Author's Note
The following story takes place at the truce of the war of 948 in the AU, “The Brightness of the Sun”
For more information about “The Brightness of the Sun” and the characters of this story, follow the link in the description.
On the Brink of War
Cumulus stood at the top of the hill overlooking the battlefield, gouges in the dirt were easily visible in the mud, and fallen trees hit with stray magic lay on the edges of the clearing. It was early morning, many ponies were still asleep, and still she felt like there was a tension in the air. As if the ponies below her where holding their breath.
“We really needed this truce...” she said softly to herself, imagining the chaos which had so recently ceased. The flashes of light, the screaming, the smashing of broken things, all rang in her mind, though the air was silent.
The tents covering the wide expanse of field appeared like a patchwork quilt. If she hadn’t known where the fronts had been the night before she wouldn’t be able to distinguish one faction from the others. She hoped that was a good sign. That they could use their common goals to reach an end to all of this.
A cool breeze ruffled her soft blue hair and she sighed, sitting down on the dewy grass, the wet darkening her pale blue coat. It was long, but not overly so.
What will happen to us if this truce doesn’t hold? Cumulus wasn’t sure she really wanted the answer to that. The war they’d been fighting was brutal, even worse than her great grandfather had described the first changeling war, and yet, it seemed so far away now.
In her mind she tried to justify it. This war, the fighting, all its anger, was for the greater good, that humility would finally be important to the people of this nation and that soon they would be safe. This fantasy didn’t last long though, reality knocked on the back of her mind. You couldn’t just force humility onto others, it has to be chosen.
She glanced back at the clearing and saw many of the tents below her emitted a faint glow, plumes of smoke coming from the tents whose owners controlled magic or those who desired to stay warmer than this early spring would allow.
Hoofsteps behind her commanded her gaze, and she turned to watch Reya, a white unicorn with pastel multicolored mane, appear over the hill crest.
“Greetings” she said briskly. Reya was certainly not the first person she’d have liked to see then, but by far was not the worst.
Out of the two sisters, Cumulus had certainly trusted Noct, a navy blue unicorn with curly dark blue mane, far more, however with their truce, she kept silent.
“It’s a fine morning” Reya said softly as she sat nearby. She kept far enough away to show a respect for the alicorn’s space but it wasn’t quite far enough away to please her.
“It is”
Cumulus couldn’t help but feel bad for her brisk attitude, though she felt it was the least rude of the ways she could tell Reya that she’d rather not speak to her at the moment. Why exactly she felt that way, Cumulus wasn’t sure.
“Are you ready for the meeting this afternoon?” Reya asked softly, almost gravely. That caught her attention and when she met the Unicorn sister’s gaze she saw a flash worry.
“I am”, Cumulus said with a slight pause. “Are you?”
Reya stayed silent and turned towards the blanket of tents.
Both surprised by the worry in Reya’s eyes and impressed by the humility it would’ve taken such a prideful mare like her to admit such worry, Cumulus began to feel less wary of her hilltop compatriot.
“Do you think it’ll work? The truce I mean?” She said softly. Below them both was a small circular clearing.
Reya hesitated to answer, then breathed softly. “If I’m being quite honest? I have no idea. I-, we, want everything to go smoothly, but there is no promise that we’ll come to a final agreement”
Cumulus nodded.
Around the clearing, sat 12 tents, both larger and more active than all the others. The faction heads took up those tents. She glanced at her own, a light blue tent adorned with clouds. It was the smallest of the twelve, not too much larger than the rest her faction. That was the point.
“Promise me you won’t fire first”
Cumulus shook her head and turned back to Reya bewildered. “What?”
Reya cleared her throat and looked at Cumulus with a desperation in her eyes. “Please promise me that if it comes to war, you won’t be the first to fire”
Cumulus felt anger rush through her. “What makes you think I’d ever do something like that?!” She shouted, worry and frustration boiling over. “I would never be so prideful to end this truce because of my own self interest. There are lives on the line here!”
A very bewildered Reya started in shock and despair as Cumulus stood up quickly.
“I hope you haven’t asked each leader the same question.” Cumulus said coldly, before flapping her wings, and taking flight, using the wind to cool her mind, and carry her home.
