The Lunar Republic: The Final Fall

by fire64

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Adventure, Sad, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 7215

The days of the Lunar Republic are numbered as the Equestrian Army sieges its final fortress.

The days of the Lunar Republic are numbered as the Equestrian Army sieges its final fortress. Princess Celestia herself leads the assault in hopes of breaking through the defense's of the fortress and breaching its walls, where she shall face her own sister and win. Unfortunately for her the high commander of these republic forces, who goes by the name of Merc-arc, isn't just about to let Celestia march right in.

*EDIT*
Recovery is just a little side story I decided to write. It follows the elite squad of the Lunar Republic known as the Dark Eclipse as they complete one of the final tasks that is asked of them by Nightmare Moon. But things go differently for their leader.

Published 2012-01-05 03:44:21 UTC
Last updated 2012-01-10 03:42:24 UTC

The Lunar Republic: The Final Fall

The Lunar Republic
The Final Fall

There they stood, the proud warriors of the Lunar Republic, tall, strong, still and most noticeably fearless. They stand in defense of their final fortress, their last hope deep within the depths of the Everfree Forest waiting for the inevitable attack of the full force of the Equestrian Army. The fortress stood high elevated on a cliff edge jagged rocks and foul beasts filled the waters below. The gate as well as its many defenders stood at the base of the cliff ensuring only one true entry point. That’s is unless one had wings which even if one were to have a pair they’d most likely be shot down by the ranks of archers and crossbow men positioned atop the walls. Deep within the heart of the fortress the overlord of the Lunar Republic, Nightmare Moon sat Patiently in her throne waiting just like the others.

Although everyone currently calls her Nightmare Moon it wasn’t always this mare’s name. There was a time when she was known as Luna, Princess Luna raiser of the moon and sister of Princess Celestia. During that time Luna and Celestia ruled over the lands of Equestria together with Celestia raising the sun in the morning and Luna raising the moon at night. They were the best of friends and the greatest of rulers during those times. Now she sits atop her throne no longer known as a princess nor the raiser of the moon but instead, Nightmare Moon bringer of darkness waiting for her sister to make her move and attack. For she knows that by the end of the nights inevitable battle she will have to confront her sister… and only one may survive.

The high commander of the Lunar Republic was exiting his quarters in the fortress, armor-clad except for his exposed head which revealed his grey skin and blood red mane, when suddenly he was approached by one of his fellow soldiers.

“Hail High Commander!” the soldier shouted as he brought his hind legs together and raised his right arm in salute.

“Hail, drop the formalities and be at ease my brother,” the high commander responded almost no emotion in his voice.

They were of course not actual related, but everyone in the Lunar Republic considered each other brothers and sisters in their cause.

“Yes high-errr, rather Merc-arc, I bring news from our leader Nightmare Moon. She feels as though the attack is drawing near and requests that you head to the front of the defensive lines at the gate immediately.” The speed of the soldiers voice was slow as he relayed the message, for he dare not get any part of it wrong less he want to be punished.

“Of course, return to Nightmare Moon and tell her that I shall make my way there with no delay,” responded Merc-arc who was already on route to his destination.

“Of course sir,” the soldier said back as he saluted once more, watching his high commander walk away, surprised at how unlike the other commanders or the commanders of the equestrian army, Merc-arc didn’t walk with his head held up in egotistical pride nor did he strut around like he owned the place. He simply marched on like any of the other soldiers of lesser rank, for he knew that no matter what his rank was he was just like them.

Merc-arc reached the gate in no time and stood there waiting for it to be opened by the soldiers on the wall. A few seconds later they did just that and as the gates slowly swung open the ranks of troops outside split in half making a path for their high commander. As he walked out the gates began to close behind him and the troops moved back into position, filing into the path that Merc-arc had already passed. When he reached the front of the ranks he turned around and looked at his men. On a normal occasion when they weren’t on the brink of a battle the men would have cheerfully greeted him, but now was a time for silence. Merc-arc turned around and waited. He didn’t have to wait long for Nightmare Moon had been correct and the soldiers of the Equestrian Army had appeared on the slightly sloped hill that was a good distance away from their fortress. Their banners and flags swaying in the wind. Minutes later Merc-arc was approached by three troops of the Equestrian Army a diplomat and his two guards, they started listing of terms of surrender and other negotiations, Merc-arc just thought about what Nightmare Moon told him to do when they offered negotiations.

