Equestrian Warfare

Chapter Two

"By the stars above, what's happened to you two?" the deep purple unicorn asked, his royal blue eyes wide. He lowered his pike and frowned, his torn ears swiveling forward as the mares lifted themselves off the trimmed grass.

Aria Spellweaver returned his frown, though seeing the stallion made her nerves lighten just a little. Blaze however tightened her wings to her sides and wrinkled her snout.

High above them, glimmering dimly through the canopy, the moon was in her dying phases — half of her obscured and the other glowing proudly. Though the light around them didn't come from the moon; instead small lanterns hung in the gnarled trees' branches, casting halos of brightness every few paces.

Aria remembered hearing the mothers in the Republic whisper to their foals that it wasn't fireflies within the glass orbs nor dragonflame, but the souls of unicorns who had sworn allegiance to Her Highness and died respectfully for Luna's cause. She remembered watching Her Highness murmur into each lantern, and it suddenly flaring to life in a brilliant burst of color. It always mystified her.

"Nothing that we couldn't handle," Blaze snapped at him, pushing past the unicorn and the two other guards. She crossed the bridge that was slung between two ledges and over a misty abyss, trying to stay regal and imposing as it wobbled and swayed under her hooves. Aria had no idea why she didn't just fly.

"Apologies," Aria said to the guard. He rolled his eyes and gave her a half smile. "She meant no disrespect, Shadowbane."

"No need to cover for her," he replied with a laugh. "Reigny's just a hothead."

"Yes," she answered haphazardly, thrown off by the nickname.

"So…." Shadow started, but his voice trailed off when he caught sight of what was behind Aria. He met her eyes and shut his mouth, nodding solemnly and stepping aside to let her and her entourage pass.

"I'll explain it soon enough," she whispered to the side as she stepped onto the first plank of the bridge. The other unicorn didn't respond, returning to his ridged guard stance as Aria passed.

The New Lunar Republic was located in the Everfree forest, a vast swathe of vegetation that was littered with massive amounts of resources. The moon never went down in the Republic; though when a warfront got too close, distant glimmers of the dawn would creep over the furthest trees on the horizon. Although the moon never moved, she still disappeared and returned, brighter than ever after every cycle. The moon's cleansing light seemed to fuel Her Highness's soldiers to their greatest potential. It was as if Luna herself was the moon and her leadership brought her army glory and power.

Much more powerful than any other, Aria thought, her eyes locking with the silver orb in the sky for a moment. She tried to ignore the sounds coming from behind her as she made her way to the castle. Its spires stabbed at the deep cloak of midnight blue above — poking the stars and embedding into the heavens. As Aria paused to look at the spires, she saw dark shapes flit around them like bats. She knew they were just messengers, but she was always curious how silently the pegasi could fly in such a hurry.

Blaze's wingbeats are always loud and obnoxious. She could use a few lessons.

Aria nodded to both Crimson Lock and Hourglass as she approached the main doors to the castle. They were the guards posted for the hour and she'd known them since training. They gave her company curious looks but allowed their entrance. Aria herself had abandoned her cloak and one saddlebag, keeping her dagger sheath and sword as well as the bag that held her assignment papers and plans. The sounds of hooves hitting marble floor encased her and she felt her jaw tense.

The throne room was a mere walk from the front gates, but Aria knew that Her Highness was rarely stationary and was always busying herself in the war room. She snorted slightly, amused. Why would any leader waste their time sitting in an uncomfortable chair when they could work at winning their fight?

Aria took a glance behind her to make sure Silver Star was still following. The white pegasus had said practically nothing the entire journey, and it unnerved Aria how silently she walked on the floor; as if her hooves were made of fog and held no form.

The castle itself inside was rather empty; only a long teal rug, pedestals adorned with midnight blue and silver vases and a few tapestries that held patterns of constellations and the phases of the moon decorated the vast space around. There was no sign of Princess Luna's older sister, not even ancient stained glass windows that used to be inside had any mention of Celestia. Above the corridor there was an opening that went through all the floors of the castle up into a circular hole in the ceiling about seven wingspans in diameter. The moon shone directly in the middle of it, casting pale light into the castle. The tips of the surrounding three spires peeked faintly against the casting of twinkling stars. The air inside was cold and crisp, just the way it should be.

