Chapter 24: A Good Day for Death and Relaxation

Throne room, Canterlot Castle
Local time: 2000
Two months, four days since arrival

After being magically healed, it was faster but had a higher chance of scarring, I headed straight to the blacksmith. After placing an order for some armor I went back to the throne room which had been turned into a war room. All of the important ponies in this attack were gathered around a three dimensional image of Canterlot and the tunnels below the city. "Steel, how are you doing?" I sat down next to Luna and grunted. "I'll be fine, I've had worse." She nodded, "Good, now we can begin. The code name for this operation will be Shadow Gems, we don't think he has spies in the castle but we can't take any chances. This is what the layout of the tunnels was before the mine closed, but we aren't sure how accurate it is. Most likely our enemy has dug more tunnels plus changes made over the years by Diamond Dogs and ponies looking for any gems that could still be down there." She gave us a minute to study the map, "My plan is to seal all but five of the entrances and send everypony in those five. Dose anypony have anything they wish to add or change." I was the first one to speak up, "Yes, by leaving only five was in we would form a chokepoint for his soldiers… and ours. If they have defenses we could be leading our stallions into a deathtrap." One of the guards seemed to be offended, "And what about mares? Are you planning on only sending stallions?"

"By Celestia you're a mare. Sorry, I didn't know there were any mares in the guard. All the guards I seen so far have all been stallions… anyway, it's still a death trap. Plus we have no idea if the entrances are booby-trapped. I think we should send in five pony strike teams in every entrance first. They'll be able to look for any traps and get an estimate on the enemy's defensive capabilities. We send them in until the reach a cavern or any barricades and have them come back out. Then we pick the five entrances with the lightest defenses and go in." There was some talk between the guards. Once a few more minor details were fixed Celestia addressed us, "Shinning, you're in charge of forming the strike teams." She looked at the gathered guards, "I know most of you have never been in a large scale battle before, so I don't blame any of you for being nervous. It's been over a thousand years since a battle of this size has been fought on Equestrian soil and I hope this is the last for a long time. Look to each other if you ever find fear in your hearts, you are soldiers of Equestria and right now you are needed more than ever. At dawn we strike… this meeting is adjourned." As they moved to get up I cleared my throat, "Actually Celestia there is one more thing I would like to discus." Celestia and Luna shared a look. "I want a squad of six ponies put under my command." Luna frowned and the guards began to talk among themselves. "While the guards engage his army my squad will bypass the main battle and search for Shadow. If he's there we can end this before it gets any worse."

"And when did you plan of telling me- us that you were going to join in this battle?" I really should have seen Luna having a problem with this. "Besides you don't have any armor and none of the spare sets will fit you." I sighed, "I stopped by the blacksmith before coming here. My armor should be ready before we begin." Luna stomped her hoof, "No, you are not going down there. As a princess of Equestria I forbid you from fighting or taking any part in this operation." I saw Celestia look at her sister with pity in her eyes. "Luna, Steel is right. We need to stop him now. You saw what he was capable of without an army."

"But sister, it's too dangerous. You saw what he did to Steel last time, he almost died. What if we cannot save him this time?" I know she is trying to keep me safe but this needs to be said. "I'm going Luna and you can't stop me. I know you don't want me to go but I have to do this. Aside from you, your sister and Discord, I'm the only one who has a chance of beating him and we can't risk any of you. But I promise you this, I will do everything in my power to come back to you." Whatever response she had was prevented when I kissed her. "Do not lose hope, I will be fine." I made my way to the door before she could try to convince me to stay, the guards followed suit and left to get ready.

