Chapter 26

Silence dominated the tomb as the ponies and humans stared at the stone. The only sound was the occasional, faint clatter of armor from Luna’s guards.

Bill was the first one to break the silence. “Robert E. Lee? This is bullshit. I’ve been to his grave in Lexington. This can’t be Lee.”

The group turned towards Luna. Patton took a step closer to the princess. “What is going on here? We require details.”

Luna sighed. “This is the tomb of one of our greatest heroes. He existed in your world and he existed in ours. Time means nothing to the void between our universes.”

“Just what the hell does that mean?” growled Patton.

“It means that the timeline of our worlds do not go side by side but in a sporadic motion around each other. Lee has yet to die in your world but at the same time he has died. If Lee is back on your world though that is a good thing, it means you were returned.”

“It means Lee was returned,” Patton said, glancing over his shoulder at the stone sarcophagus. “I don’t know if that tomb is empty and Lee’s body is back on Earth. So we won’t know if we have gone back yet.”

Luna nodded. “True, but Lee is in there and he has yet to return. I suppose your personal fates are undecided yet, but apparently his has.”

“I’m lost,” Matt chimed in. “All this universe and time stuff is crazy sounding. Also, who is this Robert E. Lee guy? I just found a tomb with a human name on it and you guys say he’s famous?”

The murderous glare that the Californian got from Bill was almost lethal. Matt’s eyes went wide in fear.

“How the fuck do you not know who General Lee was?” The Virginian screamed. Veins popped up on his forehead. “I-I don’t understand how you can be so stupid!”

“Was he an American hero?” Matt circled around the tomb, acting like he was examining the stone but in truth was trying to distance himself from Bill. “All I know are my baseball players.”

Bill was unable to speak through his rage. His response was nothing more than a pained growling gurgle.

“Sergeant Harper, you will calm down,” barked Patton.

“Sorry sir.” The angry Virginian gave Matt one more threatening glance before facing the General. “It’s just, my Grandaddy fought with Lee in A. P. Hill’s Brigade and this boy is disgracing our history.”

Patton nodded. “My Grandfather led the 22nd Virginia but I am not letting Private Novack’s ignorance anger me.”

Matt sighed sadly. His intelligence was now being insulted by the highest ranking person in the 3rd Army. He cast his eyes downward in a pout and noticed a circular stone with a crystal protruding from the top at the foot of the sarcophagus. He reached his hand down to touch it but a lavender hoof blocked him. The human looked up at a frowning Twilight.

“Don’t touch,” she said disapprovingly. “It’s enchanted.”

On the other side of the room the conversation was continuing.

Frederic brushed his hand on the headstone, wiping the dust away. “So your long dead General makes it home but it is unclear if ve do?”

“How does somebody who’s dead get home?” Rainbow Dash interjected. “It’s not like they can wander off by themselves.”

“He isn’t dead, is he?” Patton questioned in a quiet tone. “It says on his headstone that he “sleeps,” not that he is dead. His history back in our world, if I understand this correctly, has yet to be written. Am I right Princess?”

Luna nodded. “Powerful magic was placed on him long ago, preserving him in an everlasting sleep until the power that closed his eyes returns to awaken him.”

“What power was that?” Twilight asked, her curiosity overcoming the sadness that had engulfed her when the news of Celestia’s uncertain fate met her ears.

“At the time it was my sister and I. We wanted to protect him from the destruction and chaos that was filling our world.” Luna paused, deep in thought about past events. “But that power has long since left us and moved on to better ponies.”

“Who?” Twilight knew the answer right as the words left her mouth.

Luna gave a smile that conveyed sorrow as well. “You and your friends. The power was the Elements of Harmony.”

“Should we wake him now?” Bill looked at the sarcophagus, eager to meet his hero.

“I’ll leave that to General Patton.” Luna looked at the human general, who was staring at the stone, deep in thought.

“Not yet,” he replied. “But I’ll think about it.”

“Can we leave now?” Sweetie Belle asked. The three fillies had been huddling near Frederic the whole time. “This place is starting to scare me.”

“Yeah!” the other two chorused.

“Let us go then.” said Luna. Leading the way with her guards in tow and the others following close behind.

The trek out of the city took a far shorter amount of time with Luna leading them. The Princess kept her eyes on the street, not once looking up at the surrounding buildings. Patton guessed that there were too many painful memories in those empty structures.

