Per Mare, Per Equestria

The night passed quickly and without incident, which was honestly a surprise for me. I had expected the griffons to launch a quick counter-attack against the fort before we could dig in properly, and had slept with one eye open all night because of that. The fact that they didn’t attack just helped to back up the idea that they had wanted us to burn ourselves out here and then rot in the fort.

Silently cursing my paranoia as I yawned, I uncurled myself from the tiny bunk that I had been given and groaned. If I was going to be staying here for the foreseeable future I was going to have to get bigger beds made.

“Foreseeable future,” I muttered softly, slipping my combats on and grabbing my rifle, before slipping out of the tent, watching the horizon as the sun began to crest it. For the first time since I had got here, things had slowed down enough for me to actually think about the precarious situation that I was now in.

I was literally a world away from home, or hell, even from earth, I was surrounded by talking ponies, some of whom seemed to outright ignore the laws of physics, and yet instead of just trying to figure out how to get home, I had managed to get embroiled in a planet wide war so that I could get medical attention for my friend.

“Throne above, what are you playing at?” I whispered to myself, rubbing my temples.

“What was that?” Nara asked from behind me, stretching her wings awkwardly.

“Rough night?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at her.

“Small beds,” she nodded. “Bet you had that problem to?”

“Yeah, haven’t had to sleep in a foetal position like that for a while,” I chuckled. “Not since…well you know what? It doesn’t matter.”

I trailed off as yet another thought hit me. There were only two humans on this planet that we knew of, and one of them was my best friend.

“I may never have sex with another human again,” I deadpanned.

“Glad to see you’re keeping the important things alive,” Nara laughed. “You still never answered my first question though, what were you thinking of?”

“You speak to all superior officers this casually?”

“No, but you don’t strike me as someone who wants all the pomp,” Nara shrugged. “If you’d prefer I barked Major at the end of everything, just say the word.”

“I won’t make you,” I shook my head. “Just remember to keep up appearances…”

“In front of proper company,” Nara finished.

“You got it,” I nodded. “As for what I was doing? Thinking of home.”

“You miss it?”

“Wouldn’t you miss yours? To be honest it’s not even home, it’s humans.”

“Want to tell me about them?”

“Nara, you are going to need to get me a lot more drinks before I start going in to all of that,” I snorted.

“You know, I may just hold you to that,” Nara laughed.

“Yeah, I’m sure you will.”

I turned back around as the bottom of the sun finally became visible. The warmth from it instantly seemed to improve my mood, and a smile spread across my face.

“Nara, go and shake the others out of bed. We’ll eat breakfast and then we’ll be on our way.”

Nara nodded, before ducking back inside the tent. A moment of silence passed, before a shrill shriek emanated from the tent. I winced as I covered my ears, before smirking.

“That griffon is a wild one, isn’t she?” a pony approached from behind me.

“She seems that way, Brigadier,” I nodded, turning around to face the huge earth pony. “Can I help you, sir?”

“I came to apologise,” Drake shook his head. “Yesterday, when we spoke about you taking command of the new battalion?”

“I remember. You didn’t seem too happy about it then, and I do understand that, believe me I do.”

“I do stand by what I said, you are certainly not my first choice for a new commander,” Drake sighed, clicking his tongue as he mulled over his next words. “But…when everything is considered and our chips are down, I suppose you are far from the worst choice I could have.”

He raised a hoof towards me, glancing down at it and letting me know that he was trying to shake my hand. Grasping his hoof, I shook it firmly, drawing an odd look from Drake.

“Something from your home?” he asked, shaking his hoof.

“It’s how we greet, make up, seal a deal. You name it,” I shrugged. “Why? What do you do?”

“Just, tap it,” Drake said slowly.

I let out a soft chuckle as I made a fist, before bumping Drake’s outstretched hoof.

“So that’s your version of a hand shake then? Makes sense,” I nodded. “If there’s nothing else, sir?”

“Just have fun rubbing flanks with the elite,” Drake smirked. “Royalty, the aristocracy, other up themselves ponies? Rather you than me. Oh, and take this,” He pulled a scroll out of the bag he wore on his flank and passed it to me. “Signed documents giving you permission to take charge of the Battalion.”