Mine entrance, Canterlot
Local time: 0630
Two months, five days since arrival

The strike teams were sent in ten minutes ago so they should be back any minute and sunrise was at most fifteen minutes away. While we waited I checked over my armor again. It was a combination of plate and chainmail. Plates covered my chest, back, flanks, legs, neck, and head. The chainmail covered my joints and anywhere left uncovered. Back home when this type of armor was still used a full chainmail suit was worn under the armor. Here only specific parts of the chainmail were needed, it would be permanently attached to one part and magically connect to the other when put on. Other than the armors make and color, silver opposed to the standard gold, the only notable feature was the breastplate. It was the same size and shape as my Element of Harmony which allows it to be interchanged with my element when needed. Looking up I saw a strike team coming out of the entrance we were going in. Which means we have about five minutes before the five assault teams finished shifting positions so that they're positioned to go into the five tunnels with the least defenses. I went over the plan one more time, Shinning would take team one which was composed of Royal Guards down the middle, Silent would take team three which was composed of Lunar Guards down the right, and Broadsword would take team four which was composed of Celestial Guards down the center-left. Two other captains would lead teams two and five down the center-right and left respectively. Team two was comprised of a combination of Celestial and Royal Guards, team five would be comprised of the strike teams which were mostly made up of Luna Guards.

"Alright the suns starting to rise, let's move. We need to be in that tunnel before the entrances are sealed." My team consisted of two members of each guard group, Shinning, Broadsword, and Silent each gave me two of their best. "We'll be right behind you. I just wish you would tell us what our objective is." I didn't tell them what we're doing, afraid that they would panic and run. As the first rays of the sun reached the city we ran into the tunnel. After we took about ten hooves down the tunnel the entrance collapsed and the rest of the guards moved in. We met very little resistance as we moved forward but the sounds of battle echoed all around us. Eventually we found ourselves on a shelf overlooking a large chamber where the guards were fighting Shadows forces. I could make out the armor of all three guard groups meaning that at least three of the assault teams had made their way into this chamber. I also saw every type of enemy that we know of plus what appeared to be Shadow Earth Ponies. All of them were wielding tools such as sledgehammers, pickaxes, and shovels giving me the impression that they make up the bulk of his work force. "I think it's amusing how they think they have a chance." Turning around I saw Shadow step out into the light, "Sure they may win this battle and eradicate my forces. But I can rebuild my army in hours where it takes years to replace one guard. Sure you had the element of surprise this time but I will win this war."

"Not if we have anything to say about it." I tried to blind side him with a right hook but he blocked it and tossed me into the guards causing us all to land in a pile. "Did you really think that would work… pathetic. I don't know how you survived our last encounter but, it's a mistake I'm going to correct." The seven of us scrabbled to our hooves just in time for him to smash his hoof into my face quickly followed by a knee to the face and being tossed again. I lost track of the fitting for a minute and when I regained my scenes one of the royal guards had been impaled by three stalactites that had been pulled from the ceiling and one of the royal guards was missing. Getting back on my hooves I jumped on Shadows back and managed to land three punches to the face and a jab to the area between his wings before he removed me. "Lunar Guards, get in the air. You circle left, you circle right." While the others moved he kept his eyes on me, "Draw weapons." Because of how small the tunnels are everypony was given either a short sword or a dagger. I had requested that each member of my team be given a short sword and a dagger or a pair of daggers, unicorns and pegusi could wield the dagger pair more effectively. Both lunar guards unsheathe their daggers while the other two drew their short sword. I held a short sword in my right wing and a dagger in my left, it surprising how much you can do with your wings. I also readied myself in case I need to make a shield.

We waited, none of us willing to make the first move. Eventually Shadow got tired of waiting and charged me. I blocked his first punch with me right foreleg and stopped the second one with my sword. I responded by trying to ram my dagger into his back. Unfortunately it was blocked by a skin tight barrier that pooped into existence just before my blade made contact, "What the-" He swept my legs out from under me and I rolled away just in time to avoid a curb stomp to the head. I watched as the others rushed him just to encounter the same barrier and he just pushed them away. "Be careful it looks like his shield is still there, we just can't see it."