Waiting outside of the archway stood Ian, Jeff, the Germans, and a snoozing Zeus sitting in his wheelchair.

“There you guys are,” Ian called as the group emerged from the darkness. “We were about to go in after... General Patton and Princess Luna! When did you two get here?”

Zeus woke up abruptly and crisply saluted the General along with Ian and Jeff. The Germans greeted Frederic, showing little attention to the Americans or ponies.

“Come,” Patton said as he and Luna brushed past. They wanted to get to the makeshift Equestrian city as quickly as they could. “We have work to do; and our situation has changed greatly and not for the better.”

That evening, Patton sat in Luna’s ship looking over maps as the princess herself sat behind a desk doing paperwork. Unexpectedly she broke into tears. Patton looked up and watched her cry quietly for a time, before she managed to regain her composure and resume her work.

The General sighed. “Your sister seems like a powerful and intelligent individual. I doubt anything terrible has happened to her.”

“I do hope you are right General.” Luna didn’t care that he had witnessed her outburst. “But we will find out tomorrow.”

Patton looked back up at the Princess. “How?”

“If the sun rises tomorrow.”

Day 24

The rails had been destroyed. By whom? Shining Armor didn’t know; but enemy activity this far west, this early was not a good sign and he was just happy that his trains hadn’t derailed. With less than 20 miles from Vanhoover to go, where the navy was supposed to be waiting for them, his army was going to have to be on alert the rest of the way. His trains now sat end on end with his entire army filing out, preparing for the march ahead. It was early morning and the sunrise wasn’t due to for six more hours, the stars being the only light in the sky. If there was any enemy activity in the area, then the darkness would hide them.

Shining Armor stood on top of a railcar watching his troops before directing his attention to his officers directly below him. They looked up at their general in anticipation.

“First Corp will lead the way into the city and secure the outskirts of Vanhoover. Second Corp will arrive after, push deeper into the city and secure the harbor. I want the city fortified incase of attack. Understand?”

“Yes General,” the two corp commanders replied.

Brigadier Sprinter spoke up. “What about all civilians still in the city?”

Shining Armor thought for a moment before responding. “If there is room in the rescue fleet then we will try to bring as many as we can with us.”

“Yes sir!” they chorused.

“General Sprinter,” Shining Armor called. “Tell Colonel Spitfire and her lancers to scout the city and report back to me.”

Sprinter saluted and ran to his brigade. A few minutes later the 1st Lancers could be faintly seen, taking off into the starry night sky.

A road followed along the side of the tracks and the threat of an ambush was likely, but there was no other way for the army to move. Mountains to the north and south and nearly impassable woods in all directions meant that the road was the only way through. Shining Armor’s heart beat sporadically as they passed through the darkness all the while hoping that his fears proved false.

All along the lines there could be heard whispering from the soldiers and the occasional hush from an officer. The sense of insecurity was widespread throughout the army. Five hours and 10 miles later, the city of Vanhoover could be seen between the mountains. The army instantly became more lively at the sight of their destination.

Shining Armor was resting on the side of the road when Spitfire returned with her regiment. She landed heavily in front of him, weary looking.

“Sir,” the pegasus said between breaths. “The city is unoccupied by enemy forces. But there was activity around the Smoky Mountain. Airships are dropping off ground forces and it looks like they are going to try and claim the city before us.”

“What about the Navy?” the General demanded, trying to hide his rising panic. “Are they there waiting for us?”

Spitfire shook her head. “The ocean is clear of ships, Equestrian or other.”

Shining’s heart dropped. He tried to regain his wits before anyone noticed his fear. “Tell- tell the Corp Commanders to doubletime it. Our troops can rest when they arrive.”

“Yes sir!” Spitfire saluted then leaped back into the sky.

“Unless we arrive too late,” the General mumbled under his breath.

Shining Armor watched his army pass for a few minutes before feeling guilty that he was resting while they did not. He fell in next to the Brigadier of the 13th Brigade, 2nd Corps. A rowdy group that was composed of hard talking and hard hitting Manehattan ponies. The most temperamental of them all was their commander, Brigadier Sassafrass. A mare from downtown Manehattan.

“Sir, beggin’ your pardon but I must know something,” she said the moment when Shining Armor walked up next to her. “But why do you always send the 1st Corps and that darn Charger Brigade in first? Yah afraid that us fire hearted folk of the big cities don’t have the nerve to lead the lines? We may not have been the first to dive headlong into the fray like that darn 1st Brigade but we were right behind them! Sorry for my outburst sir but I got to know.”

