Dreary. If asked to sum up Equestria in a single word, Corvalix mused glumly, it would be 'dreary'. The cold was omnipresent and seemed to care little for the warmth of winter clothing or armor, with a wind chill that cut to the bone and made his teeth chatter. Staying on the move or in the midst of combat had managed to keep him somewhat warm up until now, but standing around and waiting for Elinwynn to return from her little excursion had tossed that particular bit of joy right out. A row of staked torches set up along the officers' line provided little in the way of comfort. What he wouldn't have given for the roar of a campfire! As soon as Canterlot Castle was his, he would have his orderlies arrange the most wondrous crackling fire in the throne room's no-doubt opulent hearth.

And then there was the company. His newest subjects had been infuriatingly persistent in their attempts to kill him, the ungrateful whelps. They were entirely unsuccessful, of course -- Equestrians lacked anything remotely resembling precision -- yet they kept throwing bodies at him. Perhaps they thought to crush him under the weight of their dead. At least they would have served some sort of purpose then.

And so he'd dutifully stood his ground, watching more formations of deer crash into yet more formations of ponies in a tiring display. It was only a matter of time, really. Equestrian 'elites', if one could call them that, held the ground between the castle itself and the three entrance gates at the bottom of the low hill. They had been losing ground slowly but steadily for what felt like hours, with only a determined final line keeping him from his ultimate prize. With the magically enhanced trebuchets now in place there was little the ponies could do to keep him from pummeling the entire area into rubble. It might not have been the most efficient or the quickest way of doing things, but it was working.

His confusion, then, had been understandably great when he'd received word from one of Elinwynn's personal messengers: cease the assault immediately. Pull all forces back. Wait for further orders.

Disengaging? On the very cusp of victory? He'd fumed at the idea of it. Madness, that's what it was.

Now he waited impatiently for his sister to return from wherever it was she'd gone off to. The Exemplars had done a fine job setting up a defensive ring of shields and were not faltering in following their orders despite the occasional loss to continued Equestrian weapons. It seemed the ponies were taking their time halting their barrage. Savages.

"She had better have a damned good reason for this," he said aloud, not caring if the others heard him. He doubted they would disagree, and doubly so that they would say anything themselves. The citizens of the Cervidaen Hegemony rightly feared her might when she was in the best of moods; the 'new' Empress Elinwynn was something else entirely, a creature of absolute determination and ruthless efficiency. He'd stared into her eyes and seen nothing but hatred -- even for him. Perhaps especially for him. He hoped that the glimmer potion's effects were temporary, for if the dark magic took control of her...

He touched the blade at his side. No, such a thought would not do. Taking Equestria and bringing Celestia to her knees came first. He'd worry about the rest later.

"Brother-General, the Empress approaches," one of the Exemplar officers said. Corvalix stepped up on top of a rock for a better view, finding her just as she was emerging from between a row of partially destroyed buildings to the east. The does of the Imperial Protectorate flanked her on either side, antlers lit up with magic just waiting to be unleashed should a threat emerge. A contingent of Exemplars led the way and formed an impenetrable circle around her. Several of them stopped at a street corner and shouted something, waving their forelegs as if ordering a squad to pick up the pace.

"Well now, this is an interesting development..."

A seemingly endless procession of ponies followed in Elinwynn's wake. They wore the trappings of commoners and the well-to-do alike, jammed together shoulder to shoulder under heavy guard. Mares, stallions, foals -- there appeared to be no end to them. Where in the world they had come from, and what Elinwynn planned to do with them, was a mystery. No one had seen a single civilian in the city since the battle had started, and it was assumed that they'd been evacuated further south to harsher climes. How peculiar.

A flicker of motion caught his attention, and a doe in blue armor appeared just off to his side with a sudden crack of magical energy.

"Greetings, Brother-General," she said politely. "The Empress wishes to express her gratitude at your quick response to her order. Rest assured that she is well aware of the ramifications of such an action."

Corvalix wasn't so sure. "I have needlessly lost several bucks to this decision, Sister-Magii. Every moment that we pause is another moment for the ponies to regroup. I trust my sister has proper justification for a tactically unsound move."
The doe looked at him as if he'd suddenly grown a second head. "Of course she has. Our Empress is as wise as she is powerful. Do you doubt her resolve?"

Are you disobedient?

The magii might not have said so directly, but he'd heard the threat all the same. In that moment he wanted to lash out at her for daring to ask such a thing of him. A mere magii making a threat on the brother of the Empress? A passing glimpse of Elinwynn's emotionless facade convinced him to swallow those words back down. She looked at him for only a moment, as if her gaze could burn a hole through him, and continued past without a word.

"I am confident in my sister's abilities, but it is quite unwise to give up the momentum of advance," he said to the magii. Why wouldn't she just take his word for it and leave already? What was she waiting for? "I am sure, however, that we can regain it should such a thing become necessary. The Equestrians are on the back hoof, and my armies look to their Empress for courage. Sacrifices are a necessity at times. They understand this. Tell my dear sister that I await further orders."

The doe disappeared without a further word, leaving him to simmer in silence. He would not have to wait long to find out what Elinwynn had in store for the peoples of Canterlot.

"Praetorians, front!"

