The Stone Queen

Chapters

Chapter 2: A New Mare
Chapter 3: Leaders and Leadership
Chapter 4: Immortal
Chapter 5: Politics
Chapter 6: Do or Die
Chapter 7: The Price
Chapter 8: Betrayal
Epilogue
Chapter 1: Stephani

Chapter 2: A New Mare

Four Years Later

“Time! Return your weapons!”

Stephani set down her shield and practice spear with the others and returned to stand in a line with the other foals in front of her uncle Xifomachos, the combat instructor.

“Today, we have one other item of business,” Xifomachos said. “Stephani is old enough to receive her trial to become an adult. Step forward, Stephani.”

Stephani walked forward with a measured stride, aiming for the sweet spot between rushing and dawdling.

Xifomachos pulled a blanket off of a small cage with a fox inside. The fox jumped up and bounced around inside the cage. “You’re in luck. This trial should be easy. All you have to do is catch this fox and bring it back to me.”

“How am I supposed to-”

Xifomachos opened the cage and the fox took off like a shot, running full speed for the treeline. “Better hurry, filly.”

Stephani lost another precious second to confusion, then ran after the fox with all the speed she could. The fox may have had a head start, but Stephani’s long legs were quickly closing the distance between them. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard. The fox abruptly jinked to the left, and Stephani nearly lost her footing trying to match the maneuver. She widened her stance so she’d be ready for the next turn, but it slowed her running. The fox ran through a bush and Stephani leapt over it, only to find herself falling into a ravine. Her hooves slipped and she tumbled head-over-hocks down the muddy embankment. She tucked her legs close to her body to protect both them and her belly, and finally landed with a splash in the ankle-deep creek at the bottom.

Stephani scrambled to her hooves to find the fox standing on the other side of the creek, watching her. She froze and stared back for a second. Perhaps this was the test. Maybe she was supposed to use charm to capture the fox. She folded her hind legs slowly and sat down, then lowered her head. “Hey, little guy, come on back. I won’t hurt you. I just need to take you back to my uncle so he can see I’m ready to be a mare. You wouldn’t want me to stay a filly forever, would you?”

The fox cocked its head.

“I don’t have anything to feed you, but I could scratch your head? Maybe I could feed you when we get back?”

The fox started to casually walk away.

“Don’t you walk away from me!” Stephani stood up and the fox took off running once more, so she chased it again. “Right,” she panted, “no more talking!”

The fox led her on a merry chase for the next several hours. They alternately crept through the forest and ran full speed, but every time Stephani thought she was about to catch it, the fox would trick her and get away again. Stephani’s face was bruised and scratched from tree branches, her coat was covered with mud, and her breath came in wheezes, but the fox seemed to be tiring too. She was getting close to the fox, like she had many times before, herding it toward a cliff in hopes of trapping it, when it suddenly ran up into a tree on the cliff edge. Now it really was trapped.

Stephani carefully started climbing the tree herself. The fox retreated to a branch that extended over the edge of the cliff. Stephani looked down and considered her strategy carefully. The cliff was not completely vertical; a fall from here should be survivable. The tree branch was quite thick, and the tree had strong roots, so it should be able to support her weight. If she didn’t catch this fox, she would be a laughingstock. The whole village would treat her like a foal. Who knew if she would even get another chance if she failed?

Stephani slowly edged out on the branch. The fox backed away, but it could only go a little further. She made sure she was gripping the branch tightly with her hind legs, then reached out and grabbed the fox in her forehooves. It wiggled and squirmed, but she had it. She had caught her elusive quarry! Now her uncle would have to admit that she was ready-

The fox sank its razor sharp teeth into Stephani’s shoulder and bit hard. She cried out and tried to pull it off, and suddenly, it was out of her grasp and she was falling. She hit the steep rocky slope with her back and tumbled down to the bottom.

For a long time, she just lay in the dirt, too dazed to move. She was covered with bruises and scrapes and dirt, but more importantly, she had failed. There was no way she would catch the fox now. She couldn’t even see it, and she would have to go a long way around to get back up the cliff. It was over. She sat up and the bite wound in her shoulder throbbed. Blood trickled down her leg, leaving trails in the grime. Stephani cried from shame and frustration. She was no warrior; she had been bested by a mere fox.

The sun was already setting; she would not be coming home tonight. She licked her wound to make sure it would not get infected, and limped over to a nearby stream for a drink. She wanted to drink until she could drink no more, but knew it was better to only drink a little after her exhausting run. She hobbled over to a large tree and curled up against its roots, too tired to do anything else but sleep.

No wild animals bothered her during the night, and the next day she woke up rested, but very stiff. She got up and stretched, then took another drink from the stream. She found a relatively still spot in it and looked at her reflection. Her shoulder had stopped bleeding during the night, but her leg was a sticky mess. Her whole body was so filthy that she hardly recognized herself. The only place where her white coat was visible was the tip of one ear. She briefly entertained the idea of taking a bath in the stream, but bending over to take a drink had been painful enough. Besides that, it felt wrong to sully such clear water.

Stephani sighed and started the long walk back to the village. In her haste to catch the fox, she had paid little attention to the direction she was traveling. From the position of the sun now, she guessed she had been traveling mostly south, but the best way to get back to her village would be to find the ocean and follow the coast back.

A little over two hours of walking brought her to the shore. She walked in the surf for awhile, enjoying the soothing feeling of the waves on her sore hooves, but before long, the extra work of walking in sand began to irritate her tired legs and she moved back the grass beyond the beach.

It was well after noon by the time she came to a landmark she recognized. She sat down to rest for a moment, but that just gave her more opportunity to notice how hungry she was. With a grumble, she got back to her feet and pressed on. She finally came in sight of her village less than an hour before sundown. The others expressed varying degrees of shock and amusement at her condition, but she ignored them all and went straight to her uncle.

Xifomachos was waiting for her at the training yard. He said nothing as she approached, but he eyed her filthy, battered body appraisingly.

“I failed, Uncle,” Stephani said bluntly, looking him in the eye. “The fox outsmarted me and I have no idea where it went.” She turned away and noticed the cage that the fox had been released from the day before once again had a fox in it. A very familiar-looking fox. “Is that…?”

“Yes, it’s the same fox,” Xifomachos replied. “Do you think I have time to train multiple foxes?”

Stephani just stared.

“Now the important question: What did you learn from this experience?”

Stephani thought about the question for a moment. The fox was her uncle’s trained pet. She had been meant to fail. Her two days of suffering had been for nothing. Or had it? Xifomachos expected her to have gained some wisdom from this disaster; what could she say? “I learned...that not all conflicts can be won, and sometimes it is better to abandon a failed endeavor than to persist until it kills you.”

Xifomachos stared at her for a tense few seconds, then gave a nod. “That’s not exactly the lesson I was going for, but it will do. Go get cleaned up. It’s one thing for fillies to be all dirty, but mares need to see to their own upkeep.”

“Yes, sir.” Stephani turned away and walked stiffly towards her family’s house. Xifomachos had called her a mare! She had passed the trial after all.

Filos came up beside her as she walked. “Well, what did he say? Did you pass?”

“I did.”

“You look terrible. What did that fox do, use you as a plow?”

Stephani swatted him with her tail.

“So, have you decided what you will call yourself now?”

“I’m still thinking about it, but I like the name Inferno.”

Filos snickered. “That’s a pretty pompous name to live up to, or maybe bad luck, depending on how you mean it.”

Stephani scowled at him. “Well, you’re coming up soon. What will you be called?”

Her friend gave her a cheeky grin. “If we can really call ourselves anything, then I’m going down in history as O, Starlight Shining on the Clear Sky.” He made a sweeping gesture toward the heavens. “O for short.”

“O?” Stephani asked incredulously.

“It’s perfect! Historians will have to fill up a whole line on a scroll with my name, but my friends will just say, ‘O, it’s you.’ Get it?” He beamed smugly at the sheer genius of his name.

“You’re something else, Fil.”

“I try.”

Author's Note

The basic concept of the fox test is from a Spartan myth about how hardcore they were. The original was pretty nasty.

Chapter 3: Leaders and Leadership

Three Months Later

Inferno stood with her shoulders touching the ponies on either side of her, and peered through the slit in her shield. The spear strapped to her side reached past the pony in front of her to help form the second rank of spear points protecting the formation from the enemy. Behind her was one more row. They were not using their shields yet, but they were ready to step up if the ponies ahead of them fell. To either side of the formation was a rabble of slaves. They did not have metal armor like Inferno and her peers, but they were also more mobile. Inferno’s family was not wealthy enough to have any slaves, but they weren’t poor enough to be slaves, so she didn’t often concern herself about them.

In the field in front of them was another phalanx, very much like theirs. Nopony had told Inferno what this fight was about, she just knew that the fighting ponies in her village had been called up to defend the larger city of Sorraia from the army of Corsica. As far as she could tell, it was Fresians on both sides, but now that they were here, the choices were win or die.