Aria stopped in the middle of the pool of light the moon opened into the room, lifting her head and letting her light wash over her sore body. It dripped into her fur and seeped into her skin, filling her with unimaginable peace. Blaze was standing somewhere nearby, she was sure due to the feeling of daggers digging into her sides. Blaze had always hated the ritual the republicans did whenever they entered the moon princess's castle, mainly because for some odd reason she did not get the same peace they did. Aria believed it was because the pegasus had no intention of relaxing at any given moment.

"You done, pretty pony?" Blazing snarkily snipped, standing in front of the war room's giant doors. Ribbons of silver embroidered with midnight blue swirled in the shape of half-folded wings on the doors. A single white star was split in two between them. Aria turned her head and shook herself, leaving the warmth of the moon and stood beside Blaze. A sudden chill encased her chest.

This was inevitable….

The silence in the room was deafening. Not even the war table made any noise as everypony was sentenced to a death so painful that their heartbeats were steadily freezing in each chest.

Perhaps only Aria felt this way.

The galactic princess; the almighty moon goddess Luna, was in utter disgust as she looked upon them. She stood still as her mane flowed slowly; shooting stars and the edge of the moon were visible, as well as nebulas in her tail and asteroids floating aimlessly through space. Her piercing turquoise eyes were ice as they flicked and locked to everypony. She was garbed in deep blue robes, sashes of stunning silver and darker grays were slung over her shoulders and body. The accents of jewelry were her crown, which had each phase of the moon in stone, and her silver collar-necklace that was laced with teardrop diamonds. A deep blue veil covered the back of Luna's physical mane, clipped to her crown. Her hooves were cloven in metal shoes, half fleur-de-lis formed within the thinner areas. Etched faintly were scuffs from them being worn down and at the corner of each of Luna's eyes there was weariness. Yet still, everything about the alicorn presented perfection.

Aria's heart trembled weakly in her throat as sweat gathered on the back of her neck. Her ears twitched. Her breath wavered. Never in her life had she been this nervous. Princess Luna's legs and neck and wings were stiff with a terrifying amount of fury.

Aria turned her head with a wince as she took in what Luna was certainly going to kill her over.

Silver Star stood as tall as she could, her shoulders straight and her chin raised. The dim lights in the room illuminated her like a phantom, a pale glow seemingly surrounding her mane, wings and legs. Something old and fierce flickered in her visible eye; something that never died along with those around her.

However she was not the only pony who was receiving the full force of the moon princess's malevolent gaze.

An ashen gray pegasus, riddled with scars and old bandages and a mane like blood stood nearly two heads taller than Silver. She was large, toned and bulky with visible power. Pointed teeth under a wicked snarl that curled her lip back sent a cold river of anxiety down Aria's legs. The pegasus was a strong flier — her shoulder muscles bulging and rippling as she moved. But she did not lock her eyes on Luna. Aria could slightly catch a glimpse of a raggedy black bandana tied around her right eye as she turned her gaze anywhere but the princess.

Another mare, a unicorn, with fur just like Her Highness glared at the princess. Black, jagged hair sliced over her black and white eyes, and her tail was absurdly short. An old cigarette in her teeth was gnawed to a crumpled mess yet it still stained the air with its putrid odor. A couple of pale red scars maimed her, but the only truly noticeable one was on her left cheek, slitting too close to her eye. She wore a white scarf, stained with dried blood and possibly even gore.

The tall and lanky unicorn unnerved Aria the most. Obscured mostly in dark wrappings and a cloak, the pony with a hardly visible black and white mane was nearly as tall as Luna — taller than if they tried to stand fully erect. Their head bobbed, their body creaked, and the pony's horn flickered faintly with pale gray magic. Their eyes were covered by the hood of the cloak that hung loosely over their skinny, arched back. The only fur noticeable was that of their muzzle, which seemed to be a dusty white like long-forgotten scrolls.

Lastly there was a crouched mare, her ears flat against a silver-white mane tied up in a bun. She bowed herself, the only one with any sort of respect toward the princess. She was also a unicorn, but exceedingly younger than everypony else in the room. Aria felt wary of the thin unicorn; her fur was glossy and full, unscarred like Silver, yet something about her was off. Was it that she had no talent mark or was it that her only adornment was a small silver chain necklace with a pure white crescent moon charm? Whatever it was, Aria didn't like the youngling.