“Kill them, Just like the others.” Were the exact words she used.

So Merc-arc did just that, while they were talking he unsheathed his blade and decapitated the diplomat, before his head even hit the ground he dispatched the two guards with a stab to their chests. The first of many casualties in the battle that was about to begin.

Realizing the obvious fact that diplomacy wasn’t going to work, the equestrian commanders gave the order to charge and along with their massive army started down the hill. Merc-arc ordered the defending soldiers of the Lunar Republic to pull out their shields as he did just that. The soldiers didn’t need to be told what to do for they already had formed the strong wall of shields and extended their spears outwards towards their advancing attackers.

“No matter what happens, you do not let them get through that gate and into our walls!” yelled Merc-arc to his troops as the wave of oncoming equestrian troops drew near.

“SIR YES SIR!” was their only reply.

Just then that very same wave of equestrian troops collided with the defenders, none of the defenders being knocked down. The soldiers in the front line of the charge were almost immediately impaled by the spears that protruded out of the Lunar Republics defensive wall. Those that managed to make it past the spears were either bashed back with shields and trampled by their own men or stabbed and cut down by the swords of the men that held up said shields. Soon there was a massive pile of bodies in front of the shield wall, all of which were soldiers of the Equestrian Army. This didn’t stop the Equestrian Army nor did it seem to make a dent in their ranks. In fact they used the bodies as a way to hop over the wall and get into the ranks of the Lunar Republic. Of course this didn’t end well for the first few to try it, but after a while they were able to break a part of the wall of shields giving the rest of their men a way in and help them start a battle within the ranks of the Lunar Republic.

Merc-arc noticed the breach that had been created in his wall and he order his troops to kill the attackers that got through and repair it. They did as he asked but it did not matter for more breaches were being made and Merc-arc had no choice but to order his troops to undo the wall and allow the battle to enter his ranks. While at the same time forming a smaller version of the wall in front of the gates. Merc-arc wasn’t one to just sit around and give commands, he joined his brothers in battle helping those that were being surrounded or overpowered because he knew that every man was needed for this battle. The soldiers on both sides fought brutally, limbs and heads flying through the air, stabs wounds in some with arrows protruding out of the skin of others. Pegasus ponies were dropping from the sky from either being killed by another Pegasus fighting for the other side or being shot down by their archers and crossbow men. Not so surprising, there were no casualties or wounds caused by magic for both sides had agreed to ban the use of this only allowing the two sisters to use it but only on each other in personal battle. The dead and the wounded littered the battlefield, the ground was covered in blood, the sounds of fighting as well as the shouts and cries of the fighting soldiers joined by the moans of the wounded filled the air which reeked of death. In only a few hours it already became known as the bloodiest battle in Equestrian history.

Merc-arc dived into a crowd of enemy soldiers slashing his sword in every direction, leaving deep cuts in all the soldiers in range of his blade. He them swept the legs of the three soldiers that still stood in front of him knocking them to the ground and with no delay used his hind legs to kick two soldiers that were behind him. He drove his sword downward into the stomach of one of the soldiers he knocked on the ground, he took two throwing knives and chucked them into the eyes of the other two turning around to face the two he had kicked who were already getting back on their hooves. They charged at him, Merc-arc merely smirked, pulled out his dagger and did the same. He ran in between them and they both toppled to the ground, blood pouring out of slits in their neck. He backed up, only to bump into someone, he quickly spun around and clashed swords with his foe. They both jumped back and Merc-arc was finally able to get a clear view of his offender. It was a heavily armored soldier of the Equestrian Army, almost two times Merc-arc’s size. Merc-arc could tell from his armor along with his blue loin, cape and his winged helmet that this was their high commander and Merc-arc wasn’t about to let him get away.

