Starcraft: The Fate of the Artifact

Chapter 8: The Council of Celestia

Celestia shifted her gaze across the dimly lit room. The curtains had been drawn, blocking out the sun’s rays and replacing its warmth with cool darkness. The door was locked and a spell had been cast to make it undetectable to the naked eye. Nopony made a sound.

The only source of light in the chamber was an ornamental chandelier that hung from high above. The chandelier was decorated with ten extravagant candles whose flames flickered and shimmered, distorting the shadows of those who sat at the table beneath across the walls and floor.

The tabletop was pristine and bore not a single scratch or blemish; though when Celestia entered the room there was a considerable amount of dust covering it. The center of the large table displayed a scale model of Equestria and the nations surrounding it. Apart from the round table and the four chairs surrounding it, the chamber was devoid of any furnishing or decorations. The princess never found a reason to extravagantly decorate a chamber with such a long and blood-stained history.

The princess was seated in a glorious throne crafted from gold and silver with the solar Alicorn’s cutie mark blazoned on the tip. Her throne was positioned at the northernmost edge of the table, and at each cardinal direction was seated a member of Equestria’s most decorated and distinguished soldiers: The Imperial Three. Each had been in countless battles, fought on the front lines, perfected the art of combat and devised the most brilliant formations and strategies ever conceived. Each general was seated in a chair expertly crafted of their defining gemstone; obsidian, fluorspar, and sunstone.

Equestria’s army was split into three divisions: The Earth pony brigade, the Pegasus air force, and the Unicorn regiment. Each side was led by one of the Imperial Three. They had recently contacted Celestia with urgent news, and she had no choice but to host a war council. Here they all sat, waiting for the princess to formally begin the meeting.

Celestia turned to her right. Sitting there was Obsidian of the Imperial Three; Earth pony general Hoofstrong. His fur was peach pink and he had shaved off all but the tip of his blonde mane, which he had shaped into a single, golden curl. On his flank was an image of a rock with a huge fracture running down the middle; showcasing his ability to break things. General Hoofstrong was without a doubt the largest stallion in Equestria; his colossal legs brought him just shy of the tip of Celestia’s horn.

More impressive than his height was his legendary strength. His bulging muscles rippled with power, showing the dedication he placed on staying in top physical condition. Despite his rather imposing and weighty body; he was faster than most pegasai when in combat.

His speed caught many opponents completely off-guard, leaving them at his mercy; which he was notable for having none of. He dealt swift, bone-crushing blows to his unsuspecting foes. His overwhelming power was so great that the commoners said he could kick through dragon scales. There was little reason to doubt this.

But by far the most notable feature of this muscular stallion was his GLORIOUS mustache. A magnificent, golden stretch of hair rested on his upper lip, captivating the hearts off any mare fortunate enough to be in his handsome presence. He always kept it well-groomed, using a secret technique that had been passed down the Hoofstrong family line for generations. Celestia magically reached for Hoofstrong’s report and offered a warm smile. He returned her gaze with a silent nod.

Celestia then took notice of Sunstone general sitting opposite her across the table. The young unicorn’s coat was dull orange which drew most attention given to him toward his fiery red mane. It waved back and forth whenever his head turned, giving him the appearance of the rising sun. In fact, his cutie mark was a sun rising up over a mountain. Radiant Dawn squirmed nervously in his chair, biting his lip and sweating profusely. An almost undetectable grin appeared on Celestia’s face. Even when he was in the Royal Guard, he never could keep his bearing.

“Sunstone, you are no longer a Royal guard stallion; there is no reason to sit at attention like this.” Celestia’s soft voice floated into his ears, bringing him back to the meeting.

“Huh?” He cleared the grogginess out of his head with a good shake. “Oh! I’m sorry, princess. I’m just a little nervous. This is my first council as general after all.” His eyes wandered to the floor as his voice trailed off.

