Chapter 406: Cunning Little Ponies

Seeing Sigrid appear out of nowhere and witness the scene, Riley and the other young centaurs were seized by overwhelming embarrassment.

Here they were, proud warriors caught in the midst of a heated confrontation with a group of children.

The thought of their commander witnessing such an undignified display was deeply mortifying.

Riley’s mouth opened, scrambling for an explanation that would somehow make this look less damning—

"Big Sis Sigrid!" Nella’s voice rang out, cracked with perfectly manufactured anguish. "You have to save me!"

Riley choked. "What?"

But Nella was already in motion, galloping toward Sigrid on her tiny legs with the urgency of a refugee fleeing a war zone.

By the time she reached the commander’s side, her transformation was complete.

Those big green eyes had gone wide and glassy, shimmering with tears that trembled on the edge of spilling over.

Her lower lip quivered with such authentic distress that even Riley, who knew better, felt a flicker of doubt.

"She was bullying me!" Nella cried, jabbing an accusing finger toward her aunt. "She tried to steal my apples! And my apple juice! All of it!"

"Wait just one—" Riley started.

"I told her no!" Nella continued, her voice climbing in pitch. "I said I only had a little, that I was saving it, that it was special—but she just kept insisting! She wouldn’t stop!"

She wiped at her streaming eyes with both hands.

"And then she said—she said she’d beat me up if I didn’t hand it over!"

"I never—"

But Nella was no longer fighting alone. The other little ponies had caught the scent of blood in the water, and they descended upon Sigrid like a flock of tiny, adorable vultures.

"She said she’d use the flat of her sword to spank me!" One cried, clutching her hindquarters protectively. "Right on my bottom!"

"Look, look!" Another pony twisted around, presenting her flank for inspection. "It’s already swollen! Right here! You can see the marks!"

Sigrid squinted. There were no marks. There was, in fact, nothing but perfectly groomed fur.

"They said they’d beat up my mama too!" A silver-furred pony wailed. "I told them my mama would protect me, and they just—they just laughed!"

"They said they’d beat her up first and then come for me!"

"And my mama!"

"And mine!"

Riley stood frozen, her mouth opening and closing like a fish that had somehow found itself on dry land. Her companions were no better off.

They had come here prepared to fight a war of honor, and instead they were being prosecuted in a courtroom made of lies.

"YOU—YOU LITTLE BRATS!"

Riley finally exploded, her face burning.

"I never said any of that! Yes, I asked for a slice of apple! Yes, I might have asked for a sip of juice!"

"But I never threatened anyone! I never mentioned anyone’s mother! This is all—this is complete fabrication!"

Nella peered out from behind the safety of Sigrid’s flank with the expression of a cornered rabbit.

"She looks so scary right now. Please don’t let her near me, Big Sis. I’m just a tiny little pony~ I can’t defend myself~"

"You’re the one who challenged me to a duel thirty seconds ago!"

"I don’t remember that." Nella said innocently. "Maybe you imagined it. Stress can do strange things to the mind."

Riley made a sound somewhere between a growl and a scream.

"But I won’t give in." Nella continued, drawing herself up to her full, unimpressive height. "Even though I’m small, I’m still a proud centaur. And centaurs never surrender to bullies. No matter how much you threaten me—no matter how much you threaten my friends—we will never give in!"

The little ponies rallied behind their leader, wooden swords raised, faces set with the fierce determination of warriors defending their homeland.

It would have been genuinely inspiring if it weren’t also completely insane.

"This is too much." ONE of Riley’s companions muttered, her eye twitching. "Nella, you’re doing too much right now!"

"Mavis has thoroughly corrupted them." Another said in a tone of hushed horror. "Look how easily the lies flow from their mouths. Our ancestors must be weeping."

"To think they’d turn on their own fellow centaurs like this. It’s frightening."

And it was genuinely frightening. Because the older centaurs could remember being ponies themselves: earnest, straightforward, incapable of telling even the smallest fib without bursting into confessional tears.

But this new generation raised on Mavis’s particular brand of strategic dishonesty were something else entirely.

They were conniving. They were coordinated.

They were, frankly, terrifying.

"Someone hold me back!" Riley said through gritted teeth. "Someone physically restrain me right now or I am going to give that little brat the spanking she keeps lying about!"

Nella immediately ducked further behind Sigrid.

Then, in a stroke of tactical genius that would have made Mavis proud, she looked up at the one person who hadn’t spoken yet.

"Evil Hero!" She cried. "Help me! The big bad evil big sister is going to beat me up! You’re the only one who can save me now!"

The other ponies immediately took up the cry.

"Save us, Evil Hero!"

"We believe in you!"

"You’re our only hope!"

"We’re too small to defend ourselves!"

Luca, for his part, was having the time of his life.

The sight of all these tiny ponies jumping around and calling out to him was almost too much to bear.

His face bore the expression of a man who had found heaven and was determined to savor every moment.

It was obvious he had no intention of stopping this chaos.

Sigrid, however, had reached her limit.

"Enough."

The single word cut through the commotion.

"But Big Sis—" Nella began.

"I said enough. "

The cold edge in Sigrid’s voice made Nella’s mouth snap shut. The other children immediately dropped their acts, recognizing the warning signs.

