It was early morning, and my troops and I were preparing for our first day in our temporary camp, just outside of Ponyville. I had just finished writing a letter to Lord Gilded Hammer, the head of the Paladin Order of Celestia, and my mentor since I was merely a young colt.
Dear Master Hammer,
We have encountered a rather large band of escaped Diamond Dogs who where attacking Ponyville and taking prisoners. Though we were able to repel the attack, they manged to take several of the captives back to their lair and we do not have the manpower to launch a counter attack. At this time, I would like to request that you send me a battalion of your finest men to aid in our attempt to quell this rebellion.
Your Faithful Student,
Heir-apparent
“There we go,” I said as I put the letter in a envelope and sealed it with my personal stamp, featuring a copy of my cutie mark, much like my mother’s in the fact that it was a sun, but icy blue with a darker blue eye in the center.
Cutie mark
“Sir,” my lieutenant called from just outside my tent. “The troops are assembled as you requested.”
“Thank you Storm,” I said as I stepped out of my tent and looked out over the soldiers assembled in the clearing at the center of camp. There had been one hundred of us when we first embarked on the journey to southern Equestria. We had not even made it half way and we had lost thirteen good soldiers. I sighed as I walked to the center of the clearing. I knew that in order to defeat the Diamond Dogs more of these brave ponies’ lives would be lost. But it had to be done.
“As many of you may already know, the Dog’s camp is located in Ghastly Gorge. A very treacherous location...” I said as I stepped into the center. “Which is exactly why I need three pegasi to step forward. I need two of you to scout out the gorge and one to carry a message to Canterlot. Any volunteers?” I asked as I looked over the assembled soldiers. I almost immediately saw two pegasi step forward. One of them was cyan with a rainbow mane and I thought I had seen her at the planning session the night before. Rainbow Dash was her name, she was famous for something or other. The other one had an orange coat, a purple mane and looked about seventeen. Barely old enough to be a soldier. This must have been her first assignment.
“What’s your name soldier?” I asked the younger of the two.
“Scootaloo sir,” she said as she gave me a rather stiff salute, as though she was worried I would reprimand her if she didn’t stand straight enough. I almost felt like laughing, despite all that had happened.
“Here!” I said as I tossed her the message. “Take this to Lord Gilded Hammer in the paladin complex in Canterlot. And be quick about it!” I instructed her as she bowed deeply and then flew of in the direction of the capitol.
“And me sir?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“You will choose another pegasi and the two of you will scout out the gorge, and find a way for the rest of us to get through safely,” I said to her as she bowed and turned back to the group. “Now,” I began. “The rest of you will go into the town and help with the rebuilding until the scouts return.” This got a startled, yet generally happy reaction from the remaining soldiers. “Alright then off with you!” I called to the soldiers as they began filtering out of the camp in the direction of the village.
***
I was standing on a balcony overlooking the royal throne room in Canterlot. I was looking down at my mother, watching her end the session of court as the servants ushered everyone out of the room and into the hall.
It seemed to be only a few minutes later that my mother settled into her throne and rested her head on an armrest (why do we have those?) and sighed deeply. It must have been a tough court session. I was just about to go down and see her but the doors swung open at just that moment and a robed figure stepped through and walked over to the steps of the throne. I began walking toward the stairs leading off the landing when something caught my eye from one of the other landings. It was a robed figure, much like the one by the throne, except this one seemed almost gaunt, as though it hadn't eaten in weeks. This only held my eye for a second, but by the time I looked back down it was to late. The robed figure was sliding a sword out of my mother’s chest.
***
When I awoke, I was covered in sweat, my hooves where shaking, and there was somepony standing over me. It was Stormy Soul, and he must have just entered because the tent flaps were still undone. I was in my tent sitting up in bed. It was all a dream. A dream. Just a dream.
“Are you alright sir?” asked my lieutenant with a concerned look on his face.
“Ye-yes I believe so,” I said, still shaking.
“I heard you cry out, and I came as fast as I was able,” he said, indicating his injured foreleg with a nod of his head.
“Thank you Storm,” I sighed as I got out of bed. “There’s no more sleep to be had this night.” I said putting on my saddle and armor. “At least not for me.”
