“Lüs!”

Starlight charged her horn to launch her missiles at the six clay discs that soared in the air thirty meters away, from her right to her left. Six discs, and only six missiles allowed. She had to hit them all. The first disc she aimed for was still climbing to the top of the arc, but her missile hit, and shards of clay scattered in the explosion. The second and third discs were mere inches from each other, and at the top of their arcs, but although she hit the second one, she'd aimed too wide at the third one, so her spell zoomed right in front of it. The fourth was beginning its descent, and her missile barely grazed it, leaving it plummeting down with a chunk missing. The fifth hung in the air far longer than it should have, and the missile she aimed at that one sailed below it, but almost hit the sixth one. She shot one last time, and she managed to hit the sixth one before it could begin its descent. Four out of six hits.

“Not bad,” the Wanderer said, “but there is still room for improvement.”

Starlight groaned. “It's not fair. They don't always fly the same way.”

“No target travels exactly the same way every time. I see that you are, at least, leading your targets, as I have shown you.”

“But it doesn't always work!”

“It is not always that simple. You must take into account the direction, temperature, and potency of the wind. The speed and distance of the target. The velocity and material nature of your spell. And of course, the accuracy of your aim. You are smart. You should know this.”

“But how am I supposed to make all those calculations in such a short time?”

“You are not. All this is supposed to be intuitive. I have seen legionaries half as smart as you score a perfect six with targets flying twice as fast, twice as far away. If they can do it, so can you.”

“So, what? I'm supposed to just get a feel for it?”

“Precisely.”

She sighed. “But it's coming so, so slowly.”

“But it is coming.” He paused. “You are a scholar by trade, correct?”

“Yeah. Master's in Alteration.”

“Then you know the value of steady work over time.”

“Well, I've always had talent for scholarly work. I never had to work too hard to achieve things there.”

“I know that you are no warrior by nature. That is why I have volunteered to do most of the warmongering for you. But any lack of raw talent can be made up for with sufficient practice.” He paused, then looked to the side. “Lüs!”

The six discs launched again, and Starlight shot six more missiles to the air, this time hitting all six targets.

“Excellent work, Starlight. See, you are not lacking in talent. What you lack is patience. Perhaps because of your young age, or perhaps because being an intellectual prodigy has left you ill-equipped to approach the development of non-intellectual skills with humility.”

“Yeah, I guess that's true. I've always let others do that stuff for me. Even when I was a filly.”

“Your father was a soldier, correct?”

“He was. Still is. A professional, at least by Equestrian standards.”

“Was he around often?”

“He was in the Canterlot Royal Guard. His captain let him visit me a lot.”

“Captain?”

“Captain Shimmering Shield.”

“Did he do anything special to earn that position?”

“Being Princess Cadence's father.”

“And I thought the Empire was rife with nepotism…”

“The Royal Guard is more ceremonial than anything else. They can afford to be nepotistic. The Special Forces are the guys who actually fight things.”

“Ah. The Equestrian Special Forces. A good enough force, but still vastly inferior to the Legions.”

“Did you ever fight them?”

“I have. I have fought many different kinds of warrior: Griffin, Changeling, Equestrian, and of course, Saracen. There are many stories I could tell you. The book it would take to record them all would, in itself, be a useful weapon if only for its sheer size.”

“I'd love for you to tell me some.”

“And I would love to tell them to you. Later, though. The rocks are about ready to storm the city. I must accompany them.”

“But why? You didn't do it for the field battle, so why now?”

“I am needed to penetrate the city walls. We do not have the time to build battering rams or other such equipment.” He spread his wings, which were protected from the outside by an articulated metal frame that covered the bone-and-muscle parts of them, but left the feathers exposed. “I will see you in the Starlightopolis palace, Starlight.” With a cloud of dust in his wake, he sent himself soaring aloft with one strong motion. She watched him glide in the air, down to the centaur ranks which faced the front of the Byzuntam… or rather, Starlightopolis… gates. She looked at that illustrious white city. Starlightopolis. Gorgeous, wondrous, glorious Starlightopolis, a vast city of glimmering gold and marble, worthy of an entire nation built on her philosophy. The very idea left a sweet taste in her mouth. She looked to the side, to Sucker Pop, who was rolling a leather ball around in a circle with her muzzle. Starlight walked over to Sucker Pop to speak with her.

“Hey sweetie. You in the mood for soccer?”

Sucker Pop looked confused. “Soccew?”

