Fire and Shadows

Something that I notice quickly is that in the trenches, everything seems to run like clockwork. I find myself shocked by how far the network of trenches actually reaches: it started off to the south of the city, but is slowly forming a line of defence that circles around the entire Crystal Empire.

Of course, everypony can only keep digging as long as there aren’t any distractions. Nopony has spotted any Solar Guards yet, but everyone is very aware of the fact that they could turn up at any point, leaving us all on edge.

Skywalker has apparently not stopped working even when sitting down for his “breaks” and been thinking about various scenarios. From what I’ve heard about the Solar Guards from him and other ex-Royal Guards, they have had a thousand years to develop their military tactics and technology - a luxury that the Crystal Empire just hasn’t had - but Equestria hasn’t used their time properly. So whilst we are still vastly outnumbered, the Changelings and our friends from Yakyakistan have given us an edge.

And oh Tartarus, Skywalker has taken advantage of this.

Half an hour has passed and my mind is still processing the neverending list of information that the Colonel has shared with me about the defences. Besides the multiple lines of trenches that encompasses the entire city, he also made sure to fortify those areas with some kind of concrete-made buildings that he called “bunkers”.

These are quite small, but they provide some extra protection to the soldiers posted on the surface, both against enemy troops and the harsh weather. The same formula has been carried out in the trenches, digging some underground rooms where the troops can sleep and interact with each other.

Also, the bat pony - along with Hanzal - have implemented some new kind of weaponry that has been placed along the first and second line of trenches; among these, there’s one in particular that caught my attention. The “Ballista,” he called it. Basically, it’s a big stationary weapon that shoots large arrows. What shocked me was the thought of how much destruction it could cause in battle. And bearing in mind how many of them there were…

Then, last but not least, I couldn’t help but notice how well-thought-out the organisation is between bunkers, ballistas, and trenches since they all help each other in different ways.

Skywalker doesn't seem to be showing any signs of nervousness, which was the main reason for my visit, so once I've had a look around I decide that it's probably best that I leave before any Solar Guards arrive. I make sure to tell him about the possibility of a War Council meeting, though.

“I agree with the idea of making a War Council-” He stops to clear his throat for a moment. Celestia, I hate to see him like this. “...so we can discuss war-related issues,” he says while digging an unfinished part of the trench. “But… there’s a problem with that.”

I raise an eyebrow as he stops digging, then gives me a glance before placing the shovel gently in the ground.

He walks up to me. “If all leaders and advisors of the entire alliance are in one single place, there’s a big risk of having Sunbutt know of this.” Skywalker explains. “Doesn’t matter how classified it remains, she’ll end up knowing about it. And-” A cough interrupts him. “...since that tyrant wishes many of us dead, won’t hesitate in taking revenge into her own hooves.”

“Um… when you say that she'll find out, no matter how classified,” I emphasise the last part. “is that because of somepony in the Crystal Empire telling her, or something else?” I ask.

He sighs and looks at the ground for an instant. “You never know when someone appears and ruins everything you’ve fought for.” Yet another cough gets him off guard, making the bat pony cover his mouth.

I open my mouth to say something when his voice interrupts me. “Listen, what I mean is…” He clears his throat once again. “The idea, itself, ain’t bad, it’s just the planning that doesn’t convince me.”

“The risk of having us all in one single place is worrying you,” I say, and he nods. “Then, how are we going to do this?”

“Well, there are many options you can make in life, Ma’am. This is one of them.” The Colonel comments. “The solutions to a dilemma like this are very diverse, unique I’d rather say. However, people must be wise and see all perspectives of every situation, take into consideration ideas, opinions, and suggestions. Encompass all the crucial elements and make a decision.”

“In fewer words,” He adds before taking a moment to think about the choice of words. The bat pony looks at me and continues. “Don’t be like the others. Believe it or not, I’ve witnessed the rise and fall of tenths, if not hundreds of insurgencies, rebellions, and revolutions, as well as how pathetic they were in separating their personal conflicts from the professional ones, thus provoking their own downfalls.”

He clears his throat to avoid coughing. “From my point of view, it is wiser to listen before acting. That is what I would do.”

A few moments of silence pass as he returns to digging the trench; however, the stallion hesitates on taking the shovel, for some reason, as he instead turns to me, before glancing at the ground and giving a small chuckle, and asks.