Tercio snapped to attention and spun on his heel, aligning himself with the rest of Celestia's personal detail in a half-circle formation in front of her. A disquieting silence filled the entrance hall that had only moments ago been the scene of destruction and death, leaving only the crackling of torches and the breathing of the others around him, for all of the remaining Praetorians had filed out onto the castle grounds and now stood ramrod straight behind what remained of the mixed Equestrian units that eyed the unmoving deer wearily. The injured had been dragged away to the inner reaches of the castle itself where they might find temporary safety behind its walls under apothecary care, while the dead had been left where they lie. The smell of blood was everywhere, a metallic tang that mixed with the settling dust and swirled on the cold wind that blew in from the gaping hole in the foyer wall.

Ahead, Imperator-General Stonewall peered outside. He had said little since passing on Elinwynn's word. No doubt he resented the very idea of being used as a glorified messenger, and he had made it exceedingly clear that he did not want to expose the princess to any sort of danger. Let her use a mediator, he'd suggested. He would volunteer himself, if need be.

But Celestia had been insistent that she speak with the empress face to face. "I will not hide myself any further," she'd said, leading a short but intense deliberation between them. At some point Sanguine Citrus had been summoned, only to gallop away a short time later. Now the princess stood behind her squad with a look of determination, mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

"Looks like it's clear," Stonewall said, taking his place beside her. The glimmering cloak across his back caused muted, shifting patterns of light to play off the walls and ceiling like stars in the night sky. "We're ready whenever you are, Princess."

There was no hesitation as she stepped forward.

"Keep your wits about you, lads," Polaris said one last time. "If there is even the slightest hint of trouble we will retreat and make all speed for the armory."

For what good that will do, Tercio thought. Stonewall had said Elinwynn knew all about the fall-back point, and no doubt she had bucks watching it even now.

The scene that greeted them was as grisly a thing as they'd ever seen. Bodies were everywhere, tossed about like wilted petals. They were draped over barriers, piled at the base of watch towers, strewn along the ground from the castle gate all the way up the path to the last line of Equestrian defense. Ponies, deer, zebras -- hundreds of them, perhaps more. And yet, Tercio saw, the deer still outnumbered them in living soldiers. A vast formation of them stretched from the barricade line to the bottom of the hill, where still more waited along the roads of the city.

The squad came to a halt less than thirty paces from the bulk of the Cervidaen army, behind twin lines of battle-weary Royal Guard and first-line Praetorian stallions. Nearly all appeared to be injured, and hardly any of them could claim bloodless armor, be it their own or the enemy's. Much of the same could be said for the redtail and whitetail bucks across the way. Those closest wore the darker greens of the Exemplars, and though marred by combat they stood tall and proud. The rank and file waited just behind them, less disciplined and more willing to show signs of fatigue. Many were breathing heavily or winced in pain at fresh wounds that had been hastily bandaged. A final group of Imperial Protectorate and magii does stood watch over the beating twin hearts of the Cervidaen Hegemony -- Elinwynn and Corvalix. They exchanged unheard words as Celestia looked them over.

Corvalix appeared far worse off than his sister and was nearly as filthy as the bucks before him, though his phoenix feather-topped helm was immaculate as ever. Many of the Equestrians had formed a sort of begrudging respect for him, murderous though his reputation was, for he was quite willing to throw himself into the fray when the situation called for it. Any one of them would have happily thrust a spear through his heart given the first chance, but at least he was willing to fight as an officer should. That was not to say he was above using the lesser ranks, especially the whitetail, as fodder for Equestrian blades. He'd shown as much time and again, and with the fight moving to the castle grounds he'd taken on a decidedly more passive role.

Elinwynn, however, had not a speck of dust on her. The air itself could have been said to glow in her presence, and arcs of magical energy flitted from prong to prong of her distinctive antlers. Her sapphire-blue armor had been partially covered with a silvery cloak held in place by a small sword-shaped pin over Cervidae's crest. She stood confidently, proudly, but there was more to it than that.

Celestia had to conceal the shiver of surprise that washed over her. Elinwynn's latent power had grown immensely since they'd last spoken a mere half-day ago, to the point that it was akin to staring into a spell made flesh. It was unnatural and wrong-feeling in so many ways...almost like the same power she'd felt in Luna. There could be no doubt about it: dark magic was at play here, unbridled and pure. Elinwynn had truly become the antithesis of everything Celestia strived for.

The tension in the air was palpable. Equestrian soldiers expected some sort of underhoofed trickery to make itself known at any moment, and with so many frayed nerves and tired bodies it would take very little to ignite the flames of all-out combat one last time.

The Equestrian lines parted as Celestia stepped forward under the protection of her Praetorian squad. It was time to put an end to this war, one way or another.

Canterlot was far larger than it looked. Of that much Caethil was convinced. It had been slow going through the abandoned, winding streets once he and his bucks had left the open spaces and opulent mansions of the trade district, with buildings quickly closing in from either side and paved stone roads giving way to dirt paths and detritus from the evacuation. In truth he felt a great sense of unease as he passed abandoned shops and wayward food carts, as if everyone had suddenly vanished. Stray dogs and cowering rats darting into hideaways were the only other living things for block after block.