“Oh. Sorry. Kick-ball-in-net.”

A grin drew on Sucker Pop's face. “Yay! Kick-baww-in-net wit mommy!”

Starlight felt the ground shake and heard a boom echo from the city. She took a glance there, and watched with a smile as the Wanderer charged in through the ruined city gates with the rock-legions following at his back. Looking back to Sucker Pop, she lit her horn, and made two pairs of earthen goalposts arise from the very ground, itself, then weaved earthen nets latching behind each pair to catch the ball. However, before she could begin the game, three black figures caught her gaze from up in the sky as they descended down to her. As she looked closer, she saw what they were. Princess Luna, flanked by two of her bodyguards, pegasi clad in black plates and sporting the wings and fangs of bats. Starlight stood at attention, waiting until Luna finally made her landing and spoke with frantic urgency.

“Miss Glimmer! Please help us! We are in grave peril!”

Starlight widened her eyes and tensed the corners of her mouth downwards, feigning shock. “What? Really? Can you tell me what's going on?”

“Pestilence has stricken our ranks. Our soldiers drop dead out of the blue for no apparent reason, and it has crippled their resolve. You are from Equestria, yourself, yes? You know how deathly unaccustomed they are to hardship.”

“Yeah. I know. You can replace them, right?”

“Miss Glimmer, we have no time! The savages prepare for an attack. The grins on their faces as they seek to butcher us… it is a sight nauseating and most frightful. If only ours boasted such confidence.”

“Calm down, Princess. What can we do to help?”

“Attack them. Delay their assault. If they are focused on you, then we can launch a counter-attack and rout them from the field.”

“Hm. I dunno. We don't have a whole lot to spare, ourselves.”

Luna let out an annoyed grunt. “You do not know what you are talking about! We have been leading Equestria's armies since before your grandmother's grandmother was in diapers. Do not think yourself more knowledgeable than us.”

“Look, Princess. I couldn't do what you say even if I wanted to. You're right. I don't know much about army stuff. But my partner does, and he's the one in charge of it.”

“Have you no power over him whatsoever, you stupid little girl!?”

“He likes me and respects me very much. I'm a dear to him. I have plenty of influence over him, but if you want us to do what you say, he's the one you'll have to convince.”

“You are a dear to him? Have you forgotten what he is?”

“He is my friend.”

“HE. IS. EVIL.”

“And how would you know?”

“We know what he did to Lesbos. To depopulate an entire town in a bath of fire and blood is evil of the highest echelon. He is a born, bred, and raised mass-murdering lunatic like all the rest of his kin. With the power of an alicorn, probably thanks to you. Do you think that millenia of weeding out any semblance of compassion in each generation, coupled with the Wasteland's inherent corrupting force, did not create a population of cruel and soulless abominations? Are you really that naive?”

“He's helping me fight the Empire. He's helping us fight the Empire.”

“That does not change what he is.”

“He thinks a lot of me. I can change him.”

“Perhaps he does think highly of you for some bizarre reason, but that does not mean he will hold himself to our moral standards.”

“This argument is pointless.” She paused. “He's in the city. Go talk to him.”

“Will you not accompany us to help convince him?”

“You haven't even convinced me. Not by a mile. All you've done is hurl insults and demands at me. Maybe you should invest in a proper diplomat, or at least a courier with social skills more developed than a five-year-old's.”

“We were in the moon for a thousand years. Our social skills were rotted away by isolation.”

“Then I suggest you get them back. Start by not being so abrasive to ponies who are trying to help you. He's far more willing to respond to your rudeness in kind than I am.”

“You impudent child!” She looked to the ground, breathing heavily with anger, then looked back up to Starlight. “Fine. We will speak with him. Our guards will keep an eye on you. If you do anything to hurt them, then you may consider our alliance null and void.” She paused. “And we warn you, Starlight Glimmer, from one demigod to another. Do not overestimate your allies' patience. You may find yourself with their knives in your back.”

With that, she launched herself in the air and flapped her wings, flying in the direction of the city, which now had the districts furthest from the palace engulfed in flames within the city walls. These were the poorest districts, built from termite-bitten wooden shacks and cheap mud huts. Starlight felt a sense of satisfaction at the sight of the ugliest parts of her capitol being obliterated, so that she could have better buildings built on top of it them for the pitiful saps who lived in those districts to move into. She wanted her Starlightopolis to be the neat, pretty, happy city that she imagined it would be. The city she felt that she deserved.