Author's Note
The following story takes place following the truce of the war of 948 in the AU, “The Brightness of the Sun”
For more information about “The Brightness of the Sun” and the characters of this story, follow the link in the description.
Forging an Empire
It was loud and hot inside the tent. So loud, that even though they’d worked so hard to get here, he almost wished he could risk everything and duck out of the canvas flaps. Breathe the cool early spring air, feel the wind in his mane.
The room the twelve faction leaders and the two sisters occupied was large, but not quite large enough to comfortably occupy so many ponies at once. The canvas tent was a bland tan color, and was lit with various oil lamps as the sun began to set. In the center of the tent was an oak table, well worn through years of use, and soft to the touch. It fit just perfectly in the center, surrounded by 14 chairs of a similar material.
A loud shout of indignation brought Lafayette‘s attention back to the group. Solstice had shoved her chair back, taken a stand, and slammed her hoof down onto the thick table with a lout crack.
“How dare you question my honor!” She shouted at another mare, before a wave of ponies cascaded about her, trying to keep her back from the smug looking crystal Pegasus.
Solstice was a fiery Pegasus mare, known by her hot head, and passion for honor. Her hair went to match, a golden orange, matching that of licking flames adorned her head, while pale blue lines traced the rest of her pelt.
Her adversary was wholly and completely different. A crystal Pegasus from the old lands, she held honesty and candor as the most important things in her life, and refused to hold back on the failings of others. Her coat was a dazzling white, contrasted neatly by her muted rainbow coat.
“I speak only the truth Solstice, and If that makes you feel dishonorable then perhaps you should rethink the kind of facade you’re putting up for everypony else.”
Diamond shard was never the kind to pull her punches.
Lafayette rolled his eyes as the two mares attempted to rip each other apart, first verbally, then physically, despite being held back from any harm by the neutral guards assigned by Noct and Reya.
Eventually however, he became tired of the bickering and lack of productivity. “Ahem.” He said in the loudest, and most posh voice he could stomach.
It took the group a few moments to wind down, but he was patient. When the group had finally made it to a tense stop, he began again.
“How about we take a rest. Eat some food, take a drink, visit with your friends and families.” He said proposed.
When he caught Noct’s curious but encouraging blue gaze from the far corner of the tent, he nodded to her. “We’re all tired and worn out. We can use a rest. This is only the first of many debates we’ll have, and if we’re lucky it will certainly not be the last. We’ve been at this for hours.”
Despite the nods of approval from the posse of other faction leaders, he felt a small pang of guilt. He knew he’d be taking them away from the important work they’d been doing. But, he supposed, nothing would get done without a break either.
If we don’t rest, we’ll get nowhere, and perhaps heads might get bitten off in more ways than metaphor.
“He’s right.” Said a smaller but bolder voice. “For once.” She added with a sting. “It’ll be good to get away from all of you, clear our heads, come up with more solutions.”
Dark Umbra’s head popped out from behind Diamond, and her horn glowed a dark amber as the tent flaps were lifted. Her pelt was a vivid orange, while her hair lay in a curly gradient of the darkest browns. To some, it even seemed to sparkle.
Lafayette wanted to roll his eyes, but didn’t, possibly because it was the first time in years that Umbra had defended one of his ideas. She put a high price on her own intelligence, and while Lafayette knew he was not her equal, he was painfully aware of her creative and problem solving deficiencies.
I suppose that’s was why we weren’t fighting on the same side.
Lafayette wanted nothing more in this world than to write and sing and dance, and yet when the battles began, he wasn’t the only one called to fight for something he’d never expected.
With the rest time decided, each pony within the large tent began to walk out on their own accord. He felt sure that as soon as each was ready, they would return.
He turned back to Umbra, but her form had disappeared.
He wished that they hadn’t been separated.
The war had driven a wedge between them, her obsession with intellect and brains had clouded her judgement, unfairly putting those she deemed “dispensable” at the front lines.
Within a year, he’d left her faction, the faction of the Unicorn, and attempted to leave the battle altogether. He never got that far though. With a bittersweet feeling, Lafayette remembered being followed from the camp and ambushed.