"Excellent observation, not that it will help you." I looked at the Celestial Guard and he nodded. I ran at his front at the same time the guard came at him from behind. He dodged both of my blades but my hoof connected with his chest which pushed him back into the guard's sword. His shield protected him form the sword but he was through off balance and when his shield flared it was with a slightly less intensity. I launched myself at him and gave him everything I had, focusing mostly on my blades. I landed well over two dozen hits before charging my hind legs with the shock spell and connecting a nice, solid buck to his chest launching him into the wall. As he connected with the wall his shield came back but it was defiantly not as bright as when we started. "Keep hitting him his shield is weakening." My revelation seemed to just piss him off. The Lunar guards charges simultaneously, one from the left the other on the right. Just as they were about to clash Shadow locked his hooves with one of them and caught the hooves of the other with his wings. The three of us decided to take advantage of his compromised position by charging him, me and the celestial guard form the rear the royal guard from the front. I greatly underestimated him, he somehow used the two lunar guards as pillars and kicked me and the celestial guard in the chest, the royal guard wasn't so lucky. He was hit with a magical blast and launched off the cliff edge, the fall would kill him… if he wasn't dead already. Shadow through the guard in his hooves into a wall and pined the one he was holding with his wings to the ground. As he reared up to finish the guards the other lunar guard through one of her daggers at his. He magically caught it inches from his eye and sent it back at her, cutting open her neck. The other guard pushed him away and ran to the fallen guard's side. The pain on her face and the way she tried to stop the bleeding, they must have been sisters. I had landed next to the fallen royal guard and drew his short sword so I had one in each wing, a dagger in my mouth and an extra dagger. I refuse to let him kill anypony else.

As the celestial guard was picking himself up I was already charging. Shadow caught my swords with his wings and allowed me to slash at his neck with the dagger so he could grab my hooves. He replied with a head-butt followed by slamming me into the ground. I rolled as his hooves cracked the ground where I just was and slashed at his back with all three of my blades. By now his shield was about as bright as a bic lighter, it shouldn't last much longer but I've underestimated him before. I let him come at me this time and locked my hooves with his. As we were lock together I tried to bring down my swords but he grabbed them with his wings putting us in a deadlock. I tried to head-butt him but he stopped me by locking our horns together like swords. Eventually I had to let him start to overpower me so I could move one of my left between his and trip him. Once he was on the ground I slashed him repeatedly with my blades until there was a dull flash of light and my next three strikes cut open his chest. The wounds leaked black fog which surprised me long enough for him to through me away. "You managed to get through my shield, impressive. But now I'm done playing, you may have managed to survive this long but now you will die."

He teleported in front of me and punched me in the face which sent me reeling back and drop the dagger in my mouth. The celestial guard tried to hit him from behind but Shadow turned and drove the dagger into his flank, took his sword and tossed him toward the ledge. Armed with a sword and a dagger he turned his attention to me but I was focused on the guard. After seeing that he didn't fall off the edge I looked back at Shadow just in time to parry his blades. It seemed that we were evenly matched until I managed to punch him in the face, leaving him disoriented. I attempted to bring down both swords in an overhead chop only to find that he had been pretending to be disoriented and caught both my swords with his one. His dagger then cut through my left wing. The searing pain caused me to drop the sword in that wing and back away. I couldn't check to see how bad it was but I had to guess he hit the bone. It didn't take long for him to relieve me of my other sword and pin me to the ground. As he stood over me I had only one thought in my mind, "I'm sorry Luna." He moved the sword to my neck, "Any last words?" I just glared at him, "Defiant to the end. Pity, you should have join me, you would have been most useful." As he raised his sword I remembered the dagger on my back. If I can't beat him I will make him remember today for the rest of his miserable life. Once the sword was over his head I pulled out the dagger and jammed it in his eye. Lucky for him I was too weak to push it through to his brain. When he dropped the sword he pulled out the dagger and covered his eye with one hoof and sent a haymaker to my face with the other. He pulled out the knife and glared at me. It looked like was about to finish me for good when he was interrupted. "My lord, our forces are being pushed back faster than anticipated. We need to leave now."

