All the king's horses and all the king's men

Chapter 1: Naught but Beasts

A/N: Please keep in mind that this story is told from the perspective of British regulars; I do not in any way intend to offend any Americans. It’s just the mentality of the story’s day and age.

The snow was red. Both with frozen blood and the distinctive flamboyant red uniforms of dozens of his majesties regulars that lay dead and frozen on a road that led to Boston.  The only movement was that of three men clad in blue uniforms, holding muskets. They surveyed the scene before them and raised their handkerchiefs to their mouths in disgust.

“Why?” one of them spoke up “why would the commander order this? These men were trying to surrender!”

“He’s disobeying orders doing this, the war is over.” His companion spoke up “there was no honor in this.”

Finally the third man walked forward and pulled a battered, torn and bloodstained royal union flag from the cold dead fingers of a man that once used to be the proud commander of this detachment of royal dragoons and regulars. He then carefully folded the flag and placed it on the dead dragoon’s chest.

“We should leave before the beasts come for their bodies.” He said as he stood back up and heard a wolf howl in the distance.

“And what of the commander’s actions?” the first revolutionary asked solemnly

“We pray to god that another platoon doesn’t try surrendering to our most ‘honorable’ leader.” The third rebel spat as the three revolutionaries turned and began the long trek back to their encampment to report to their commander.

[Approximately one mile northwest]

“Hoi!” a man in a bright red jacket called “Hurry up Ramsay; I want to get back to my wife as soon as bloody possible!”

A young foot soldier looked up from the clear pool he was drinking from as he heard his name called. The boy was only seventeen years old but he had seen enough warfare that he might as well be forty. From under his black tricorn hat he looked up at the man who had called him, it was his friend Nicholas Bertroft who was only a few years older than him.

“Please give me a moment.” Ramsay replied in a well-mannered voice, sore from breathing the cold air.

“Right, but the commander is going to have my arse for this!” Nicholas called back happily as he walked away towards the rest of the men.

Ramsay smiled; he usually had a bright, sunny personality. It was just that he was so bloody tired. They had been walking for days if not weeks! He was accompanied by men from many different regiments, from loyalist fighters to regulars to dragoons and even two grenadiers. However the prize pumpkin of the group was inside the carriage that they hauled with them, a wounded dragoon general that had long been thought dead who had stumbled out of the woods as they were making their way to Boston.

Ramsay removed his hat; he didn’t generally like wearing anything on his head partly due to his long, curly chestnut brown hair that always grew up and out and partly because he loved the feeling of the icy cool breeze blowing through it. His light brown eyes were tired and told tales of long and sleepless nights. He finally stood and began to walk to the convoy. Ramsay stood at six foot one with broad shoulders and a determined, manly walk. His uniform was cleaner than those of his counter parts mainly because his scarlet jacket had been a gift from his aunt for when he had departed to fight in the colonies. He thought it his duty to keep it clean.

“Hello Ferris and Zane” He said as he caught up to two figures that wore brimless hats that resembled a bishop’s mitre and had large axes hanging from their belts as well as muskets slung over their backs.

“Hello!” they both called back simultaneously in loud boisterous voices. They were the famed Birch brothers, known for being a very deadly team as well as two of the most delightful men you could ever hope to meet… so long as you weren’t on the receiving end of those axes. They were the two lumberjacks turned grenadiers that the troop had found holding a position that had been abandoned months before. In the chaos and confusion of defeat there were still pockets of British forces in the colonies, however this convoy consisted of the last of them.

Their commanding officer surveyed the state of his men, apart from their tired faces and dirtied uniforms they were a shining example of his majesty’s armed forces.  He sighed and looked down at the hilt of his shining sword where his honour was engraved. It read ‘awarded to Jonathan Winthrop for bravery in battle.’ It only added to Winthrop’s mounting shame as he had to officially admit defeat in the face of a disorganized band rebellious rabble and surrender his men so that they could return to their homeland.

“Troop, FROWARD MARCH!” he yelled from his perch on a beautiful black stallion as they all began their trudge down the long and icy road, completely unaware that there were eyes watching them from a nearby ridge.

After an hour of slow trudging through snow the platoon came across a single rebel scout standing in the middle of the road. There was once a day when the platoon would have opened fire on the man but now the war was over and their only interest was to get back to their loved ones in Britain.

“Halt!” the rebel yelled “state your business.”

“We are here to surrender officially to your commanding officer.” Winthrop said grudgingly.

The rebel looked at the tired men that stood behind him, all of their faces told the same story. That they had had enough and just wanted to return home.

“Go on then…” he said stepping aside and letting the British troops march past him, when they were out of earshot he whispered “God help you…”

It was another fifteen minutes of marching before the platoon finally reached the patriot encampment. It was a large encampment that must have housed over a hundred men at its fullest. As the regulars entered the camp the jeers of the rebels made them bow their heads in shame. Finally they reached the commanders tent and they all got into a parade formation outside.

“Lads it’s been an honor serving his majesty with you, you are the finest band of soldiers Britain has to offer. And we can at least take pride in that we fought valiantly…I will now surrender our forces to the commanding officer of this encampment and when we return to England… a tot of rum for every man!” Winthrop yelled happily holding his sword to the air.

They all cheered and slapped each other’s backs as Winthrop smiled. However their cheers were silenced when a gun shot rang out. They all picked up arms and looked at their commander. His mouth was hanging open in shock; he looked down and saw the white shirt of his uniform beginning to turn red. He turned and came face to face with a portly man in the extravagant uniform of a rebel general.

“Your surrender has been rejected.” He said smiling, handing a smoking pistol to one of his aides.

“I-I feel… cold.” Were the only words Winthrop could manage before he fell face first into the snow at the general’s feet.

