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Something felt different when I woke up this morning. Like after this long of no sign of a significant enemy detachment was starting to get to me. With every passing day of no encounter with the enemy, the less time we had before the next battle. I knew I should not be worried. I was utterly astounded with how well prepared the entire militia was by this point. Our aerial evacuation personnel knew how to work and I was confident the arrow repulsion enchantments in their gear would keep them safe from archers. Our pikemen had been running daily drills to maintain formation and drive the enemy back. Our unicorn archers were making leaps and bounds under the tutorship of the finest archers in the world. Everything was falling into place so perfectly. I should not have been worried.

And yet, I was. I was afraid as I sat at a table in the command center's main room while gazing over at the radar station in the corner. No signs of enemy movement were being displayed upon the crystal panels. I feared for the people around me. I doubt they truly knew the ramifications of what lied ahead of us. This was war. We already had two trials that felt more like tests than actual battles. A light infantry battalion that was too small and underequipped for a direct confrontation and a properly sized army aiming to capture more than to kill. The only comfort I took at the moment was that the emperor seemed to be wanting to take everyone alive, but who could say if that would change the closer we came to reaching our destination? The thought of anyone at all not coming home alive terrified me. War is not in Equestria's nature, let alone dying on a battlefield miles from home.

"You're afraid..." I heard a soft voice speak from beside me. A quick glance down revealed Ocellus standing beside me. She reached up and climbed onto my lap as I held her in one arm. "Are you OK?"

"Just...going a little stir crazy, I guess... The waiting is finally getting to me." I replied while not certain if it was a good idea for her to be out of my room. I knew Ocellus would have to stay in my company when out of my private chambers, but I knew she was not exactly welcome yet. But her gentle snuggling did soothe my heart just a bit. "Thanks for the cuddles, love bug. It helps."

She nestled her head in the crook of my neck just under my chin. "I'm glad I can help... I hope everything turns out fine."

When my eyes wandered, I saw her too. Smolder stood in the narrow stairway leading up to my room with her back to the wall. She had her arms cross with a leg cross over her knee, but still smiled in silence while waving at us. I appreciated her presence, constant as it was so long as I was in the command center. I am sure she was simply keeping an eye on Ocellus while she was out of my room.

A moment later, one of the guards positioned in the command center walked by and set a couple of glasses of water on the table. He cast me a glance and nodded before walking away to resume his duties. I nodded back at the simple act of kindness and took one glass in hand for a drink, but then paused. There were two glasses instead of one. I glanced down at Ocellus while she too looked at the extra glass. "Is that for me?"

"Probably. Go ahead, no harm is staying hydrated." I said softly as Ocellus began to take the glass in hold with some levitation magic. It was not much, but that display of simple hospitality gave me the impression that the personnel stationed in the command center were starting to warm up to our little Changeling guest on account of her very good behavior so far. Shining Armor would most likely take much longer to display any kindness towards Ocellus due to his much more personal animosity towards her kind, but it was still inspiring to see his men thawing in their treatment of her. I then whispered to her while she gulped down the clear fluid, "See? Give them time. They'll come around if you keep being a good love bug."

"I hope so." She muttered softly after downing half the glass. When the same stallion came walking by again, Ocellus spoke up with a louder tone of voice. "Thank you!"

He glanced our way and nodded before carrying on without a word. I stroked my hand over her head to further please the little lady. It was not much, but it was a start. And she even smiled a little bit. "It doesn't feel like they hate me anymore..."

"Because you're a good love bug, right?" I asked while Ocellus giggled while drinking down the rest of her glass. I then wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled my cheek against her smooth rounded cranium. "Everyone loves a cute love bug."

"Eeee, not so much! This love is too sweet!" Ocellus squealed as she even started giggling. I am not sure if she was eating my love at the time, but she was definitely sensing it. I guess even being surrounded by love just feels good for a Changeling. I even noticed some of the other guardsmen around us cracking some crooked yet very amused smirks in response to what they were seeing. It is hard to stay cold towards someone so preciously adorable, even if they look a little menacing.

We both got quiet for a while as the command center rolled along on its wheels. Ocellus embraced me with her head under my chin. Smolder soon came over and pulled up a seat beside us. She sat in her chair, leaning on the table with her hands clutched together to let her fingers twiddle a bit. "Does it feel like it's too quiet out here today?"

"Yeah, it kinda does." I muttered while trying not to think too hard about what was surely coming. I really did appreciate the comforting presence of my little beloved and our precious new friend. But it could only do so much. "Won't be long now, I'm sure..."

"You'll be OK out there, right?" Smolder asked softly as she spread her wing towards me while reaching it under the table. In an act of discretion, she rested her wingtip on my thigh as a substitute for her hand. We shared a meaningful gaze for a moment that no one around us would be able to see any deeper meaning in.

"I...hope so..." I retorted quietly before gulping down the rest of my drink. I was uneasy. Probably moreso than I should have been, but I have never been a warrior. How would I fare on a true battlefield when the time came? When my eyes turned to Smolder, she tilted her head towards the stairs leading up into the loft where I stay. I nodded and stood up with her before following the little dragon lady into our room while carrying Ocellus in my arms.

Smolder locked the door behind us and went around the room to close the curtains over the few windows we had. Ocellus looked around as I set her down, having been too caught up in basking in my love to notice we had moved to another room. "We're back here? Why?"

"James and I wanna spend a minute together while things are quiet." Smolder said softly as she reached for my hand. I looked down at her while she looked up at me with a very knowing smile. She then whispered with her voice losing its usual subtle gravelly growl, "Right, mi amor?"

"Yeah. Please." I whispered as I felt the tender caress of my eardrums at the sound of Smolder's true voice.

"Oh my, that voice is beautiful... I didn't know you could sound like that." Ocellus gasped with a hoof over her lips. She could surely detect the love in the air between us as I took a seat on the edge of the bed. She then asked, "Are you...in love?"

Ocellus was already privy to the fact that Smolder and I are more than just friends, but I doubt she knew the full story between the two of us. We knew we could trust her with a secret like that. It is in a Changeling's nature to be discreet after all. Smolder smiled knowingly at Ocellus before climbing u to the bed and straddling me with her hands on my cheek while I rested a hand on the base of her tail. "Very in love."

Our little Changeling friend watched in awe as the two of us shared a wonderful deep kiss. Smolder held me while I rested a hand on the back of her head. Our lips parted while our eyes closed, our voices humming a tender symphony in the depths of our throats. Her long narrow tongue danced with mine as that subtle hint of sulfur filled her breath. That wonderful sweetness offset by a hint of spiciness on her tongue... I had forgotten how much I adore kisses from my little dragon lover.

Ocellus was blushing furiously as she watched the two of us savor this moment of stillness to share our love. Her little wings fluttered like those of a cicada as Smolder pulled away from the kiss to gaze lovingly into my eyes with a wonderful smile on her lips. That look in those beautiful blue eyes... Not at all the gaze of a feckless little girl. That was a gaze only a seasoned woman would give. She glanced back at Ocellus for a second while I rested my hands on her waist to keep her steady over my lap. "We have to be cautious for now. At least until I finally turn sixteen."

Smolder then brought her hand to my face and lovingly caressed my cheek while I gazed lovingly back at her. Her voice soft and elegant without its usual growling filter, she whispered for both of us to hear. "Someday, James and I will be life mates. Won't we?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, love." I whispered back to my beloved as we once again embraced, our kissing resuming as we held, tasted, and quietly sang to each other. It was so good to be in love and to be loved by such a wonderful young woman. I gasped in a whisper during a pause in the kiss, "Ti amo tanto, mia poca draghessa..."

"Mmm... Je t'aime toujours, mi amor..." Smolder cooed as our kissing resumed. My hands slid along her smooth scales and up to her folded wings. In response to my caresses, her wings spread gloriously wide in a wonderful display of courtship. She then whispered to me so softly, "I wish I could be yours right now... Hold you forever and never let go..."

"Patience, love... Someday. I'll wait for you." I whispered back to her before I felt Smolder press her hands to my chest. She leaned forward with wings still spread wide and with a big loving smile on her face. Once upon my back, she scooped both hands under my head and pressed her lips to mine for more wonderful kissing. God, it felt so good to be in love... And we shamelessly displayed our love to the only other witness in the room. A guest who was likely feasting on the love filling the air.

"I'm...so happy for you two..." I heard Ocellus whimper and even sniffle a bit from nearby. As if in tears. "I won't tell anyone... I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Thanks, Ocellus. You're a good friend." Smolder said before glancing back at our little friend. She then gazed down at me again and whispered, "I wanna stay like this for a little while. Just let me hold you and love you, please?"

"Yes, please... Don't leave me right now. I need you, dear." I whispered up to Smolder as my hand found its way to hers. Our fingers curled around the other with this simple yet sacred gesture. Smolder relaxed against me with wings still spread wide and draped down over the bed. I rested my other hand on the middle of her back, sliding it up and down idly to caress her orange scales. "You're like a dream, Smolder... There's no one else like you out there..."

"I'll always be your dream girl, mi amor. Yours...and no one else's." She cooed tenderly to me without a hint of teasing in that tone She really was betting everything on working out between us in the end. Ember was not joking at all when she said dragons mate for life. I can only hope I never end up disappointing dear Smolder in the long run.

Before long, Ocellus climbed upon the bed and crawled over to rest beside us. She gazed at us with her blue featureless eyes, face flushed as she probably found the love coming from us to be a little overwhelming. "Your love...is so wonderful and sincere... You really do mean that much to each other. I hope everything will be fine for you in the end."

Smolder looked lazily at our friend and asked, "Hey, come to think of it... How does my love feel? Am I...good enough for him?"

"Your love? Um... It..." Ocellus narrowed her eyes as she tried to feel more deeply with what she was detecting from Smolder. "It's... It's so strong... So...mature. It's not a fickle love. It's... Are you sure you're only fourteen? I didn't know someone so young could...love someone like this..."

"Yeah. I am. I guess... I don't know why I can love someone this much. I guess...that's just part of being a dragon who's had a lot of hard times and found someone who will never give up on her." Smolder said with a contemplative sigh. She tightened her grasp on my hand while she gazed deep into my eyes. "I hope I never stop loving you... I'll never forgive myself if I break your heart."

"You won't, dear. You won't. You don't have it in you to betray me like that." I whispered with no doubt in my mind. I believed her. I truly did. "I know you won't abandon me for someone else. I'm convinced of that."

"Good... Because I'll never let go of you, mi amor." Smolder cooed as she never looked away from my eyes. That beautiful shade of almost aquatic blue with exotic narrow pupils gazing at me while her hands held and caressed my head in a distinctly wifely manner... If this was how things were between us at that moment, then a wonderful future most definitely awaited us several years down the line. "I'll never let you go. I know never sounds like a long time, but I mean it. I want no one else but you, mi amor. Do you believe me?"

"Yes, dear. I really do." I whispered to her as I snaked my arms around her young body. I sighed softly while I pulled her down and held her against me in the most loving embrace I could muster. "I won't let go... I won't doubt you... I need you in my life."

"You two are... Oh my goodness, you're just so inspiring..." Ocellus quietly squealed with hooves over her face. Even though our love was being directed at only each other, Ocellus was still being exposed to it and it was seemingly euphoric to her.

Smolder turned her head to look at our little friend before smirking down at me. I cracked a more crooked and curious smirk as I wondered what was going on in her head. She then reached out and took hold of the little Changeling's hoof before starting to pull her closer. "How about you get over here and really start tasting all this love?"

"Huh?! But...but I...!" Ocellus squealed while looking adorably confused as Smolder shifted a little further to the right side of my torso to allow room for Ocellus. I all but laughed as Smolder pulled her onto the left side of my torso to let me put my arms around both of them. Smolder lovingly nuzzled the side of my face with her nose, but Ocellus still squirmed and squealed in my embrace. "Too much! It's too much! I'm gonna burst...!"

"Does it...not feel nice?" I asked while starting to wonder if there could be detrimental affects for a Changeling who consumes too much love too quickly. Or was she consuming any love in the first place?

"It's just so much... I've never felt so much before... I mean it feels wonderful, but.. Is it really OK?" Ocellus asked while looking and sounding so confused while probably having never felt so much love so often back at the hive. What a radical change for her to go through even if it seemed so mundane to anyone else. "I like it, but...I don't know if I should..."

"Ocellus... Love bug, no one's gonna mind if you just like to hang around in a lovely atmosphere, all right?" I replied while caressing her smooth carapace. Smolder also rubbed her friend's smooth round head to try and comfort her. "Don't be ashamed. We want you to feel happy."

"You too make me feel so at home, I swear..." Ocellus mumbled before resting the side of her head on my chest. I think she was even trying to listen to the beating of my heart. "If it's really OK with you two... I wanna feel all this love all the time... It always feels so good."

"Then more love for the love bug!" Smolder cheered a little quietly as we both hugged Ocellus. Ocellus went from squealing to giggling as she started to let herself enjoy these new sensations. "No shame in being loved, right? And you'll be able to feel all this love all the time when we get back home."

"You guys are the best... Thank you for having me." Ocellus muttered sweetly while keeping her eyes squinted shut. Poor little thing. It felt good to see her so happy and in her element. I just wanted her to feel welcome. "Will you always have me like this? I... I don't ever want to leave..."

"Please, love bug? We'd be happy to have you stay with us in Ponyville." I whispered to our new friend. So soft and cuddly. I would hate to not ever see Ocellus again even after such a short time. She was simply too endearing to say goodbye to. I tightened my embrace to hold the two little ladies against me and whispered, "We'll make it work. We'll find a good place for you when we get back home."

Ocellus reached out and touched her nose to mine. There was just so much love floating around the room by that point. I wonder if a Changeling like her could even see it. She then cooed to me, "If I always feel this happy around you, I never want to leave."

"You Changelings are so easy to please." Smolder retorted with a smirk on her lips. Although she clearly meant that in a good way. "But hey, we dragons are easy to please too. Guess we got something in common."

"Has anyone ever said what a cute duo you two make? Because you both look like great friends." I said with a smirk. Smolder just burst into snickering while Ocellus averted her gaze with a crooked smile on her face. They really were hitting it off well after a few days. Although Ocellus soon began to look away from us entirely to the point where I felt compelled to speak up. "You OK there, love bug?"

"Um... Well... Can I make a selfish request?" She asked sheepishly before looking at me out of the corner of her eye. Smolder and I shared a confused glance before I nodded at Ocellus. She then quietly asked, "I was wondering if...maybe someday... Would you love me too?"

"I certainly can't rule that out." I said softly while thinking the request was much more innocent than what many might assume. I stroked my hand over her head and asked, "Would it feel good if I loved you?"

"The best love... The most satisfying and filling love is the love that's being given just to you. It's nice feeding off of love that's just floating around me, but...the love that's meant just for me? That would be the best ever..." Ocellus explained quietly while having a hard time looking me in the eye. "So... Maybe someday... Do you think you could love me too? Even if I am a...scary little Changeling..."

"Hey, don't go putting yourself down like that. There's nothing scary about you." Solder suddenly spoke quite firmly while she tapped a finger on Ocellus' smooth cranium. She then smiled at me and asked, "You've got plenty of love to give, right? You think you can spare some love for this cute love bug?"

"I mostly certainly think I can. I do like her." I retorted while Ocellus squealed sweetly into my chest. She really was not used to be so adored. I then rested a hand on her back and said, "I do like you. Does that count? Do you feel anything?"

"Um... I think..." Ocellus mumbled before her horn was coated by her magic aura. She then said, "I... I think I feel it... It's small right now, but...it tastes so nice... And it's all for me."

Smolder and I held our little friend between us while Ocellus quietly enjoyed a snack straight from my heart. Which...sounds really messed up when taken out of context. She soon turned her gaze up to look at me and whispered, "Thank you for loving me."

Such words would sound strange coming from anyone who is not a Changeling. Although I knew she meant every word. I then pulled her a little closer and gave that precious love bug a tiny kiss on the nose. Smolder got a chuckle as Ocellus recoiled and hid her face from us. "Oooooh, so sweet!"

Every act of love towards her was like a taste of the sweetest honey. Capitalizing on this, Smolder reached out and grabbed Ocellus before pulling her into a hug. "Have some of my love! Yummy, right!"

"Guys, please! I can't eat another bite!" Ocellus said with a bit of a groan. That shift in tone was enough for us to let her go and allow Ocellus to roll off of me. She certainly did not look bloated, but she groaned softly like someone who had overindulged at a buffet. "So full... I'm good until dinner tonight..."

"Just can't help yourself when a free meal is right in front of you, huh?" Smolder said with a devilish grin on her face. She was having too much fun messing with Ocellus in such a wholesome way. Although it was hard for me to not smirk myself.

"Never...had so much to sample before... So much around me all the time... Can't resist..." Ocellus gurgled with a bit of a woozy chuckle. "You guys are great... Happy to be here..."

"Um... You need time for a nap, love bug?" I asked as I finally started to sit up with Smolder at my side. She was just sprawled out on her back like a sleepy dog. When all I got was another quiet groan, I just rolled my eyes. "I think that was a yes."

While Smolder just chuckled with a hand held before her face, I thought I felt something shift below us. The bed did not move. Instead, it felt like we...stopped. I looked behind me and through the curtain. The landscape was no longer rolling by. Smolder took notice of this as well and asked, "We stopped? Already?"

"Weird. The sky doesn't look like we're getting heavy rain in a while..." I muttered before I suddenly froze. A wave of alarm flooded my senses as I realized why this had not happened before during clear weather. I glanced at Smolder and said, "Wait here. I'm gonna go check on something."

My beloved could feel the shift in my tone and nodded without a word. But as I rose from the bed while Ocellus was too groggy to pay much mind to anything, Smolder spoke quietly. "Come back soon."

"I will." I replied with a soft voice before stepping out of the room and heading down the stairs. Upon reaching the main room of the command center, I found things wer too quiet. And I saw why. Everyone was gathered around the radar station in the corner. All three of the royal sisters stood with their men as my eyes fell upon one specific crystal panel. My eyes opened wider. "Oh no."

I approached them at a brisk pace. There, right at the most eastern edge of our map display, was an impressively large mass of slowly moving signatures. Not at all like that tiny light infantry battalion we obliterated not long ago. Judging by the display across the rest of the panels, this approaching mass of enemy units was quite a ways off. We at least had time to prepare. "Today's the day..."

Shining Armor glanced at his men as he spoke with a more dire tone than I am used to hearing from him. "Looks like we're about to find out just how well prepared we are. Let's set up camp now."

"Yes, sir." Estoc retorted before hurrying out the door to spread the word. The camp would surely be up and ready before long. Until then, we had time to discuss strategy and positions.

This was it. Our first live fire encounter. A true battle. The numbers in our steadily growing militia had risen in the past couple of weeks. As has the size of the camp itself. I am sure we have at least a few thousand personnel around us now. But how many of those Hollow troops could the emperor summon at one time? For just an instant, I failed to notice the sound of my name being spoken next to me. It took the gentle caress of a few feathers to get my attention. "James?"

"Uh... Yeah?" I mumbled before turning to face Celestia. She gazed at me with eyes that looked just as uncertain as I was. "Are you ready?"

"No, but not like I have a choice, right?" I retorted while trying to not lose my resolve. I had come this far. And I knew I was much better off than anyone else there. "What about you three? What will your roles be here?"

"I will be serving as the commander-in-chief. I will be staying towards the back and giving directives to our field officers such as Shining Armor and Seaspray. If I must, I will get directly involved should the enemy draw too close." Celestia explained before she glanced down at Luna.

Luna then say firmly, "I will be presiding over our battlemages. I should be able to give them concise directives for where to launch their magical bombardments."

Nightmare Moon then took a step towards me. "I will be serving as the frontline commander. I will be there in the thick of battle with you. But as for now..."

