Patriam Invades

About a week had passed since the last meeting, and Twilight was walking through the halls of Canterlot Castle. She was looking much healthier now, with no bruises, and being well-fed now... but still missing a horn. Unable to use magic, she feels like a part of her is missing. Getting used to having to do things manually was difficult for her at first, and Celestia wanted her to stay in Canterlot for a while so she could make sure she was healing properly. She was heading for the conference room, looking for her brother. She approaches the doors, and gently pushes them open.

Standing with his right side facing her was her beloved brother, Shining Armor. He was standing in front of a large map of Equestria. Shining's right eye looks at her and it lights up. he smiles widely at her as Twilight softly smiles back. When he turns to face her though, all the blood drains from her face. He was no longer wearing bandages over his head, revealing the large scar over his left eye.

Shining had his left eye shut, It had been a week since the injury inflicted on him by Léone. Magic aided in his healing, but magic can only do so much, leaving his eye, forever mangled. Shining frowns at Twilight's reaction to seeing his scar for the first time, seeing the tears form in her eyes. He took a step towards her, to comfort her, but the sound of heavy metal boots was coming down the hallway. Twilight's eyes widen and she looks behind her

Stepping into the conference room was the King of Germania, Johannes Drachenkopf. He stopped in front of Twilight, as she stood in front of the entranceway. He looks down at her, causing Twilight to yelp. She instantly lowers herself down like a frightened animal, her chest nearly touching the ground. She began to shake as she looked up, her eyes full of fear. Johannes raises an eyebrow at her, as her eyes soon adjust. She recognized him and slowly she began to rise.

"K-King Johannes... I... I apologize." Twilight stood up slowly. However, she kept her head lower, unable to look him in the eyes.

"You're quite alright Princess Sparkle," Johannes responded before looking up at Shining. "Prince Armor."

Johannes steps deeper into the room towards Shining. Twilight is shocked to see one more human following him, Johannes's champion, Volker. Twilight quickly backs up to get out of their way as Johannes stands next to Shining, and they both look at the map. It was a map of the Equestrian-Patriam border. There were arrows drawn on the map, to show the movement of soldiers.

"Do the scouts have an update?" Shining asked Johannes as he turned his head back to the map.

"Yes, I must admit, your pegasi make the perfect scouts. They came through the air and hid amongst the clouds without being seen." Johannes then takes a step forward and places his finger on the map. "Enemy troops are indeed stacking up on the border, more and more come every day. It's estimated that the forces are around 10,000 strong, with the majority of the soldiers being stacked in the middle. The northern and southern flanks are weak, so many of the defending forces are mirroring them, preparing for a hard frontal invasion."

"She's forming a wedge in the middle, hmmm... very well. And what of your men Johannes?" Shining asked and turned his head to face Johannes, as the king stood on his left side.

"They are on standby, ready for combat at a drop of a hat. Same with Aurora's forces. We are ready to fight when asked." Johannes responded.

"Good, I want you two to hold back for now." Shining's request was met with an eyebrow raised by Johannes.

"I fail to see the reason in that. This is our war too, as we want to reclaim our home. why do you want our forces to take a step back and have you ponies fight for us?" Johannes sounded a bit insulted by Shining's request.

"Because I'm testing the waters. If the enemy only sees a line of pony warriors, it may make them cautious. You said yourself that a single unicorn can decimate a platoon with their magic, so a wall of unicorns would be threatening. let me look at their strategies against my own, and then I will gladly send you in." Shining looked back at the map hearing Johannes let out a long sigh.

"Very well Prince Armor. We will remain on standby and await your orders." Johannes spoke softly.

"Mein König." Volker said, causing all to look at him. "Vith all due respect, but Vhy are you taking orders from him? He is a prince, you are a king." Johannes narrows his eyes at his champion

"Is a king even a king without a country to rule? Is a king a king without a throne? What authority do I have here?" Johannes seemed a bit annoyed by Volker's question. "We are in no position to be making orders ourselves, we are refugees. While in their land, we abide by their orders. I expect you to follow my example, and show them respect while we are here."

