Every morning was the same. Well, almost the same.

Scootaloo would wake up, and she’d always be sore from yesterdays training, so she’d make sure Scootaloo got a good massage to help her loosen up a bit. Then she’d help Scootaloo get her armor on, and make sure her cloak was brushed clean. Breakfast came next with the rest of the camp, but she always stayed close to her. Oatmeal and chilled apple juice, dried fruits and so on. For some reason, Scootaloo always seemed to smile more after they ate together, spending the time discussing small things. Homey things. Things that had nothing to do with war or training, or the Shadow.

Then it would be time for the daily supply drop from the Wonderbolts, always something different. Silver Spoon made it part of her job to help Berry Punch handle the invoices detailing the crates contents. Somedays it was armor and weapons, or food and other supplies, and every so often they brought a box full of toys or other creature comforts. There were notes from those in the know in Canterlot, sending their support to them.

One of those notes had been from Fancy Pants to her, informing her that her parents were alive and well in Canterlot. They were ecstatic to hear she had survived the fall of Ponyville, and had sent offers for her to come join them in the city. Offers which she had refused, even though it had hurt tremendously every time. Her place was here, and she was needed here.

After the supplies came her downtime, which she spent almost entirely acting as what Caesar Scipio had called a ‘castellan’. Which basically amounted to handling all of Scootaloo’s basic chores and making sure the little problems were solved without bothering her. She had enough to worry about without getting bugged about the latest spat between Lyra and Bon Bon, or having to bother taking the time to solve the intercamp conflicts which inevitably arose.

So she stalked about camp, cradling a clipboard in one hoof as she moved from fire to fire, camp to camp, tent to tent, and made sure those problems never became a big issue. She adjusted her glasses subtly, giving one particular griffon a stern look. “I realize things are not easy adjusting to the new command structure, Praetorian Killi. But you are far from the only one to be affected by it.” She sighed, putting on the best impression of her father in an effort to seem more ‘professional’. “So I do not want to hear about you pulling a rank you do not have on others, especially in an effort to get out of certain chores. If it happens again, I will be having words with the Caesar. Understood?”

The griffon muttered for a moment, then nodded unhappily. Silver Spoon dutifully checked his name off her list and nodded back. “The Crusader Commander appreciates your co-operation. Good day.” She turned and marched smartly away… but not before seeing the subtle stiffening of respect in the griffons face. There was not one single warrior amongst them who did not harbor an immense respect for Scootaloo, and the legends they had begun to spread about her were actually getting a trifle amusing.

She examined her list, as she always did, and was pleased to see a remarkable lack of other problems that demanded immediate attention. The new command structure was actually shaking out quite successfully, as was the new training program. She bit at the end of her quill, contemplating her next move. Normally, she’d move on to an inspection of the camp, but she did have some spare time in her schedule… No, it would be better to follow her schedule, and make the most of her time at the end of the day.

The camp had transformed under the weight of the snow that now seemed to fall every other day. Keeping the training grounds and pathways clear had become a massive undertaking, made easier only by the fact that freshly fallen snow was a valuable commodity in the form of clean drinking and bathing water. So every day, earth ponies with special shovels would gather the clean snow and take it to Zecora’s pavillion to be boiled down and then transported to wherever it was needed.

Where once the camp had been neatly segregated, now pony, griffon, and batpony alike were all mixed in together. In some cases, assigned mixed-race and mixed gender tents which had caused… well, not specifically problems but there certainly had been a lot of awkward questions for the camp’s doctors and medical specialists. It was the kind of thing that made Silver Spoon chuckle softly, realizing not for the first time in her life that adults were not much more than foals with different obsessions.

The rest of the camp didn’t need much of her attention. Zecora ran a tight operation, and so did Berry Punch. Neither of them required her to look in on them, which brought her to the focus of the camp these days. The training grounds. A massive field, artificially created by levelling dozens of trees and ploughing and then clearing the cold ground in the middle of the forest. It had been leveled and then laid with sod, creating a miniature battlefield the length of two hoofball fields, and just as wide.

