wanted my magic to be at full power for the next day.

I walked through the camp where most of the soldiers were eating dinner. Vegetable stew and bread. It reminded me that I felt a little peckish myself. I hadn't really had breakfast or lunch. I found the nearest food line and proceeded to wait my turn. Several soldiers insisted that I take their spot, but I refused. They worked just as hard as I did today. I couldn't be more proud of them.

After about twenty minutes, I collected my bowl of stew and slice of bread and looked for a place to sit down. I looked for any troops that looked especially nervous, and struck gold when I found one. A rather familiar one, actually. I moved up and sat down next to her.

"Hey, Cheers. How's it going?"

Cheerilee yipped and almost dropped the bowl of stew that she'd been picking at but not really eating. I caught it in my magic, allowing her to snap to attention with a salute.

"T-TD, you startled me!" she said, not dropping her salute.

"I hope that basic training hasn't changed you too much, Cheerilee." I motioned to the spot next to me with my head. "Sit down. You're far too tense right now."

"Gee, I wonder why," Cheerilee muttered, taking her seat again as best as she could with her armor. I floated the stew back to her and began working on my own bowl. "I could only die tomorrow. Then who'd help my students?"

"Hey, none of that now," I said, putting my wing on her back. "I can't lie to you and say that this is going to be easy, but I truly believe that you're going to get through this. You'll be back to your students, and this war will be a distant memory."

"I really wish that I could believe that, TD," Cheerilee said, leaning her head on my shoulder. A nearby officer glared at her for it, but stopped when I glared right back at him. "Let's say I do survive: I'll have probably killed some minotaurs to get to that point. I'll have seen friends die. Not just from Ponyville either. I connected with some of the other ponies during basic training, and I don't think we would have gotten through it were it not for the support that we gave each other. Can you honestly tell me that they're all going to survive? Or that you can somehow save everypony you drafted from Ponyville?" She looked up at me and must have seen the look on my face, because she flattened her ears and turned her gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry, TD. I shouldn't be so bleak."

"It's fine," I said quietly, staring into my bowl. "I can see why you'd feel that way." I didn't want to tell her that she was right. Her morale seemed low enough as it was.

But yeah... she was.

My gaze trailed from my stew to the crossbow strapped to Cheerilee's back, and the knives at her side. Combine that with the armor she wore and she just... didn't look like Cheerilee. It didn't help that her mane had been cut considerably to meet military standards for mane length. Not a buzz cut like in the movies, but more of a pixie style. Something that wouldn't interfere with her helmet. But no, she was still Cheerilee. Just Cheerilee with a short mane, armor, weapons and the knowledge of how to use a crossbow and knives to kill other things.

"I'll help you however I can," I said quietly. "They're all going to burn. Each and every inch they move into Equestria, they're going to pay for it with more blood and death than they thought possible from us. I will kill Purgle personally if I can. He's not going to make our fellow ponies afraid ever again once this is over. No one will, I promise you. You won't have to be afraid. They're going to attack, and they'll come to understand why that's the worst thing that they could have done. We'll win this war, I swear."

I looked over at Cheerilee and saw, to my surprise, her shivering. She looked at me in a way that... I dunno. I couldn't really put my hoof on it. I didn't like it. The closest thing that I can connect it to would be the foal abuser I arrested when I first ascended. She didn't seem to be afraid of Purgle. She looked scared of me.

"You've changed a lot, haven't you, TD?" she whispered. She flinches back and holds up a hoof as though I'm going to slap her or something. "N-not that that's bad, of course. Y-you have a nation to rule now, and we're at war. That would change ponies, or humans. You should change. I mean, you're getting stronger and... Purgle's trying to kill us and..." Cheerilee's ear twitched. "I'd follow you anywhere, TD. You know that. All of the ponies here would. I know w-we're going to win. You're right. Things are going to go back to the way they were. Of course you're right. You're a prince. You're right all the time. It's--"

"Cheers, I appreciate it," I say quietly, trying to hide my pain. "We'll be fine tomorrow."