Inferno raised her shield to block a shower of stones from the enemy skirmishers. The pony in front of her stumbled back half a step as a stone hit his helmet, but he quickly resumed his position. The enemy spear points were only a dozen feet away now, and the front ranks were picking their targets on the other side. Inferno repositioned her shield so the slit gave her a good view of the spears. There was not much she could do until the pony in front of her fell, but she needed to be ready. Her years of training were about to be tested, and it was only her confidence in her fellows that allowed her to keep her fear in check.

Somewhere down the line there was a clunk as a spear point hit a shield, then a few more. Soon, the whole line was engaged, blocking the enemy’s spears and thrusting with their own. Inferno blocked out the battle, focusing on her first rank. He and his opponent were the only ponies that she needed to concern herself about. She was dimly aware of the pony on her left stepping forward to fill the place of a casualty, but she kept watching her first rank.

Suddenly, a spear went past his shield to stab him in the throat and he went down. Years of training moved Inferno forward to stand over his body before she even realized what was happening, and the battle took on a whole new appearance. Facing her was the whole enemy army, safe behind their shields and ready to kill her with their spears. Two spears jabbed at her even as she stepped up, but she caught one on her shield and sidestepped the other. She blocked or avoided several more thrusts before she had the time to try a thrust of her own, but it was easily blocked. It seemed only a matter of time before she was struck down, but she told herself that she was protecting her village, and all the foals there. A spear grazed her side, and she grimaced at the pain, but didn’t dare take her attention off of the enemy to look.

Block, duck, thrust.

In her peripheral vision, Inferno saw an increased amount of movement to her left. She didn’t look, but she turned an ear towards the disturbance. To her horror, she heard cries of “Run!” and “Retreat!” If the phalanx broke, they would lose their defensive teamwork, and the front rank would be slaughtered. She would be slaughtered. Inferno desperately fought to keep down her own panic. Running meant death. Win or die, there was no third option.

The phalanx broke. Ponies all around Inferno started to drop their shields and run, many getting their long spears tangled together when they tried to turn. Inferno found herself with spear points all around starting to focus on her as the only obstacle remaining. She couldn’t hold them back, but she knew she would never survive if she ran, so she started to slowly back up. As she moved back, she turned to keep herself facing the enemy. The ponies near her that were still holding started doing the same. As more of their allies fled or were killed, the core of the phalanx got smaller and more bent until they were arranged in the shape of a horseshoe, and finally a full circle. Inferno fought furiously to keep the enemies in front of her at bay. She was tiring, but they could not quite get around her shield.

There was a shout from the enemy commander and the spears pulled back. Inferno and her small band of allies backed toward each other, tightening their formation until their shields were touching. A significant portion of the enemy phalanx dropped their spears and drew short swords to chase the fleeing soldiers from Sorraia. The rest moved to surround Inferno and her friends.

O’s voice spoke quietly from behind Inferno. “What do we do, Steph? There’s nopony left to lead us.”

Inferno’s heart warmed a little to hear his voice. “Just stay ready and watch your front. I have an idea.”

The others murmured among themselves, but the general consensus was that they would let Inferno try her plan.

The enemy moved into a position just out of spear reach and stopped. A voice called out, “Fresians of Sorraia, throw down your weapons and surrender!”

Inferno kept her eyes on the ponies ahead of her but called back, “We are nothing to you! Go on your way!”

After a moment, the ranks in front of Inferno parted to allow a pony to pass through. His fancy clothing seemed to mark him as their commander, but for some reason he wore no armor. “Surely you don’t believe you have a hope of defeating us now?”

“Of course not,” Inferno replied carefully, “but you have nothing to gain by fighting us. If you go on your way, we can do nothing more to oppose you. If you fight us, we will fight back, and you will lose soldiers needlessly.”

“Young mare, are you giving me permission to invade your territory?”

“There is nothing we can do to stop you. I can only protect these ponies, and I will do that to my dying breath.”

For an interminable moment, Inferno and the enemy commander stared each other down. Then he looked away. “Very well, I give you your ponies. Well fought, filly. What is your name?”

“I am Inferno.”

“I am Theristis the Mage.” He pulled a flower out of the air and tossed it to her. “If we meet again, may it be on more pleasant business.”

The army pulled back from the little company and moved on down the road to Sorraia.

Inferno let out a huge breath and sat down to steady her trembling knees.

“That was amazing, Steph. I thought we were done for. How did you think of that?” O sat next to Inferno and patted her back.

“Remember the fox? Not all battles can be won, but the secret is to always pick battles you can win. He didn’t need to kill us, so I just had to persuade him we were more trouble than we were worth.” She stood up again and turned to face the others. “Thank you all for holding fast. If any of you had faltered, we would all be dead right now. It was an honor to fight beside you.”

“You’re bleeding, Steph.”

“I know. That’s actually what reminded me of that lesson.”

One of the other stallions came over to them. “You said your name was Inferno, right?”

“That’s me.”

“I’m Liquor, from Sorraia, and I want to join your army.”

Inferno stared at him in confusion. “My army? I’m just a soldier like you.”

“On the contrary,” spoke up a massive stallion from the other side of her, “you are not like any of us. When our commander fled like a coward, you came up with a plan that saved all of us.”

“Exactly,” Liquor pointed at the giant. “A leader should protect his ponies. Deilos didn’t do that, but you did. From now on, I follow Inferno!”

“Inferno!” shouted the giant, and soon the others began to join in too, chanting her name like a great hero.

Inferno turned to O for help, only to see that he was chanting with the others. “Stop! What are you doing? I can’t lead you! I have nowhere to lead you to. What would I do with an army?”

“We can protect Sorraia ourselves, or maybe even get Sorraia and Corsica to form an alliance,” O suggested. “Whatever it is, we already have the ponies we need to do great things.”

“Well, I…” Inferno looked around at the soldiers’ faces. Faces that were all looking to her to lead them. “I can try, I guess.”

Author's Note

History buffs will probably notice I took some liberties with my depiction of phalanx tactics, but pony anatomy made some things necessarily different. A pony with a spear attached to her side and a shield in her mouth can be a hoplite, or she can be lance cavalry, so I experimented a little.

Chapter 4: Immortal

Six Months Later

Inferno surveyed the battle from her perch atop a hill. Her forces were outnumbered, but she had chosen the ground carefully. Her phalanx was arrayed in the space between two hills, and the area in front of them was swampy enough that the attacking phalanx was having a hard time keeping their line straight.

In the months following Inferno’s start as an independent actor, many ponies had joined under her banner. Enough non-Sorraians had joined that the group had started referring to themselves as Fresians, after the larger area of Ponyland they hailed from. Not surprisingly, most of the existing Fresian city-states saw the upstart group as rebels to be quashed, and that is what Theristis and his army were trying to do right now.

Several of the newcomers had brought their slaves, but the army was still short on flank guards for the time being, so Inferno tried to anchor the formation in the terrain whenever possible.

From her elevated vantage, Inferno saw a small portion of the Corsican army circling around the hill to come at her phalanx from behind. “O, get them up and follow me.”

“Yes, ma’am!” O replied, running to the few dozen members of the army that were waiting on the hill with them and grouping them up.

O, Liquor, Vodi the Giant, and a few others made up Inferno’s personal guard. Most of these ponies were survivors of the original battle, and she knew they could be counted on in dire situations. “On me, everypony. We’re going to attack the enemy from behind, so try to keep quiet until we hit them.” Inferno checked her spear and shield, leaving the latter hanging over her shoulder instead of carrying it in her mouth. She started down the hill at a trot, making good speed, but not risking her footing. The others followed on either side of her in a wedge. The grassy slope muted the sound of their hooves and kept them from raising a dust as they ran.

As they drew near to the enemy, Inferno increased her stride to a full gallop, and the others did the same. When they were mere feet from the column, some of the soldiers in the rear heard them and turned to look, but it was too late.

Inferno drove her spear into the enemy ranks, spitting them on the point and then kicking them off again with her hooves. Once the initial momentum was gone, she drew her short sword and started slicing and stabbing. Many of the enemy scattered and ran as soon as the charge hit, but some stayed to fight. A sword glanced off Inferno’s shield, then another scratched her breastplate. With the sword in her mouth, she did not have many defensive options, so she pressed the attack all the harder, and tried to drive the enemy before her before they could mount a coordinated counterattack. A pony fell in front of her and she spread her legs to straddle him, so she wouldn’t lose her footing. The prone enemy swung the sword in his mouth and the point hit the middle of a dent in the center of her battered breastplate. Before Inferno could stop, her momentum carried her forward, driving the blade into her chest up to the hilt.

