I came to crying into Tia's chest. At some point we had both moved to the bed, sitting on the edge.

I tightened my arms around her, not willing to let her go quite yet.

"Are you going to be ok?" Tia asked, her voice soft.

That was the question now wasn't it? Would I be ok? Strangely enough... I did feel... Better.

"Y-Yeah..." I sighed, pulling away from Tia. "I'm better now."

"Are you sure? If you need to I can make somepony else General-"

"No!" I interrupted suddenly. At Tia's shocked expression I started to explain myself. "I- I Don't want don't want my mistake to be for nothing... I'd rather have made the mistake and work to not repeat it than have somepony else do it over and over again." I reasoned.

"I- I see." Tia nodded before pulling me into another hug. "I think that's very noble of you Lu."

"Thank you Ti-"

I was interuppted by sudden knocking on my door.

"Stars..." I quietly cursed, rubbing by eyes to wipe away any remaining tears. "Come in." I stated loudly when I felt calm and presentable enough.

The door opened to reveal one of the messenger Ponies.

"General! Come quickly! There's been a development!"

A crowd had gathered on the lake shore, gazing up towards the city. Work had ceased entirely from what I could see. One Pony had even dropped a clay baking sheet that had been full of risen dough, staring in awe upwards.

I brushed past a pair of Ponies, Tia followed behind me.

Something fell into the middle of the lake with a distant splash.

On the battlements above, a swarm of Pegasi had gathered, but they didn't seem interested on the ground below.

I glanced around, noticing that several of my Captains had gathered loosely around me.

"Do we have a spyglass I can borrow?" I asked. Captain Comet hoofed such an item to me. "Thank you." I nodded to him, before lifting the glass to my eye.

The scene above was an odd one. The Pegasi weren't interested in us indeed. Instead, they were all looking inwards on their own keep. I couldn't hear them, but it also looked like they were shouting.

As I watched, a disturbance split the crowd.

At first I couldn't decipher what was happening, because it looked like a brawl was happening, but I couldn't tell who the Pegasi were fighting.

But then I saw that it wasn't so much a brawl, as a mob ganging up on a single Pony.

A Pony who had a Commander's crest.

The Commander, a pink mare, fought like a demon, even from this distance I could practically hear her snarls. But there were just too many rank and file soldiers.

The Commander fell down, and was swarmed.

Feathers that matched the Commander's coat colors erupted out of the pile.

When I next saw the Commander, her legs were hogtied together, and her wings were bloody and missing most of her feathers.

I swallowed as the Commander was lifted up by the mob and brought towards the edge.

I took the spyglass away from my eye as a pink shape was thrown over the edge.

"Here you go Captain." I gave the spyglass back to Captain Comet.

"Ma'am? Should we do anything?" he asked.

Should we do anything? If I had my Pegasi rescue the Ponies being thrown off Pegasopolis, then the Pegasi above would just stop throwing them.

The pink shape hit the water, almost exactly where the first splash happened.

And we didn't know what was happening.

Why were they throwing Ponies off the edge of their city?

I chewed my lip in thought.

"Captain, how many Ponies have they thrown?" I asked.

Another, bright blue shape dropped from the sky city.

"Uh... I think that's the seventh one." he replied.

"Do you know their ranks?"

"The few I've seen have been Commanders or Generals." he responded.

Curious...

It had been the on shift Commander this morning that denied my offer hadn't it?

"Don't rescue the thrown Ponies." I ordered. "I have a theory."

"Aye General." he saluted.

"Relay those orders immediately, and then you're to accompany me at Breakfast Outlook in a few minutes." I continued.

"Yes Ma'am." he kept the salute up.

"Excellent. Dismissed." I nodded. The stallion disappeared in a flurry of feathers.

I looked around for Smart Cookie or Short List.

"I'm impressed Lu." Tia's voice sounded from beside me.

I turned to look at her.

She was looking at me with a small smile.

"Impressed? Impressed about what?" I asked.

"The Luna of yesteryear would never have commanded another Pony so confidently." Tia smiled.

"Oh." I realized. "Uh, thank you Tia." I gave a curt nod.

I certainly felt like I had changed since yesterday, but had the Luna of merely a few days ago been the same as the Luna of last year? No... I didn't think so. Last year's Luna had only killed one stallion. The Luna of a few days ago had killed several, and had ordered the deaths of many more.

It was a sobering thought.

What would I be like tomorrow? Next month? Next year even?

I obviously wouldn't know until then, but it was harrowing.

I spotted the baked dough coloration of Smart Cookie, watching another colorful shape fall from the city.

"Tia, could you stay back here for a few minutes? I don't want you in harms way." I asked.

"Oh." Tia said, slightly taken aback at my subject change. "Yeah ok." She stated, taking a step back as if to say 'do what you must.'

"Thank you Tia." I nodded softly. I then turned towards the figure of Smart Cookie.

"Cookie!" I called out when I was a few lengths away from the mare. Cookie turned to regard me.

"Oh hey Luna!" she greeted. "What can I help ya fer?"

"I have a suspicion about what's going on above, I'm about to go to Breakfast Outlook to contact them. Do you want to come?" I asked.

Cookie smiled.

"It would be an honor Luna." she grinned.

"Excellent." I returned the smile, pulling out my white flag, and turning towards Breakfast Outlook, where the form of Captain Comet was already waiting along the way.

We quietly walked down the shore, where Comet joined us as we approached.

He didn't say anything but he nodded in approval at the presence of Smart Cookie.

I led the way forward, flanked on either side by both. Comet to my left, Cookie to my right. We came to a stop where I normally set the cart.

"Hey!" I called out, waving the flag above my head. From here I could hear the shouts of the distant Pegasi, but they must've been too busy to hear a single Unicorn on the ground.

As evidenced by a flailing bright yellow shape that fell towards the lake.

Shouting again would do no good.

So I lit my horn.

FREEEEEEEEEM!

The ray went straight up, passing by the battlements harmlessly.

The heads of several Pegasi poked over the battlements nearest to me.

I noted that not all of them wore helmets.

"Parlay! I ask for parlay!" I shouted, waving the flag again.

All of the heads withdrew.

They were probably talking with each other. So I decided to wait.

My patience was soon rewarded, for a minute or so later a trio of Pegasi in armor leapt over the battlement, their wings extending as they did so. As they descended, I noticed that all but the lead Pony were unarmed, who held a spear in his hooves, but held a white cloth torn off something in his mouth.

They approached the ground slowly, taking care to not be seen as aggressive as they landed on the very edge of the lake.

The lead Pony approached, his head low and his ears flat against his skull. He spat out the white cloth and spoke as he came close.

"I, the most senior commanding officer of Pegasopolis, Sergeant Flash Magnus, surrender on behalf of all of Pegasopolis."

He lay his spear on the ground at my hooves.

"I accept your surrender Sergeant Flash Magnus." I spoke loudly and clearly.

Pegasopolis had been broken.

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