“Would you mind some coffee, Your Majesty?”

“Not a bad idea,” I say. “If you have any, that would be great, thanks.”

He smiles at me and proceeds to guide me back to the underground room. Once we’re inside, I finally pay attention to the interior. Not bad, to be honest, yet it isn’t some luxurious hotel; some clean beds, two tables at which the soldiers can sit and eat - even socialise a bit when there isn’t much to do - and some doors that, I suppose, lead to makeshift bathrooms.

As he walks towards a coffee maker, I take a seat on one of the tables. The room is empty save the two of us, leaving us in an awkward situation. Do I try to speak to him, or wait for him to make the first move? Do I admit that I essentially spied on him and Hanzal, and shatter that trust between us? Or do I try to forget that it ever happened? Or else wait for another time when Sombra is here to help?

“Milk, honey, sugar?” Thank Celestia.

“A drop of honey and that’s it,” I reply.

He seems slightly surprised; apparently, not many ponies can handle pure coffee like that. I would never dream of spoiling a good cup of coffee with a splash of milk, though.

Skywalker uses his magic to carry the cups over, setting them down on the table in front of us. He coughs again before sitting down, staring at his cup of coffee before taking a sip and giving a sigh of satisfaction.

“Good ol’ dad’s recipe,” he comments. “Nothing but the best.”

“You’ve added milk, though,” I say, laughing a little as I look down at my own cup.

He checks my cup, widening his eye as he realises the mistake he's made. The Colonel facehoofs at this. I giggle at his reaction as his hooves fall on the table.

“It’s okay,” I reassure him. “We all make mistakes.”

“Yeah, I know.” Skywalker replies. “It’s just… I actually thought the tenth cup would finally help me avoid committing such mistakes.”

Now it’s my turn to look shocked. Ten cups of coffee?! It only takes twenty five to kill a pony. My goodness, why doesn’t he just say something when he isn’t feeling ok?

“TEN?!” I say, shocked.

He nods as a tired, ironic smile draws on his face. “Eeyup.”

“Ok, after this one, you need to stop. And maybe actually tell me what’s on your mind.” I tell him forcefully. I know I said that I wanted Sombra with me, but I think it's a case of now or never, and I want to use the opportunity whilst I still have it. I continue, “Everypony knows there’s something wrong, but you and Hanzal have barely said anything over the last few days. And then when you’ve spoken to us, I don’t know why, but I feel like there’s more going on behind the scenes that you haven’t said anything about.”

He chuckles, “Finally! Someone who dares to step forward.”

I raise an eyebrow as my eyes blink a few times. He’s been… No, he wasn’t waiting for just any old pony to speak to him, or he wouldn’t have kept lying. He wanted to speak to me.

“Ma’am, you’ve taken so long and I have waited the same amount of time to see someone just. Just. Just step in and tell me that no one will take ‘no’ for an answer. You’re the… second person to speak to me about this, after Hanzal.” He gives a sad half-smile. “I had a feeling it would be you who spoke to me next. It doesn’t go unnoticed, how much you seem to worry whenever you look at me.”

“Thank you?” I say, a little taken aback.

“The thing that you’ve got to understand, Ma’am, is… I’m not exactly a young stallion in the prime of his life anymore-” he coughs. “-and, now, I’m not in the fittest of state, sincerely.”

“In what way?” I ask.

“In what other way, Ma’am?” he answers, gesturing at himself with a knowing look, and yet another cough gets him. “Dammit.”

“But… how bad is it? Isn’t there some… I don’t know, medical treatment or some sort of magic that can help?” I already know the answer, but I don’t want him to know that.

“Medical treatment?” he asks, then, for a couple of seconds, he doesn’t do more than just laugh at my question; however, a severe cough catches him off guard, forcing the bat pony to cover his mouth. The Colonel glances at me and wears a sarcastic smile. “Good one, Your Majesty. You should try comedy.”

I sigh. “Not even dark magic? If Sombra could somehow heal you, or you could become an Umbrum-”

“There’s a… there’s a problem with that, Your Majesty. What if I were to tell you that my health issues were- no, they weren’t caused by dark magic as such, but… dark magic contributed to them?”

