The Art of Warby TerraTossAZergChaptersA shore meets the palace. ( Semi-edited ) The Armory. ( Semi-edited )The Art of Defense.A shore meets the palace. ( Semi-edited ) A shore meets the palace. ( Semi-edited ) The wise turns towards the young, the young asks if the wise is truly as wise as it is. The wise accepts the young's challenge and strikes the young one's doubts aside. - JamesC Sun Tzu, a formidable strategist and warrior who lived in the Zhou dynasty. He was the one to lead the state of Wu to victory, when invading the state of Chu. In the end, the state of Wu has taken over Chu and has expanding exponentially, from a small and weak state, to that of a formidable warring state that conquered a mighty Chu with just a few thousand soldiers. But, sadly, the strategist and philosopher has left without a trace, only leaving out The Art of War as a reminder of his great strategic teachings and philosophy. ===================================================================== At the dawn of night Sun Tzu left the army encampment ready to invade Qi, towards the Yellow Sea. Bribing a local fisherman to dock a boat, Sun Tzu grabs his packed bag and sails towards shores unknown. Hoping to reach Japan. In his mind, Sun Tzu has had enough of the King’s greed and leaves the rising Wu state without remorse. A beautiful starry night is plastered out for the late strategist, he takes off his armor and wears his civilian clothing. A black zhiduo and zhuzi jin headwear, but he did bring his formal shenyi and zhangokfutou. But, the most prized clothing in his luggages, was his hats. In Sun Tzu’s mind, hats in the imperial court signifies power towards the whole court, and few get hats given by the emperor himself, such as Sun Tzu. He has a well made zhuzi jin, yishanguan and zhuangzi jin in his hat entourage. As if contemplating of “loosening the luggage”, Sun Tzu sees a bright light in the sky. It seems to emanate power, safety and kindness. Sun Tzu realizes that the bright light is the end of this world for him, and wants to see the next in his journey to the universe. Sun Tzu freely accepts his process to be enlightened by this apparition and crosses his arms in his robe, and bows with his head facing the deck. He feels a rope of comfort crossing his body, he can see a golden white hue glowing from his luggage and armor. At closer inspection, he sees himself as well glowing a golden white, and smiles happily. This is the end, of Sun Tzu.... ...or is it? ===================================================================== At the palace in Canterlot, news spreads out of an invading force of deserter gryphons, minotaurs and deers planning to attack Equestria’s capital city. With little to no military forces at her disposal, Celestia plans to summon a great being from outside Equis. Her calls were answered, and so the palace throne room was engulfed with a blinding white light, and was behold a strange “being”. An ape like creature, wearing a black robe and unusual headwear, carrying a few luggages and was bowing. The creature lift up it’s head, dropping it’s bow, and looks at Celestia without a hint of anger, but a pool of confusion and years of cosmetic knowledge brings Celestia to an edgy and shivering feeling. “Greetings to you, and who might you be, if I may ask?” spoke the creature. Celestia was taken aback by it’s civilized, yet knowledgeable tone. She quickly recovers from her shock, and speaks to it. “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria. And who might you be, if I might ask?” Celestia asked, trying to not break a cultural barrier. The ape like creature smiles, and seems to calculate rapidly, as if without consciousness. “You may refer to me as, Sun Tzu, strategist, philosopher, warrior, author and teacher, at your service.” he bows slightly, not as low as his previous bow, but enough to prove his point. She smiles, but she hasn’t quite figured his gender or species. She asks, and tries not to insult the being without prior knowledge. “I am a male in my species, human.” he replies, placing his hand on his left, and hits it softly three times. “And if I may as to ask the same question to you?” Celestia nods, and tells her about her species, and the three categories that excludes herself. He nods, and seems to contemplate. “What kind of government is this, princess?” he asks, placing a palm on his chin. “Me and Princess Luna rule Equestria in a diarchy, but in our past it was just three monarchies ruling under their banners.” The man accepts her answer, and looks around a bit, at the guards specifically. Sun Tzu can see the guards clear stoic expression, but he can see that the armor is made out of gold, instead of any hard and strong metals. He changes his gaze on their build, he looks at a nearby cleaning maid and finds that their muscle build are similar, excluding the fact that the pony is a mare. He gives Celestia a questioning glance and looks down disappointingly, shaking his head in mock shame. “You do not have a military force, I presume?” his gaze pierces Celestia’s entire being into metaphorical ashes, seemingly burning her with controlled anger. She doesn’t know what she had done to anger him so, her guards are suitable replacements for a militia force. She nods, not shamefully or proudly. He takes that answers and tells his tale. “In my land, I am known as a fearsome warrior and strategist, able to turn a small country into a thriving state with hundreds of cities. I can turn anyone into a warrior, and I mean anyone. I have created a book that can lead any and all officers and warlords to victory, and can keep that victory for a hundred times.” His confidence in his voice, not even a hint of cockiness or doubt in his tone. Celestia was truly, and utterly, terrified with this being in front of her. But, like the King of Wu, she wants to test him. And a test he will receive. “Sun Tzu, if you can truly turn anyone into a warrior, how can you turn six everyday ponies into officers or generals?” she asked, smiling at her challenge, ‘He can’t accomplish this, it’s impossible to turn those six innocent ponies in to warriors.’ Sun Tzu looks at the facial expression of Celestia, and smiles. “If you permit it, I will do it in one day and one night.”. Celestia was taken aback, again, by the request. His confidence not rising a level, she’s no longer terrified of him, she is completely and utterly convinced this human is a spawn of Tartarus; a complete demon able to turn battles and train any and all working bodies into a warrior. She reluctantly accepts his request, and was thinking about forgetting the test. He nods, and picks up his luggage and waits for her orders. “You will ride a chariot to Ponyville, where I will send a letter to the six ponies you will turn into officers by one day and one night, good luck. “But, I bet you won’t need it...” she mumbles. He nods, and smiles. Having a good hearing, and being paranoid, he heard the comment very well. He follows two guards to an open balcony where a chariot being pulled by two pegasi lay. Sun Tzu boards the wagon and places his luggages safely by his side, and waits for the ride to begin. ===================================================================== *burp* Twilight rushes upstairs, forgetting about her latest studies, and opens the door to her bedroom. Spike was rubbing his eyes from being woken up by the flame, and was holding up a beige colored scroll, with a familiar golden seal wrapped around a red ribbon. She quickly unwraps the scroll and reads aloud. Dear Twilight Sparkle I am sending you a strategist to train the Elements of Harmony into fighting capable officers. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am merely testing this new strategist if he can train the six of you into suitable warriors. But, there was a slightly complication. He was bold, and confident enough, that he can do it in one day and one night; which is impossible for even a single squad of determined guards to be trained. So, I ask of you to not be afraid of this creature. To be honest, he frightens me to the core; and makes me want to flee whenever he’s present. His mere gaze is enough to make me shiver, his presence emanates authority and countless years of knowledge, his mere form speaks of wars untold and his mind speaks of limitless calculation that rivals both me and Luna’s combined. And don’t be afraid by his lack of hooves, I’m sure you will see soon enough. Princess Celestia Twilight stares at the scroll with disbelief, ‘How can somepony, or something for that matter, give Princess Celestia a shiver by his mere presence? Is he a minotaur, griffon or something else?’ Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. “Coming!” she trots to her front door. Twilight can see a chariot outside, and a tall shadow. ‘Definitely a minotaur, who else is as confident a minotaur like Iron Will?’ she smiles, deducing who might the creature be. She opens her door, and reveals something she had never seen in any books. Two pegasi day guards were at the front of her door, while behind them was a tall and imposing creature. She keeps her gaze at the black robbed creature with a strangely shaped hat. “May we come in?” asked the creature. She nods slowly, opening the door at it’s fullest to let the creature and guards in. Both the guards and creature enters in decently and slowly, as if trained to do so with exact precision and timing. The creature looked like he was holding some luggage, it sets them down on a nearby table and sits on her red couch. The creature seems to look for something, before falling it’s gaze on Twilight. She gulps, and hope for the best that she hasn’t angered it. “Where is the five others?” it asks, confirming the he was indeed male like the letter stated. “I just received the letter a few minutes ago, I didn’t have much time to get my friends so that you can train them.” she answered matter-of-factly. He nods, and gestures Twilight to do as she was supposed to do, with a simple wave of his claw. “I’ll be right back!” she answered giddly, and trots out to gather her friends. ===================================================================== Twilight Sparkle comes back a few dozen minutes later with the rest of the gang. She was surprised to see a board game she had never seen before, being played by none other than the creature and Spike. “So what do I do next?” the dragon asked, seemingly interested in this game. “You need to try and capture as much of this dotted points as possible, with the least amount of pebbles, young one.” he seems to teach Spike like no one else, as if he was also playing this for the first time. “So, I just need to capture these things, or do I have to take them out?” He shakes his head, “You’re supposed to either circle my pebbles, or make me so that I can’t move and capture any territory. Try and circle my pebbles like this.” He shows Spike an example of locking his opponent in, by placing four black pebble on each sides of a white pebble. “Now this white pebble can’t escape, now you have to go and do this to all my pebbles.” Spike seems to deflate. “This will take forever...” He pats Spike on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t give up so fast. Here, you can capture my pebbles like this and I won’t be able to move any of my pebbles: because they are all stacked to each other.” Spike’s spirits seems to be lifted up. The creature smiles at his excitement. “And like this, now I can’t move at all, every single of my pebble is blocked by the corners, it’s easy.” Spike nods, and starts the game. The girls were watching without disturbing the game, and was interested on how this game was going to be played out. A few rounds later, Spike won the round. The creature was smiling at the young ones interest of the game. “Thank you for teaching me how to play Go, Sun Tzu!” Spike was smiling brightly, finally finding someone to teach him about something other than books. “It’s not a problem Spike, oh look, they have finally arrived. Go upstairs and show the guards how to play, I bet they will be more of a challenge.” Spike nodded, he closes the pebbles jars and headed upstairs to face new challengers. Sun Tzu’s expression changed to a welcoming and beaming face, to that of progress showing no emotions at all making the emotion dependent ponies shiver. Now Twilight knows why this creature terrifies Celestia to the very core of her existence. “Where is a flat land located at?” he asked, his tone drastically changed. “I can show you, but why do we need a flat land?” Twilight asked. “Yeah! Why can’t we just do it here?” a cyan pegasus butted. “Because I need a training ground on where I can train you all in one day and one night, so a flat land is suffice enough for me to do just that task.” Their formally shivering feelings, turns into a shivering spine; crawling all around their bones. ===================================================================== They found a suitable flat land in a meadow beneath Rainbow’s flying castle. Sun Tzu not enough giving it a glance, which furiates the cyan pegasus to no ends. “Now, I want you all to keep a five foot gap between each of you.” they all look at Sun Tzu in confusion, not understanding the meaning of foot. Sun Tzu rephrases his command. “I want you all to keep a length of one bu gap between each of you.” again, they look at Sun Tzu in confusion. Taking matters in his own hands, Sun Tzu divides them all into the gaps needed to perform his training exercise. “I want you all now to do as I do, as you much as you can, failure to do so is a severe punishment.” the girls can tell he wasn’t joking, all looking towards Applejack for confirmation; which she gave. They all copied as much as they can in their pony bodies to perform what he did, he then started to teach them about strategy. They can visibly see their bodies change, and their muscles start to harden as strong as Big Mac’s, they were able to cut down a tree without an axe, but with a sword. Their training ended before the dawn of night, and Sun Tzu left to return to Canterlot. The girls saddened by the departure of their master, went back to their daily lives, where everyone stared at their amazing muscle build up. ===================================================================== The arrival of Sun Tzu at Canterlot castle, marks the end of Shining Armor’s reign of weakness in the guard’s barracks, if he passes Celestia’s expectations. Author's Note I haven't found, yet, any fics with Sun Tzu as a character himself. I do find some fics mentioning him, but none has ever used him as a character at all. So here's to me making this work! The Armory. ( Semi-edited )Praying for failure, is asking for Murphy to slap you. Praying for success though, pray with enthusiasm and passion; if not: nothing will happen, simple as that. - JamesC At Canterlot castle, Celestia waited expectantly for Sun Tzu’s failure in completing his task and hope to Faust he wasn’t getting a seat of power in her hierarchy. Ruling for over a thousand years, and not one needing a military advisor can definitely change the course of Equestria forever. A puff of green smoke appears before Celestia and a scroll takes it’s place. She smiles happily thinking over and over again ‘He failed, he failed, he failed...’. Celestia takes a deep breath and opens the scroll, reading out loud for all to hear in her vicinity. Dear Princess Celestia I’m happy to inform you that Sun Tzu has passed! He even showed me and Spike a new board game that increases our perception and attention! Unlike chess, the goal of the game is to capture as much territory with as little pebbles, in the board, as possible. Now, this may sound strange. Instead of figures, they are pebbles making anypony in the world poor, moderate, rich can play this board game, and maybe as well make one for themselves! It’s called Go, strange, but a fitting name for it! Because if it’s named Go, then you have to go capture and take control over your opponent, quickly and efficiently. I hope you let Sun Tzu become your new commander, he is far beyond kind and understanding, even rivaling yours. When I got back from gathering the rest of the elements, he was teaching Spike Go and was showing him every single step; Spike understood every single one of those steps. He taught us how to use a sword, how to dodge, how to strike. He taught us everything an officer and warrior must know, he is a great teacher! Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Celestia froze, laughing maniacally inside. ‘He passed... he passed.’ those two words brought Celestia to her hooves, letting go of the scroll. ‘He is a machine...’ with those words in mind she walked towards her throne, waiting to announce Equestria’s new military leader. ===================================================================== As Sun Tzu’s chariot strikes down the balconies pavement, he walks down and thanks the two colts for giving him a pleasant ride. To a naked civilian eyes, the guards looked pretty much the same. But to a perceptive pair of eyes, they looked buffed up and had a sort of glint in their eyes. Sun Tzu was, more or less, happy that he was able to teach the ponies his ways of war: being a bipedal and all. A purple armored guard catches his eyes, he was approaching him and looked beat up. “Are you Sun Tzu?” he asked. Sun Tzu doesn’t like not knowing at least a bit of anyone, or anypony in this case. He looked past his muzzle, and looks at his Cutie Mark: a violet shield with a purple star in the middle and three little light blue stars at the top. ‘A Sparkle.’ he smiled. “Yes I am Sun Tzu, and who might you be, sir?” The guard nodded, and trotted into the hall. Sun Tzu followed. “I’m Shining Armor, captain of the guard.” he said. “Oh? Well, captain, I’ll soon become your superior officer and a military advisor to princess Celestia.” Sun Tzu informed happily. Shining Armor doesn’t share his optimism, being the captain of the guard; he is supposed to be the higher authority in the Royal Guard: not this ape. Their conversion was ended abruptly when they reached the throne room. The guards standing at the immense door opens it with their horns. The door was enveloped in a sort of mixed hues, one being brown the other yellow. Sun Tzu and Shining Armor entered and bowed accordingly, the former not as deep. Sun Tzu was waiting patiently, while Shining Armor was trying to rush the formalities and find out if he was going to lose his job. Celestia was contemplating, if not more. She was trying to figure out a way to make Sun Tzu fail any and all attempts to be her advisor, or even a commander. But, every single plan failed. Celestia sighed, she didn’t want the fates to pick this human, she wanted a being that could stop a war with diplomacy not to prolong it. But, if the gods above chose this human then what choice does she have to decline the offer. “Sun Tzu, I am officially going to give you all rights and commands to become my military advisor and commander. Shining Armor, would you please lead Sun Tzu to the barracks to train the stallions into better warriors?” Celestia said, un-enthusiastically. Shining Armor was shocked but his polar opposite was not. Sun Tzu expected to be given the task, he never failed. Sun Tzu knew his weaknesses and strengths, and used them to achieve any and all tasks. Shining escorted Sun Tzu to the guard’s training ground were a division of guards awaiting for their new commander. *disk scratch* Now, let me just cut out your confusion with the plot hole kind of jazz. ~~Shining Armor had~~... no wait Celestia had sent a runner before hand hoof to get the guards ready for their new commander. Now back to the show. *disk scratch* The guards weren’t expecting the ape to arrive with their captain. Sun Tzu dropped his luggage and inspected the platoon. The mares and stallions weren’t nervous, but a few of them that had seen the creature before. “Sky Bolt and Tempest step forward.” shouted Sun Tzu. Sky Bolt and Tempest were the two stallions that escorted Sun Tzu to Ponyville, and were both very well versed in Sun Tzu’s strategies and learning. Both of them, are ready officers that were hiding amongst the ranks of militia colts. “With the help of Sky Bolt and Tempest, I will create two platoons; that will also allow me to create a few squads.” Sun Tzu started to split the division into two, creating the two platoons the commander needed. “Sky Bolt you will take the left platoon as your own and Tempest take the right, and you know what to do.” the two officers nodded, and began to march towards their respective platoons. Sun Tzu started to pace back and forth while watching the two officers beginning the intensive training for improving their beloved Royal Guards. Shining Armor was watching attentively, the same can be said for Celestia secretly watching at one of the balconies. ===================================================================== Sky Bolt and Tempest both attempt to train their respective platoons. But were failing miserably. “I want you all to follow my lead, make sure to make some space for your neighbors.” They all nodded and tried to copy his every move. They all failed. Sun Tzu was expecting this, and used that expectations to make the already shocked guards, and spying princess, to see that their guards, militia and make believe army; were nothing but citizens in uniform. He predicted this, and told the two officers if this happened they were to take extreme measures. “Get up you sorry excuses of guards! Look at all of you, failing and falling and crying, you bunch of foals can’t even handle a simple sword stab, for Guan Yu’s sake!” shouted Tempest. “You all are failures! Do you expect to protect the princesses or even Equestria from harm, if you are all foaling out then raise your hooves if you want to bail out!” shouted Sky Bolt. A few stallions raised their hooves, and were escorted out by Sun Tzu to have a word with. Meanwhile at the balcony, Celestia was watching her ponies cry, fall and fail which brought tears to her face. She saw that Sun Tzu can train eight ponies in one morning and one night, if Sky Bolt and Tempest weren’t proof enough or Twilight’s letter. She expected her guards to be strong and able to withstand this type of beating, and to see already a few guards leaving the premise, she wouldn’t know what would happen if she denied Sun Tzu. While progress was taking a slow turn, Sun Tzu was trying to change the minds of the ponies that left the training; and was winning their hearts to continue on. “What happened in their?” Sun Tzu asked soothingly. The stallion he was talking too, was crying softly. “I don’t know...” “Well, do you have a family?” Sun Tzu asked, suddenly. “*sniff* ... yes.... I do.” “Well, what would you do if your family was endanger? Would you rather call the guards, which you are in, or fight and protect you family from those that would harm your kind?” The guards that left were listening attentively, no longer having the fear that pulled them out of the grounds. Instead, giving them a fire to continue, to die for Equestria. The all stormed out, leaving only Sun Tzu smiling. ‘Family is the key element to protect. They don’t want to protect Equestria, they want to protect their homes and childrens’ future.’ ===================================================================== As Celestia was beginning to lose hope, the group of stallions that dropped out were running back towards their respective platoons. She watched shell shocked at her ponies galloping back towards their training, the same ponies that didn’t want to continue just suddenly went back at their unscheduled training. “You cowards, what are you all doing back here?” shouted both Tempest and Sky Bolt. “Sir, we are back to protect our families!” shouted a stallion in the left platoon. “I like that answer! Okay everypony, gear up and start training!” And their eyes and build never changed.... ===================================================================== Sun Tzu was beside Shining Armor who was watching the training steadily reaching a fast and boiling point. “Mister Armor, where is the armory?” asked the chinese strategist. “Why do you need to see the armory?” said the white stallion. “Mister Armor, if I intend to help this Equestria, then I need to know what this Equestria’s guards are using to protect itself; or do you not have one and are using magic and hooves to fight?” The captain, clearly insulted with his comment, showed Sun Tzu the way to the armory, where countless weapons and artifacts used in the past generations are kept. As they entered the room of weapons and ceremonial sticks, Sun Tzu asked for the weapons they used on a daily basis. Shining Armor was grinning smugly and showed him the rack of weapons, all ceremonial in Sun Tzu’s eyes. Sun Tzu picked up a sword, and sliced his own arm. Shining Armor was shocked and concerned for his new superior, thinking that he was mentally insane and needs to be hospitalized. But instead, what he didn’t expect from him was total anger. “Do you use this in every battle and every training?” he asked in controlled anger, his face changing red quickly. “Yes, and I am quite proud of it; if I do say so myself!” he was smugly holding a hoof to his chest, not knowing the consequences of saying that. He showed him his arm, which was unharmed by the blade, and Gordon Ramsay has manifested himself in the land of Equestria. “It is dull! Not to mention unbalanced and unwieldy for any pony in this world! The blade is like grass, extremely fragile!” he showed him, by smashing the blade on a nearby pillar; shattering it. “A kitchen knife, which I’ve used with my time in Ponyville, is sharper and stronger! A wooden stave is more than exceeding this nonsense! This is maddening in every level!” He picked up a spear, which felt good in his hands, since the wood itself is built like a walking stick for the old and handicapped. Sun Tzu then poked the tip of the spear, and was again fueled with more rage. “The tip of this spear is paper!” he shouted again, ramming the spear in the same pillar the dulled sword was shattered on. The tip of the spear exploded, falling harmlessly on nearby antique swords. He picked up a crossbow, and looked at it attentively. “This crossbow is raw!” he found a nearby trashcan and slammed the crossbow. “It’s unseasoned to be harden for extensive use from bolts with fire and lacking care with oil! The string is old and flimsy! The launching mechanism is useless!” he spat at Shining Armor who was visibly shaking from the angered Sun Tzu. ‘He is mad!’ was Shining’s single thought. He reached for the an old antique sword from the three tribes era. Shining Armor was trying to tell Sun Tzu that the sword is