"Brother-Captain! Brother-Captain, sir!" a scout said from a rooftop as loudly as he dared. Caethil held out a hoof to stop the band of loyalists that followed behind him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Something's changed. I think you'll want to see this." The scout beckoned him over, and Caethil found a stairway leading to the roof of the multi-level building on the corner, a combination shop and home that had been left in disarray when its owner had up and left.

What struck him first was that the bright barrier was now gone. He doubted that was a good sign. He scanned the castle grounds, able to see more detail now, and could hardly believe his eyes. The redtail had stopped advancing entirely and had instead adopted what appeared to be three-layered defensive line stretching from the large frontal lawn all the way down to the closest parts of the city. What little remained of Equestria's armies was bunched up near a gaping hole torn in the castle's entrance. Front and center stood a taller figure clad in golden armor; Celestia, no doubt. That was likely not a good sign. Directly across from her, in dark blue trappings that blended with the night, Elinwynn waited.

"I don't like it, sir. They wouldn't have stopped fighting without a damned good reason," the Brother-Sergeant said. Knowing Corvalix like he did Caethil doubted the royal brats were much for mercy, especially after a prolonged battle. No, something had gone wrong, and it likely wasn't for the deer. "What do you think?"

"I think we need to redouble our efforts. The redtail aren't in the habit of half-measures, and the ponies certainly weren't winning this particular fight."

"Then the redtail must have something decisive hidden away."

Caethil nodded slowly, watching the two leaders approach each other. He could not shake the sense of dread that came over him. "So it would seem." He departed for the road immediately after, with the other in tow. "We need to stay hidden for now, but I want to be within striking distance should things take a turn for the worse again."

"What if the ponies capitulate?"

It certainly felt like a possibility. At this point, perhaps even an inevitability. "Then I imagine we'll be meeting the ancestors in short order, Brother-Sergeant."

"More wounded coming in!" An apothecary dragged a severely injured stallion behind him on a pair of stitched-together cloaks. The pegasus moaned in pain and thrashed with every bump and rock along the way. "Easy, lad, we're almost there."

Dirty, pink-tinted snow marked where the forest path led to a clearing that now served as the Equestrian Guard's impromptu camp. All along the rough treeline a shield wall had been erected, with those who were uninjured or still able to fight making up as thorough of a defense as they could manage. The clearing was packed to the brim with survivors of the valley's redtail breakthrough, and although their supplies were limited they had managed to set up enough tents to keep the most severely wounded out of the harsh, sudden winter night.

Standard-Commander Eradaxis met the apothecary half-way to the field medicae post. Battered but still capable, the former Whitetail officer had taken it upon himself to help in any way he could. The wall of force that had upended Equestria's defenses at the entrance of the Coriander Road had left the entire army in disarray, and in short order the line had turned into an utter rout. The redtail had given chase for a time, cutting down those they caught yet being careful not to let the ponies flank them, before falling back to a more permanent position to cover the bulk of the Cervidaen army's advance towards the city itself.

Something resembling order had taken hold of the stallions once it had become clear that the redtail weren't interested in chasing them through thick forest. It was a small blessing. At the very least, they could tend to the wounded and regroup into a cohesive unit once more.

"Tents four and six have space available, but only just," Eradaxis said, helping pull the wounded pony. The gash along his shoulder burned every time he moved, though thankfully it had stopped bleeding. For whatever faults the Equestrians may have had their medicine was second to none.

A pair of soldiers stepped aside to let the trio through, then immediately closed the gap once more. The smell of winterberry tea brewing in a large pot nearby was intoxicating. Ponies and zebras gathered around the cooking fire for warmth, along with a few whitetail, having long since given up caring about letting the smoke give away their position. If the redtail wanted to find them, there was little they could do about it now.

The aroma was quickly replaced by the stench of the dead and dying as the row of medicae tents grew closer. Compared to the main encampment it was an oddly quiet place despite the numerous healers and their orderlies rushing about. It had been much louder, Eradaxis noted dourly, just a few hours ago. No one had the strength left within them to cry out in their final moments. Those fortunate enough to not be in mortal danger had been wrapped up as warmly as possible and left to suffer in silence. There just weren't enough apothecaries to go around after the damned redtail had made it a point to target them specifically during the final phase of the attack. The very idea of killing those who had pledged only to care for others was sickening; the redtail had no such qualms, it seemed.

With the aid of a few others he hefted the injured pony onto an impromptu operating slate made of tied-together branches wrapped in fabric. It would have to do for now.

"Thank you for your help, whitetail," the apothecary said. He was a wiry unicorn with a long mane of light blue that spilled over one side of his white healer's robe that had been smeared with blood in numerous places. Dark bags under his eyes spoke to the hours of worry and frantic action he'd undergone.

"I am simply doing what I can to make myself useful," Eradaxis responded.

The apothecary wasted no time getting to work on the unfortunate pony, levitating a bowl of hot water and a tattered rag from a small enchanted flame. A brief touch of his horn put his patient into a deep sleep while a set of surgeon's tools floated from a pouch at his side. "Not nearly as many coming in now," he said as he operated on a badly lacerated foreleg. "The cold has likely claimed its share of the casualties. Things must have grown rather dire for the princess to lower the sun so suddenly."