As Starlight witnessed the cleaning up of her city, she heard one of Luna's guards singing a song, her voice almost too quiet for its words to be intelligible. “Crusader, Crusader, please take me with you. The battle lies far to the north.”

Starlight looked quizzically to the guard. “What's that you're singing?”

The guard jolted at attention. “Oh! Um. Ahem. Sorry, I'm not really accustomed to being spoken to informally while I'm on duty.” She let on a sheepish smile.

“It's okay. Really. Nobody here's gonna chastise you for having a bit of chit-chat.”

The second guard spoke, “Don't mind her nervousness too much. It's not so much her being on duty as much as it is her being a huge nerd.”

“That's fine. Can you two tell me your names, please?”

The second guard dipped her head down, then grabbed her helmet with a hoof and let it slide off as she put her head back up. “My name is Midnight Glider.”

“And I'm Ebony Darkness.”

“Well,” Starlight said, “it is nice talking to you two. So, about that song…”

Ebony slid her helmet off her head and grinned. “Oh. It happens to be an Imperial war song. Or love song. I can never really tell which is which.”

“How do you know this?”

“I do a lot of reading on it. I just find Imperial culture and history fascinating. Princess Luna keeps a lot of books on the Empire in her personal library, and frankly, I can't get enough of them. I know Luna thinks they're all evil and stuff, but I think they're more morally gray than she lets on.”

“Really? How so?”

“Well, just look at their early history. After Planetvoid was exiled to the Wasteland, he had a bunch of kids, right? Hundreds of years, dozens of generations of colts and fillies. And you know what happens? They get into a war with the Romulans, the Saddle Arabians, and the Changelings. At the same time. And we wonder why the Empire is so unsentimental.”

“What's your point?”

“The entire Empire is basically just Planetvoid's extended family, right? They're all his children. Can't you see? They were never evil. It was all just a weary and jaded father protecting his family with tough love. They hate anyone who's not them because everyone else threatened their wives and children. They love and protect their own.”

“Are you the only one who thinks this?”

“Not at all! Equestria has a whole fandom dedicated to the Empire. I'm one of its leading figures, of course. The fandom started in Luna's personal library, and I'm one of its co-founders.”

Starlight chuckled. “The fandom. Ha ha ha. So, how big is the fandom, anyway?”

“Several thousand strong, and growing fast! This war has sort of slowed down growth a bit, but once peacetime comes, I think the pace will pick up again.”

“Oh, the war. What does the fandom think of the war, anyway?”

“We're divided on it. There's one group that thinks what the Empire did to Twilight was terrible and wants Equestria to beat the Empire so we can reform them and teach them friendship. There's a second group that doesn't think the Empire did it at all and that it was a false flag, probably the Changelings but there are some less popular suspects. And there's a third group – and I happen to be in this one – that thinks that the Empire did what they did to Twilight because she did something really terrible to provoke them, and we shouldn't have been so quick to declare war on them without any sort of dialogue first.”

“Hm. And what do you think Twilight did, anyway?”

“It's really unfortunate. Twilight was always a bit of a moral crusader. I think she just approached the values dissonance way too harshly and paid the ultimate price for it. It's really sad, but I don't think more ponies should have to die in a war over it.”

“Yeah, it is sad. So, what do you think of the Empire, anyway?”

“What do I think about it? Oh, where do I start? There's just so much to talk about.”

“How about the Imperial army?”

“The Legions? They're just so professional. So orderly. So brutally efficient. And have you read the sagas? All those epic poems about legionaries charging into armies outnumbering them five to one, and coming out unscathed? And don't get me started on the legionaries, themselves.”

“Please. By all means. Get started on them.”

Midnight rolled her eyes. “Oh, boy. Starlight, you've just opened up a big can of worms.”

Ebony got giddy with excitement. “I've read all about them in the sagas and the history books. I've even caught glimpses of them in person. In. Person. While escorting Luna to and fro. And, oh Celestia, they're even more dreamy than I imagined. They're big and muscular and handsome. They've got those deep voices with those throaty exotic accents. And their uniforms are so tidy. I love a stallion with a tidy uniform, you know. I'd give up both my wings to meet one face-to face. And even marry one! I'd feel so safe in his hooves as he cuddled me and whispered sweet nothings to me.”

Starlight chuckled. “You know he'd probably consider you a barbarian, right? On the same level as livestock?”