Truth be told, she hated them all. She didn't understand why Luna couldn't just trust in her and Blaze to protect the Republic. Or her already powerful army. She knew the princess went into battle herself more often than not. Besides, nothing (and no one) could match the power of an alicorn. Aria didn't know why she needed these dusty, strange ponies. Because they were older, they were prone to become a casualty. That's why ponies were set into battle training at the age of six and put into the war at ten. There was no room to waste resources on four mares and one... whatever it was, only to have them die relatively quickly.

"Aria Spellweaver."

Aria flinched. She turned her head towards Princess Luna. The alicorn wasn't looking to her, only locking eyes with Silver Star. The smaller pegasus frighteningly stood her ground, leaving a coldness to fill the room.

"Y — yes, Your Highness?" Aria answered, lowering her head respectfully. Her words seemed light and small compared to Luna's strong voice.

"You come to my domain with four ponies too many," the moon princess said, softer. Her words still stung in Aria's chest and fear nearly crippled her as the midnight blue unicorn to her right huffed. "I asked for one pegasus veteran. One mare. Yet here I am with two outlaws, an unholy offspring and a foal." She sniffed, displeased at the light whimper that came from the crouched unicorn.

"Your Highness," Aria whispered, "I meant only the best intentions for this —"

"Silence." Princess Luna briefly set her gaze on the unicorn and Aria squeezed her eyes shut, pain pinching at her temples. "You did, however, do your assigned job. I am relieved to know that this little pegasus has managed to stay alive all these years."

Silver's visible eye narrowed.

Aria bowed her head again as the seizing pain lifted just barely. "Yes, Your Highness. The veteran Silver Star was reluctant, and this was the only way we could bring her as your audience."

"Personally, I think she's just a coward and needed a bunch of misfits to back her up," Blaze piped sourly, turning her gaze to Princess Luna. "If she's so important then she definitely does not need these four." She swept out a smoky wing with a faint whoosh.

Aria carefully adverted her eyes towards one of the mares. Her view landed on the crouched unicorn, bowed in fear.

Respect, she suddenly thought with burning agony. She grit her jaw and tried to ignore the prick of tears. She absently rubbed at her right temple, making no noise as the pain receded. That mare simply knows how to respect the mightiest of alicorns.

Yet she wanted to confront her. She wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, shouting "What are you doing in this war, you idiot?! Have you no sense of personal safety? Where are your parents? Go home, you stupid, stupid filly!" Aria stiffened in her spot beside Blaze, her shoulders seizing up. She couldn't say any of that. Not now; not ever. Every word of that thought was treason.

"Excuse me," the midnight blue pony snapped, her jagged and stained teeth flashing and shocking Aria out of her thoughts. "I was told I was gonna be meeting up with a princess. Not some giddied-up cry horse picking a fight with a filly who doesn't know a spear from a log; a mentally challenged, deranged lovelord and a bucking, bloodied hot mess." She snorted, her strange eyes digging into Her Highness.

Aria was taken aback by how low she thought of the alicorns; if she belonged to any of the princesses, then it'd be no surprise if that pony had a bounty on her head. Maybe she really was an outlaw if she was so clear about her displeasure of them all.

Luna merely raised her head as her ears pricked forward. One word, and the unicorn would be hung.

"I see," Her Highness murmured, surprising Aria. "And what is your name?"

"Sanako Helsin," the mare said.

"Ah, yes," Princess Luna acknowledged with a small nod. "I remember you, blood spiller. Quite a hefty gut you must hold to be able to kill foals just to stay alive for this long."

Sanako stopped chewing her cigarette. Her inverted eyes were wide with shock. Luna met her gaze, as calm as a frozen lake.

The silence began its awful reign once more. Her Highness was no longer stiff with anger and an imperial smugness seemed to emit from her. Aria withheld a smile as Blaze coughed over a snicker. Her Highness was going to win this standoff: not that Aria had believed otherwise.

"And you, Amnesty," Princess Luna said to the gray pegasus, her attention abandoning Sanako. The mare's one eye widened. "Are an assassin. So in that case, requesting your unwanted help wouldn't be anything new, correct?"

"My name is Anna," she snarled, her voice like distant thunder. Despite her name, if Aria had to judge her solely based on her looks and voice, she'd have guessed the pegasus was male.