Here, still before luncheon, the vast majority of the camp was locked into training drills, mock combat, and conditioning. A horde of earth ponies were galloping at a surprising speed around the field, all of them laden down in plate armor that gleamed dully in the sunlight. On the field itself, pegasi and batponies were fighting with clubs, taloned hoofboots and wing-blades in an attempt to break up each others combat formations. And as always in one corner of the field, the unicorn named Star Swirl stalked around the hoof-full of unicorns they had in the camp.

There were just about fifty of them, and they stood in a ragged formation as Star Swirl would calmly explain the theory and practice behind some sort of combat spell. A few moments later, the unicorns would spread out into pairs. One would shield, and the other would try to cast the spell. Then they’d switch off. Even Lyra, not a unicorn given to violence, had gotten skilled enough through sheer hard practice to project a pretty impressive force-shield.

And amidst them all, Scootaloo, Scipio, and Crescent Blade stalked. They watched, they judged, they spoke to one another and took notes. They directed the training and engaged in plenty of it themselves, never being afraid to do anything they demanded their soldiers did. Silver Spoon felt her lips twitch into a smile, and she quickly cantered down towards them.

Her world was nothing like it had once been. It was a world of peace, friendship, and prosperity shattered by the actions of a single madpony. She did not know how the rest of Equestria was faring now, but word was coming in that the Shadow was already bringing its own subtle and grim form of warfare to the rest of the nation. She did not know how they would return to the lives they had once known, but she did know something that set a warmth in her heart.

Scootaloo glanced up and spotted her, and a big smile crossed her face. She knew that she was becoming a better pony than she had ever been before. That no matter how dark things had gotten, she believed with all of her heart that they could win, and that they would save the ponies they’d left behind. She hoped she would be in time to save the pony she had left behind before too much harm had come to her, but even if not… even if not, Scootaloo would make certain they got revenge.

“Hey Silver! Things going well in camp, then?” Scootaloo called out, as Scipio and Crescent split off to go yell at some griffons showing a group of earth ponies how to use war-spears.

Silver gave a dimpled smile, tossing her braided mane fetchingly. “Of course. Keeping things running smoothly is what I do best.” She leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on Scootaloo’s cheek, feeling a little flutter of happiness. “Do you want anything in particular looked into? I’ve got a little extra time in my schedule today.” She kept her voice light and flirty, hoping that Scootaloo might unbend and take some spare time for herself for once…

Scootaloo’s smile was gentle, and kind of sad. “Would you mind asking Zecora if she’s got those firepot bombs ready yet? We’d like to do some testing with the pegasi and griffons, but rocks just aren’t cutting it.” She shook her head minutely. “Can’t figure out the splash on them until we see them in action.”

Silver just sighed and nodded, keeping her best professional smile on like Mom used to do when Dad was hip-deep in his business. Scootaloo chuckled softly. “The pegasi tell me we have a big snow front moving in this afternoon, so we’re actually going to be quitting early. I expect you’ll find an excuse to do the same.” There was the gentle heat, the warmth and affection that permeated Scootaloo’s voice when she was at her most ardent.

Silver’s cheeks burned, and she nodded shyly. “I’ll see to it.” She kept her voice quiet but firm, and did a bit of scribbling on her list. There really wasn’t much else for her to worry about today anyway, if there was going to be a snowstorm later. “Will that be all, Crusaders?” She arched an eyebrow at Crescent and Scipio, both of whom were grinning in amusement.

Scootaloo laughed and waved her off, and the other two followed with a pair of affirmative nods. Silver sighed and made a quick note. She loved Scootaloo dearly, but those two were a bad influence on her. But she wasn’t too worried. She knew, somehow, that Scootaloo had not been placed in charge because of some kind of need for a figurehead. No. Whatever had happened on that bridge had changed things between them.

So she picked up her hooves and kept to the trot. The winter would not last forever, and they would need to make sure absolutely everything was ready. And… and if there was time, to make enough memories to last her a lifetime.

