Ch20 By The Light Of The Stars

                 “Star Bolt?...”
Star Bolt heard a familiar voice, he looked around but he couldn’t see anypony anywhere, “That voice… it sounded like Princess Celestia. But where is…”
the voice echoed again, “Stars can only see when they shine, what can you see?...”
Star Bolt started to think about her words, “Stars can only see when they shine… they only shine at night, does that mean…”
As Star Bolt started to think about Equestria, he started to see a light in front of him. the light grew larger and larger until he could see all of Equestria, as if he was looking down from the sky.

                 Star Bolt started to focus on a set area then that area got closer and closer to him as if he was landing there. Now, he was looking at the doors of the castle of the alicorn sisters. There Princess Celestia stood next to her commander calling out to him, “Star Bolt, I don’t know if you can hear me or see me, but if you can I hope you pay attention to what I'm going to tell you. You are imprisoned in the light of the very stars you used to look upon. Though this is your prison, you can see the world and the universe around you at will. However, you will never be able to react to anypony or anything, they cannot hear you, see you, or even know your presence. Nevertheless, you can look on the world and see how it continues any time the stars shine. Meaning you can only see Equestria at night. In addition, because the light of the stars is eternal, so is your life. I know you must be infuriated with me right now, and you have every right to be. Nevertheless, this was the best punishment I could think of. One day you will see Princess Luna again, and then your goal will be complete. Until then I will personally see to it that your Officers and their families are taken care of. This is my gift to you. I'm sorry, I truly am.”

                 A Celestial messenger landed next to the princess and spoke, “Your majesty, the nightmare Legion’s soldiers have laid down their weapons and dispersed… this war is officially over.”
Hearing this words Star Bolt turned his attention away from that area, he didn’t want to look at her right now, “That… That… Princess. She thinks that this will change anything she lied to me. She used me and she thinks that she can make it right by just saying sorry? This war is over… but at what cost, Storm, Mist, Roza, and Gem are dead. Drib lost his wing, Orem his eye. Snow lost everything to his name. Rafi lost a great number of soldiers. Canterlot is almost entirely in ruins, there are countless widows, orphans, homeless, and entire families lost, all because nopony appreciated the night. What a glorious victory for Equestria… and the only change is that the sun will rise tomorrow. Moreover, I will never be able to see it. This isn’t over not by a long shot. I will never forgive Princess Celestia. Not after what she did to me.”

                 Star Bolt spent the rest of his night watching as his armies dispersed and Canterlot began celebrating the end of the war. A few days had passed and he began watching over each of his officers. Eventually Frances Snow gathered his pride and went back to his home, only to find royal guards waiting for him. They informed him that his family had passed long before the battle began, his father of natural causes, his mother of an accident during a strong storm, leaving his estate in the care of his servants who patiently awaited his return. Now that he had returned, he had a plan to make up for all the wrong he had done while fighting for the nightmare legion. Therefore, he set up a meeting with Princess Celestia herself, to discuss a matter of his family.

                 Miles away in Trottingham, Callous Drib, and Ardent Viscous had an unexpected visit from Princess Celestia; this visit was about an event that would take place the next night. At first, the two didn’t want to have anything to do with her but after hearing that Frances Snow was involved, the two couldn’t refuse. One night later, the group and a number of friends and guests gathered outside of a brand new monument that was placed at the base of Dragon Mountain on the very site that a cabin once stood more than ten years ago. Shortly after the sun set Star Bolt found the group and observed the event from his prison above. Princess Celestia stepped out in front of the weeping public and spoke, “Fillies, Gentlecolts, Friends, and family members alike. We are all gathered outside this grand statue to honor the very mare who has been buried here. I myself didn’t know this mare, but the voice of her family and a message she sent has only shown me that this mare was not only loved by many. She was loved by all who knew her. Therefore, we honor her tonight so that she can be viewed by her family and by the stallion, she loved deeply. Rest in peace, Captain Gem Stone.”

                 Most of the crowd was in tears as Princess Celestia stepped down and Frances Snow stepped up, “I recently experienced the pain of losing family, but one more member doesn’t make it any better, dear sweet Gem Stone… was the smile of our group. Her optimism kept us moving forward and kept us confident, despite the unruly orders our commander gave us. For this I split my family fortune into four ways, one quarter to Mr. Callous Drib, one quarter to Ms. Ardent Viscous, one quarter to myself and the rest was used to create and preserve this statue honoring Ms. Gem Stone. Rest in peace my dear. Thank you.”