For a while the two stood there staring deeply into each others mind, trying to figure out what the other was thinking.
Finally Merc-arc spoke up and shouted

“My name is Merc-arc, I request that you remove your helmet and tell me yours, so I know what to call you!”

The Equestrian high commander removed his helmet and threw it to the ground revealing his pure white skin and black mane.

“You may call me Isis, It is a pleasure to finally meet the talented high commander of the Lunar Republic that I’ve heard so much about,” he replied giving a warm but uneasy smile.

“I’m afraid I’ve not yet heard of you my friend, but from what I’ve seen of your men and the tactics they use I can tell that you’re a talented high commander yourself so the pleasure is all mine,” responded Merc-arc giving a smile of his own.

It was almost as though the two were friends making small talk since the tone in their voice was one of kindness and respect. There was no more time for that though, this fight need to begin, the two foes readied their blades and ran towards one another. There was a loud clang as the steel of their swords collided together and the friendly expression that was once on the face of the two colts had been replaced with pure seriousness and anger. An ear piercing screeching sound was made as the two pulled their sword away from the others but this did not stop them from charging at each other again. This time Isis pushed towards Merc-arc with all his strength almost throwing the colt off his balance. Isis then lashed out towards Merc-arc with his blade, who noticing this attempt , lurched away but just barely dodged the full force of the blade for he could feel the tip of it cutting through the skin on his left cheek. Blood began dripping from the cut but Merc-arc did not care, he just ignored it and faced his enemy. Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the sounding of a horn, their exact source unknown, but it had caused Isis to turn around giving Merc-arc his chance. He charged full speed at the colt who would’ve had Merc-arc’s sword in his stomach had he’d not noticed. It did not matter through, for even though he attempted to dodge he still took the full force of the sword to his right shoulder, breaking his pauldron as well as a half of his neck piece. He could’ve finished him off with one fatal slice to his exposed neck but Merc-arc wasn’t done with this high commander. He raised his sword high up in the air and brought it down upon Isis’s head bashing his skull with the butt of the handle. Isis fell down to the ground. Blood was dripping down from his head as he looked up at Merc-arc, who’s eyes were void of any expression. Isis then seeing Merc-arc raise his sword, closed his own eyes and waited. Merc-arc was just beginning the decent of his blade down to Isis’s neck when an Equestrian soldier charged at him from his left flank, tackling him to the ground. The soldier was on top of Merc-arc wailing at his face with his hooves. Merc-arc who wasn’t about to let some lowly soldier delay his fight any longer flinched his left hoof revealing a hidden blade. The high commander only liked to use this blade in emergencies or if needed assassinations for he thought it would be dishonorable to use in battle. Nevertheless this was an emergency and Merc-arc lifted his left arm and drove the blade into the side of his assailant. The shock of pain the blade caused had distracted the soldier long enough for Merc-arc to kick him off from atop him. Then as Merc-arc hopped back to his hooves he swung the blade out towards the soldier, which proceeded to slice through his throat. The soldier grabbed at his neck with both hooves and stumbled to the ground, blood pouring out his throat as he finally lost his grip and lay lifeless on the dirt. Merc-arc finally taking care of all distractions was ready to return to his fight but turned around only to see the equestrian soldiers routing from the battle including his opponent. Merc-arc would be happy about the soldiers routing had their high commander stayed to finish what he started, not to mention Merc-arc knew the Equestrian Army would not run like this. Just then he heard the familiar voice of a certain princess as she screamed an order to her army.

“FIRE!!!!!”

This was all Merc-arc heard before he saw the thousands of archers appear atop the hill, pull their strings back and fire.