"…Fine, it looks like luck is on your side today. Next time we meet I will kill you." He walked towards where the unknown speaker was standing, "If you survive the fall, that is." Before I could question what he was talking about I felt the ground beneath me fall away, two screams of shock and fear told me the two remaining guards suffered the same fate. Looking around I saw that the three of us where in a vertical shaft falling to what is most certainly our doom. Running on adrenalin and desperation I tried to slow us down. I'm not sure how I did it but I managed to slow us down enough that we would survive the fall, even if we break a few bones. After our 'landing' I just sat and looked at them. The celestial guard was almost too hurt to move and the lunar guard was still morning over her sister and had somehow been able to hold onto her body. "I managed to stand on shaky hooves and walk over to the celestial guard. "Stay here and keep an eye on her. I'm going to try and find some help." I limped down the only way out, the dull pain in my leg was bearable. The ground started to slope downward and I tripped. At the bottom I came face to face with a dead guard. Quickly backing away I saw I was in the cavern we saw just before we engaged Shadow. The bulk of the fighting had moved past this point but there were still some guards fighting here… and lots of bodies. "Sir are you alright." Looking left I saw a medical team approaching me. "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine but go down that tunnel. Follow it to the end, there are two guards there that need help. Both have physical wounds and one is suffering from massive mental trauma." As they ran off I headed down the tunnel that would most likely lead me back to Shadow. As I passed the bodies of the fallen guards I couldn't keep the song Heron Blue out of my head. I played as I passed the bodies of guards and guards still fighting. In the next cavern I saw a group of fifteen guards cut by half before taking down a Shadow Manticore. I don't know why I didn't help them, maybe shock has finally set in. At the front lines I saw our forces slowly pushing back Shadow's forces and he was on a ledge, watching. "Shadow, come down and fight me you coward."

"You have proven to be a strong opponent, so I will warn you this once. Continue to oppose me and I will spare nether you, nor your city, nor your princess." With that he fired a concussive blast into the wall behind us and fled. The wall shattered and water came rushing into the tunnels. I didn't even need to give a warning as soon as the water began to fill the cavern all the guards made a hasty retreat. Luckily Shadow's forces were instantly swept away by the water otherwise they would have tried to keep us here to die with them. I don't know how many of the guards were swallowed by the water behind me, I stopped counting after a dozen. The water stopped rising about four dozen hooves from the entrance. Once I was outside I ripped my helmet off, took a deep breath, and collapsed. As I tried to stand I carried out in pain before falling back to the ground. My shout drew the attention of a few ponies but I couldn't tell who they were or what they were saying. It seems the adrenalin has finally worn off and severity of my wounds is becoming apparent.

POV change: Luna

Three hours after operation Shadow Gems…

As I walked between the cots the lined the halls of the castle's medical wing I found another reminder of what happened a thousand years ago. When I returned I read about what I had missed and what I couldn't remember… but one thing stood out as I was reading. After my return most of my memories were hazy and unfocused but one was clearer than the others, even clearer than my battle with my sister. The history books say that when I became Nightmare Moon I rushed to fight my sister for control of Equestria… that is a lie. I did not rush to fight my sister, first I gathered my army. The night guards were loyal to me even after my transformation and we staged a coup. For three days we fought for control, our surprise attack earning us a hoofhold, until I finally confronted my sister alone. But I remember the wounded, rows upon rows of injured and dying guards and I didn't care. That was the worst part, I remember thinking that they were nothing more than pawns, disposable soldiers and I hate myself for it. Celestia said she kept it out of the books because she didn't want our ponies to have any more reason to fear me but I think it is a disservice to those that died. Turning the last corner I saw my destination, a room at the end of the hall. Inside the room were four ponies, a celestial guard with a cast covering his entire lower body and chest, a lunar guard watching over the body of who may have been her sister while silently crying, and an alicorn with a cast on his right hind leg, his left wing covered in bandages and bound to his side, and bandages covering almost eighty percent of his body. "Hey Luna."

"You come back looking more dead than alive and the only thing you say is, hey." I honestly wanted to hit him, no pony should be this calm after what just happened. "What did you want me to say? Sorry I wasn't a better soldier. Sorry I did stop him. Sorry I came back like this… others weren't so lucky, this is all that's left of my team." He said gesturing to the others in the room. I sighed, "I just don't understand how you are so calm about what happened."

