Red Tornado

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Atop the highest hill north of Stalliongrad, my soldiers waited. Twelve earth ponies, hoofpicked for their skill in hoof-to-hoof fighting and their tenacity in the face of our foe, stood with hooves firmly planted on the battle-scarred lands. Eight pegasi, deadly with their spears, stood at attention on the ground, while four more watched the skies, vigilant against treachery. Four unicorn battlemages, their reputation with spells well known to our foes, stood ready to channel their arcane might for both defensive and offensive purposes. Their presence would draw the attention away from the eight other unicorns, concealed from detection by powerful illusion magic.

The enemy arrived at the appointed time, when Celestia’s sun was at its highest and brightest, not wishing to be present a moment longer than necessary. They arrived, their dress armor gleaming, but without weapons. After facing them on the battlefield for all these years, seeing them without the metal claws on their talons and blades in their wings made them look naked. I chuckled at the concept of griffons clad in steel appearing naked, a bit of black humor reflecting these dark times.

Six griffons approached, arranging themselves in a half-circle, leaving a gap at the center. Only when they were ready did the seventh griffon fly in. I observed from my vantage point in the sky. The griffon guards were disciplined, as I expected, but in subtle ways, their posture, their refusal to meet the eyes of my soldiers, I saw it. They acknowledged their defeat. Only the final griffon stood defiant. Though he would be speaking words of defeat today, in his heart, he would not believe it.

Such are the lessons one learns from a decade of war, from matching strategy against strategy, one general to another.

I waited, watching. The griffons were surrounded, outnumbered, and defenseless. They lived only through the grace of ponykind. The six guards fidgeted. They knew. They knew this basic truth. But not the final griffon. He stood tall, a hint of a twisted smile on his beak.

I knew there was no reason to wait further. I flew down to the hilltop from straight above. Those griffons who turned to watch would be nearly blinded by the light of Celestia’s sun reflecting off my gleaming armor. I landed with a soft touch, my hooves immediately feeling the connection to Equestria and its ponies.

I looked at my foe in the eyes. “State your name,” I demanded.

“General Gavin Goldeye, speaking for His Royal Highness, King Gregor Giltwing. Long may he reign!” I knew the griffon, of course, but these formalities needed to occur.

“General Red Tornado, speaking for Her Highness, Princess Celestia, Sovereign of the Sun, and Her Highness, Princess Luna, Sovereign of the Moon,” I announced. “On their behalf, I am prepared to accept your surrender.”

“On behalf of King Gregor Giltwing, long may he reign, I have come to surrender the Army of the Griffon Kingdom in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of the Thrice-Sown Fields.”

Goldeye tilted his head back, exposing his neck, a gesture of submission employed by the griffons. A griffon would respond by placing his talons on the exposed flesh. I used my horn, pressing just hard enough to draw blood. I wanted nothing more than to thrust, one final stroke to make him pay for the thousands of soldiers I saw perish in this war. But my orders were clear.

Princess Celestia believed the griffons would one day live in harmony, that they would embrace the magic of friendship.

“By the grace of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, your army is granted their lives.” I pulled back my horn. “You shall abandon your weapons and evacuate all lands south of the Whitefrost River. Your kind are banished from the land of Equestria for one hundred and one years, unless at the direct request of the Diarchs. At that time, they shall determine if you have come to understand harmony and friendship.”

The griffon general closed his eyes and nodded, ever so slightly. He turned and addressed his troops. “Soldiers, form up and move out.” There was no enthusiasm in his order.

I stood watch as the griffons retreated, for what I hoped would be the last time.

Two pegasus charioteers broke me out of my reverie. “Prince Red Tornado,” they said, bowing. “We are ready to convey you back to the castle.”

“Not yet,” I said. “There is something I must do before departing.”

I despise the title Prince. General is a title I earned through more than a century of military service. I was prince because... I was a pegasus born with the horn of a unicorn and the strength of an earth pony. My destiny was set forth for me from birth, being born with my cutie mark, a spear and map over a red tornado. A destiny that was, perhaps, completed. But it was not without cost.

I strode into the hospital, where one wing housed soldiers still recovering from battle. A month had passed since the cease-fire, and so those who remained in the hospital were the most seriously injured. Blindness. Missing legs and wings. Magic poisoning. But despite their travails, I could feel the happiness in the room. Word of our victory had reached them.

The injured soldiers who saw me saluted, as best they could. “At ease, soldiers,” I said. “The battle is won. Equestria is safe. It is now time to rebuild. Let us always remember the magic of friendship that carried us through the darkest days of war. Our strength grows threefold when we work together in harmony. And grow we will!”

