I stood in Casúrdomhain's inner sanctum. It was a fairly large room, lit by candlelight. Furnishing wise, the furniture was relatively simple, although you could tell the woodcarver who had carved the designs was showing off a bit. They were short and stocky, prioritizing sturdiness over vanity, but not ignoring artistry entirely. The most prominent was the series of dining table and chairs at the far end of the rectangle room, but identical benches were kept alongside the walls, spaced evenly apart, and leaving enough space to comfortably walk between themselves and the wall.

But the walls were what held my attention.

Beautiful murals depicting great moments in the history of the Order. Carved lovingly to such a detail you could see individual hairs in the woodwork. No paint was involved, instead relying solely on the color of the lacquered wood to create color in the artwork. Which surprised me.

I had no idea wood came in pink or blue.

The price of those pieces alone must've cost a fortune!

Knights of all ranks ran across the wall murals. Fighting and slaying all manner of creature and foe. Dragons, Griffins, Pegasi, Unicorns, Hydras, and a great many things I wasn't sure I wanted to know the name of.

I was probably worthy of being depicted as well now.

But for a very different reason.

I was the one who had laid the Order low.

If I were made into a mural, it would not depict Knights racing across the wall.

I could practically see it on the wall as I looked on. The figure of an almost ebony Unicorn prominently displayed, looming over a field of fallen knights, and in the corner the figure of a fully clad Grandmaster fighting to break the surface of her own cistern.

The victory celebration happening outside did little to affect my somber mood.

I had won yes, but at what cost?

The Earthbreakers were all but extinct. Only a small hoof full had not been outside their fortress wall. Most of the Ponies inside the fortress were the Ponies who ran the day to day services that kept the fortress going, like the blacksmith or the baker.

The Earthbreaker Knights who had been inside the Keep were the eldest in the order, too old to fight, but well learned and respected.

Grandmaster Ebony Rain was beyond her prime. Although she carried her years well.

To use her own words; she "won't be fighting like that again."

It wasn't even my fault. The magic she had been channeling was just that potent and hard to conjure.

It was very likely, the Order would never be able to teach the next generation all they knew before the survivors shed their mortal coil.

I had doomed their teachings to a slow demise.

I walked respectfully along side the wall, taking in the mural.

The door to the Outer Sanctum creaked.

A peculiar pattern of hoof step and dead thump walked across the polished wooden floor.

"Hello Appleflower." I greeted solemnly.

"Lu." she grunted behind me.

"Did you need something?" I asked, still not turning away from the murals.

"That party out there ain't for Ebony y'know." she drawled in her familiar accent.

"She's ok? She didn't break anything in the fall?"

"Naw. Old battleaxe like 'er ain't gonna break from that small drop."

I felt a small smile curl the corner of my mouth, but it quickly flattened back out.

We fell into an odd silence.

But she didn't leave.

"How do you do it?" I asked, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Pardon?"

"All the killing, all the fighting." I gestured down the mural wall. "Look at all this! How many thousands of years has this been happening? How do you do it??" I asked loudly.

Appleflower didn't respond, but she limped over to me and sat on the floor.

"D' ya believe in what yer fightin' fer?" she asked.

"I feel like I have no choice." I wiped at my eyes.

"Then ya gotta."

I felt that small curl again.

Simple wisdom for hard problems.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, leaning into the mare's shoulder.

"How'd you mean?" she asked.

"I all but wiped out your Order. You and the elders with Ebony are probably some of the last Earthbreaker Knights."

"I see." Appleflower hummed. "Did I ever tell ya why I lived in Ùllahdmaiden?" she asked.

"I assumed you were assigned there to protect the village."

"Naw. Ùllahdmaiden was my birthplace. Ah may 'ave spent more time here th'n there as a filly, but when we're knighted we're given free reign ta go where ever we choose. What little time I spent in Ùllahdmaiden, was spent hearing about how the Order kept demanding tithes and services from Villages across Clan territory. 'Course, never whenever my Pa was around." she paused, thinking. "Ah joined as a squire, partially because Pa pressured me to, and because ah wanted ta fight monsters. Ma had been taken by a Cragodile y' see..."

She looked up at the mural in front of us, which depicted a battle with a horde of what appeared to be some sort of black Pony.

There wasn't any consistiancy between them, only that they looked... Pointy.

