The Lunar Empire

Central Observation Post

January 19, 1133

General Dark Thunder

6:08 p.m.

Three Years Later

I let out a sigh. It had been three years since my speech at Canterlot. In those three years, we had built a massive city of our own, one that could easily be called an empire. It spanned along the length of the mountains, going from the ocean to the plains to our north. We had established trade with the Griffins, and our inventors had created many things that made everyday life simpler.

I turned around and saw a young Pegasus looking out over the city. He seemed unnerved by my presence. I walked over next to him, and he immediately tensed up. "What's your name, soldier?" I asked.

"P-Private Sky, sir!" he replied shakily.

"There's no need to be nervous, Private. And for right now, no need to put 'sir' at the end of the sentence. For all times sake, we are just a couple of ponies in a watchtower." I told him. He seemed to relax a little. "When did you join?" I asked, attempting to make idle chat.

"I started around March of last year. I've been on watchtower duties since." Sky replied. "Is it true what they say?" he continued.

"What do you mean?"

"Is it true that we are on the brink of war with Celestia?"

I thought for a moment. "It is certainly a possibility. Despite Ace's negotiations, things have been rough between us and Equestria." I replied. I looked out to the west. The sun was setting on the horizon. "Well, I've decided to personally escort the next caravan. It leaves tomorrow morning, so I best get some sleep. Catch you later, Sky." I said, walking over to a corner of the tower. I hit a lever, and the panel began to slowly side down to another section of the tower. When it stopped, I stepped off and hit a different lever, and the panel started sliding up again.

As I began the long walk down the stairs, I couldn't help but think about what Sky had said regarding a war. We still hardly have any weapons or armor. If we were to have an attack launched while we were unprepared, I doubt we would survive. I shoved the thoughts out of my mind. I reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the doors.

I stepped out, closing the doors. I began walking back to the barracks. I passed a few guards along the way. They stopped to give me a brief salute. I returned the favor, then continued on. Strangely, there was barely a creature on the streets. Odd, I thought. Last I checked, there wasn't a curfew.

I walked through the entrance to the barracks, passing a few more guards playing a drinking game. I continued down a hallway, eventually reaching my quarters. I stepped inside, locking the door behind me.

I used my magic to light a nearby candle,then I walked over to a table where I saw an object wrapped in cloth. Curious, I went over and began removing the wrapping. As I did, a note fell out. I picked it up and began to read it.

Here is that sword you wanted. Just as you asked, I had Beldin sharpen it as much as possible, then got Garath to enchant it to never dull or break. Be very careful. You could cut off Celestia's horn with this thing.

-Ace

I set down the note then continued unwrapping the weapon. I set the cloth aside, then I levitated the sword in front me. It was about as long as my foreleg, not counting the hilt, which had a silvery hilt with a moon emblem in the center. I unsheathed the weapon from its scabbard, which was completely black. I looked at the blade. It had some sort of glowing blue text on either side. I swung the weapon around in the air a few times. As I did, I accidentally stopped the spell mid-swing, causing it to fly into a wall.

Oh my, I thought. I really hope there wasn't anypony standing there. I began pulling the sword out of the wall. To my surprise, it had put almost its entire length through, and there was now a thin hole in the wall. I looked through it and saw a fellow guard staring back, against the wall on the other side of the room. "Um... Sorry about that." I said.

"Long as it doesn't hit me." the guard replied.

I placed the sword back into its scabbard, then set it down on the table. I walked over to my bed and lay down in it, then I covered up the candle and closed my eyes.

The trip we took the following morning was by far the most uneventful trip I had ever been on. Thankfully, the Griffins decided to meet us halfway instead of us going all the way to the border, which cut the travel time in half. It was still boring. As the three of us pulled the cart, one of the other ponies had brought up the subject of a vine he found in his bed.

"I think a troublesome filly put it in there thinking I would mistake it for a snake. It worked, too." the escort said.

"Heh. Never knew you were afraid of snakes, Snow." said the other.

"Oh, shut up. We all know you were scared of the dark until you graduated from the Academy."