He’d expected to be killed as a defector, and was surprised to meet another non-believer, attempting to escape. As a team, they collected as many others as they could bear before leaving and forming their own faction, who made him the defacto leader of a group he’d never intended to make.
The wind was just as cool as he’d expected, and even more satisfying. Lafayette walked into the clearing at the base of the hill slowly, the soft grass lush under his hooves, and the evening dew glittering in the low light. He enjoyed the birdsong and the cool air. The sun was on its way to setting, and it cast an orange hue around their tents, and shadows along every unlit path between them.
After a moment to himself in the open, Lafayette headed to his own tent, created from an amalgamation of tent scraps, which they’d stolen or scavenged from hundreds of other tents and pieces of clothing, to form the beautiful pattern work stars on the outside.
His faction was small in numbers, so each member of his team seemed to manage similar designs for their tents, creating dozens of unique and well fashioned mosaics representing each persons own creativity and style. Lafayette held this fact close to his heart, despite the passive dismissal he received from Umbra. Intelligence was meaningless without the creativity to inspire it.
Rather than closing himself off as he expected many of his other leaders to do, Lafayette chose to prop open his tent, leaving him available for visitors and also giving him a slight cross breeze. The interior was lit by candles of many shapes and sizes, likely taken care of by one of his kind friends or neighbors. They flickered softly, giving the atmosphere a soft dark look, compared to the bright, stifling oil lamps in the bureaucratic tent. Every surface seemed to shimmer or glow in one way or another.
With nopony to currently occupy him, and no other political business to attend to, he flopped onto his cot at the far end of his temporary home. The soft bedding on top of the rough hay bales cushioned his landing, and left a cool sensation on his skin. It had been a long time since he’d slept in a proper bed
It wasn’t long before his internal musings became soft mental murmurs, and his eyes began to sag. Just as his body seemed to drift off into the ethereal plane, he heard his name. He shook the sleep out of his head, albeit unsuccessfully, and turned to see another pony at his doorway.
“Come in, come in, how can I help you?” He said before a huge yawn nearly carried him away.
The pony before him was named Rowan, an Earthpony from the Hamunt Faction. She was notorious for her persistence in issues of importance to her. He pelt was a dark navy blue, adorned with soft pale clouds. She almost appeared to be a mural, though many speculated that she dyed it herself. Her main was long and straight, and nearly as white as snow, though she was clearly one of the youngest faction leaders.
Rowan nodded and came inside, glancing occasionally as the flicker of a candle, or shimmer of a trinket caught her eye. “It’s not exactly something I’m asking of you persay” she explained absently. “It’s more like what can you teach me.”
That particular statement caught Lafayette’s attention. Nobody had ever asked him for teaching assistance. It was always Umbra who tutored the students.
“What are you seeking to learn,” he asked while keeping his voice cautious.
Rowan smiled. “Teach me to weave your mosaics.” She asked politely as she looked at the tent walls again.
Lafayette only chuckled. “Nobody can teach you that, you must play with your medium, try to keep things neat, and do your best. Sometimes the work you do on accident is the best work you’ll ever do.”
Rowan nodded, “then thank you for your time” she said with a small bow before walking away.
Lafayette would be a fool if he thought he wouldn’t hear from her again, but he held out hope that she’d keep from pestering him for long.
The rest of the night was calm and quiet, and soon Lafayette found himself drifting off again, a fresh ballad on the makeshift desk nearby, and ink stains on his periwinkle hooves.
As the stallion slept, the rest of the nation began to do the same. Gentle snores and soft breaths echoed around the campsite. If it weren’t for the scars, and battlements tucked away inside each tent, few would suspect the violence which had only recently ceased.
The creatures of the night kept away from the hoarde of tents, staying at the edges of the land, and keeping their eyes and ears pricked, listening for danger, and the presence of more than just thoughts and whispers of smoke.
The next morning, Lafayette woke early. The sun barely crested the edge of the eastern horizon when he rose from his cot. He got up, nowhere near prepared for the day, drawing on his navy blue coat, and neatly tidying up his navy and yellow mane.
“Are you ready?” Said a deep, but welcoming voice from the front of the tent.