“No,” I whisper. But how? Sombra and I don’t use dark magic to hurt ponies! I can’t actually think of an occasion when we could’ve accidentally done something to hurt him. And we’ve only used magic on Skywalker a few times whilst trying to read his mind. Usually it’s really difficult for anypony to do this because he’s used his own spell to stop us.

Wait… Didn’t Sombra say something about some of those spells being illegal in Equestria and dangerous? He did, which could only mean…

“You... used dark magic before?” I ask.

“Heh. I don’t mean to offend you, but it is quite an obvious thing now, I mean… none of my healing miracles happen just for the sake of it.” He gives another pause to… just stay in silence. “But yeah, you’re correct. Many of the group who left the Royal Guard a decade ago decided it would be best if… we stopped anyone with magic from trying to find out what we were hiding, in the event that we were captured.” He coughs once more, then continues with his explanation.

“At the time, dark magic seemed like the best option. A way to weaponise our own thoughts against attackers… of course I didn’t think twice about offering myself to learn those spells.” He pauses, looking at the cup, thoughtful. “...yet, I should have remembered about every action having its effect.”

I don’t quite understand how that dark magic could have caused so much harm if he learned to use it properly, but it seems to have affected him more severely than it did for me.

“Aside from that, I kind of had an idea that something would happen eventually, but I didn’t realise that it would be so… hard,” he says. “Perhaps individuals like yourself and King Sombra who use dark magic exclusively don’t have this issue - and perhaps you aren’t even aware of this - but… in most ponies, dark magic causes some form of decay. Everyone knows about what it does to your mind eventually, but it can also ruin your body.”

“And it’s reached your lungs.” I conclude.

He nods. “It had a helping hoof, though…”

“What do you mean?”

“I found out from the hospital about it just recently, but-” the Colonel clears his throat for a moment, then makes a gesture to the former that accompanies his words. “I’ve got TB.”

The two-letter word causes a million alarm bells to start ringing in my head. One of many illnesses that had the power to wipe out entire villages when I was a foal. I was lucky enough never to actually catch it, although I don’t think there was ever an epidemic at Hollow Shades.

“Contagious?” I ask immediately.

The stallion denies. “Nah… as soon as I understood what it was, I made sure to prevent anyone else from catching it. The Crystal Empire won’t have to deal with an epidemic on top of everything else.”

“I guess that’s a positive. But…” Whilst I’ve finally come to terms with this, I feel hollow inside. Numb. “I don’t want you to die,” I whisper.

He smirks at me. “It’s like asking Death itself to stop doing their job.” Another laughter, of course. But, this time, he keeps it short before remaining in silence, thoughtful. “...How do you think I feel with the prospects for my future?” he questions me.

I shrug, unsure how to answer the question. How would I feel if I knew I didn’t have long to live?

“Do you think my friends are going to be overall satisfied when I tell them?”

“No,” I say.

“Do you think Hanzal is pleased with this?”

“…No.”

“Then,” A hoof gestures at him. “What about me?”

I don’t give an answer; I don’t have to.

“Well, then. What I’ll say is, nobody lives forever. Some of us are just luckier than others.” He cracks a smile and says with mock annoyance, “Luna knows what you’ve done to deserve so much more time than everyone else.”

“Oh, you know, just tried to lead a few coup d'êtats. And one of them worked.”

He chuckles. “It sure did, Ma’am… sure bucking did.” Those last words impregnate inside me a strange feeling coming from them, would it be nuisance? Envy? Perhaps, though I’m not one to judge from how he acts; either way, he’s right on doing so, he… just isn’t right.

Despite that, I stand from my seat and approach him. We hug each other, sharing our joy and sadness knowing that the burdens we’ve been carrying with us have finally been lifted. Or so I believe.

“I’ve missed this,” he comments under his breath. “The feeling of someone caring for me, besides Hanzal, and just… willing to help regardless of what I say or how I act.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I reply sincerely. “But I need you to promise something. No more lies, ok?”

“I can do that… on one condition.”

“I’m listening.”

“...Doesn’t matter how cruel or painful, you must accept it.” He tells me, his eye revealing to me how direct and crude he is being about himself.

“Deal.” If it helps Skywalker, then it’s worth it.

“Thank you, Moonlight.”

I’m slightly stunned when he calls me by my actual name, breaking that professional barrier between us and treating me like an equal rather than his superior. I’m glad about it, though. It’s the way I wish everypony would treat me.