"After that- Traveled around, fought a bunch. Did a few things Ah'm not proud of... An' got my Knighthood." The giant paused. "Went back home soon as Ah could."

"Do you... Do you regret joining the Order?" I asked.

"Y'know... Ah'm not quite sure." Appleflower responded. "Sure Ah've done things Ah ain't proud of, but when everything was said and done, Ah found mahself in a place to stop others from repeating mah mistakes. An' in the end, that was worth it."

I found myself looking away.

How could one be... Proud of making a mistake? Wasn't the point of pride and honor being as just as you could be?

"I'm not sure I-"

The door at the entrance of the hall slammed open.

"General!" A pony whose voice I recognized as Starbright. "We've got a situation!"

A Unicorn stallion stood before me, held by two soldiers, still in armor.

"This Pony was found beating some of the prisoners we captured. He was wearing these." Captain Comet Trail explained, holding up barding that had come from the City, and a maul.

This Pony was one of my soldiers.

I looked the stallion in the eye.

"Are you trying to make a liar of me?" I asked.

"Ma'am?" he responded.

"Were my orders not 'treat them with dignity'?" I asked.

"B-But well... You know." he tilted his head towards the side.

I glanced to where he was indicating.

We stood in front of the keep. Where the Grandmaster had challenged me to the duel. I could still see the scortch marks. Ponies lined themselves along the walls, leaving the small courtyard open in the middle.

The stallion's head was tilted towards a Pony.

I hadn't noticed him before now, he was too small. But I recognized him immediately.

It was the kitchen colt I had personally taken prisoner after we advanced into the city.

His coat was frazzled, and bruises could be seen forming all over his body.

I turned back to the stallion.

"I don't know what you're implying." I said coldly, narrowing my eyes.

The stallion's eyes danced in their sockets.

"They're... You know." he said nerviously.

"No I don't know. Explain it for all to hear." I commanded.

The stallion licked his lips in an attempt to wet them, before he leaned towards me.

"They're mud Ponies..." he whispered.

I forced myself to not react.

"Colt." I called out, not taking my eyes off the accused stallion. "Come here."

The kitchen colt jumped, clearly startled. But somepony behind him gently nudged him forward.

I wasn't sure he was fully in control of his own legs as they walked him forward.

"Y-y-y-yes?" he asked, stuttering.

"What was this stallion doing to you?" I asked, still not looking at the colt.

"H-h-h-h-h-he-"

"Don't listen to him! He's just a stupid mud Pony colt! He doesn't know what he's talking about!" The stallion interuppted.

I looked down at the colt.

He was a nervious wreck.

His knees and hocks were practically chattering together. His ears twitched something awful, like a fly was buzzing around his head.

He refused to look towards the stallion.

And for a split second, I didn't see a kitchen colt.

I saw my younger self, of nine years old, fresh from her first kill.

"Thank you that will be all." I gently picked him up with my magic and turned him around, nudging back into the crowd.

"B-b-but-!" he squeaked.

I turned back towards the stallion.

But I didn't see the Unicorn that was brought before me.

I saw the face of Hoarfrost.

I knew what he was trying to do.

"Captain, may I see his weapon?" I asked, holding my hoof out for it.

Wordlessly, Comet deposited the maul in my hoof.

"Thank you Captain."

I turned the maul over, examining it. In a precious life, it had been a wood splitting maul. But it had been repurposed as a weapon for the 'Army of Unity'. Which wasn't too surprising. Even with all the scavaged armor and weapons, even with what little we had made before the march on Casúrdomhain, there was barely enough weapons for everypony.

There were still Ponies who didn't even have armor.

"Hm." I hummed in thought.

I swung the maul as hard as I could.

CRACK

Something flew off to the side.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the stallion screamed.

The crowd gasped in shock.

"Put him in the stockade." I handed the blood splattered maul back to Comet, who took it back without comment. I turned to look at the stallion who was writhing in the Soldiers grasp.

Blood dribbled down his face.

His horn was now a bloody stump.

"Leave him there until my neck chaffs."

The soldiers, who kept hold obeyed without a word.

If they feared for themselves I knew not. But they did it anyway.

The stallions screams grew quieter as the distance between us grew.

I looked off to the side.

The broken horn had landed at the hooves of the kitchen colt.

His eyes were wide.