The soldiers cheered. Even those who couldn’t speak filled me with life.

“Duty calls. Farewell.”

This duty was not one I looked forward to. It took me to a large building near the hospital. It was once a warehouse, but for two years it had been used for an infirmary. Rows of cots held sick pegasi, every single one occupied. Many were my soldiers.

I walked over to one of the unicorn doctors. “Any change?” I asked.

He shook his head. “The plague still defies out attempts to cure it.”

The Feather Plague. At first, it was thought to be a version of the common feather flu, a disease that is rarely fatal, except for the infirm. But this plague affected the young and healthy pegasi most. One’s body focused so much on fighting the disease, it caused other bodily functions to fail, a cascade effect sometimes culminating in organ failure and death. It had been reported across Equestria and beyond its borders, afflicting all winged sapients. But here in Stalliongrad, which the griffon army had besieged for a year, the plague was particularly virulent.

“At least the plague carried over to the griffons,” the doctor said.

I nodded. “But it is not a way I would wish for anypony to go.”

I stopped by the bed of Silver Streak, one of my soldiers. The effects of the plague were easily visible on him. Molted feathers, bald patches on his coat, wheezing as he fought to breathe. He had not worsened since my last visit to the infirmary, but nor had he improved. That left him at risk; the disease could easily trigger a fatal reaction.

His eyes opened a crack. “General,” he whispered.

“Rest, soldier. The war is over. It is time for all to recover, and that includes you.”

“Thank you. Thank you for protecting Equestria,” he said. He reached for my forehoof, holding it weakly. I felt his devotion, reaching out, giving me strength.

No, you fool, I wanted to say. You need this more than me. But there was no way to stop it, no way to reverse it. Ponies would keep me healthy, but I couldn’t help this dedicated soldier, no matter how much I wanted to help.

I bowed my head solemnly and departed.

I remained quiet as the chariot flew us south, towards the Castle of the Two Sisters. I focused on the tall, barren mountain peak in the distance, the one that almost exactly marked our direction.

My silence did not go unnoticed to my companion on the chariot, Commander Aegis. “Something on your mind, General?” she asked.

“Many things,” I replied. “But most of all, I wonder if it’s really over.”

“I think it is,” Aegis replied. “The feather plague affected them greatly. Between the sickness and the war casualties, they are having trouble tending to their fields and hunting game. They will need to rearm, all while paying reparations. And if they wish to attack again, they will need to fight us as we are then, not as we are now.”

“You were always an optimist, Aegis,” I said. “I fear that asking them to discover the magic of friendship is futile. The way they consider ponies to be prey is an even more ancient force than harmony. It is more powerful than all the griffon weapons, worth more than reparations of a thousand pounds of gold.”

“If we must fight again, it will be a fight for younger ponies. I will be retiring my commission at the end of the year.”

Retiring? The lieutenant I hoof-picked from officer candidate school, the one who rose rapidly through the ranks, the one who planned the counterattack that broke the siege of Stalliongrad? She was retiring? I looked at her, seeing the young unicorn mare in my mind, but my eyes revealed something very different. The streaks of gray in her mane, the wrinkles on her muzzle, the dullness of her horn... I was looking at a mare that had seen more than half her life.

“What about you?” Aegis asked. I looked at her “Equestria is safe, safer than it has been at any time since the founding of Equestria.”

I gazed off again. “That is a question I need to answer.”

The carriage flew south to a plain crisscrossed with rivers. Everfree. At its heart was an area of carefully cultivated vegetation, raised with a combination of earth pony and unicorn magic. And at its highest point, an area made defensible by nearby ravines and crags, was my destination.

The Castle of the Two Sisters. A masterpiece of architecture and magic, it was built by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna shortly after their arrival, with the aid of the great wizard Star Swirl the Bearded and the manticore Melvin. Perhaps it was the bonds of friendship the princesses forged with this fearsome creature that led them to their belief that the magic of friendship was universal.

In my life, I had seen its opposite could be universal, too. The power of friendship drove away the windigoes and freed the land from eternal winter, but it also freed other creatures. Some, like the manticores, were largely disinterested in the lives of ponies, and could live separately. Others, like the hydras, were too close to common beasts to be part of civilization. The most equine of species got along well with ponies; our trade introduces us to cows, donkeys, deer, buffalo, and zebra.