“Sir-” my lieutenant started.
“I’m fine lieutenant,” I cut him a smile for the concern he showed. “I’ll just go and walk the perimeter till I can sleep again.”
I opened the tent flap and stepped outside.
***
I had just reached the top of a small hill on the outskirts of the camp when I saw something coming out of the sky, hurtling toward the edge of camp.
It took me a minute to reach the site of the crash, and by the time I got there an injured pegasi was already being carried away by two other pegasi soldiers dressed as field medics, while a few of my commanding officers stood around a small crater in the ground
“Redheart, what happened?” I asked my chief medical officer.
“He was one of the scouts sent down to the gorge.... It was pretty bad, his side was pretty beat up and his wings sustained alot of damage. But I think he’ll live,” replied the white earth pony as she put her medical supplies back into her bag.
“I think your lieutenant is looking for you sir,” said Redheart as she nodded to the center of camp where my lieutenant was standing and gesturing for me to come quickly.
***
“Yes Storm?” I asked as I fell in step with my lieutenant.
“Redheart told you who that pegasi was?” Storm looked at me closely.
“One of the scouts sent down to the gorge. Why?” I asked him as we reached my tent at the edge of camp.
“You know what that means.”
“That the other scout is probably captured or worse.”
“And?”
“That we’re flying blind tomorrow.”
“Exactly! And that means we need to prepare several plans of action. So I called a meeting of your tactical officers first thing tomorrow.”
“Yes I suppose that is necessary. Well, lets get some rest then.” I sighed deeply. This was going to be a long night.
***
It was dawn. A cold dawn, and I could hear the sound of the wind blowing through the camp. I had just gotten out of my bed and was heating myself some apple cider when something large and red appeared just outside of the tent flaps.
“Macintosh is that you?” I asked as I stepped outside and took a sip of my cider. “I didn't see you during the battle. I was wondering where you had gotten yourself t-” I stopped talking when I noticed Macintosh’s eyes. It was as if he had been crying, and when I saw the torn and bloodied hair bow he was carrying I understood why. “Come in.” I said as I ushered him into my tent and gestured to a sitting pillow. “What happened?” I asked trying to sound like my mother.
“I...I went to mah farm at the edge of town t-to see if everypony was okay and... and I found..” At this point he began to cry. He sounded hoarse and his breathing was ragged, as though he had been crying for hours already.
“Macintosh I don’t know what to say.....”
“Just say you’ll help me. Help me kill those bastards. Hurt them like they hurt me,” he said, his sadness turning suddenly to anger.
“Macintosh don’t think that!” I said surprised that such an obviously gentle soul could turn to those thoughts so quickly.
“Just help me please!” He said his hatred mixing with a desperate need.
“I think I can help you. But not like that,” I said as I took a crystal out of my saddle bag. “This was given to me by my father,” I told him as I showed him the crystal. “It is a crystal of peace. Said to help cleanse the soul of dark thoughts such as yours. But you need to take it willingly,” I held it out to him. “I can help you get revenge. But not with thoughts like that in your head. Will you take it?” I asked holding it out in front of his forehead.
“Yes anything to get back at them!” he said forcefully as he looked into my eyes.
“Very well then,” I touched the crystal to his forehead.
***
I was in another place. A dark place filled with shadows that seemed to move on their own through the murky air.
“So this is his mind,” I said to myself as I lit my horn with magic. “Here we go,” I released a large amount of magical energy, using the burst like sonar to find what I was looking for.
There it was. Just outside of my field of vision a small stand with six small statuettes on it.
Three of them where smashed on the stand, and all of the broken ones seemed to be ponies, a small filly with a bow in her hair, a mare with a hat, and a elderly mare wearing a shawl. “His family,” I said to myself trying to keep back tears. I looked over at the other three ornaments that remained. An apple, a small knife, and a hammer. I was surprised at the hammer, it was the mark of the paladins. “So Mac has some dreams does he?” I said as I looked over the others. He must have been a farmer I thought, as I looked at the apple. Then there was the knife, that I grabbed with my magic. “Alright then, no hatred,” I said, lifting it into the air. Then I had a thought. “Less hatred.” I said as I snapped it in two and laid it back down on the table.