I approached.

His horrified face stared up at me.

I picked up the horn in my magic and turned away.

Without the stallion's screaming, the whole courtyard was deathly silent.

"I promised;" I began, speaking loudly enough for everypony present to hear. "That those who surrendered would be treated with dignity." I started to walk down the line of Ponies, none of which who would meet my gaze. "Prisoners, they may be. But never forget why we are here! They may fight, they may scream and kick and complain! But we those Ponies are to be our brothers and sisters! We are not fighting this war to repeat the same mistakes the ones we fight made!" I turned to prowl along the other side of the courtyard. "If any of you think to make a fool of me by mistreating, or handling our future siblings like how the original tribes would... Then let me be crystal clear. Any hoof raised against them, I will treat as if you raised it against me." I came to a stop and glared. "I care not if that Pony be Earth Pony, Pegasi, or even Unicorn." I spun the horn in my magic, holding it up for all to see. "Am I understood?"

A chorus of affirmitives greeted me.

"Good." I growled.

I turned away from the crowd, walking to the keep's door and pushing my way inside.

The door shut behind me with a clack.

I breathed a sigh.

Sure Ah've done things Ah ain't proud of, but when everything was said and done, Ah found mahself in a place to stop others from repeating mah mistakes.

Mistakes...

Had I done anything that could be classified as a 'mistake'?

I looked down at the broken horn in my ceurlean magic.

Was my judgment of that stallion a mistake? Cruel... Perhaps. But no... Not a mistake. He was the one beating and raping my prisoners. Prisoners I had promised would be treated respectfully.

Why should I regret my decision then? I knew what it was like to be in that colt's position. At least now he could rest easy knowing this attacker was dealt with.

So why was I questioning this?

I approached a nearby sconce, and tossed the broken horn inside.

It blackened as it began to burn and char.

The door I had just entered through opened again.

And shut again.

Hoofsteps.

"You kept your promise." The voice of Ebony Rain said behind me.

"I did." I nodded.

"You didn't have to. You wouldn't have been the first to turn a blind eye."

"Then I wouldn't be any better than the Ponies who brought the Windegos." I turned away from the flaming sconce.

The Grandmaster had taken off her armor, replacing it with a robe. But she still looked damp and unsettled from her adventure into the cistern.

"They're real." I insited. "As real as you and me. And more horrible than you can imagine."

"I've seen a lot in my long life. So forgive me if I'm hesitant to believe you."

I found myself shaking my head.

"You've never seen a blizzard in July." I started. "It was warm... Down South. The land was beautiful and verdant. It was paradise... But that night... After the armies of the tribes started to fight..." I looked her in the eyes. "The snow came so thick and so fast we were practically buried within the hour. We had to huddle together around a single fire to keep warm. Almost the entire camp of refugees. But then they came... Fresh from their fight with all three armies." I turned back towards the sconce, comforting myself with the memory of fire and warmth. "Maybe you've fought undead before... But you've never heard the howl of a Windego. The shiver that runs down your spine is like the wind blowing away even the memory of warmth." I shook my head again, clearing it. "I won't get into the details of the fight, but I'll tell you what we found the next morning. While the day before, the land had been verdant and plentiful, it had become a literal wasteland overnight. The branches of the trees had been blown clean off the trunk, which accumulated spires of snow. We didn't just find bodies, we found bodies encased in ice. Frozen so fast they still were trying to run away, even in death. The only reason your Chancellor survived, was because she happened to be next to a Unicornian Court Wizard when he shielded himself." I shook my head again. "I'm not fighting you. I don't want to fight you. I'm fighting against the Eternal Winter that will come if we don't change. Change that apparently even my own army doesn't beleive in."

Ebony Rain was silent.

"If you want, I'll leave you and what remains of your order here. You can keep Casúrdomhain. I don't want it. The only reason I came, was because you wouldn't listen to your own Chancellor, and because I need your years worth of supplies to starve out Pegasopolis. Who won't stop fighting. Who won't change."

"I see..." Ebony chewed her lip in thought.

We fell into silence, pretending to look over the mural with its pointy black Ponies.

"I wasn't lying when I told your door guard you have a beautiful keep." I spoke up. "In another life, I might've been proud to be an Earthbreaker Squire."

"No." Ebony shook her head. "You're going to be so much more."

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