The two continued bickering until I heard a voice behind me yell, "In the name of Celestia, stop right there!"

"Oh dear Luna, you've got to be kidding me..." I said to myself. The other escorts and I unhooked ourselves from the cart and turned around. Five Celestial soldiers stared back at us, all clad in golden armor.

"Just what do you think you are doing, crossing over into Equestrian territory?" said the leader, a dark gray Earth Pony. I looked a little closer at him. Somehow, he seemed vaguely familiar.

"'Equestrian territory'? This land is still unclaimed!" said an escort behind me.

"No, it's ours now. You see, right after you left, we decided to take this territory so we could create a new town." said one of the guards to the left of the leader, a Pegasus.

"Why weren't we informed about this?" I asked.

"Celestia didn't see the need to tell you. We all figured that you were smart enough to travel through your own territory." their leader replied.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it out of my head that I had seen that pony before. Soon, the Pegasus seemed familiar to me as well.

"You are asking for war, not telling us of a land claim and then blaming us for tresspassing." said the second escort.

"You could say that." replied the leader. He looked at the ground. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, walking over to a spot on the ground. He pointed to a pair of dirt tracks on the ground. "Looks like somepony has been frequenting this area for quite some time. How about we take you and your little caravan back to Canterlot and we'll see what Princess Celestia has to say about this accident." he said.

Suddenly, memories began flooding into my mind. Memories of long before we left Equestria. It was a normal night. I had just gotten word that I was eligible to join Luna's Army, and I wanted to tell my parents. However, as I walked, an orange light caught my eye. Is that coming from my house? It looks like a fire! I broke into a gallop. As I neared, my suspicions were confirmed. My home had been set ablaze, and two large stallions were staggering around outside.

One of them noticed me. He walked over and asked me, "Hey... Is this your house?" he asked. I could smell the ale on their breath.

I simply nodded. By now, his companion had stumbled over next to me. The first pony, now recognizable as an Earth Pony, told his friend what I had relayed. The Earth Pony suddenly punched me in the gut, and his Pegasus friend kicked me. I fell to the ground, struggling for air.

The Earth Pony placed a large hoof on my throat, keeping me from calling out for help. He began to press down, suffocating me. He spoke. "You ain't gonna tell anypony what happened, is you?"

He was obviously drunker than I thought. I shook my head, still unable to breath. He stepped off me and said, "Good." before hitting me in the face hard enough to knock me out.

But that wasn't the only time. They were also the two ponies that called me out after I gave my speech. Anger and a need for revenge gripped me.

"That will not be happening, murderer." i said, planting my hoof on the ground.

"What did you just call me?" the Earth Pony replied, shocked. I told him of the revelation. He smiled. "Come to think of it, I do remember that. Time to finish what I started." he continued.

The rest of the caravan escorts lined up next to me, drawing their weapons. Hmm... There are five of them and three of us. However, three of them are Earth Ponies, one is a Unicorn, and one is a Pegasus. There are two Pegasi on my side. This is going to be very interesting.

In an attempt to get me to strike first, the leader spoke some rather colorful remarks my way. I gave an empty expression.

I drew my sword. "Unlike you and the rest of the Celestial Guard, we have some degree of honor." I said.

An eerie silence covered the clearing. We stared coldly at each other for what seemed like forever, each one of us waiting for our target to flinch, or to look away. Each of us waiting for the others to show any sign of weakness.

"Soldiers... We all knew this day would come. And now it is here." said the leader. He lowered his head. "Charge!"

The clearing was instantly filled with the sounds of battle. I rushed forward, trying to land a hit on the patrol leader, but he simply knocked me aside. I jumped up and found the Pegasus wielding a short-sword in his place. He swung, missing my head by a few inches. I tried to hit his foreleg with the flat of my blade, only to have it bounce off. When I looked closer, I noticed that he had a gauntlet on him, which held the sword in place when he swung. I'll have to ask Beldin to make some of those when I get back... I thought.

