Crimson Sunrise

995 ALB, Equestria, Severyana, Princessyn

Princessyn, land of blood and concrete.

My father, has chosen me to die in these cold lands of mud, metal, concrete and oil.

He wanted me out of the game since a long time ago, and with these attacks, it was clear that he had gone insane.

The day of today is December, 14, It was cloudy and the streets were soaked, it had rained not long ago. I’m marching to the Princessyn center as a lieutenant.

An earthpony trotted towards me, “Lieutenant Landmarks, we have found a group of revolutionaries coming towards us, what do we do?”

“How many are they?” I asked

“The recon team counted thirty armed ponies.”

“We are sixty ponies here and we got three pegasi patrols on the roofs, we shall meet them in the center and fight.”

“Yes, Lieutenant.” He said and trotted back to his recon team, suddenly, a bullet would pierce through his chest. He starts to scream.

“REVOLUTIONARIES! GET COVER!” Said a sergeant mare in the back.

A shootout began in the streets, most covers used were cars, destroyed by revolutionaries.

I levitated my officer revolver above me, peeking carefully out my cover, I saw a unicorn mare running towards our position, she was levitating a bunch of hoof grenades, I shot her right front hoof, she fell to the ground in pain, and dropped the grenades.

The grenades didn’t explode and she crawled out of the fire, and as soon as she got cover, the grenades levitated towards her.

Grenades were thrown all over our position, shrapnel took out many of our ponies.

I saw one fly over my position, so I peeked out and shot through her cover, the grenades stopped.

As soon as I kneeled down again, I heard a metallic sound hit the ground right next to my left side, it was a grenade.

I rapidly try to generate a magic shield, and the grenade explodes.

Shrapnel hits my shield and ricochets away, but some had pierced my left back leg and one got my left eye.

I scream out of pain, “I’M HIT!” Repeatedly, I covered my wounds with my hooves as I waited for the medic to show up, my blood was escaping my body rapidly.

A mare in white, wearing a red cross galloped towards me, “Here I am, Lieutenant, you will be fine.” She said as I struggled.

She bandaged my wounds, put a tourniquet on my left leg, and gave me a little dose of morphine.

The pain slowly faded, but it was still there, I peeked out my cover, the revolutionaries were advancing, I peeked out my cover and…

I felt… something, like an extreme focus, I levitated my revolver and I aimed towards the revolutionaries, I fire several times, I don’t even know if I’m hitting something or not, I kneel down and I reload, bullet after bullet inside the revolver drum.

The crystal of the car I’m using as cover gets pierced by a bullet, glass shards shine bright as they fall to the ground and break into even more shards.

I peek out once more, I don’t know if it was the morphine but, I felt nothing, no fear, no joy.

Nothing, just pure cold mind.

I shot my revolver down the street, following my instinct.

Some revolutionaries were hit, and maybe killed, the others that weren’t began to retreat, leaving the injured behind as they shout for help.

My mind faded in, and the pain came back, I sit on the ground, leaning against the car. The medic was still here, proning on the floor covering her head with her front hooves.

“Take me to the truck…” I told her.

She was in shock and couldn’t reply, I booped her head to make her snap back, she stared at my face.

“Can you please… take me out of here…” She grabbed me from my uniform and took me to the back formations.

She lays me on a medical stretcher, “Sir, your leg will recover, in its due time… But your eye, Sir…" – She began to stutter – "It’s lost… we’ll have to take it out so your wound doesn’t infect.”

“Fine…” I said silently and closed my eyes.

She called one of her companions and they took the sides of the medical stretcher, and placed me in a truck.

A soldier drove the truck to a medical center outside the city, so I could get my operation.

They took me to a surgery tent and they anesthetized me.

When I woke up, I had a bandage covering half of my head, and my leg wounds were sewed up but it still hurt.

A sergeant got in the tent and walked towards me, “Are you feeling better, Sir?” he asked

“The pain is ceasing a little, what do you need, Sargeant?”

“Sir, we received orders to abandon the siege and the territory of Severyana.”

“...Orders from who?” I asked in disbelief.

“The Princess… Sir, Rusty Sword was fired an hour ago, High Command is being consorted by the Princess herself.”