Lafayette turned and nodded towards the grey Pegasus stallion. Gust was a reliable horse, despite their previous misgivings. They’d first met three years into the war, and gust had nearly killed him. Though, he supposed the magical burst of energy he created could’ve definitely done the same to gust.
“I will be in a moment.” He said grabbing a snack from his side table. “I hope I’m not holding anyone up.”
Gust stayed at the entrance, laid back. He shook his head. “Don’t fret about it, we’re the first to wake. I just didn’t want to wait in the tent alone.” He explained, a small shutter passed through him.
Lafayette could understand the sentiment. The tent at the center of the clearing which had they’d erected after the truce, was large and daunting when unoccupied. It even seemed to hold a weight of its own, perhaps earned through its age and use.
When he’d eaten enough to ensure he wouldn’t keel over from hunger, Lafayette trotted over. Rays of sunlight spilled out over the pathways, sending glittering sparkles of light through the Dewey grass. Together, the two stallions made their way to the gathering place.
“Solstice, you can’t possibly expect to control the entire northern border with Padego! Not only does it seem unreasonable with the size of your people, but I too have descended from that region, and my people have a right to it as well!” Ash’s indignation was obvious. Despite his history as a pushover, the teal maned Earthpony had grown throughout the war.
It was especially obvious in times like these that each pony had changed during the last decade or so. Ash especially so. The dark grey stallion used to allow himself to be pushed and pulled with his excessive gratitude. Now, though he still shows respect and appreciation for his peers, he refuses to let them take advantage of him.
“My ancestors controlled that land, and my people will control it again. It is our right, and we will honor them and our fallen.” Solstice countered, feathers bristling.
Rowan made a face like she was slapped. “Unfortunately for you” she spat, “I you’d be incorrect” she said with a frustrated glare. “Hamunt was equally large and prominent on the northern border before the changeling wars, and you don’t see me demanding the entire swath of land.”
Lafayette was about to say something but was cut off by Diamond Shard sickly sweet voice, “You know, lying is dishonorable. If you want to do what’s best for your colony, you’ll be honest with yourself and their needs so we can stop having to gripe with your petty demands.” Her mane too seemed to bristle with a mix of anger and frustration.
Though the break certainly helped cool down their posse, the arguments remained. Lafayette rolled his eyes. Nopony had a quick or easy solution. Even the sisters with all their tremendous magical abilities lacked the god-like levels of diplomacy needed to prevent each and every one of these spats.
“If all of you would stop arguing, then I’m sure we could come to an arrangement of sorts.”
The voice drew Lafayette’s gaze towards Evangeline, the second of the two Alicorn faction leaders. Her brunette mane was trussed up in a bun, though it’s naturally curly nature easily showed behind the ties. Locks of hair too escaped and lay gently against her cream colored shoulders.
“Those who have a significant percentage of their faction whose ancestors lived in the northern regions have equal claim to it. This means that those factions who are primarily pegasai or Earthpony should be able to choose to center themselves there.” She proposed to the group.
No pony argued. The statement seemed as fair as it could be under the circumstances, just as well, the tension still held.
With attention directed at her from all sides, Evangeline continued, “I’ve been considering each solution since we started. Most ponies want to be near the land of their ancestors. For those ponies who have the ability, we should attempt to do so.”
More terse nods from the crowd, and Lafayette was impressed. Before, they’d barely been able to agree on snacks let alone the configuration of the empires before them. He looked back at her when her voice rang out again.
“Cumulus and I have pledged to research the remaining geographical maps from before the changeling wars. If you would permit us...” she said looking at her pale blue alicorn ally, “...we’d like to adjourn this meeting until we have a good understanding of the territory and it’s previous alignments.” Each leader looked at the pair quietly, as if waiting for more. Cumulus seemed uncomfortable with the newly granted attention.
Diamond shard broke the short silence, “I’ll be the first to say, that’s the best idea that’s come out of this group since we started.” Her voice carried a reluctance but nothing particularly aggressive.
Umbra too nodded tersely. “It seems someone’s got a brain in their head after all.” Lafayette rolled his eyes when Umbra made eye contact with him. “You could learn something from her.” She said with a jerk of her head to Evangeline.