A calm voice interrupted Radiant’s brooding. “Such anxiety is to be expected out of a fresh recruit. However, you are a general now; you must be brave. We are her majesty’s most trusted servants, and we cannot afford to hesitate when the time comes for us to act.” Radiant looked up at the source of the kind voice. Fluorspar of the Imperial Three gave him a motherly smile that could put Celestia herself to shame.

“I know, Silverwind. It’s just… When I sit in this chair, surrounded by three of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, I feel …insignificant.” He looked solemnly at his own hooves. “I…I don’t have the strength of general Hoofstrong or your keen intellect. My magic can’t blast through mountains or warp time and space.” His sigh echoed across the quiet room. “I have only been Sunstone for a month, and already the responsibilities are crushing me like a bug.”

Silverwind fluttered her wings before replying. “Even the greatest warriors start their journey as a recruit. Hoofstrong and I are no exception.”

Radiant Dawn’s voice rose slightly. “But you two are practically legends!” He turned to General Hoofstrong, who was stroking his mustache. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my friends in the Royal guard tell the tale of how you took down a Minotaur chief in a hoof-wrestle!” Hoofstrong placed his hooves on the table but did not respond. Radiant jabbed a hoof at Silverwind next.

“And you! You single-hoofedly took charge of Equestria’s soldiers during a massive Diamond dog ambush! Without losing a single soldier no less! If that is not a sign of a great leader, I don’t know what is!” Radiant suddenly realized he had been shouting and sat back down, muttering apologies to his fellow generals.

Silverwind gave a light-hearted chuckle, causing Radiant to raise an eyebrow. “It’s funny how much a victory can be blown out of proportion.” She shook her head. “It was not such a grand victory. My camp was attacked by a rouge pack of bandits, this much is true. But the rest is nothing more than hyperbole.”

Radiant cocked his head. “What do you mean by that?”

Silverwind continued to smile as she responded. “First of all, there was no massive ambush.” She made air-quotes with her hooves. “There were at most, thirty bandits attacking my well-fortified camp of perhaps 80 soldiers. They may have had the element of surprise to be sure, but their tactics were sloppy, and their warriors untrained. It was quite simple to formulate a plan to drive them off.”

Radiant’s mouth gaped as though the grey pegasus had smacked him across the face with the blunt side of a sword. “Is this true? That there was no great Diamond dog ambush? But the story of your victory made its way across Canterlot so quickly. Every unicorn in the Royal guard was talking about it for weeks!”

“Then it’s no surprise that it was altered so. I may be the highest ranking pegasus in Equestria; but that does not make me a goddess.” She chuckled softly. “Ha-ha. And I’m sure that story you mentioned about Hoofstrong over there was subjected to just as much embellishment. Isn’t that right?” Hoofstrong shook his head.

“Actually that story is entirely true.”

“WHAT?!” The other two shouted in unison. “But even with your massive stature, a Minotaur chief would be twice your height!” Radiant shouted in disbelief. Hoofstrong nodded in confirmation.

“Indeed he was. It was a hard-won battle, but in the end, I emerged victorious. Normally I would delve into the specifics of the tale in a grandiose manner, but I think we have wasted enough time talking about the past. Isn’t that right, Celestia?” The group turned their attention to the Alicorn, whose patience had clearly been running thin over the course of their discussion.

Celestia huffed as she addressed her generals. “Correct, Obsidian. I have not summoned you three here so you could reminisce about past victories. We do not have time for idle chit-chat; the entire nation is in peril.” She stood up and motioned for the rest to do so as well.

“This is not the time to keep secrets from the public,” Celestia said, “As of right now; Equestria is at war. We shall analyze the situation and arrange our troops accordingly. There are dark times ahead for us all, and I need you three to be beacons of hope that our soldiers will follow. You may be seated.” The room remained silent as the generals took back their seats.

Celestia sighed inwardly. She had hoped that she would not have to bring the three together again. Equestria always had a standing army. They had their glorious victories and crushing defeats throughout the years, and there were always three generals to control the forces; but gathering all three together was an act she had not committed since the war against Nightmare Moon. Celestia turned to General Silverwind first.