"I was a soldier before I came here, death is not new to me. Although I've never seen it on this scale, I have seen deaths that were a lot more violent." He started to move off the bed and into a wheelchair, "I have to go give my report to Celestia, you can join me if you want. Then we can go do something in the city." I still saw many open cuts on his body, "Shouldn't you wait until all your wounds are taken care of?" He shook his head, "No, I'll have it take care of later, probably tomorrow when the doctors are done treating the more critically wounded." I magically grabbed him and moved him towards the throne room, "Are you sure the doctors will be okay with you leaving?" He nodded, "Yeah they said I could leave for the day but I have to stay in the city for the next three days. I also have to stop by every day for a checkup." That's weird, "Every day?"

"Tomorrow is to make sure there are no complications, Thursday is when they plan on giving me a psych evaluation, and Friday is when I'm getting a better cast since this kind is used only in emergencies, it's also the day I get to go home. Unfortunately I'll be in this wheelchair for at least two weeks even with constant magical treatment." He shifted in the chair. "How bad is it?" He sighed, "Four cracked ribs, one broken. A punctured lung, a minor concussion, three cracks and one break in my hind leg. I also have some sort of magical sprain, so I should take it easy with my magic nothing too taxing. Levitation and all other basic spells are okay but teleportation is a definite no. My wings the worst, broken in multiple places and Shadow almost cut it off. I'm grounded for at least a month maybe two."

POV change: Steel

I had just finished giving my report to Celestia and I read the after action report. Two hundred twenty six dead, one hundred and fifty three wounded. We have no figures on enemy casualties, since they don't leave any bodies, but we think it was most of his army if not all of it. Shinning also told me that there would be a mass funeral for all those that died on Friday with a party to celebrate right after, that was my idea. Luckily all my friends made it out, Silent and Broadsword have minor wounds but are still combat ready. "Steel, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine Luna. We just lost more ponies than I was expecting… it's not something that's easy to come to terms with. What worries me though is the number of wounded, as it stands we have three dead for every wounded. We had seven hundred forty eight guards when we started, according to the numbers for every eight healthy guards we have one wounded and three killed. I know the statistics are never accurate because anything can happen on the battlefield but… *sigh* if we don't find a way to even the odds I don't think we will survive this. Even if we win at this rate we won't have much of an army left if we are invaded." Luna rolled me next to the table before seating herself, we had decided to get lunch before doing anything else. "I know, even when I tried to over through Celestia less guards were killed, and we were fighting amongst ourselves. But now is not the time for this, we came here to enjoy lunch not talk of death." I ordered some pasta, a salad and some cider, Luna ordered a salad, some assorted vegetables, and water. I made sure to keep the water as far away from me as possible. I will be the first to admit that after what happened today I developed a minor fear of water. Who wouldn't after seeing over forty guards drown after Shadow sprang his trap. "So, what do you want to do after lunch Luna?"

"Steel, while I appreciate you letting me choose what to do, you almost died today. You should be the one to pick what we do, you deserve to do whatever you want." Oh this is the perfect opportunity to mess with her, "Do anything I want, huh?" I looked towards her lower body, "Steel!" I chuckled, "I'm kidding Luna. I would never force you to do anything you don't want to. Besides I don't think we're at that stage in our relationship yet." She gave a slight laugh, although she was still blushing. "In all seriousness, I think I know what I want to do but it's a surprise." Lunch was surprisingly uneventful and we didn't talk much, not surprising considering today's events. After lunch I lead her through the streets of Canterlot and although I got lost, since I had only been there once before, I made it to the one place that reminds me of home the most. "What is this place? We didn't have these a thousand years ago." Entering the store I saw the place had even more ponies than last time I was here. "Looks like business is good."

"That it is, that it is." Looking next to me I saw System walking out of a back room, "Royalty, or somepony that everpony thinks is royalty, tends to have that effect on a business. I now own one of the ten most popular arcades in the city. So, what are you here for?" I gestured to myself, "I'm stuck in a wheelchair, there's not a lot I can do. So I need something that will take a few hours that I can do in a chair…"

"I think I know where this is going. Head over to the machine, I'll get some tokens." After making an announcement I was in front of the Pac-pony machine with a sizeable crowd around me. "Okay Luna, you're about to see a videogame master at work. Watch carefully and you might pick up a few things." She looked over my shoulder as I began the first level, "Maybe, I have yet to see any of these videogames. So I shall withhold my judgment."