“Oh, I know. But I would prove him wrong! He'd look upon my face, and he'd fall deeply in love – real love – with me instantly, and see me as not as a barbarian, but as his soul mate. He'd take me as his slave, but he wouldn't lobotomize me, as he would be in love with me. Oh, he'd be rough at first. He'd have a reputation to keep, after all. He'd make me clean his quarters and cook his meals. And I'd do it all with a big smile on my face. Then, when I got too filthy, he'd take me to the River Styx and clean me off. This would be a turn-on for him. And at just the right moment, he would swipe me off my hooves with magic, take me to his quarters, and I would eagerly let him deflower me with his big, mea-”

“Ebony!” Midnight shouted. “Too. Much. Info.”

Ebony giggled. “Right. Sorry. Just got carried away for a second.”

“You know,” Starlight said, “I happen to be really good friends with an Imperial legionary.”

“Really?”

“Yes. First Cohort.”

“First Cohort! Oh, I'm just green with envy. What's he like? Does he talk in an old-timey super-formal vernacular? Is he really, really old? Does he have pretty eyes?”

“You can find all that out for yourself, if you want.”

“You… you mean you'll let me meet him?”

“Well, of course! It'd be a crime for me to let such a big fangirl like you leave the Wasteland without meeting one of the objects of her infatuation.”

“But I don't know if Luna would let me…”

“I think I can convince her to give you a bit of leeway.”

“Would… would he want to meet me?”

Starlight lit her horn, and she made a pen and paper appear in front of her out of the aether. “I'll write him a letter for you. Do you mind if I write this on your back?”

“No! Not at all!”

Starlight shuffled her way next to Ebony, and set her paper down on Ebony's armored back to write the letter. She didn't expect he'd appreciate her sending him letters while he was storming a city, so she figured it was best to at least keep the letter brief.

Dear Wanderer,

You're not gonna believe this. Luna arrived here with two bodyguards. And good god, was she rude! Anyway, Luna went over to Starlightopolis to tell you about what's going on south of the bridge, leaving her two guards here. Whether Luna's spoken to you already or not, I don't know. Now, get this: One of her guards is a co-founder of a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire! And she wants to meet you! I can hardly believe it myself, but I guess some ponies will obsess over anything. Her name is Ebony Darkness. She has a bit of a thing for Imperial stallions, so please don't charm her too much. But don't be too cold with her, either. Something tells me that could be even worse. Are you willing to meet her?

Sincerely,

Starlight Glimmer

After she was finished, she raised the pen and paper up with magic, and made them disappear in a flash of light.

Starlight looked down to Ebony. “Well. There you go. Now we just have to wait for his reply.”

The three ponies waited for a few moments. The whistling of the wind filled the void until a flash of golden light appeared in front of Starlight, with a sheet of paper bearing words written in her friend's familiar script.

Dear Starlight,

An Imperial fan club? In Equestria of all places? Are all Equestrians completely off their rockers, or is it just the ones I happen to come across? I honestly do not know what to make of this. I suppose it could not hurt to humor the little filly. In case Her Royal Pleasantness does not allow her the privilege, I will inscribe an autograph below this letter.

Sincerely,

Wanderer

---

To the Reich's number one fan, Ebony Darkness. You crazy little scamp.

Signed by Unnamed, Öwercenturion vom Legion II, Anz von är Gott MMMMXIV.

Starlight had a hearty laugh, then looked back to Ebony. “Well, he's open to it. He even gave you an autograph.”

Ebony gasped. “Really? Lemme see! Lemme see!”

Starlight magically held the letter in front of Ebony, whose mouth stretched into a grin utterly manic. Once Ebony's eyes drew to the bottom of the letter, she let out an excited squee and rubbed her cheek on the paper. “It's perfect! 'Year of our Lord four-thousand-fourteen', the exact current year on the Imperial calendar, in flawless Reichschpeak and Romulan numerals. The tight, neat, small handwriting. He's snide, but still prim and proper, just like I imagined an Imperial would be. And he's a Centurion! An elite Centurion!” She let out an intoxicated sigh. “My life is almost complete. I will treasure this forever.”

“Wait,” Starlight said as she folded the paper and slid it in Ebony's chestplate, “you know Reichschpeak?”

“I know a little bit. Luna's fluent in it. But then, she's fluent in a lot of different languages.”

“But I thought it was forbidden for non-Imperials to learn Reichschpeak.”