“Fluorspar; relay your information to the council.”

“Yes, my princess.” She bowed respectfully before turning to the board. She placed a large griffon down to represent the king and several around him as his army. “The kingdom of Bern has laid siege to and completely destroyed our defenses at fort Cornwell.” She used the griffon model to knock over the fort on the borders of Equestria and Bern. “The griffon army now flies west through our borders unhindered. The distance from Cornwell to the nearest settlement is a 4-day travel by hoof; but at the griffon’s current flight path they will begin attacking villages within two days. We MUST drive out the griffons before they slaughter our countrymen.”

Hoofstrong nodded and folded his front hooves on the table, resting his chin atop them. “Bern’s military is immense; the largest on the continent. Driving them out once they are set on the warpath will not be a simple task.” His gaze narrowed across the area of the model depicting Bern. It was a large territory that spanned several mountain ranges and spread outward to the eastern sea. The griffons were a strong military-driven race, and were almost always having territorial disputes with the other mountain based nations; the dragon nation Arcadia and the United Minotaur Tribes. The very thought of attacking Arcadia was deemed suicide by most kingdoms, but Bern was not a lesser kingdom.

“This does not make any sense; we have been allies with Bern for quite some time. Why would they suddenly invade?” Hoofstrong asked the princess. She closed her eyes in thought before turning back to Silverwind.

“Fluorspar, have you received any word on King Desmond’s behavior of late?” Celestia asked.

Fluorspar nodded. “According to our ambassador to Bern, King Desmond has been acting erratically for a while now. There appears to be some internal conflict with Bern’s royal family; but the specifics are unclear.” Celestia nodded once more before returning her attention to the board. Fluorspar continued, “The griffons are known for pillaging villages and killing livestock during wartime. A prolonged war with Bern would guarantee civilian fatalities in the thousands. We must stop this invasion.”

Celestia studied the board very carefully, scanning over the Griffon’s attack route. “You have formulated a plan already, I assume?” she said.

Silverwind nodded professionally.  “Yes, my princess. Bern’s forces will pour out of the mountain pass and spread outward like wildfire into the heart of Equestria. We need to take our forces and create a perimeter around their advancements. If we can prevent the griffon army from moving further into Equestria, we can push them back and trap them at Bloodbeak pass.”

“And you are certain we could withstand a direct, frontal assault of such magnitude?” Celestia used her magic to demonstrate her point using the figurines on the map. “The griffons are relentless and brutal; they will not be defeated in one battle. If the word savage had been condensed into one beast, it would be a griffon soldier.”

General Hoofstrong coughed abruptly, drawing all eyes to him.

“I’m afraid we cannot afford to send our armies out that far, east; instead we should send our forces north, to the Crystal Empire. They need our aide in fending off an invasion.”

Radiant Dawn stared blankly at the muscular stallion in disbelief.  “If we do not move out all of our soldiers to halt the griffons they will rampage along the countryside! The griffons will not show mercy to the farmers and children. We need to defend our own territory!” He slammed his hooves on the table. “Besides, the Empire has its own army, why would we need to separate our forces when we desperately need them here?”

“I’m afraid the Empire’s strength alone cannot stop this threat,” Hoofstrong said calmly.

Radiant Dawn blinked in confusion. Celestia’s eyes narrowed and her glare intensified. “What are you talking about?” She asked.

The Obsidian general took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and sighed. He was not looking forward to saying this.

“We have located the main Changeling hive cluster.”

Not a sound was made for several moments as the council members processed this news. The changelings had not made a move since the failed attack on Canterlot, how had the hive been discovered? Celestia spoke calmly to the hulking pony.

“How did you obtain this information?” She asked as memories of the Changeling assault on Canterlot resurfaced.

“I was contacted a few days ago by a messenger from the Crystal Empire,” Hoofstrong replied, looking at the city in question on the map. “He brought a message straight from Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. They had discovered a rather large changeling scouting party. He claims that there were at least 20 feasting on the love permeating the very air of the Empire. Before they could be apprehended however, they fled. The prince ordered a pegasus tracking squad to pursue them. They followed the trail across Equestria for two weeks, always heading west until they arrived at the edge of the Miracle Sea. The changelings flew across the ocean and out of sight.”