Three hours, two tokens, and a shit ton of adrenalin later I was two thousand nine hundred and fifty points away from beating the high score. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but this game goes by fifty points instead of the usual one hundred. Going into level sixty seven I had one life left, it lasted longer than I expected but not as long as I hoped. "Last token, last three lives, two thousand five hundred points to go. I'm starting to see why nopony has beaten your score yet." System nodded, "Yeah, most ponies don't have the patience to play this long. Being in that wheelchair gives you an advantage in that aspect." I chuckled as I put the last token in, "You enjoying the show Luna?" I think she nodded but the game started up again so I couldn't look back at her. "Yes, I underestimated these videogames." My next life lasted longer than the previous one earning me another seven hundred points. Up, down, left, right, forward, backward, I used every piece of gaming knowledge I have picked up in my ten plus years of gaming. Another life gone and eight hundred points to go. Now on my last life I finished off level sixty eight leaving me six hundred and fifty points left. As the level loaded I realized this was the farthest I've ever gone in any version of Pac-man, "So system is there a final level in this game or does it just keep going on forever?" He shrugged as I prepared for my last level. "No idea, I've only ever made it up to level sixty eight. It seems I'm a more aggressive gamer since I took every chance I had to kill those ghosts." Moving around the level I found myself with one ghost behind me. Turning left I found another in front of me just past the next turn. Taking the only route available I found another ghost in front of me and two behind me… I made the first mistake of the game. I went left instead of right. The right path would have led me to the part of the level I hadn't cleared but going left transported me to the other side of the map, which I had already cleared. With the last ghost above me I had to move down father into the already cleared part of the level. With two of them behind me and the other two converging on the area in front of me I knew this was game over. The only thing left to do was get as many points as possible with the time I had left. I had stopped paying attention to the score so I have no idea how many points I have left. Taking my best option I managed to score another one hundred and fifty points before I met my end. Defeated, I leaned back into my wheelchair and relaxed. Since nopony was cheering I assumed that I didn't beat the high score… I was wrong. One hundred points, I beat the record by one hundred points. It took a moment for it to sink in but once I started to cheer every pony else did too. I looked over at System, "I win and I don't think anypony will be beating that score anytime soon." After being congratulated by over thirty ponies I gave System my address in Ponyville and he walked me out. "You know for a while I didn't think I would pull it off." He chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Before I go I do have one piece of advice. Next time you want to give away a prize, hold a tournament. Then offer the winner a chance to win more by beating my score. It will tempt more ponies to try and beat my score, who would pass up an opportunity like that when they're on a winning streak."

"I'll keep that in mind next time. Have a safe trip home." As we left I looked back over my shoulder, "I wish, I'm stuck in the city for the next two days."

Counseling room 3, Canterlot Castle
Local time: 1400
Two months, six days since arrival

"Hello, Flamingsteel. My name is Mrs. Mind. Do you know why you are here?" I nodded as she sat across from me, "You're here to give me a psychological evaluation to see if I'm fit for combat or if I need counselling after what happened the other day." She nodded and proceeded to ask me standard questions. Where I live, where I was born, what my occupation was, questions of that nature. "Okay, now that I've established a base line we'll move on to the reason we're here."

"Uh, base line questions?" She nodded and I noticed her horn was glowing. "On multiple occasions the patient doesn't want to talk about how they actually feel so a spell is used to tell when they're telling the truth or lying." I nodded in understanding. "How has seeing fellow guards dying affected you?" I shrugged, "Probably not as much as the others. I know Equestria has seen peace over the last thousand years but I was born in a foreign country. We were constantly fighting and I joined the army. I have seen more gruesome deaths but I have never seen death on this scale before." She wrote something down, "And how many ponies did you see die when you in your countries military?"

"I'm not sure but I've seen twenty of my friends die. Over all I think I've seen over a hundred killed in open combat another three hundred from guerrilla warfare… civilians included." She continued to write on her clipboard, "Civilians?" I nodded, "We had invaded a country that was run by a dictator that supported terrorists. We had beaten the army so we were trying to track down the terrorists. They used guerrilla tactics to beat us, hit and runs, suicide bombings, you name it they probably used it. We were the main targets but many civilians were caught in the cross fire, families, they didn't care. They wouldn't let anypony stand in their way." She flipped to a new page, "You mentioned that you had seen more gruesome deaths before. What is the first one that comes to mind?"