                 Ardent was too broken up to speak, so instead Callous decided to approach, “Gem Stone wasn’t the best flyer, the best fighter, or even the bravest of us. However, she could handle a bow better than any pony alive, and she had more confidence in our commander than he himself had, which made all the difference. I will never again feel the wind in my mane, feel the texture of a cloud, or even view a sunrise from a high altitude. However, I would take off my other wing, if it would bring Gem back for just one more day. She was the heart of this group and when that heart broke, that’s when the nightmare legion’s defeat was decided. Commander if you can hear us, see us or whatever. We will miss you both because we were here for each other… we were a real family. I was hoping to be your best colt when you two got married, but I see that it will never happen. Good Bye little sister, your arrow will continue to hit our hearts, whether you can still fire them or not.”
Callous drib wiped the tears from his face and stepped down as the nearby guards gave a ceremonial salute that was only given to heroes of Equestria.

                 Star Bolt couldn’t watch anymore. He would have given anything, just so he could cry anything to relieve the pain in his heart. Shortly after the ceremony, the vision faded from his face as the sun rose and the statue vanished from his sight. With this day long passed, life in Equestria began to calm down for the officers of the Nightmare Legion and for the Commanders of the other nations as well. Chief Rafi Returned to his homeland and began that council he spoke so highly of. As years went by, he started gathering representatives from all over the world, to include Germaneigh, the Griffon Kingdoms, the Hooviet Union, and many others. However, like Star Bolt had warned him before, the leaders of nations change along with the times. One of his closest friends, a general of the Xian Empire climbed up the ranks and became the second chair in Chief Rafi’s council.

                 One terrible day, the poor general had a heart attack that took his life, and left his army in the control of his son. Alost immediately the son tried to make extreme changes in the council that mainly involved starting wars between neutral nations who refused to join the council. For this, Chief Rafi denied the naive general of his position and authority, and banished him from the council. Not long after the general invaded Zebrica and focused his entire military strength on the western tribes. Though his wife and sons made it out of Zebrica safely, Chief Rafi was unable to save himself. He and the rest of the western tribes of Zebrica were killed fighting an unwinnable war against an enemy who refused to take prisoners. Star Bolt felt terrible, of all the times for him to be right it had to be now. It is unknown where Chief Rafi’s family had fled to, but wherever they went, Star Bolt wished them the best of luck.

                 In the Hooviet Union, The soldiers who returned brought back the body of the General Roza Neghvelskie. Upon their return, they were each given a medal of valor for their great sacrifice to assist an allied nation. however their general had accumulated so much respect amongst her troops that on the day of her funeral, each and every soldier attending the funeral, placed their recently earned medal atop her caskets to show their respect to their fallen leader. It was this action by her soldiers, which gave her the title of the most respected general the Hooviet Union had ever seen. From that day forward, nearly every mission briefing held the story of how she fearlessly charged into the main lobby of the Canterlot Castle and managed to kill one of the enemy soldiers before finally falling to enemy arrows. Her courage, strength, wisdom, and sacrifice alone gave the entire country a role model, not just for soldiers, but mares and fillies everywhere. Star Bolt was somewhat pleased with this, she was a great leader and a good friend, and he wanted her to be remembered for that.

                 In the Griffon Kingdoms Commander Orem and his surviving group were welcomed back as heroes. Commander Orem smiled with pride claiming that their survival was only because they were led by a great pony and hero. Not long after his return, the king requested a special audience with Commander Orem. It was there that he was promoted to commander of the first griffon army. Almost immediately, he started gathering a select number of soldiers that he personally chose by name to be in a special training session that he himself hosted. When asked about this he kept out details, saying that it was to regain the honor of a fallen friend. Even the griffon king was kept out of the loop when regarding Commander Orem’s special training.

                 As time went by, the soldiers he selected grew greater in numbers and this alone concerned the king. Using bribery, he had one of Orem’s closes soldiers explain in details the purpose for this selected group of soldiers. It seemed that Commander Orem had gathered the best of the best, in hopes to build a fighting force strong; enough to launch a surprise attack on Canterlot so that he may reclaim the honor that he and Commander Bolt both lost that horrible day. The griffon king liked this plan, however in fear of angering the nation that defeated the Nightmare Legion and Nightmare Moon.