She stumbled forward a few steps before coming to a stop. Around her, the enemy was scattering and fleeing, with her troops in pursuit. She looked down in disbelief at the sword hilt pressed against her breastplate. Blood streamed down the grip and trickled on the ground in front of her. She could feel the metal inside her every time she took a breath. This was it. She was finished. Nopony survived a wound like this. But maybe she could still save her troops.

O had noticed she was missing and came back to find her. His face contorted in horror when he saw his captain. “Steph!”

“Don’t tell them, O,” Inferno said quietly. “They can still win if they don’t know.” Her hind legs folded and she sat down involuntarily. “Pull it out.”

“That could kill you!” O protested.

“I’m dead anyway. Do it.”

O reluctantly grabbed the bloody hilt and pulled the sword out of Inferno’s chest, trying to keep it as straight as he could. Inferno’s face twisted with pain and she cried out wordlessly. The wound started to bleed much faster with the sword gone, and she slumped to the ground. Her eyes watched her soldiers chasing the enemy until the darkness took her.

* * * * * *

Inferno woke with a groan. Her chest felt like it was full of fire, and her head pounded. And her breathing hurt and her heart was pounding and she felt cold. All of which puzzled her, since she fully expected to be dead. She opened her eyes to find herself looking at O’s familiar face. The blue stallion seemed positively giddy.

“She’s awake!”

“Unbelievable.”

Inferno slowly turned her head to look at the second speaker. The other pony in the room was wearing a bloody apron with pockets full of knives and bandages. He appeared to be in a sour mood, but was looking at Inferno with no small amount of wonder. Inferno had tried to remember all the faces in her little army, but this one was new to her. She opened her mouth, but her words came out as an unintelligible mumble.

“Easy, Steph, don’t strain yourself.” O put himself in her field of vision again. “The doctor there says you should have died. As it is, you’re hurt really bad, so don’t move around too much.”

“The sword went all the way into her chest,” the doctor reiterated. “On a normal pony, there’s no way through that doesn’t hit the heart or the lungs.” He stepped around O so Inferno could see him again. “You’re either the luckiest pony in all of Fresia, or a personal favorite of the gods.”

“We won by the way.” O abruptly changed the subject. “The charge you started carried all the way around, and the main enemy force saw it and broke. We took a lot of them prisoner, including their commander. He didn’t want to surrender to me, so I had to tell him you were wounded and some of ours heard about it. I downplayed your injury pretty heavily, and I think most of the army bought it. Liquor thinks you’re dead, but he kept it to himself. This fellow was one of theirs.” O pointed to the doctor. “His name’s Giatros. He was part of the group you charged. It’s a good thing you didn’t kill him, since he saved your life.”

“Under duress,” Giatros said grumpily, “but I guess one good turn deserves another.”

“Thanks,” Inferno mumbled.

“Yeah, whatever. You’ll probably die of infection soon anyway.”

“Are you thirsty, Steph? I could get you some water.”

“Yes.”

O left and returned shortly with a cup of water. He held up her head while she was drinking and still spilled a lot on her and the bed, but eventually got her watered. “How are you feeling? Better?”

“So weak.”

“Rest is what she needs,” Giatros declared. “Give her at least two more days before you bother her any more.”

“Right, sorry. Get well soon, Steph.”

* * * * * *

Over the next few weeks, Inferno gradually recovered her strength. The wound eventually closed up and Giatros removed her bandages, revealing a large scar on her chest. As soon as she could walk, she went out to talk to her ponies. By this time, they had all heard a rumor that she had died, so they were greatly encouraged to see her alive. Her scar started a new rumor. Ponies began to say she was immortal, and could never be killed by any normal weapon. Inferno went to O to ask him about it. She found him in his tent and stuck her head inside.

“I hear the ponies are saying I’m immortal now, do you know anything about that?”

“I might have dropped a couple hints here and there, maybe told a couple tall tales. Don’t worry, it should do great things for morale.”

“But it’s not true!”

“You don’t know that. How else would you explain it, anyway? It’s going to be great for your image; some of the prisoners have already asked to join our army, including commander Theristis.”

Inferno nickered in annoyance. “Anything else you’ve been up to in my absence?”

“Uh...funny you should ask…”

“Your majesty,” a pony said from outside the tent.

Inferno pulled her head out to see who was talking and found former commander Theristis standing nervously at attention. “Excuse me?”

“I wish to talk to you about my role in your domain, my Queen.”

“Queen?”

“Sir O, Starlight Shining on the Clear Sky told me that you intend to unite all of Fresia under your banner, and I wish to volunteer my expertise as a commander in your army.”

Inferno gave a dark glare at the snickering coming from O’s tent. “I would welcome your aid, but the force you fought against is all there is. I am no queen, and I do not think I could rule all of Fresia, even if some miracle allowed me to conquer it.”

“Then perhaps you could build your own city. Twice now I have seen the way you lead your ponies, and I want to be a part of it. Command me, my queen. I will see it done.”

“A new city?” Inferno looked at Theristis, but her eyes were focused on the distance. “Could we really do that? We could make a city with none of the problems from all these cities, somewhere safe where the other cities cannot reach…”

O peeked his head out of the tent and said, “It’s not a bad idea. There’re things about the world that none of us like. Why shouldn’t we change them?”

Inferno opened her mouth to object.

“And you’re the perfect pony to lead us, Inferno.”

Inferno cocked her head at O. “I think that’s the first time you’ve used my adult name when you were talking to me.”

He shrugged. “It takes some getting used to.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“I do love talking.”

Theristis cleared his throat. “If we’re going to strike out on our own, we should try to gain the recognition of the other cities, or at least some of them.”

Inferno nodded. “Do you have an idea of how to do that?”

“Perhaps if we invited them to send kings or generals to speak with you, so you could explain it to them and tell them you are not a threat to them as long as they leave us alone.”

Inferno pondered the idea for a moment. “That’s good advice, but I think we should invite ponies that are not currently allied so they won’t take the opportunity to overwhelm us.”

O nodded. “That seems prudent,” he said in an overly-intellectual voice.

Theristis nodded towards Inferno. “You’ll need to work on your appearance though. Leaders and important ponies usually wear clothing. You’ll need to look like a queen if you want them to believe it.”

“Well, if I must.”

Author's Note

The original legend claims that the sword went all the way through Inferno and stuck out of her back, but after reviewing the evidence, I concluded that a Fresian shortsword does not have the length required for that to be possible.

Chapter 5: Politics

Three Weeks Later

O was worried. None of the Fresian bigwigs had come when they were invited, but now half a dozen of them had arrived at the camp waving an olive branch. O checked that his new fancy clothes were presentable, then glanced quickly around the camp. He had no idea where Inferno was at the moment, but it was probably best not to keep these ponies waiting. He swallowed and approached them. “Welcome to our humble camp. I assume you are here to speak with our queen?”

Several of the ambassadors raised their eyebrows at O, but one of them answered, “Yes, we have come to meet Inferno.”

“I am her advisor, Sir O, Starlight Shining on the Clear Sky. Please follow me.” He led them to the command tent and ushered them inside. “Please, have a seat. I’ll go notify her Highness of your arrival.” O calmly backed out of the tent. Then he took off at a gallop, checking down every row of tents for Inferno.

Inferno, meanwhile, was sparring with Liquor and three other ponies at once. She jabbed with her blunted spear and swung her shield around, keeping three of them busy, but Liquor ran around behind her and rolled under her legs, sending her sprawling in the mud. The other three moved in to “finish her off” but she held them at bay with her shield while she scrambled to her hooves.

As she recovered her footing and position, she caught a glimpse of O running away from the command tent. “Hold.” Her opponents stopped and Inferno set down her shield, panting heavily. “That was good, you almost had me, but I think something is going on over there.” She nodded towards the tent and grabbed her shield again, walking in that direction.

She had recently received two slaves as a gift, twin sisters, nearly identical except for their red and blue manes. They both came running from the direction of the tent to meet her. “Mistress, there are a bunch of important ponies in the tent! What should we do?”

Inferno frowned. “I need to go meet them.” She glanced down at her sweaty, mud-smeared body. “Fotia, get a platter of food. Nera, help me wash the worst of this off.”

By the time Fotia returned with a plate of sliced vegetables, Inferno was much cleaner, though now she was soaking wet. She shook herself, then trotted up to Fotia. “Thank you, fillies. That will just have to do.” She grabbed the edge of the platter with her mouth and went into the tent.

The six Fresian dignitaries gave her an indifferent glance, then turned back to face each other. “Well, at least they sent food. About time.”

Inferno’s ears pinned back in shame. She was a terrible hostess. She meekly carried the tray to each of the ponies in the tent, not speaking for fear of dropping it.

“When you’re done with that, polish my hooves.”

Inferno’s face burned with anger. How dare this fat slob order her about like a common...slave. She realized they didn’t know who she was. She was naked and serving them food, so of course they thought she was a slave. Had she treated her own slaves any differently a moment ago? Deciding to play along, she set down the platter and grabbed a cloth, kneeling on the ground in front of the pony and polishing his hooves.