My attacker swung again, hitting his mark. I fell onto my side, and tried to get away as he cam at me again and again. He swung downward at me, but as he did, I got an idea. I raised my sword above me so that the edge was facing upwards. The weapons struck above me, and almost half of his sword fell to the ground next to me.

The Pegasus stared for a moment at his ruined weapon, then reared up on his hind legs, sword raised above his head for a killing blow. As he prepared for the downswing, I took the opportunity to jump up and shove my sword into him, easily going completely through him. The guard looked down at the blade sticking out of his chest, then at me. He let out a faint whisper, then collapsed on the ground in a pool of blood.

I turned around to see how the others were faring. One of the escorts was managing to hold off both the leader and a Unicorn, and the other had incapacitated one of the Earth Ponies and was fighting the other, one on one.

I rushed forward, tackling the leader. I hit him in the face with my hooves, then I stabbed his side with his dagger. Next, I picked up a piece of flint and dug it into the side of his neck, drawing blood.

"Any last words?" I said, gritting my teeth.

"Yeah. Your father squealed like a pig when I stabbed him." he replied, giving me another twisted smile. I pushed the flint further into his neck. He stopped smiling.

"What the hell are you-" Before he could finish his sentence, I ripped the flint across his neck.

Blood sprayed from the mortal wound I had just caused. I stepped back, watching. He convulsed on the ground, desperately trying to stop the bleeding with his hooves. The battle behind me stopped as the Celestial Guards saw their leader bleeding out. There was a massive pool of blood around his body. The leader tried to scream for help, but instead we heard a gargling and choking noise, and still more blood rushed from his body.

He stopped trying to slow the bleeding, and after a few more twitches, his body lay still.

I dropped the flint to the ground. I heard a clattering noise as the remaining two guards threw down their weapons and surrendered. We began silently tying up the wounded Earth Pony and the Unicorn.

I went over to the remaining guard and told him, "Listen. You are going to go back to Canterlot and tell Celestia exactly what happened here. If you don't, and I find out you lied, you will suffer a fate worse than your leader over there. Understand me?" The guard gave me a weak nod, staring at the bloody corpse of his leader. He turned around and began walking back the way he came.

"Uh, Sir? What are we going to do with these bodies?" said a voice behind me.

"Leave them." I said. "The Celestial Guard can handle their own dead."

"Why the hay would you do something like this?! I was this close to getting Luna back without bloodshed, and you go out and slit the throat of the Captain of the Royal Guard!?" Ace yelled at me. He had returned from his negotiations in Canterlot, and got the news of the fight.

"I had no choice. They attacked us, and we retaliated. It's not entirely my fault that those two died." I replied calmly.

"Not your fault?! Ha! From what I hear, you were the one who offed that Pegasus and the Captain! Now we will have to deal with a full blown war!" Ace said, becoming hysterical.

"How could I have known that he was the Captain? He had armor no different than the others, no different weapon, nothing! Not only that, how could I have known that they were Royal Guard? They looked just like your average Celestials!" I replied.

"Wait... You mean that they could have set themselves up to look like regular hoof-sloggers, knowing that you would end up killing them, just so they could make us look bad and start a war?" Ace asked me.

"Well, when you put it that way, it kinda makes sense." I said, thinking.

A scroll appeared in front of me. "What do we have here?" Ace said, catching it. He opened it and began silently reading. When he was done, he threw the scroll onto the table. "Well, it appears Celestia wants to have a private audience with you. I suggest you watch your back in there. Ponies might not be so welcoming to the General who just killed a highly-esteemed official." Ace said.

I left the room, and went back to my quarters. I put on some officers clothing, then I walked out, going over to a waiting carriage. I stepped inside and told the Pegasi that would be pulling me where to go. Then, I sat down on one of the cushions and fell asleep, exhaustion from the fight finally catching up to me.

We landed smoothly. I stepped out of the carriage, feeling a bit better. The flight had taken a couple of hours, but my nap made it feel like a couple of minutes. As I began walking towards the Castle, a couple of Royal Guards stepped up and said that they would be escorting me.