the only remaining sword from that era. But Sun Tzu wasn’t listening. What Shining Armor didn’t see was Sun Tzu smiling at the sword. “This is a real sword, mister Armor.This sword can last for a thousand more years if the era you told me was correct.” “How is that a real sword? Our sword is more modern, efficient and more intimidating!” Sun Tzu glared at Shining Armor’s ignorance. “Your so called ‘modern’ designs weren’t even able to wound me, mister Armor. Your design lack any thing except for being flashy! Intimidation is only served as to deceive your enemy, and serves no use in conventional means in battle.” Sun Tzu tosses the relic to Shining Armor, clearly disappointed and angered at him. “Get your best smiths to recreate that. If I return and I am not satisfied with the results, I will be having a harsh word with both you and Celestia, now get back to work.” As Sun Tzu left the now ransacked armory, a whimpering and shivering Shining Armor is left in the dark. Author's Note I had fun writing this chapter! Hopefully I didn't have as much grammar issues as the last ones. The Art of Defense.Perfecting an art, you are a master. Learning an art is a whole other story. - JamesC After his ‘brief conversation’ with Shining, Sun Tzu sets out to check if they have means of protection inside and outside their walls like escape tunnels, fortification, checkpoints, gates, weapons and generally anything that is built to expel and take hits. He starts off with inspecting the walls first, a warlord and leader’s best friend for a defense; or offense for keeping trade routes at bay to starve a city, like the scene of Rome. As he was inspecting the city walls, he sees no patrol whatsoever. He at least expects that there be another branch of guards guarding the walls, instead of the to-be-warriors at the Castle barracks. He runs off towards the front gate, in which the train tracks where located. Sun Tzu wasn’t sure what to make of the iron railroad tracks and the oversized carriage, he only cares about the strength of the gate; in which he was soon disappointed with, again. The gates looks as though it was rusted on the hinge, unable to be lowered again. The walls didn’t look as sturdy as Sun Tzu thought, so he began to test its limits until his disappointment or satisfaction. . .. ... .... ..... ...... He could see cracks appearing just from the weight of his foot leaning on the cobblestone wall. Sun Tzu knows a few brick making techniques, but this is beyond aid. He could evidently improve the whole city if he showed Celestia the way of making sun baked bricks and might faint for not noticing the grave importance of having archs as an engineering marvel for underground tunnels and aqueducts; instead of using it as decoration for the capital. Even the barbaric Romans knew the utmost importance of engineering marvels and military logic, if Celestia is as naive as a newborn child or a weak minded officer then she is unfit to even have Shining Armor as a the capital’s captain or even the Equestrian military. He had heard, from Rainbow Dash, that Commander Hurricane was the head of the military branch; while Queen Platinum was the head of economical branch and Chancellor Puddington as the head of the agricultural branch of the United Tribes, or as known today as Equestria. Sun Tzu was also informed by Twilight the many successful campaigns of Commander Hurricane and the several losses as well. The war he was most interested in was the: Gryphonic Wars and the Diamond Dog enclave. He wasn’t as interested with the Dragon Wars, led by Celestia, which he knew from the start as an unsuccessful campaign and only served to anger the Dragon Union; which today is indifferent with the politics of Equestria and will thus refuse any and all requests and pacts with said country. Sun Tzu was also informed of the wealthy country of the Griffon Pact, a government ruled by a Gryphon and a Hippogriff. The country was in a state of confederacy, with the Gryphons on the right and the Hippogriff on the left, pony historians argue that the Gryphons won and formed the Griffon Pact, but many of the Gryphons and Hippogriffs protest against it; stating that the Hippogriffs won and the Gryphons lost. The former stating it with pride. But the most shocking thing he has ever heard, was the Canine alliances. The diamond dogs are, essentially, a group of canines. The diamond dogs can’t be defined as a single species, oh absolutely not. The diamond dogs themselves are a number of dogs, shepherds, Saint-Barknard, Bull and many other unnamed species. He had heard from Rarity their skill for digging and searching minerals. He was definitely thinking of hiring these species to further aid Equestria, or ,more ambitiously, his own gain. But, he will decide if he wants to head that road later. For now, he wants to see if Equestria was really worth taking over; if the neighboring countries all see Equestria as a force to be reckoned with, then he can also agree that conquering any country will be a waste of time. ==================================================================== Meanwhile.... Adolf Hitler was busy inspecting a bar in Trottingham, figuring out the inferior language known as English. .... ..... ..... Nah, Adolf Hitler can completely understand English, as Fuhrer he would rather just find the nearest bar to further educate the necessity of economic importance. As he nears the bar, he groans at the accents of the ponies in his area. His first time in Equestria was not as bad, he still had his trench coat and cap, and most importantly: his iron cross. Hitler won the Iron Cross for successfully delivering important intel from HQ to the trenches, in which the modern day front-lines was coined, where heavy machine gun barrages and artillery bombardment were most common. He was an unsuccessful painter, which is why he stole art from various museums to safeguard in Berlin from various Allied bombings, and is why thousands of paintings are still waiting somewhere in Europe, preserved in an Axis bunker. He didn’t bother asking Mussolini for the various Da Vinci paintings, already predicting his fall and then proceeding to ask the Florentines if they have the various paintings safeguarded from Allied raids or bombings. He already prided himself with the Mona Lisa, placing it in his bathroom to contemplate it’s beauty. But, as an art historian which he secretly kept, knew the French King had hang a John the Baptist painting in his bathroom, but forgetting the need to preserve it; which had cost him the paintings beauty with his bath’s steam. He placed a state-of-the-art glass in which to preserve the Mona Lisa from steam and outside contamination and had left it there to study. Hitler knew the significance of the Mona Lisa’s popularity, and kept it guarded by one person: himself. He didn’t trust anyone with the successful painting, in which he deemed as beautiful as Eva Braun, his wife. But, enough about himself. He needs to educate people of his special talent, economy. It was economy that made the German depression seize and it was his idea of economy that drove the jews from their hiding place. He didn’t care for the muslims, as they were a great source for agriculture and food resource, and are great allies against the jewish population. He prided himself with knowing the Olympic runner, Jesse Owens, and gave him a congratulations for his effort. He liked to see where a man’s determination may lead him, and here was a great example to show the American people that they should follow Jesse Owens determination to get rid of their depression. Adolf entered the Trotting Mare, a fitting name. He was glad to find a stage in a corner, giving him an 180 degree view of the establishment. He walked towards the bartender, expecting him/ her to be the owner of the bar. The bartender cast a glance towards the walking form of Hitler, expecting him to be a minotaur, the bartender drops his glass and heads towards the nearby shelves getting a bottle for the minotaur favorite: jagermeister. “Herr, do you mind if I can use the stage for a while?” Hitler asked, using his self-taught charisma to his benefit. The bartender was surprised. He expected this minotaur to be like any other bipedal species he’s met, demanding, rude and egocentric. But this one, was simply asking him politely if he can use the stage; which he rarely use: with a large number of any kind of stand ups decreasing in years. “Yeah, sure, mate. You can definitely use the stage, is not like anypony uses it anyways.” Hitler smiled and thanked the bartender, then headed towards the stage to rebel against the state. Author's Note Just a head up, I didn't edit this part so expect some faulty stuff! Now, the Hitler part was a last second adjustment: which was yesterday and I had to spend a lot of time researching on him. And expect some delays, think someone injected a malware or spyware on me. ;( Had a webcam problem and a Meatspin.com popped up on me.... Wish me luck!
