Four hours after the anti-climactic battle on the field, or, as the soldiers were already calling it, the 'Massacre of the field, the overarching results of the battle were easily evident on the came. An entire area on the south side had been cleared and converted into a makeshift POW camp, surrounded by eighteen-foot-high fences and filled with several hundred miscellaneous types of tents, with camouflage netting strung over the entire top, as a measure suggested by a British Corporal to prevent pegasi from flying away.

As those in charge of the combined forces unanimously agreed, it would take a long meeting to handle all of the details. The majority of the men on the field held no stomach for killing prisoners, nor would those in charge tolerate it in any case. With this is mind, the meeting of various authorities commenced at 2140 hours.

"And I agree with you, Volkov. I just do not think it is wise to... Pamper them." Colonel Degtyarev of the Army of the Russian Federation said to the NRF Captain. The gruff Colonel would have abandoned all sense of diplomacy, had he not know that he would be overridden by the others.

Seated around the table, Captain Volkov, the de facto leader of both Russian naval forces sat with Captain Henderson, the overall commander for all US Army and Navy assets, along with several other ship captains and unit commanders, with the 'Big Three' (Colonel Degtyarev, Captain Volkov, and Captain Henderson) being the main initiators of various topics. Conversation was in a mix of English and occasional Russian.

"We are hardly 'Pampering' them if we give them proper medical care, Colonel." Captain Volkov noted dryly. "Article Three of the Geneva Conventions states that 'The Wounded and Sick are to be collected and cared for'. With this is mind, it is hardly excessive to fly in medical staff from the various ships that we have, all of whom have nothing to do but prescribe anxiety medication and treat occasional injuries."

Colonel Degtyarev leveled a glare at the man across from him, studying his features like a hunter would a tiger. Finally, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"These are ponies, for Christ's sake!" Degtyarev. "The Geneva Conventions do not apply to them. They apply to humans, which they are certainly-."

"Not. I know it, you know it, and we all know it. However, we have already agreed that it does apply." Captain Henderson noted, stopping Degtyarev in his tracks mid-argument. "All three Articles have been re-reviewed, and, in accordance with the standard Joint Chiefs of Staff plan for this event-"

"You had a plan for this?" Captain Volkov asked incredulously.

"Well, not this specifically." Henderson admitted. "But elements of this, which when combined and vaguely interpreted as an invasion from unknown attackers, bear a close resemblance to this, with an error margin of seventeen percent."

The room paused at this, before the commander of the small British force spoke up.

"You have no idea, do you?" The man said in a crisp accent that nonetheless delivered his deadpan comment.

"We have no idea." Henderson stated. "We combed the local databases, and combined the plans for an Attack from Unknown Forces of Non-Earth Origin and Low-Tech Force planning, and filled in all the gaps."

"What do the staffers at your military even do when designing these 'plans'?" Degtyarev asked, curious.

"Why do you think we pay them so much to do so little?" One of the American captains at the tables stated, causing a small chuckle to pass around the room.

"Back on topic." Volkov stated a second later, returning the conversation to the original point. "We need to discuss the supply situation for the prisoners..."

Corporal Joseph Hanks, currently in charge of cataloging the new 'prisoners', was not having a happy day.

Once their armor had been taken off, it had been discovered that they contained... Something, which when taken off, removed some sort of disguise that turned them a bright white. They thereafter returned to their various 'natural' colors. This made identification quite a bit easier. However, names were harder to discern.

He almost felt bad for the doctors trying to render aid to any wounded ponies, until he remembered one thing: At least the ponies they dealt with were often unconscious. He had read the report from the questioning of the two original ponies, and he had experienced the full brunt of dealing with them for the past three hours.

"And what is your name?" Joseph asked the offending unicorn.

"It's Bright Spark." The pony repeated in a haughty tone.

"Former occupation and current rank?" The harried Corporal robotically asked.

"I was an intellectual, and, of course, attained the rank of Officer in the Guard quickly, as befits my status." The pony stated, staring at the unimpressed human.

"Congratulations, your new designation is Prisoner D-26." Joseph stated proudly, happy to put the arrogant pony down a notch. The prisoners were being put in groups of fifty to easily identify them. "Next!"

The unicorn stared at him for a moment, before laughing derisively at him and walking off as if he already owned the entire camp. Seconds later, another pony, one without a horn or wings, walked up and leveled a glare at him.

"Strong Spear, guard for my entire life, and I'm a guard." The pony said without interruption.

"Just a guard? No other rank?" Joseph asked. disinterested.

The 'Earth Pony' stared at him with a mixture of anger and annoyance. "No other rank. What's my number, you abomination of Tartarus?"

"D-27." Joseph stated. "Enjoy your stay here, and try to be a bit less of an asshole while you're at it."

"Yeah, yeah." The pony said, moving along and past the gate.

The next one to come up simply stared at him, its glare cold.

"Name, former occupation, and rank, if you please." Joseph said.

"Spring Wind, Weather Manager for Hoofington, Ranged Specialist Guard." The pegasus said in a female voice, confirming it as a mare.

"Your designation is D-28. Move along."

Joseph sighed as he recorded it down, just another name among dozens of names. And with many more to go, his job would not be ending for some time.

Author's Note

Act IV comes out within the next week. I have Chapters 1, 2, and 3 planned out, with all three in the first stages of writing.

This is to cover something that I don't want to cover in the main chapters. Obviously, I'm not going to make a side story just for the intermission chapters, so here you go.

Please tell me what you think of what I bring up in these chapters. I'll be adding even more character building next act, along with quite a few big events, so feedback is awesome, no matter what you have to say. Especially if it's something you think needs fixing, or an idea you have.