"I don't think you want to know." She motioned for me to continue, "Don't say I didn't warn you if you need counselling after this. *sigh* It was about three years ago, I was sent out with a few other stallions to rescue one of our ponies that had been captured. When we found him his mind was gone, completely shattered more beast than pony at that point. We were halfway back to base when the attack began. The pony ran off when her saw them, and we sent Kurt after him. I took about fifteen minutes to drive the enemy back. We couldn't find Kurt or the stallion we were sent to rescue. Eventually we heard moaning coming from an abandoned building, inside was something none of us ever forgot. Kurt was semiconscious and strapped to a table. His chest had been ripped open and sitting next to him feasting on his guts was the stallion. Seeing us he dropped Kurt's intestines and charged at us with a rusty knife… we were forced to kill him. Kurt had bled out before we could untie him. It's not a story I like to tell and I think if I could come out sane after that I'm still sane after the other day." She looked disturbed after my story, "Yes, well… I think we're done here. You're cleared for active duty. Now I have to go." She was shaking as she walked away.

Canterlot Graveyard, Canterlot
Local time: 1300
Two months, seven days since arrival

Most of the ponies in Canterlot had come out for the funeral along with the families of those that died. I saw the night guard who lost her sister, she didn't look any better than the last time I saw her. Most ponies wore black and the guards wore what appears to be a ceremonial uniform. Honestly I felt out of place wearing my dress blues, which I asked Rarity to remake. As the coffins were lowered into the graves I gave them my best solute and sang a song just as I did for my brothers in arms.

(I See Fire by Ed Sheeran)

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below
Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke
Keep watching over Durin's sons

If this is to end in fire
Then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night

Calling out father, oh,
Stand by and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side high

And if we should die tonight
We should all die together
Raise a glass of wine for the last time

Calling out father, oh,
Prepare as we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky

Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
I see fire
Burning the trees
And I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze

And I hope that you remember me

Oh, should my people fall in
Surely I'll do the same
Confined in mountain halls
We got too close to the flame

Calling out father, oh,
Hold fast and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky

Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
I see fire
Burning the trees
And I see fire
Hollowing souls
And I see fire
Blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me

And if the night is burning
I will cover my eyes
For if the dark returns
Then my brothers will die
And as the sky is falling down
It crashed into this lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground
I hear my people screaming out

Now I see fire
Inside the mountains
I see fire
Burning the trees
And I see fire
Hollowing souls
And I see fire
Blood in the breeze

I see fire (Oh you know I saw a city burning) (fire)
And I see fire (Feel the heat upon my skin, yeah) (fire)
And I see fire (Uh-uh-uh-uh) (fire)
And I see fire burn auburn on the mountain side

I could see that my song had effected many of the ponies in the crowd. The few ponies that weren't crying before were crying now. "That was a beautiful song Steel." I looked next to Luna. She had discarded her normal regalia in favor of a dress instead, Celestia doing the same. "Indeed, I just wish I was singing it at a happier time. But I had sung it for the others that had died next to me, it would be wrong for me not to do it now. As we moved to where the party was being held I saw that many of the families were going home. I don't blame them, most ponies I know wouldn't want to celebrate victory after burying a loved one. The party had music but few ponies were dancing. Once it looked like nopony else was going to show up I made a toast. "Attention, can I have everypony's attention. We were victorious today but let us not forget those that died." I raised my glass, "Salute"

"Solute." As we all returned to the party the doors burst open and a crystal pony ran. "Princesses, we're getting reports of Shadow soldiers near the Crystal Empire." Shinning jumped into action, "Looks like we have to cut the party short. I want every guard cleared for duty geared up and standing by." As they all ran out I had Luna push me to the train station.

Authors Note: This was my first battle scene so I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me. I've also finished 90% of chapter 25 so it should be posted in within two weeks.