“Luna has her sources.”

“Okay, that's fine. Now, that song…”

“What song?”

“The crusader one.”

“Oh~, that one. I know all the lyrics. It's usually sung by Imperial mares to legionaries who are preparing to go out on Crusade.”

“Teach it to me. I want to know it.”

“After what you've done for me? I'd be happy to. You can sing, right?”

Starlight smirked. “Singing happens to be one of my hobbies.”

“Perfect! Let's get started, then. Now, repeat after me.” She cleared her throat. “Crusader, Crusader, please take me with you. The battle lies far to the north. Crusader, Crusader, don't leave me alone. I want to ride out on your quest.”

Luna looked down on the city with the cool air of the afternoon sky brushing her extended wings, watching as embers from burning buildings peppered the rising smoke, with the weeping of wives and the wailing of children echoing through them. Centaurs of stone wrangled the city-dwellers like cattle into crowds, keeping them under close supervision, and shattered the limbs of any who tried to escape before carelessly tossing them back into their assigned spots. 'So,' Luna thought to herself, 'this is war in its purest state. We had forgotten how cruel it could be.'

She flew over the city, watching as carnage wrought the city to ruin, until she reached the palace. The marble stairs were crudely painted with blood and dotted with mangled bits and pieces of guards' corpses, drawing a grizzly trail up to the palace doors, which laid ruined on the floor, one snapped in half with a single dent in the center. Luna descended down to the entrance, and looked inside. There was a gold chandelier which crashed down on the blue marble floor, now covered in broken glass and the blood of nobles. Among the bodies, there was a single survivor, a guard, who writhed on the left of two staircases which stood on opposite ends of the room. He was barely clinging on to life as his body struggled with the puffed, oozing burns that scarred it.

The guard reached out to Luna with a slow and shaky hoof, and called out to her. “Nightmare Moon? Is that you? Are you the god who has answered my prayers?”

Luna walked up the stairs, looking down to the guard and in his eyes. “We no longer go by that handle, stranger. But all the same, we will assist you however we can.”

“I wish only for release, moon-goddess.”

“And that you shall have, stranger. But before you have it, we would like to know of your assailant.”

“A… a warlord of light with blank yellow eyes. Spits fire like a dragon. Wears armor emblazoned with a golden symbol of equality.”

“As we suspected. Tell us his whereabouts. We will deal with him.”

“Went to the Minister's throne room. At the top of the palace. Climb to the top, and you will face him.”

She sighed. “We thank you, stranger. We are sorry that it has come to this.” She charged her horn in its dark-blue aura, and cast a beam on his head, which dissolved into smoke and ash which floated into the air.

With a heavy heart, she climbed the stairs. At the top of the stairway, she stumbled on the headless bodies of two twin fillies, whose mother was ripped in half and tossed carelessly down the stairs, and whose father laid next to them as a charred husk. She took a long breath, then levitated the fillies' bodies to the side so she could continue onwards. Then, looking to her left, she saw into a room through another broken doorway, where there stood bookcases stacked with tomes stained with blood spatters. A couple bookcases were collapsed on the floor, having been used to crush the ponies beneath them. Luna continued on to the other side of the room, where she saw another staircase leading upwards.

A set of hallways greeted her, with screams echoing from the distance. 'He is nearby,' she thought to herself. She bolted through the halls in a gallop, whipping herself in sharp turns as the screams got louder as she got closer to her so-called ally, occasionally leaping over bodies that laid in her path. Her hoofsteps on the marble floor echoed throughout the building, and paintings on the walls blurred past her, some having fallen to the ground with their frames cracked. Once the throne room was just around the corner, she saw a mare run in front of her in a panic before being engulfed in flames spewed from behind her. Luna stood and watched the mare burn as the heat radiating from the fire gave her face an orange glow and intense warmth rubbing her skin. The mare couldn't even scream; to breathe in to scream would be to fill the lungs with fire, and sear their insides, making them fill with their own fluids and causing her an ironic death by drowning if the external burns didn't kill her first. Once the fire subsided, the mare laid there dead, and the sound of a stallion weeping crept from the corner.

Luna peeked her head around the corner, and she saw a middle-aged unicorn stallion – the Prime Minister – dressed in a gray toga, with his face buried in the sky-blue coat of a young unicorn mare as he sat on a silver throne, which was encrusted with diamonds and sapphires, and embossed with images of streaming flowers and leaves. Beside them were sixteen stone centaurs, eight on each side, and the Wanderer staring in Luna's direction with his helm and glass eye-plates spattered in blood.