Eradaxis thought that was a severe understatement. "You saw part of the city fall, just as I did. I do not think 'dire' begins to describe such a thing."

"True, true...but it's not as if we can do anything about it from here."

He took a drink from his water pouch while the apothecary focused intently on cleaning and stitching up a deep cut. What he wouldn't have given to sally forth one more group of soldiers to attack the redtail head-on, cutting into their column of reinforcements and supplies with the fury of a scorned nation. Such a thing was laughable at best now. Cervidae's forces were numerous and fought decisively, and he? Well, he was just an old stag with a meaningless honorific. From a leader of Evinwiir's wall-top defenses to a glorified runner for a bunch of ponies with little hope of victory...fate was certainly strange.

"I'm going to need more bandages, whitetail. Can you check with the others for me?" the apothecary asked without looking up from his work.

At least he was doing something of worth, Eradaxis thought, however small its part.

A gust of frigid wind howled through Canterlot, whipping the green and orange flames of still-burning segments of the city. Their light glowed like an aurora in the distance, an otherworldly backdrop to the meeting of the known world's two most revered and powerful leaders.

"I do so hate awkward silences. Staring one another down like a pair of arena combatants is such a trite thing to do, wouldn't you agree, Princess?" Elinwynn giggled almost innocently, a smile staying on her face as she brushed a bit of blown ash from her armor. Beside her, brandishing a Cervidaen flag, Corvalix remained silent. "We keep meeting under such unfortunate circumstances. Here you are, surrounded by the charred remains of your once 'mighty' kingdom, protected by little more than the wounded and the zealous, and still you persist in this meaningless resistance. Come now, I am sure you can be reasonable."

Celestia said nothing in return, for she was entirely focused on trying to locate the civilians that had allegedly been found out. She swept her gaze over the city streets and between buildings, finding nothing but waiting deer. Stonewall had passed on word of Elinwynn's warning, saying that he'd been utterly convinced that she was not bluffing, and yet they were nowhere to be seen. Were they all being kept in the tunnels? Or was Elinwynn bluffing? She decided to hold her tongue on the matter until she could be sure.

"As expected," Elinwynn said. "You have so much to say when menial matters of the state are at hoof, yet you pretend to be the strong silent type when the future of Equestria is at stake. Do you truly not see? The integration of the pony lands into the greater Cervidaen Hegemony -- excuse me, the 'Ochrourus Collective,'" she laughed, "will be a cause for celebration. Your people will prosper as never before, your coffers will overflow with silver and gold, your markets will offer the finest fruits and vegetables...and all I ask is that you swallow your pride and bend the knee."

"I would never bow to you," Celestia said, taking a step forward. "Don't you dare speak to me as if you're Equestria's saving grace. We are all too aware of what happens to those who are shown the 'mercy' of Cervidae." River Run, Farrow Fields, Far Port, Taendryll...not to mention the burning of much of Evinwiir under her brother's lead.

Elinwynn brushed off the comment without so much as a shrug. "I will admit that sacrifices are sometimes necessary. If I must make an example of one or two subjects to keep the others in line then I will gladly do so, and you may call me a monster for it if you wish, but you are far worse than I could ever dream of being. How many thousands have died for you this day after it became apparent that there is no hope of victory? Look around you, Princess. Your rule has brought nothing but death and ruination to so many ponies. Ponies you claim to stand for, to rule over from on high, as if your long life gives you the wisdom of the ancestors."

"They are dead because of your warmongering and lust for power," Celestia bit back. "You should be ashamed of what you've done. Not even your callous mother would have been so delusional as to think throwing three nations into an unjustified war would be beneficial for her people."

"My mother was a beloved and respected doe," Elinwynn retorted. "You know nothing of her."

"Your mother was a manipulative tyrant who dreamed of conquest above all else," Celestia said dismissively. "The only reason she didn't invade Whitetail en masse was because she knew it would throw Cervidae into chaos." She could still see the old Empress' face, the same self-satisfied smirk that had been a constant for generations of redtail rulers. How infuriating she had been, just like her mother and grandmother before her. Cervidae never changed, and neither did its royalty.

"I had such high hopes for you, Elinwynn. Once in a while you even surprised me with how open you were to negotiations that genuinely benefited both of our peoples. It would seem that hope was misplaced. You're nothing but a liar and a glory-seeking murderous excuse of a ruler who desperately wants to escape the shame of your lineage. I can only wonder how you would have turned out had your mother not given in to such base desires and lain with her own kin."

There was a quiet unease that went through the nearby deer. None of them dared to say anything, but it was there all the same. She took the opportunity to prod just a bit further.

"I'm sure her uncle quite enjoyed having a young doe to raise his fawns. Of course, he never cared to show the slightest hint of compassion, did he? Perhaps that is why she had him murdered in the end."

"My father was a strong stag, and he died in my mother's grasp in the throes of illness!" Elinwynn shouted. The whites of her eyes became tinged with black at their edges. "You would call me disgusting yet you dare to accuse my family of incest and cowardice in front of my own soldiers!"