The three sisters looked at each other for a second and nodded in unison. Celestia then turned to me and said, "James. Fetch your armor. We have appreciated your input thus far, but leave the battlefield strategies to us."

"Right... I don't think I'd be best suited for telling everyone where to set themselves up for a battlefield clash. See you in a bit." I replied before watching them approach the war room. Shining Armor joined them and I think I saw Seaspray entering the command center while I was heading up the stairs to my room.

Upon stepping back into my room, Smolder greeted e while still resting on my bed. "Everything OK out there?"

"Not for long." I replied before stepping into the tub that held my armor's liquid form. "Our sensors have picked up a large mass of enemy units approaching. We probably have a couple of hours before they get here, but... Yeah. This is it. Our first real battle out here."

"Then...you're..." Smolder muttered before she finally understood why I was putting on my armor. She held a hand to her mouth as her eyes opened wide. "You're gonna be OK out there, right?"

"Probably... I mean that last little scuffle with that light infantry battalion ended without any of those things taking a swing at me. I might be able to exploit that." I replied as my armor's liquid form hardened into a full suit of winged plate armor. "It might be due to the fact that I'm the same species as the emperor himself. Don't want to harm any fellow humans, I guess."

I looked past Smolder to find Ocellus having passed out for a nap after such a filling meal. "She couldn't stay awake?"

"Nope. We sure filled her up." Smolder retorted while giving our friend and amused smirk. But that smirk faded quickly when she looked back up at me. "As soon as you can... Come back so I know you're OK."

"As soon as I can, dear." I said softly while just trying to embrace the resignation of knowing I should not run away from this fight. I leaned down to Smolder and gave my beloved a kiss. "Keep Ocellus company until I get back."

"I'm not going anywhere. Be safe, mi amor." The little dragoness whispered to me while placing a hand upon my gauntlet. I then fetched my helmet and placed it upon my head before reaching for the Lunar Shield. Smolder then let out a quiet whistle as she said, "Man, you really do look amazing in all that gear... Gives me the feeling you're unstoppable. Kinda wish I could see you in action out there."

"I really don't recommend trying to find a place to watch from, Smolder. You're too young to be out here in the first place." I retorted while affixing my shield to my left arm. I then looked at her and spoke, "Promise me you won't go outside to try and watch the battle. Ever. You don't know what kind of horrors happen on the battlefield. It's not like a simple duel between rivals. People get maimed and die."

Smolder became silent and turned her gaze to the floor in thought. It was a terrible thing to say to someone from Equestria, let alone to someone so young. She then looked up at me without raising her head and asked, "Is some of them gonna die out there today?"

"I... God, I hope not..." I muttered while turning towards the window in the corner. I knew it was not facing east, though I wish I could look out in that direction. I closed my eyes for a second as I said, "I...don't think we have to worry about that though... We have a lot of advantages here and they've been bending over backwards trying to find ways to insure the survival of our men. Just fighting so low to the ground while in full armor makes them much harder for human opponents to fight and..."

Realizing that I had trailed off, I looked over at Smolder while she leaned back on the bed a bit. She had her hands planted on the bed behind her to help prop her up. I then added, "I know the thought of everyone surviving, let alone going home in one piece, sounds too good to be true... But...I kinda believe that's possible now. War is terrible, but we're in a good position right now. That, and I don't think the emperor is aiming to kill anyone out here so much as he wants to capture everyone alive."

"Really? Huh... Well, I hope everything goes well out there. Tell me all about it when you get back. Unless...you know...it's too gruesome to talk about." Smolder said with a bit more optimism in her voice. I did not want to bum her out with the dark reality of war. Not when the odds could not be much higher in our favor. And yet, I almost felt like I was forgetting about something... Or someone.

"Will do. Stay put for now. And keep Ocellus company until I get back. See you soon, dear." I said in farewell before finally making my way down the stairs to the main chamber again. It was quiet aside from a few other guardsmen manning their stations. The positioning of the enemy units on the map had hardly changed at all. From that height, they seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. Plenty of time to prepare.

I wandered around the command center as things stayed quiet. I decided to not eavesdrop on the discussion taking place in the war room and instead wandered over to the armory. I had no reason to step inside, but I still examined the weapons lining the walls from the doorway. There were an exceptionally large number of spears, though with their staffs shorter for indoor use. But with so many spears before me, I finally realized who I was forgetting about. Someone whose absence was starting to worry me. "Where are you, Ember...?"

The Dragon Lord had still not returned since the last time I saw her. And that was days ago. What was delaying her return? Had she met unexpected opposition or protest from her people? Or...had she completely changed her mind? I remembered how adamant she had been on assisting us in the war effort even entirely by herself if she failed to amass any volunteers. And now we stood on the verge of our first real engagement while Ember was nowhere in sight. I missed her. I dearly wanted to see her again at that moment and felt such a bitter sting of disappointment to know she would not be joining us. "Guess it was too good to be true..."

Wanting to get some air for the moment, I stepped outside. The air was abuzz with activity. Everyone knew what was coming and it was time to mobilize. I turned my gaze to the sky. Barely a cloud to be seen, but the clouds to the east seemed a bit darker and were very slowly drifting our way from near the horizon. Maybe we would be getting some rain this afternoon. I could only hope it would not pour too heavily on the battlefield. Although I did not go on for much longer before I noticed a gang of five mares galloping my way. Five familiar faces I know all too well. "You girls ready for this?"

"You bet! Gilda and I will be sticking close and keeping an eye out for anypony who needs a lift! We know what to watch out for." Rainbow Dash called out as she approached with the rest of our closest friends. Each of them were completely suited up in their equipment with weapons ready. Rainbow Dash was clad in that camouflaged brigandine while Rarity and Applejack were clad in their full suits of silver and gold barding. Pinkie Pie was too, though she still had that blast suit tucked under her armor for additional protection from her own explosives. Twilight was only clad in a dark mage's robe, no doubt due to being kept at the rear with the other mages. She then asked upon drawing closer, "What's up with everyone else? We ready for this?"

"I think the higher ups are discussing tactics in the war room. We still have a couple of hours before the enemy reaches us. Still very far off." I explained with my eyes glancing to the east. Although when I looked back at them, I noticed that my friends were displaying smiles. Something I would not expect to be a proper response to the knowledge that we were on the verge of facing our first real battle. "What're you all so happy about?"

They all looked a bit confused over my question. Applejack then said, "That a problem, pardner? We're finally about ta take the fight ta them varmints tryin' ta take over Equestria! And we're sure ready for it! Ain't that a good thing?"

I was not sure if they were confident or just ignorant. But I did find myself cracking a smile regardless. "Heh... I wish I had your optimism... Just don't get reckless out there."

"Naturally, darling. We've been drilled on the importance of maintaining formation. We won't be so easily overrun." Rarity replied rather proudly while looking tempted to draw one of her eight elegant sabers.

"And I've stocked plenty of firecracker bombs for my party cannon! Don't worry, I've ironed out the kinks. And I know how close I gotta get to really let them fly. I'll make this work!" Pinkie Pie then added while looking and sounding the most inappropriately jovial about the whole debacle. I really hope she does not end up hurt in the wrong way before this is over.

Twilight then spoke up, "I wish I could be there in the thick of things with you guys. I'll be stuck at the back with the other mages instead, but we'll just keep bombarding the enemy to blow them away. I hope I won't disappoint."

"Disappoint? Come on, Twilight! You're one of the best magic users out there! No way you'll let us down!" Pinkie Pie retorted with a giggle. She then grinned at our friend and said, "Just stick to what you're good at like we'll be doing!"

"Right, right, good point. Just...never did anything like this, you know?" Twilight replied while sounding the most uneasy out of the five of them. She then looked up at me and said, "We really should be meeting with our colleagues right now. We just wanted to check on you before things got crazy. We'll get through this, all right?"

"Right, I shouldn't be taking up your time. You girls take care of yourselves out there." I said as they trotted off sooner than I would have liked them to. This was no time for idle talk. As I watched my friends hurry off, I decided to check in on one last place while there was still time to prepare. I made my way across the encampment towards the magic R&D lab.

The lab was quiet once I entered the tent. With upcoming battle only a few hours away, all mages had vacated the premises with only the handful of researchers staying behind to evaluate their findings. I passed by the empty test chambers and approached Sunburst as he looked over some documents lined with information I could not make any sense of. "Afternoon, Sunburst."

"Hm? Oh, James! Sounds like the first big battle is right about to happen. We won't be doing anymore testing until tomorrow. You'll be OK out there, right?" He asked while sounding rather chipper about current events. I suppose staying far away from the front lines would help with morale.

"I hope so..." I muttered as I looked around to find the entire place almost uncomfortably quiet. It would make sense if everyone had punched out for the night, but being so empty in the middle of the day did not feel right. "You guys refined our defenses for our aerial units, right?"

"Well... We did improve that enchantment beyond what it was in the earliest stages. I still think we can tweak it further, but it should suffice for now." He explained while looking over another magical schematic of sorts. "What I'm really hopeful for is for this one to work. We've been so focused on protecting our fliers from archers that we almost forgot about our ground troops."

This caught my attention. My eyebrows rising in intrigue, I leaned closer to the table and asked, "Them...? You mean... Wait. Archers would still be able to target our infantry by firing in arcs. You figured out a way to counter that?"

"Yes! And it's a lot simpler than just deflecting arrows with a repulsion enchantment." Sunburst retorted while sounding very optimistic over something they almost had no time to develop a defense for. "For coming up on such short notice, the testing went very well. Most of our mages are assigned to long range bombardment, but some of them will be assigned to defense. The spell we came up with projects a low altitude barrier over a field like an invisible roof. We even had some of our archers try firing some of those enemy arrows into it and they just burst upon contact."

"Blocking is easier than redirecting, huh? Thank goodness. You had me worried for a minute there." I said with a little sigh of relief. If this turned out well, the enemy archers would be nearly useless. I then asked, "You'll be staying out of trouble here, right?"

"Oh, trust me. I'd just be dead weight on a battlefield. I'll be here doing what I do best. And I'm really looking forward to the results I'll be hearing when they get back. Nothing like a field test to see how these will turn out." Sunburst retorted while sipping from a drink can. Probably an energy drink to keep him focused. "Anyway, you gotta head out soon?"

"Yeah, I do. I just wanted to check in to see if you could help put my mind at ease. Thanks for all that you and your colleagues do, Sunburst. You're helping make sure no one goes home in a body bag. I can't thank you enough for that." I said with utmost sincerity. I waved my hand in farewell as I added, "I really shouldn't keep you. Keep up the good work and I'll see you again soon."

"Will do, James. You take care of yourself out there." Sunburst replied as I began to see myself out. I took a long deep breath once I got outside. Everything was going to be all right. I just needed to keep telling myself that. I was worried as all hell, but I knew I would probably look back on this and laugh at this rate. "Have faith... Just have faith..."

With nothing else to do, I made my way back to the command center and waited outside. Not much more time passed before someone emerged from the front door. I expected several people to come outside, but only one emerged. Admiral Seaspray himself while clad in that gorgeous iridescent armor. He was quick to notice me standing just off to the side with my back to the wall and cast me a smile. "Ah, my liege! Glad I found you before we march off to face the enemy."

"I haven't been crowned yet, admiral. You don't have to call me that." I retorted while still not comfortable being addressed with honorifics that carry such weight. I then asked, "So, uh... What's the plan?"

"You mean as far as me and my men are concerned?" Seaspray asked while I just shrugged my shoulders. He then explained, "Well, if you wish to know how our long distance combatants are due to perform... Our battlemages will begin by wiping out the vanguard before focusing on the furthest concentration of enemies in the back rows, specifically any archers. We have reason to believe that the enemy may also resort to the use of pikemen on the front lines, so it would be wise to destroy theirs to avoid a stalemate with ours. As for my men and I, we will concentrate our volleys on the middle and to sabotage any flanking attempts."

"Sounds like a plan, sir. I'll be trusting you on this." I spoke while finding Seaspray's confident straightforward tone to be very reassuring. He has likely been the commander of the Capricorn Island branch of the royal guard longer than Shining Armor has been enlisted entirely, so I had full faith in his experience. But it was around then that a shadow was cast over us. Upon looking up, we saw another hippogriff stallion clad in gilded armor descending towards us. "Sky Beak...?"

"Ah, Sky Beak! Ready to seize the day, friend?" Seaspray called out before his subordinate landed before us. Indeed, it was the stallion who is the closest thing to a father I have in Equestria. "We face the enemy any hour now, so be ready!"

"Yes, sir! Our wingmen and wingmares have run a drill just this morning. All bull's-eyes, sir! As usual." Sky Beak replied with a proud smile on his beak.

"Well said. I shall rendezvous with our men and insure all is well before the order is given for us to march. Until then, carry on." He replied before bidding us goodbye and trotting off to resume preparations.

With no one around us, Sky Beak and I turned our gazes to each other. And that smile on his beak nearly disappeared. "So...I guess this is the big day, huh? We finally get to see what the emperor is bringing to the table."

I nodded while my gaze wandered for a few seconds. "Yeah... At least you guys will be safe at the back. I don't think the emperor's troops even back in the past were capable of magic bombardments like our unicorn mages can do."

"Yes, so I've heard. And yet..." Sky Beak muttered softly as his tone wavered. He then looked at me with an almost fearful gaze and spoke, "It's just... You'll be out there in the thick of it... I know I shouldn't be worried, but..."

"Hey, I'm worried too. It's a little too convenient that those in that light infantry detachment never took a swing at me last time. Almost like it was a trick..." I muttered while thinking back to that moment. I struck one down, but the rest only stared at me. Would they have attacked had my allies not intervened when they did?

"That's not what I mean." Sky Beak spoke more firmly while placing a hand on my pauldron. He looked me in the eye as he said, "You're my boy. You may not have been born into my family, but I swear I love you like a son all the same. And...I don't know what I'd do or what I'd say to everyone back home if...you didn't make it."

For just an instant, I had forgotten about that. My breath caught in my throat. Even with no actual experience in war, Sky Beak was aware enough of how dire the situation truly was. With a deep breath, I reached out and pulled that wonderful father towards me for an embrace. "I'll be OK, papa bird. It's everyone else I'm worried about..."

"I really hope you will be... The kids won't take it well if I tell them you won't be coming home anymore." Sky Beak whispered while he put a wing around me. I inhaled deeply, savoring the subtle musty natural scent of his feathers. "I wish I could keep an eye on you and provide you with as much covering fire as I can, but I don't know if that'll be possible when considering the numbers we'll be facing..."

"Hey, Seaspray has also been given strict orders by his queen to look out for me. I'm pretty sure he'll keep me safe if he can." I replied while thinking back to the last time Novo and I saw each other. If anyone could keep me from afar in a pinch, it is Seaspray. "I'm worried too, but I'm trying to keep my hopes up. I can't believe how well prepared everyone is. Things should be OK at this rate."

Seaspray took a deep breath for a long sigh. He then displayed an uneasy smile upon his beak before saying, "That's what I want to believe too... Maybe it's just the tension getting to me. I wasn't there for that first real engagement, so I'm not certain how well we're all stacked against the enemy. It sounded like everyone who was here at the time completely demolished them."

"That...wasn't really an accurate display of being prepared. Everyone was incredibly disorganized and only floored the enemy army because of how sorely underestimated we were. I doubt the emperor will make the same mistake twice." I snorted while thinking back to that maelstrom of chaos during the first clash. Our enemies were more equipped to capture their enemies rather than to fight. Although being so low to the ground did confirm that my pony allies did have an advantage in direct combat with human opponents. "Now that we're much more organized and diverse with specific roles for everyone... Huh. The more I think about it, the better it all sounds."

"I'll take your word for it." Sky Beak said before his smile shrank. His eyes glanced to his left towards the west. "I'm glad we had this talk. I'd hate to take off, but I'm needed with my wingmen at the east gate. Just...take care of yourself out there."

"Will do..." I muttered before we reached out and held each other in a winged embrace. I whispered softly to Sky Beak, "Love you, papa bird..."

"Love you too, my boy..." He whispered back to me before we very reluctantly released each other. Worry in his eyes, Sky Beak then spread his majestic wings and took to the air to fly east. I watched from there and only began to head east myself only after Sky Beak's distant form descended out of sight.

The camp had grown progressively quiet as time went by. Was everyone amassing outside the walls to prepare to march? I did not go on for much longer before I suddenly noticed someone coming up beside me. "Big day today, James. You ready for this?"

"I hope so... What about you? Keeping your spells sharp?" I replied upon finding Trixie trotting along beside me. She was clad in a suit of silver barding like that worn by Rarity, though she was still wearing her stage attire over it in the form of her hat and cape. I suppose since her means of combat differ so severely from everyone else, it might be necessary to help her be set apart from the other unicorn infantry.

Trixie titled her head to one side to look up at me from under her hat's wide brim. "I think I can control maybe ten of those things at once now. But I was wanting to ask... Um... I don't get how war works, but... Are you going to be out there alone?"

"Uh... I... Hm..." I mumbled before I started to genuinely question how I would fit among the formations we would soon be setting up. I was a very poor match for marching and fighting beside my equine allies. I stood as tall as their enemies would and use my gear in somewhat different ways. I suppose I could just stay airborne and bombard the enemy with magic. But if I did that, they would surely have their archers target me. I doubt they would tolerate dozens upon dozens of their allies getting blow apart without retaliation. And with all those arrows flying in at me, it would probably be hard to focus well enough to let loose with my stronger elemental spells. I guess I could fly high enough to put me out of range, but dropping spells from that height would be even harder to aim... I could end up hitting my comrades instead. "The more I think about this, the more I have to wonder how I'll even perform out there..."

"Well, if you need someone backing you up, how about I stick close to you? The Great and Powerful Trixie will provide you with ten heavily armed bodyguards to assist you. Sound good?" Trixie retorted with a flash of confidence. In all seriousness, why had I never thought of that?

"That... Hey, that's brilliant! Yeah, having ten knights backing me up could be really useful. I doubt the enemy would even really be able to tell very well if ten of their buddies were hijacked and turned against them. Try rounding up any that are carrying axes, hammers, or maces. Those would work well even against armored opponents." I replied while appreciating Trixie's genius. She may not be the most powerful unicorn mage out there, but she is certainly a clever one.

"Consider it done! But...maces are those metal balls on a stick, right?" She asked in return with a show of understandable ignorance.

I then briefly explained, "If it looks like a stick with something on the top that looks vaguely round, yes. It's a mace. They are prime anti-armor weapons."

"Close enough. Axes, hammers, and maces... I'll keep an eye out for those. And I'll be sure to dazzle their special awareness too! Can't exactly see your enemies when you think you're in a forest of thickets." Trixie then spoke with a laugh as I recalled when she tested that trick on me. I really thought I could not move through my surroundings at the time.

When we reached the gate, the two of us found that it was wide open with an ever growing number of the militia standing beyond its borders. Higher ranked members of the militia were directing everyone to join varying groups and formations depending on species and weapon type. I got a good look at the pikemen we had assembled. Along with a holster affixed to the side of the barding to hold the pike in place by its pommel, each pike even had a handle riveted to the shaft wrapped in soft padding to allow the pikemen to adjust the angles of their weapons with the use of their jaws.

I felt so lost among that huge mass of armored equines. I had no idea where to go. All I could do was wait with Trixie for someone to direct us. Until then, I thought back to the types of enemy Hollows I wanted Trixie to bewitch. Those with weapons...specifically designed to be effective against armor. And all of our infantry were as heavily armored as an equine could get. "Trixie... Can you hold still for a second? I need to test something."