"Of course." Cheerilee says. She sets down her half-eaten bowl of stew and gets to her hooves. "It's getting late, TD. I'd best get back to my tent. I want to be well-rested for tomorrow, right?"

I look up from my own bowl and realize she's right. The sun is going down. Some of the ponies have already started lighting torches and fires.

"Yeah," I reply, setting my own bowl down. "You rest easy, you hear? Things will be fine."

"Okay."

Cheerilee turns around and walks into the crowd of soldiers, and it isn't more than a few moments before I lose sight of her completely. I sigh and pick my bowl of stew back up. If she'll actually get a good night's sleep, I'll be rather shocked. Hopefully she can get a few hours, then let adrenaline do the rest for her. She's kinda lucky. She's an archer, so she just has to point into the crowd of minotaurs and shoot.

I light my own fire and eat in relative silence for a few more minutes. No other soldiers sit down to eat with me, which I'm not really sure how to feel about. I want to be approachable to them, but at the same time, I don't want to scare them like I just did with Cheerilee.

So it makes perfect sense that it's not a pony that takes Cheerilee's place next to me.

"You ponies make some nice stew, I have to admit," Grina says, plopping down next to me. She's still wearing that bandoleer. "You look lonely, though."

"A prince's life is lonely," I reply, echoing a statement Celestia has said a few times and switching the gender. "I'm fairly young, so I'm still more attached to the mortals around me than I probably should be."

"Aw don't think like that," Grina says, taking one of the potions out of her bandoleer and dumping the contents into her stew. "In fact, you surprised me, working alongside your troops like that out there, almost as if you were one of them. Don't think they haven't noticed."

"I suppose."

"Well don't suppose. Realize it." Grina mixed the potion in with the stew for a few moments before taking a bite. She seemed to like the result, because she nodded in approval. "And you're not completely alone. You've got Celestia and Luna, haven't you? And you're about to become a father to boot. That's very crowded loneliness, if you ask me."

"It is, actually," I confirm. “Celestia, Luna and Titus are the exception. Heck, I don't even know if Titus will be immortal or not. I might have to watch my own child wither and die in front of me, just like everypony else except for Celestia and Luna, and that's if nothing completely unexpected happens. I can't begin to imagine what it was like for Celestia to rule for a thousand years without another immortal there with her."

"Maybe you'll find out, maybe you won't. Maybe we're all going to die, maybe we kick some serious plot and end the war tomorrow." Grina took another few sloppy bites of her stew before continuing. "I'm always amused by how serious alicorns can be. Or any race that lives a long time. I'm a berserker. My whole job is to charge straight into battle and kill as many things as I can and hope that somebody doesn't score a lucky hit. We are literally the first zebras that the president calls when he needs something. We try for some tactics, but in the end it boils down to ‘I am going to get close enough to the enemy that I bite their face off if I must.’"

I turn to her and raise an eyebrow. "And have you ever bitten someone's face off in battle?"

"Sure. You do what you have to do to win." She must have noticed my look of discomfort, because she shot me a smile. Not a particularly happy or friendly one, but I appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. "The average life expectancy of a berserker during a time of conflict is pretty short. As such, we don't tend to play the long game like you alicorns do. We could get shot in the face with a crossbow bolt tomorrow protecting somezebra. We could get in a one-on-one with some nasty diamond dog and both end up dead. It's happened hundreds of times, and it'll happen plenty more even once I'm long gone. Why would I worry about tomorrow when I've got today to worry about?"

Grina slurped up the rest of her stew and tossed the empty bowl aside. It landed a little too close to the fire, so I used my magic to pull it back. Grina looked at the bowl for a few seconds, almost studying it, before starting the conversation up again.

"However, even though we focus on the now, we are still aware that one tiny little event or action could have serious consequences if we're not careful. Even if those consequences aren't readily apparent in your lifetime."