Elinwynn struggled against something unseen. The wisps of smoke wafting from the corners of her eyes grew as dark as the night sky, and she shook her head as she mumbled something to herself.

"Spare me your wounded act, Elinwynn. 'Cowardice' would be putting things far too lightly. In fact, I'd say it's not nearly strong enough of a word to describe your repulsive idea of twisting my own sister's betrayal to start this war in the first place." The memory of that fateful night was just as painful now as it had been nearly a year ago, and try though she might she could not keep the heart ache at bay. It took everything she had to keep from showing tears. "I loved Luna with all of my heart, Elinwynn. But you? You've never loved anyone in your life." She looked to Corvalix. "Not even your own brother. He only fights beside you because he fears you, just like everyone else in your dying nation."

She expected Corvalix to speak up for himself, to defend the honor of his sister, but he said nothing still.

"You haven't the slightest--" Elinwynn started, only to be interrupted before she could finish.

"You are a pathetic, inept, self-serving doe who cares only for herself. Just like every other Cervidaen empress I've had the misfortune of knowing." From deep within Celestia could feel herself beginning to lose control of her calm demeanor, but perhaps just this once she would not stop herself. She welcomed it, let it rise to the surface and fuel her words. "You kill my people -- my friends -- in your blood lust. You murder innocent whitetail to start an unjust war under the guise of my banished sister and sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands, deer and pony alike, to make yourself seem strong when nothing could be further from the truth. And for what? Some misguided sense of revenge for an act of loyalty and good will by my father centuries ago? Cervidae never suffered because of Equestria! It suffered because your family's history is naught but cruelty and incompetence!"

The front row of deer took a half step back as Celestia's horn glowed bright yellow. The magii immediately took an alert stance, gathering magic around their antlers and watching her intently. In that moment Celestia felt an intense urge to simply let her raw power unleash itself, wild and uncontrolled, as she had once before, and her heart quickened when she stared down the magii who thought to protect their empress.

I could crush you, she thought without a care. Who were they to believe they could hold a candle to her power? She could end things, right here and now, in a torrent of scorching light, and no one could hope to stop her! Many years ago the deer had thought to test her will by throwing Secundus at her, and now they believed themselves invincible yet again.

Elinwynn was entirely unfazed. Although she had managed to calm herself, at least outwardly, the telltale signs of dark magic remained. "Temper, temper, Princess. Before you do something regrettable I must remind you that I am in the one in who holds all of the advantages in this little...negotiation of ours. I would thank you to avoid any actions that would be untoward. More to the point, so would your beloved ponies. Or have you forgotten about them, like so many others who look to you as their would-be savior?"

"Where are they?" Celestia demanded, clamping down on her anger lest it control her. "If you so much as harmed a single one of them..."

"Well now, that would be telling, wouldn't it? Rest assured that they are under the care of my best magii, and not a one has had even a hair on their pretty little heads touched. There were a few stallions -- I believe they would be from your Legion, yes? -- who insisted upon fighting against unwinnable odds, however. While I commend them for their skill in combat their lives were ultimately thrown away for nothing. A rather tragic if admittedly 'honorable' end, if I may say so."

An entire squad of her most loyal and well-trained soldiers, now little more than passing words from a heartless monarch.

"With that in mind, let us begin our mediation in earnest; and please, do not think to try my patience." The sparkling green of her eyes grew faded and opaque. When she next spoke her voice was unnaturally coarse, like pebbles crunching under hoof. "I am being far more merciful than you deserve, oh great Equestrian goddess."

A chill went down Celestia's spine. "You speak as if your campaign has not been one of pointless violence and unjustified aggression. I know what you want, and so long as I draw breath you shall not have it."

"Strong words from one with her back to the wall and her wretched serfs under my total control." Elinwynn's voice fluctuated unnaturally, sometimes sounding as if two souls were speaking at once. Though he had tried arduously to conceal his reaction, showing little more than a twitch of an almost-taken step to the side, Corvalix was plainly disquieted by his sister. Sensing an opportunity Celestia addressed him directly.

"And what about you, Brother-General Corvalix? You have said nothing thus far, yet you are ostensibly the second most influential deer in Cervidae. Have you nothing to add to this 'negotiation'?"

"I do not," he answered.

"The future of countless thousands hangs in the balance, yet you refuse to contribute anything of meaning. How very typical. I had hoped you would be different from the stags that came before you, but in the end you are nothing more than the puppet of a bloodthirsty empress. Just like all the others."

He bristled at her words. It seemed she had hit a nerve.

"You'll forgive me," Celestia continued, "if I had expected more. I had assumed you were someone who understood that respect is earned, not given, even amongst siblings. Do you believe Elinwynn respects you, Corvalix?"

"That's enough!" Elinwynn shouted in a booming voice, a sudden surge of magic arcing over and between her antlers. "No more of this game! I could destroy your entire city, your entire nation, brick by brick! I could salt your fields and burn your crops at a whim, yet you refuse to see reason!" She stomped forward until she was mere steps away. Soldiers on both sides went into a sudden ready stance, weapons out and shields up.