"Huh? Oh, sure. Wha... Um... Whoa, you can do that?" Trixie retorted as I used the ice magic within my left gauntlet to mold a makeshift ice club out of nothing. I took the club in hand and began to make slow practice swings towards her. Just to test how effectively one could strike a pony with a heavy crushing weapon.

I quickly found myself relieved as I tested how far I would have to swing to actually hit someone standing as low to the ground as Trixie. At such a low height, it was absolutely impossible to strike her with the full force of a swing without throwing my entire body into it and risking losing balance. The only possible way I could see axes and maces striking a pony with enough force to be dangerous would be a swing from the side, but that would require pivoting the body in a way that would not be feasible in tight formations and would take longer to wind up. Fighting a pony would be an extremely impractical feat with traditional weapons in a melee except for something like a spear, but their tough barding would render those types of weapons nearly useless. Satisfied with my findings, I dispelled my magic ice club into mist. "Sorry about that. Just wanted to see how easy it is to actually effectively hit an armored pony with a blunt weapon. The answer? Not at all."

"Ha! Then we really have the upper hoof out here, don't we?" Trixie barked in elation over this little discovery. Although she then coughed to clear her throat and compose herself. "Right, right, we'd best not get complacent. That's the best time for the enemy to surprise us, right?"

"Yes, please. For goodness sake, don't ever assume we have this thing in the bag. That's how you lose good men on a battlefield." I retorted while trying to not let myself get too cynical. So hard to find a balance like that in a crisis... I had no reason to believe we were at a disadvantage, but the emperor had shown he was willing to experiment. Testing how effective light infantry would be against us was definitely a sign he was testing and learning as things went along.

While my eyes scanned the hundreds upon hundreds of colorful armored ponies gathering around us, I noticed the mages being divided into two groups. I thought one group were our battlemages while the others were meant for defense against archers, but that did not seem to be the case. Both groups were battlemages from what I could tell. I deduced that they would remain at the back, but would be spread out to not be directly in the middle. Probably as a means to not risk hitting any retreating aerial units who were carrying wounded combatants. It would be horrifying for one to pass overhead and right into an unexpected volley of explosive magical projectiles being launched from below. There needed to be an express lane for them to come and go.

"Hmm.. The mages aim high while the archers aim low... And the aerial units stay right in the middle..." I muttered to myself too quietly for Trixie to overhear me. Although I suddenly flinched upon having an epiphany. What if an aerial unit swooped down to retrieve a wounded comrade only to get hit from behind by a stray arrow from one of our archers? Did the R&D lab anticipate this and come up with a means to insure their would be no friendly fire? I would have to check in with the lab once this first engagement was over.

Shining Armor eventually came my way while fully suited up in his own set of barding, his usually quiet trot having much more of a rattle to it than usual. "Hey, James. Good to see you. Ready for this?"

"About as ready as I can get. Where do I go, captain?" I asked as I felt like I was drifting listlessly in an ocean with no destination. I never have felt at home among large groups like that.

"You know, that's a good question. I've been discussing things with my officers and they're not entirely certain what division you should be paired with. You're on a completely different level from the rest of us in terms of both abilities and the capability of your weapons." He replied while scanning our allies around us. Unlike most of the combatants serving in the militia, I was the most ideal opponent for the Hollows to face in terms of height. Humans are best suited to fighting other humans.

Trixie then stepped forward. "If I may? If I can bewitch a small group of those...what did you call them? Hollows? If I can round some up, I can use them to assist James here like his own little squad. You've seen how my magic works."

"Huh... Yeah, you did turn our enemies against each other..." Shining Armor retorted while pausing in thought for a brief moment. He then cast us a reassured smile and said, "All right, I can't think of anything better, so... Trixie. You're with James. Make sure you get as many of those Hollows as you can to back him up."

"Consider it done!" Trixie declared proudly before Shining Armor trotted off to continue with preparations to march. I then looked down at Trixie while she looked back up at me. "Looks like we're in this together, Sir James."

"Glad to hear it, Trixie." I spoke before I heard a call. Formations were ready. The pikemen were positioned at the front of the pack in rows of three at least a hundred wide. Their tall and sturdy pikes were held vertically and were ready to be lowered into place. It was time to head out.

As we finally began to march, I noticed Celestia standing behind a table on wheels that held a crystal panel like those used in the radar station. A means to survey the entire battlefield and send out orders? And a ways behind her still was the local DJ with her music booth. Our designated bard. It was such a strange thought seeing the role of a bard being perfectly modernized, but I knew music could serious help with morale. She even looked my way while her booth rolled along and winked at me when she peeked over her sunglasses. I was hoping she would deliver. Any edge we could get, even from something as simple as music, would be appreciated.

"How long have we been out here anyway? It feels like it's been weeks." Trixie spoke while she walked alongside me. It was easy to lose track of time out in the middle of nowhere. Even my journals have not helped much in that regard with how infrequently I have been writing them lately.

"I would estimate a little over two weeks? It feels like it has been longer than it should have been. I just hope we get back home before Nightmare Night comes along. I'd hate to miss any holidays." I replied while scanning the horizon before me. The vast open plains had a few subtle dips and rises to prevent the terrain from being entirely flat. We would be in trouble if we had to face the enemy standing on a hill. Or would it be an advantage for a much shorter fighter like a pony to have the low ground? Battlefield conventions are so strange when a warrior is of similar stature to a wolf...

I turned my gaze up and noticed a number of pegasi hovering high above. The glistening light reflecting off of some sort of lens made me suspect they had binoculars on hand to survey the distance. The map that was connected to our radar sensors was a good advantage, but getting visual confirmation was just as important. "They won't be getting the drop on us out here."

"Looks like it. But this tension is really getting to me... I almost wish they would just show up already." Trixie grumbled while not looking sure over whether or not she should be excited or worried. I was probably more uneasy about the whole thing than she was. The first real test of our preparations was about to commence.

Our march continued in near total silence while Trixie and I conversed quietly in the meantime. We all finally came to a stop nearly a mile away from field HQ. If one looked carefully to the west, you could still make out the walls of the camp. We did not want to put too much distance between us and our headquarters. The less distance we had between us, the less time it would take for the wounded to be transported back. Thank goodness pegasi and griffons can be shockingly fast in the air, although one mile might still be too far unless those time reversing enchantments really can last for a full minute...

I looked up and waited as everyone began to assemble their formations properly. Rows of silver and gold could be seen all around us. Every last one of the pikemen were clad in gold to show that they were all earth ponies. Only they could be trusted to be strong enough to stand their ground at the vanguard.

I saw the highest flying pegasi come down and report directly to Celestia. Had they spotted the enemy? I could not see anything over the eastern horizon. But my questions were soon answered as a familiar voice was heard in my head. "All of you. Please listen to me."

Celestia. I turned to look back at her and saw her golden magic aura billowing over her horn. Even though I was too far away to hear what she was vocally speaking, her words still reached me in my mind through a form of telepathy. And it seemed like everyone else was listening too. "The enemy has been sighted to the east. They will be upon us shortly. We have done all we can to prepare you in the past weeks for this. Some of you have been with us for as briefly as a few days. This is only the first of what may be several engagements. Please... Do not forget your training. Do not put glory before survival. We want all of you to come home alive and well when this is all over. So please... Do not be reckless. And believe in each other. We want no heroes in this war. Only survivors."

I sighed in some relief. Her thoughts mirrored my own quite well. Nightmare Moon then walked past me in her impressive suit of barding while her new longsword was drawn from the scabbard affixed to her side. "We will strike constantly from afar and up close. Use every advantage we have against them. Show them no quarter."

I nodded in understanding and glanced down at Trixie. She smirked up at me without a word. It would be just the two of us. I would have to be careful to not push too far ahead of everyone else. While there would be no end of reinforcements so long as Trixie had Hollows to hijack, one can never be too sure.

We waited and watched. Minutes went by. And then... There on the horizon. A growing mass of dark purple began to peek over the plains. "They're here..."

The sound of idle audio speakers filled the air as Vinyl Scratch deployed speakers out in the back rows on stands. I could still remember the music she played during that first encounter on the Empty Plains and how it even got me psyched up to face the general. I saw Nightmare Moon's magic aura flare up around her horn as she quietly whispered. I think she was only speaking to the mages in the back. They would strike first as planned, annihilating the vanguard to remove the enemy's staunchest frontline defenses. I watched as the pikemen lowered their weapons into place as they prepared to charge. Then, starting out much like a far more archaic show of a bard's musical output, I heard flutes and violins beginning to play followed by the tapping of marching drums.

Magic mortars few high above us as our aerial units took to the air. Not too high or too low. They watched vigilantly for the signs of a fallen comrade to rescue. My hand reached for the hilt of the Celestial Sword and gripped it firmly. I felt a tempo beating in my heart along with the tapping of drums. We could do this. We could triumph. We had prepared as thoroughly as possible. We had every advantage we could secure. Victory was absolutely possible. And as the mortars rained down upon our enemy, I heard why the DJ had chosen the song she did. The music exploded into a hard electric guitar rift. The time to act was upon us!

I pulled the Celestial Sword from the back of the Lunar Shield and held its shimmering pure white blade high and then brought it down to point forward. As if on my cue, the thunderous melody of thousands of armored hooves filled the air. Together, we charged. Trixie stayed close to me as we rushed across the Empty Plains to meet the enemy. The magical explosions at the front of the enemy masses ceased and soon began to fill the far distance as the mages began to target just the back rows. I saw arrows flying over us as they were bombarded by our finest archers. Plumes of purple mist constantly rose from the enemy ranks as their numbers began to rapidly decline even before we could reach them!

Our pikemen soon slowed to a crawl as their pikes pierced many Hollows in rows before their progress was halted. Now it was all about holding the line while picking away at any that would try to push through. Inching forward a bit at a time. To protect the flanks, our infantry began to spread from past the sides and try to box the enemy in. Our mages continued to target the enemy archers at the back to try and wipe them out as quickly as possible. I did see some dark purple arrows soar above, but they never once came close to hitting our aerial personnel and would burst into a puff of mist upon falling and striking an unseen veil that filled the air above us. The only indication that something was there was a rippling effect like on the surface of a still pond whenever an arrow fell. No doubt an anti-archery barrier provided by some of our mages. Just the first minute and we were already making leaps and bounds.

As my stride carried me to the vanguard as our pikemen stood their ground, I flapped my armor's wings to propel me over them with sword ready. One unlucky Hollow looked up just in time as I came down and cleaved it in two with a single stroke of my sword. Now in the thick of battle, I did all I could to try and get some space between me and the enemy with a wide sweeping slash that cut a circular swathe through the enemies around me before they could properly detect my presence. A flash of light appeared beside me as Trixie used a teleportation spell to catch up to me. By then, many Hollows had turned to face me with weapons lowered.

I had my shield raised while Trixie stayed close. Much like last time, they did not attack at first. But during that lull, Trixie took the time to examine their weapons. The Hollows around us were armed with a variety of weapons and defenses, some clad in full plate armor while others looked more moderately armored with metal plating and softer and more flexible lighter types of armor. A few were even carrying capturing devices like chains and shackles or nets. Trixie then suddenly called out, "You will do!"

Several of the Hollows around us, each armed with axes or maces and shields while in full plate armor, turned to their comrades and began to hack away at them. Their heads were shrouded by Trixie's magic aura, their connection to the emperor severed as she took hold of their strings. As plumes of mist rose from the fallen Hollows, Trixie's new puppets encircled us to provide a repelling formation. I saw the results of her strategy and called out, "Nice, Trixie!"

"Now you're all mine to command!" Trixie called out in exhilaration as her new pets started to attack and parry all incoming Hollows. While they were unsure of what to do with me, they quickly turned hostile to any Hollows who were wrangled away from the emperor's control. I stood at the front of the formation while Trixie was safely surrounded by her captives as they did all the fighting for her. I kept my shield up while quickly lashing out from behind it to try and fit in this new circular formation.

Fanfare filled the air to serenade the clashing of metal and thundering of hooves and the distant bursts of explosive magic. It was chaos out there, but a very controlled and coordinated chaos. Even as I looked past the rows of hollows around me, I saw bursts of color low to the ground. Near the front lines, some of the more heavily armored infantry were taking maximum advantage of their low stature to weave between the Hollows and began to attack them from below the waist. Axes and hammers struck at their legs to bring them to the ground. I found myself laughing at just how poorly the humanlike Hollows were for my equine allies, especially in such tight clusters. "This is too good! We're dominating them here!"

I could only hope our luck would last at this rate. I did see a few domes of light form on the battlefield as some of our infantry suffered some degree of wound, but our aerial units were quick to dive down and snatch them up while still surrounded by the protective barrier. I did see a few take a hit from enemy arrows, but the barrier held as they retreated swiftly to the west with their wounded comrade in tow. The number of times I saw someone being evacuated was very rare. No more than ten during that single clash. I could only wonder how severe their injuries were.

Minutes later as we pressed onward while decimating the enemy, I heard and saw a fiery explosion break out nearby as several Hollows were sent briefly airborne while a large plume of purple mist rose with the blast. It looked like one of our aerial units fired off their wrist crossbow. It was good to see those little explosive darts really were that effective, but it seemed needless at the time. I saw no barriers near the point where the blast came from. It was not to clear out the enemy to make it easier to approach a wounded ally. Curious, I stopped and looked up while Trixie's armored minions kept us surrounded. "Was that...Lightning Dust?"

I saw a small shape fly very high into the sky. Even weaving through a magic bombardment from our battlemages. Right when it became little more than a speck in the sky, that tiny flier came shooting down at breakneck speed and shot past their hovering allies so hard that the wind they generated in their descent sucked them right along with her! I cannot say it was an entirely futile maneuver, if nothing else. That speedy daredevil very nearly hit the ground only to suddenly pull up and shot along on a lateral angle to go crashing through rows and rows of Hollows with hooves outstretched to take their heads off at such speeds. Too fast to hit and far too low to the ground for even their archers to target, I did confirm that it was indeed Lightning Dust. That shade of green and locks of orange or yellow hair on her head gave her away. But as she pulled back up into the sky, I noticed that the wingmen who got dragged out of formation had not risen back up yet. "Wait... No... Oh man! Trixie, hold on by yourself for a minute!"

"Huh?! Uh... All right! Do what you got to do!" She called out as her minions backed up closer to her while I took to the sky. I hovered high above the battle, but made certain to put myself above the volleys of arrows from our own archers while still below our anti-arrow barrier. Did they really fall right into the enemy?

All I saw was a writhing sea of dark purple shapes. But I soon detected something that stood out in the tide. Like something swimming just under the surface of a pond and leaving a rippling effect in its wake, I saw several 'ripples' of purple moving east through that sea of Hollows. And upon squinting my eyes, I saw traces of more pastel colors being pulled along with them. Eyes wide in shock, I went diving at that ripple in the sea. "Oh no you don't!"

I pounced upon the retreating Hollows and found a few of them were indeed dragging something behind them in shackles. They did not even get their weapons out before I cleaved through them with ease and reducing them to mist. I then promptly generated a barrier spell around myself and their captive before actually turning to take a look at them. Of all the pegasi I could have seen, I never thought I would see Soarin in chains. "James! Oh man, I thought I was a goner! I swear I saw Fleetfoot go down too! I don't know who else is out there!"

"Easy, Soarin! I gotcha." I retorted as I pulled as hard as I could with levitation magic to pry his shackles off his limbs and throat. It must have been humbling to get chained like that, especially for a veteran member of the Wonderbolts. "Gilda said she had a bad feeling about Lightning Dust, but I never expected her to pull something like that! You better grab her and pull her back to HQ before she pulls something else."

"Got it! I'll tell Spitfire and round her up! Good luck out there!" Soarin replied once he was back on his feet. With speed that would make any Wonderbolt proud, he shot up into the sky right through my barrier. I then dispelled my own barrier and took to the air before any Hollows could gain up on me. I then continued to follow the ripples in the ocean of Hollows, finding more and more captured pegasi and even a few griffons wrapped up in chains and nets. I did not recognize most of them, but I did indeed find Fleetfoot among the captives. "I really hope you guys aren't considering letting Lightning Dust enroll in the Wonderbolts after that."

"You kidding?! No way! Endangering your wingmen like that is the express lane for getting yourself blacklisted!" Fleetfoot retorted as I cut her out of that net of dark purple fibers. She quickly dusted herself off and hopped onto her hooves. Wings flapping to keep herself in the air, Fleetfoot then flashed me a smile. "Never thought I'd need you to bail me out! Cool to see you're good at something besides those amazing massages! Keep it up!"

In a flash, Fleetfoot shot up into the sky to return to her comrades. It was around then that I did see a couple of pegasi wrestling with Lightning Dust in the air with one being Soarin and the other surely being Spitfire. I was quick to recognize that fiery yellow and bright orange head of hair on her head. They managed to restrain her and rushed west to get her back to field HQ. I then rushed skyward as my barrier faded before I glanced around. "One more! There!"

Only one wayward ripple in the sea of purple was visible. I dropped down into it and slew the Hollows that had captured another fallen flier. But when I got a barrier up and turned to face their captive, I did not expect who I was seeing. "Wait... Gilda?!"

"That...little snake!" Gilda screeched as she tore her way out of that net with just her talons. She looked truly furious as she got back on her feet and snarled at nothing in particular. "I knew that dweeb was trouble! Should've guessed she'd get too bored sticking to emergency evacuation duty!"

"Hey, I just saw the captain and Soarin dragging her back to field HQ. You won't have to worry about her for the rest of the battle now." I replied as I stuck my sword's blade in the ground to free up a hand. Even with the battle raging on around us, the tension calmed just a little as I wanted to check on my friend. "You OK though? Wanna head back to the infirmary?"

"Nah, I'm good. Those Hollow things made for a pretty soft landing, all things considered." Gilda retorted as she brushed the lock of feathers out of the way of her eye. She then looked up at me and managed to flash me a calmer smile now that she was out of danger. "Heh... You're the one who came to my rescue, huh? If not Dash, I guess I'd prefer it to be you."

"I'm pretty sure you're the last one too. How're you doing out here anyway? Any problems?" I asked while just wanting to get some positive reinforcement through a status report. Anything to keep morale high.

Gilda displayed a confident smirk as she said, "Oh, no way! Things are going smooth! Dash and I already dragged a couple of poor shmucks back to the infirmary. Didn't look too bad though... Maybe they just tripped and bit their tongue or something."

"Are the safeguards triggering too easily still? Even minor injuries can set them off? They better look into that..." I grumbled while still glad it was genuinely difficult for someone of my height to harm a fully armored pony with just a melee weapon. Regardless, we had no time to waste on the battlefield when we were still needed elsewhere. "Anyway, we'll talk when this over! Stay frosty, Gilda!"

"Gotcha, big guy! Knock 'em dead!" Gilda replied as she spread those glorious wings of hers and shot back up into the sky with breakneck speed. I soon followed while feeling pretty good knowing that all of our captured wingmen had been rescued. Just to be sure, I hovered above the battlefield and scanned the sea of purple below me for any wayward ripples. None were to be seen.

"Guess that's every... Huh? Someone there?" I muttered before I thought I heard a voice in my head. "Huh? That's... Celestia? What's up?"

"James?! You hear me? Good. Listen, Luna just informed me..." Celestia spoke to me from afar while I minded my altitude. "One of our mages broke formation a few minutes ago and is looping around to the northern edge of the battlefield! If you can, head over there and retrieve them before they get surrounded! We've eased up on artillery bombardment in that area while she's there. Hurry!"

"Another hotshot breaking formation?! What's with these ponies?! Ugh, fine!" I groaned before swooping north as quickly as my wings would carry me. Only a few magic mortars at a time were falling around the northern edge of the enemy army to try and keep them from spreading out and attacking us from the sides. But it looked like the wave was starting to congregate on a single entity standing at the edge. "There you are..."