“Greetings, Princess. I was informed of your presence. You have arrived just in time to witness this heartbreaking moment.” He lit his horn, and the Prime Minister was surrounded by a gold aura as he was lifted up in the air. A bellow escaped the Minister as his chest was ripped open, split down the middle of the sternum with a loud crack and the tearing of cloth, revealing his beating heart and his lungs expanding and contracting at rapid pace. A gold aura surrounded the heart, and it imploded from within all its chambers, sending chunks of soft muscle flying out of the chest and letting blood pour through the opening from various severed veins. The Minister was thrown to the side to bleed out from his chest and die slowly, no longer having the organ that let blood give him life.

Luna emerged from the corner, her teeth gritted and her brows furrowed, her head getting hot with rage as she watched the blue mare sprint out of the room in terror. “You have a sick sense of humor!” she shouted.

“But I do have one, which is more than can be said of you, Princess. Now, please state your business.”

“You… you force us to bear witness to that, then expect us to have civil discussion with you!?”

“That is why you have come here, is it not?” He paused, watching Luna fume with anger. “By all means, Princess, take a breather. I would not force you to speak with me in a foul mood. It is hard enough to speak civilly with you in the best of circumstances.”

“Take a breather? Preposterous. Where is your empathy?”

“In the same place as your manners.”

"You really are dead inside, aren't you?" She waited for a response, but he just stood silent. “We may not be the most charismatic of princesses, but at least we do not slaughter innocents wholesale while dressed in a shroud of goodness and light.”

“Innocents? Hardly. I did that wastrel a favor.”

“A… a FAVOR?”

“For a stallion to weep in the eyes of the public? And to bury his shame in his own daughter's coat? To be cursed with such pitifulness is a fate worse than death.”

She raised her voice, and threw up her hoof. “And what of the denizens of Lesbos? Did they deserve it, too?”

“Lesbos was a cesspool of poverty, corruption, and filth. A pock-mark on the face of the Wasteland. By burning it to the ground, I made the world just a little less unpleasant to look at.”

Luna shuddered as her lips curled into a scowl. “And to think we had allied ourselves with the likes of you.”

“It is Miss Glimmer with whom you had allied yourself, not I.”

“She is the company she keeps.”

“And what is that company, exactly?”

“Cold, heartless, and evil.”

“Evil is nebulous and a matter of opinion.” He paused. “I am beyond this outdated moral duality. The Wasteland cannot afford to waste its energy on such pointless distractions, and I will not allow it to do so.”

“It is a shame that the Wasteland's corruptive forces have clouded your mind to the point where even the difference between good and evil eludes you.”

“There is no corruption here, Princess. Only harsh truths.”

“No corruption? You wear a skull on your head.”

“As if the self-proclaimed goddess of the night has any room to talk.”

“We are not the ones burning this place to ashes with apparent glee.”

“I only burn this place to ashes so that it may rise from those ashes stronger and better than before. One does not need binary morals to see that the destruction of the old order is necessary for the construction of the new one.”

“Hmph. And is Miss Glimmer aware that you are 'beyond morality'?”

“The topic never came up.” A sudden flash of blue light appeared in front of the Wanderer; it left a sheet of paper floating in front of him. He took a glance at it. “Ah. A message from her. How charming.” There was silence as he gazed down at the letter briefly, then looked back to Luna. “She never fails to be delightful.”

“What does that message say?”

He magically rolled the paper and set it down on the seat of the throne. “Nothing you should concern yourself with, your majesty.”

Luna spat on the ground and shot the Wanderer a wrathful glare. “Well, we will inform Miss Glimmer of your revolting amorality, and we will recall to her what we have seen here in excruciating detail.”

“Were you not going to relay your military circumstances to me?”

“We changed our mind.”

He nodded. “Perhaps another time, then.”

“We do not think so.”

“Very well. Hopefully, you will change your mind again.” He paused. “I wish you luck in all your endeavors, Princess.”

She scoffed, and turned her back on him before starting her way out. “Be careful what you wish for, Imperial.”

A deadpan expression stuck to Starlight's face as she, in the middle of the cold night, listened to Luna iterate what she saw and heard in Starlightopolis. Luna, herself, was clearly distressed, but that wasn't what Starlight cared about. What she cared about was the danger of this already tenuous alliance falling apart because her friend liked killing things too much. When Luna finished, Starlight only had a short rebuttal.