Shining let out a deep breath. Of all the Brigades he could have fallen into, it had to be the 13th. “I understand that you are eager to prove yourself but it is quite simple why I send the 1st Corps before you. The numerical order makes it easier on me and my officers. I trust you and your brigades skill completely and I believe that you will have plenty of chances to see the thick of action.”

It was mostly truth but it all actuality he did trust the 1st Corps more than the 2nd. Sassafras thought about the General’s answer for a moment and seemed content with it. There was a quiet whistling of wings overhead followed by Spitfire landing next to them. She saluted then promptly gave Shining her news.

“The Charger Brigade is just now reaching the outskirts of town and no enemy have yet to arrive.”

One of the many knots disappeared in Shining’s chest. “Very good.”

Spitfire disappeared once again into the sky. That was when Shining armor noticed how dark it still was. By now the horizon should have been turning a peach color but everything was still black.

“I wonder if the princesses are prolonging the night to hide our army.” The General whispered hopefully.

Shining Armor decided not to think about it. There was too much on his plate at the moment to be worrying about the decisions of the princesses. He marched in silence until the entrance of Vanhoover rose up before him. There he left the 13th Brigade and searched for his personal officers. He found them using a bank as their headquarters. Outside of the building though was a large crowd of civilians that were left behind by the Navy. They blocked his way, begging him for everything, from sanctuary, to food for their foals. He tried to reassure them that help would arrive as he forced himself through the crowd.

When he finally got inside, he turned to one of his officers. “Get a detail out there to disperse that crowd. I want to help them, but it won’t do any good if I have to send out dispatches and our messengers can't get out of the door.”

A pegasus messenger flew through a window and gave Shining Armor a letter. The General read it to himself.

“The rest of the city and the harbor have been taken,” he said happily.

The General made his way to a table where maps and documents were being set out. One of his officers started to speak.

“We have full control of the city,” he said. “But our scouts say that a sizable force is forming at the base of the Smoky Mountain.”

Shining Armor stopped him. “How large is sizable?”

The officer shrugged. “Large enough to be a threat. But we don’t think they know we are here.”

Another pegasus flew through the window. “Sir, small skirmishes are happening on the southeast side of the city, near the Tall Tale Forest. The enemy column came within meters of our picket line before realising that we were there. We fired two cannon shots to scare them off. They fell back into the forest, but an attack is likely.”

“Thank you,” Shining Armor said to the messenger. “Tell the First Corps to reinforce the south roads leading into the city. Arm the civilians if we have to.”

The messenger saluted then flew out the way she came. The rest of the morning passed with very little happening. Shining Armor used the lull in the activity to rest. It was a deep and dreamless sleep, and the General was thankful that it wasn’t one of the nightmares that had been plaguing him recently. A few hours later one of his officers roused him.

“What is it,” Shining asked drowsily.

“A messinger is here from the enemy army.”

Shining Armor sat up immediately and threw his armor on. He followed the officer out of the bank. The sky was still dark and starry despite it being late in the morning. The General directed his attention from the sky to a young gryphon standing in between two pony guards.

“General Shining Armor I presume?” she asked. “I have a message for you from General Sharp Horns.”

Shining Armor said nothing and glared menacingly at the gryphon. She waited for him to respond, but eventually realised that he was going to remain silent.

“The message is that if you and your army drop their weapons and disband you can leave and go at your leisure. No harm will come to any of you and the prisoners we captured will be freed.” The gryphon pointed at a hill outside of the town where a line of fifty ponies sat with minotaurs and gryphons holding knives and torches behind them. The messenger continued with a smile. “If you refuse, then we will execute them and destroy your army.”

Shining Armor growled, only cowards used the lives of prisoners as bargaining chips. He looked up at the helpless ponies on the hill then at his officers and soldiers. A look of fear met him, but he could also see that they were not ready to give up the fight. He looked back up at the hill and sighed.

He dropped his eyes and whispered. “I am sorry.”

The crew of the Storm of Vengeance was lined up on either side of her. Silky Wind looked at them sadly, wishing that it hadn’t come to this. Behind her, a minotaur shifted impatiently and the sound of his knife clattering against his armor sent chills down the mare’s spine. She looked down at Vanhoover, at the regimental flags of her fellow Equestrians hidden amongst breastworks and barricades. Silky knew that Shining Armor would never surrender even if it meant the death of her crew. Too much was at stake.