“Thank you, sir,” I took the scroll, before turning and walking back into the tent.

***

We left shortly after my conversation with Drake, packing up the tent and our sleeping equipment, passing it out so that everyone had a fair amount to carry. It was a long way from the fort back to the Equestrian base, and even though we had left at sunrise, we didn’t come into sight of the base until a few hours past mid-day.

“Alright, form up properly, two ranks.”

The squad moved into two neat lines as opposed to the lose patrol we had been in most of the day as we approached the wall to the camp, the conversations dying down to nothing almost instantly.

As we approached, four ponies moved in front of the gates, pushing the haft of large pikes into the ground, before grabbing hold of a side handle with their mouths, stabilising the weapons. It was the first time I had seen weapons that looked like they had actually been designed for ponies to use, although they weren’t exactly mobile. Still, even with just four of them, they would have presented a very large obstacle for any attackers, and their heavy looking purple armour would likely protect them from all but the heaviest of ranged attacks.

“Luna’s personal guard,” Firefly whispered. “Means Celestia can’t be here or she’d have some of her guard at the gates as well.”

“The Solar Guard are a lot more of a pushover than the Lunar Guard,” Castelian pointed out.

“Not the Dawnguard,” Nara shook her head. “They…”

“Enough,” I cut them off. “It doesn’t matter, plus I don’t know enough about the different Legions to make judgements yet.”

“That’s far enough,” one of the soldiers called out, his deep voice easily carrying across the gap between us even with the full head helmet he wore covering his mouth. “State your name, Legion and purpose here.”

“Major Matthew Wood, advisor to High General Luna, and acting commander of a squad of Highlanders. We have been sent to speak to the Princess by Lieutenant Colonel Swift about the Harrongraäd offensive.”

For a moment the four ponies talked between themselves, before pulling the pikes out of the ground and standing to either side.

“Why is the griffon prisoner still armed?” one of them finally called out.

“Here we go,” Nara groaned softly.

“She’s not a prisoner, she’s a member of the Highlander Legion, first battalion, third regiment,” I called back. “We’ll wait if you have to go and verify it.”

“Yes, you will,” the first pony called back, before looking up at the walls. “Somepony go and find out if this story checks out.”

For almost an hour the four guards remained stock still, their gazes fixed on us with steely determination. In response, the Highlanders and I shrugged off our kit and sat down, leaning against the gear as we started to chat again, laughing as we swapped stories. I stayed out of the story swapping part, content to instead listen to the others.

“So go on then, Major,” Slugger laughed after Heavy Weight had finished telling us about a time he had hoof to arm wrestled a Minotaur and won, before they had betrayed the Equestrians. “I’m sure somepony like you must have a lot of stories to tell.”

“Someone,” I corrected.

“Open the gates,” one of the Lunar guard called out suddenly. “And organise an escort for the group.”

“But that will have to wait, we’re moving out,” I shouldered the gear I had been given to carry, as well as my own webbing, before walking towards the gates, Nara walking beside me.

“You’re good at dodging questions, you know that, Major?”

“I take pride in it,” I nodded. “There’s a time and a place for storytelling, and that’s usually over a few pints down in the pub. Please tell me you have beer here?”

“Never heard of it,” Nara shook her head. “We have ale, is that similar?”

“It will do just fine,” I nodded with a smile, following after the Lunar Guard who was now leading us through the base, heading towards the central building.

“Wait here,” the pony ordered as we reached the door to the throne room, before he disappeared inside. He reappeared a moment later, before beckoning for us to follow him.

The room was exactly how I remembered it, large, long and imposing. This time however it was relatively empty, Luna and a few other armour ponies huddled around a table.

“Major Wood?” Luna asked, looking up, before her horn lit, and in a flash she disappeared, reappearing on her throne.

“You can teleport?” I whispered in disbelief.

“What was that?” she asked, leaning back in the throne.