"I'm guessing you have some example in mind."

She smirked at that. "Sure do. It's one all zebras know from a young age." She glanced over to me. "You hear about the hats?"

I frowned in thought, but nothing about her statement really clicked. "No. I don't think so."

"Well, you've got pony things to deal with, I guess, so you wouldn't have focused as much on silly things zebras did long before your great-great grandparents were born." She paused for a moment. "That is what you call them, right?" I nod, allowing her to continue. "Good. I wasn't totally sure. I can never tell what human stuff matches with our culture. Anyway, the hats." She slid a water bottle out of a side pouch and takes a long pull from it.

"So there were these two zebra nobles, you see. This would have been a few hundred years after Celestia banished Luna. They didn't like each other much. Didn't really speak to each other. They always wore the most outlandish hats that they could. It used to be tradition for zebra nobles to wear hats. Didn't really matter what kind, just so long as you wore one. Now, both of these zebras were very important in the court of our king back then, so while they didn't talk to each other much, they did see each other a lot. I guess one of them must have gotten it in his head that a bigger hat meant more prestige. Just some way to make himself look better."

"So I take it he showed up to court one day with a bigger hat."

"He did. He did at that. Very expensive thing. Must have set him back a little bit. The other noble saw what he was up to and came to court the next week with an even bigger, more expensive looking hat. It kind of went on like that for a little bit, until the other nobles started doing it too, because it amused the king. It got to the point where the bigger and more outlandish and expensive your hat was, the more prestige you had. Some nobles even suffered neck pain from some of this absolutely bonkers hats that they'd wear."

She took another swig of water and shot me a knowing grin. "The ambassador to Zebrica at the time even got into it, if only to fit in and command a little respect. He picked this odd pointy hat with bells on it."

"Starswirl the Bearded?"

"Yes, yes, that's the one!" Grina said with a nod. "Starswirl. I think he knew how dumb it all was, but until his dying day, he wore that hat. I read something of his once about it, and he said he kept the hat to remind himself that even if something seems important, that doesn't mean it can't be absolutely ridiculous and a waste of time." Grina shrugged and screwed the cap back on her canteen. "I personally think that, for all of his talents, he just liked putting bells on his clothes."

"Could be either one," I agreed.

"Right. But even he left before things got wickedly out of control. See, the nobility was spending all of this money on hats. I'm sure many of them privately thought it was stupid, but when in Canterlot..." Grina waved a hoof. "It didn't really matter in the end. The big problem came when the hats getting more ridiculous eventually coincided with a rather nasty depression. Zebra nobles kept spending more money on these hats, while at the same time, commoners were barely getting enough to eat. It made for a rather angry populace." Grina shifted onto her back and propped herself up on her elbows. "A being will put up with a lot. They have to. All bets are off the table when they can't feed their families. That's when things get really bad. It led to a giant revolution in the end. Very bloody. At the end of it, well... we don't have a noble class anymore, and we have a president instead of a king." A wry smile crossed Grina's face. "And you know the funniest part? The two nobles who started the whole darned thing had been dead for a hundred years by that point."

I didn't respond right away. I merely stared into the fire and chewed over her story. It sounded ridiculous, but then again, a lot of stuff does in hindsight. Knowing Canterlot's nobility, I wouldn't put something like that past beings with more money than sense.

"The reason I bring that up is this," Grina began, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Beings with influence will always create a bigger ripple than they think they do. Tiny actions that they don't really think twice about could have consequences lasting centuries. You went out there today and worked in the dirt right alongside your soldiers like it was the most natural thing in the world. You may think that the only thing it came out to in the end is that you all got the project finished. You'd be wrong.

"I've been listening to the troops around here. Even the ones who weren't out there today. They can't stop talking about it. They noticed that their prince is getting right in the middle of things instead of holing up in a warm tent a mile from the field. They noticed that you stood in line with them instead of having a servant bring you something. They noticed that you're eating the same things they are instead of importing something better from Canterlot. They noticed that you're eating with them."