“…well, it can't be said that he isn't thorough.”

“Can you not put a cap on his savagery, Miss Glimmer?”

“I already told him to tone it down on the violence. Evidently, he hasn't. Doesn't he know how badly it reflects on me?”

“On you? Do you not care for those to whom he has inflicted dire suffering?”

“Look. I'll have a word with him. That's all I can promise you.”

“We would not recommend actually going into the palace. The sights are vomit-inducing to all but the most hardy stomachs.”

“How about I write him a letter?”

“We suppose letter correspondence should suffice. Do you mind if we stay here and speak with you when you are finished?”

Starlight smirked. “I see you've taken my suggestion to heart.”

Luna drew a long sigh. “Despite your vulgar articulation of it, we do recognize its merit. It is usually our sister who handles such matters. But given her broken state, we now recognize the need to develop these skills for ourselves.”

“I'm glad. Maybe someday, you'll be even more fit to rule than her.”

“Given the circumstances, that day would be a sad one.” She paused. “So, you will write to him?”

“Yeah. Gimme a minute.” She lit her horn, materialized a pen and paper, and began to write.

Dear Wanderer,

I just spoke with Princess Luna. She's getting better at talking to others. Turns out the only reason she's unpleasant with others is because she forgot how to be polite.

But you don't have that excuse. What did I tell you? Equality, not brutality. I've always hated using these dumb little slogans, but it looks to me like it's needed. In case you can't already tell, I am not happy with you right now. I understand that you need a little cruelty to establish dominance and authority, but ripping the heads off little fillies? Leaving guards crawling on the floor in so much pain and misery that they pray to Nightmare Moon (the dark goddess of eternal night!) to come and mercy kill them? Murdering a stallion in front of his own daughter in a spectacularly gory way just for the sake of making a lame pun? Are you trying to make me look like a villain?

I told you already that I was going to show you ways to be happy that don't involve committing PR suicide. I thought I was a dear to you. Don't you trust me? Explain yourself, please. I really, really hope you had reasons for this other than self-indulgent sadism.

Sincerely,

Starlight Glimmer

After sending the letter back to him, Starlight looked back to Luna. “Should I expect a reply soon?”

“It looked to us like he already had the city firmly in his clutch. Your correspondence should be free and uninterrupted.”

“Alright.”

They waited, and after a bit of waiting, Starlight got the letter. And, oh boy, this one was a doozy. She was grateful that he knew about paragraphs, or else this would be practically unreadable.

Dear Starlight,

I am sorry that you feel that way. What I have done here is standard Imperial protocol, executed in full compliance down to the letter. In fact, it is the most generous protocol for conquest of an urban settlement in the book. I could have enforced mass enslavement. I could have raided it, extracting any commercial good (livestock included) that could be carried on the backs of our troops. I could have had the population decimated. I could have enacted Sülten vom Gront (Salting of the Ground; killing every living being in the vicinity down to the last chicken and goat, reducing every building to dust, and curing the earth with salt so that neither plant not crop may grow from it) – the fate that Planetvoid bestowed on the ancient Romulan capitol of Rom, which you have likely never noticed any trace of for precisely that reason. Any civilian casualties that came about in the occupation of Starlightopolis were either accidental or wholly necessary.

As for my occupation of the palace, it was my intention to strike fear into the hearts of the citizens by making an example of their old ruling body. I will admit that, a few times, I allowed pragmatism to give way to my own desire for entertainment. For that, I take responsibility. However, my actions here were not fully wanton, nor even halfway so. I only gave into temptation when I felt that it would not prove a significant impediment on military operations or political goals. A small portion of the old ruling body – that which proved itself useful and relatively loyal to the new order – has been spared. In fact, upon interrogation, this portion has given light to some very pleasing pieces of information.

The validity of this information has been verified; it has led to some assets that will prove beneficial to our goals.

For the moment, your insistence on gender equality has proven a boon to us. There are plenty of highly capable mares who, seeing the new opportunities that we will provide them, are more than willing to apply their skills and talents in helping the new order. Some of these talents are even worth keeping, in my opinion. There is one in particular that I think you should meet. I believe that this one is worthy of a place in the new order's highest ranks. You will need quality delegation to help you drag the Wasteland into the modern world, and this one can serve as such should you choose to let her.