Mavis had taught them well: never push too far, never cross the line, and always know when to retreat. They had reached that point now, and continuing would only invite consequences.

Sigrid turned her attention to Riley, who immediately straightened under her commander’s gaze, her earlier fury replaced by nervous apprehension.

"You shouldn’t have acted the way you did, Riley."

"B-But, Commander! I really didn’t bully them at all! I swear on my blade, every word out of Nella’s mouth was a lie—"

"I am not talking about the lies." Sigrid interrupted, shaking her head.

Riley blinked. "Eh?"

"I already know Nella was simply playing tricks."

She glanced at Nella, who suddenly found the ground intensely interesting before turning to Riley,

"What I’m addressing is how flustered and irritated you became. You allowed a child’s blatant fabrications to push you to the brink of a physical brawl."

Riley lowered her head, a deep crimson flush of shame spreading across her face.

"In a real battle." Sigrid continued, her voice echoing off the courtyard walls. "Your enemy will not merely use swords. They will taunt you. They will mock your pride, slander your honor, and drag your family’s name through the dirt."

"They will say whatever it takes to make you furious. But as a knight...how can you allow yourself to fall for such transparent provocation?"

Behind Riley, the other young mares dropped their gazes to the floor, feeling an equal weight of shame.

They, too, had gotten flustered over a toddler’s teasing.

"Every move you make in battle is crucial. Even a single moment of distraction can be exploited by your opponent and cost you your life. Or worse—the lives of those you’re meant to protect."

Sigrid let out a soft sigh, her expression softening slightly at their genuinely remorseful faces.

"Take this as a lesson. Learn to compose your emotions, no matter what words are thrown at you. Your discipline is your greatest weapon."

"Yes, Commander!" The response came in unison, shouted with the fervor of soldiers receiving sacred instruction.

They would carry this lesson with them for the rest of their lives.

Sigrid nodded with satisfaction. Then she slowly turned her head, her gaze settling on Nella with an expression that was distinctly less warm.

Nella felt every hair on her small body stand on end. A primal instinct of prey recognizing a predator screamed at her to flee.

"Evil Hero! Help me!" She cried, scrambling beside Luca. "Now Big Sis Sigrid is trying to bully me too! Everyone is bullying me just because I’m tiny! You’re the only one who can protect me!"

Sigrid scoffed internally.

’There’s no way Sir Luca is going to take your side. He’s been on my side since we arrived. He wouldn’t—’

"You dare bully these adorable little ponies, Sigrid?!"

Luca’s voice rang out with outrage as he vaulted off Sigrid’s back, landing gracefully between her and the children.

He spread both arms wide in a protective stance, positioning himself as a shield between the tiny ponies and their would-be punisher.

Sigrid stared at him. "What?"

"Just look at how cute and innocent she is!"

Luca gestured toward Nella, who immediately seized the opportunity to puff out her cheeks, wiggle her ears, and swish her tail with maximum adorableness.

"Do you really want to beat up such a precious child? Shame on you, Commander! Shame!"

Sigrid’s mouth opened. No sound came out.

"Don’t worry, little ones." Luca declared. "You may call me Evil Hero, but my heart is pure when it comes to protecting the innocent."

"Whether the threat comes from monsters, or insubordinate subordinates, or—" He shot Sigrid a pointed side-eye— "even commanders who should know better, I will defend you."

"You’re the best Evil Hero ever!" One pony squealed.

"I knew there was good inside you somewhere!"

"You know what? You might not be all bad."

Nella patted his back with the condescending approval of a queen knighting a particularly promising squire.

"I’m even upgrading you from ’Evil Hero’ to ’Slightly Misguided Hero.’ Don’t let it go to your head!"

Luca was now buried in ponies. They clung to his legs, his arms, his waist—any part of him they could reach.

He looked like a man who had wandered into a petting zoo and discovered he was the only one holding feed.

Sigrid, meanwhile, stood frozen in disbelief. She had been betrayed. Betrayed by the very person she had been escorting through the village.

When she turned toward the other centaurs, they all quickly looked away. But she could see the small curves of their lips—the barely suppressed laughter at seeing their commander receive the same treatment she had just been dishing out.

The realization made her deeply embarrassed.

’Sir Luca truly is beyond shameless!’ She thought.

’He’s been by my side since the beginning, and now he’s turned against me for a few adorable children! Making me out to be the villain in front of everyone!’

Her cheeks puffed out in an unconscious pout and her lower lip jutted forward in a manner that was remarkably similar to the children she had just been scolding.

Luca noticed immediately and he knew he needed to address the situation before it spiraled further.

He wasn’t afraid of her fighting back...he knew he could handle her in combat with ease.

The real problem was Sigrid’s legendary, stubborn personality. If she got genuinely upset over a personal matter, she would brood in silence, pout by herself in corners, and hold a silent grudge for weeks without ever admitting what was wrong.

Dealing with a brooding, silent centaur commander was a headache he desperately wanted to avoid.

Clearing his throat loudly, Luca stepped out from the cluster of fillies and turned toward Riley.

"Ahem! Anyway...Is it really true, Riley? Did you actually ask them for apples and apple juice?"