"The only reason I have not done so is because these lands will soon be mine, and your precious ponies may yet serve a purpose under my rule. Your armies are defeated, your people trapped, your cities empty. Bow before me, Celestia, and save what few lives remain." In a burst of midnight magic Elinwynn's corrupted eyes changed once more, her pupils becoming vertical slits against oval irises, like those of a hunting dragon, suspended in fields of ashen grey-green. Elinwynn gritted her teeth against some unseen pain, but never took her unyielding stare off of Celestia for even half a breath.

"I will state this plainly: surrender Equestria to me, or lose everything you have ever held dear."

Celestia's memory flashed to Luna, to the cruelty that she had inflicted upon her own loyal soldiers in such a short time under the corrupting influence that she had given herself to, and she could not find the words to answer.

"Don't listen to her!" someone shouted. She turned to find Stonewall marching up to her side, a spear tucked against his armor. His enchanted cloak glittered with an inner light like metal flakes catching the mid-day sun. "Forgive me, Princess, but we all know what happens to those who give in to the royal cunt's 'kindness'. If you surrender then she'll have every soldier murdered in cold blood and every civilian forced into slavery. She has no regard for her own kind, much less ours. And don't believe for a moment that she could effortlessly slaughter our remaining forces. She's lost far more bucks than she thought she would, and attacking a heavily fortified position like the armory would break their backs. That's why she needs you to give in."

"You underestimate our capabilities," Corvalix said.

"Clearly you underestimated ours. But by all means, see if I'm wrong."

Across from him Elinwynn scowled. "Know your place, Stonewall, and do not think to interrupt again."

"Fuck you, and fuck your limp-dicked brother. You're both worthless. I'd rather die on Equestrian ground than live under Cervidaen shackles."

"That can be arranged," Corvalix replied.

"You can fucking try, prick-head."

"The Imperator-General is right," Celestia said, hoping to ease the growing tension. "Coarse though he may be," she looked at him with a chastising glance, "it has been shown time and again that you care little for the lives of those you call your subjects. If that is the kind of treatment the citizens of Equestria can expect, then I cannot agree to your terms."

Elinwynn cocked her head and uttered a half-laugh of disbelief, putting a hoof to her chest. "I'm sorry, did you just refuse me? Refuse my offer of peace and mercy?"

"I want your assurance that there will be no retribution against the soldiers or civilians. They have endured much, and deserve better than to be cast aside. Perhaps we can come to an agreement, something that is mutually beneficial for our nations. Equestria may lose this war, but Cervidae will be depleted of its soldiers, and we're both aware of the troubles in Whitetail."

"I do not think you understand, Celestia. There are no terms of surrender here. Bow before me, here and now, or there will be consequences."

"I will not." The princess stood tall, looking to Stonewall out of the corner of her vision. He stomped his right foreleg twice, getting a barely perceptible nod in return.

"I said, bow!"

"No. You will swear the well-being of ponykind and the continuation of Equestria or there will be no surrender."

Elinwynn yelled in anger over her shoulder. "Aalyndria!"

A shimmer of motion turned into the form of a blue-clad Imperial Protectorate doe just off to Elinwynn's side. A crudely bound earth pony lay kneeling under her foreleg. He struggled against his bindings and shouted muffled curses through a cloth gag.

"Leave the civilians out of this!" Celestia demanded. "This is between you and I!"

"That's where you're wrong." Elinwynn levitated an ornate crystal sword from her side, making a show of floating it over to the pony's throat and holding it against his skin close enough to draw a trickle of blood.

"You're better than this, Elinwynn. It doesn't have to be this way."

The stallion looked at her with fearful eyes and tried to pull away from the weapon.

"You're right, it doesn't. Surrender yourself and your nation. Now."

"Please, we can--"

The sword plunged into his neck, drawing a muted scream of pain and panic as it was pulled back out. The pony thrashed and gurgled, rolling over onto his side with a gaping hole cut into his throat, before slowly falling still.

Celestia held a hoof to her mouth in shock as muttered swears and words of anger came from her guards. A great emptiness grew within her as she looked into the lifeless eyes of yet another citizen she could not save, another kind soul that had depended on her, trusted her, and had died alone and afraid while she stood by and did nothing.

"You are beaten, Celestia! Give in or I will kill every last pony in my possession!"

Further away, at the city's eastern reach, a lone pegasus dove down to roof top level at great speed, drawing the ire of several deer archers who panic-fired arrows at him as he passed. None found their mark, and once he was clear of their line of sight he drew a small torch from a pouch at his side. It burned with a weak flame at first, crackling and popping as the crushed crystals within imbued it with purple and red hues.

Taking a brief moment to hop back into the air he waved it from side to side twice, then up and down once, before skirting the deer battle lines with haste.

Elinwynn did not give Celestia a chance to protest further this time. A second victim was teleported before her, a young unicorn mare with a crudely broken horn. She did not struggle or offer any pleading words; she simply stared ahead, tears running down her cheeks, and closed her eyes to await the inevitable.

Celestia jerked forward instinctively to protect her, but was stopped by Stonewall sticking out a foreleg. Angered by the lack of immediate capitulation, yelling like a maddened beast, Elinwynn took a second life as callously as the first.

"Is this not enough for you?! Do you still think you hold any position of power here?!" she screamed at Celestia, pointing with the bloodied end of her weapon while the last ragged gasps faded from the mare's voice. "Then so be it!"