“I said, thank you for admitting us, your highness,” I replied quickly, approaching Luna and stopping just before her, two ponies moving up beside her. Unlike the ponies that had guarded the gateway, these ponies did not wear full face helmets and heavy armour, instead wearing open face one’s and much more form fitting armour. It looked no less intimidating, covered in spikes as it was, and the ponies within looked like they knew how to wield the blades that covered their bat-like wings, their faces covered in scars.

“You are my aide, it would be hard for you to report to me if I did not speak to thou,” Luna pointed out. “Now tell me, how goes the offensive on Harrongraäd? It would be nice to have some good news after the other news I have heard today.”

“I’m sorry, but no, your highness,” I shook my head.

“Why am I not surprised?” Luna deadpanned, before sighing. “Come then, tell me of thy perils.”

“We attacked and took a fortress of griffons shortly after daybreak yesterday,” I started. “The base was the hub of all griffon air power, meaning we could not send up scouts. We managed to take it after a moderately costly battle, and sent out scouts. There are more fortresses before the city itself, and if each of those results in the same loss of men, we won’t make it to the city and still be combat effective. We believe that drawing us to this fort was a trap to find out our strength without compromising the defensive structures around the city itself.”

“So what is it you expect me to do?” Luna asked, her voice heavy with responsibility.

“Lieutenant-Colonel Swift Heart is asking for reinforcements. He spoke of the Sixth Regiment of his Legion potentially being free from combat duty, and I have been sent to inquire about whether this is true or not, and find out if there are any other troops available for battle.”

“The Sixth Regiment is indeed stationed here,” Luna nodded. “They are helping to bolster the defences in case the griffons try to assault us here. I am not sure I like the idea of committing them to a battle roster without first waiting for freshly trained ponies to relieve them.”

“With all due respect, High General, Swift Heart is stuck where he is for the foreseeable future. Going forward will see everyone…”

“Pony,” one of the ponies cut in.

“You know, I’m getting really sick of that,” I muttered sullenly. “Going forward will see all the troops dying or routing, coming back will have been a waste of lives, and staying still, while probably the best thing for now, will not result in a quick victory.”

“If you are so worried about your ability to take the city, will five thousand more ponies help? If you believe you can take the city with them, then maybe I can think about releasing them.”

“Honestly? I still don’t think it will be quick, and I still think small scale raids will be a better option,” I shook my head.

“Then why reinforce Swift Heart at all?” Luna countered. “He is presumably rebuilding the fort, and I have faith that he can hold it. If thou only suggest small scale raids, why is a large force needed there at all?”

“Because it will pull griffons and minotaur’s away from other fronts. That will allow you to make bigger gains in other theatres, which will stretch them thinner still. Then they’ll be forced to make a decision between keeping a large force protecting Harrongraäd and losing other parts of their territory, or taking troops from the city to strengthen other parts of their line, making it easier for our larger force to move in and capture the city.”

Luna didn’t speak for a long time, a debate clearly going on within her mind. Finally, she nodded slowly, and spoke once more.

“Your logic is sound, Major. The Sixth Regiment of the Hoofington Legion will be prepared for a march to bolster Lieutenant-Colonel Swift Heart’s forces. Now, was there something else?”

“There was this,” I nodded, pulling the scroll Drake had given me out of one of my webbing pouches.

Luna’s horn glowed as she took the scroll from my grip, a slight tingling sensation shooting up my hand when the aura touched it. I filed the information away in case it came in handy later, but kept silent as Luna scanned the letter. Her lips pressed tightly together as she read, before she finally put the scroll to one side and looked down at me.

“Brigadier Drake wants you to take command of a new battalion of Highlanders?”

“Yes,” I nodded curtly.

“Freely? Without being forced?”

“Less so,” I admitted begrudgingly.

“As I thought. Drake is not the sort of pony to allow anypony other than one of his own to take a command position. I doubt he is happy about this arrangement.”

“He’s not,” I shook my head. “But needs must, your highness. Every pony he had short listed for command is dead, and it would take days, if not weeks, for him to find a replacement. None of us wanted to wait that long, so after much deliberation, he agreed.”

“Yes,” Luna mused. “You are aware that as Equestria’s High General, I have the power to veto this appointment, yes?”

“The others may have said something to that effect,” I nodded. “Say the word and I won’t take command, you highness. Truth be told I’m not thrilled about taking command either.”