“I tell you what, that mare leading this bunch of misfits doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing. She released the prisoners from the last few battles. Anypony with a brain would have made them slaves.”

“I heard she was just a hoplite who got promoted by attrition, so she must at least know how to fight.”

“That doesn’t mean anything; the soldiers Sorraia puts on the field might as well be untrained slaves. The best fighter in a rabble is still a novice.”

“And she has the nerve to ask for our recognition! If not for that silly rumor of her being immortal we could have destroyed her long ago, but it’s hard to find soldiers these days that aren’t superstitious. When we make an example of her, the other rebels should scatter.” He kicked Inferno in the muzzle. “Faster!”

Inferno’s blood boiled, but she maintained the illusion of the spineless slave, cowering from the kick and polishing faster.

“Hey, don’t damage that one. I think I want her in my share of the spoils. She’s got nice musculature.”

“Dividing the spoil already? Don’t we have to kill the mare leading this rabble first?”

“It’s practically done already. She just has to drink the wine and it’s all over.”

“What if this one tells on us?” He pointed at Inferno.

“She won’t tell, she knows we’re her only chance to come out of this alive.”

Inferno felt all eyes on her, and turned her head away, looking at the floor. The others laughed.

“See? She knows her place. Here, slave, lick the dirt out of my hoof.”

Inferno caught herself just short of lunging at the stallion. She had already heard too much, and there was no way she could win a fight against all six of them when they were armed and she was not. Her only chance was to keep playing the part. She crawled on her knees to the stallion’s outstretched hoof and did as he ordered. Motion in her peripheral vision drew her eyes to the tent flap as O entered. He froze in horror, but her eyes warned him to keep her identity secret a little longer. She licked up the hoof a ways, then thrust her head forward, grabbed her oppressor’s sword out of his scabbard and held it against his throat. “O, block the door,” she growled.

O drew his sword and stood in the exit.

“Liquor!”

The Sorraian came rushing into the tent.

“Collect my guards and bring them here, quickly.”

“Right away!” Liquor ran back outside and started calling for the queen’s guard.

“It was you all along,” one of Inferno’s guests belatedly exclaimed. “The scar on your chest, I should have realized.”

“We thought you were a slave,” said another.

“I know. And your honesty was the only way you treated that poor slave any differently than you would treat me. In fact, if you had treated one of my slaves like that, I would kill you anyway.”

One of the six drew his sword and leapt at Inferno with a shout, spurring the others to do the same.

Inferno dodged the first thrust and plunged her stolen sword into the attacker’s throat, using his body as a shield against the next two, who circled on either side of their fallen ally and came at Inferno together. She repeated her maneuver on one of them, dropping him next to his ill-fated leader, but the second slashed Inferno’s neck with his sword, missing her throat by mere inches. O had defeated another of the enemy, but was stalled fighting a second. Inferno and her foe stood still for a moment, watching for their chance. He lunged first, aiming a stab at Inferno’s chest. She dodged to the side, but his blade still found her shoulder. Then he dropped to the floor with the others, Inferno’s stolen sword sticking out of his spine.

Inferno heard a crash and a groan behind her and spun around in time to see the pony she had disarmed pitch forward onto the floor. Behind him were Fotia and Nera, one holding a broken pot and the other a dented platter. Inferno glanced over at O in time to see him kill the last of the enemy, then looked back at her unexpected allies.

“He picked up a sword,” Nera explained, hiding behind her blue mane.

“And he was sneaking up behind you,” Fotia added.

“Inferno, you’re hurt!” O came the rest of the way into the tent to stand near the others.

“Yes, O, I know that.” Inferno rolled her eyes.

“What were they doing to you?”

“The same as they would have done to any slave.” She looked at the sisters, who were already binding her wounds unbidden. “But I want to be better than that. Why did you two save me?”

“We love you, Mistress!”

“You are much kinder than our last master.”

Inferno frowned. “Am I? These villains turned my stomach, but they also reminded me of how I treat my own slaves.” She cleared her throat. “You are free. I know it is late to do what I should have done immediately, but I will ask no more service from you.”

The sisters looked at each other in disbelief, then turned back to Inferno and bowed low on the ground in front of her. “May the gods always smile on you, for you are kind and wise,” Fotia said.

“Stop that!” Inferno snapped. “I’m no better than you, except for good luck. Go do whatever you want.”

“We want to follow you, our queen,” Nera said without hesitation.

“Let us continue to serve you in freedom,” Fotia agreed.

“If you’re sure…” Inferno eyed them doubtfully.

They both nodded.

“Well, ‘Sir O’, when free mares act with courage and loyalty, it is traditional to reward them, is it not?”

“Indeed it is, my queen,” O replied with a smug grin.

“Since it is so easy to become an honorable pony in this army”—she paused to give O a significant glance—“I hereby name you Lady Fotia and Lady Nera, trusted companions of the queen.”

The twins squealed and hugged each other. Then they ran outside and started telling everypony what the queen had done.

Liquor came running up to the tent door with the rest of the queen’s guard behind him. “Your highness!”

“I’m okay, Liquor. These snakes tried to bite, but their poison was too weak. Nopony drink that wine, though.” Inferno sighed and looked at the bodies on the floor. “There goes any chance of a peaceful campaign. It’s going to be war from here on, until we grow too strong for them to attack.”

O watched the new noblemares running excitedly from one tent to another. “I don’t think it will be long now.”

Author's Note

The two slaves that Inferno freed are not named in the original legend, so I just made up names for them that sounded cool.

Chapter 6: Do or Die

Just Another Month or So

After the slaughter of their “emissaries”, the Fresian cities came after Inferno’s army in earnest. She knew better than to engage their full force in direct battle, so she kept her ponies moving and made quick raids on isolated groups and supply lines. But with nowhere to go, they were gradually hemmed in and finally surrounded.

That night, the army camped on a hill, and Inferno called her friends together to discuss their options. Besides O the skald, there was Liquor the craftstallion, Theristis the mage, Vodi the giant, and Fotia and Nera.

Inferno closed the tent flap and turned to look at her friends, silently studying their faces for a moment before she spoke. “Well, we seem to be trapped. I will admit I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this, but I was hoping one of you would have a suggestion.”

The group exchanged glances, but nopony spoke.

“O, what about you? You’re always scheming about something.”

“Sorry, Steph. You’re the tactician here.”

“Li?”

“Nothing that sounds like a plan when I’m sober.”

“I have no magic powerful enough for this problem,” Theristis added.

Inferno looked at Vodi, but the giant just shook his head. Finally, she looked at the twins.

Fotia looked away, but Nera swallowed and said, “The ponies just need to be inspired enough, and they can win.”

“What do you mean?” Inferno cocked her head. “We are probably outnumbered thirty-to-one at least. We’ve never fought even half that many.”

Nera blushed and hid behind her mane, but kept talking. “I doesn’t matter, if we believe we can win strongly enough, the enemy will believe it too.”

“She has a point,” O said. “They had time to attack us before dark, but they waited. They might be afraid of your reputation. If we hit them really hard they might break enough for us to get through.”

“Hmm, thank you, Nera.” Inferno paced across the tent a couple times. “I think you’re right. We have to break out. The question is where? Who is the weakest link in the chain? The Messarans are the most recent addition to their alliance; What do we know about them?”

Liquor spoke up, “They are somewhat less disciplined than the Corsicans and the Sorraians, but some of them are using bows. They can reach much farther than a sling, and the arrows are deadly. The bows have to be anchored to fire, so they can’t retreat quickly like slingers, but we would probably suffer heavy losses as we approached.”

Inferno nodded grimly. “Still, that may be our best option. Sorraia and Corsica have a strong line, as well as a grudge against us. Messara has mostly just heard rumors.” She paced some more. “If we’re going to attack, we’ll need to be quick in the morning. I’m sure the enemy is planning to do the same. I want the whole army awake and ready for battle an hour before sunrise.”

O and Liquor nodded.

“Keep it as quiet as possible. If our plan is discovered too soon, it won’t work. Get them formed up on the west crest of the hill; I will lead the charge myself.” Inferno sighed. “There are only a few hours of darkness left. I don’t think any of us are sleeping tonight. Best just get as ready as we can.”

The stallions all bowed and left the tent, leaving the three mares alone. Fotia walked up to stand next to Inferno. “What can we do, my lady?”

“There’s not really anything for you to do. Just stay close to the army. If we break out, you’ll break out with us. If we are all killed, surrender yourselves and perhaps they’ll spare you. I’m sorry your freedom was so brief…”

“Don’t talk like that!” Nera prodded Inferno with a hoof. “You’re not going to die; you’re going to terrify the enemy into fleeing before you and your friends will be safe.”

Fotia chimed in before Inferno could disagree. “You have to believe in yourself, or no-one else will believe. Come on, if you can’t sleep, you can at least rest. We can help you with that.”

