A Queen and Her General (part 1)
A loud knocking echoed through the Castle of Friendship. “Spike, can you get the door?” Yelled Twilight as she gathered some study materials.
“I got it!” The young drake shouted back as he ran through the council hall. After a few moments he pulled the doors open to let in their guest. A tall and lanky cream-colored diamond dog in a dark green tunic met his gaze. “Oh hey, I think you’re a bit early Sirius. Twilight isn’t quite ready yet…” Spike trailed off.
“Oh that’s fine; I know how she can be at times.” He replied with a knowing smile. “How are you doing, Spike? Planning on sticking around for the history lesson?”
“I’m doing great, but I had to force Twilight to get some sleep last night, she was waaay too excited about today.” He paused to yawn. ”I might listen in a bit, but if it’s too boring, I’m gonna go catch up on the sleep I missed.”
“I want to know everything!” cried the purple alicorn as she entered the hall, brandishing notebook and quill.
Sirius settled himself into an armchair, rolled his eyes and sighed. “You’re not going let me leave until I tell you something Twilight? I can’t tell you everything in a day after all.” He thought for a moment. “How about we start with a bit of history today and we’ll continue it on my next visit?”
Twilight looks a bit disappointed but nodded in silence.
“Have you heard of the War of the Sisters?”
“What? Do you mean when Nightmare Moon and Celestia fought each other over Everfree City? That was a short battle by all accounts.” She looked offended as if he’d personally attacked her knowledge.
Unperturbed, the diamond dog smirked, shaking his head. “History, as you know it…was written by the victors, then sanitized to preserve what remained of Equestrian unity at the time. The tale you know barely scratches the surface of a much larger conflict. Let me tell you of an idealistic princess, and her general on the eve of the Battle for Everfree City.”
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1000 years ago…
“General! The Queen asks for you.”
“Thank you soldier, I’ll head there immediately. Inform Colonel Gloomwing that I want him to supervise preparations for tonight.” Sirius ordered, returning the soldier’s salute. He watched a moment as the young earthen ran to deliver the message, than began to make his way to the center of the camp. All around him, feverish activity continued as the Lunar Army prepared itself for what would be the final battle of a grueling civil war.
Five years… It was inconceivable at times that several small disputes could snowball into total conflict, with The Sisters fighting each other for control of Equestria. The Noble Rules of Conduct had been observed at first, but as the war went on, things had changed for the worse. Several prominent civilian massacres had occurred, and in the past year the Solar Army had stopped taking prisoners, forcing his soldiers to fight to the death once they knew they’d be summarily executed.
He nodded to his soldiers as he passed the many cookfires along the path to Luna’s pavilion. As he got closer, he wondered about the summons. Surely it was too late to change the plan?
The large indigo tent was festooned with silver wind chimes, each individual piece a phase of the moon or a star. There was a slight feeling of static in the air from the magical aura emanating from tent.
“My Queen,” he announced, stopping at the entrance.
“Please enter General,” came a voice from within. “How fares our army?”
“The prospect of an end to this war has raised spirits throughout the camp, as it should.” Sirius replied, entering the shadowed interior of the pavilion and peering around. “Our scouts have detected no extra activity on the city’s walls indicating your shrouding spells have been successful.” He finally spotted the blue alicorn. She was standing in front of the map table wearing her ornate battle armor. “Colonel Noctis and the diversion force have managed to draw most of the Solar Army away from the city. Only a small defense force and the Royal Guard remain.” He stated, as he positioned the relevant markers on the map.
Luna looked up and asked with a trace of anger, “What of Bulwark?”
“He was last seen inside the palace. My informants haven’t been able to find out why he hasn’t joined the bulk of his troops.” He replied in a puzzled tone.
“The Butcher of Trottingham must answer for his crimes, Sirius. I trust you’ll see to it?” It was an order, not a question.
The Trottingham Massacre had been a culmination of the anti-Thestral pogroms that had been taking place across Equestria since its founding. Thestrals, Zebras, and Crystalline that had settled in the kingdom faced varying degrees of anti-foreigner sentiment on the part of the three ‘founding races’. Thousands of Thestrals and other ‘outsiders’, mostly civilians, had been killed by Equestrian soldiers operating clandestinely, and parts of the city set ablaze. Sirius’ spies had later determined that the architects of the slaughter had been a coterie of high-ranking officers within the army and royal guard, notably General Bulwark of the First Army. Over the course of the war, Thestral operatives had managed to ambush and kill most of those responsible but Bulwark had evaded them at every turn.
“The general has trapped himself this time and won’t be able to retreat. It will be my pleasure to deal with him personally, even if it’s a better death than he deserves.”
“Trottingham Massacre? Pogroms? This can’t be true…..” Twilight murmured, sounding queasy.
“Celestia warned you that true history is often far more brutal than what is recorded in history books. It wasn’t just a war for control of the country. For most of those under my command, it was a battle for survival. Knowledge of the attempted genocides were suppressed after the war, with the war itself later abridged to a relatively short spat between sisters.”
“What was the war really about? Why didn’t you just leave Equestria?” asked the purple alicorn.
“The simple answer is we fought for a better Equestria, one with room for the Thestrals and others. As for leaving, we couldn’t. Firstly, most of the ‘outsiders’ had live in Equestria for generations and that was their home. Second, Luna knew there was no way that Celestia would ever allow her to found a new nation on the border. The nobility and military high command wouldn’t have either.” Sirius explained.
“You keep on describing the princess as Luna, not Nightmare Moon. Why is that? My friends and I had to fight her, so I know she existed…” She trailed off.
“Well, it’s a bit complicated but I’ll get to that soon. We had just finished going over the tactical situation but that wasn’t the end of our conversation….”