                 The king immediately had Commander Orem captured and held trial for acts of treason and an attempt to overthrow the crown, for which his sentence was death. Though the second crime was highly exaggerated, the king felt he needed to add more to his crimes so that his subjects wouldn’t be angered when he had to execute a hero. On the day of his sentence his wings where striped to his body as he was taken to the gallows. When the king asked him to speak his final words, Commander Orem looked the king in the eye and said only two words with a pleased smile on his face, “You coward.”
That day Commander Alfrinn Orem was executed as both a hero and a traitor to the Griffon Kingdoms, and from then on, he was both praised and despised by all griffon who knew his story.

                 Frances Snow the third was forever shunned by his fellow nobles due to his involvement in the Nightmare Crusade. Therefore, he sold the ruble that used to be his families estate and changed his name to Frances Rich. Then he set out to find his true calling in Stalliongrad teaching ponies the art of fencing. It was here that he met the mare of his dreams and fell in love. Shortly after his twin sons were born, he felt that his life was finally complete, and for the first time since the war ended, he felt truly happy. On occasion when he felt troubled, he would sit outside his home talking to himself. It was as if he knew that Star Bolt would be listening.

                 Callous Drib and Ardent Viscous both traveled to Fillydelthia together. Though they were shunned for being part of the nightmare legion, they managed to get a job at Captain Storms Blacksmith shop that was currently run by his wife and daughter. Ardent quickly picked up blacksmithing, when she found that swinging a hammer was similar to swinging an axe. However, Callous slipped into a deep state of depression. He had a hard time believing that a pegasus who couldn’t fly could ever have a chance at a happy life, so he closed himself from the rest of the world, and slowly he even became more distant from Ardent, the very mare that he loved. Finally, Ardent couldn’t take it anymore, so she made him a gift using her newfound blacksmithing abilities. She made him a false wing that didn’t give him any ability to fly, but it did give him confidence in leaving his home from time to time. Shortly after that he popped the question and made Ardent his wife. It wasn’t long before the newlywed couple became a mother and father to a young filly as well.

                 Every year Ardent, Callous, And Frances Rich would gather near Gem Stones statue right after sunset on the anniversary of the war’s end. This was a tradition that they each held dear to themselves, though the war left them with bad memories and a terrible reputation. They each couldn’t imagine a life without the memories the war gave them, the determination, courage, motivation, kindness and mercy shown by their commander, gave them all hope even now, years after the war’s end. They would each sit near Gem’s statue and reminisce about the changes since the war, and so that their commander could hear too, they refused to show up any time before sunset. They wanted every member of their family to be involved in the festivities. However as years went by, time started taking its toll on the group.

                 Frances Rich slowly developed Alzheimer’s disease and in time, he started to forget about even his own family. However, of all the thing he started to forget. He would always tell stories of his adventures with the Great Commander Bolt and the Nightmare Legion, leaving no detail left out and telling it as if it happened moments ago. One night after telling the story to his and the Drib’s grandchildren he ended it for the first time with, “And thanks to our commander, we lived happily ever after.”
That very night the veteran passed away in his sleep, taking with him the memories of a noble soldier with whom he fought beside and respected amongst all others. As Star Bolt looked down on him, he could only think to himself, “Goodbye old friend, you were an exceptional soldier.”

                 While watching his daughter teach a group of young pegasus to fly, Callous had a small episode and collapsed, that night he was pronounced dead, due to a severe heart attack. It completely caught everypony off guard but despite the pain, she felt, Ardent continued her life with her head held high and her troubles behind her. However, like the rest it wasn’t long before the years took their toll on her as well. The very last night of their usual gathering outside Gem’s statue was the last time Star Bolt ever saw her. That night she came there with her granddaughter but she trotted up to the statue alone and started talking, “Commander Bolt? I don’t know if you can hear me or not but I wanted to say something to you if that is ok. It has been sixty-seven years since that day and now, just like I was back then… I am alone. This time I'm happy though. We fought a good fight and we created memories that none of us could ever forget, whether it was the catapult incident where you nearly killed yourself, or the campfire under Cloudsdale when we talked about being a family. And even that terrible battle when we all ran into the fire and arrows with one goal, to kill or capture Princess Celestia. I know I must sound like an old bat when I say this but I just wanted to say, thank you. I never got to see you after the war like I said I would, and I don’t think I will now. But I still wanted to tell you… thanks.”