***
“Whoa!” I said rather woozily as I came back to my own head. It looked as though very little time had passed while I was gone, maybe a minute, two at the most.
“Sir. What just happened?” Mac asked as he blinked rapidly as though he was adjusting to strong light.
“I lessened your hate of course,” I replied trying to sound like I did that sort of thing all the time.
“B-but how?”
“Elementary my dear Macintosh.” I said as I handed him a cup of cider. “It’s magic. You’ll need this.” I told him as he took the cup. “This usually ends with a horrible headache.”
“Thank you sir,” he said as he took a sip from the steaming cup. I was surprised that it had worked so well. There was barely a trace of hatred left in his voice. There was mostly just a deep sadness, which I wouldn’t even try to ease through magic. That type of healing would only happen with time.
“So Macintosh, what was that you where saying about wanting my help?” I asked though I already anticipated what he meant.
“I want to help you take down the Dogs. I can’t do it myself and you said I was a welcome addition,” he said after taking a sip from his mug. I had thought so. Any mention of revenge would bring a fire to his eyes unlike that of any soldier. Maybe I could use this to my advantage. Give him what he wanted and then offer him a place as a paladin. Our ranks were shrinking and we could use someone like Macintosh.
“Well I think I can help you,” I told him as I took something out from one of my saddle bags. A small blade attached to a steel horseshoe. “This is your tool of revenge.”
***
I was walking towards the large tent near the center of camp where the meeting was supposed to take place. I had just sent Mac over to the training ground so he could become at least passable with his new blades. But it was time to be serious. The lives of countless ponies were in danger and I was the one who was supposed to save them.
“Alright then,” I said clearing my throat and taking a seat at the table. “Strategy. In other words, what are we doing?” I looked around the group of soldiers assembled in the large tent.
“Well we can’t just do the frontal charge technique, the Dogs would slaughter us in a minute.”
“We could press the advantage of flight, bring pots full of oil over them then light them up?”
“This is also a rescue mission. We can’t just burn them, there would be to many friendly casualties!”
“We could go for stealth. Go in at night and and try to surprise them.”
“The dogs live in caves and their night vision is excellent.”
The conversation went like that for quite a long time, all ideas being discarded for some reason or another. It took nearly an hour for somebody to come up with a good plan.
“Sir we could try using the pegasi to carry other soldiers behind their lines,” suggested a brown unicorn sitting by the far wall.
“Hhhmm, yes that might actually work. What’s your name soldier?” I asked as I looked over the table at him.
“Hauberk. Sir,” he answered. “Very well Hauberk, l leave you in command of the planning for this strike. Dismissed,” I said as I got out of my chair and watched the soldiers leave.
After awhile I looked around the room and saw Storm was still sitting there, he appeared rather irritated with me.
“Oh Storm I didn’t see you there, what’s bothering you?”
“What you just did there. Putting a soldier in command just because he came up with the idea for the strike is a risky move. You may suffer for it.” He stuffed some more tobacco into his pipe and rose from his chair stiffly.
“Yes Storm, I know its risky. But I think the boost of morale to the troops outweighs the chance that Hauberk didn’t get a good mark in strategy.” I watched as Storm limped out of the tent with a look on his face I knew very well. “I hope you know that I do realize that my actions have repercussions. I’m not just a squire anymore Storm, I know what I’m doing.”
“I know you do sir..... But then again. Maybe that’s what troubles me.” he replied with a sad sort of smile on his face. “The world is full of so much evil, it’s a pity any of us should have to live with. Much less understand as much as you do.”
“Well then that is our purpose isn’t it. To protect the people of Equestria from those evils that plague the land.” He looked at me as though examining a sword that had just been made to match a set of plans. Though it matched the specs, there was still a flaw that was unseen to the naked eye.
“You’re too pure,” he said after some time. “You face the evils from without with such valor that you have none left for those from within. You need to guard every front. Or the the enemy will find a crack,” and that was all he said before slipping out into the night. He left the tent flap open just enough so that I could see a small orange shape land just on the outskirts of camp.