Merc-arc immediately yelled to his soldiers to pull out their shields and form a testudo formation, or at the very least raise their shields to block the incoming wall of arrows. After he was assured that they had heard his order he pulled out his own shield… only seconds before the arrows hit. Merc-arc heard all the arrows zip by him and hit the ground, although he did not flinch even when the arrows hit his own shield bouncing off of the strong steel. He looked around from the cover of his shield only to see the unfortunate soldiers who didn’t have shields, didn’t have enough time to get behind theirs, or even those that were knocked down by the force of the impact, getting absolutely covered in arrows which also now completely littered the ground. The order to charge from the Equestrian commanders was given barely a second after the final few arrows hit the ground. The soldiers of the Lunar Republic had barely any time to recover from the barrage of arrows when they were rammed by a wall of Equestrian soldiers. The snapping of the wooden arrows could be heard all around as they were broken beneath the hooves of the now gigantic Equestrian forces. Merc-arc threw his shield into the wave of rushing enemies, knocking a few down while the sharpened blade cut others. He then proceeded to unsheathe two short blades from his back and charged at the enemy in rage. He lashed the blades around wildly but with accuracy, always hitting his mark taking out at least four enemies at a time. He was in an absolute blood rage stabbing and slicing at his foes left and right, but he did it with such speed and elegance that you could not see any signs of his anger. Through all the blood and bodies that he was causing in his rampage, Merc-arc could see a large group of heavily armored Equestrian royal guards protecting none other than royalty… Princess Celestia herself. They were carving their way through to the main gate and Merc-arc had noticed that the wall he had set up there had already fallen. All they had to do now was blow open the gates and they’d make it to the court yard. He knew he couldn’t let them make it. Merc-arc began sprinting towards the gate, only to collapse to the ground as a stinging pain ran through the hamstrings of his right hind leg…he had been cut. Merc-arc attempted to get back on all fours, the nerves in his right hind leg screaming in pain as he did so. Only to be kicked in his side causing him to tumble a few feet away, being splintered by the arrows as he did. He quickly got back on his hooves, ignoring the pain in his hind leg for he now knows the true danger he was in. He stumbled around for a few seconds, then regaining his balance fixed his eyes on his attacker. There he was, that cowardly S.O.B. of a high commander that ran away when Merc-arc was distracted during their confrontation.

The blood rage that filled Merc-arcs body was now beginning to take control. He no longer felt like he had power over his body, he merely screamed at the top of his lungs and ran towards Isis. There was a limp in his stride for he was still affected by the pain. As he was running at him, Merc-arc picked up the sword of a fallen soldier, having dropped his own when he had been kicked. He raised the sword and jumped at Isis, bringing it down upon him. Their swords connected and made a loud clang, as well as the ear piercing screeches of the two sabers grinding against each other in an attempt to over power the other. Isis pulled back, spun around and swung at Merc-arc who just barely dodged the attack, but also received another cut in his face that was too close to his eye for comfort. Isis then proceeded to take a jab at Merc-arc’s face, made contact, then followed up with an elbow to the stomach, knocking the wind out of the colt. Merc-arc gasped for air then swiftly dodged another punch from Isis, he took his chance and delivered a kick to the colt's side, accidentally using his right hind leg which caused him pain. But he ignored it delivering another kick for good measure. Isis’s strong armor of course caused the kicks to do nothing more than cause him to stumble, but this gave Merc-arc breathing space.