Evangeline’s brow seemed to furrow a fraction of an inch but she remained silent. Each of the other ponies seemed to be nodding some more begrudgingly than others.
“If there is no additional plan, then this meeting must come to an end. Cumulus and I will call for each of you once again when the maps have been forged” she said before opening up the tent to the warm afternoon light, and taking flight.
The rest of the posse followed suit, leaving a somewhat bewildered Lafayette with the two sisters.
“That seemed to go better than planned” Noct, the dark blue unicorn, stated matter-of-factly.
Her sister Reya nodded, “I didn’t expect them to agree outright, or quite so quickly.” She added, glancing at him.
Lafayette felt Noct’s gaze also turn to him, and despite his happiness at their current arrangement, he did not have the desire to discuss it further.
He was certainly happy, he supposed, that they had made such quick progress. But he hoped with a nagging feeling that this progress wouldn’t be circumvented by others later on. That this work would not be for nothing.
It takes a lot to forge an empire.
As the dark clouds blotted out the sky, I tried to focus on my work. My hooves sloshed through the wet mud which flicked onto my belly. The damp, cold, stench wafted to my nostrils with each new step, and I wondered to myself if I’d ever really feel clean again. Cold wind whistled by my face, sending a shiver down my spine. Above the sound of wind were the sporadic spells crashing above us.
My coat tried to fluff up, but too much of it was caked in mud to do any good. I stopped moving only briefly, just long enough to try and catch my breath, when feet away a spell came rocketing over the trench wall crashing against the helmet of a fallen soldier, making me jump. I kept moving, keeping my head down.
Ombré’s war took many by surprise which was why we got so behind so quickly. The first few years were difficult but not impossible to fight. It was guerrilla warfare, hiding in trees and blinds, ambushes on common trail heads, you know, the usual. But when we started to push back they hunkered down, built the trenches.
For those who are unfamiliar, the trenches are a few hundred meters apart, full of friendly soldiers on one side, and Ombré’s army on the other. The nopony’s land in between is littered with fallen soldiers, and residual curses. Unless you’re the best of the best, if you go in, you’re probably not coming out. The moment your head eases above the ground line, well...you’re not getting back on solid ground.
Another clang brought me back to my surroundings. The spells coming from the other side of nowhere seemed to be dying off yet not entirely. For a moment, I wondered if they were trying to gain some ground in nopony’s land, but dismissed the thought. While Ombré had added their jinxes to the land separating us, so had we. Nobody would be crossing any time soon.
Beside me another soldier slept as well as they could. Their fur was matted and filthy like mine, as they lay uncomfortably in the mud, head propped on a rock to avoid the tides of water threatening to suffocate them. I shook my head, remembering my own fitful sleep the night before. I took a seat beside them, keeping my head and horn low, and trying not to dip my wings into the muck.
My job was to engineer a way to fix this mess. Find some new way to make these trenches livable. It was harder said than done. With no way to adequately plumb the area, a mixture of wet mud and worse clung to everything. The boards which had originally lined the bottom of the walkway were no match for the wet rain and the sliding cascades of dirt from either side of us. Spells were attempted, but without dedicating a permanent spellcasting brigade to the job, they just wouldn’t stick and neither Reya nor Noct could spare such a large reserve of magic just for convenience.
So the job came down to me. My tools were limited. No spells that would take more than one spellcaster to manage, and any generic materials the military could afford. Certainly not a bountiful resource by any means.
My new neighbor twitched and cried softly in his sleep sending waves of muck onto my lap. I shivered with the cold but tried not to blame him. All our dreams were plagued with bad memories. For a moment I wondered how long he’d been here. His fur was navy blue, the bits I could make out, and speckled with the same white from his filthy mane.
I wondered to myself then what I looked like, if I would ever look the same again. My fur too was matted and covered in grime. The purple hue was hidden under the dark brown plastered all over my body. It would be pointless to clean up. The second I tried, I’d be covered again.
For the moment I breathed in a deep sigh. The crashes above had tapered out and the sun seemed to be setting as the grey clouds above grew dimmer. I wondered if we’d win. They always said it, but the way things felt nobody was really sure.
Laying in puddles of water and muck, I thought about the future, and prayed to anyone and thing, that I’d be coming home.