“I see…” – I took a sheet of paper from a table right next to me and a pen I had on my uniform, I began to write something in it – “We shall do as she commands then, prepare the troops for withdrawal.” I say, and I hoof him over the sheet of paper with this order.

“We are on it, Sir.” He trots out the medical tent.

I stood up and I got out the tent too, the soldiers were preparing to return home, as they loaded their belongings into the trucks, they began to laugh with their friends, who survived the revolutionaries.

And now that my father was out of the game… It was my time to be finally, the Captain of the Guard.

I walked to the command center that was in this military settlement.

As the door opened, I was instantly greeted with the angry shouting of the brigade general, arguing about the decisions of Celestia.

I got into my office and I packed my stuff on my saddlebags, the brigade general got in, “You heard the news? Your father was fired from his position of Captain of the Guard.”

“Yes, I’ve heard” I turned to him, revealing my eye wound.

“Landmarks! what happened to your eye!?” He asked.

“A grenade fell right next to me, I managed to survive thanks to a magic shield I casted but I got injured anyways.”

He sounded sorrow, “Princess Celestia cancelled the whole operation, feels like all the sacrifice we did was for nothing.”

“Are you angry at the Princess, Sir? Her word is final, we can’t do nothing about it.”

“But we can… there are many soldiers that think the same, and I think you know where things are going.”

It was clear he wanted to dethrone princess Celestia, “Sorry, I’ll have to pass, Sir,” – I levitated my bag and I wore my saddlebags – “See you in Canterlot, Sir.” I walked out the command center.

I headed to the truck and I crawled in, soldiers were chatting while they were waiting for the truck to leave the place.

“Hey, Sir!” Said one soldier to me, “Bringing some souvenir for home?”

“Mmh, nah… they wanted a souvenir from me.” I replied, referring to my eye, they burst out laughing.

The truck began to move southward, and the soldiers sang along the road.

When I got arrived to Canterlot, I went directly to the palace so I could get my position as new Captain of the Guard.

The guards already knew me, so the let me into the throne room, “Princess Celestia!”

The Princess was standing in front of the window on one of the sides of the throne room, “Oh, Landmarks.” – She looked at me as I approached her – "What happened to your eye?!" She asked.

"Just a little scratch," – I stood by her side – “I’ve heard you fired my father.”

She sighed, “... Yes, it is true, and for a good reason, finally…”

“Well… if it makes you feel better, I didn’t like him either,” – Her face looks serious, like if she didn’t like being with me – “Is there a problem, Princess?”

“Landmarks, you... won’t be Captain of the Royal Guard.”

My heart stopped for a second, I’ve been fighting for this dream all my life, and Celestia is now denying me it, “W-why not?”

“Landmarks, your father was the one responsible for this massacre and I don't want something like that to happen again in the near future, for that reason I chose Shining Armor as the new Captain of the Royal Guard, since his score in practice in defense strategies is superior to yours.”

As she would say this, Shining Armor would appear from behind her, wearing the uniform of Captain of the Guard, "Hello, Landmarks.”

My blood boiled as I tried to keep a neutral face before her, “I’m sorry Landmarks, your time will come when it comes.”

“By the time that time comes, it will be too late, there will be hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands dead. Why he, an imbecile, who only knows how to defend a city with a SIMPLE SHIELD SPELL, locking all the Ponies inside so that the enemy can be reinforced outside and those inside can starve to death, be the Captain of the Royal Guard!?” I answered, both were shocked by my response, and Shining Armor got angry, but the princess stopped him from hurting me.”

“War doesn’t change, Landmarks, ponies… die… but most can be saved from death, that’s why I picked Shining Armor, he knows how to treat with people.”

“Wars... change, strategies deepen, weapons improve, soldiers evolve... death and destruction... increases, there will come a time when deterrence will not be enough, and when that time comes, how many homes will have to be destroyed, how many lives ruined before you call me, Princess?”

The room, felt silent, Princess Celestia had no answer, “Goodbye, my Princess, call me when you need me, if you dare.” I walked down the hall, outside the palace.

The sun was shining, bright white, and it felt like if sunset, never arrived.