Nera pushed Inferno gently back until she fell onto a couch. “You just sit here and relax. We’ll be right back.”

Inferno sat patiently on the couch while her attendants ran outside. She was curious what they were planning, but she knew they had her best interests at heart, so she just lay on the couch and waited. A few minutes later, they returned with a wash basin and several bags full of supplies.

“Okay, first we need your armor off,” Fotia explained, unbuckling Inferno’s breastplate.

Nera started making trips with a bucket to fill up the basin.

“Tomorrow is going to be a big day, you should look your best.” Fotia set Inferno’s breastplate and helmet on a chair and then spread a towel out next to the wash basin. “When we’re done with you, the enemy will be so astonished by your looks they’ll forget to fight.”

Inferno obediently lay down on the towel. “You don’t need to do this. You’re not slaves anymore.”

“Pfft.” Nera dumped a final bucket of water and set it down near the tent flap. “We know that. We want to help you because you’re our friend, and you helped us. Besides, this is something we’re good at.” She mixed some soap into the water started soaking a sponge in it.

Fotia gathered up Inferno’s long mane and carefully placed it in the basin. “Just trust us, my lady. Relax. What’s good for you is good for all of us.”

The circumstances made some things difficult, but the twins patiently and gently washed their queen. Then they painstakingly brushed her coat and combed her mane and tail. Inferno silently allowed the attention, turning when she was told, and gradually relaxing. Having finished the improvised bath, they directed her to lay on a dry towel and Nera began kneading her muscles with her forehooves, while Fotia started polishing her armor.

“Where did you learn to do all of this?” Inferno asked at last.

“Life is easier for a slave with a...luxury skill set.” Nera kept massaging while she spoke. “Fotia and I practiced on each other after seeing somepony else doing it, then told our master that we had been trained in that. He believed it, and we did well enough that he let us keep doing it.”

“We got lots of practice in his bath house, so we really are experts now,” Fotia added. “All things considered, we’ve had a lot of good things come our way.”

“What do you think about making a new city? Am I crazy?” Inferno turned her head to look at Nera.

“Of course not, it’s a beautiful dream.” Nera pushed Inferno’s head back down again. “Everypony thinks about how the world could be better, but you’re actually doing something about it. That’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.” She lifted her hooves off of Inferno’s back. “There. How does that feel?”

“It feels wonderful.” Inferno sat up and turned to face the twins. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you two decided to stay with me. You’ve been a constant source of encouragement, and I’m grateful.”

The twins grinned back at her. “Now let’s get your armor back on.” Fotia held up the brightly polished breastplate while Inferno put her forelegs through the straps and then tightened it snugly in place. Nera carefully placed the helmet, making sure it didn’t interfere with her mane. Then both mares worked a little more on her mane and tail.

“I really love your mane,” Nera commented, “So long and full. We should do this more often.”

Fotia stood in front of Inferno and looked her in the eyes for the first time since they’d met. “Just remember, this has to be done, and nopony else in the whole world can do it. You are the mare who can save us all and lead us to a better future.”

Inferno just stared at the two mares for a long time. Then she reared up and grabbed them both in a hug. “Thank you, I needed that. I won’t let you down!” She let them go and dropped to all fours again, then trotted out of the tent. “Okay, let’s do it.”

Inferno fixed her spear on one side and hung her sword on the other, then went to stand in front of her troops. A little light was visible on the horizon, but it would still be a little while before sunrise. Even in the dark, she could see worry on the soldiers’ faces. This might be a good time for a motivational speech, but it wouldn’t do to let the enemy hear. Instead, she walked into the ranks, speaking quietly to a few soldiers at a time. “Thank you for believing in me. Follow me just a little farther and everything will be fine. I know you can do this. Watch for my signal, you’ll know what to do next.”

After encouraging her troops for as long as she dared, she walked out to the edge of the hill and strained her eyes to catch a glimpse of the enemy camp. She saw their campfires, and occasionally one would be covered briefly. They were already beginning to move about, then. Time was short. Returning to her line, she drew her sword and pointed silently at the enemy, then began to trot down the hill.

As the light level increased with the breaking dawn, her heart sank. The enemy was already arrayed against them in a solid line, spears at the ready. There would be no surprise attack.

Inferno’s steps faltered. It was impossible. She was leading her troops to certain doom, and she would be one of the first to die. Her instincts told her to run and save herself, but she knew there was nowhere to run. The enemy was on all sides, and they had come here for no other reason than to end her life. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the army was falling behind. They were on the verge of panicking too, and there were now several lengths between her and her troops.

Then she caught sight of Fotia and Nera trotting at the front of the line, without armor or weapons, and they were smiling at her. A few feet away, O was leading his wing. He smiled too, and gave her a nod. They thought she could do it.

Believe it, and the enemy will believe it.

Inferno turned her head back towards the enemy, and saw the archers setting their bows. She nickered and increased her trot to a run, increasing her lead in front of the army. Hundreds of arrows were carefully aimed at her heart, waiting for the signal to fire. The enemy commander raised his hoof.

The sun broke over the top of the hill. Inferno’s glossy hide shone almost as brightly as her polished armor, and her flowing mane cast a mile-long shadow on the blinded archers. The arrows flew, landing all around the lone mare, but not one touched her.

Inferno gave a shout and surged forward at top speed. Behind her, the army did the same. The Messaran archers held up their hooves to shield their eyes, but they caught glimpses of the immortal one bearing down on them with flaming red eyes and wild mane. Seeing that their deadly arrows had been useless against her, they lost all will to fight. Some left their bows behind and ran, others fell down on the ground and covered their heads in terror. The commander just stood still and stared in disbelief until Inferno’s spear struck him down.

The Messaran phalanx was made of sterner stuff than the archers, but when their own soldiers came back to them, fleeing in terror, fear spread through their ranks as well. Many of them lifted their spears to allow their allies to pass, and then suddenly, she was upon them.

Inferno was like a wild goddess in equine form. Her immaculate body seemed to give off a light of its own and her mane seemed alive, but her eyes carried a promise of death to everyone who met them. Before they could lower their spears, she was amongst them, slaughtering with sword and spear. The phalanx scattered and tangled back on itself as each pony tried to protect themselves. Inferno’s army found them completely helpless and cut them down by the hundreds.

Inferno reined in her bloodlust enough to notice that the enemy ranks were getting deeper. The other cities had come to Messara’s aid. But the time for fear was over, she knew the battle was hers. She reared up and screamed in defiance before charging to meet the new foe. Once again, she came on the heels of the fleeing Messarans and pushed her way into the heart of the enemy formation. As long as she pushed the attack, her soldiers followed, to death and glory.

Author's Note

Messaran eyewitness accounts of the battle claim their arrows bounced off of Inferno's hide, but they were clearly exaggerating to make their defeat less humiliating.

Chapter 7: The Price

Six Hours Later

Inferno gazed with unfocused eyes at the shattered remnant of the enemy armies as they fled in all directions. Her sword fell from her aching jaws and she leaned weakly against a rock. Tales would be told of this victory for centuries, but it had not been without cost. Inferno was covered in blood from poll to pastern, and a significant portion of it was hers. She had lost track of how many times she had been wounded. None of her wounds was serious alone, but they added up and she was starting to feel dizzy.

Looking back towards her army, she saw many of them had started trying to help their own casualties. She took a calming breath and pushed herself upright again, and went to join them. Draping her wounded foreleg over the broken end of her spear, she hobbled on the other three, and started looking through the fallen for those that still lived.

Pulling aside a shield, she found a familiar red mane and let out a small gasp. “Oh no…” She tried to pull off the corpse on top of Fotia, but she was barely strong enough to stand, and the extra weight pulled her down to the ground instead. She struggled to rise, but couldn’t seem to make her legs obey.

“My Lady!”

Inferno looked up to see Nera and Giatros running towards her. Nera’s neck and chest were covered with blood from a wicked slash across her face that had cost her both the right ear and eye. She had found and was wearing a scabbard, but the sword was missing.

“I found Fotia,” Inferno called. “Help her!”

Tears were streaming from Nera’s remaining eye, but she shook her head. “You’re more important, my Lady!”

“I don’t care!” Inferno started to cry, herself. “It’s not right! Help her first, I command it!”

Giatros frowned, but did as he was told, pulling Fotia’s body out from under the one on top. One of her hind legs was gone below the haunch. The stump was still bleeding but she looked deathly pale.

“She wasn’t even a soldier, why!?” The combination of blood loss, emotion and total exhaustion was finally too much for Inferno, and she blacked out.

* * * * * *

Inferno woke in a cot in her command tent. Her body ached and she felt disgusting, but she pushed that aside and looked around for someone to talk to.

O was sitting next to her cot. He was wearing bandages on his neck and rump, but seemed to be in pretty good shape. He gave Inferno a sad smile when she looked at him. “You really have to quit doing that, Steph. We all believe you’re invincible; you don’t have to keep proving it.”