Radiant Dawn tilted his head in confusion. “The Miracle Sea? But there isn’t anything out there except the…!” His lips formed a small O as the realization dawned on him along with Celestia.

“The Dread Isle.” The princess concluded.

“But that’s impossible! The Dread Isle is surrounded on all sides by nothing but endless stretches of water! No creature can possibly fly that distance!” Silverwind blurted out.

Hoofstrong shook his head.  “Ordinarily that would be true; however, these changelings were overflowing with the love they had stolen from the Empire. It would have been a simple task to fly to the island from the beach. Regardless, we must prepare for an attack from the changelings.”

“But that proves nothing! That could have been a distraction for all we know! Did this messenger see the Changeling hive himself?” Radiant Dawn crassly interrupted.

“Well, no, but-”

“But nothing! We need to focus on the griffons now. The changelings can wait.” Hoofstrong and Radiant Dawn exchanged narrowed glares.

“Sunstone, you were here in Canterlot when the changelings invaded, correct?” Hoofstrong asked through his moustache. Radiant slowly nodded. “Perhaps you can tell me how many enemy changelings were killed in that assault?” Radiant dawn opened his mouth to reply, but to his horror, the answer was...

“Zero. There were no reported fatalities on either side.” Silverwind confirmed.

“Exactly my point. The changelings were a huge threat then, and since their defeat their numbers have only increased by the thousands!” Hoofstrong’s eyes glowered over the other two generals. “They must be stopped before their hunger for love consumes the world! Their next move will undoubtedly be to drain the Empire of all its love and use that power to enslave the world. We cannot risk being caught off guard by the swarm now. We must launch our naval ships and sail to the Dread Isle as soon as possible.”

“We can’t just leave the villagers to fall to the griffons! We need to worry about one crisis at a time and Bern is already INSIDE OUR BORDERS!” Silverwind shouted. Radiant stood up from his chair and pointed a hoof at the stone-faced general.

“It’s not just Bern, either! The Diamond Dog tribes are also attacking.” Celestia almost lost her composure again at that last remark.  The last encounter with the Diamond dogs was when she…Burnt the Diamond Dog ambassador to a crisp. They must be trying to exact revenge for the Alicorn’s treatment of their kin. Celestia sucked in air through her teeth; yet another time she let her anger get the better of her. She grimaced and bit her lip nervously as the bickering between her generals intensified.

“The Diamond Dogs have declared war on us? This is horrendous! We cannot possibly fight a war on THREE fronts! We do not have nearly enough soldiers!” Silverwind tried to calculate some plan, but there were simply not enough resources for such a large war.

Hoofstrong rose angrily from his chair and towered over the other generals. “To drive off the Griffons using your tactics we would need every last soldier in Equestria. We cannot spread our forces so thinly that we leave ourselves open to an attack from behind!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?!” Silverwind retorted hysterically, her inability to formulate a plan shattering her calm demeanor.

“I say we launch a preemptive strike against the changelings! By the time they hit us or the Crystal Empire, it will be too late. The sooner we destroy those monsters, the better!”

“And what about the griffons?!” Silverwind asked, raising herself from her chair as well. “You may be right in the fact that if we try to defend on all fronts, we would be over extending our resources. However, we should focus on the threat that is present here and now, not an unconfirmed, potential threat!”

“The Diamond Dogs are trying to capitalize on the confusion caused by Bern’s invasion,” Radiant Dawn interjected. “They are pillaging and raiding villages at will! The changelings have not made their move yet, so we defend our farmland!”

“Bern must be punished!”

“We must protect the villagers!”

“Death to the changelings!”

“SILENCE! ALL OF YOU!” Celestia’s bellowing shout echoed across the large room, snapping the generals out of their rage. She cleared her throat and spoke in a barely audible whisper. “I will NOT stand to see my kingdom ravaged by war. As Princess of Equestria, I will do anything in my power to put an end to this.”