Whoever this rogue mage was, they were doing an impressive job of holding back the enemy. Bursts of magic were being launched at the waves of Hollows with such force that they were sent flying back through the air and into their comrades. Even if the blasts had difficulty actually destroying any of them, the sheer force of impact from being thrown into their allies was enough to cause fatal harm. Plumes of purple mist were periodically springing up where the flying Hollows were crashing into each other too hard. "Huh... This one's pretty good. Hey, get down!"

I called out to the lone unicorn as I dropped before them and turned to swing my sword through the first row of Hollows behind me. Some held up shields, but they did nothing to resist the unmatched sharpness of the Celestial Sword. I then channeled my right gauntlet's solar magic into the blade to extend its reach with an extending aura of white celestial fire. Another swing ignited at least a few dozen of them to create a spreading wall of solar flames. With a moment of peace gained, I turned to face the rogue mage. And I was not expecting to see someone I recognized. "Wait... You?!"

It took me a second to remember the name, but I recognized her yellow and red color scheme first. Sunset Shimmer stood before me while looking genuinely annoyed that I had just bailed her out. "I didn't need your help!"

"Like hell, you didn't! Get back over to your comrades before you get overwhelmed out here! It's stupid to break formation and go off on your own on a battlefield! Didn't you hear them the first time around?!" I yelled as I saw the wall of flames dying down. Another wave of Hollows came charging through in an attempt to surround us. Thinking quickly, I channeled the ice magic in my left gauntlet to summon a wide and sweeping wall of ice spikes as far as my eyes could see that ran through many Hollows while holding the rest back. Those that were not destroyed then began to try to hack away at the enchanted ice with their weapons, but it would not break so easily. "Get outta here!"

"No! This is finally my chance to prove to Celestia that she made a mistake! I know I have what it takes!" Sunset Shimmer shouted before she began to fire explosive volleys of magic into the swarm of enemies before us. These hit much harder than those from a minute ago and obliterated some while tossing others through the air with the force of the resulting blast. I decided to join in as well and launched orbs of fire magic from the tip of my sword to try cutting down the enemy forces now that they could not reach us for the moment. "She will see! I know she won't be able to deny it any longer when this is all over!"

"What's your deal with Celestia anyway?!" I retorted while confused more than anything else. I knew virtually nothing about Sunset Shimmer, but what did she have to prove to Celestia anyway? It was not like they had a history with each other. Or did they? "The two of you go back a long way or something?"

I was not prepared for what I heard next. Not in the slightest. "I was her star pupil years ago. And this is my chance to prove her wrong!"

"You're... WHAT?!" I yelled as I momentarily lost focus. I turned my gaze to the unicorn mage who continued to bombard the enemy with some impressively powerful magic. I could see why she was deemed worthy to study under Celestia. Even from just a glance, I could see that she was roughly on Twilight's level in terms of efficiency and power output. But if Sunset Shimmer had been Celestia's previous student, why had I never heard about her until then? "You mean you're Twilight Sparkle's predecessor?!"

"Please, I didn't drop out! I was basically expelled! And I'll prove today that letting me go was a mistake!" Sunset roared without missing a beat. She was really pulling her weight right there as dozens of Hollows were destroyed before her. I decided this was a bad time to reminiscence about her past connections with Celestia and forced myself to resume firing upon them with fire magic.

I had to keep erecting more and more spiky barriers of ice to hold back the enemy when it started to look like the front rows of Hollows were trying to crawl over each other to scale the frigid barriers before them. They felt no pain or fear, so more extreme and even suicidal tactics would probably be seen as viable by their puppeteer. Regardless, I found that just the two of us were doing a surprisingly good job of holding the line even as the more distant battlemages sporadically fired into the enemy ranks. I looked down at Sunset and said, "Gotta say, I can see why Celestia took you as her student in the first place. You're pretty good!"

"Thanks!" Sunset replied in brief while she continued to bombard the enemy with her spells. Although she then glanced up at me and even smiled a bit as she added, "You're pretty good too!"

There was something sincere about the way she said that. I suppose we were endearing ourselves to each other with our sheer competency. Convinced that Sunset Shimmer would be fine so long as she had some extra defenses to hold the enemy back, I erected a very wide and sweeping wall of magic ice up and down the meadow before us to make it as impractical as possible for the enemy to try and reach her. "OK, you've convinced me that you've got this under control. I'm gonna leave things to you and return to my formation. Just be sure to retreat if any of them get around this wall, all right?"

"Right, got it! I'm not dying here today!" Sunset replied while continuing to fire. Satisfied with her response, I took to the sky and made my way back to where the pikemen were still holding the front lines at bay. I could see Trixie and her platoon of hijacked Hollows a little ways ahead of them. The enemy had no hope of reaching her if she could just turn the nearest Hollows against our enemies as quickly as her minions were destroyed.

I came down and cleaved another Hollow in two before making a wide sweep to slay several more. I then stepped back into the protective circle formation of Trixie's hijacked troops and stood at that end with shield raised. The enemy Hollows were not kind to their commandeered comrades and chopped away with their weapons to try and get through our defenses. Trixie chose wisely by selecting only those who carried shields, resulting in a literal wall of tough magical metal to hold off enemy weapons. And in the off chance that one did fall, another would be enthralled to take its fallen comrade's place. No matter how many the enemy managed to take out, Trixie never ran out of reinforcements.

"Holding up pretty good here! I think we can just outlast them at this rate!" Trixie called out while willing her captured enemies to fight in her stead. The clashing of metal filled the air while plumes of dissipating purple mist constantly rose from around us. The longer the battle went on, the more invigorated I became. Things were going impressively smoothly, although I could not see around us very well through all that purple. That only simplified things.

While I lashed out with quick strikes from behind my shield, I thought I noticed a shadow pass over me. I glanced around with my shield up before I finally turned my gaze skyward. There was an uproar behind us as many of our allies just behind the front lines called out in surprise. Even our archers ceased firing for a moment. And I saw why. "No way... Dragons?!"

There they were. A full dozen dragons of varying size, shape, and color swooping down from the west in a line before coming in low and unleashing coordinated streams of raw dragon fire into the enemy from above. Rows of flames rose high as countless Hollows were ignited while the dragons pulled up to prepare for another pass. They made it! Ember really pulled through! But...where was she anyway?

A wall of flames stood before me as only one unlucky Hollow soldier remained with sword and shield in hand. Cut off from its allies for the moment, it assumed a defensive stance with shield raised. That shield would not stand up to the Celestial Sword, so I prepared to run it through with a long stab. But I hesitated when I saw the Hollow suddenly glance upward. Before it could adjust its stance, someone came dropping down and plunged a spear right down through its throat! And I quickly saw who it was as the Hollow dissolved into mist. "Ember!"

Her gilded armor aglow in the presence of the wall of flames behind her, Ember turned back to look at me with those brilliant scarlet eyes gazing from behind her helmet. I just wanted to drop everything and grab her for a hug, I was that elated to finally see her again. She then spoke out to me, "I can't apologize enough for being so late! Thank goodness we made it in time for this!"

"No worries, Ember! Quick, get in formation! We'll advance once the flames recede!" I replied as I pushed one of Trixie's minions aside to open up a spot for her. Ember readied her spear and stood beside me as our archers resumed fire. The dragons she had brought along were had swooped to the south, most likely ready to make another pass from a direction our archers would not be firing from. "Man, you really did get them to mobilize. What happened back there? I had almost given up on seeing you come back."

"Yeah, about that... The real problem was getting armor forged for each of them. Not sure if you've noticed, but almost no two dragons look alike. Each of them needed armor custom made for their body types." Ember explained while looking ready to charge at any moment. The flames were already starting to shrink with any fuel starting to run out quickly.

"Oh... That makes sense then. I just hope none of them get shot down. We'll have to talk about providing them anti-archery protection later.... Hey, what're you doing?!" I called out as Ember had turned her spear around and was now pummeling one of Trixie's minions into mist with the tough pommel at the other end of the shaft! "Knock it off! That one's ours!"

"Huh?! It is... Oops." Ember whimpered in embarrassment as Trixie's minion count dropped by one. "Oh, right... I remember this now. Didn't you use this trick last time?"

"Yes. I did. Now I need to find a replacement." Trixie dryly grumbled while Ember noticed all too late the haze of Trixie's magic aura around the remaining Hollows' heads. Although Trixie then pointed ahead and shouted, "The flames are gone! They're coming!"

Together, we advanced. Our pikemen came up from behind and ran the enemy through with their pikes at full gallop before coming to a stop. With sudden hard pokes, they continued to gradually poke their way through with a steady stream of enemy Hollows falling by the dozens as they failed to find a way around that thicket of tough spikes. Ember performed admirably while we stayed in our own little formation. She even began to cunningly stay behind our own captured Hollows while lashing out between them with her own spear. All the while, Ember's dragon allies made passing runs to ignite rows of enemies again and again. It was going smoothly... Maybe too smoothly.

As time went on, the enemy numbers continued to drop. Our forces were just too varied for the enemy to provide an effective counter to. Bombarded by archers and even battlemages, and now with swiftly swooping dragons providing hit and run incendiary runs, our enemies were dropping fast. But they did not know fear. The Hollows would not be routed. We would have to destroy them down to the last man before we could rest.

When the enemy numbers began to drop too low, the remaining few hundred Hollows fell back and amassed their numbers into coordinated clusters to go entirely on the defensive. They were promptly surrounded by our infantry, but it was our archers who began to whittle away at their numbers. There was no escape.

"Woo... I had a hunch things would go smoothly. Just not THAT smoothly." Ember spoke with a huff as she propped her spear up on its pommel while look quite satisfied with herself. Trixie's minions had all fallen, but she did not bother to round up more now that the enemy forces were on their last legs. She then glanced up at me while probably smiling under her helmet. "And I'm really impressed with how you all handled yourselves out here. I have no idea where my people got the idea that ponies are a bunch of pushovers."

"Do not underestimate ponykind, Dragon Lord! That's when we're most likely to surprise you!" Trixie declared with some of her stage performer flair. She cast Ember a proud smirk from under her hat. While I know Trixie has become a lot more humble since the first time I met her, she had every right to be a little smug at the time now that she had proven herself nearly untouchable to the enemy forces.

"Hey, I never said I did! It's just thrilling to see you all prove my people's assumptions wrong! You rock!" Ember retorted while we just took some time to finally unwind now that this first true battle was on the verge of ending. "Huh... It's actually getting quiet out there. I guess it's over?"

"Almost... Hang on, I think I know what's happening." I said before I began to march ahead. The enemy army was all but gone by that point. Our infantry were much more cautiously approaching and surrounding a single point on the meadow. The plains around me were surprisingly devoid of scarring from the battle. No enemy corpses or even dropped weapons. Aside from heavily trampled grass, all I saw around me were arrows that needed to be collected. I was able to see past my allies ahead and saw what they were trying to wrangle. "Right. One left."

Much like the first time, the last one standing was what one could consider to be the general of the enemy army. Tall and burly, it was clad in a full suit of plate armor while holding a large round shield in its right hand while clutching an axe in the other. It kept its shield raised at all times while quickly adjusting its stance to keep the surrounding ponies at bay. Shining Armor was among them with spear and shield floating near him. I stepped past him as I said, "I got this."

"You got it, James. Everyone! Stand down!" Shining Armor then called out as our infantry fell back to give the general and I plenty of room. The two of us stared each other down. The previous general had put up a good fight with the use of a halberd to keep me at bay. I knew for a fact that the shield this one was carrying would not endure a slash from the Celestial Sword.

I considered my options. I could just go ahead and obliterate it in a pillar of magic fire like last time, but that would be too cheap. I felt compelled to test myself against this with classic swordplay. I would only resort to magic if I could not find a way through. But as I began to take a step forward, I noticed the general's stance change. It became...limp. Slouched a bit while remaining standing. Had the emperor severed his connection to the general now that the battle was a lost cause?

Regardless, I could see the enemy was wide open. So I hastened my pace to that of a brisk walk to step forward and put an end to this. Once I began to draw near, I took a greater stride to build up momentum and took a wide swing at my opponent to cleave it in two. But at the last second, the general raised its shield. I am not sure what surprised me more at the time. That the general did parry my swing. Or the fact that the shield held!

The sound of a sword clanking against a metal plate startled me as I stood my ground. That shield should not have endured a strike from a blade as supernaturally sharp as the Celestial Sword. And I quickly saw why. An ethereal veil of sorts had engulfed the entire shield. An identical pale veil had engulfed the axe in the general's right hand. The general then lifted its head and stared right at me while I flinched at what I saw. A pair of glowing pale lights were peering at me from the helmet's visor. A voice then spoke to me. Quiet and almost sounding exhausted. "What must I do to earn your cooperation?"

The entire Hollow before me became coated in an aura of pale light. My eyes opening wide, I propelled myself backwards to give me some much needed space. Just what was the emperor doing to the last man standing? Was he...directly controlling it now? Seeing that my enemy now had a means to parry my attacks, I readied myself for this new challenge. "I'm gonna need some help here!"

I tried to lift my sword from the enemy's shield to bring it down for another chop, but the general shoved me away in a manner than almost caused me to stumble off my feet. This was not like the last time. This Hollow was not fighting like a puppet following instructions. This was the closest I had ever gotten to facing a true human opponent. My balanced regained, I swung my sword only for the sole surviving Hollow to block it with its shield before taking a swing at me with its axe.

It was a stalemate at first. Blades meeting shields over and over as the two of us tried to find an opening. That axe hit hard. Much harder than I was used to with all that force being applied into a more concentrated space. Something like that could even damage my armor. All around me, my allies cheered and called out as distant thunder filled the darkened sky. The storm had finally reached us.

Rain began to fall and splattered against our armor. Powerfully tense melodies filled the air as our bard serenaded this final clash between champions of opposing armies. I was finally tripped up as the general suddenly hooked the axe's head over my shield's top and began to pull it around. A tactic I was not at all used to dealing with as I growled and tugged hard to remain in control of my shield.

I made a mistake that I realized all too late. I only brought my head down in time as the general suddenly jabbed its axe forward like a light punch and punched me squarely in my helmet. I shook my head to collect myself and found the axe having returned to its prior position of hooking over my shield. That was when I had an idea. "Fine! Take it!"

I willed the clasps securing my arm to the back of the Lunar Shield to open before I used levitation magic to hurl my mighty shield right into the general. They both flew back quite a distance before I teleported my shield back to my left arm. The general clattered and clanked as it rolled along the ground in the rain. Wanting to wrap this up as quickly as possible by this point, I focused the magic in my left arm for some fire magic. "Screw this! We're done here!"

Just as the general managed to get back on its feet, my spell was cast. A towering pillar of golden magic fire exploded from below and engulfed the general in searing flames. It was done. After several seconds of keeping that pillar of fire going, I allowed it to fade. But I then stared in disbelief as I saw the general still standing there, its ghostly glowing eyes staring unblinkingly at me. "That... How?!"

Being soaked by the rain could not have possibly saved it! Not against fire magic that potent! I then clutched my right hand tightly to my sword's hilt as I tried to focus levitation magic to hurl the general into the sky and let gravity do the rest. And yet... Nothing! My magic could not take hold of it! "Still nothing?! That aura... And anti-magic barrier?!"

The general suddenly charged at me with approaching clanks and splashes of rain at its feet. I stood horrified as I realized that the emperor was learning from every encounter. Still not convinced that I could not destroy the general with magic, I raised the Celestial Sword above me as I began to channel Celestia's most volatile magic through its stabilizing blade. "Come on... Come on!"

I pointed the Celestial Sword at the approaching Hollow and unleashed a wave of incinerating white hot solar magic in a concentrated wave. Grass ignited and rain was turned to steam as I kept the blast going. I waited a mere five seconds before ceasing the spell. And I stood aghast. Even that failed to penetrate the aura as the Hollow stood intact! At worst, all I had done was push it back. At this rate, only a slash of my sword would put it down. I only needed one, but getting by its ironclad defenses would not be so simple.

Just when I was wondering how to handle this, the lone Hollow glanced up before raising its shield high. My eyes went wide as Ember came down for a descending strike with spear before the Hollow threw her back with its shield. Upon landing on her feet, Ember readied her spear as she said, "This one's different, huh?!"

"Yeah, the best of the best! And the emperor's pulling the strings directly!" I replied as I readied myself beside her. Seeing that gold coating all that blue did a lot to soothe my morale. I was glad to have Ember by my side again.

The Hollow stared us down while keeping its shield constantly ready. We heard the tired voice of the emperor speak, "The Dragon Lord herself enters the fray?"

"She does! My father spoke warily of you from long ago. Whatever it is you have in store for this world, I won't be having it!" Ember retorted before suddenly rushing forward with a flap of her wings. "You're mine!"

Ember put the reach of her spear to great use as she aimed high, forcing the Hollow general to raise its shield to protect its face. It then lashed out with its axe to try and chop through Ember's spear. While it was still composed of a thick pike shaft, an axe could still wreck it if the blade struck it just right. Ember knew this too and kept the spearhead pivoting to try and wrestle around the axe's head using the two prongs sticking out to the side. She swayed her tail almost on instinct, as if eager to get up close and slam the metal spike attachments on it into the general's legs. But that was not an option when using a weapon with such reach.

I was hesitant to charge in while Ember was so focused on a direct assault. She was keeping herself out of reach while keeping her weapon's shaft from taking a hit from that axe. The few attacks she did manage to get past the shield only poked harmlessly into the sturdy breastplate. Ember would not be making progress with a weapon so poorly suited for heavily armored opponents. Thankfully, she quickly figured this out and made a huge leap into the air with a flap of her wings. I glanced up as her gilded armor was illuminated by a flash of lightning. She turned her spear around and then came down hard to slam the heavy pommel into the general's shield with a mighty clank.

The amount of force behind that strike was enough to force the general into staggering. Using her spear's pommel like a club at the end of a pole, Ember began to adjust her tactics. No longer able to stab, she would have to build momentum with wide swings. No matter how strong she was, her weapon was now heavier at the tip and harder to control. It was at this point that I decided to join her in the fray. "Ember, get around it!"

"I'm on it!" Ember called out as she made a lofty jump up onto my shoulders as I rushed forward before hurling herself over the general. I came in swinging, forcing our enemy to focus entirely on me while Ember started to come in from behind. After being shoved away by the general's shield, I jumped as I saw its stance shift with one leg being pushed out to the side by Ember's improvised polemace. Now almost down on one knee, the general was helpless as Ember suddenly jerked her spear's pommel up and right between the Hollow's legs.

I recoiled at the sight of what would have been a horrifically painful injury for pretty much any male combatant. And I was shocked Ember would resort to such an underhanded tactic. But much to our surprise, the general began to regain balance during the brief lull caused by our stunned disbelief. Ember then said, "This...usually works!"

"These things don't even have organs! What did you think was gonna happen?!" I shouted in a strange combination of annoyance and relief. "And please, don't do that again! Against anyone! That hurt to see!"

"OK, OK, sorry!" Ember yelped as she jumped back from the Hollow general took a swing at her with its axe. Ember then started to take her helmet off as she was probably about to resort to her natural dragon breath. I came in swinging to try and distract the general just long enough for her to unleash a powerful torrent of flames into it, but the general responded with far too much awareness as it swung its axe at me before I could commit myself to another full swing. Was the emperor observing the situation from an angle that provided a full view of the battle?

I had to bail on my attack and get my shield up to ward off the chop, but was not prepared for the axe to then hook itself over my shield again. I was then suddenly pulled forward to drag me off balance before the general lunged forward to give me a very hard shove that completely knocked me to the ground. I even went down in such a way that I could not get my armor's wings under me to push me back up. But I then saw why the general was in such a hurry to repel me.