                 At that moment the young pegasus trotted up to Ardent, “Uh… granny Drib? Who are you talking to?”
Ardent looked back at the little filly and smiled, “I'm talking to the pony who was my commander a long time ago. Do you remember those stories your Uncle Rich used to tell you?”
The young filly smiled, “Oh, so that was the pony he talked about? The one who could make lighting?”
Ardent smiled at her innocence and continued, “Yep, he was the most stubborn, crazy and clueless pony we ever knew. Nevertheless, thanks to the pony on this statue, we could feel easy knowing that he meant well. Would you like to hear one of the stories, I may not look it, but I know the stories just like your Uncle Rich did.”
“How about when you, Uncle Rich and Commander Bolt took on that catapult? That’s my favorite one.”
Ardent sat down in front of the statue and started telling the story to the young Pegasus. Star Bolt listened as Ardent told her little pony the story of his mistake that almost costs the lives of all three of them. But as he listened, he couldn’t help but think, that brave commander she spoke of was him. the young filly seemed to love the story and never once showed any sign of being bored or even tired. When the story ended Ardent trotted off with here granddaughter and later that year she too passed away of natural causes. Now Star Bolt was truly and entirely alone in this world.

                 The days seemed to bleed into the years, as Star Bolt found it harder and harder to keep himself occupied. Every year on the same day he would see Gems statue as he did when the rest of his family was around but this left him with the rest of the year to do Celestia knows what. He tried watching over his officers families, but each one had multiple foals, who themselves had multiple foals, so keeping track was just too difficult to do. Not to mention he never knew any of them so he had very little interest in keeping track, despite who their grandparents where. With each passing night, he could only think about his life. The choices he made, the ponies he befriended, the enemies he fought, the mare that he loved, and then… there were the princesses. One who stole his heart, before having hers corrupted. Then another who used him to get close to her sister only to trap them both forever. He thought about how much he wanted to age. He watched everypony he knew grow old and die while he himself felt the same as he did the day the war ended. He now knew that being immortal was a curse, just like the lighting orb. but now he traded one curse for another. He often prayed for death, as this lengthen time of imprisonment started to corrupt is mind, slowly dragging him into a state of insanity. But one day he witnessed something that no pony has ever seen this closely before. He watched the death of a star. The blinding supernova sparked something inside him. it made him curious, and it was this curiosity that pulled him back from his dark thoughts.               

                 With each passing year, he started watching actions in the rest of the universe. As the years turned into centuries, he started to gather wisdom, in the way the universe works. He started to understand how the simplest of arguments could turn into a full-fledged war. He began to understand that even the simplest of life forms can create a large impact on the world around it. And he understood that though some actions can speak louder than words most of those actions originate due to words spoken. Most of all, he noticed that everything worked in either a cycle or a pattern. Life, actions, seasons, and even the movements of the moons, planets and stars… or at least most of the stars. Deep in space, he noticed one particular star that wasn’t moving in a cycle like the others, this star wasn’t as predictable as the rest. Instead of traveling with the flow like the rest, it seemed to be going in an entirely different direction. Star Bolt thought this was just a coincidence at first. He thought that it could be a star that was doomed to collide with another. Nevertheless, his opinion changed when he saw two more stars acting the same, then a forth star nearly a century later.

                 Star Bolt was almost completely confused, something like this doesn’t just happen by accident, there had to be some purpose for it. As he watched their movements, he discovered a lot of things, first off, the stares weren’t travailing with the rest, but they were synchronized with each other, meaning they were going to the same place. Second, they seemed to move the fastest when it was the night before the summer solstice, which happened to be the longest day of the year for Equestria. Third, and probably the most important, their destination seemed to have something to do with the moons position in a few centuries, but what douse it mean. He didn’t understand their actions at all, despite how much knowledge he attained within the past four hundred years. He only knew one thing was certain, it would involve the moon somehow, and if the moon was involved, then so was nightmare moon. So day by day, he continued to study their actions, and their involvement with the moon.