“But princess, no matter how brave your words may be, we still do not have enough soldiers to fight against this many simultaneous attackers.” Silverwind pointed out.

Celestia brought one hoof to her temple and applied some soft pressure. “There might be a way after all; to have an army large enough for this task.”

“What are you suggesting princess? Where might we find an army large enough to fight three enemies at once?” Radiant asked.

“There is an army that history has long since forgotten.” Celestia explained, looking at the mountains that separated Bern from Arcadia. “Their numbers rival the Changelings and their brutality can match even the griffons. Only Luna and I are aware of the army’s existence, and of us, only I know its hidden location. Though I wish I did not have to do so; this situation is dire indeed, and we have no other choice. I will be forced to re awaken the-” A burst of green flame warped in front of the Alicorn’s face, cutting off her announcement. A scroll sealed with Twilight Sparkle’s insignia materialized from the fire and was swiftly grabbed by Celestia’s golden magic. She stared at the letter with a slight amount of curiosity.

“I told Twilight not to send me any letters today. What could she possibly have to say that is worth interrupting this council?” She opened the seal and unraveled the scroll with her magic. Her eyes scanned over the message several times.

Princess Celestia:

I have urgent news concerning the protoss artifact. A new group of aliens called Terrans have arrived and are asking that we give the artifact to them. They claim that they are gathering them for a group of researchers for study. They have managed to persuade your sister, Princess Luna into negotiating with the leader of research, Dr. Narud. These Terrans are not the evil monsters the protoss lead us to believe, but they are powerful. The leader of the Terrans has invited us aboard his starship called the Hyperion. Luna told me of your meeting with The Imperial Three, so I understand how busy you must be right now; but I needed to tell you this because these negotiations may change our stance with the protoss, and I am unsure how they would react to us giving their enemy the artifact.

Twilight Sparkle.

“Hmmm.” Celestia re-read the letter over again and spoke aloud, ignoring the Imperial Three completely. “This is not good. We can’t just give the artifact to these Terrans no matter how peaceful they seem to be. It is our fault the protoss lost it in the first place; we need to make sure that they get it back.” Her thoughts wandered back to the overwhelmingly bleak scenario that her kingdom faced.

“However…” She turned her head to the war map, looking specifically at the Dread Island. “Perhaps I can use this to my advantage.” She sized up the griffon and Equestrian armies using the wooden models. “If they do not wish to bring harm upon us, perhaps they could be persuaded to bring harm on our enemies.” She brought her gold-covered hoof down on the model griffon, crushing it like a twig. Grinning, she grabbed a quill and a fresh scroll and began writing up a reply. Her three generals looked at each other in confusion. Hoofstrong spoke up first.

“Excuse me, Princess,” he said, “who or what are the Terrans and protoss? What are you talking about?”

Celestia continued writing and replied without lifting her head from her scroll.  “I am almost completely in the dark on this situation myself, so there is not much I can say.” She finished the message with a dot and whisked it away using her magic. She turned back to Hoofstrong to resume speaking.

“At first I wanted to keep this situation with the aliens a secret, but regarding these most recent developments this is no longer possible.”

“So you withheld this information from us?” Hoofstrong motioned towards himself.

“Yes. This was a delicate situation to begin with, and I could not risk word of this getting out to anypony.”

“Princess, what happened that you are so afraid of your subjects knowing?” Radiant asked. The solar Alicorn took a deep breath and held it for almost a minute before releasing.

Her generals listened intently as she described how Luna had unwittingly forced Equestria to take a side in conflict between two alien races. Celestia told them everything that she knew for sure; that Luna had destroyed an alien vessel, those same aliens are now on their way to get it back, and that a second race of aliens has suddenly appeared, also asking for the artifact.

The meeting continued in silence for a moment as she let the news sink in. This was a tough tale to digest in one sitting, especially since Celestia herself did not completely understand the situation. Silverwind broke the silence with a cough.