A mare next to her started to cry silently. Silky took a deep breath. One last act of defiance against her enemies. One last song for Equestria.

“Come my fellow flyers,

follow the swift spring breeze,

pull that rope firm and fast,

sail the blue open sky,

Hurrah, hurrah, Equestria.”

She raised her voice as more ponies joined in.

“Take your pike, set the hook,

load the gun with round shot,

take a breath of free air,

and give a cry, victory!

Hurrah, hurrah, Equestria!”

Silky Wind felt the knife press up against her neck, but she didn’t falter in her song. They weren’t going to kill her, not yet. A griffon flew towards them from the city.

“For we Equestrians,

shall never know fear,

as long as we hold firm,

against the wild wind,

Hurrah, hurrah, Equestria!”

Silky could hear the minotaurs and griffons giving orders, but she gave them no heed. In the distance she believed she could hear the Army singing along with her.

“Stand strong my free brother,

stand strong my free sister,

for they will never win,

as we hold together,

Hurrah hurrah Equestria!”

The last words to the song were barely out of Silky Wind's mouth when the knife slid across her throat. The mare collapsed heavily to the ground as her blood pooled around her. As she fell deeper into darkness, the last thing she heard was a vengeful thunder of cannons erupting from the city. The hill, the dying bodies of the ponies and their executioners quickly becoming engulfed in artillery fire.

General Sharp Horns could not believe it. He had been sure that the pony army would surrender without a fight, especially after he threatened to execute the prisoners. He actually had no urge to kill them in cold blood, a most dishonorable thing for a minotaur noble to do, but when the Equestrians refused to surrender, he’d had no choice. If he had let the prisoners go against his previous word, then he would have been labeled a liar by his soldiers and a soft heart by his enemy.

But what got Sharp Horns even more confused was the fact that the ponies lashed out with such devastating firepower and hate that his troops fell back more than a mile in fear of being the next target after the hill was turned to ashes. The ponies were proving to be warriors worthy of immortalization in minotaur war songs as a valiant enemy. But they were still ponies, and ponies were cowards by nature.

“Bull General Sharp Horns,” a Gryphon spoke up, snapping the minotaur from his thoughts. “A message from the ponies.”

He took the paper from the messenger and read it to himself.

This is a warning to the invaders of our homes. Every move you make to take this city will be countered by the revenge hungry army of Western Equestria. Our one and only goal now is to kill every last one of you. Once you enter the city there will be no escape. Leave now or face absolute destruction.

-General Shining Armor

Sharp Horns looked at the dark city, silhouetted against the starry sky. It suddenly seemed more imposing.

“Ponies are cowards by nature,” he muttered to himself.

“I still don’t understand why you stayed.” Blandire looked out of the window at Canterlot spread below him in the darkness. “You could probably escape now.”

He stopped talking and stood quietly. Celestia watched him with shadowy eyes.

Blandire turned and looked at her. “And yet you don’t. Therefore I am led to believe that you are trying to gain something. What do you want, Princess?”

Celestia sat up straight, the chains keeping her in the chair pulling tight. “I want you to leave but that is not going to happen. With me, the center of your hate, as your captive I hope that you would spare my ponies and maybe, my sister.”

“It was never my goal to harm them,” Blandire shot back.

“Is that why you sent Razor?” the Princess inquired. “So the harm that you did not intend wouldn’t be caused by you?”

He opened his mouth to reply but snapped it shut. He turned his attention back to the window. “Razor is a story all on his own but I will admit that I was regrettably involved. He worshiped me as a god, a liberator of what he imagined Equestria should be. He took my goals and twisted them into cruel misunderstandings. He recruited criminals and outcast of my allies and invaded without my consent. I am sorry for his actions and the blood he had shed in my name.”

“I doubt the truth in that,” Celestia hissed.

“It is the truth whether you believe it or not.” He continued to look out of the window. “Perhaps you are right. Perhaps after justice is delivered and you're punished for your crimes my anger may be abated. But, not yet.”

He left the window and opened the door. Eight minotaurs entered bearing black and silver chains.

“Come Princess,” Blandire smiled. “Your judgement has been decided.”

They led her silently through the castle and out into the courtyard. Celestia was surprised to see none of the common executioner equipment but a lone platform.