“Did Fotia make it?”

O’s smile vanished. “She’s alive, but barely hanging on. Giatros managed to stop her bleeding, but even if she recovers, she’s crippled for life. "Nera's in pretty rough shape, too. She lost an eye, but she's going to survive, and she asked me to give you her sincere thanks for all you’ve done for them.”

Inferno turned away to look at the tent wall. “What about the others?”

“Well nobody came through completely unscathed, but Li, Ther and Vodi should all make a full recovery. We lost about a tenth of our army, and about half of the survivors were wounded. Giatros is teaching everypony he can how to keep wounds clean, but…we’re probably going to lose a lot more before we’re done.”

O sighed and continued. “On the bright side, the Fresian cities won’t be bothering us any time soon. Our best estimate is that only a fifth of their soldiers escaped, and they scattered to all directions of the compass. All three commanders were killed, and we took as many prisoners as we have soldiers. Many of the prisoners are already begging to join us.”

O turned Inferno’s head back towards himself and wiped some blood off of her nose with a cloth. He carefully looked around to make sure nopony was watching, then leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “You were amazing, Steph. Nopony will dare to stop us now. We can make our city and fix things up the way we want.”

Inferno sighed. “It will be nice to take a break from war. I…I’ll be okay, O. Just give me some time to mope.”

He nodded. “Sure.” He stood up to leave. “Get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

* * * * * *

The next day, Inferno managed to get out of bed and hobble around with her foreleg in a sling. She made her way slowly among the tents, checking in with her friends. When she didn’t find the twins’ tent, she checked the field hospital and found Nera sitting by Fotia’s bed, talking quietly to her. Nera’s head was wrapped in bloody bandages, but her remaining eye and ear were exposed.

“Oh! It is good to see you on your feet, my Lady.”

“Don’t stand up, it’s fine. And just call me Inferno, please.” Inferno walked up next to the bed and looked down at the crippled twin. “How is she?”

“The doctor says she probably won’t wake up until she has recovered some more blood. She twitches in her sleep sometimes; I think it still hurts her.” Nera timidly put a hoof on Inferno’s shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. She knew what she was doing.”

Inferno shied away from the touch. “No. She didn’t. Both of you are just bath house mares. I had no business bringing you onto a battlefield. I might as well have cut off her leg myself.”

“That’s not true!” Nera shoved herself in-between Inferno and the bed so she could look at her queen’s face. “You set us free. We could have left right then, but we stayed willingly. We promised to stay with you and we were both ready to die for you if need be.” She gently stroked her sister’s pale face. “And maybe we will, but we’re not dead yet. You are our truest friend, Inferno. We’ve received nothing but good at your hooves. You can’t start doubting yourself just because we got hurt. You got hurt too. I have no regrets, and neither should you.”

Inferno stared at her silently for a minute and finally gave a nod. “You’re right. I want to keep my ponies safe and fight all my battles alone but...I can’t. I just have to trust you.”

“I’ll tell you when she wakes up.”

Inferno nodded. She looked at Fotia again, then left without a word.

* * * * * *

Fotia lived, but it was weeks before she was strong enough to start learning to walk all over again. Inferno spent an hour each day helping Nera support her sister so she could get exercise without falling. O composed a song to honor the heroes of the battle, giving special mention to the twins. Vodi and Liquor came up with a wooden leg that strapped onto Fotia’s haunch so she could at least rest weight on it while she moved her other legs.

Inferno and Nera watched as Fotia made her way slowly to a tree stump and back.

“You’re doing great, Fotia, keep it up!” Inferno called.

Fotia just nodded and kept hobbling towards the stump. When she reached it, she rested for a moment and then started back.

“You’re halfway there, keep coming!” Nera called. She turned to Inferno and quietly added, “I think. I can’t really judge distance very well anymore.” She smiled ruefully and pointed at the canvas patch over her right eye socket.

Fotia finally made it back to her friends and stood panting. Her flanks were soaked with sweat from the exertion of simply walking. “Heh, heh, wow...I’m out of shape.”

“It’s not just that.” Inferno offered Fotia a waterskin. “You’re using different muscles to compensate for the ones you lost, so it takes time for them to develop.”

Fotia unstrapped the wooden leg and flopped down in the grass, rolling around on her back with her feet in the air. “Ah, that feels good. Won’t you join me?” She pointed at Inferno with her lone hind leg.

Inferno and Nera exchanged a glance and then flopped down on either side of her.

“I had forgotten how much fun that is,” Inferno commented.

Fotia looked straight up at the sky and smiled slightly. “Are you happy, Inferno?”

“What? Well, I’m not sure. Are you happy?”

Nera turned on her side so her eye could see Fotia’s face.

“Well, losing a leg is pretty awful. It hurts all the time, and I can’t do stuff like I could before. But… I still have my friends and my freedom. I can roll on the grass and feel the sunshine. I feel like I made a difference, even if it was costly. So yeah, I’m happy.”

Inferno thought about that. “I guess I’m happy too. Some things have been hard, but I don’t think I would do anything differently, given the chance.”

“You scared an entire army by sheer force of personality,” Nera teased. “That was pretty neat.”

“I’m sure your grooming job helped with that.” Inferno rolled to her hooves. “Ready to stand up again?”

Fotia sighed. “Yes, let’s get back to it.”

Author's Note

If you prefer happy endings, stop reading here. "Historical" fiction often seems really unfair at the end, and this story is no exception.

Chapter 8: Betrayal

Eight Years Later

Over the next few months, Inferno’s following grew exponentially. She issued a formal decree that all slaves that joined her army would be freed, resulting in heavy desertion from nearby cities. The Fresian cities were too frightened to hassle her army at first, but they began to regroup. Rather than risk another costly battle, she withdrew to the northern mountains, and that was where she built her city. After consulting her friends, Inferno named the new city Elpída.

Over the next eight years, the city was fortified and trade routes were developed. Three times the city was besieged, and three times it weathered the siege.

On the eighth anniversary of the founding of Elpída, Inferno declared a holiday to celebrate more than a year of peace.

Queen Inferno sat on a simple throne, wearing a floor-length robe. She tapped a forehoof lightly on an armrest as she tried to be patient with the ponies asking her for help. They were being polite and making a reasonable request, but as usual, there was just no money to do anything about it. How had it come to this? She wasn’t a banker. She was a soldier, maybe a tactician, but all she ever worried about anymore was money and hurt feelings. “I am sorry, Mr. Rockwall, but I do not have the funds to grant your request at this time. Perhaps if you speak to my accountant, he can work out some sort of compromise for you.”

Sir O walked into the throne room with one of the twins on each side of him. All three were wearing expensive clothing, but that was where their resemblance to nobility ended. Nera wore a black eyepatch, Fotia’s wooden leg was visible below the hem of her dress, and O had a cup dangling from each of his ears.

“Inferno!” O called. “It’s a holiday! Stop working and come party with us!”

Inferno glared at him for a moment and then turned to the line of petitioners queued in front of her. “I’m sorry, but those are all the requests I have time for today. I encourage the rest of you to come back tomorrow. To compensate you for your time, please talk to my steward”—she nodded to the pony she meant—“and he will get you something nice from my kitchen. Please enjoy the festival; I hear some interesting events have been planned.” With that, she stood up from her seat and walked to meet her friends at the door. “I would appreciate it if you would show me a little more respect when I’m holding court, O. It’s hard enough keeping everypony happy without you undermining my authority just for the fun of it.”

“Oh, lighten up, Inferno. Have some fun. We haven’t had fun in years.”

“We were hoping you could join us at the new tavern that just opened,” Fotia explained. “I know you always eat at your house, but it won’t hurt just this once.”

O shook his head, dropping one of the cups. Inferno’s hoof zipped out to catch it before it hit the ground.

“Ha, looks like you’ve still got it,” O teased. “And now you have a cup. Come with us; we know just where to use it.”

Inferno just smiled and shook her head, but she followed them out into the streets.

The streets of Elpída were decorated with flowers and greens, and packed with celebrating ponies. O and the twins had to push their way through the crowd, but Inferno’s intense gaze afforded her a small pocket of personal space to walk in unimpeded. They arrived at the tavern to find Liquor already thoroughly intoxicated. He was standing on a table, leading the clientele in a boisterous song and doing a dance to go with it.

“Fotia!” Liquor called. “Come dance with me!”

“I can’t dance anymore, Li! You know that!”

“Nonsense! Come on, you can do it!”

With much urging from Liquor and the other patrons, Fotia finally climbed up on the table next to the half-drunk stallion, self-consciously hiding her wooden leg behind her healthy ones. Liquor started the crowd singing the song again, and Fotia started to do the dance. Even with only three legs, she was far more graceful than Li and received a round of applause when she finished and stepped down again.

“I thought that would be you, O. You’re always the one singing and getting ponies worked up,” Inferno teased.