But generations fighting the dragons, the diamond dogs, and now the griffons were painful reminders that not all were content to live in friendship. The dragons, great in power but small in number, were encouraged to coexist by a demonstration of the full power of the princesses. The diamond dogs, who thought teeth and claws gave them the right to take whatever they want from the surface, soon learned about the teeth and claws ponies could manufacture for themselves. Through these fights, the griffons remained aloof. We thought they preferred living in their mountainous villages, and we began to put aside our ancient fears.

And then they attacked.

The griffons were the best-organized, best-equipped, and best-led enemy we had ever faced. They overran many settlements and defeated forces not trained to deal with griffon tactics. We ponies could not count on the tactical advantages of air superiority. Every inch of ground and sky had to be contested.

I still find it hard to think about the first two years of the war. We thought we were ready for anything, and we paid for our hubris. In desperation, we tried many tactics and formations. Few were successful, but we learned. Unicorns synthesized new battle spells. Earth pony engineers created new weapons and machines. Pegasi adopted the griffon wing blades. And slowly, we pushed back.

We thought the griffons close to defeat two years ago, but then they struck against Stalliongrad. Close to the border, it was difficult to strike against their supply lines. Constant griffon raids stretched our forces thin. Even with all our magic, it was difficult sending supplies to the besieged ponies of Stalliongrad.

I still don’t know if the griffons would have retreated in time. But the feather plague hastened their decision. I only fear that future griffons will convince themselves that the feather plague was the only reason they lost the war.

These are fears I must address now.

Unicorn guards in matching livery levitated trumpets to their lips, announcing my arrival with an all too familiar tune. “Prince Red Tornado,” the earth pony herald announced.

I walked into the throne room. As always, court was busy, with countless nobles, courtiers, and workers in attendance. I looked in turn at Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They waited with bated breath for my news.

“It is done,” I said. I bowed to them, and they bowed in response. Then Luna smirked, and flew to me. She grabbed my forelegs and started dancing, an awkward gesture given how much larger she was than me. Celestia joined in, and all tension in the room evaporated. The stuffy nobles and courtiers cheered, stomped their hooves, sang, and danced with the guards and scribes. All thoughts of proper decorum disappeared, and for once, everypony expressed their joy.

Celestia spoke, her royal voice carrying over the noise. “Send word to every city, town, and village in Equestria that the war is over. We declare a holiday to last the whole week!”

We departed the celebration shortly thereafter. It may have been the only time in history the princesses could slip away unnoticed. We headed to the familiar sitting room, sitting in the same positions as we always did. Some habits were impossible to break.

“Were there any problems with the surrender, Red Tornado?” Celestia asked.

“There were none, though my counterpart among the griffons looked like he wished to continue the war.”

“We are not surprised,” Luna said.

“Do you truly think that peace with the griffons will last?” I asked.

“I do,” Celestia replied. “They have witnessed the power of harmony. They have seen how the magic of friendship gives us strength even when we must fight.”

It is time. I had reached a conclusion years ago, but in the interests of the ponies of Equestria, I chose to keep it hidden. “Permission to speak freely,” I said.

“Red Tornado, you are our equal. You do not need permission to speak freely.”

“I command armies. You command the sun and moon.” Harsh words, words that were bottled up too long. It was not just their ties to the celestial bodies. It was their stature, twice the size of a pony, where I was only slightly larger than a tall earth pony. It was their ethereal manes, reflecting a trace of their power. It was their greater age. But most of all, it was how they came to Equestria, fully grown, sometime after unification. The diarchs were different, and everypony knew that.

“Though you do not need permission to speak, we shall grant it anyway,” Luna said.

“If Equestria is finally to experience peace, then I am no longer necessary. My destiny is complete.”

“You are not just a leader of soldiers. You are a leader of ponies,” Celestia said. “And now, more than ever, Equestria needs leaders.”

“You have leaders,” I stated. “Blue Sapphire, Prince of the Unicorns. Arc Lightning, Commander of the Pegasi. Green Wood, Chancellor of the Earth Ponies. You have dukes, counts, earls, mayors, sheriffs. And they all have one thing in common. They don’t draw energy from the ponies around them to live forever.”

Love. Loyalty. Devotion. Respect. Whatever the emotion, it powered me. It was part of being an alicorn. The love of our little ponies sustained Celestia and Luna, and me as well. I looked no older than thirty, but I had lived for over 160 years. For most of those years, my purpose on Equestria was clear to me. Now, what was I, but a drain on this world?

“Devotion, freely given, has never harmed anypony,” Luna reminded me.

“It hurts me,” I said. “I tried living like a normal pegasus. I married a wonderful mare. I watched her grow old, and on her last days, I felt her giving the very last of her life energy to me. I raised a wonderful daughter. I watched her pass as well, again allowing the last of her strength to reach me. Four grandchildren. Dozens of military officers. Hundreds of friends. I find it hard to maintain any relationships today, knowing that I will outlive them all.”

