That Which Crawls Below

If it had been quiet when the general had announced that they were at war, it was now completely silent. Most of the mares had begun to look at themselves as the Princess’ words were read, but when Twilight had received her orders they all turned their heads to stare in awe at the newly anointed Lady. Twilight was shocked, and for a long moment she just seemed to be looking at the floor with a look of total confusion on her face, as if she expected to wake up at any moment and discover that all of this was merely a horrible dream. When it seemed that no such comfort would come, she slowly closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she opened them again, there was a look of determination on her face.

“I don’t know if I’m really up to the task, but if Celestia believes I can do it, then I must try my best. General, I need you to bring me up to date on everything that’s happened. We’ll also need some help to get my friends to where they’re needed. How long will it take?”

“Jowels will be able to take miss Dash to the Scoutmaster. Applejack and Pinky should also follow him, as he has a letter to deliver to the head of logistics anyway. Fluttershy, you should go home and gather anything you need to treat animals then come back here. The hospitals are still being set up, so I’ll have one of the other doctors come by later to fill you in. Miss Rarity, you need only go up the stairs behind you, and take the third door on the right. Now, m’lady, if you would kindly follow me into that room back there we can begin giving you the reports.”
Ploddington seemed to have simply accepted that the purple mare in front of him had just gone from commoner to one of the most influential ponies in a matter of seconds. Twilight suspected there was something in his disciplined nature that kept him from lashing out against what many other ponies would see as blatant favoritism. What bothered her most about that inevitable accusation was the fact that she couldn’t really deny it. When she realized that she had drifted off in her thoughts and that everypony was now staring at her, she couldn’t help but blush and lower her head a bit. Somewhat sheepishly, she followed the general into what was normally the mayor’s office while her friends split off to go and fulfill their own tasks.

There was very little to go over as far as the actual conflict was concerned since it had begun mere hours earlier. Instead they spent a lot of time going over Twilight’s daily duties, reviewing the structure of the army, and finding suitable advisors. Twilight would have greatly enjoyed having one of her friends near her, but she understood that they had their own places to be. Understanding, however, did little to lessen the pain she felt at being separated from all of her friends. Eventually, they decided that her advisors would consist of a unicorn mare named Starbright and an earth pony mare named Scrubbrush, and she would be assigned a personal guard of four earth ponies, four pegasi, and two unicorns. Since her education in the field of military tactics was fairly limited and her knowledge of battle magic frightfully absent, her advisors would also be functioning as tutors.

When most of the logistical stuff had been sorted out, Ploddington spread a large map over the mayor’s desk. It was a detailed map of Equestria marked with all manner of lines and symbols. Ploddington began to explain the symbols, and before long Twilight began to see how their forces were laid out, where the supply lines were, and where the enemy was believed to be. Periodically, there would be a knock on the door as some report or other would come in. Most of the reports contained bad news: units being ambushed, patrols going missing, civilians being found slaughtered, and in one particularly bad report an entire village in which every single pony had been killed and the bodies abused, many beyond recognition. That was the first time during the war that Twilight wept openly, wept for all of the ponies she could not save. General Ploddington said no words, but as the reports came in, his face seemed to age and grow profoundly sad. The war had taken them completely unawares, and everypony was paying the price.

The next day they left Ponyville behind with a token garrison. All civilians had been advised to be ready to leave at any moment. Twilight found a brief moment to tell Spike what had happened. Naturally, he was sad when she told him that he couldn’t come, but understood that she needed a caretaker for the library. A short way along the road they met up with a large column of troops from Fillydelphia. The Fillydelphian commander proved to be a stout pony named Bullhead. Twilight could tell immediately what he thought of her being put in charge of the army.
“Commander Bullhead, with a force of three thousand able-bodied ponies. We left the city with roughly a thousand more. As we speak they are attempting to conscript a further five thousand. Basic training should take roughly four weeks.”
Twilight nodded, thankful he was wise enough to keep his feelings to himself. She was, however, growing concerned by the fact that they should have already met up with the Canterlot Guard. She decided to ask Bullhead if he had heard any word of them.
“We have not met up with or even heard from the Canterlot Guard. Have you received any messages regarding them?”
He seemed surprised by the news, which caused Twilight to become more anxious. “No, m’lady, we’ve not heard from them since they sent the original distress letter.”
“We’ll have to continue on without them, then. They know where the rendezvous is, and they’re perfectly capable ponies. All the same, I think we should sent out more scouts; if they were caught in an ambush we should make sure not to do the same.”

They resumed the march. Twilight spent her time on the march reviewing maps and possible plans with Scubbrush. Whenever they stopped for a break, Twilight sparred magically with Starbright. Though it was apparent that Starbright lacked the raw power of Twilight’s magic, she was more than able to win through clever application of force. She also taught Twilight about the importance of placing a thin magic shield around one’s body to prevent having one’s body controlled through telekinesis. She demonstrated this by making Twilight dance a ridiculous jig. Twilight proved to be a much faster learner than Starbright would have believed possible. It only took three rounds of sparring for Twilight to have her first win. The lavender mare had waited for Starbright to tense up as preparation for casting a series of bright bolts, which seemed to be her favorite trick for scoring small hits and distracting her opponent. When Twilight saw her begin to tense, the lavender mare had moved the ground beneath Starbright’s front hooves causing her to fall forward, scattering her concentration, and allowing Twilight to grab hold of her body. After that, Starbright increased her efforts to make sure Twilight never had it too easy. By the time they set up camp, however, Twilight could beat her even when she tried her hardest roughly half the time.

As Twilight, Ploddington, her advisors, and Bullhead were convening for a final review of the day’s reports, a guard stepped inside to inform them that a scout had spotted a group of maybe three hundred ponies making their way towards the camp, many of them bearing serious wounds. They decided that the best course of action would be to go out and meet what were probably the remnants of the Canterlot Guard.