He could see now that Princess Celestia and her battalion of royal guards were nearing the gate and Merc-arc knew he wasn’t going to be able to stop them from breaking it down, but perhaps he would be able to stop them in the courtyard. All he had to do was take care of Isis first, even if that meant taking him out by dishonorable means. He flinched his left hoof, once again revealing his hidden blade. Then jumping towards Isis, Merc-arc was ready to dig his hidden blade into the exposed part of his neck. Isis recovering from his short stumble realizes the threat and swings his right arm full force at Merc-arc. Sending him soaring into a boulder. With the initial blow weakening them, and the collision with the boulder pushing them to their limit. Three of Merc-arc ribs were broken and two others were fractured, the sound of them cracking and splintering made Merc-arc cringe more than the pain did. He fell too the ground with a slam, coughing up blood on impact. He moaned in pain as lay there on the ground, breathing heavily. He knew he couldn’t let it end here, there was still a chance to stop Celestia. Merc-arc struggled to bring him self up, a task almost made impossible by the amount of pain he was in, which caused his whole body to shudder. He raised his head and saw Isis eying Merc-arc as if ready to finally finish of the bent, broken, bloody mess of a high commander. Just then there was another loud bang, which shook the earth ever so slightly. Merc-arc already knew that it was the sound of Celestia’s saboteurs finally blowing the gates open, but luckily for him the foolish Isis turned his attention away from Merc-arc giving him yet another opening. The high commander let whatever was left of his adrenaline fill his body once more and charged at Isis, the pain of this action was almost unbearable, but he kept at it. He jumped at Isis once more, which caused even more unbelievable feelings of pain, and was once again aiming for his exposed neck. Isis finally bringing his attention back to his foe grabbed Merc-arc’s arm, but it was too late. The length of the hidden blade would have still allowed itself to enter Isis’s neck, or so Merc-arc thought until he took a glance at his blade and finally realized…it was broken. Merc-arc had barely anytime to even insult himself for the stupid move of not checking the status of his hardware, before Isis lifted him by his arm and slammed him into the ground. Every part of his body cried out in pain, causing him to do the same. Lying on his back Merc-arc tried a feeble attempt at crawling away, he barely moved an inch before he was grabbed by the right hind leg. Isis was dragging Merc-arc closer to him, Merc-arc was clawing at the dirt trying to get away or at the very least resist. Isis began raising Merc-arc in the air, Merc-arc knew he needed to think fast. Just then he caught the glimpse of a gleaming battle axe lying of the ground. He reached and reached for it putting all of his strength and energy into and just as his chest left the ground he gripped the weapon. With no hesitation, Merc-arc swung his body around with the axe in hoof, closed his eyes and hoped.

Merc-arc felt the warm, moist splatter of blood on his face and opened his eyes to see Isis still holding him up, but with a battle axe lodged in his neck. The colt staggered, dropping Merc-arc to the ground. Then gripping the handle, he pulled the battle axe out of his neck, hollering in pain as he did. This was a big mistake on the Equestrian high commanders part, for now the blood was gushing out at an extremely fast rate. He grew faint, became very pale and no longer having the strength, will or even the control to stand, he collapsed to the dirt. Merc-arc heard the loud thud of his foe hitting the ground, he knew that their arduous confrontation was over and he was victorious. However the battle was not yet over. Merc-arc thinking that there was still a small chance to do so, got up slowly and started making his way to aid Nightmare Moon as well as his troops in the courtyard. He was trying to get there as fast as possible, but walking was an almost impossible feat because of the massive amount of pain he was in. All the colt could do was slowly limp himself to the front gate, having to stop at least five times to catch his breath and regain his stamina. When he finally did reach the front gate, Merc-arc could barely stand nor keep his full balance, but he pushed on. The battle was still raging on in the courtyard when Merc-arc entered, although he could see that a clear path was made to the doors of the throne room. Merc-arc staggered down this path and no one stopped him nor came at him, for they either though he wasn’t a threat, due to his weak state or they just simply didn’t notice him. Whatever the reason was Merc-arc was just lucky that he didn’t have to fight, although he couldn’t say the same for his soldiers. They were getting massacred, the fortress had been completely overrun by the invaders and little of his forces remained as a means of defense. He wished he could help them, but he had to get to her… he had to get to Luna.

“So close,” the high commander whispered.

He was finally within arms length of the door. Merc-arc quickly got onto his hind legs, propped his arms on the wood surface and pushed it open.

The moment Merc-arc opened the door, he was blinded by a light that seemed almost as bright as the sun. It took only a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to this light allowing him to open them once more. He could feel a strong surge of magical power around him and when he opened his eyes he discovered the source. The dark silhouettes of two Alicorns were all that could be made out. One lay on the ground and appeared to be greatly wounded, whilst the other seemed to be floating in the air without the use of its wings, its eyes glowing with light and its horn emitting the bright light that flooded the room. It didn’t take Merc-arc too long to find out who’s who. He began running towards the wounded Alicorn with all the strength left in him, when suddenly a huge rainbow wave flew out of the floating one’s horn and surrounded the other.

“No No No NO NO!!!!” Merc-arc screamed at the top of his lungs.

He knew what was happening and he knew he was too late to stop it, but he kept running towards her. The wave of rainbows had finally fully entangled the wounded Alicorn and as it did, it exploded into a sonic rainboom of gigantic proportion and strength.