It's an ironic name for somepony so...bloodthirsty, Aria thought, lightly biting the inside of her cheek. She took as minuscule of a step away from the bulky pony as she could.

"Yes, yes," Her Highness cooed, putting out her lip to emphasize her true meaning. She waved her hoof and began to walk slowly around the seven mares, her wings resettling at her sides. "A boring edit from Amnesty. Yet I distinctly remember you creating such a mess of my general a few years ago. The courtyard stones are still stained to this day."

Aria swallowed back the sudden burst of bile in her throat. She remembered that event.

"Well," the mare said roughly, rubbing a scar under her metal choker with a rusted chain. She had two identical bracelets on her forehooves, each with a discolored chain. "Cadenza pays rather well."

"Hmm," the princess replied. She stopped beside Anna and inspected her hefty wings. Luna seemed to be displeased. Aria felt her legs tense up whenever she looked at the princess's stunning eyes scroll over anypony but herself. She longed to feel the chill they sent into her skin as if they emitted icy air that engulfed Aria in cold wings.

"Now," the alicorn muttered as she moved herself behind the wrapped creature. She lifted a shadowy tendril of cloak in her magic. "Who might you be, stranger?"

A flash of bright white and orange lit up the room as Aria's heart leaped into her throat.

Pressed firmly against unscarred white fur was Aria's dagger, the blood-red blade a stark and sudden contrast on Silver Star. The pegasus's teeth were bared as she wrinkled her snout and peeled her lip back like a miniature wolf. Aria panted hard as the fear of displeasing Her Highness grew heavier and heavier in her stomach. She was surprised how hard it was to hold her ground against the smaller mare as her body was squeezed between the alicorn, Silver and whatever the cloaked being was. Her blue eyes were locked onto Silver as she caused Luna to drop the creature's coverings and recede a few steps, her midnight-colored wings unfurling.

The moment she moved away however, Silver backed down as well, her eye narrowing as it watched the princess.

I can hardly imagine what would've happened if I hadn't been here for Her Highness, Aria thought, aiming her dagger at Silver as she stepped beside Blaze once more. Her comrade seemed to be surprised at the little standoff that had just occurred and her darker wings were ruffled in surprise.

But still...she's an alicorn. Silver Star is just a pathetic, overly confident pegasus pony. Why is she so afraid of her?

Silver was now standing ridged in front of Luna, just ahead of her hodgepodge group of mares. Princess Luna's ears were flicked back, a minute sign of submission in this awful battle. Silver seemed to notice this and her powerful wings spread and her ears pushed forward.

Aria lifted her dagger again but the brief flash of cool on her fur made her eyes jump to her princess's. They were locked onto her and she noticed one clear message in them.

Do not interfere.

A long, painful pause passed silently between all the ponies. Anna was tensed up, her wings half-spread as her head was tilted towards Silver. Sanako was grinning a little, her horn glowing with white aura. The crouched mare had stopped shaking and seemed to peek under her foreleg up at the cocky pegasus. The covered creature's head was pointed at her as well.

Aria and Blaze hadn't moved, but Blaze was puffing light smoke and the heat radiating off her sides was scalding Aria's ribs. Aria herself was in a stance that would get her to her princess in the fastest way possible if she was needed.

Not a moment later did Silver's group retreat a little further back and Luna advanced forward, her ears and wings displaying her personal pegasus hierarchy and her eyes narrowed and glittering dangerously. The mare's glared into each other's eyes for a long, violent moment.

"Spellweaver; Reign," the ruler stated suddenly, jolting Aria's mind to run blank. Blaze's heat immediately cooled down at her side. "Take them all to the main camp. Except…." Her gaze landed on the still-bowing unicorn. "All except the quivering foal. Leave that one here."

Anna and Sanako's eyes widened as they glanced over to the youngling. Sanako's horn briefly flickered and Anna placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder; the gentlest gesture Aria had seen from her the entire trip. The unicorn slowly lifted her head and two large eyes met Aria's.

Her irises were so dark that they nearly melted into her pupils; but with the faint lights in the war room, Aria could see the bluish highlights dance in her eyes. The little unicorn slowly got to her hooves and she looked at the others nervously.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aria saw the lunar princess grin. She didn't want to acknowledge how unhappy her smile was.

"And get these creatures ready for my army."