When we got to the castle gates, I saw a small memorial to the two guards I had killed. The ponies gathered there gave me threatening glares as I walked by.

We stepped into the throne room. I looked up and saw that the window Ace had flown through was replaced by a different one, this one of Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon. We continued over to a large door. The guard to my right said, "When you go in, follow the staircase all the way to the top. Princess Celestia will be waiting for you. Don't try anything stupid." And with that, they turned around and left.

I opened the doors and began walking up the stairs, thinking about what would happen when I reached the top. Would Celestia try to fight me? Or is this all just a trap? Or maybe she really does want to negotiate something with me... After going up what seemed like several thousand steps, I reached the top. I looked at the large doors, wondering what awaited me inside.

I steeled myself one last time, and opened the doors.

A normal looking scene greeted me. Celestia was sitting at a table with some papers and a candle. I looked around. The room, overall, was very modest. There were some paintings hung on the walls, a few bookcases, and a large bed. the room was dimly lit. I entered, closing the doors behind me. I walked over to the table, and Celestia finally noticed my presence.

"I see you have arrived. Please, take a seat. I trust your trip was smooth?" she asked me.

"Uh, yes. It was fine." I replied. Wow... I can't believe she is being so friendly with me after I just killed the Captain of her guard.

"I hope you understand that we could be on the brink of war with each other. I would like to avoid that. So, I ask you, why did you kill Captain Cambridge?" she asked.

"His group attacked us first because we were on Equestrian territory. We were not informed of the land claim, and it was self defense." I replied.

"I can understand that. However, the report I got from the guard you sent back says that you killed Cambridge's lieutenant before killing Cambridge himself by ripping open his throat with a piece of stone. Was there not a more civilized way to handle the situation?" Celestia asked.

Damn! That was his lieutenant?! What's next, holding an Admiral and a Field Marshall prisoner? "I had a feeling you would ask that. You see, I had no idea those ponies were Royal Guard. They did not announce rank or anything of the sort." I replied.

"That is odd. But that does not answer my question of why you did what you did to Cambridge." she said. How do I explain this? There is pretty much no record of Cambridge killing my parents that I know of, aside from my ever-so-useful memory.

"Were you not aware that he killed my parents?" I asked.

"What are you talking about? There is no record of that, meaning that it is most likely a memory. If so, then I would request you let me view it." Celestia replied.

"Fine by me." I said, closing my eyes. I began to try and remember as much as I could of that night. "I'm ready."

I immediately felt another presence in my head, one that was reading my thoughts. After a few moments of reliving both the night my parents died and the fight, I opened my eyes again. "That is all I can remember." I told her.

"This does change things. I suppose revenge was a factor in the way he died?" she said.

"Yes. I let my anger get the best of me." I replied.

"I am sorry, General Thunder, but killing two ponies in their homeland is grounds for war. As much as I would love to talk this through, the family and friends of those two soldiers demand war. They are very high-ranking nobles, and thus they have control over a lot of the political system. Before you arrived, they had a vote, and... they declared war." Celestia said.

"What?! Surely there has got to be something you can do to stop this?" I asked.

"I am sorry, but I can only do so much. Even then, if I went against them more than I already have, I would be branded a traitor and exiled. Then, with those ponies bent on revenge, you'd have an even bigger war on your hooves. I was forced to support them in the decision." she said.

Always nice to know I arrived here as a sworn enemy...

"And now we come to the subject of the two prisoners you have. Sadly, I don't have any records of their rank, but the one you sent back claims that they were regulars. Can you release them?" she said.

"No."

"Why not? They have families to get back to, you know." Celestia said. "I am sorry, but since the war was started while I arrived, those ponies are our prisoners-of-war. If and only if you beat us, will they be released." I said.

"Fine." she said in return, her tone becoming hard. "As of tomorrow morning, if my soldiers see anypony outside Equestria supporting you directly with supplies or military force, they will be attacked on sight. I think I make myself clear in the notion that one of us will not be making it out of this war alive."

And it definitely won't be her...