“LUNA NO!” was all the high commander could shout before he was blown away by the force of the sonic rainboom.

Merc-arc had been propelled out of the throne room, the courtyard and then finally the front gate, where he slammed into the ground and was rolled painfully around the ground for about a minute before he finally skidded to a halt. Since he was in the throne room when the sonic rainboom went off, Merc-arc took on the full force while the other Ponies in the vicinity were simply knocked off balance. Even so Merc-arc was not knocked unconscious by the blast and he could feel all the agony of his new injuries. His left hind leg had been broken as well as his right arm. More of his ribs had either shattered or cracked, his pelvis was cracked but still in working condition, his body was covered in cuts and bruises and almost all of his armor had been broken off or were still on his body, just battered and ruined. This didn’t stop the colt from getting up once more but when he did, every nerve in his body as well as every little part of his body screamed in agonizing misery. He lifted his head up and looked at the sky. He could see a bright light in the shape of a compass star heading towards the moon and he glared at it with pure hatred. Then suddenly Merc-arc felt something else, something he hadn’t felt since the day his parents died… sadness. His eyes began to water and then Merc-arc said something surprising.

“I’m sorry,” were the words he spoke.

Just then a tear dropped from his eye and as it did he thought of what that those words meant. He was apologizing to Luna who he failed to protect and the troops that he failed to lead to victory. He was apologizing to all those that died and all those that would grieve because they died. But most importantly he was apologizing to the wife he would never see again and the child that he will never see born let alone be able raise him.

Everything around him just seemed to stop and the only sound that Merc-arc could hear was the seemingly simultaneous splash of two tears hitting the ground. One of them being his own and the other belonging to a Princess Celestia who was about to banish her own sister to the Moon, the last thing she ever wanted to do. With that Merc-arc fell to the ground and gratefully took in his finally breath of air. He laid there on ground, when he suddenly felt the warm heat of the sun as it rose for the first time in almost a year. Merc-arc then smiled, exhaled and just like that the high commander of the Lunar Republic was dead.

Recovery

The Lunar Republic
Recovery

“My children of the Dark Eclipse, you very well know that the reason you are reading this message is because the republic (including myself) has fallen. It is unfortunate that such a thing had to occur. But alas, it was inevitable. Not to say that you had all been fighting for nothing. We had the resources to leave a message of fear, just not enough to win a war. Trust in the fact that when we rise again, said message shall work in our favor. Which brings us to the long quest you must see through. As you all should know, your orders in the event of the destruction of the Lunar Republic, are to keep our ideas, beliefs and the very essence of our republic, preserved and very much alive. Now I wont bother giving you all the details for I trust that you all know what to do. But there is one other thing I must ask of you my children. Hopefully you are still at or at least near the battlefield for it shall make your task much easier. I ask of you my children to please recover, my personal guard and high commander of our armies… Merc-arc. For your mission it does not matter whether you find him dead or alive. As much as it would mean a great deal to whatever is left of the republic if he was alive, all you need is a scroll that I entrusted him with. Its contents are for your leader only and please if Merc-arc is discovered to be dead, give him a proper burial on the battlefield. Have faith in the idea that I will return one day my children. Probably not in your life time, but I will. Keep the republic alive.

Sincerely,

The Moon Mother”

The colt rolled up the aged parchment and slid it back into its container. He lifted his head and looked towards the three Ponies that stood in front of him. These four are what made up the Dark Eclipse. They were Nightmare Moon’s highest ranking and personal soldiers. The squad was the best of all the races in Equestria. There was Brutus the strong and durable Earth Pony. He had eyes of dark green, a medium length mane of what looked like steel and grey for his skin. Next was Rika the swift and agile Pegasus. She had a beautiful but short mane of aqua to go with her white skin and dark purple eyes. Then there was Eleanor the wise and quick thinking Unicorn. She had a long purple mane with skin and eyes of the same color. Finally the leader of the pack Artemis. He was slightly taller than the others, with a mane of teal, eyes of light green and skin of light blue. Being an Alicorn allowed Artemis to have a little bit of every talent that the others had. But because of a spell put on him by Nightmare Moon when he was chosen to be in the Dark Eclipse, his powers had been limited, so that he had to rely on his teammates as much as they relied on him.