You said before that you would think of a way to pay for the means with which to industrialize. Such thought is no longer required. Unbeknownst to the Empire, there is a vault below the palace that contains copious amounts of gold, smelted into bars. An emergency fund. Convenient, is it not? I have already ordered that these bars be reforged into a different form. The nature of this form will be kept secret from you until we meet once again in person, but rest assured that nothing unseemly is being done. I believe that you will find joy in this secret once it has been revealed to you.

As I write this letter, your capitol is being cleansed of debris, organic and artificial. I will ensure that everything is neat and tidy upon your arrival. The palace is built with a balcony on the top floor, overlooking the town from the front, for the purpose of hosting the Minister's pathetic public speeches. If you would like to prepare a speech of your own to address your adoring public, now would be the time. Should you choose to make such a speech, I will enforce order and attention on their part, and I will ensure that any heckling by them is met with swift and cruel punishment, made clear to the public eye so that you may speak uninterrupted, and I will ensure that they applaud you at the appropriate moments. Not that I think it is required, but one is better safe than sorry

That is but a taste of what I have begun preparing for you here. It will take some time for me to pacify Starlightopolis and get all its affairs in order. Martial law is currently in effect in the city, and this will be the case until the Wasteland is fully in our control. However, I do hope that once you see it, you will feel better. I would hate for us to be split over such a petty disagreement. That would be counterproductive.

Sincerely,

Wanderer

After reading, Starlight took a breath and thought to herself. 'A public speech? I haven't done one of those since I left Our Town. And this time I won't have an audience of dozens, but of thousands! Putting my oratory skills back to good use will be wonderful. And none of those other things he mentioned sound too shabby, either.' She looked to Luna. “Seems like it's not really his fault. It's the Empire's.”

Luna lit her horn and magically snatched the letter from Starlight, allowing her eyes a quick scan of it. “He is attempting to downplay his atrocities and distract you from them. But we know better.” She glared up at Starlight. “We beseech you to end your partnership with him. He is incompatible with civilized society. The Wasteland's corruption has made him irredeemable, and if it is not stopped, it will corrupt you as well.” She paused. “You and I can destroy him together. We would let you rule this place in vassalage under our sister. She would be happy to help you modernize. Please, do not instill the sort of tyranny that it looks like you are about to instill. If you were told that a ruthless iron hoof was the only way to govern the Wasteland, then you were told wrong.”

'Celestia's vassal?' Starlight thought to herself. 'Hell, no. She wouldn't understand my equality, and I'm not bowing down to anyone.' She magically took the letter back from Luna, and stuffed it in the collar of her toga, then looked to Luna. “Thanks for the offer, Princess, but no. I don't need your sister's help. I know you don't think I'm capable of handling him, but trust me, I am. We've known each other for a long time. Maybe he isn't the nicest guy in the world, but he's never been abusive to me, and he respects my wishes.”

“Do you really believe that what he did was just protocol?”

“I do. He's been very strict with his protocols for as long as I've known him, and frankly, I don't think he knows any other way.”

“Hmph.”

“Look. Do you have Imperial military protocol committed entirely to memory?”

“No.”

“Me neither. But he does. He put remembering protocols over remembering his own name. Doesn't that say something?”

“It says he's insane.”

“Regardless. He's lived a long, crappy life. Just be nice to the guy, okay? When I first met him, he didn't even know what a hug was. He's been receptive to the kindness I've shown him, so chances are he'll be receptive to any kindness you show him.”

One corner of Luna's mouth curled down in disgust. “You would have us be kind to him? We feel we would rather die.”

“I think you two have more in common than you know.”

“We are deeply offended by that statement. But…” She groaned. “We will try. For Equestria. For our sister.”

“That's better. Will you be staying here tonight?”

“Yes. There are still important matters for us to discuss with... him.” She recoiled at that last word.

“Alright. You can sleep in my bed for tonight.”

“Normally, we do not even require sleep. But after today, we would greatly appreciate some rest.” Luna sauntered off to Starlight's quarters. “We thank you, Miss Glimmer, for your kindness. At least there is some decency in your faction.”

“No problem.” Starlight watched as Luna walked out of sight. Once Luna wasn't around, Starlight smiled and started to chuckle. “Heartbreaking. Ha ha. That's terrible.” She laughed a bit more, then made her way to the Wanderer's empty bed for her own night's rest. Next Chapter: Chapter 20 Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 10 Minutes