With a roar, Ember's maw opened wide as a stream of hot pink flames exploded forward and into the general's veiled shield. It stood its ground as she tried to torch it, but the shield perfectly held up against the flames. I took note of this. The fact that it resorted to using its shield to hold off that dragon fire meant that the veil coating its body was only resistant to magic. Not natural elements.

Her attack thwarted, Ember threw herself backwards with a flap of her wings while trying to get her helmet back on. I then noticed the sound of galloping hooves and look just in time to see Nightmare Moon herself come charging in with sword ready. Her customized longsword floating beside her, she rushed past the general and landed a hard smashing strike to its chest that left an impressive dent in its breastplate. She came to a stop and faced the stunned general with sword floating before her.

This worried me. Even though as heavily armored as an equine could get, Nightmare Moon stood eye to eye with our enemy. The greatest advantage our infantry had against the Hollows were their much smaller stature making it much more difficult for our enemies to strike them with the full force of their swings. But with Nightmare Moon standing as tall as her enemies, she was a much easier target and would feel the full force of an attack if they hit. And that axe... A strike to the back of her armored neck would most likely still fracture her vertebrae.

"Have at thee!" Nightmare Moon barked as she made a sudden swing with her sword. Her blade was deflected while she kept a healthy distance from her foe. She pivoted her sword in the air as if she was holding it in a pair of hands, trying to get the blade under the axe's head to push it away. Her eyes glanced up as another bolt of lightning filled the sky. With a flap of her wings, she jumped back before the general began to pursue her. I was tempted to chase after them and go for the back, but I was most curious of Nightmare Moon's sudden shift in tactics.

Nightmare Moon held her sword high with her dark blue magic aura surging around her horn. Another flash of lightning filled the sky, but this one suddenly shot down and struck the sword itself! Her magic at work, Nightmare Moon kept the surging bolt of lightning from leaving her sword's blade as electricity surged all over it. She then charged forward as the general readied its shield, but there was a sudden pop as that bolt of lightning was sent right into the enemy as soon as Nightmare Moon's sword struck its shield!

"Ooh! Toasty!" Ember spoke up as smoke rose from the staggering form of the Hollow before us. That redirected lightning strike definitely did some damage, but was not enough to destroy it. Ember then charged forward with a low swoop as she tried to smash her spear's pommel over the general's head, but it still managed to lift its shield in time to deflect it. Ember landed near me as we both stood ready to continue this fight. Nightmare Moon stood ready with sword raised, but Ember then called out to her. "Careful! It's like this thing has eyes in the back of its head!"

She was not exactly wrong. The general was displaying an unnatural awareness of its surroundings and was responding too quickly to attacks from outside its field of vision. With the one remaining Hollows turning west to face us, I was ready to charge first in the hopes of giving Ember and Nightmare Moon an opening. But just before I could start to approach, the general very suddenly threw its head back. "Wha... Huh?"

It took us a moment to notice, but something was now sticking out of the Hollow's helmet. Through the visor and right between the eyes. Its head was lowered to look directly at us as the lights in its eyes faded. A single arrow had plunged right into its face. The Hollow then collapsed in a heap and began to dissolve into a dark purple mist as the magic auras coating it also faded away. Nightmare Moon and I suddenly burst into laughter at this very sudden end to the duel upon where that arrow had come from, but Ember did not sound quite as amused as she turned to the west. "Hey! He was mine!"

"Ha! Victory is ours!" I heard Seaspray call out far to the west as he and his fellow hippogriff archers screeched in triumph. And so did everyone else. Truly, only one of them could snipe a fully armored opponent from nearly a mile away with a shot to the face. Even the rain began to slow with the sun starting to come out at the perfect time to declare a victory. Only the sound of cheers filled the air as a massive sense of relief filled my heart. The battle was over and things could not have gone much better. This proved that we were ready for what was to come.

"Well, that was abrupt! But not unappreciated!" Nightmare Moon chuckled heartily as she sheathed her sword at her side. She approached with a smile upon her face and said, "Well met, Ember! We were starting to suspect you weren't going to make it."

Ember sighed with a groan before propping up her spear upon its pommel. She leaned on it towards Nightmare Moon as she explained, "Trust me, it wasn't my call! Unlike all you ponies, our armor isn't exactly a one size fits all kind of deal. I wasn't going to let my men head out for battle until they were properly armored. I'm just glad we didn't miss it!"

"Hm, yes... Forging armor isn't exactly expedient, is it? Regardless, let us savor this victory for now. We will speak later." Nightmare Moon replied with a very pleased smile as she trotted by us. It was a good day. That was probably the happiest I had seen the Princess of Dreams be in quite a while.

Ember began to step towards me, but she then paused as we noticed something approaching through the air. Seconds later, Seaspray came in for a landing before us as he greeted me with a smile. His quiver was empty, though I doubt he missed a single shot. "All is well with you, my liege? Did you see that shot I made to put down the enemy commander? At least a mile away, I swear! Not my finest shot, but..."

"Yes, yes, I thought that arrow was from you! Good shot, admiral! We really needed that." I retorted while so glad he stepped in when he did. "How long were you waiting for that shot anyway?"

"From the moment your first swing was parried. I have been charged with your safety and I intend to not fail in that objective. With my final arrow, I took aim and waited. And as soon as I was certain my shot would connect, I let my arrow fly! And behold, victory was ours!" Seaspray explained with his usual confidence and bravado while really sounding like he was savoring the opportunity to put his skills to good use for the sake of Equestria.

"And you nailed that thing right between the eyes... I... I didn't know that kind of precision was possible from that kind of distance..." Ember added with a fist held to the underside of her helmet. I doubt the dragons of Equestria are familiar with archery.

I then decided to explain, "The hippogriffs of Equestria have the finest archers in the entire world. No one's better than them. Not with eyes like theirs."

"The more you know!" Ember retorted as she shrugged her shoulders. Her eyes then opened wider as she finally beheld Seaspray properly. "Wow, what's your armor made of? I don't know of anything that shimmers like that..."

Seaspray held his head high while he posed gallantly in his unique suit of armor. "The finest tempered steel coated in a glorious finish of mother of pearl! It's no different from the rest of my mens' in terms of performance, but only mine is permitted to have such a glorious sheen to it. Thank you for noticing."

"I'm almost tempted to taste it, that sheen is so amazing..." Ember muttered while probably not having much experience in sampling pearls. Do those things even have a flavor to them? Ember quickly collected herself and stood at attention. "Anyway! Good shot back there. Although I'd rather have finished the job myself..."

"Oh my... I didn't steal your glory there, did I? My sincerest apologies! I was merely covering my liege here!" Seaspray retorted with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. He then spread his glorious wings and spoke, "I have already said too much. We will speak again soon, I'm sure."

With a flap of his wings, Seaspray took to the air and flew back to the west. Ember then turned her gaze up at me and asked, "My liege? What, are you his superior in some way?"

"It's complicated... Too much to explain in a few minutes." I retorted while knowing Ember has yet to even lay eyes upon Novo. I then looked down at her and sheathed my sword now that the battle was truly over. "Anyway, how about we head back? We still need to figure out where you will be staying in the camp."

"Sure, right. Anywhere will do." She replied as we began to head back to the west. The militia was already en route for field HQ. Some of our hippogriffs and griffons were scouring the battlefield for dropped or discarded equipment. The Hollow's weapons did not stick around after their masters were destroyed, but our arrows still remained. Ember then looked up at me and said, "You all did very well. I wasn't sure what to expect out here, but I but those boulderheads with me were pleasantly surprised."

"I hope so. I don't want any discourse between anyone out here." I replied while appreciating the silence of an empty battlefield as the skies began to gradually clear. The wonderful scent of soaked earth filled the air after a summer rainstorm. I then looked down at Ember and said softly, "I'm glad you made it, Ember."

She looked up at me from behind her helmet. I could swear she was smiling. "It's good to be here, James. Let's get through this together."

We were the last to enter the camp through the gates. And as soon as we did, Ember and I found her fellow dragons waiting for us in a group. Exactly twelve of them had arrived with her, each having very different and varied body types and colors. Their iron armor looked crude, but tough and rugged. Arrows and blades would never get by it. I did not recognize any of them, but there were a few females among the more numerous males. And they all looked more than just a bit thrilled at having toasted dozens of Hollows. "Man, did you see how many of those things we torched out there?! Who needs these ponies when we can just keep roasting them until they're all dust?!"

Another one of the dragons stepped towards Ember with his fangs exposed in a huge grin. "How about we just ditch these ponies and keep going east?! We'll roast everything in the way and burn that emperor guy to ashes!"

Overconfident brutes like always. Ember displayed admirable restraint as she pointed her spear at her allies and spoke firmly. "Absolutely not! Yes, you all performed splendidly today, but we also had the element of surprise! I doubt the enemy will use the same tactics twice! We will continue to march east with the rest of Equestria's forces and carry out our duties for our allies. We have a role to fulfill and I will not be tolerating any acts of antagonizing towards our allies here!"

"Oh yeah?" Another drake asked while the other dragons snidely snickered together in blatant defiance of their leader's commands. "And what if we do?"

Ember scowled at her men from under her helmet, but she then appeared to smirk. She pointed her spear past them and said, "I think she can explain things better than I can."

Confused, the twelve dragons turned around. And they flinched at the sight of Nightmare Moon standing there with a knowing smirk on her face. "Good afternoon, soldiers. Is there a problem?"

I started to smirk as the dragons cowered at the sight of the only other member of the royal family they hate seen thus far. She began to walk through the group with grace and pride while never once losing that smirk. "I trust you will be on your best behavior while serving with my people out here. You will be compensated as promised for your services once this war comes to an end in the coming weeks. However..."

The Princess of Dreams closed her eyes briefly before looking around at them with her eyes filled with a haunting white glow. "I do not believe I need to explain what will happen should you harass our own allies. Do I?"

"Nope! Nope! We'll be good!" One of the dragons shouted before they literally all bowed before her. Ember was struggling to suppress her delighted snickering under her helmet. They had already seen Nightmare Moon's magical might in action once before. And none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of it.

"Very good then. Carry on." Nightmare Moon retorted before she made her way back towards the command center. The dragons remained on their hands and knees until they were certain it was safe to rise.

"One more thing." Ember then said as her people turned to face her. She stamped her spear's pommel into the ground firmly to make her point clear. "There is one other dragon serving with us. A youth who is acting as a scout. All of you are to avoid contact with her at all times. Understood?"

They all nodded readily. If they were to disobey, Ember would surely rat them out to Nightmare Moon. And I was glad to see Ember looking out for Smolder. Now that the dragons seemed to understand their place at the time, Ember allowed herself to relax. "All right, you're dismissed. Take a look around, familiarize yourself with your surroundings, but stay out of trouble."

The twelve dragons began to wander off with their egos kept firmly in check. I then looked down at Ember and said, "I was...expecting more trouble from them."

"Not with Nightmare Moon breathing down their necks. I'm kinda hoping one of them does make a scene just so she can zap them or something." Ember muttered smugly as she removed her helmet. I raised my eyebrows a bit now that I got a good look at her face for the first time in quite a while. Ember soon noticed my prolonged gaze and asked, "What? Did something get me?"

"No, you're fine." I replied while Ember looked away for just a moment. "It's just...I forgot how beautiful you are under that helmet."

"James, come on..." Ember groaned while she rolled her eyes. But I never took my eyes off of her. But several seconds later, she looked up at me with a quiet smile on her lips. "Thank you. Really."

"Anytime." I spoke softly while enjoying the gaze of her scarlet eyes. But it was then that I suddenly had a realization. "Say... Where will you even be staying here anyway? We didn't discuss that..."

"We didn't? Wait... No, I guess we didn't. But that can wait until this evening, right?" Ember replied as she held her helmet in one arm and her spear in the other. She narrowed her gaze to focus on distant targets. "That structure in the middle of this place... That's where the princesses gather, right? I'll head over there for now and get caught up with everyone now that I'm here. Let's talk later, all right?"

"Right sure. See you soon, Ember. And check in on Smolder when you get there. She'll be happy to see you again." I said in parting before Ember made her way further east. I cast my gaze out over the rows of tents around me. There was a joyous atmosphere in the air. Morale had skyrocketed now that our first real battle had ended so well. No casualties too... Or were there?

My eyes suddenly went wide. I did see it happen. Those protective domes of magical barriers that signaled the presence of wounded allies. I knew how they worked. A sort of time inversion spell to give the wounded more time to be transported and then treated. A safeguard like that would drastically increase the survival rate of anyone with even the most grievous injuries. But still...

Now more familiar with the layout of the camp than I had been days prior, I started to make my way to the infirmary. Very few infantrymen were wounded, but I just wanted to be sure. But I did not get far before Rainbow Dash came swooping over to me. "Hey, James! Got a minute?!"

"Huh? Oh, Rainbow! Hey, did you or your wingmen bring someone back after their safeguards got deployed? Are they OK?" I asked now that I was talking to someone who was directly involved with evacuating wounded personnel.

Rainbow Dash surprised me with a laugh. "Oh, that?! Yeah, those guys only got a little roughed up. Almost like those crystals or something are way too twitchy and will activate if they so much as scrape their knees! Those eggheads need to tweak those things to not turn on too easy."

I let out a long wheeze as I too found myself laughing in sheer relief. "Oh man... Well, plenty of time to fine-tune those things. I guess they wouldn't know how well they worked until we got some field testing done. Anyway, did you need me for something?"

Rainbow Dash then looked up at me and said, "Oh, right! Spitfire wanted me to come find you! She's about to talk to Lightning Dust and she wants you around just in case something goes wrong."

"She... Oh man, right! Sure, let's go." I retorted before taking to the air and letting Rainbow Dash lead me across the camp. "Yeah, I saw all that. Gilda told me she had a bad feeling about her, but I never expected her to endanger her wingmen like that."

"Yeah, G told me how you bailed her out back there! Thanks for looking out for them!" Rainbow Dash replied as we began to descend. It really does not take long to get from one side of the camp to the other when you can fly.

"Oh, I hardly needed to do anything. As soon as I got rid of her captors, she tore herself out of that net by herself." I explained as we approached the very same open field where the aerial units run their drills. I could see Spitfire standing at the edge of the space while Lightning Dust was positioned right in the middle. She appeared to be shackled with her wings bound while a pair of unicorn guardsmen stood by her with spears at their sides. Upon landing before her, I asked, "You called, captain?"

"Yeah, thanks for being here, James. Soarin told me everything that happened out there. If Dust tries to make a run for it, grab her." Spitfire retorted with a most grim tone in her voice. She looked genuinely disgusted as she began to approach her subordinate. Rainbow Dash and I shared a quiet glance. It was almost unsettling to see Spitfire like this. We then followed while Spitfire spoke to the guards. "Release her. She's not going anywhere."

Lightning Dust scowled in irritation over being disciplined. She was soon freed from her binds while the guards stepped back, but she made no attempt to flee. Rainbow and I stood to the sides while I watched carefully. Spitfire, her voice filled with barely veiled anger, spoke firmly to her wingman. "I saw what happened out there today. And I've heard testimony from the wingmen who got dragged along in your tailwind. What was that about? You knew what you were supposed to be doing, but you still threw yourself at the enemy anyway?"

I was curious of the reasoning behind her logic as Lightning Dust still looked more annoyed than anything. She then spoke up, " I didn't sign up to play mama bird! You saw how many heads I rolled when I went crashing through the tops of the enemy lines! I must've thinned them out by at least a few dozen!"

"That's! Not! The point!" Spitfire now was just shy of yelling right in Lightning Dust's face. Even while her subordinate defiantly stared her down. "We may be here to fight a war, but you and I are here to make sure our ground troops make it home alive! They've got families and friends waiting at home and we're here to make sure they live to see tomorrow! What don't you get about that?! And I don't even want to think about what would've happened to our wingmen if the enemy managed to drag them all the way back to their stronghold!"

What came next was something I am still rolling around in my head. Because of how wrong it felt to hear from a pony. Lightning Dust defiantly spoke, "And what part about being at war don't you get?! We've gotta wipe out the enemy if we're gonna win this in the long run! So what if we take a few casualties?! That's what happens in war, right? If some of them can't keep up with the rest of us, then maybe they should've stayed home! It's not my fault if some of them aren't on my level."

It was such a brief explanation, but... That kind of callous disregard for the well-being of her wingmen... It almost sounded sociopathic. Even Spitfire looked utterly stunned as she remained silent. And Lightning Dust looked like she was interpreting that silence as a victory in their argument if that smirk was anything to go by. No one spoke, but I felt bile boiling in my gut. But before I could consider throwing a blast of magic lightning at Lightning Dust, Spitfire beat me tot he punch. Quite literally.

I almost did not even see it. Spitfire very suddenly lashed out and smashed her hoof across Lightning Dust's face and knocked the callous pegasus tot he ground. Rainbow Dash and I even jumped back in shock. For as long as I have known her, I never could have imagined Spitfire physically assaulting someone. Lightning Dust remained on the ground with a trickle of blood starting to ooze from her left nostril before she lifted her head to gaze up at Spitfire with a look of stunned horror in her eyes.

Spitfire was as still as stone while gazing down at Lightning Dust with a look of cold wrath in her eyes. I was afraid to intervene. She looked like she was about to murder her traitorous wingman. But after a moment of unbearably tense silence, Spitfire spoke with a chilling monotone in her voice. "You've got ten minutes to pack your bags and get out of here. If you're still here after that, I'll see to it that you're put on trial."

Lightning Dust had absolutely nothing to say to that threat. She hastily scrambled to her feet and galloped off without a word. And that was the last time I ever saw her. The two guards who had watching began to disperse while Spitfire walked past Rainbow Dash and I without a word. Rainbow soon let out a harsh sigh and said with a groan, "Oh man, I didn't think it'd get that intense..."

"I was almost certain she was going to strangle Dust after that..." I muttered while my torso ached from the sheer tension I had felt the instant Spitfire punched Lightning Dust right in the snout. Even the entire battle beforehand was not so stressful on my nerves. That was terrifying. "I think we should leave the captain be for now..."

"Uh huh... At least Dust won't be sticking around to screw things up next time..." Rainbow Dash said with a nod. Although she then asked, "Say... Didn't you have to bail someone else out today? I saw you fly to the northern edge of the battlefield today. What happened over there?"

"There? That was... Oh shoot, that! I should probably check in about that! Let's talk later!" I replied before spreading my wings and taking to the air. Sunset Shimmer had most likely been detained around that time as well. I was most curious of where things would go with what her superiors would decide about her. "Didn't think there'd be any bad eggs in the basket..."

I suspected that the section of the encampment where the mages were stationed was very close to the R&D lab and made my way there. My guess proved correct. A pair of armored unicorn guardsmen were standing beside Sunset Shimmer in the open lot before the lab. Luna and Twilight Sparkle stood near her as well. Upon landing, I noticed a dark ring possibly made out of stone placed around the base of Sunset's horn. Some sort of magic inhibitor for unicorn prisoners? Sunset looked nothing short of annoyed. Everyone turned their gazes towards me as I approached. "I guess I should mention what happened out there?"

"There's no need. Sunset Shimmer informed us that you provided a means to hold the enemy at bay while allowing her to return fire. It was certainly effective, but the act of breaking formation against such sheer numbers was still exceedingly reckless. We are waiting for Celestia to arrive before discussing disciplinary actions." Luna explained while Sunset Shimmer flinched at the mention of the Princess of the Dawn. They did have a history together and it seemed I was about to find out exactly what that entailed.

No one had anything to say. Sunset in particular refused to speak. Twilight did not appear like she needed to be there, but she most certainly was curious about what was up with her colleague. Moments later, a winged figure descended from the sky. Celestia landed before us while still clad in her glorious gilded barding. She began to open her mouth to speak, but froze upon locking eyes with Sunset Shimmer. "You..."