Shaking with rage, racked by grief, the princess no longer hid the anguished tears. Warm yellow magic gathered around her horn, getting an equal response from the magii across the way.

"Easy, Princess..." Stonewall said as the empress took a step back and used a burst of magic to enhance her voice.

"Signii Equestrii kira'dax! Siind'tyyr!"

They had hidden themselves well. Whatever spell the deer were using to mask the civilians from sight had been nearly impossible to detect -- nearly. The brief flare of magical energy whenever one of the magii teleported was intense enough to be felt even by a pegasus, however brief it may have been. Their subsequent return to find another helpless pony to tie and gag seemed to distort the invisibility field, like haze rising from the ground on a hot summer's day. That was all the pegasus scout needed.

Once more he waved his signal torch, then tucked back into cover. The deer hadn't bunched the civilians together as one but had instead spread them out in several large groups. He wished he knew how many magii were with each of them. It would have been a small mercy -- perhaps the first one ponykind would have been granted since the battle's outbreak.

There, another flaring pulse of magic. Rising above the buildings he saw the telltale shimmer ahead and to the south. He moved with determination, feeling the weight of every life he knew would be lost, and prepared the torch for a third time.

A wave of heat, intense and sudden, roared down the streets from the where the teleporting deer had arrived. Buffeted by winds he struggled to keep himself upright, clipping the side of a two-story shop and skidding over a flat roof. The sound hit him just after: screaming, pleading voices that formed a cacophony of horror and suffering.

Feeling his heart jump into his throat he leapt into the air, no longer caring if he was seen, needing to know what had happened above all else. The sight of a crowd of civilians engulfed in dark green flames awaited him. They rolled on the ground, ran desperately into the waiting blades of the encircling deer, fell in their masses to arrows and darts.

Like a bolt of lightning he took off, flying over the entirety of the deer line fast enough to leave a trail of sparkling orange behind him and a wake of fierce wind that knocked several of them over as he went by. No projectile could hope to hit him, but evasion was not his ultimate goal.

"Come on, you bastards! Come on!"

Over and over he swooped low, rolling and twisting to avoid all attempts to bring him down. It was only a matter of time until the does revealed themselves.

The wind was knocked from his lungs as he was forced to a sudden stop, wrapped in multiple layers of arcing magic that shocked his skin and scorched his armor in jagged lines.

Struggling with all of his might, straining against the pain, he reached to his side, pulled the magical torch from its sconce, and heaved it into the air with a toss of his head. It tumbled end over end, arcing high and shining like a beautiful gemstone, a sole sign of hope in blackest night. A satisfied smile crept across his anguished face.

The torch hit the ground a scant few seconds later, bouncing and rolling to a stop, before resting beside his perforated body.

Hatred, Celestia had always believed, was the foundation of chaos and suffering. Time and again history had proven that those who welcomed it, who nourished it and fed upon it in turn, were never content with letting it consume themselves alone. Given time it would inevitably spread to one's family, one's friends -- perhaps one's entire nation. It consumed all that it touched, like a wildfire burning out of control, until nothing was left. Luna, Elinwynn, the followers of the false Nightmare Moon, the whitetail, even the man she loved. All had struggled with it, and few had emerged from its grasp with their sanity intact.

But as she listened to the desperate screams of ponies being burned alive, begging for help or praying for a merciful end, she felt hatred -- true hatred -- in her heart for the first time. It beckoned her from within, an unyielding desire that coursed through her veins and quickened her heart.

"This is the price you pay for your ignorance, Celestia! Listen to their cries, and know that such an end awaits all of Equestria and any who dared to defy me at your side!"

Elinwynn had dropped all pretense of civility. As her weapons of war were turned on the innocent ponies of Canterlot she demanded Celestia throw herself before the mercy of Cervidae's one true ruler, the uniter of deerkind, lest more of her people meet a terrible and deserved fate. They would serve as a warning to any who dared stand against her.

Off in the distance, barely visible against the mountains of the city's eastern reach, a single pinpoint of light lifted into the sky. Celestia fixated on it in disbelief. Elinwynn's rambling curses faded for a brief moment in time as it hung at the peak of its arc, then fell back to the wretched green light of Cervidaen fire.

No more.

A slow turn of her head; a look of grim confirmation from Stonewall.

"...upon the very name of Equestria, until every trace of its history is--"

"Elinwynn," Celestia said commandingly. The Empress fell silent, still levitating her sword. Blood dripped to the grass from its tip. "You should have never started this war."

Rising up on his hind legs, Stonewall raised his spear to the air and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"NOW!"

It was the most fateful moment in Equestria's history; a confluence of events that played out with unheard of precision and timing that took no more than a second.

Upon Stonewall's signal a full quarter of the military disappeared in a near-instantaneous series of flashes. At the same time, further up the hill, the protective double lines of Royal Guard and Praetorian soldiers ducked behind their shields and covered their eyes.

The deer had no chance to react before Celestia dipped her head and unleashed a brilliant flash of sunlight from the tip of her horn. Fueled by her pent-up emotions, an entire war's worth ofdeath and deceit, anger and sorrow, the magical blast roared out across the hilltop, consuming the deer around Elinwynn. Those who bore brief witness to its power were instantly blinded and burned, and as they instinctively threw their forelegs up to shield themselves they became the first to fall to the spears of Celestia's protectors.