“I…see.” Silverwind reached a hoof behind her metallic-grey mane and rubbed her neck. “You will surely not back down from your promise to the protoss?” She asked hopefully.

Celestia looked at her empathetically. “I truly wish I could.” Her thoughts drifted toward Bern’s formidable military. “But we are running out of time, and we need an army NOW.”

“So you would use this artifact as a bargaining chip to persuade the Terrans to act in our favor?” Hoofstrong interjected as he stroked his moustache in thought. “An army of highly advanced aliens would be more than sufficient to deal with both Bern and the changelings.”

“B-but you MUST reconsider! We know next to nothing about these Terrans! It could all be an elaborate trap!” Silverwind sputtered in disbelief. “Even if the Terrans turn out to be nothing more than researchers, what would the protoss do when they discover we have traded away the very thing you promised to protect?!”

“I promised them nothing.” Even Hoofstrong flinched in shock from the princess’ icy voice.

“But, princess…” The pegasus found herself at a loss for words, and sank weakly into her chair.

“Silverwind, I personally picked you to fill the role of Fluorspar because of your decision making abilities and tactical prowess. But no matter how sound your reasoning may be, or how warped my perception of reality might get, my word is final. I will do what is best for my kingdom, and all its inhabitants. If that means taking a risk and endangering my own well-being, I will gladly accept.” Nopony dared speak up again until another scroll appeared in front of the princess.

“What does this one say?” Radiant Dawn asked. Celestia opened this scroll and looked shocked when she read its contents. The only words on the entire scroll were, “If you would like to see their power, look outside.” She showed the scroll to her generals and they all shrugged.

“Well, better not waste any more time then.” Silverwind weakly suggested. Celestia began walking over to the curtains blocking off the balcony, with The Imperial Three right behind her. She grasped the curtains with her magic and in one swift motion, pulled them apart, giving the group a clear view of Ponyville….and the massive metal Battle cruiser in the sky above.

Even from this far away, they could clearly make out the hammerhead shape of the ship’s front and the long neck connecting it to the main body. The ship was absolutely monstrous in size; Celestia had no doubts that it was larger than Canterlot Castle. The Hyperion hovered in the sky over Ponyville, most likely amazing the civilians the same way it was amazing her. It was unlike anything Celestia had seen in her eternal lifetime. Now if she could persuade them to fight against the Changelings.

Hoofstrong stepped forward and stared at the might vessel in awe. “That flying ship in monstrous! I doubt any creature on this planet could withstand an assault from that!”

“Indeed, there is little chance that I would survive a battle against such weaponry.” Celestia agreed. She turned and walked beside Silverwind, looking her directly in the eye. She could tell that the general was fighting back the urge to say something, though to her credit, the pegasus was doing a decent job of hiding her emotions.

“I understand that you care for my safety, as you very well should,” Silverwind’s eyes softened under Celestia’s piercing gaze, “but you must realize what the presence of their ship means in the first place.” The princess pointed back toward the sky. “With such a vessel at their command, they could effortlessly have raided our planet for the artifact, taken it, and left before we even knew what hit us. And they still have yet to fire a single shot. If that is not proof enough of the Terran’s resolve to remain diplomatic, I don’t know what is.”

Celestia turned, taking a few steps from the generals and gazing up at the massive ship. The lights across its hull shined like the sun, captivated the princess. When she finished staring at the Battle cruiser in amazement, she turned back around, her eyes filled with resolve.

“Let it be known throughout all of Equestria: we are at war with Bern and the Diamond Dog Tribes. All villages near the border are to seek refuge in the inner cities until the war is over. The three of you will personally lead the military to stop Bern’s invasion and defend the civilians. We will need every last Earth pony, pegasi and unicorn to stop the griffon’s power.” She paused, lifting one of her forelegs and spreading her wings. “In the meantime I have an alliance to secure. Good luck to all of you, and never falter.” They saluted her, and the sun goddess leaped off the balcony, catching the air underneath her wings and speeding off to Ponyville.