Sunset Shimmer flinched, but never lost that look of stubborn irritation in her eyes. Celestia then looked towards her sister with a gaze of contempt. "Luna. Why was I not informed that she had enlisted? Why is Sunset Shimmer here?"

"You...know each other?" Twilight Sparkle asked with some confusion as her mentor addressed her colleague by name. Sunset did all she could to avoid locking eyes with her successor. I was most interested in what was about to be revealed. Why had Luna not known the name of Celestia's prior pupil?

Luna then explained with a most sincere and firm tone of voice, "Sister. Ever since the day I returned to the throne, you have not once mentioned such a name to me. Not once. Is there something I need to know here?"

"No... I suppose I did not. My apologies." Celestia said coolly before directing her biter gaze towards Sunset. "Sunset Shimmer was my star pupil before I took Twilight Sparkle under my wing."

"You... You came before me?!" Twilight asked loudly in shock while Sunset avoided looking at her. Despite not looking it, I suspected Sunset Shimmer was several years older than Twilight or myself if she hailed from a slightly older generation. That admittedly beautiful voice filled with womanly depth when she spoke certainly gave me that impression. Twilight then asked, "Then...why aren't you studying under Princess Celestia anymore?"

"Because she thought I wasn't good enough." Sunset bitterly grumbled before defiantly lifting her gaze to look up at her former mentor. "That's why I signed up for this. So I could prove to you that I'm worthy! I helped decimate the enemy forces with just my own magical might! I outperformed every other mage on the battlefield today! Is that still not enough for you?!"

Celestia's eyes narrowed in disgust. I did not fully understand the context at that moment, but if Sunset was simply inadequate in her magical capabilities back then, she surely must have improved to the point of being an exceptional mage by then. But this assumption was squashed when Celestia then said coldly, "It has been nearly a decade since I last laid eyes on you. And you still fail to understand?"

Sunset Shimmer snarled at Celestia in sheer frustration. Like she knew what was coming. Celestia then explained, "All you ever wanted back then was power. And I see that has not changed. Of course I could not trust you when that was all you were interested in. Am I wrong?"

"And I'm still not worthy of that power?! To one day be like you?! What must I do to get you to understand that I have what it takes?!" Sunset all but yelled at her mentor. At it was almost unsettling to hear her obsess over becoming as powerful as Celestia herself. What had Sunset been hoping for? To eventually inherit the crown as well? To become the next Princess of the Dawn? Did that mean Twilight too would someday...?"

"If you still do not understand why you were cast out by now, then I fear you never will. I cannot place such faith in anyone blinded by such ambition." Celestia spoke with a frustrated sigh. She then glanced at Luna and said, "She is to be discharged immediately. Send her home on the next transport that comes in."

"Agreed. Come, gentlemen. Let's be off." Luna retorted as Sunset's two escorts readied their spears and began to guide her away from the open lot. At least it did not escalate as far as things did with Lightning Dust.

Before she got far, Sunset Shimmer looked back at us. Or more likely just at Celestia. Fury in her eyes, she spoke with a low growl. "Mark my words... This isn't over, Celestia. I'll prove to you someday..."

I could only hope nothing would come to pass from that threat. A mage that powerful would certainly make for a dangerous enemy. Now with just Twilight and Celestia, I looked back at them while Twilight stepped towards her mentor. "She was your student before me?"

"Yes... And I had hoped I would never see her again in that state..." Celestia bemoaned with head bowed. "Such an aspiring and competent student too... It's such a shame that the prospect of power went to her head. I could not trust her as her ambitions became too great."

"I... I hope I won't ever disappoint you like that... I'm not interested in power. Only the pursuit of knowledge interests me, your highness. Like it always has." Twilight replied meekly now that she had seen what had become of the student who came before her. She bowed her head and whispered, "I won't become like her... I promise."

"I know you won't, Twilight." Celestia said with a happier tone while she reached out and nuzzled Twilight's cheek with her nose. "And that is why you are my star student."

"Thank you! I won't let you down!" Twilight replied as I saw the two of them indulged in this moment of tenderness together. But as I observed master and pupil together, some of Sunset Shimmer's words came to the forefront of my mind. Words speaking of an intention to eventually become like Celestia... As if...there was some plan from the start to grant that sort of status upon her had she qualified.

I thought I was overthinking things at first. But then I remembered someone else. Cadence. The only alicorn I knew of who was not directly connected to the royal bloodline. Had we discussed that at one point in the past? I could swear she or someone else mentioned that to me... That she was not originally an alicorn... But if she could become one... Could she in time also become just like Celestia as well? And if that is the case... Would Twilight one day also be...?

I became so lost in my thoughts that I momentarily zoned out enough to not hear Twilight and Celestia talking. And I felt my heart ache as an image entered my mind. A vision of Celestia, but with Twilight's colors instead of her own. An immortal goddess of a mare no longer tethered to everything that connects us all. Untouched by time. It was an absurd notion to consider, but the very thought of it horrified me. Twilight has at times displayed some degree of leadership skills, but she would never be fit to wear a crown. Nor can I ever imagine her wanting it in the first place. But... But... No... Celestia... She would never do that, would she?

Twilight trotted off once I started to lose my train of thought. Now that it was just Celestia and I, she looked my way and said, "I really should be off. My sisters and I need to address everyone over this victory along with some of our more highly ranked officers. It would be good for morale."

"Right, yeah..." I muttered before Celestia started to turn away. My thoughts still on my mind, I then asked, "Celestia... A moment please. What Sunset said... Twilight. You... You don't really intend to pass the crown onto her, do you?"

I was expecting an immediate response. A prompt and sincere denial of a potentially dubious and misleading ulterior motive behind her taking Twilight under her wing. And now that I thought about it, I never really had been told what being Celestia's star pupil even means in terms of end goals. Regardless, I hoped for a quick reply. Instead...

Celestia merely stared at me without a word. Her eyes betrayed her silence. Such a look of unease and discomfort in them. What was she hiding? She then turned from me without a word and began to walk away. But I was not having it. The thought of her putting that kind of burden on Twilight... Someone who does not desire the crown... It frightened me. I rushed forward and placed my hand upon her armored neck. This got her attention as Celestia came to a stop and looked back at me. I quietly pleaded, "Please... Don't hurt her."

The Princess of the Dawn solemnly nodded. And only then did she finally speak. "I have nothing but the best intentions for her, James. Twilight is in good hooves. She will play her part when the time comes."

While there was clearly no mean to sound it, there was something...insidious about that term. She will play her part. It carried the connotation of a lose of control on Twilight's part. Being manipulated into doing something against her will. My faith in dear Celestia shaken, I slowly lowered my hand to my side. I then spoke firmly, "Celestia... I love you. I cherish you dearly. But I still feel like there's something you're not telling me..."

"I swear, James. I have no intention of harming Twilight." Celestia said softly, but not exactly with the most confidence. I was not satisfied with her answer at all. There was something about her connections to Twilight Sparkle she was not telling me. And I could tell by that look in her eyes that she knew I did not believe her entirely. Knowing I was not going to get any other answer out of her, I turned and flew back over the camp. If nothing else, I wanted to get that armor off for the rest of the evening.

I could feel an enthusiastic buzz in the air as I approached the command center. Everyone was in a good mood and were celebrating. Even upon stepping into the command center, I found the main room abuzz with guardsmen breaking out bottles of cider to have a toast to a successful campaign ahead. It was hard to not feel confident in that atmosphere. And as soon as I headed up the stairs to my chambers, I was promptly pounced upon by a very clingy Changeling. "You're back! Are you OK?!"

"Whoa! Hey there, love bug. Yeah, I'm good. Didn't even need to stop by the infirmary afterward." I replied while stroking Ocellus on the head. She was clinging to me quite well. Like a beetle on a tree.

"You sure you're all right? We could kinda hear stuff going on even way out there. And they're really throwing a party downstairs. How'd it go?" Smolder asked while she was seated at the edge of my bed. Her eyes gazed at me with some concern and even appeared to be scanning my armor for signs of damage. There were a few dents here and there, but nothing that could have signified a hit hat could have harmed me.

"It all went surprisingly well. Like...impressively well! Like it made me wonder what I was so worried about in the first place... OK, love bug. Please get down. I can't take this armor off while you're holding on." I replied before helping Ocellus lower herself to he floor. I then removed my helmet and weapons before melting my armor off into its designated tub nearby. "Really though, everyone's feeling confident about his now. Even Ember showed up just in time with her dragon reinforcements and torched lots of those Hollows."

"Ember?! She's back?! Nice! Was she awesome out there?" Smolder almost shouted as she clenched her hands into excited fists. Ember must have really endeared herself to the little dragoness last time.

"Yep. As soon as she showed up, she stayed close to me. She makes a great battle buddy and really knows how to work that spear." I replied while stepping out of the tub and sitting myself beside Smolder so I could get my shoes on. "And don't worry about the other dragons. Ember warned them to stay away from you, so they won't be giving you any trouble if they know what's good for them."

"Oh, thanks... I don't wanna relive any bad days I had when I was still in the dragon lands." Smolder said with a tone of relief. But once I had my shoes back on, she put her arms around me for a hug. "I... I gotta admit I was kinda worried about you. Thanks for coming back in one piece."

"Sorry if I scared you. Really didn't mean to." I whispered as I put an arm around her. But I then had to do the same for Ocellus when the little lady pushed her way under my other arm. "Heh, you girls..."

"We don't want anything bad happening to you out there." Ocellus cooed with her head resting right against my chest. Probably even listening to the thumping of my heart. "You're such a nice person... Don't go away, please?"

"I'll never stay gone for long. I'll keep coming home. All right?" I whispered before Smolder placed a kiss on my cheek. I glanced at her as we both smirked at each other before we shared a proper kiss upon our lips. Although I then glanced at the only clock in the room. It was getting a little late by then. "Say... How about we hit one of the mess halls for dinner? I'd like to enjoy dinner with our friends to celebrate our first real victory out here."

"Sounds good! It'd be nice to get outta the house for a while. You hungry for some real food, Ocellus?" Smolder replied while looking past me at the lovely love bug.

Ocellus looked less than thrilled at the prospect of socializing with everyone beyond the walls of the command center. Her pale blue featureless eyes squinted as she fidgeted against me. "But... They'll hate me... If they see me, they might chase me away..."

That was when I had an idea. "Then why don't you get dressed? Even if everyone out there has problems with Changelings, they don't have much of a grudge against dragons."

"Dragons...? What about th... Oh! That! You mean..." Ocellus gasped before hopping down from the bed. In a flash of green fire, she soon stood before us as a familiar and very feminine slender dragon lady with sandy hued scales and even a full head of hair. "Like this?"

"Man, I can't believe you make a cuter dragon girl than me." Smolder added before she let out a laugh. "Yeah, I bet that'd fool them! I think we can come up with an excuse if anyone asks too many questions."

"Mmhm. You're adorable. I don't think anyone would have a problem with those looks." I said while Ocellus squealed in delight while covering her face with her new hands. With nothing else to do, I stood up with Smolder and Ocellus at my sides. "Let's go grab a bite."

Since I knew Smolder and Ocellus required an escort o leave the command center, I felt I should announce whenever I was taking them outside. Once down in the main room, I called out over the noise. "Hey, gentlemen! I'm taking Ocellus and Smolder out for dinner. We'll be back."

"You are? But where's the Cha...wait..." Shining Armor was among them and looked at the three of us in some confusion. Ocellus nervously waved at him to make it clear she was the new dragon in the room. "Oh... Well, just make sure it doesn't run off."

"Got it. Let's go." I replied as I led the two of them outside. Ocellus turned her gaze to the ground as Shining Armor's bitter words likely stun. I really was disappointed in him using such dehumanizing pronouns to address her, but I could not entirely fault him. Just how wretched a time was it when that invasion happened during his wedding? I stroked my fingers through her head of hair and whispered, "Give him time. You know everyone else in the command center is warming up to you."

"Mmhm... But will everyone else be OK with me?" Ocellus quietly asked with her fingers touching. She really was afraid now that Shining Armor had reminded her of what Equestria at large thinks of her kind.

"If they have a problem with you, they'll have to get by us." Smolder said bluntly as she stepped up beside our friend. She then glanced up at me and asked, "We'll protect you. Right, James?"

"Yeah. We'll keep you safe. Promise." I said while taking Ocellus' hand into mine to lead her along. I soon found her leaning against me as I led her and Smolder along. A good meal would do wonders for her mood, even if she might not get that much nutritional value out of it compared to her usual diet.

The air had a certain energy to it as the sun was only just starting to set in the west. Like the kind of feeling you get when attending an outdoor festival. I had no idea which mess hall to choose since there were quite a few set around the camp, but I decided to go with the one that was nearest to the command center. It was the one I usually visit when I want to enjoy a meal among my comrades, so I hoped my closest friends had gotten into a habit of frequenting that one if they wanted to find me.

Ocellus became rooted to the spot when we were right outside the mess hall. Just a huge open tent with many tables and quite a few militiamen going about, either taking seats at the table to be served or gathering in lines at the food stalls to take a meal back to their tents. Even though she was perfectly disguised as a dragon, Ocellus clung to me while her feet would not budge. Smolder noticed when the two of us did not follow her in and looked back. "Something wrong?"

"So many... Many we should find...someplace quieter?" Ocellus whimpered as she clung to my hand.

"Too shy? Hey, I'm feeling a little uncomfortable too. But it'll be fine when we find a table and our friends start showing up. We'll keep you safe." I replied while knowing what it is like to be uneasy in crowded locations. I gave her hand a light tug and said, "Please?"

"Um... OK... Just please don't let go." Ocellus muttered as she began to very rigidly walk in with Smolder and I while tightening her grip on my hand. I too firmly grasped hers to make sure she would not slip away. I know Changelings are probably taught to be discreet, but Ocellus was taking it even further. I wonder if all Changeling scouts are that naturally shy.

We took a seat at a long row of tables that could easily seat a few dozen patrons. No one was there yet, but I was anticipating that to change. Ocellus sat to my left while Smolder was on her other side to keep her safely boxed in. Now that she was seated, Ocellus appeared slightly calmer. But she then asked, "Um... Do we really need such a big table?"

Smolder caught on very quickly and smirked at us. "Hey, it's a special occasion. Everybody wants to party, so we're gonna have lots of friends show up."

"Lots...of people...? Uh oh..." Ocellus muttered as one of the servers came by and set out rows of menus on the tables. I guess even he anticipated a large group showing up soon. "Like who?"

"Like...her?" Smolder asked while she pointed past me. I glanced to my right and saw Spitfire take a seat beside me with a bottle of hard cider held in her wing. She was out of uniform, but she looked really unhappy. And I could guess why.

Smolder took the hint and got Ocellus' attention for a conversation to keep her occupied. Now that it was just Spitfire and me, I asked, "What's up, captain?"

"I just needed someone to talk to and chill with for a while." She glumly muttered before taking a long swig of her drink. She looked troubled. Unable to look at me, she held a hoof to her forehead and grumbled, "I'm really sorry you had to see that back there... I can't remember the last time I ever took a swing at a cadet like that..."

"It's cool, captain. I was debating blasting her with lightning myself, so you saved me the trouble." I replied while still disturbed by Lightning Dust's parting words. Not at all something I would expect out of someone from Equestria. "There's something wrong with that girl..."

"No kidding... But it still didn't feel good. It's one thing to screw up in a way that endangers my wingmates. But dissing them on top of that? I never wanna see her again. And I'm gonna see to it that she's blacklisted from ever trying out for the Wonderbolts, just to be safe." Spitfire groaned as she slumped against the table. She really was too sweet to ever get violent with anyone. No matter how deserved that punch to the face was, it was not in her nature to be that harsh. Spitfire finally turned to me and held up her arms. "I need a hug."

"I've got plenty, captain." I retorted before wrapping my arms around her. She nuzzled her face into my chest and let out a very loud and long sigh as I just squeezed the gloom out of her. "Feeling better?"

"I'm getting there... I'm just glad you were there to bail out my buddies. Soarin and Fleetfoot told me all about it. Really, thanks for that. Don't know what I'd do if I lost any of them on my watch." Spitfire sighed while already sounding more emotionally at ease. Although she then looked to her left and let out an amused snort. "Speak of the devil. Good thing you picked a big table."

I looked over and saw a small heard of pegasi trotting our way. They called out noisily in greeting as I realized who they were. Every last one of them were members of the Wonderbolts and some of my most frequent out of town customers at the spa. Soarin was the first to speak as they approached. "There he is! You fix up our wings and then you get us outta trouble on the battlefield! Where will we see you pop up next when we need you?"

"I'm guessing I'll be seeing you guy back in Ponyville when this is all over. You're gonna be working those wings hard at this rate." I replied as the whole crew got comfortable around us. Except Ocellus was clearly not so comfortable about the growing number of ponies around her. Her hand grasped mine under the table while we shared a glance.

"Oh, you betcha! That little dive and rise really takes a lot outta them after a few goes! Can't wait to let those magic fingers get to work on the girls here next time I'm in town." Fleetfoot said while flexing her wings. At least pegasus wings are by far the easiest body parts for me to massage.

Before long, a bunch more ponies started approaching from over yonder. And Ocellus squeezed my hand to the point of almost hurting me. My five closest friends from Ponyville were drawing near along with Trixie and Gilda amongst them. Maud Pie was trailing along behind them at a very leisurely pace. It was getting crowded indeed. Rarity then called out, "Yoohoooo! Darlings, we're here!"

"Hey, girls! Picked a big table for tonight!" Smolder replied while she waved at us. She then slyly thought up an answer to any questions they would likely have for the dragon girl seated between us. "Hey, lemme introduce you to my new gal pal. This is Ocellus. She's...uh...gonna be helping me with my scouting out here. Right?"

"Huh?! Uh... Um... Yes! What she said." Ocellus squeaked as she played along with a big and adorably nervous grin on her face. It was clever of Smolder to come up with an excuse like that on the fly. Very cunning.

"Oh? Uh... Oh! There's another dragon here besides the ones the Dragon Lord brought with her? Did you just wander out here too?" Twilight asked while they all drew closer to introduce themselves. "Anyway, it's good to meet you, Ocellus! My name is Twilight Sparkle."

One by one, everyone introduced themselves to the little Changeling in disguise. And as she was given an increasingly warm welcome, that smile of her face became less and less forced. Ocellus soon whispered to me, "They're...all so nice."

"Yeah, they are. The best friends I've got." I whispered to her as my friends got comfortable. Rarity took a seat beside Smolder while Gilda sat right across from me. Although I soon noticed Gilda starting to give Ocellus a curious stare. And then I remembered. She was there with me when I first found that frightened little love bug. Did she deduce that the newly discovered dragon before her was a Changeling in disguise.

"Hey. Ocellus." Gilda spoke over the clamor of many conversations in the air. Everyone was too distracted to pay any mind to whoever they were not directly interacting with. Ocellus immediately noticed Gilda's gaze and froze. Gilda then looked at me and asked, "Is she that weird bug thing we found out there?"

She did know. And I just nodded in the hopes of not creating a scene. Instead of getting accusatory, Gilda looked over at Ocellus and smirked before showing a thumbs-ups sign. "You're cool with me if he's cool with you."

"Uh... Really?! Thank you!" Ocellus said while grinning most gratefully. I suppose there was some sort of solidarity between them due to having checkered pasts in some form or another.

Gilda then looked at me and asked, "Hey, just wondering... What happened with Lightning Dust? I haven't seen her back at my place. Actually... It looks like she cleared out. All her stuff is gone."

"Yeah, she's been officially discharged. You won't be seeing her around here anymore." I replied while Gilda looked extremely relieved. Although I was briefly worried about her just being kicked out of camp instead of being sent back on a transport airship. "Come to think of it... Considering how fast she flies, she'll probably be back inside familiar territory before nightfall."