Just in case.

“The Training Grounds is as much a theatre of war as any other. It is here that skills are honed in bloodless battle, so that when true combat is joined, it is more likely that you shall be the victor, rather than the vanquished.” Caesar Scipio paused, clasping his talons behind him. “Caesar Hawkwing said that, shortly before he launched his final campaign against the Dark Sun. He knew, as we now know, that experience in battle will only carry you so far.” He nodded once, decisively. “Now. Before we wrap today, we shall be practicing our combined charge. Major Time Turner will be commanding our ground forces. Major Talonrend will command the sky. I shall maintain overall command, but I expect to not need to step in. Form up!”

The combined pony and griffon forces dispersed towards the field, and Scipio Grifficanus glared up into the sky. He hated early snowstorms interrupting his training schedule. Still, a rest for a day or so would likely not go amiss. “You’re driving them like Legionaries, brother.” Gilda’s voice came quietly into his ear, causing it to twitch. “We can’t turn them into that in just a few months, no matter what we do. They’re not fighters.”

Scipio grunted. “They have seen the smallest amongst them take on a seasoned and dangerous enemy commander. They will become warriors, if only to salve their pride.” Gilda had been driving him quite a lot lately. More and more, she was becoming like the advisor her position demanded, and more and more he was finding himself irritated and frustrated as much as he was thankful for her presence. “We should get to the observation tower. I want to see if they can hold a tight formation.” He quickly took off into the air, hoping to catch her unawares enough that she’d fall behind… but she anticipated him perfectly, of course.

Ugh. Siblings.

The stout wooden tower at least had a roof, and getting under it after countless hours of being snowed upon was a nice thing indeed. Gilda landed right next to him, and ruffled the snow off her feathers. “You gonna talk to me, shithead, or am I going to have to keep bugging you?” The vulgarity might have shocked him once upon a time, but after the last few months he’d actually gotten used to it. So he continued to stolidly ignore her, focusing on the troops forming up on the field. Really, it was quite impressive how far they’d already come- “Maybe I need to go talk to your little freak of a boss about your probl-”

Scipio’s patience snapped instantly, and turned in a whirl. His talons snapped out and grabbed his sister by the throat without so much as an actual thought, his voice cold and hard. “You will retract that statement, little sister. Right. Now.” And a moment later, he released her as his mind finally caught up with his knee jerk and felt a bolt of cold shock going through him. So much so that he actually forgot his formal speech for once. “I… Oh, shit. Gilda, I’m-”

“Shutup.” She grumbled and rubbed at her neck, glaring at him. “Don’t you dare fuckin’ apologize. Drop the fuckin’ act, Scip.” She smacked his shoulder, hard with a fisted talon and glared at him. “You’ve been running on full blown commander mode for months now. You haven’t let yourself relax since Roam, and you’re gonna lose your shit if you don’t talk.” She grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it to the point of pain.

He took a deep breath, giving one glance to the field before… “I miss father.” It was a hard thing to say. A harder thing to even admit, especially in front of Gilda. “I… Do you remember in school, when they told us all about the ancient wars?” He sat down next to the railing, staring out onto the field to watch six or seven different races of being fighting and standing alongside one another. “About the pride of the Empire, how it had never submitted to any foreign rule, and how independant our lords were?”

Gilda nodded a little, hunkering down next to him and watching him exclusively. “Look at them, Gilda.” He half whispered, gripping the crude wooden railing. “Have you ever seen such a magnificent sight? Griffon, Pony, Donkey and more. There are no flags of any nation out there. No borders or boundaries. They are brothers not by soil or blood, but by a common bond. And what will become of them, when this conflict is over?”

Gilda blinked at him, her eyes going a touch wider in shock. Scipio himself took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “The world will never be the same as it was, Gilda. Too much blood has already been spilled. Too much has been lost.” He hung his head and sighed heavily. “There will need to be a new world after this one. We will need to throw off the past, if we are to have any hope of a future.”