“It is a difficult burden to bear,” Celestia said sagely. “Remember the times you shared, not the moment when you parted.”

I thought about Aegis. I thought about the many pegasi suffering from the feather plague. I thought about the latest crop of officers eager to fight for Equestria. “Please tell me. Why me?” I implored.

“Equestria had a need. And you were chosen. As for how, that is something that not even we know,” Celestia said. “But you count among your ancestors Hurricane, the greatest military mind to come out of the pegasus nation, and also Pansy, who understood that harmony among the pegasi, the unicorns, and the earth ponies made all stronger.”

“But why did another alicorn need to be born? Why couldn’t Star Swirl have been the third alicorn?”

Star Swirl’s contributions to unicorn spellcraft were unparalleled. His understanding of earth pony and pegasus magic was top notch. And then Celestia and Luna came to Equestria. It was no secret that Star Swirl coveted alicorn magic. Shortly after they arrived, he began work on his final spell.

My words struck a nerve. There was a sadness on Celestia’s face. “Star Swirl was doomed to failure. He could not understand the one form of magic more powerful than alicorn magic, the magic of friendship,” she said.

“But one day, somepony shall,” Luna said. “Do you not wish to see that day?”

“No.”

I could feel their disappointment before I looked to gauge their reactions. This connection we had with other ponies also connected us, but it was very rare to me to feel the emotions of Celestia and Luna. In the past month, it happened three times. Hope, when the terms of the peace treaty were agreed to. Elation, when I reported that the surrender was accepted. And now disappointment. For me to feel this disappointment, it must be quite powerful indeed. I saw it in their eyes; not even centuries of practice could conceal that emotion completely.

“Celestia. Luna. My time has passed. I now seek nothing more than to rest in the Great Pasture. Do you not think somepony else could play my role in your grand play?”

Celestia and Luna have always kept secrets, even from me. Their true origin remained shrouded in mystery. I suspected some power, some spark of true divinity, that they alone possessed. It was clear they planned for the long term, on a scale as long as the celestial bodies they represented. If I was an indispensable part of one of their plans, they would ask me to reconsider.

“Very well, Red Tornado,” Celestia said. “We can sever your connection to the ponies of Equestria, and you shall be mortal.”

“We must warn you, once chosen, this decision cannot be undone. And it will not be pleasant,” Luna warned. “The weight of your years will come upon you rapidly. You will have less than a day.”

“Please, celebrate the end of the war. You are the reason we have peace,” Celestia said. “If at the end of the holiday you still wish to proceed, then we will respect your decision.

For the first time in years, I was not actively engaged in running an army. I had free time. It did not stay free, though; I was sent on a whirlwind tour of the great cities of Equestria. Manehattan. Fillydelphia. Baltimare. Whinnypeg. Vanhoover. Seaddle. In each city, the scene was the same, ponies celebrating in utter joy. Parades, dancing, soldiers being welcomed home.

As the chariot carried me back to Everfree, I decided this was how I wanted to remember Equestria.

At dawn on the appointed day, I joined Celestia and Luna on the balcony. The younger sister lowered the moon and concealed the constellations as the elder sister brought forth the light of dawn. Their solemn ritual complete, Celestia spoke to me. “Have you made your decision?”

“I have not changed my mind.”

“Did you enjoy the night sky?” Luna asked me.

I was taken aback by her question. “I did. I have always appreciated the company of the stars.”

“If we proceed, you may not live to see the next night,” Luna cautioned.

“I understand.”

“Then come,” Celestia said.

We followed a circuitous path around the upper level of the castle. It afforded me several glimpses of the courtyard, which was filled with ponies, including many soldiers. “Your doing?” I asked.

“You have touched many lives, Red Tornado. It is only right they have a chance to see you one last time,” Celestia said.

Perhaps they hoped that seeing all these ponies would make me reconsider. But I continued to walk.

We ended up in an unused ballroom. Any furniture that once was present was gone, and an intricate magical circle was inscribed in the stone floor. Runes of gold and silver were set to channel every form of magic, including the celestial magic that Celestia and Luna alone could handle.

“If it is your desire to sever your bond to the harmony of Equestria, Red Tornado, then step forward,” Celestia intoned.

I stepped forward, planting my hooves at the cardinal points of the central magical key.

“Do you choose this freely?”

“I do.”