“Why is that?” Luna leant forward as she spoke.

“Because then I’ll be that much more tied to your military,” I shrugged.

“But thou art a soldier. Surely being in the military is where you wish to be?”

“Being in my military was where I wanted to be,” I countered. “I’m fighting for you because you wanted something in return for treating Jenkins, and I totally understand that. Fighting is what I do well, but I feel like I’m being forced to things against my will just to ensure that my friend isn’t left to die.”

“So you are telling me that given the choice, thou would be content to sit idle while others gave their lives in defence of their home? I do not believe that for a moment.”

“You’re right, given the choice I’d be trying my best to sign up and fight, because like I said, being a soldier is what I’m good at. I fought at home because I honestly believed in England, I believed in the causes we fought for. Hell, I even believed in the Tories when they came into power again, and god knows that was a touchy subject in the country. At the moment though, I’m fighting for Equestria because I don’t have a choice.”

“Then I remove that doubt,” Luna replied simply. “I give you my word as a monarch of Equestria and the warden of the moon, that the human known as Colour Sergeant Alex Jenkins will be treated fairly and properly in our care. I release you from your perceived bond to this country. You are a free agent, Matthew Wood. Now, tell me when you would like to return to the Equestrian heartland and I will organise a chariot for you to take you back to Everfree, far-away from the battlefield and the ponies in your squad, sorry, Sergeant Firefly’s squad, as you no longer in charge.”

I groaned and rolled by eyes as Luna spoke. She was a lot shrewder than I had given her credit for, and I had allowed myself to be guilt tripped. By a horse. Jenkins would have a field day with this if he knew.

“Ok, you made your point, your highness.”

“Good,” Luna nodded, a coy smile spreading across her muzzle. “Then if you see no problems in this, I will counter-sign these orders, and place you in command of the second battalion, first brigade of the Third Highlander Regiment.”

“I see no problems, you highness.”

“Very well then, major, you are dismissed. Sergeant,” she called out, looking at the pony who had escorted us to the throne room, “take the major and his squad here to where the Highlanders are billeted. You are my word and will to ensure that none question the veracity of the major’s appointment.”

“Yes, high general,” the pony saluted, before marching towards the door, holding it open and looking back at me.

Coming to attention, I saluted, before turning and marching after the Sergeant, passing by him and leaving the room. Only once the doors had closed did I let out the breath I’d been holding, relaxing as I looked at the Sergeant.

“I don’t know your name, Sergeant.”

“Sergeant Nocturnal, Sir,” the pony barked. “First platoon, Lunar Guard.”

“Very well, Nocturnal, lead on,” I smiled, falling in behind Nocturnal.

***

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Nightshade turned to Luna as the doors closed.

“What do you mean, Nightshade?” Luna asked nonchalantly.

“When the major first gave you the letter you looked like he’d just handed you manticore shit, and you didn’t exactly jump at the idea after that either,” Nightshade pointed out.

Luna let out a soft giggle, putting a hoof in front of her mouth.

“You always have such a way with words, Nightshade. And no, I didn’t want to sign the order, because I do not believe that Brigadier Drake is happy with this at all. Unhappy commanders are difficult enough, and unhappy Highlanders are even worse. I still don’t think that any in their Legion forgave us for ordering them to fall back from Stalliongrad.”

“So why did you give in? Major Wood seemed like he would have accepted that order.”

“Because like he said, he gets tied down to the military that bit more this way. If he’s only in command of a squad when his friend is healed, he could leave and only abandon six ponies, or five ponies and a griffon technically. Give him a battalion…”

“And he would be abandoning far more,” Nightshade finished. “That’s cold, Luna. You’re manipulating him.”

“I know. But we need him. And right now, having him on our side is more important than giving him the choice. If he’s as good as we believe he could be, it could be the breakthrough that we have been searching for with VOID.”

He’s not going to like it,” Nightshade warned again.

“No, he won’t, who would?” Luna sighed. “Maybe when the war’s over we will address this again, but until then…”

She trailed off, looking at the door, before shaking her head.

“Now come, there is still a war to plan.”