On their own they were just separate pieces of a machine with one function. But together they were an almost unstoppable force. However even they weren’t enough to prevent the republic’s downfall. Although they tried their best to hide it, Artemis could see the pain and misery in the eyes of his fellows. Nightmare Moon’s message cut deeper through the four than any wound they sustained in battle. Artemis clearing his throat, finally spoke once more.

“Any questions?” he asked

There was a long pause of silence until finally Brutus spoke up.

“Not to question Mother’s orders, but isn’t it an unnecessary risk to carry the high commanders body out of what is now enemy territory and then bury him?”

“I understand and appreciate your concern for the team’s well being, but what she commands is what we must do. Not to mention that we don’t even know if we’re going to have to bury him. Besides we’ve been in plenty of high risk situations and we always came out in one piece,” Artemis answered, almost as if expecting the question.

Before Brutus could deliver his rebuttal, Rika chimed in.

“I think its helpful to note that by the end of the battle, while I was flying overhead. I saw Merc-arc entering the courtyard of the fortress. So it’s safe to say that he’s still in the general area.”

“Ah thank you Rika. That is valuable information indeed. But remember our walls are now enemy territory, so we should also assume that he could have left the area so as to avoid capture,” Artemis responded.

After answering a few more minor questions, Artemis decided it was time to move out. They had set up camp in a small cave only a short distance from the battlefield. It wasn’t exactly homely, but it worked for the two hours they had to spend there. The four companions quickly packed up all the essentials they needed for their mission. Once everything was ready to go, they armored up in their light gear and left the cave.

When they neared the battlefield Artemis signaled for them to take cover behind a boulder up on the hill. From there Eleanor took out her compact telescope and extended it to full size. She put the small end up to her eye and started scanning the area. When she was done, the mare collapsed the telescope into itself and returned it to her satchel. She then reported her findings.

“I was able to see that the Equestrian Army had set up another smaller camp inside our stronghold. They still have their camp on the hill though, but their presence soldier wise is much weaker. I must also add that I spotted a few of our soldiers fighting on the walls, but it is too late for them. As for the high commander, he was nowhere to be found.”

“Alright then, we’re going to need to move in closer if that’s the case,” Artemis replied.

The squad left their cover and began moving closer to the gate. Luckily for them Celestia had yet to gain back her full power so the sun wasn’t as bright as it normally is. This allowed for the group to be less visible. A patrol could be heard nearing their current position. So the four quickly hid under a pile of rotting corpses. The familiar smell of death was almost unbearable. Once the patrol passed by, the companions silently continued on towards the gate.

“Damn its almost impossible to sneak with all these bodies littering the ground,” Brutus whispered as he stepped on yet another carcass.

“At least they make for a good hiding spot,” responded Rika as she let out a soft but serious giggle.

Artemis raised his left hoof signaling the group to stop. They were practically next to the gate now and would have been spotted had the guards not dozed off. Then Artemis saw him. Face down in the dirt only a few feet away from him, laid the motionless body of Merc-arc. His armor was battered and torn and his cause of death was made obvious by the large amount of wounds that covered his body. Artemis could see it though, the cylindrical contain that held Nightmare Moon’s message to him. He signaled the others to watch his back as he slowly crept up to the body of the high commander and detached the container from his armor. The colt then moved back to his fellows and slipped the container into his satchel. Next Brutus and Rika were ordered to lift the body and prepare it for extraction. But as they were closing in on Merc-arc’s corpse, two arrows hit Rika in her side, piercing through her armor and penetrating the skin.

“We’ve been spotted we have to move now!” Artemis shouted as he picked up Rika.

At the same time he ordered Brutus to do the same with Merc-arc’s body. Eleanor covered their retreat by casting destruction spells at the attacking archers, while also putting up a defensive shield to block incoming arrows. The no magic rule no longer applied. A small battalion of Equestrian soldiers were marching towards the fleeing squad of the Dark Eclipse.