“Before you came to power in Equestria it took fifteen of the most powerful unicorns more than half of the night to raise the sun,” Blandire stated as they stepped onto the platform. “The night has lasted long enough. Would you mind raising it for us, one last time?”

Celestia looked down on the smaller alicorn in contempt then up at the sky. Her horn started to shine brightly. More than a thousand years of raising the sun and it had become so easy. So trivial. Within a blink of her eye the bright orb of heat and light crept over the horizon.

Blandire nodded. “Far better than fifteen unicorns.”

“What is the fate you have decided for me?” Celestia said. She stood tall and unwavering as the minotaurs chained her to the platform. “What gruesome death do you have planned?”

“Death would be to easy,” Blandire said as he stepped off the platform. “Have you ever heard of The Deprivation?”

Celestia's eyes went wide and a shiver shot down her back. They weren't going to kill her, they were going to try and humiliate her.

Blandire noticed the Princesses’ slight reactions and smiled. “Of course you heard of it. It is the most famous of all alicorn punishments. It was often done to those loyal to Discord and now it seems all too fitting to be done to the greatest enemy of the alicorns.”

Celestia looked slowly around, her heart pounding in her chest. For the spell to work there needed to be a second victim. She noticed the dark-yellow filly that had accompanied Blandire.

“You claim to not act in cruelty!” Celestia screamed. Her anger finally rising up. “Yet you will sacrifice this innocent foal to have your misdirected revenge!”

“You sacrificed thousands,” Blandire shot back calmly. He nudged the filly into the platform and she walked uneasily towards the Princess. “I can sacrifice one if I want.”

“I did it to save millions!” Celestia growled.

Blandire’s horn started to glow. His smile grew wider. “So am I.”

Escape was no longer possible. The chains that held her still were crafted out of the same magic negating metal that the minitaur Kith Kul wore as their necklaces. Celestia looked down at the filly who looked back up at her.

She looked up at the Princess in confusion. “What’s going on?”

A tear slid down Celestia's cheek. “It’s all going to be alright, little one.”

Celestia leaned over and softly nuzzled the filly as a wave of magic washed over them. Then everything went dark. Blandire waited for the haze caused by the spell to disappear. He turned and spoke to one of the nearest minotaurs.

“You are sure that the chains you created would allow my spell through but not hers?”

“Yes my lord,” the minotaur replied. “Those chains took three years to craft and all of our magic breaking skills were used in their creation. Us minotaurs are the best at stopping and bending pony magic.”

Blandire nodded. “I hope you are right.”

The haze finally cleared revealing the platform. Blandire smiled triumphantly. The body of Celestia had disappeared, replaced by a pile of dust quickly blowing away in the wind. The earth pony foal lay on the ground, unconscious. The Bull King approached the filly and lifted her up by the scruff of the neck.

“All hail the great and powerful Celestia!” he jeered before breaking into laughter.

The other creatures present joined in, “All hail the great and powerful Celestia!”

The filly that was now Celestia was handed over to Blandire who magically held the young pony before him. Her dazed eyes cracked slowly opened just as light from the sun passed over the courtyard wall. Blandire playfully ruffled the filly’s orange and crimson mane.

“You asked if my anger would dissipate after my vengeance was complete,” he whispered to her. “The answer is and always will be, no. Not until my family and everyone I loved is returned to me.”

He tossed Celestia to a gryphon who clasped the filly harshly in his claws.

“What should I do with her?” the gryphon asked.

Blandire shrugged. “Drop her off in the city somewhere. We move on with my plans and she is no use to me.”

The griffin nodded and took off into the sky. Celestia remained silent and motionless as she numbly watched her city pass below her. Outwardly she seemed defeated but a surprising new resolve was taking effect in her heart. She now realised the real motives behind Blandire’s actions and she had to warn his true targets.

She had to warn Twilight and her friends.

After circling Canterlot for a bit the griffin landed in an empty street and dropped the filly onto the cobblestone. Celestia lay motionless. She wanted to move but all of her energy had been drained.

A few minutes passed. A mare slipped silently out of her home, cautiously approached then softly lifted and carried the young pony into her house.

Author's Notes:

So, this chapter is either going to be a hit, make people cry or get me killed. Perhaps all three. So much stuff was dropped on you at once and I don't know how you will take it. So, what do you guys think?

I have big stuff planned so the deepness is just getting started.