A shore meets the palace. ( Semi-edited ) A shore meets the palace. ( Semi-edited ) The wise turns towards the young, the young asks if the wise is truly as wise as it is. The wise accepts the young's challenge and strikes the young one's doubts aside. - JamesC Sun Tzu, a formidable strategist and warrior who lived in the Zhou dynasty. He was the one to lead the state of Wu to victory, when invading the state of Chu. In the end, the state of Wu has taken over Chu and has expanding exponentially, from a small and weak state, to that of a formidable warring state that conquered a mighty Chu with just a few thousand soldiers. But, sadly, the strategist and philosopher has left without a trace, only leaving out The Art of War as a reminder of his great strategic teachings and philosophy. ===================================================================== At the dawn of night Sun Tzu left the army encampment ready to invade Qi, towards the Yellow Sea. Bribing a local fisherman to dock a boat, Sun Tzu grabs his packed bag and sails towards shores unknown. Hoping to reach Japan. In his mind, Sun Tzu has had enough of the King’s greed and leaves the rising Wu state without remorse. A beautiful starry night is plastered out for the late strategist, he takes off his armor and wears his civilian clothing. A black zhiduo and zhuzi jin headwear, but he did bring his formal shenyi and zhangokfutou. But, the most prized clothing in his luggages, was his hats. In Sun Tzu’s mind, hats in the imperial court signifies power towards the whole court, and few get hats given by the emperor himself, such as Sun Tzu. He has a well made zhuzi jin, yishanguan and zhuangzi jin in his hat entourage. As if contemplating of “loosening the luggage”, Sun Tzu sees a bright light in the sky. It seems to emanate power, safety and kindness. Sun Tzu realizes that the bright light is the end of this world for him, and wants to see the next in his journey to the universe. Sun Tzu freely accepts his process to be enlightened by this apparition and crosses his arms in his robe, and bows with his head facing the deck. He feels a rope of comfort crossing his body, he can see a golden white hue glowing from his luggage and armor. At closer inspection, he sees himself as well glowing a golden white, and smiles happily. This is the end, of Sun Tzu.... ...or is it? ===================================================================== At the palace in Canterlot, news spreads out of an invading force of deserter gryphons, minotaurs and deers planning to attack Equestria’s capital city. With little to no military forces at her disposal, Celestia plans to summon a great being from outside Equis. Her calls were answered, and so the palace throne room was engulfed with a blinding white light, and was behold a strange “being”. An ape like creature, wearing a black robe and unusual headwear, carrying a few luggages and was bowing. The creature lift up it’s head, dropping it’s bow, and looks at Celestia without a hint of anger, but a pool of confusion and years of cosmetic knowledge brings Celestia to an edgy and shivering feeling. “Greetings to you, and who might you be, if I may ask?” spoke the creature. Celestia was taken aback by it’s civilized, yet knowledgeable tone. She quickly recovers from her shock, and speaks to it. “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria. And who might you be, if I might ask?” Celestia asked, trying to not break a cultural barrier. The ape like creature smiles, and seems to calculate rapidly, as if without consciousness. “You may refer to me as, Sun Tzu, strategist, philosopher, warrior, author and teacher, at your service.” he bows slightly, not as low as his previous bow, but enough to prove his point. She smiles, but she hasn’t quite figured his gender or species. She asks, and tries not to insult the being without prior knowledge. “I am a male in my species, human.” he replies, placing his hand on his left, and hits it softly three times. “And if I may as to ask the same question to you?” Celestia nods, and tells her about her species, and the three categories that excludes herself. He nods, and seems to contemplate. “What kind of government is this, princess?” he asks, placing a palm on his chin. “Me and Princess Luna rule Equestria in a diarchy, but in our past it was just three monarchies ruling under their banners.” The man accepts her answer, and looks around a bit, at the guards specifically. Sun Tzu can see the guards clear stoic expression, but he can see that the armor is made out of gold, instead of any hard and strong metals. He changes his gaze on their build, he looks at a nearby cleaning maid and finds that their muscle build are similar, excluding the fact that the pony is a mare. He gives Celestia a questioning glance and looks down disappointingly, shaking his head in mock shame. “You do not have a military force, I presume?” his gaze pierces Celestia’s entire being into metaphorical ashes, seemingly burning her with controlled anger. She doesn’t know what she had done to anger him so, her guards are suitable replacements for a militia force. She nods, not shamefully or proudly. He takes that answers and tells his tale. “In my land, I am known as a fearsome warrior and strategist, able to turn a small country into a thriving state with hundreds of cities. I can turn anyone into a warrior, and I mean anyone. I have created a book that can lead any and all officers and warlords to victory, and can keep that victory for a hundred times.” His confidence in his voice, not even a hint of cockiness or doubt in his tone. Celestia was truly, and utterly, terrified with this being in front of her. But, like the King of Wu, she wants to test him. And a test he will receive. “Sun Tzu, if you can truly turn anyone into a warrior, how can you turn six everyday ponies into officers or generals?” she asked, smiling at her challenge, ‘He can’t accomplish this, it’s impossible to turn those six innocent ponies in to warriors.’ Sun Tzu looks at the facial expression of Celestia, and smiles. “If you permit it, I will do it in one day and one night.”. Celestia was taken aback, again, by the request. His confidence not rising a level, she’s no longer terrified of him, she is completely and utterly convinced this human is a spawn of Tartarus; a complete demon able to turn battles and train any and all working bodies into a warrior. She reluctantly accepts his request, and was thinking about forgetting the test. He nods, and picks up his luggage and waits for her orders. “You will ride a chariot to Ponyville, where I will send a letter to the six ponies you will turn into officers by one day and one night, good luck. “But, I bet you won’t need it...” she mumbles. He nods, and smiles. Having a good hearing, and being paranoid, he heard the comment very well. He follows two guards to an open balcony where a chariot being pulled by two pegasi lay. Sun Tzu boards the wagon and places his luggages safely by his side, and waits for the ride to begin. ===================================================================== *burp* Twilight rushes upstairs, forgetting about her latest studies, and opens the door to her bedroom. Spike was rubbing his eyes from being woken up by the flame, and was holding up a beige colored scroll, with a familiar golden seal wrapped around a red ribbon. She quickly unwraps the scroll and reads aloud. Dear Twilight Sparkle I am sending you a strategist to train the Elements of Harmony into fighting capable officers. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am merely testing this new strategist if he can train the six of you into suitable warriors. But, there was a slightly complication. He was bold, and confident enough, that he can do it in one day and one night; which is impossible for even a single squad of determined guards to be trained. So, I ask of you to not be afraid of this creature. To be honest, he frightens me to the core; and makes me want to flee whenever he’s present. His mere gaze is enough to make me shiver, his presence emanates authority and countless years of knowledge, his mere form speaks of wars untold and his mind speaks of limitless calculation that rivals both me and Luna’s combined. And don’t be afraid by his lack of hooves, I’m sure you will see soon enough. Princess Celestia Twilight stares at the scroll with disbelief, ‘How can somepony, or something for that matter, give Princess Celestia a shiver by his mere presence? Is he a minotaur, griffon or something else?’ Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. “Coming!” she trots to her front door. Twilight can see a chariot outside, and a tall shadow. ‘Definitely a minotaur, who else is as confident a minotaur like Iron Will?’ she smiles, deducing who might the creature be. She opens her door, and reveals something she had never seen in any books. Two pegasi day guards were at the front of her door, while behind them was a tall and imposing creature. She keeps her gaze at the black robbed creature with a strangely shaped hat. “May we come in?” asked the creature. She nods slowly, opening the door at it’s fullest to let the creature and guards in. Both the guards and creature enters in decently and slowly, as if trained to do so with exact precision and timing. The creature looked like he was holding some luggage, it sets them down on a nearby table and sits on her red couch. The creature seems to look for something, before falling it’s gaze on Twilight. She gulps, and hope for the best that she hasn’t angered it. “Where is the five others?” it asks, confirming the he was indeed male like the letter stated. “I just received the letter a few minutes ago, I didn’t have much time to get my friends so that you can train them.” she answered matter-of-factly. He nods, and gestures Twilight to do as she was supposed to do, with a simple wave of his claw. “I’ll be right back!” she answered giddly, and trots out to gather her friends. ===================================================================== Twilight Sparkle comes back a few dozen minutes later with the rest of the gang. She was surprised to see a board game she had never seen before, being played by none other than the creature and Spike. “So what do I do next?” the dragon asked, seemingly interested in this game. “You need to try and capture as much of this dotted points as possible, with the least amount of pebbles, young one.” he seems to teach Spike like no one else, as if he was also playing this for the first time. “So, I just need to capture these things, or do I have to take them out?” He shakes his head, “You’re supposed to either circle my pebbles, or make me so that I can’t move and capture any territory. Try and circle my pebbles like this.” He shows Spike an example of locking his opponent in, by placing four black pebble on each sides of a white pebble. “Now this white pebble can’t escape, now you have to go and do this to all my pebbles.” Spike seems to deflate. “This will take forever...” He pats Spike on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t give up so fast. Here, you can capture my pebbles like this and I won’t be able to move any of my pebbles: because they are all stacked to each other.” Spike’s spirits seems to be lifted up. The creature smiles at his excitement. “And like this, now I can’t move at all, every single of my pebble is blocked by the corners, it’s easy.” Spike nods, and starts the game. The girls were watching without disturbing the game, and was interested on how this game was going to be played out. A few rounds later, Spike won the round. The creature was smiling at the young ones interest of the game. “Thank you for teaching me how to play Go, Sun Tzu!” Spike was smiling brightly, finally finding someone to teach him about something other than books. “It’s not a problem Spike, oh look, they have finally arrived. Go upstairs and show the guards how to play, I bet they will be more of a challenge.” Spike nodded, he closes the pebbles jars and headed upstairs to face new challengers. Sun Tzu’s expression changed to a welcoming and beaming face, to that of progress showing no emotions at all making the emotion dependent ponies shiver. Now Twilight knows why this creature terrifies Celestia to the very core of her existence. “Where is a flat land located at?” he asked, his tone drastically changed. “I can show you, but why do we need a flat land?” Twilight asked. “Yeah! Why can’t we just do it here?” a cyan pegasus butted. “Because I need a training ground on where I can train you all in one day and one night, so a flat land is suffice enough for me to do just that task.” Their formally shivering feelings, turns into a shivering spine; crawling all around their bones. ===================================================================== They found a suitable flat land in a meadow beneath Rainbow’s flying castle. Sun Tzu not enough giving it a glance, which furiates the cyan pegasus to no ends. “Now, I want you all to keep a five foot gap between each of you.” they all look at Sun Tzu in confusion, not understanding the meaning of foot. Sun Tzu rephrases his command. “I want you all to keep a length of one bu gap between each of you.” again, they look at Sun Tzu in confusion. Taking matters in his own hands, Sun Tzu divides them all into the gaps needed to perform his training exercise. “I want you all now to do as I do, as you much as you can, failure to do so is a severe punishment.” the girls can tell he wasn’t joking, all looking towards Applejack for confirmation; which she gave. They all copied as much as they can in their pony bodies to perform what he did, he then started to teach them about strategy. They can visibly see their bodies change, and their muscles start to harden as strong as Big Mac’s, they were able to cut down a tree without an axe, but with a sword. Their training ended before the dawn of night, and Sun Tzu left to return to Canterlot. The girls saddened by the departure of their master, went back to their daily lives, where everyone stared at their amazing muscle build up. ===================================================================== The arrival of Sun Tzu at Canterlot castle, marks the end of Shining Armor’s reign of weakness in the guard’s barracks, if he passes Celestia’s expectations. Author's Note I haven't found, yet, any fics with Sun Tzu as a character himself. I do find some fics mentioning him, but none has ever used him as a character at all. So here's to me making this work!
The Armory. ( Semi-edited )Praying for failure, is asking for Murphy to slap you. Praying for success though, pray with enthusiasm and passion; if not: nothing will happen, simple as that. - JamesC At Canterlot castle, Celestia waited expectantly for Sun Tzu’s failure in completing his task and hope to Faust he wasn’t getting a seat of power in her hierarchy. Ruling for over a thousand years, and not one needing a military advisor can definitely change the course of Equestria forever. A puff of green smoke appears before Celestia and a scroll takes it’s place. She smiles happily thinking over and over again ‘He failed, he failed, he failed...’. Celestia takes a deep breath and opens the scroll, reading out loud for all to hear in her vicinity. Dear Princess Celestia I’m happy to inform you that Sun Tzu has passed! He even showed me and Spike a new board game that increases our perception and attention! Unlike chess, the goal of the game is to capture as much territory with as little pebbles, in the board, as possible. Now, this may sound strange. Instead of figures, they are pebbles making anypony in the world poor, moderate, rich can play this board game, and maybe as well make one for themselves! It’s called Go, strange, but a fitting name for it! Because if it’s named Go, then you have to go capture and take control over your opponent, quickly and efficiently. I hope you let Sun Tzu become your new commander, he is far beyond kind and understanding, even rivaling yours. When I got back from gathering the rest of the elements, he was teaching Spike Go and was showing him every single step; Spike understood every single one of those steps. He taught us how to use a sword, how to dodge, how to strike. He taught us everything an officer and warrior must know, he is a great teacher! Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Celestia froze, laughing maniacally inside. ‘He passed... he passed.’ those two words brought Celestia to her hooves, letting go of the scroll. ‘He is a machine...’ with those words in mind she walked towards her throne, waiting to announce Equestria’s new military leader. ===================================================================== As Sun Tzu’s chariot strikes down the balconies pavement, he walks down and thanks the two colts for giving him a pleasant ride. To a naked civilian eyes, the guards looked pretty much the same. But to a perceptive pair of eyes, they looked buffed up and had a sort of glint in their eyes. Sun Tzu was, more or less, happy that he was able to teach the ponies his ways of war: being a bipedal and all. A purple armored guard catches his eyes, he was approaching him and looked beat up. “Are you Sun Tzu?” he asked. Sun Tzu doesn’t like not knowing at least a bit of anyone, or anypony in this case. He looked past his muzzle, and looks at his Cutie Mark: a violet shield with a purple star in the middle and three little light blue stars at the top. ‘A Sparkle.’ he smiled. “Yes I am Sun Tzu, and who might you be, sir?” The guard nodded, and trotted into the hall. Sun Tzu followed. “I’m Shining Armor, captain of the guard.” he said. “Oh? Well, captain, I’ll soon become your superior officer and a military advisor to princess Celestia.” Sun Tzu informed happily. Shining Armor doesn’t share his optimism, being the captain of the guard; he is supposed to be the higher authority in the Royal Guard: not this ape. Their conversion was ended abruptly when they reached the throne room. The guards standing at the immense door opens it with their horns. The door was enveloped in a sort of mixed hues, one being brown the other yellow. Sun Tzu and Shining Armor entered and bowed accordingly, the former not as deep. Sun Tzu was waiting patiently, while Shining Armor was trying to rush the formalities and find out if he was going to lose his job. Celestia was contemplating, if not more. She was trying to figure out a way to make Sun Tzu fail any and all attempts to be her advisor, or even a commander. But, every single plan failed. Celestia sighed, she didn’t want the fates to pick this human, she wanted a being that could stop a war with diplomacy not to prolong it. But, if the gods above chose this human then what choice does she have to decline the offer. “Sun Tzu, I am officially going to give you all rights and commands to become my military advisor and commander. Shining Armor, would you please lead Sun Tzu to the barracks to train the stallions into better warriors?” Celestia said, un-enthusiastically. Shining Armor was shocked but his polar opposite was not. Sun Tzu expected to be given the task, he never failed. Sun Tzu knew his weaknesses and strengths, and used them to achieve any and all tasks. Shining escorted Sun Tzu to the guard’s training ground were a division of guards awaiting for their new commander. *disk scratch* Now, let me just cut out your confusion with the plot hole kind of jazz. ~~Shining Armor had~~... no wait Celestia had sent a runner before hand hoof to get the guards ready for their new commander. Now back to the show. *disk scratch* The guards weren’t expecting the ape to arrive with their captain. Sun Tzu dropped his luggage and inspected the platoon. The mares and stallions weren’t nervous, but a few of them that had seen the creature before. “Sky Bolt and Tempest step forward.” shouted Sun Tzu. Sky Bolt and Tempest were the two stallions that escorted Sun Tzu to Ponyville, and were both very well versed in Sun Tzu’s strategies and learning. Both of them, are ready officers that were hiding amongst the ranks of militia colts. “With the help of Sky Bolt and Tempest, I will create two platoons; that will also allow me to create a few squads.” Sun Tzu started to split the division into two, creating the two platoons the commander needed. “Sky Bolt you will take the left platoon as your own and Tempest take the right, and you know what to do.” the two officers nodded, and began to march towards their respective platoons. Sun Tzu started to pace back and forth while watching the two officers beginning the intensive training for improving their beloved Royal Guards. Shining Armor was watching attentively, the same can be said for Celestia secretly watching at one of the balconies. ===================================================================== Sky Bolt and Tempest both attempt to train their respective platoons. But were failing miserably. “I want you all to follow my lead, make sure to make some space for your neighbors.” They all nodded and tried to copy his every move. They all failed. Sun Tzu was expecting this, and used that expectations to make the already shocked guards, and spying princess, to see that their guards, militia and make believe army; were nothing but citizens in uniform. He predicted this, and told the two officers if this happened they were to take extreme measures. “Get up you sorry excuses of guards! Look at all of you, failing and falling and crying, you bunch of foals can’t even handle a simple sword stab, for Guan Yu’s sake!” shouted Tempest. “You all are failures! Do you expect to protect the princesses or even Equestria from harm, if you are all foaling out then raise your hooves if you want to bail out!” shouted Sky Bolt. A few stallions raised their hooves, and were escorted out by Sun Tzu to have a word with. Meanwhile at the balcony, Celestia was watching her ponies cry, fall and fail which brought tears to her face. She saw that Sun Tzu can train eight ponies in one morning and one night, if Sky Bolt and Tempest weren’t proof enough or Twilight’s letter. She expected her guards to be strong and able to withstand this type of beating, and to see already a few guards leaving the premise, she wouldn’t know what would happen if she denied Sun Tzu. While progress was taking a slow turn, Sun Tzu was trying to change the minds of the ponies that left the training; and was winning their hearts to continue on. “What happened in their?” Sun Tzu asked soothingly. The stallion he was talking too, was crying softly. “I don’t know...” “Well, do you have a family?” Sun Tzu asked, suddenly. “*sniff* ... yes.... I do.” “Well, what would you do if your family was endanger? Would you rather call the guards, which you are in, or fight and protect you family from those that would harm your kind?” The guards that left were listening attentively, no longer having the fear that pulled them out of the grounds. Instead, giving them a fire to continue, to die for Equestria. The all stormed out, leaving only Sun Tzu smiling. ‘Family is the key element to protect. They don’t want to protect Equestria, they want to protect their homes and childrens’ future.’ ===================================================================== As Celestia was beginning to lose hope, the group of stallions that dropped out were running back towards their respective platoons. She watched shell shocked at her ponies galloping back towards their training, the same ponies that didn’t want to continue just suddenly went back at their unscheduled training. “You cowards, what are you all doing back here?” shouted both Tempest and Sky Bolt. “Sir, we are back to protect our families!” shouted a stallion in the left platoon. “I like that answer! Okay everypony, gear up and start training!” And their eyes and build never changed.... ===================================================================== Sun Tzu was beside Shining Armor who was watching the training steadily reaching a fast and boiling point. “Mister Armor, where is the armory?” asked the chinese strategist. “Why do you need to see the armory?” said the white stallion. “Mister Armor, if I intend to help this Equestria, then I need to know what this Equestria’s guards are using to protect itself; or do you not have one and are using magic and hooves to fight?” The captain, clearly insulted with his comment, showed Sun Tzu the way to the armory, where countless weapons and artifacts used in the past generations are kept. As they entered the room of weapons and ceremonial sticks, Sun Tzu asked for the weapons they used on a daily basis. Shining Armor was grinning smugly and showed him the rack of weapons, all ceremonial in Sun Tzu’s eyes. Sun Tzu picked up a sword, and sliced his own arm. Shining Armor was shocked and concerned for his new superior, thinking that he was mentally insane and needs to be hospitalized. But instead, what he didn’t expect from him was total anger. “Do you use this in every battle and every training?” he asked in controlled anger, his face changing red quickly. “Yes, and I am quite proud of it; if I do say so myself!” he was smugly holding a hoof to his chest, not knowing the consequences of saying that. He showed him his arm, which was unharmed by the blade, and Gordon Ramsay has manifested himself in the land of Equestria. “It is dull! Not to mention unbalanced and unwieldy for any pony in this world! The blade is like grass, extremely fragile!” he showed him, by smashing the blade on a nearby pillar; shattering it. “A kitchen knife, which I’ve used with my time in Ponyville, is sharper and stronger! A wooden stave is more than exceeding this nonsense! This is maddening in every level!” He picked up a spear, which felt good in his hands, since the wood itself is built like a walking stick for the old and handicapped. Sun Tzu then poked the tip of the spear, and was again fueled with more rage. “The tip of this spear is paper!” he shouted again, ramming the spear in the same pillar the dulled sword was shattered on. The tip of the spear exploded, falling harmlessly on nearby antique swords. He picked up a crossbow, and looked at it attentively. “This crossbow is raw!” he found a nearby trashcan and slammed the crossbow. “It’s unseasoned to be harden for extensive use from bolts with fire and lacking care with oil! The string is old and flimsy! The launching mechanism is useless!” he spat at Shining Armor who was visibly shaking from the angered Sun Tzu. ‘He is mad!’ was Shining’s single thought. He reached for the an old antique sword from the three tribes era. Shining Armor was trying to tell Sun Tzu that the sword is the only remaining sword from that era. But Sun Tzu wasn’t listening. What Shining Armor didn’t see was Sun Tzu smiling at the sword. “This is a real sword, mister Armor.This sword can last for a thousand more years if the era you told me was correct.” “How is that a real sword? Our sword is more modern, efficient and more intimidating!” Sun Tzu glared at Shining Armor’s ignorance. “Your so called ‘modern’ designs weren’t even able to wound me, mister Armor. Your design lack any thing except for being flashy! Intimidation is only served as to deceive your enemy, and serves no use in conventional means in battle.” Sun Tzu tosses the relic to Shining Armor, clearly disappointed and angered at him. “Get your best smiths to recreate that. If I return and I am not satisfied with the results, I will be having a harsh word with both you and Celestia, now get back to work.” As Sun Tzu left the now ransacked armory, a whimpering and shivering Shining Armor is left in the dark. Author's Note I had fun writing this chapter! Hopefully I didn't have as much grammar issues as the last ones.