"Yeah, probably... Man, I knew there was something about her that I didn't like, but I never thought she'd be dumb enough to try something like that." Gilda grumbled while looking at the menu before her.

"It wasn't that she was dumb. It was that she really does not care. Spitfire even blacklisted her from the Wonderbolts as a precaution." I added while I took looked over the menu before me. I did glance to my right to check on Spitfire, but I saw she was in much better spirits by then while in the company of her crew.

"Sounds like it... She always had a really aloof vibe to her... Too aloof. I guess that's what happens when you don't give a flying feather about anyone but you and yours." Gilda said with a growl to her voice. She slapped her hand firmly down on the table while still looking better over having been thrown right into the enemy's clutches because of one bad apple in the bunch. "Good riddance. I'd have broken her wings if I saw her again."

"And I believe you would." I muttered while still glad I was able to get to her before it was too late. I took a good long look at her, glad to see that gorgeous golden pelt of hers now that she was out of uniform like everyone else. I then said more softly, "I'm glad you're OK, Gilda."

Gilda rested her beak atop her fist as she looked at me from across the table. Her gaze softened significantly as she replied with a much kinder tone. "Thanks for being there for me, handsome. I'm glad it was you who bailed me out."

It was right around then that Trixie leaned over and said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you say your name is Gilda?"

Gilda looked to her right and said, "Me? Yeah, that's me. What's it to you?"

Trixie then explained, "I just wanted to be the first to tell you that it seems we've been reassigned to different bunks. Looks like you and I will be sharing a tent from now on."

"Huh? You're my new roomie?! Sweet. You're that crazy mage out there who turned some of the enemies against each other, right? Sneaky stuff right there. How'd you do it?" Gilda asked now that Trixie had her attention. I could see a certain kind of irony in the two of them getting paired up as roommates. They do have a fair bit in common.

Trixie threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, you know what they say. A magician never reveals her secrets."

"Lame! But you'll be doing some sweet parlor tricks while we're chilling sometimes, right?" Gilda said before she suddenly looked behind her. "Whoa. Who's the big blue here?"

I looked past Gilda and saw a face I was more than happy to see. Ember stood before us while still clad in her gilded armor, but with her helmet missing. She raised her hand in greeting and asked, "Um... Is there room at this table?"

"Hey, Ember! Come on, there's plenty of room!" Smolder called out from across the table upon seeing probably the only dragon she kind of looked up to.

Twilight then looked over and beamed happily towards our guest. "Dragon Lord Ember! Welcome back! Your reinforcements were amazing out there! Just torching the enemy like that?! I didn't know what to expect, but having dragons on our side must be huge for morale!"

"Yes, they did perform well, didn't they?" Ember chuckled before Gilda scooted down a bit so Ember could have a seat right there. The Dragon Lord sat directly across from me as she got comfortable. "I'm just ready to try some more pony cooking. What's there to eat here?"

"Check out the menu right there. Just remember that you're only allowed one from each category." I explained while glad to see Ember joining us. Although instead of looking at her menu, I noticed her gaze being directed to my left. "Huh? What's up?"

"I don't remember you being among my subordinates... Are you another wandered out here?" She asked the false dragoness sitting to my left. Ocellus had no idea what to even say to an actual dragon now that she was disguised as one. Let alone the queen of the dragons.

I felt I could trust Ember with the knowledge that Ocellus at least was not what she seemed. So I spoke over the clamor around us and said, "It's complicated. I'll tell you later."

Ember took my word for it and left things at that. But she soon glanced up and started to crack a confused smirk at me. "Um... Don't look now, but you have a bunch of birds looming over you."

"Birds...? Oh." I muttered before a bunch of cheers and laughs filled the air as I was grabbed behind in a big hug by a couple sets of feathered arms. Our entire platoon of hippogriff archers had shown up for dinner and I was being held in the arms of Sky Beak and even Seaspray.

"So glad we picked the right mess hall! Good show out there today, all of you!" Seaspray declared after having likely just given a rousing speech of congratulations to some of our infantry. Their joyous energy was a welcome and familiar treat that I sorely missed without knowing how much I did.

Ember was quite amused by the sheer joy in the hippogriffs' affection greeting, especially with how some of them greeted me with a warm feathery hug. I was grinning ear to ear as well. "Looks like birds just really adore you."

"Adore me? Ember, these are my people!" I jokingly declared as I tried to hug them back by curling my arms over the backs of their necks. I really do adore those hippogriffs. The happy chatty bird horses behind me started to move down the table to find some seats to join us, but Sky Beak remained behind me while giving the side of my head a nuzzle. "Heh... Hey there, papa bird. I'm OK. Really, my armor held up very well today."

"You better be OK. I'd hate to go home and tell my family that anything happened to you." Sky Beak said tenderly yet firmly like a father giving his son a light scolding. But he soon grinned at me even wrapped a wing around me. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I know you're one of the best we have. It's just that things got tense when it came down to the last man! I'm surprised that one put up such a good fight!"

"Yes, it did. Until your admiral stole our kill!" Ember growled in irritation as she almost rose to her feet as if about to confront someone over that sudden intervention. Just about all of our hippogriff allies burst into laughter while Seaspray looked particularly proud over having put down the very last enemy unit. Let alone the general.

"Um... And that's a problem how?" Sky Beak asked in some confusion. I suppose he should have been confused since it should not matter who took out the last one.

Ember seemed to understand this too since she then returned to her seat. "Never mind... Just annoyed I hurried out there to help out only to find out I wasn't really needed."

Seaspray then called out over the clamor, "I can assure you that it was not easy! I waited a long time before I was certain my arrow would land a killing blow! I should be thanking you all for getting the enemy right where I needed them!"

It was just a lovely time. Surrounded by friendly familiar faces basking in the joy of victory and the reassurance that we really were as prepared for the coming battles as we had hoped we were. And we tired. Very tired. Nothing like a clash on a battlefield to make you know you will be sleeping very well that night. As our orders were taken, Ocellus whispered to me with a quiet smile on her lips. "Everyone's so happy here... And so full of love. It feels...nice being around them."

"Yeah. They're all good company. Just let me know when you think it's a good time to tell them. I'll be there with you when you do." I replied quietly while everyone else was completely distracted with each other. It was a step in the right direction for the precious love bug.

Maybe I was just too tired to pay that much mind to what anyone was saying around me, but it is difficult for me to recall the finer details of the conversations occurring at the dinner table. Although when considering how all the voices in the mess hall sort of blended together into a mass of white noise, I suppose that is understandable. Regardless, we all had a great time and filled our bellies after such a long day.

After some time, we all left the table and said our farewells before leaving the mess hall in varying directions. Smolder and Ocellus stayed close to me as we made our way across the camp with Ember in tow. I think she wanted to speak to the royal sisters before nightfall now that she was there to stay. My eyes scanned the western horizon as the three ladies chatted while Smolder and Ocellus came up with excuses to hide what Ocellus was for the moment. The sun was well on its way to setting for the night with the sky a glorious gradient of oranges and pinks.

I had seen a few airships come in for a landing shortly after the battle. Although I was surprised to see one already starting to rise into the air before turning around to fly west. They normally stay overnight. I quickly came to the assumption that Sunset Shimmer had been escorted aboard and the crew where ordered to fly her back to Equestria's main territories immediately. At least she would be out of trouble from now on.

Upon entering the command center, I found that the evening buffet was in the process of being put away. I was sure there were leftovers if I got the urge for a midnight snack. Shining Armor was quick to look our way, but hesitated to speak when he noticed Ember entering with us. He then asked, "Where they well behaved?"

"Yeah. We had a wonderful time. All is well." I replied while Smolder quickly led Ocellus up the stairs nearby to get her to a comfortable location. Ember watched them as they did so and looked curious over why they seemed to be in such a hurry and all without saying a word. Although I then asked her, "Can I get you anything, Ember?"

"No, I don't really need anything. Dinner was pretty satisfying enough. I just wanted to speak to the princesses here. Are they around?" She replied while reaching for her helmet as it sat in the corner. Once it was in her hands, she tucked it under on arm.

"Oh, they're in the war room at the moment. I was also informed to ask you to join them, James. They had something to discuss with you." Shining Armor explained before turning his gaze to Ember. "I guess you could speak to them too if you were looking for them."

"I'll do that, thank you." Ember replied before we stepped off to the side and did indeed find the three royal sisters seated at the long table in the middle of the room. They were sipping tea while in a conversation about something. I heard a mention about Sunset Shimmer, but that was about it before they looked at us. Ember raised a hand in greeting as she said, "I hope you don't mind me tagging along. I had a few things to discuss with you."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Ember. Please, do take a seat." Nightmare Moon said as she poured us cups of tea. The faint hint of honey in the air confirmed that it was chamomile. Perfect for unwinding after a long day. We sat across from the three sisters, but I made certain to put some distance between me and Celestia. I was not entirely comfortable seeing her. "Now then, to the business at hoof..."

Ember and I sipped from our cups with the tea having cooled to a very pleasant warmth. Luna then asked, "From what we understand, the general of that army put up an unusually fierce resistance this time. Could you describe to us exactly what happened out there?"

I thought back to that stressful clash. It was jarring to have a lowly Hollow put up that hard of a fight while rendering some of my most powerful offensive methods entirely useless. "I admit that I did try to face it fairly at first with just sword and shield. But when I came in for the first swing, the whole thing was shrouded in some magic veil. My sword couldn't even cut through its shield. And when it even got two glowing beacons where the eyes would be, I swear I heard the emperor speak to me."

"You mean to tell us the emperor himself took control of the general? And...enhanced it from afar?" Celestia asked as she set her cup down.

"I heard that voice too when I joined in. Whoever was speaking through that thing knew who I was." Ember added as she clutched the back of her hand with the other.

I tried to remain professional about this discussion despite my wariness of Celestia by that point. "The craziest thing of all is... I think the aura surrounding its body completely negated all magical effects. Not even solar magic could get through it. I couldn't even grab and throw it with levitation. It's like the emperor is learning from every encounter with his forces."

"That...is most worrying... It would seem this battle has truly proven to be a wakeup call in a number of ways. We are well prepared, and yet..." Nightmare Moon retorted before turning her gaze to her sisters. "I understand that we had issues with at least too of our personnel today. I believe their names were Lightning Dust and Sunset Shimmer?"

Having seen and heard their own testimony on their reckless actions that day, I decided to speak up. "One was a sociopathic daredevil looking for more action while the other was just too ambitious for her own good. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are other bad eggs in the militia that could be a problem later."

Luna scowled at the notion that our own infantrymen could become a danger to their allies due to personal issues. She then said, "I would say I do not believe you... But after today... Yes. I must insist that we run a background check and begin vetting all volunteers who are currently stationed here. As well as for those who have yet to join us. We can't have everything fall apart because of a few bad apples with too many personal ambitions clouding their judgment."

"It seems we will be staying put for a few days. We need to evaluate and revise what we know after this most recent battle as well. Is there anything else you would like to mention?" Celestia then asked as she focused her gaze on me.

I felt hesitant to even look at her. And I think she knew this when I instead turned my gaze to Luna. "Just wondering, but... Could you forward something to the R&D lab for me? I'm concerned that the dragons and our aerial units could potentially be struck our own archers whenever they dive to lower altitudes. Could you ask them to develop protective measures against our own archers' arrows?"

"That... My goodness, I'm shocked we never considered that until now. Yes, I will forward that suggestion to them immediately. We must make certain our draconian allies are immune to archers as well. And it should be much easier developing a means to utilize natural magnetism to repel steel arrowheads." Luna retorted while looking genuinely unsettled by the thought of our own archers shooting down their airborne allies by mistake.

I then muttered thoughtfully, "I think that's about all I need to bring up... The emperor can give his generals a boost by directly manipulating them. We may have some overly ambitious volunteers to weed out And we need some additional protection for our fliers. I think that's all..."

Celestia then looked towards Ember and asked, "With that out of the way, what is it you need, Ember?"

"Oh, uh... It's nothing complicated." Ember retorted before gulping down the rest of her tea. She then glanced back and forth at the three royal sisters and said, "It's just... My people and I would like to know where we will be staying for now."

"Oh... We didn't exactly get around to discussing accommodations for you, did we?" Nightmare Moon spoke with eyes wide in surprise over noticing such an oversight. "Hmm... We may be able to arrange some sleeping quarters for all of you..."

"To be honest, I don't think they'll mind sleeping outdoors. Soft grass would probably be comfortable enough for them." Ember replied without an ounce of sarcasm in her voice.

I cast her a perplexed stare for a few seconds before I asked, "You reptiles have no trouble getting to sleep on any surface, huh?"

"We dragons aren't exactly a high maintenance sort of people." Ember said with a laugh while just shrugging there in her seat. "I wouldn't mind it either. Soft grass sounds like a decent change of pace."

"Hmmmm... Actually... I have just the thing!" Nightmare Moon declared with inspiration in her eyes. She then looked at her sisters and asked, "The archery range should provide more than enough space. It's not like it gets much use after sundown anyway. If there's nothing else to discuss, I shall see you there shortly, yes?"

"Now? Well, um... Sure! I can head over there right now. I'll round up my men and make sure we all gather there too." Ember replied as she placed her helmet back over her head. "Although...could you show me where it is again? I think I only saw it once."

"I shall. James, if you would? I would appreciate you being present there as well." Nightmare Moon said as she and her sisters rose from their seats.

"Sure, I'll be there. Not sure what you'd need me for, but I'm coming." I replied as everyone began to make their way out of the room. Celestia stayed behind a little longer to pour and gulp down one last cup of tea. I waited until the other three had left the room before I started to make my way out.

"James?" I heard a voice behind me speak. A voice that once filled me with warmth now struck me with a slight chill. I stopped in the doorway and hesitantly looked back at Celestia as she gazed at me with a forced smile. "You did well today. I'm grateful that you're out here with us."

"Mm." I mumbled while wanting to get away from this conversation. Strange thing of her to say too. Like she was grasping at straws for something to say to me. I was tempted to leave right then, but stayed in the doorway while looking back a moment longer out of sheer politeness.

Celestia's smile faded in the face of my minimal vocal response. I think she knew why I was maintaining an emotional distance at the time. She then said, "You are...distant tonight..."

"Yeah. Guess I am." I said bluntly before turning to leave. There was somewhere I was needed anyway. "Good night."

Just as I began to take a step to leave the war room, I heard Celestia speak with barely more than a whisper. "I love you... I'm sorry."

I felt such a sting to my heart. There was nothing but true simple sincerity in those words. I was very tempted to turn and acknowledge those words, but I could not. Not while she was hiding something from me that was potentially endangering one of the most important friends in my life. I hastened my pace to get out of the command center as quickly as I could. With the stars and the moon coming out, I made my way over to the archery range now that the encampment was growing much more quiet.

There was not much out there on the archery field at the time. Just round straw targets at one side and nothing else. The place never sees any use at night. I would not be surprised if hippogriff eyes can see through the dark to some degree, but I still never see them out there at that hour. I watch the dark night sky as the night watch began to make their rounds while lighting torches along the paths to allow navigation through the camp. I know there is a curfew, but there are times when one needs to leave the tent. Sometimes even at odd hours of the night.

Before long, I glanced up and noticed some dark figures coming down from the sky. Ember stood out easily due to the bright gold hue of her armor. Along with her was Nightmare Moon and all of the dragons Ember had brought along. One of them, a big burly brute of a male, asked, "This gonna be our little spot at night?"

"Yes, you are all assigned this space for your leisure during the nightly hours. If you require any accommodations, do not hesitate to...eh?" Nightmare Moon began to say as she was interrupted by a series of thumps and metallic rattling. When we looked at Ember's subordinates, we found that they had already spread themselves out over the archery range and were lying in rather amusing positions while fast asleep. "Huh... Your kind really can sleep anywhere, can they?"

"I'm sure soft grass and even firm earth feels comfy compared to rocky slabs." Ember retorted while failing to hide a smile as she removed her helmet. No sign of her spear. It was probably being stored in the armory back in the command center. "Now then... You said you had a suggestion on where I should be staying?"

"Yes. Your very own office, as it were." Nightmare Moon replied as she levitated a small and rather familiar box out from inside her voluminous mane. My eyes went wide as I began to recognize it. Most clever. "Behold. You home away from home."

Nightmare Moon gently cast the box towards the northern end of the archery range while casting a spell upon it. In a flash, it burst open while we all took a step back. Ember gazed in amazement as the very same cottage Nightmare Moon and I had been using during our earlier days upon the Empty Plains stood before us. Ember shook her head and muttered, "You're kidding... You can pack up and transport your own housing like this? Is there anything magic can't do?"

"Yeah, that was pretty much my thought he first time I saw this." I said while finding amusement in her bewilderment. I then looked over at Nightmare Moon and asked, "Is the place in the same state we left it?"

"I had our servicemen inspect its filters for water and restocked its food supplies. But beyond that, no. It is no different from when you last saw it." The Princess of Dreams explained before she began to turn away. "I shall leave you to it. Feel free to acquaint yourself with your new home. We will speak in the morning, Ember."

"Yeah, sure. Really, thank you." Ember said in brief while bowing before her superior. Nightmare Moon bid us farewell for the night and took to the night sky to fly back to the command center. I wanted to stick around to at least make sure Ember would be right at home in a setting she was not at all familiar with. "So then... Equestrian living. Can't wait to check it out."

Ember stepped inside first, but stared in amazement at the interior of her temporary housing. The command center had a very simple interior design with polished wood floor and walls. This cottage's more modern and cozy interior design was much more appealing and actually had the feel of a home. Even the carpeting outside the kitchen vexed her as Ember hopped upon feeling the soft fibers sink under her armored feet. "It's...so different! But why is the floor so...soft?"

"It's called a carpet. Take your sabatons off and feel for yourself." I explained while I too kicked my shoes off and left them by the door. It felt nice to have soft carpeting under my feet again after so long. I watched while Ember removed her armor piece by piece and set the pile in the corner. Her sabatons were removed last and she jumped upon feeling the soft fibers under her toes. I had to resist the urge to chuckle as she gingerly stepped along like she was walking on very thin ice. "Too soft for you?"

"No, it's just... The softest ground I've ever walked in besides mud or fresh lava is sand or ash. This feels...nice." Ember replied as she tapped her toes along the carpeting. "Comfy floor you've got. I could easily sleep on this."

"There's no need for that. There's a bed in the back room down the hall." I spoke while pointing to the hall going down the middle of the cottage. It was just as cozy as I remember. Although there were still a few signs of prior use. The pillows on the couch were not perfectly arranged. The kitchen was not quite as tidy as it could have been. And I am sure the shower stall in the bathroom was showing signs of needing a good scrubbing. I doubt the bed sheets had even been laundered since last time. Although I then noticed Ember eyeing the phonograph in the corner of the living room by the couch. That large funnel for projecting music seemed to be confusing her. "That's a phonograph. It plays music off of vinyl discs."

"Music? As in...singing?" Ember asked while being tragically oblivious to some of the finer arts of the world.

As an artist of some sort myself, I found it so sad that Ember had barely any idea what music even is. I was going to put a stop to that. I reached for the collection of records near it and grabbed one I had not heard before. Some sort of classical music, from the looks of it. "Here. You just put it on like this, set the needle at the very edge, and then let it play."

Ember crossed her arms and listened closely as a faint scratching sound began to rise from the funnel over the phonograph. She then jerked her head up with those scarlet eyes going wide as beautiful piano music began to fill the air. Her mouth hung open as she listened to what may have been her first real exposure to music in her life. I then said, "That's a piano you're hearing. It's a very complex instrument to master, but it's one of the more beautiful classical instruments to listen to. Wonderful melody, yes?"