“Any other day, you’d be right, but today I have you three to entertain, and that’s plenty.” O ordered drinks for himself and all three mares.

Inferno took a sip from hers and nearly spit it back into the cup.

“What’s wrong, Inferno? Used to that watery stuff your steward stocks?”

“What’s in this stuff?” Inferno asked dubiously.

“Alcohol, and lots of it,” O replied. “Try some more; it grows on you.”

Nera took a swig from her own cup and turned around in her chair to watch her sister dance. “It’s good to see her dance again. I was afraid she would never be able to even walk normally again, but I think she’s pretty much back to normal.”

“Hmm,” Inferno scratched her chin. “One more of these for each of us,” she told the bartender, “at that table over there.” Then she stood up and led the group over to a corner table. Fotia caught up with them and Inferno explained, “It’s been too long since we just hung around and talked.”

The four friends spent the next few hours reminiscing, until they had all drunk too much to remember any more stories. When Liquor finally drank enough to knock himself out, O took over his job as the entertainment for the night, singing and telling tall tales. As it began to get late, Inferno offered the others rooms in her house for the night so they wouldn’t have to cook for themselves in the morning, but the twins decided to go home. O followed Inferno back. They were both more than a little tipsy, and when Inferno was showing O his room, he just leaned forward and kissed her.

Inferno gasped. “What are you doing?”

“I love you, Steph. Ever since we were foals together, you were always the mare for me.”

Inferno stared at him stupidly for a second, then abruptly kissed him back. Then she kicked the door shut with a hind leg and started pulling off her clothes.

* * * * * *

Inferno woke with a pounding headache and blinding sunlight in her eyes. She was confused for a split-second by the wrong angle of the light. This wasn’t her room. Then she forgot about that when she became aware of the big warm thing she was pressed up against. Her forelegs were wrapped around another pony, and her head was laying against his neck. “O,” she said in a hoarse morning voice.

“Mmm,” came the reply. “Don’t get up yet, Steph.” He moved around to a more comfortable position and put a leg over her shoulders.

“We’re going to be a laughingstock,” Inferno whined quietly, but she did not try to leave.

“Maybe, but I’m not sorry. I only wish we’d done it years ago.”

“Did we…?”

“Oh yes, I’m amazed you don’t remember.”

Inferno blushed hotly. Now that she thought about it, she did remember a little. How had it gotten so far out of control? “O, how could you let me-”

O gently covered her mouth with a hoof. “We may have needed alcohol to get up the nerve, but it wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She pushed his hoof away. “O, that’s not the point and you know it. I have responsibilities, I can’t be a mother now.”

O was silent for a moment. “Well, maybe you won’t.”

“You didn’t even think about that, did you?”

“No, but neither did you.”

“No.” Inferno sighed. “I didn’t.”

“Don’t be mad, Inferno. Didn’t you have a good time?” O nuzzled her neck.

“I did, but I shouldn’t have.”

“Don’t worry so much. It’s in the past.” O licked her ear. “Don’t let a little mistake ruin the future.”

“Mmm.” Inferno got up and moved so she was laying on top of O, her long mane covering his face. She pressed her muzzle against his in a gentle kiss. “I have missed you. All this administrative nonsense is a poor substitute for time with my oldest friend. Now that I’m sober, I don’t think we should take any more chances, but”—she scooted further under the covers and laid her head on O’s chest—“there’s no harm in cuddling. I think Elpída can spare its queen a little longer.”

Inferno was several hours late to her appointments that morning, and showed signs of coming straight from the bath.

* * * * * *

A little over three weeks later, Inferno paid Giatros a visit at his office near the city wall.

“Your majesty? What are you doing here?”

“Probably nothing, but I thought I should get you to take a look.”

“Oh? Well, have a seat on the bed and tell me all about it.”

Inferno adjusted her clothes and sat sideways on the bed. “I’ve been bleeding when I, er, relieve myself.”

“Hmm, several things can cause that. Have you noticed any other changes?”

Inferno blushed. “Well, my, uh, teats seem really tender of late.”

“Ah. I see.” Giatros looked down his nose at her. “Have you known a stallion within the last three to six weeks?”

Inferno facehooved. “O.”

“Well, congratulations, your majesty. I recommend you avoid alcohol for the next ten months.”

* * * * * *

Theristis the mage was practicing a new spell on a stack of apples when a knock sounded on his door. “What?” he barked.

“Letter for you, Sir.”

“Just leave it on the step!” he shouted, not wanting to interrupt the spell.

A quarter of an hour later, he finally had his hooves free to open the front door and grab the letter off the ground. He felt a chill in his gut as he recognized the queen’s mouthwriting. He had brushed off the queen’s messenger. He quickly broke open the seal and scanned the text. It was a summons. Inferno had an important announcement to make to her inner circle.

Even though he was already late, Theristis rushed back into the house and changed his robes for something more formal. He had been waiting for months for an excuse to see Inferno, and he wasn’t going to let another chance pass him by. This was the day he would ask for her hoof.

Theristis rushed out the door, conjuring a bouquet as he trotted towards the queen’s mansion. He imagined how it would play out. He would smoothly offer her the flowers, and she would remember his years of faithful service and tell him that she had always admired his intellect. They would have a huge, expensive wedding, and he would be the co-ruler of Elpída. He couldn’t wait to taunt that Sorraian buffoon that was always hanging around her.

When Theristis arrived at Inferno’s house, he was directed to one of the back rooms. He found the door ajar, but something prompted him to stop just outside the door and listen. It seemed he was the last one to arrive, and the others were already talking.

“Oh, I’m so excited!” Fotia cooed. “What’s the big news?”

“Theristis still isn’t here,” Inferno replied.

“Eh, we’ll tell him what he missed,” Liquor snarked.

“I think O knows,” Nera suggested.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” O said with fake haughtiness

“Okay, okay. Fine. I don’t know what’s keeping Theristis, but I’m sure he’ll turn up.” Inferno took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”

The twins gasped, and Vodi and Liquor snorted.

“Heh, that would be me,” O said sheepishly.

Theristis dropped the bouquet and clenched his teeth, but he kept listening.

“When did this happen?” Nera probed.

“A little over three weeks ago.” Inferno sighed. You remember when we went out drinking together...and O went home with me?”

Fotia giggled. “So are you getting married?”

“Well, we haven’t had a chance to talk that over yet, but it seems like the best thing to do, given the circumstances.”

Theristis pulled back from the door, his pulse pounding in his ears. That ungrateful hussy had already chosen the skald. The others were all against him, he could see it now, but they would rue the day they crossed him! He started preparing the deadliest spell he knew.

The friendly conversation in the other room stopped abruptly as Fotia screamed and pointed a hoof at Inferno’s hooves. Inferno looked down to see that the bottom few inches of her legs were white and shiny, like polished marble, and it was traveling upwards rapidly. She looked quickly around the group and saw the same change coming over all of them. “We’re all turning to stone!”

Fotia started to hyperventilate and Nera started to cry. All of the stallions started talking loudly at the same time.

Inferno tried to keep her wits about her. “It must be magic, we need Theristis!” She ran out of the room, stumbling over her numb hooves. She didn’t see the pony still hiding behind the door.

Inferno reached the throne room at the same time the stone reached her knees. She stumbled to a stop with her legs spread, then straightened up and shouted to her guards. “Fetch Therisitis at once!”

Several of the ponies present screamed and fled when they saw Inferno being consumed by the curse. One of the guards answered, “He went to meet you just a few minutes ago!”

Inferno tried to run back the way she had come, but the stone had already reached her shoulders. “Find him and take him to the others, and then bring him here, quickly!”

“Yes, my Queen!” The guards ran down the hall.

Inferno hoped he would save her friends. Maybe he already had. The stone climbing her torso was making it harder to breathe. She glanced at the few ponies still standing in the room, watching her die in front of them, too horrified to look away.

Inferno felt her heart stop as it turned to stone. The curse was moving faster now, rushing up her body as she lost whatever resistance to it she might have had. There was nothing left but to face the end with dignity. She looked straight ahead and clenched her teeth. Her thoughts strayed to her unborn foal and tears rolled down her face as the stone closed over her head, stealing the last of her life and leaving a dead statue with ruby eyes in her place.

Author's Note

If you like depressing endings, stop reading here. The epilogue is part of "what really happened," but it spoils the drama a bit.

Epilogue

Six Hundred Years Later

With only one mage in the city, it was no mystery what had happened. When the ponies of Elpída learned that their beloved queen had been murdered, an angry mob seized Theristis and beat him to death. He tried to defend himself, but that only stoked their rage. But it was too late for Inferno and her friends. The statues were placed in public locations around Elpída as an attempt to remember those they had lost.

With all their leaders gone, the city descended into near anarchy, and it wasn’t long before the city was conquered, almost without a fight.