"...Ja mein König." Volker responded, he remained unmoving. Johannes turns back to look at Shining again.

"I apologize for any disrespect Prince Shining." Johannes bowed his head. Shining in response, waves his hoof.

"No offense taken Johannes, and please just call me Shining." He spoke as he looked back at the map. He uses his magic to pick up a pencil. He circles the spot where most of Patriam's forces are stacking up. He examines it a bit and then draws a vertical straight line on Equestria near the border. He then draws more arrows of where he predicts the enemy forces will go, which is right at the line. He takes a step back and analyzes the strategy.

"Ok, if the enemy is stacking their forces in the middle, they are going to charge us from the middle, like a wedge. If I don't prepare my defenses, it will cause a split in my forces." He approaches again and then circles the very center of the straight line. "So if we bolster our center, the wedge will get stuck." He then draws more arrows from the top of the straight line and curving downwards. He did the same on the bottom part of the line and drew an arrow curving upwards. "If we protect our center, we can fall in from the flanks and encircle them. Being surrounded, I can use my shield magic to completely encase their forces in a dome, and we'll capture about 10,000 of their soldiers."

"Impressive strategy Shining." Johannes examines the battleplans closely, he is a bit impressed by Shining's planning. "With your pegasi scouts, you have robbed them of any useful strategy."

"Here's hoping that Léone doesn't show up on the battlefield herself. She'll cause issues with her magic." Shining let out a long sigh. "But for now, this is the best strategy we have. Hopefully capturing a bunch of their soldiers will cause them to think twice before continuing the invasion."

"Viel Glück Shining. Good luck." Johannes gives him a nod before he and Volker step out. Shining watches them leave, and as they do, he sees Twilight still in the conference room with her flank against the wall. She had her eyes locked on the humans as they exited only turning to look at Shining when he began approaching her. He stops in front of her when she reaches her hoof out to him, gently placing her hoof on his left cheek. She seemed to examine the large scar over his left eye.

"Oh, Shining..." Twilight whimpered, her lower lip quivering and her eyes beginning to water. Shining lifted his hoof and slowly pulled Twilight's hoof away from his face.

"Twily, Don't worry about me, I'm fine. You're the one I'm worried about." Shining's words were met with Twilight furrowing her brow into a scowl, yet her eyes still looked sad and watery.

"Everypony has been worried about me for 2 weeks now! I'm fine! I'm healing! But look at you Shining! Look at everything!..." Her expression softens as a tear now runs down her cheek. She turns away, feeling like if she kept her eyes locked with Shining's she would cry. "...Everything that has happened and will happen is because of me... If I never went to help the humans... Léone wouldn't have seized power... I wouldn't have lost my horn... You wouldn't have lost your eye... We wouldn't be going to war... all the lives about to be lost... is because of me..."

Twilight's lip began to quiver as she began to imagine the bloodshed. The potential lives to be lost in the coming conflict, and above all else, feeling responsible for all of it. Her attention was refocused on Shining as he sat down on his haunches, reaching for her and pulling her into his chest, embracing her in a tight hug. Her brother then spoke to her, his voice rough as she could hear the heartbreak in his voice.

"Don't blame yourself for all of this. What happened to you, could have happened to any pony with a horn. What Léone did to you is unimaginably cruel... seeing you in the cell... cold... weak..." He swallows hard. "I never want to see you like that again. I would gladly lose both eyes, a limb, or even my own life just to rescue you again. What happened to me was by my own choice... please... don't blame yourself."

Twilight felt her brother's arm tighten around her, he held her protectively. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she tried her best to keep her emotions in check. Her eyes ached from how much crying she had done in the past month, she didn't want to cry anymore. Eventually, after a good long while, Her brother finally pulled away and stood up. He kissed her cheek tenderly, then turned back toward the map and approached it one more time.

"Sh-Shining?" Twilight weakly called to him, but he never turned around.

"It's ok Twilight. Through my own choice," He turned his head to look at her with his good eye, a lot of determination plastered on his face. "I must prepare for battle."