"It really is... Like...it's really speaking to me..." Ember muttered as her hand rose to the side of her face. I raised an eyebrow in concern as I saw her wipe a tear away. A child hearing such lovely music for the first time would probably not be able to appreciate the more delicate nuance of piano melodies. But someone with the sophistication that Ember possesses could surely cherish it. "I wish I had heard something like this sooner... Thank you for introducing this to me."

"You're very welcome, Ember. The world would be a very sad place without the arts. And everyone can appreciate music." I replied while Ember got comfortable on the couch just so she could bask in the music for a while. I decided to leave the tour of her new house for later while I began to look around and see if everything was as I remembered. The refrigerator in the kitchen was definitely stocked back up. The bathroom even had some more shampoo and shower gel brought in. I doubted Ember would have any need to use the laundry room, so I left that one along. And when I came back to the living room, I found Ember had not budged from that spot. She was fixated on the spinning of the vinyl record and how the needle was very gradually moving inward. "That's not the only medium for music storage. We've got cassette tapes and compact discs too, though that's probably the oldest means of storing audio on a physical object."

"Sure sounds like it. I don't know what it is, but that faint little scratching I hear in the background just...adds to the whole experience. I bet you don't get that on anything else." Ember retorted while showing a keen awareness of the sounds she was hearing from the phonograph. I took a seat by Ember and decided to let her listen to that entire side of the record before showing her around. Although once the needle reached the very center with nothing but its scratching sound being heard, Ember lifted it and placed it back at the edge. "How'd you start this up again? Just set this over here?"

"Yeah, if you want to hear the whole thing again." I aid before I stood up and set the needle aside entirely. I then picked up the record and turned it over. "Or you can flip it over and listen to the other half of the album."

"There's more on the other side?! Wow, that's clever. Let's hear it!" Ember said excitedly while pushing herself up to watch. I then set the record down and placed the needle where it needed to be. In seconds, more piano music began to fill the air. "We've got to get some of these things in the dragon lands... This is too good."

"In the meantime, shall I show you around?" I asked while not really wanting to drag Ember along against her will. She did stand up by then and followed me out of the living room. That music could be heard through the entire house anyway. "Anyway, this here is the kitchen. If you're hungry for something, check the cabinets or the refrigerator over there. Just...be careful if you try using the stove to cook something."

"Cook? I don't think you even can cook gemstones." Ember retorted while most likely being aware of how ignorant she was to the act of preparing traditional meals. I know she loves Equestrian cooking. It is just a shame she has no idea how to actually prepared such meals herself. She then asked, "Um... Maybe we can talk about this some other time. I already had my fill at dinner anyway."

"Yeah, good point. Anyway, down the hall here... That's the bathroom on the left. Use it to wash up whenever you need to. It works just like the one you used at my place. And here's the bedroom..." I explained while leading Ember along. She stepped past me once we entered and gazed around at how well furnished the place was. It was supposed to be a place to unwind after a long day out in the wilderness anyway, so the coziness was a necessity. The covers on the bed and the pillows looked a little ruffled. A sign of their previous use a few weeks ago. "Think you'll be OK here?"

"Oh, totally. This... I love how this all looks and feels. And this bed is just so big too." Ember said in awe before crawling onto the bed and pressing her hands down upon the soft cushioning. She then lay upon it and inhaled deeply. "It even smells like you..."

"Me? Uh... Well... I was sleeping in this bed for a while, so I guess my natural scent seeped into it. I hope you don't mind. We can launder the sheets before bed if you want." I retorted as I found it strange that she could actually smell me in the fabric itself.

"Huh? No, it's fine. I like this scent. Really." She replied before resting her head on the bed. "Really, this is all great. I'm grateful."

That seemed to cover just about everything that I needed to bring up with Ember in terms of how her new home worked. I began to step out through the doorway while never looking away from Ember. "If that's all, I'll be heading back. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

Instead of bidding me farewell for the night, Ember pushed herself back up while still lounging on the bed. She looked at me with such a demure and worrisome gaze in those beautiful scarlet eyes. "Do you have to leave so soon?"

"It is getting late and... I forgot how tired I actually am. I'd hate to stay up too late tonight." I replied while really only then noticing my fatigue. I was eager to take a shower and then fall in bed. Preferably with dear Smolder and Ocellus at my sides. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Not really. It's just... I... Well..." Ember muttered as her eyes glanced elsewhere momentarily. Those scarlet irises then focused upon me again as she said softly, "I missed you."

Such sincerity in those words... And the feeling was mutual. "I...missed you too. I was really disappointed today when you weren't there when we detected the enemy approaching. I was convinced you wouldn't be coming back."

"I'm sorry if I ever made you doubt me. I swear I would return with or without reinforcements. We just weren't ready until recently. We set off as soon as we could and flew nonstop until we caught up just today." Ember explained while reaching out to me. I answered her call and approached before taking hold of her hand and sitting on the bed beside her. She remained rested upon the bed like a lounging lizard, but pulled herself up to be nearly level with my own face. "I was worried that we wouldn't make it in time. It was scary when I didn't see you right away in all that purple out there."

I got an arm around Ember's side to keep her from slouching back to the bed without something to lean on. My eyes became focused on her arm as her hand rose to my face. Cupping my cheek with such tenderness that I did not expect from the Dragon Lord herself. "Be honest with me. Did any of them hurt you today?"

"The only one that managed to land a hit on me was the general, but no. Nothing got through my armor. I'm perfectly fine. I'm not even so sure the emperor intends to kill me out here anyway." I replied while wondering why the Hollows have been so nonhostile towards me. Even when the emperor was directly controlling the general, I do not think he was trying to use fatal force against me.

"Good." Ember said gently yet firmly. Her fingers pressed into my cheek as she securely held one side of my face. "No matter what, I'll be by your side through all this. From now on, we'll go together."

"Thank you. I'll feel safer with you watching my back." I whispered while knowing exactly how capable Ember is. With at least a century of experience in honing her skill with the spear, she was not to be taken lightly. I truly appreciated her presence. As if just being there with me made me feel safe. I placed my hand over hers to keep it held to the side of my face while I gazed into her eyes. "I'm glad you're here."

"And I'm not going anywhere this time. I'm staying." Ember cooed softly as she pulled herself even closer before wrapping her glorious blue wings around me to encase me in a leathery cocoon. Even Smolder's wings were not grand enough to wrap around me so thoroughly. "I'll keep you safe."

"I always feel safe with you." I muttered before reaching under her wings to hold Ember against me in an embrace of my own. By then, I was deeply reluctant to leave her for the night. And so I asked, "Do you want me to stay the night?"

"Please. I've missed having you near me... I've missed your touch... Your voice... Your scent... Everything. I've missed having someone around who really listens to me." She whispered in such a stark show of tender vulnerability. She then looked me in the eye from mere inches away and said, "Please stay. Just for tonight?"

As much as I wanted to, there was one little thing that needed to be tended to first. I was being expected back at the command center. I stroked my fingers over the blue spines reaching back on her head and said, "I will. But only if you head over to the command center and let them know. Especially Smolder and Ocellus. They're expecting me and Ocellus especially might get upset if I don't show up with no explanation."

"Got it. I'll be right back." She said briefly before immediately releasing me from her embrace and hopping off the bed. She was on a mission as Ember left the cottage quickly. Now alone, I decided to prep things for the night. I left all the room lights off and turned on only the desk lamps to cast soft glows through the darkened rooms. I reset the phonograph and sat myself down at the typewriter at the front of the cottage to start documenting today. I only got a handful of pages done before the door opened to my right. Ember stepped inside and called out, "I'm back! They said they're...huh? Oh, there you are. This place has another one of these...typewriter things?"

"Yep. If you ever want to type something down or write out a journal at any point, you can use this. They even restocked the paper and ink supply too." I replied while turning on my stool to face her. "So, it's all good there? They know I'm staying here for the night?"

Ember's response startled me at first. "Mmhm. I let the princesses know. Although I didn't find Ocellus when I went up into your room. I only found Smolder and a strange dark bug pony...thing. I think Smolder keeps it as a pet. Do you know anything about it?"

Not certain if it was a good time to inform Ember about the existence of Changelings, I decided to play dumb at the moment. "Uh... Um... Nope! That's a new one! Wonder where she got it... Was she trying to keep the little bug a secret?"

"Yes, she made me swear to not mention the bug pet to anyone. But she did say she would forward my message to Ocellus next time she saw her." Ember replied while looking very puzzled at the thought of her first encounter with a Changeling without even knowing who or what it was. She then smiled at me and said, "But yeah. Everyone knows where you are now. They know where to find you if they need you."

"Nice. You wanna wash up for the night? I can brew some tea while you're in the shower." I said while turning away from the typewriter. I was more than happy to spend an evening with Ember. It felt like it had been too long since we last saw each other.

"Tea? Oh, that seasoned water... Or am I thinking of soup? Anyway, sounds good. I think i can figure out how to make it work this time." Ember replied before she made her way down the hall. It sounded like she did not bother to close the door since I could clearly hear the splattering of water in the shower stall in a minute. Followed by a yell and complaining from Ember since she surely forgot that the water always starts out cold.

I got some chamomile tea brewing up before long while Ember stayed pretty quiet while in the shower. I was sure she could handle the boiling heat of tea that had been sitting out for at least ten minutes, but I put my cup in the refrigerator to cool it down faster so I would not have to wait too long. Although after twenty minutes or so, I started to wonder why Ember was still in there. I could see steam spilling out of the doorway when I peaked down the hall. It surely should not take very long for her to wash up when... Wait, she never once turned the shower off to take time to lather up. What was she even doing in there?

I finally peeked into the steamy bathroom and spoke up. "Ember? You OK in there? You're taking a while."

"Huh? I am? Should I get out soon?" She asked from beyond the glass door.

"Well, it's not going to last forever. And it takes a while for the hot water to replenish. You really should turn it off if you're going to lather up so it doesn't get washed away too quickly... Unless you've just been standing in there this whole time?" I replied while starting to wonder if Ember really was bathing and not just basking in the falling warm water.

Her tone of voice confirmed my suspicions. "Uh... I've only done this once before. I think..."

The falling water came to a stop, but the room was still full of steam. I even made sure to turn the fan on to help keep the humidity from building up too much. I could vaguely make out Ember rubbing herself all over with that shower gel, so I felt confident she knew what to do. I then left her alone and returned to the typewriter to help pass the time. The phonograph had already played through the album that was currently playing, so I reset the needle to keep the music going.

A short while later, Ember emerged with a towel wrapped around her body. "All yours. Man, I missed a good shower. Lava baths are nice, but a water bath just freshens you up."

"Glad you liked it. Although I'll wait a little while to let it build back up." I said before leading Ember over to the kitchen. I reached into the refrigerator to retrieve my cup while Ember fished out the tea bag from hers. That fluid was still piping hot, but she showed no discomfort with it. "Cheers, Ember."

"Thank you." Ember sipped her tea lightly and sighed in delight at the subtle natural taste of honey in the chamomile. From the warm soothing effects of the tea to the delightful piano music filling the house, it was just such a nice atmosphere. I found myself eyeing Ember frequently while she did the same. I found myself smiling when I saw those beautiful scarlet eyes set into a face of gorgeous blue looking directly at me. Ember said knowingly, "You're in a good mood."

"Yeah, I am. Because you're good company." I replied while Ember just beamed with a big grin on her face. We really did appreciate each other. I tried to find a conversation topic to pass the time. "Was it really just the fact that you needed to forge armor for your men that kept you from getting here sooner?"

"Yes, as mundane as that excuse is. I think you've seen that they weren't exactly a one size fits all sort of deal. We had to forge each set specifically for each volunteer. Took a while, but it was worth it." Ember explained before taking another long sip of her tea. I could only hope that armor was tougher than its crude appearance suggested.

Before much longer, I decided it was time to wash up myself. I even found an extra pair of boxers in the dresser in the bedroom. Ember spent her time waiting in the living room while just chilling to the music. Right when I shut the water off after a thorough bathing experience, I heard Ember pass by the bathroom after the whole house went quiet. It was time for bed and it would not do to leave the phonograph running all night.

In just a pair of boxers and a towel draped over me, I made my way to the bedroom just on my left after turning off all the lights in the rest of the cottage. But upon entering the bedroom, I found the place gently illuminated by a lamp next to the bed while Ember relaxed rather elegantly upon the shrouded mattress. She even had the foresight to wrap her horns up in soft rags and any other spare padding she could find. She spoke with a calm and playful inflection in her voice as she smirked at me. "Welcome to this dragon's lair. Will you be staying tonight?"

"That's why I'm here." I retorted as I locked the door behind me. I then draped my towel over a chair in the corner before noticing Ember's gaze fall upon my middle. And her eyes quickly lost that whimsical look. "Something wrong?"

"Every time I see that scar, it reminds me that you're not as untouchable as you always appear to be in that armor..." She muttered while I looked down at that old gnarly scar on my waist. "It just makes me want to protect you even more."

"I'll always be in good hands with you around, Ember. You're awesome. There's a good reason you're the Dragon Lord." I replied before noticing Ember had already pulled the sheets down for us. Once we were resting in bed, I started to pull the covers up before Ember turned to me while resting on her side. That whimsical gaze had settled back into her eyes as she was gently illuminated by the lamp nearby. "Um... Something up?"

"Oh, I'm just wondering... Remember what you asked me last time? About dragon courtship?" She purred while starting to smirk. She started to drag a single finger along my chest as she started to get a little too playful. "Did you find that lucky lady yet? You asked me to tell you what I know for a reason, right? Who is she?"

"Ember, I swear I don't really have anyone in mind at the moment! I just wanted to know in case I did ever find her!" I said with a louder tone than I usually do. Ember was clearly trying hard to not laugh. I could never tell her about Smolder. Not yet. "I do appreciate what you've told me, but I have no means to utilize that information yet."

"I don't know if I believe you. I'm convinced you've got someone on your mind. Something you're not telling me?" Ember teasingly asked while continuing to rub her finger along my bare chest. It astounded me just how much at ease she was around just me and no one else. It was such an impressive display of trust. I did not mind her prodding. I even found it amusing.

With how much she was prodding me for an answer on my romantic interests, I decided to turn the tables on her. "What about you? There some lucky guy you have your eyes on right now?"

Ember's eyes immediately lost their playfulness as her smile faded. Her gaze wandered as she muttered, "I don't know... I already told you we dragons don't just jump blindly into pursuing a potential mate. It's risky business."

I nodded as I recalled our prior conversation about that topic. "Yes, you told me. But... Wait... You say that when a potential mate says yes or no, that choice is forever. But what if... What happens if a relationship.....fails?"

She said nothing at first. Ember rolled onto her back and just stared at the ceiling. "I don't know... I can't remember the last time a dragon couple ultimately just...couldn't make it work."

I then decided to discuss a more somber topic in that regard. "Then what if one side...cheats on the other? Or...leaves them?"

"You mean if they are betrayed?" Ember asked with a darker tone than before. "Yes... I've heard talks about such betrayals happening. They are extremely rare, but they have happened. And I've heard that when they do end up happening, the guilty party become so ostracized that they end up having to leave the dragon lands forever."

This revelation surprised me. I knew that the dragons of Equestria, at least on their home turf, are brutish uncultured barbarians. But this...? "You mean...they drive traitorous spouses out?"

Ember closed her eyes bitterly as she said, "Those boulderheads might not have much in the way of decency, but we dragons loathe acts of betrayal. To betray the one you have sworn yourself to... That is one line no dragon will tolerate being crossed. Because...I've heard when a dragon is betrayed by their mate... They will never let themselves love again."

I said nothing for a moment. I knew that dragons place a lot of value upon love and who they are fortunate enough to find it with. But having that love betrayed...breaks a dragons heart so badly that they would never take that risk again? I then asked softly, "What if it happened to you?"

"If that happened to me...?" Ember muttered before turning her head as much ash her horns would allow her to. She gazed at me out of the corner of her eye and all but whispered, "I... I don't think I could do it more than once. I can't choose any of those idiots back home as a potential mate. And if I did find someone wonderful enough for me... I don't know what I'd do with myself if they said yes...only to throw me away."

My hand found its way to hers. To betray someone as wonderfully rare as Ember would be a travesty. She deserved only the best. "You don't deserve that. You're a wonderful woman, Ember. The best I've ever seen out of the dragon lands. You deserve a good man in your life."

Ember rolled onto her side and draped her wing over me. She held me in an embrace as those scarlet eyes gazed into mine. "You really think there's a male out there good enough for me?"

"I hope so... You really are one of the best women I've met in this world. And I only want you to be happy." I said softly and sincerely. I never imagined the Dragon Lord herself could be such a wonderful person after all I had heard about the dragons who hail from her home. "You're the best the dragon lands have to offer. Any man would be lucky to have you as a wife."

Ember's embrace tightened as she clung to me. Her head bowed, she pressed her brow to my shoulder and whispered to me, "Stay with me tonight..."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up." I whispered while reaching over and turning off the lamp. We were both very tired. It was a long day and we needed to sleep. I whispered sweet words to her as I said goodnight. And before long, I fell asleep in the protective embrace of the Dragon Lord.

I slept well. Very well. I was so groggy when I woke up that I was all too tempted to go right back to sleep. Although I then noticed that I was having a difficult time moving. I found that I was still wrapped up in Ember's winged embrace with her limbs still clinging to me. She was snoring softly and peacefully. I wonder what she was dreaming about.

With so little means of moving, I could not even really touch or prod her to wake her up. With only my head free, I began touching my nose to her face. Gentle pokes and friendly rubs. This eventually caused her to stir before she lifted her head to look at me with her eyes trying to get themselves open. I asked softly, "Sleep well?"

"Uh huh... Five more minutes please..." Ember mumbled before closing her eyes and rolling onto her back. The spines on her head folded down under the weight of her own body as she sprawled herself out on the bed in such an amusingly inelegant fashion. I became more awake as I laughed lightly at this unbecoming display. My jeering was enough to force Ember to groan as she turned away from me in an attempt to push herself up. "All right, fine... I'm getting up."

I too was in no hurry to get out of bed just yet. We could afford another hour. I reached out and pulled her back towards me while being mindful of the spines on the back of her head. "OK then. Five more minutes."

"Huh? Hey, really... I can...get up now." Ember mumbled as I pulled her up against me with her back to my chest. I held a hand over her smoothly scaled chest in a tender embrace. I could feel the subtle beating of her heart within her chest. Ember cooed almost drunkenly at my touch and rested her hand over mine. "Jaaaames, we should get up..."

"You said five more minutes. I can go for another hour." I whispered to her while keeping my hand upon her chest. I heard her quietly chuckle while a sure smile was on her lips. "That fine with you?"

"Only if you don't let go." Ember cooed with such a knowing tenderness in her tone. She was far too relaxed now. We would not be getting out of bed for a while. "See you soon..."

We did finally wake up an hour later or so. Ember and I had to take turns with a morning shower. It was the only way we were going to completely wake up after a long day and a most desperately needed full night sleep. I tried making pancakes for breakfast, but Ember kept watching me at all times while I did so. I doubt the dragon lands know anything about cooking and Ember wants to know how to cook herself exotic treats on her own time.

I have been using the typewriter in Ember's cottage this morning to document things up to this point. At last we have made some true progress. Our first true victory with nary a significant injury to our infantry. Morale must be at an all-time high right now. Although I did hear that we would be staying put for a day or two to reevaluate tactics, vet our volunteers to weed out an potential troublemakers waiting to happen and fine-tune our defenses. It will give us a little more time to rest and prepare for the next march too.

And I have forgotten how quiet and cramped this cottage feels when there is no one else in it. I already miss Ember. Time to put this to bed and get outside for some air. Today is a good day.