Celestia’s and Luna’s horns glowed. Their manes fluttered and flew upward, as if trying to reach the heavens. Their magic began to flow into the circle. Runes glowed, releasing the magical energy captured within. Invisible tendrils of magic began to flow into me, through my hooves, my horn, and my wings. The familiar sensation of spellcraft at work, that curious feeling somewhere between a headache and a muscle cramp, filled my body. It was no more painful than normal, but the feeling persisted for far longer than normal.

By the time Celestia and Luna completed the ritual, the sun was noticeably higher in the sky. Though they looked exhausted, they inquired about me first. “How do you feel?” Celestia asked.

“Alone.” It was true. The connection was gone, leaving an unfamiliar void. I felt cold, for lack of a better word.

“Are you able to walk?” Luna inquired.

I tested my legs. “In my career, I have never refused to march alongside my soldiers.”

By the end of the short walk to the courtyard, I was very glad I wasn’t in my armor.

Guards escorted me to a place in the shade of a great oak tree. I wanted to stand, to greet the ponies who came to see me, but my legs felt weak. A cushion was brought out, and I rested on my haunches.

The first group of ponies approached, dozens of pegasi of various ages. Among the foals, I spotted a few unicorns and earth ponies. While I no longer felt their devotion, I did feel something familiar. It reminded me of the home I once shared with my wife and daughter.

Princess Celestia stood at my side. “Red Tornado, your descendants wished to see you.”

I looked at the ancient pegasus stallion at the head of the group. I did the math. Could that be my great-grandson? I vaguely remembered a tiny foal in the forelegs of my granddaughter. It was around that time that I started to pull away from my family.

“I’ve always supported you, great-grandfather,” the stallion said.

“Thank you....” My voice trailed off. I couldn’t remember his name.

“Gray Cloud,” he said. He extended his foreleg.

A hoofshake just wouldn’t do. I reached out and embraced my great-grandson. “Make Equestria proud,” I said.

If my distant family had been worried about decorum, that was now in the past. I shared embraces and nuzzles with my descendants. I learned names and a little bit about each. Then the littlest ones approached. All they could do was squeeze my foreleg. They were probably too young to understand what was special about meeting an alicorn, but I was happiest for them. In seeing all three tribes among the foals, I saw firsthoof evidence of the friendship that makes us all stronger.

The next group of ponies to approach stood at attention. I recognized them all, the most recent graduates of the army’s officer candidate school.

“At ease,” I said, my voice growing increasingly raspy. “I know you will do what you were trained to do. Go out and keep Equestria safe.”

They saluted. I returned the salute. One pony had to catch me as I slipped.

More soldiers approached, from enlisted ponies all the way up to Commander Aegis. I also recognized several retired officers, their uniforms pressed into service one last time. It was too hard to salute, so I nodded and shared a few words with each.

Other ponies approached. I think some were from the castle. Others I had helped in some way in the past. I was having a hard time talking. Even keeping my eyes open was proving to be a challenge. Perhaps rest was what I needed.

“Prince Red Tornado?”

I opened my eyes. The sun was low in the sky. A green earth pony mare stood before me, young and obviously with foal. My mind was clouded by fatigue, but I was sure I hadn’t met her before.

“Yes?” I croaked.

She bowed before me. “My name is Green Meadow. I just wanted to thank you for bringing the war to an end. My husband was conscripted, and I was afraid my foal might never know his father. Now, Fair Grain is coming home, just in time to welcome little Greenfield into this world.” She bowed again. “Thank you.”

I smiled. Even that small gesture exhausted me. “It was my destiny,” I whispered.

Greenfield. A beautiful name. A name for a pony of the new and safer Equestria.

I closed my eyes, and willed the last of my strength to those who would protect the land after me.

Author's Notes:

It started with the world building in Cross Words, which described how a small number of alicorns were born throughout history, with Cadance being the seventeenth. All alicorns are sustained by the love and respect of their little ponies, and so any of them could have chosen immortality, in a similar form to that enjoyed by Celestia and Luna. But all chose eventually to live a mortal life.

A future story I have planned will be about the last alicorns to face this choice, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle.

And then I saw a contest, The Most Dangerous Game, a challenge to write a story using one of the tropes most often associated with bad FIMfics. One of those was the OC alicorn. I judge it to be the second hardest of the prompts in the contest (a seventh Element of Harmony strikes me as most difficult).

Why not bookend my future story with another one about the first alicorn to face the choice of a mortal or immortal life?

And so we have the choice faced by Red Tornado, the general who devoted his life to fighting for his little ponies, and who has finally succeeded. There are hints of a plot by Celestia and Luna. As for what that plot is? You'll see.