The city was razed, and a new one built in its place. The invaders took a fancy to the incredibly life-like statues, and saved them to place in the new city of Canterlot.

Centuries passed, until one day a traveling wizard happened to notice that the statues were not simple marble. He sensed a strong aura of transmutation on the statues, and on a whim, cast a come-to-life spell on the cold marble. The animated statues served as a curiosity for the rare pony that tried talking to them, but in the years that followed, many of the awakened statues gave in to despair as they realized their hopeless condition. Despair gave way to insanity, and most of the statues forgot who they had been and what they had done. Some even forgot that they had ever been anything besides a magic statue.

But Inferno remembered. She still had someone to live for. Day after day, when nopony was watching, she dedicated her stone mind to stretching the limits of the come-to-life spell. She learned to move, and then to talk. The statue with the ruby eyes had been placed in a wealthy area of the city, and the maintenance ponies cut her off of her stand for cleaning, cementing her back in place when they were done. As soon as they were gone, she pulled her hooves loose before the cement could dry. Finally, she could walk again. So when a young arcanist came to her with a problem, she was ready to help.

A new emergency had arisen, and though Inferno knew these were not her ponies, she could not sit idle when there was work to be done. The stone warrior threw herself recklessly into battle until her body was shattered by the enemy’s weapons, leaving her holding her own head in her hooves. The enchanted stone was not so easily disenchanted though, and her false life continued. Her new friends reattached her head and used magic to make her whole again. Inferno’s curse had left her afraid of magic, but she was persuaded to let her friends attempt a cure.

After days of careful experimentation, an arcanist standing on a ley line was able to restore Inferno to living flesh once again, but her time as queen was past. She had a foal to bring into the world, but maybe there was still more she could do for her ponies…

The End

Author's Note

I know the ending is weird, but it's "historical" fiction; they always have disappointing endings. Just remember, this is what really happened; I just wrote it down for posterity. :trollestia:

Chapter 1: Stephani

Stephani stood with her hooves planted firmly in the sand and her back to the ocean. “If you’re stronger than me, push me into the sea, Timo!” she taunted the colt facing her. The sea breeze whipped her brown mane and tail. Her white coat was damp from the spray blowing off the waves behind her, but the weather was warm enough that she didn’t mind.

Her adversary planted his hooves as well, but looked nervously at the dozen other foals watching the confrontation. None of the foals were wearing any clothing, but that was typical in the Fresian earth pony tribes.

“Come on, Timo! Dunk me, or all these foals will know you’re a coward!” Stephani tilted her head pompously at the spectators, as if she was not also a foal herself.

“Yeah, Timo!” called a filly in the crowd, “make her drink salt water!”

Timo took a deep breath and lunged forward, thrusting his head and neck past Stephani’s and pushing against her chest with his own. The filly’s hooves slid backwards a few inches in the sand, but her legs held firm. Both foals’ hides stretched and rippled as the muscles underneath strained. The crowd burst into cheers and taunts, rooting for both wrestlers with gusto. Stephani turned her head to look back at the colt and gauge her distance to the waves.

“Is that...all you’ve...got?” she gasped, making a futile attempt to disguise how hard she was straining.

“It’ll be enough...for you,” Timo replied. He bent his legs to lower himself.

Stephani’s hooves slipped back a few more inches and she lowered her own body to match Timo’s. Her muscles burned, but she had been the one to issue the challenge, so she couldn’t back out now. She tried to push Timo back, but her hooves slipped a little more instead. She was going to look a fool if she didn’t do better than this. “Okay Timo, enough pretending!” She put every ounce of her strength into one great heave, then abruptly moved sideways.

Timo had desperately matched Stephani’s surge, but now suddenly found nothing holding him back. He stumbled forward, tripped, and fell face-first into the waves.

Stephani gave a panting laugh. “Who’s wet, Timo? Not me!”

Timo emerged from the ocean sputtering and dripping. “You cheated! I’ll show you wet!” He lunged at Stephani and kicked her in the side with both forehooves.

Stephani went down hard, but the sand cushioned her fall. She kicked at Timo’s legs, sweeping them out from under him, and he fell on top of her.

The two foals rolled around on the ground, kicking and biting. Some of their audience looked concerned, but most just cheered their favorite and taunted the other.

The combatants rolled apart for a moment, and Timo kicked a hind leg into Stephani’s stomach. While she was still gasping for breath, he stood up, grabbed her by the neck with his teeth, and started dragging her towards the ocean. Stephani flailed wildly, pounding Timo with her hooves, but he reached the water and dropped her in it. He stomped on her with his forehooves and held her down for a few seconds before backing away.

Stephani surfaced, coughing and gasping. She stumbled out of the ocean and fell prone on the beach. The salt water and sand stung everywhere Timo’s hooves and teeth had cut her. Timo was in a similar state, but he wore a huge smile. He had won, and all his friends had seen him do it.

Stephani got shakily to her feet and turned to walk through the crowd. They parted to let her pass. Walking was painful, but she forced herself not to limp, trying to preserve a small scrap of dignity. She had barely passed the group before hot tears started running down her face. Her body hurt, but her pride hurt more. She had been humiliated in front of all her peers, and she had nopony to blame but herself.

Stephani put some distance between herself and the others, but she didn’t head towards town. Instead, she followed an overgrown trail up the bluff and along the top to her special spot. It wasn’t hers alone, but none of the adults and only a few of the other foals knew about it. She checked that nopony was following her, then stepped carefully over the edge of the bluff, reaching for the ledge she knew was there. Her hoof found solid ground and she started walking down the ledge. Her overtaxed muscles protested the exercise, but she could not afford to humor them here. The path was not much wider than her slim body, and there was nothing on the seaward side but a long drop to sharp rocks.

Halfway down the cliff, she came to the cave entrance. Her cave. She followed the cave wall around until it opened towards the ocean again, near the bottom of the cliff. She walked out on the flat rock in front of the cave. The tide was out, so the shelf was still several feet above the water. Stephani sat in a tidepool and stared out to sea. The salt stung her cuts for a moment, but the warm water was very relaxing. Here, nothing would bother her. She was alone except for the wind, and the sun, and-

“Hey, Steph! You in there?”

Stephani rolled her eyes. “I’m here, Filos.”

A dark blue colt trotted out onto the shelf next to her. “I thought I’d find you here.”

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt too bad after your little swimming lesson.”

Stephani swatted angrily at Filos with her tail, but he dodged it as easily as he had the last dozen times.

“I had a feeling you might be in over your head,” he continued, deliberately emphasizing the pun, “but I know how pushy you can be.” Filos dodged another swat from Stephani’s avenging tail and chuckled at his own cleverness.

“As if it wasn’t enough to be defeated in front of all the foals in the village, now you have to torment me here?” Stephani lamented.

“Pfft, get over yourself, Steph. That wasn’t nearly every foal in the village. Besides, they were all there when you dumped Timo in the ocean too, remember?”

Stephani just stared at the water.

“Come on Steph, you’re better than this.” Filos wore a serious face for the first time since arriving. “The filly I know is too tough to sit and sulk after losing one fight. What’s different this time?”

Stephani let out a long sigh. “It’s my fault this time. I got full of myself and challenged him. I made the whole contest about me, and then I failed. I deserve to be humiliated because I defeated myself.”

“Wow. Deep,” Filos said with a smirk. “But if you know what you did wrong, then you’ll do better next time, right?”

Stephani was quiet for a while, and then sighed. “Yeah...you’re right.” She gave her friend a small smile. “Thanks, Fil, you always know what to say.”

“Yes, I’m a genius. Most ponies can’t see past my rugged good looks.”

Stephani’s tail brushed his nose as he pulled his head back. “You’re still an awful pest though.”

“I try. Let me see that bite on your neck; it looks pretty deep.” Filos pushed Stephani’s head down so he could splash seawater on the wound on her neck.

She hissed as the salt made contact, but held still for him. “Ugh, everyone at practice is going to see me and Timo and ask who won. I wish I could cover myself with a blanket or something.”

“There’s no use in hiding your body; be proud of your effort, and worry less about the outcome.”

“Now you sound like my uncle.”

“I should; I’ve heard him say that enough times.” Filos let her sit up again. “Speaking of your uncle, we had better start back to the village. You don’t want to be late for practice.”

“Fine.” Stephani got up stiffly and let herself drip dry for a moment before starting to walk back. “This is going to be the worst practice ever.”

“Even worse than the time you knocked yourself out with a shield?”

“Hmm...yes. This will hurt more. Maybe I should knock myself out again.”

“Well, wait until sparring so it looks like I did it.” Filos grinned impudently.

Stephani laughed. “Nopony would believe that.”

“Hey! I’ll be a mighty warrior someday, you’ll see!”

Author's Note

Throughout this story, I draw heavily on ancient Greece for inspiration. All the names that aren't English mean something in Greek, so put them in Google translate if you're curious. Beware spoilers though.