Emboldened by the fierce move the Royal Guard and Praetorians threw themselves forward with a collective battle cry, followed closely by Celestia herself brandishing her twin longswords to either side of her body, and together they crashed into the deer with such violence that not a single Equestrian was lost in the opening attack.

The spell had hardly faded when the unicorns of the Equestrian Guard reappeared within the city streets with their earth pony and pegasus squads in tow. With weapons out and shields up the squads fell upon the panicked Cervidaen regulars with a terrible vengeance. Every deer in their path was butchered without mercy, without pause, and those who had been nearest the carts of fire pots met a fitting end as they were bucked against the nearest wall and immolated by their own weapons.

Back at the foot of the castle the bulk of the remaining Equestrian army charged forward under the lead of Legatus Sanguine Citrus. The unprepared whitetail conscript formations were parted and cut down as they scrambled to get into position. Cervidaen officers barked orders to little avail, leaving the bulk of the fighting to be taken up by the Exemplar-led redtail that counter-attacked with trained ferocity.

Equestria would not lie down and die without a fight this day.

The smell of singed hair and scorched earth drifted heavy on the winter air. For the loyal soldiers of the princess' personal escort the fight had been brief but incredibly violent; over thirty deer were killed for only two injured ponies, a one-sided massacre more than a fight. The deer had died screaming, unable to see or fight back effectively, and as far as the Praetorians and Royal Guard were concerned that was exactly how it should have been.

But not all had gone according to plan. Be it by luck or by skill the royal siblings had managed to escape, fading away in the opening seconds of the clash under the shield of Imperial Protectorate magic. Numerous other magii and Exemplars had vanished with them.

Celestia stabbed her swords into the soil, having drawn blood for the first time in nearly two centuries. Her pulse pounded in her ears and the backlash of her magical assault caused a creeping pain to throb from the base of her horn down to the middle of her back. She had exhausted her power significantly, carefully walking the edge of what she could afford to use, ultimately stopping just short of overloading her mind and forever weakening herself as she had done once before.

Breathing heavily, and leaning on her weapons to rest, she watched the battles within the confines of Canterlot play out around her. Stonewall's multi-pronged attack plan had been a rousing success, completely catching the deer off guard. Equestria had inflicted significant losses in a short time, but the superior numbers of the deer were beginning to cause another stalemate. It was an unfortunate reality of the situation that many lives had been sacrificed in the process; locating the civilians would have taken time no matter what they'd tried. She would mourn for those who had died later, for she had little time to concern herself with them when so much was still hanging in the balance.

Elinwynn and Corvalix couldn't have gone far. Deer teleporation was limited to line of sight, which meant that they had to be relatively close. It was a matter of figuring out where they might be, and how she could get there.

"Well done, Imperator-General," Celestia said. Polaris and his squad had resumed their positions around her, leaving the others to search through the remains of the Cervidaen soldiers for anything that might give them an edge in the battle.

"I should say the same to you. Hell of a display you put on there." Stonewall was wasting no time, and had already taken it upon himself to search for the missing empress with a spyglass he'd pulled from a Cervidaen corpse. "About damned time we went on the offensive. I'm just surprised it actually worked."

"That makes two of us."

"Any idea where they might have gone?" Polaris asked, finishing applying a bandage to a gash on Portly's shoulder. The stocky earth pony swore under his breath, wincing at the pain, but complained no further.

Tercio pointed with his sword towards the eastern reach, where the surviving civilians were being protected by the lives of the Equestrian Guard. Pegasi, both military and otherwise, were ferrying ponies away from danger as quickly as they could. They met scattered resistance at best, for the deer were occupied entirely with the newly reinvigorated Equestrians.

"It would make the most sense for them to go somewhere that has an easily accessible escape route. The deer still control the Coriander Road, and with the southern reach gone there's only one way to get there."

"Possible, but they could have also retreated away from the action, to the west," Stonewall suggested. "Our forces are thin between the castle and the armory. It would be a good place to regroup without having your position located."

Celestia stomped a hoof in frustration. "They could be anywhere by now. I haven't felt any surges of magic since we launched the attack, which means she's either too far away to be noticed or she and her magii haven't used their teleportation spell again. We need to find them as soon as possible. I will not let Elinwynn escape the justice she is due for murdering my people in cold blood."

"Already on it," the Imperator-General said, calling over a lower ranking Praetorian officer. As they began to converse a pegasus landed at Celestia's side, causing her escorts to enter a combat stance in surprise. He wore a ragged red cloak and silver-gold armor that had been scarred and dented, showing the raw steel underneath. Blood marred his white coat, and one of his legs had a pronounced limp to it, but his blue eyes were as bright as ever.

"Urgent message for you, Princess! The Whitetail Loyalists have spotted the Cervidaen empress and her brother!"

Astonishment, worry and relief in equal measure swept over Tercio as he realized who it was.

"...Victus?"

His brother offered a light smile as he caught his breath.

"Hello, Tercio. Been a hell of a day, hasn't it?"