I raised an eyebrow and pointedly looked around the fire. It was just the two of us. Grina rolled her eyes. "What, you think that just because they noticed that you're eating among them means that they're completely comfortable just casually strolling up to a literal god and chowing down on stew with him? You've got a ways to go before that happens." Grina stood up and put the stew bowl on her back. "But you've started going down that path. That'll change the war, I think. Your soldiers trust you more now. They'll fight harder for a prince that they believe will fight just as hard for them. That path will lead to several others, many of which you won't realize are there." Grina's confident grin returned. "But, that's for you alicorns to think about. I'm not going to stay up late pondering that kind of thing. I'm gonna sharpen my weapons and go to bed. Then I'm going to wake up and think about the minotaurs I'm gonna kill!"

Before I could respond, she trotted away, leaving me alone next to the fire.

* * * *

I awoke early the next morning to a sunbeam peeking through my tent. I briefly wondered if Celestia had something to do with that before realizing that no, probably not. I yawned and got to my hooves. I could already hear the sounds of ponies moving around outside. I'd need to ask for a report on how close the minotaurs were. Hours away, if the initial reports were correct. We'd need to work fast to get into position, but I figured we could make it work.

I turned away from my tent flap and to a stand in my tent. The one that held my armor.

Gah, my armor.

I sighed and walked up to it, igniting my horn and taking the helmet off of the stand. Most of the armor was made of lightweight steel lined with mithril. It reminded me of the full plate armor that medieval knights wore. It had been tailored to me specifically and hit with as many enchantments as possible. Comfort spells, protection spells, spells that ensured that nopony but me could put it on, healing spells... basically with the cost of this armor, I could have been able to buy my hometown. The worst part was that we still didn't know how well this armor would hold up against a Nightmare Weapon. Would the magic in the weapon nullify the magic in the armor? I didn't know. I hoped not. The armor had taken a full eight months to make. The armor itself had been painted red with a black scorpion on the breastplate. I guess as some kind of intimidation thing.

Well, no sense wasting the day. I didn't like the idea, but Celestia would kill me if I went into battle without it. Plus, I do have to admit that the armor itself was comfortable and not restrictive. I began strapping it on.

In terms of weapons, the armor had wing blades that came with it. We'd worked at getting them so sharp that, combined with the sheer power that alicorn wings have behind them in the first place, I could probably cut an unarmored minotaur in half with little effort. They weren't my main weapon, though. Merely my backup weapon. No, my main weapon got a little more creative than that.

When Celestia asked me what kind of weapon I felt most comfortable wielding, I didn't have to think twice. Most ponies opted for swords. I did not. My main weapon comprised of a rather large war hammer, actually. The best part, though? It wasn't a typical war hammer. No, the actual hammer part was a mix of steel and diamond, which we'd fused to the staff I'd gotten at the Gala, Reginald. So, if by some means the actual hammer part was destroyed, I'd still have a pretty fearsome weapon to fight with. Plus the memories that had carved themselves into Reginald made for a pretty awesome looking weapon, if I do say so myself. One hit with that would destroy the target. Of course, I also had a short sword at my side just in case I needed it. So between that, my hammer, my wing blades and my magic, I felt that I'd be fine.

I finished strapping my armor on and exited my tent to thunderous applause and cheering from my soldiers. They chanted my name and began following me as I made my way to the front. Officers began molding the mass of soldiers into something that looked like an organized fighting force, ordering the troops to go where they had been assigned. I took to the air, my armor doing little to actually restrict my flight, and raised my war hammer above my head, triggering deafening shouts from the troops below me. I flew ahead of them to lead the march to the front.

The minotaurs would arrive soon. For the first time, I felt like we might actually be ready to meet them on the field.

Author's Note

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