She stared at him, almost rigid with shock. He smiled back at her, and felt a little warmth in her chest. “When all of this has ended, and we are victorious, I intend to change the world, Sister. There will be no more wars between our races.” He stood, and turned to see the glorious charge of so many races of the world, united in purpose. It was a glorious sight. The kind of sight that would have moved lesser griffons to tears. “It is Ironic. Our foe seeks to make the world as one, and in so doing, she will unite it against her.”

Gilda’s voice was soft. “And what about you, Scip?” Her talons gripped his shoulder firmly, and he did not wince away. She was all he had now. “What’s going to happen to you?”

He turned and placed his own mailed talons upon hers, and smiled. “I am the Caesar, sister. I will manage.” Then he turned back, and felt a surge of warmth as Gilda stepped up alongside him. “And once this is over… I will mourn.” He said, just so she could hear. She nodded. The charge came to an end, and all of the creatures down in the valley gave off a triumphant cheer.

As the night began to fall, the gentle snowflakes were like a wonder as they flitted about the air and fell to the ground. Each was a singular wonder, like a mortal life, each unique and special, floating along as fate demanded… until they fell to join their companions upon the ground, forming the base for those that were to come. Snow was a wonder to Crescent Blade, for her part of the Kingdoms never experienced such weather unless the Empress decreed it, and she had not done so in the years since Blade had come to the Royal Court.

Certainly it was cold, but cold was not a thing that bothered her any longer. Tsukiyomi’s warmth and power flowed through her veins, and warded her body from the elements. And so she walked through the camp, from beacon to beacon of light and flames, ever seeking those who needed her council. Some had been the mysterious and warlike Griffons, and others the more humble and peaceful Equestrian ponies.

They were so very much like the legends had said. Good, solid, honest ponies who simply wished to live their lives in peace and prosperity. They were so unsettled by the horrors of this war, that all of their understanding of the world had vanished into nothingness… and so they had turned to her. Some had called her a calm amidst the storm, and she had told many of them of the power of the divine Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi. Some had looked aghast at the idea of treating their Princesses in such a way, and others… Others had seen it as a new, guiding light upon the world.

And then… There was her.

She stood as she always did, silent sentinel upon a ridge, with only a small but very warm fire to soothe her. The fire itself was a concoction of the Zebrican, and was made from some strange alchemy that burned very hot and very long. Yet no snow ever settled there, vanishing into nothingness from the flame’s power, and yet somehow one could sit next to it and it would feel no warmer than a good hearth. The young warrior wore her thickest cloak in this weather, and the warm padding from her armor as she stared silently into the snowfall. “May I join you, young warrior?” She asked quietly, as she always did.

And as always, the young pony nodded once and then scooted over a bit to make room by the fire. They sat together for a moment, admiring the forces of nature that whorled around them, before the young one spoke. “How’s the camp doing, Crescent?” Scootaloo turned to her, her eyes slightly darkened and weary.

Crescent spoke calmly, keeping herself serene in spite of her worry for the little one. “Things are well. When the snow finally ends, we will be ready to face our foe head on.” She shifted in place, resettling her blades upon her back before speaking again. “My concern is for you, however. You have not confided in any of us, Scootaloo, and Scipio and I worry for you and your health.”

Scootaloo snorted faintly. “Like I’m not the only one here who isn’t talking to other ponies about my worries.” She eyeballed Crescent in a rather cynical sort of way. “You’re pretty tight lipped yourself.”

Crescent Blade shrugged a little, then half smiled. “That is true. Even if it is an uncomfortable truth.” She sighed, and wondered how she could get the poor warrior to unburden herself. Perhaps… “I worry for what is to come. Many here think that they will survive the battle that we prepare to fight, and few indeed understand the possibility of death.”

Scootaloo sighed faintly, and nodded herself. “Yeah… I’ve been seeing that too, but what can we do? We need them to believe that if they fight with everything they’ve got, they can get through this. Otherwise…” She lifted a hoof and flopped it to her side. “Everything we’ve done isn’t going to mean bupkis.”