The Art of Defense.Perfecting an art, you are a master. Learning an art is a whole other story. - JamesC After his ‘brief conversation’ with Shining, Sun Tzu sets out to check if they have means of protection inside and outside their walls like escape tunnels, fortification, checkpoints, gates, weapons and generally anything that is built to expel and take hits. He starts off with inspecting the walls first, a warlord and leader’s best friend for a defense; or offense for keeping trade routes at bay to starve a city, like the scene of Rome. As he was inspecting the city walls, he sees no patrol whatsoever. He at least expects that there be another branch of guards guarding the walls, instead of the to-be-warriors at the Castle barracks. He runs off towards the front gate, in which the train tracks where located. Sun Tzu wasn’t sure what to make of the iron railroad tracks and the oversized carriage, he only cares about the strength of the gate; in which he was soon disappointed with, again. The gates looks as though it was rusted on the hinge, unable to be lowered again. The walls didn’t look as sturdy as Sun Tzu thought, so he began to test its limits until his disappointment or satisfaction. . .. ... .... ..... ...... He could see cracks appearing just from the weight of his foot leaning on the cobblestone wall. Sun Tzu knows a few brick making techniques, but this is beyond aid. He could evidently improve the whole city if he showed Celestia the way of making sun baked bricks and might faint for not noticing the grave importance of having archs as an engineering marvel for underground tunnels and aqueducts; instead of using it as decoration for the capital. Even the barbaric Romans knew the utmost importance of engineering marvels and military logic, if Celestia is as naive as a newborn child or a weak minded officer then she is unfit to even have Shining Armor as a the capital’s captain or even the Equestrian military. He had heard, from Rainbow Dash, that Commander Hurricane was the head of the military branch; while Queen Platinum was the head of economical branch and Chancellor Puddington as the head of the agricultural branch of the United Tribes, or as known today as Equestria. Sun Tzu was also informed by Twilight the many successful campaigns of Commander Hurricane and the several losses as well. The war he was most interested in was the: Gryphonic Wars and the Diamond Dog enclave. He wasn’t as interested with the Dragon Wars, led by Celestia, which he knew from the start as an unsuccessful campaign and only served to anger the Dragon Union; which today is indifferent with the politics of Equestria and will thus refuse any and all requests and pacts with said country. Sun Tzu was also informed of the wealthy country of the Griffon Pact, a government ruled by a Gryphon and a Hippogriff. The country was in a state of confederacy, with the Gryphons on the right and the Hippogriff on the left, pony historians argue that the Gryphons won and formed the Griffon Pact, but many of the Gryphons and Hippogriffs protest against it; stating that the Hippogriffs won and the Gryphons lost. The former stating it with pride. But the most shocking thing he has ever heard, was the Canine alliances. The diamond dogs are, essentially, a group of canines. The diamond dogs can’t be defined as a single species, oh absolutely not. The diamond dogs themselves are a number of dogs, shepherds, Saint-Barknard, Bull and many other unnamed species. He had heard from Rarity their skill for digging and searching minerals. He was definitely thinking of hiring these species to further aid Equestria, or ,more ambitiously, his own gain. But, he will decide if he wants to head that road later. For now, he wants to see if Equestria was really worth taking over; if the neighboring countries all see Equestria as a force to be reckoned with, then he can also agree that conquering any country will be a waste of time. ==================================================================== Meanwhile.... Adolf Hitler was busy inspecting a bar in Trottingham, figuring out the inferior language known as English. .... ..... ..... Nah, Adolf Hitler can completely understand English, as Fuhrer he would rather just find the nearest bar to further educate the necessity of economic importance. As he nears the bar, he groans at the accents of the ponies in his area. His first time in Equestria was not as bad, he still had his trench coat and cap, and most importantly: his iron cross. Hitler won the Iron Cross for successfully delivering important intel from HQ to the trenches, in which the modern day front-lines was coined, where heavy machine gun barrages and artillery bombardment were most common. He was an unsuccessful painter, which is why he stole art from various museums to safeguard in Berlin from various Allied bombings, and is why thousands of paintings are still waiting somewhere in Europe, preserved in an Axis bunker. He didn’t bother asking Mussolini for the various Da Vinci paintings, already predicting his fall and then proceeding to ask the Florentines if they have the various paintings safeguarded from Allied raids or bombings. He already prided himself with the Mona Lisa, placing it in his bathroom to contemplate it’s beauty. But, as an art historian which he secretly kept, knew the French King had hang a John the Baptist painting in his bathroom, but forgetting the need to preserve it; which had cost him the paintings beauty with his bath’s steam. He placed a state-of-the-art glass in which to preserve the Mona Lisa from steam and outside contamination and had left it there to study. Hitler knew the significance of the Mona Lisa’s popularity, and kept it guarded by one person: himself. He didn’t trust anyone with the successful painting, in which he deemed as beautiful as Eva Braun, his wife. But, enough about himself. He needs to educate people of his special talent, economy. It was economy that made the German depression seize and it was his idea of economy that drove the jews from their hiding place. He didn’t care for the muslims, as they were a great source for agriculture and food resource, and are great allies against the jewish population. He prided himself with knowing the Olympic runner, Jesse Owens, and gave him a congratulations for his effort. He liked to see where a man’s determination may lead him, and here was a great example to show the American people that they should follow Jesse Owens determination to get rid of their depression. Adolf entered the Trotting Mare, a fitting name. He was glad to find a stage in a corner, giving him an 180 degree view of the establishment. He walked towards the bartender, expecting him/ her to be the owner of the bar. The bartender cast a glance towards the walking form of Hitler, expecting him to be a minotaur, the bartender drops his glass and heads towards the nearby shelves getting a bottle for the minotaur favorite: jagermeister. “Herr, do you mind if I can use the stage for a while?” Hitler asked, using his self-taught charisma to his benefit. The bartender was surprised. He expected this minotaur to be like any other bipedal species he’s met, demanding, rude and egocentric. But this one, was simply asking him politely if he can use the stage; which he rarely use: with a large number of any kind of stand ups decreasing in years. “Yeah, sure, mate. You can definitely use the stage, is not like anypony uses it anyways.” Hitler smiled and thanked the bartender, then headed towards the stage to rebel against the state. Author's Note Just a head up, I didn't edit this part so expect some faulty stuff! Now, the Hitler part was a last second adjustment: which was yesterday and I had to spend a lot of time researching on him. And expect some delays, think someone injected a malware or spyware on me. ;( Had a webcam problem and a Meatspin.com popped up on me.... Wish me luck!