“Quickly, give me Merc-arc and do what you do best!” Artemis ordered Brutus.

Without questioning whether the colt could handle carrying both bodies at once, Brutus obliged and handed Merc-arc over to the Alicorn. Artemis struggled at first, but kept at the same pace. With both hooves now free, Brutus unsheathed his sword and pulled out his shield. The Earth Pony then charged at the advancing enemies. Ramming into them with such strength that the first in the ranks toppled over. He was taking down two foes with one slash, but even so they began to over power him.

“ Eleanor, do you think you could give Brutus a hoof? Mine are kind of full,” Artemis asked.

Eleanor simply nodded and focused her attention on the troops attacking Brutus. With one quick movement of her horn the Unicorn was able to entangle most of the soldiers in vines, giving Brutus the chance he needed. The colt took down the ones that were still standing and quickly hurried back to the others. Artemis had already set up another defensive barrier in place of Eleanor’s.

The group kept running, only having to fend off a few more pursuers before they finally lost them. They found an old practically dead tree standing atop a small hill so they decided to rest there. When they reached the top, Artemis laid both Rika and Merc-arc down against the tree. His body was filled with relief from finally dropping all that weight. Eleanor quickly removed the arrows from Rika’s body and began healing the wounds with her magic.

“She’s going to be ok right?” Brutus asked.

“Why of course she is silly. She’s taken plenty of arrows before,” Eleanor answered, giving a reassuring smile as she did.

The warrior sighed with relief and left the Unicorn to her work. Artemis had already begun digging a grave for Merc-arc under the dead tree. He used his magic to craft a wooden coffin out of the nails he had and some logs that were lying around. Once Rika was back on her hooves, they put Merc-arc, with his sword, into the coffin and lowered him into the ground. There was a long moment of silence and then Artemis filled the grave with dirt. Once he was done, Rika hung a banner of the Lunar Republic on a branch above it.

“He was a great high commander. Mother thought highly of him,” Eleanor said, as she put the headstone she made into the dirt.

“Here lies high commander Merc-arc,

Soldier, leader, friend, husband…hero.

May he rest in peace.”

Everyone mourned in silence. When they were done with the burial and everybody was down by the bottom of the hill, Artemis decided to open Nightmare Moon’s message that she entrusted Merc-arc with. He sat under the tree and took out the container. The Alicorn then removed the top and carefully pulled out the parchment. It was smaller than he thought it would be. It was practically a note card. Artemis slowly unrolled it and started reading.

The others were ready to leave and walked up to the top of the hill to get their leader. When they got there they found Artemis just standing in place looking up at the sun.

“Artemis we should get moving now,” Brutus told him.

“No I’m afraid I can’t,” Artemis replied.

The three Ponies were surprised by his response. But before they could ask why, the Alicorn spoke once more.

“I have a new mission from the Moon Mother. According to her it’s the most important task she has given me. I’m not allowed to tell you what it is though. But I digress. Eleanor, you are the leader of the Dark Eclipse. I expect you to do the best you can and in your own way. As much as I hate to leave you all I must bid you farewell.”

Without questioning him, the other three simply shook his hoof, said goodbye and made their way down the hill. Artemis waved them off as they walked away. Once they were out of sight he turned around and once more looked up to the sun. This time with tears running down his cheeks. He let go of the paper that he held clenched in his hoof and allowed it to blow away in the wind.

“To the strong and loyal Artemis,

You have served me well as the leader of the Dark Eclipse. Even though by now I am gone and it may seem as though you failed to protect me. You were one of the best and shouldn’t blame yourself or any other. But I can’t help shake the feeling that I have taken away so much time of your life (considering that you have followed me since the beginning). Which is why instead of going about the same orders as the rest of your squad, I want you to follow theses instead. I command you to elect a new leader of your pack and then leave them. Once that is done you have to do the most important task of them all,
LIVE YOUR LIFE!
The others can handle the survival of the Lunar Republic. You on the other hoof deserve a break. So go out there and enjoy the rest of your life. Settle down and make the best of it. Not for me or anyone else, just do it for yourself!

Sincerely,

Your leader and friend, Luna”