There was a moment of silence as both pondered the death sentence that had just been handed down. Sirius would have preferred that Gloomwing have the option of killing the one that was responsible for the death of his family. However, Bulwark was more than a match for anyone in the Lunar Army and was touted as the greatest Pegasus warrior since Hurricane.
“Luna…” He began hesitantly. “I’m sorry that I have to bring this up but, please go over your part in the plan again.”
A look of annoyance crossed her face for a moment. “I’m to draw out my sister and keep her busy fighting my while your troops capture the palace. Then she’ll be forced to surrender.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ve gone over this a dozen times. Why are you concerned about it?”
There was no point in beating around the bush. “This new power you’ve tapped into… It boosts your abilities in combat immensely, making you more than a match for Celestia. But…” He paused, remembering the last time she’d taken the form of Nightmare Moon. “You sometimes lose control and succumb to your anger. I just don’t want you to forget the plan in the middle of combat. We don’t need to defeat your sister to win tonight.”
“Fine, mother.” She sighed. “I suppose you’ve designed a back-up plan if we should fail?”
“I wouldn’t be your general if I hadn’t.” Sirius smirked, though inwardly he hoped he wouldn’t have to use it.
“I don’t know what I was thinking when I picked a half-dead amnesiac wulfen to serve as my personal guard back then. If only I’d known I was picking out a nursemaid.” Luna joked.
“Would a nursemaid be allowed to do this?” He asked as he put his arms around her and kissed her deeply.
“Mmph! We don’t have time for this- I already put my armor on!” Luna protested, mock-scandalized.
Sirius gave her his most winning smile, closing the front flap of the pavilion. “We still have an hour.”
“Wha-wha-whaaaaaaaaaat!” Twilight’s face had flushed to a deeper shade of purple. “You….. and Princess Luna?”
“Oh my, it’s so romantic!” said an ivory-furred unicorn, fanning herself.
“Wait. When did you get here, Rarity?” Sirius asked confusedly.
“I let myself in just a moment ago. It is a public building, darling. You two were so caught up in the tale that I couldn’t bring myself to disturb you.” She stated innocently. “It appears poor Twilight’s visions of royal purity have been ruined. I don’t suppose you know if Celestia also had a beau in the past, hmm?” Rarity asked, toying with a coil of purple hair.
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t really know if she was seeing someone at the time. We weren’t exactly on speaking terms given the circumstances.” He glanced at Twilight’s expression of disbelief. “I think I shouldn’t give any more details on this topic lest I make her head explode.”
Shortly thereafter…..
“Before that pleasant interruption, I had been meaning to give you a boon to keep you safe.”
Sirius looked up from tightening his greaves. “What do you mean?”
“I was informed that you were almost killed during the previous battle when your blade snapped.” Luna said, radiating concern. “I couldn’t bear the thought of losing both my consort and general at once.” She opened a large iron-bound chest and retrieved a polished onyx box from it. “This will ensure that you are never without a weapon when you need it.”
Sirius shook his head ruefully. “Gloomwing told you, didn’t he? I wasn’t in that much danger and found a new weapon swiftly.” He paused, looking at Luna’s expression. It remained unchangeably stubborn. “Alright, I accept your boon in the spirit it is given.” He sighed. “How will this tiny black box help me stay alive?”
“Open it and look inside. Do not touch the contents until you are mentally prepared.”
The box opened easily, revealing a void filled with silvery liquid. Upon close examination it appeared to be in constant slow motion as if the liquid was flowing within its container.
Sirius gazed at it quizzically. “What is this? It almost seems… alive.”
“I call it a soulblade. Touching it will bind it to you permanently, but that process will cause you considerable pain.”
He gazed at the silver liquid again, mesmerized by its motion. Something about it felt familiar but he couldn’t place it. No time like the present, he thought. Preparing for the worst, he hesitantly dipped a finger into it. The soulblade flowed into his finger in an instant.
His entire world became pain. It was utterly excruciating, as if every part of himself was being consumed by flames. Dimly, as if from a great distance he could hear himself howling as he writhed on the floor of the tent. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain faded and he managed to stand again on shaking legs, panting.
“Considerable… pain? If it wasn’t for… your wards I’m… sure the whole camp… would’ve heard me.”
Luna looked abashed. “I have not experienced the bonding myself, nor seen it in person ‘till now. Only fragmentary records from before the Founding detail the process. Now, try picturing a weapon in your mind, any one will do.”
This better work, he though skeptically as he formed an image of his old longsword as it was before it snapped. He could almost feel the wire-wrapped grip, the heft of blade. It was there, gripped in his hand! Sirius looked at it in amazement. He ran through a few weapons in his mind and the soulblade flowed from one to another quickly. “It can be anything? The possibilities in combat are…infinite. I can not thank you enough for this gift.”
“The best thanks I could ever get is for you to survive this night, my love.”
“Whoa, that soulblade sounds cool!” came a voice from over Sirius’ right shoulder. “Can you show us?”
He sighed. “No Rainbow, a soulblade isn’t something to show off whenever you want. It’s meant to be used only when needed.”
“Laaaame…..”
“What is a soulblade?” Twilight interjected.
“A weapon from before the Founding, even before the time of the Windigos, as I would find out later. What Luna gave me was a priceless relic of ancient times and I’m not sure she knew just how rare it was.” He explained.
The purple alicorn seemed dazed. “An artifact older than the princesses… You have to tell me more!”
He looked at the ornate clock on the wall. “I think that’ll be all for today but I promise to continue next time. After all, the battle hasn’t happened yet, which I’m sure a certain Pegasus won’t want to miss.” He said, winking at Rainbow. She nodded vigorously.
Author's Note
This is a story I started in a notebook years ago and tried to continue this summer. Its a bit of an experiment!