Crescent nodded, and extended a hoof to wrap around the young filly’s shoulder. One so young should not have to bear burdens so terrible… And yet, she had heard of the young one’s story. It was one that would be fit for a Ki-lin legend. A child, bereft of her closest companions, takes up the weapons and arms of her kinfolk and sets out to right the wrongs. It was enough to make Crescent smile faintly at the mental image… Perhaps I should… yes, she might like that.

Storing the thought away for later, she squeezed faintly. “It is never easy commanding such soldiers, yet I know you are correct.” She shook her head and tried to convey as much comfort as she could to Scootaloo’s wounded spirit. “You will not lead us astray, young Crusader. I am certain of it.”

Scootaloo seemed to take a little warmth from that, straightening up and nodding. “I suppose I’ve got to believe in that, or else I’m just going to hide under my bed.” She laughed faintly, and scrubbed at her eyes. Silence fell between them for several long minutes as she did so, and Crescent projected all of the confidence in her that she could. When Scootaloo spoke again, her voice was rough. “I miss them so much.” She whispered. “They were… they were my best friends in the world, and I couldn’t do anything…”

Crescent gently pressed her hoof to Scootaloo’s mouth. “I have heard of your tale, young one. You did what any wise warrior would have done, when faced with a dark foe she knew nothing about.” She turned Scootaloo to face her, and put on her most determined look. “You will avenge the harm done to them, little warrior. Within you is a spirit my kin would be proud to call their own, and when you are victorious, we shall celebrate it together by forging you a blade befitting you.”

Scootaloo blinked at her, then laughed softly. “You’re a strange pony, Crescent Blade but… you know, that sounds pretty awesome.” She lifted her hoof, and gently bumped it against hers. “That’s a promise. We’ll see this through together.”

Crescent nodded at her once, and then turned… then.. “This next one… It’s going to be bad, isn’t it.” That was not a question, but Crescent Blade nodded anyway at Scootaloo’s assertions. She sighed faintly, then spoke firmly. “I need you to get me ready. You and Scipio and Star Swirl. When this winter is over, I need to be a commander fit to lead these ponies. I need to fight just as hard as any of them, young filly or not. I need to be worthy of it.”

Crescent paused, and a warm blossom of happiness bid fair to burst out of her chest. “Spoken like a Samurai.” Crescent said softly, and Scootaloo looked at her with puzzlement. She laughed faintly. “We have much to teach you then, little one. But I promise you, when the time comes to join in battle once again… you shall do the memory of the ones you love proud.”

She rose from her seat and turned, smiling all the while. “I shall see you in the morning, Crusader.” And she took her leave from the fire. There was a war to come, and to win, and more than that… there was a tale, fit for the greatest of bards, to complete. A familiar tale, perhaps, but one she was happy to play a part in none the less.

Of the young warrior, the wise teacher, and the dark demon to slay.

Amber liquid poured into two crystal glasses on the table, before the dark bottle was stoppered by unicorn magic and set to one side. “You are a capable student, I shall give you that.” Muttered Star Swirl the Bearded, pushing the tumbler glass over to the unicorn on the other side of the table. “So I shall confide in you something very special, and very secret.” The unicorn on the other side of the table nodded, and took the glass with a touch of telekinetic magic. “There is a way to save her,” He began roughly, his eyes sparkling in the dim light. “But if I am to be successful, I will need aid.”

The blue unicorn nodded once, and lifted her glass. “I owe Twilight Sparkle a debt, old man.” She growled softly, her eyes like living flame in the dark. Star Swirl couldn’t help but smile… it was clear she hated owing that debt, and probably hated even more the emotions it conjured in her. “So tell the Great and Powerful Trixie what you need her to do.” She finished, pounding back the alcohol, and leaning over the table fiercely.

If she hadn’t kept her hat tipped low over her eyes, Star Swirl knew he would have seen the tears in them.

Author's Notes:

The ending is coming. Possibly in the next chapter.