“You animals!” Nicholas yelled “you fuckin’ swine!”

Nicholas and Ramsay rushed forward to grab their downed leader and drag him into the circle of soldiers that were facing outwards, muskets drawn pointing at the Patriot forces bearing down on them.

“HOLD FIRE!” the patriot general yelled before turning to the redcoats who regarded him with fury in their eyes.

“You have more fire than the last band of illegitimate scum that tried to pass through here” He said “I do think I will enjoy this.”

“Enjoy what?” Ferris spat, his axe in one hand and a musket in the other.

“Why, hunting you of course!” the fat general laughed “it’s been a while since I’ve had a good hunt.”

“We are not game to be hunted!” Ramsay yelled back.

“Oh no?” the general said turning back to face the young man “you are the kings dogs! You are a band of murderers, thieves and rapists… eradicating you is a mercy you do not deserve.”

“Not all of us.” Zane said calmly “we do not represent every rapist, murderer and thief in the military as I am sure you men don’t.”

“Aye!” came the reply of the regulars and even a few patriots.

“True” the general said in a mocking voice “but just to be safe… now run rabbit, run and I do hope you can run faster than the last bunch.”

The regulars glanced at the patriots looking back at them before rushing back to their equipment. The patriots watched the regulars grab their muskets, dragoons mount their horses and loyalists man the carriage that held the wounded general as well as one disassembled cannon.

As they were leaving a patriot grabbed one of Ramsay’s arms and pulled him close.

“Listen to me there is a native settlement not half a mile north of here, they are known for helping loyalists, now make haste. The general will attack with cavalry!” he said shoving a map into Ramsay’s hands.

Ramsay looked back at the rebel “thank you.”

“GO!” man in blue insisted as he pointed Ramsay in the right direction.

Soon after the British were running in that direction, the few that had horses rode but most had to run in more than three feet of snow, the carriage clearing a path in the white blanket.

About an hour’s walk later Ramsay looked at the men around him. He knew a few of them but he couldn’t tell them apart at the moment because of the blizzard that had hit as soon as they had left the base. The men that had to walk had their heads bent down into the wind, their scarfs wrapped up to their noses and the few that had horses had dismounted and led their equine charges behind the path the carriage was making.

“Stop.” Nicholas said loudly “smoke ahead, could be the native’s camp.”

“Then let us make haste!” Ramsay called back through the wind.

“Jolly good too! I’m freezing my nips off standing ere!”  One of the Loyalists said eliciting laughs from the freezing men.

As the group approached the small settlement surrounded by wooden walls they immediately noticed the many native warriors that pointed arrows at them as they entered the settlement. None dared make too sudden a move nor reach for his weapon as they felt the tension hanging in the air. However the tension dissolved when a wizened old woman exited a large wooden building and smiled at the fatigued men in red.

“Calm my children.” She said in barely more than a whisper but it was all it took to make the native warriors disappear into their homes.

Ramsay looked around at the faces of the men around him. All of them were of the same lower rank and the only officer in the group was wounded and sleeping in the carriage. Ramsay gulped and stepped forward.

“Please, we require shelter and aid our men are starving and require medical attention. Will you help us?” he said, his voice quavering.

The old woman smiled as she walked up to him and pinched his cheek.

“Oh look at you, such a polite boy.” She mused to the muffled laughter of the rest of the men. Ramsay, embarrassed gently moved her hand away and held it in his hand, looking into her eyes imploringly.

“Please.” He repeated.

The woman sighed.

“Of course, you protected us from the men in blue, and as is our custom we will help you with whatever you need. But first come in out of the cold.” She said turning back to the large building she had exited from. Ramsay shot a worried glance at the two Birch brothers that walked up behind him.

“Listen to her; it is not wise to refuse the hospitality of the natives.”  Zane said pushing him forward towards the building the woman had entered as the dragoons went to tend to their horses in a nearby stable and the rest of the men walked into another large building where food was being offered.

As soon as Ramsay and the two grenadiers entered the building spears were being pointed at them.

“No!” the old woman yelled feebly “do not harm them, however the two with the hats of bear pelt must leave.”

“Well good luck mate!” Ferris said happily slapping Ramsay on the back “if ye need us, we’ll be in either the dining area or a brothel… is there a brothel?” he asked stupidly as the two brothers left the building.

“Now then tell me what it is you require” The woman asked sitting down on some furs nest to a scented fire.

“We are being hunted; the men in blue desire our blood while we attempt to return home.” Ramsay said “we need your help. The man hunting us has no moral compass nor is he deterred by slaughtering the innocent.”

“Ah yes” the old woman said “I know of this man, he kills out of grief and greed. His son perished in the battle with the men in red, since then he has taken revenge but he continues to kill because he realized that riches come from violence.”

“Many men have lost sons, fathers and brothers. But that is no reason to lose any more.” Ramsay said adamantly.

The old woman laughed and stood, walking to a large pot and producing some dried orange leafs. She walked up to the fire and threw then in, almost as soon as she did a cloud of heavy smoke rose to the ceiling.

“Please breathe in the spirits, they will show you the way.” She said

“The way to where?” Ramsay asked suspiciously.

The old woman smiled again “to wherever it is you wish to go.”

Cautiously Ramsay inhaled some of the smoke. At first he didn’t feel anything in particular but then his head began to spin and he began to see double.

“What have you done to me!?” he gasped as he stood and reached for his musket only to collapse before he could reach it.

When he opened his eyes again he was falling very fast, he looked down and saw that he was actually above the clouds, so high up in fact that he couldn’t see the ground beneath them.

Ramsay began screaming, one long drawn out scream as the hard ground began rushing up to meet him, and he closed his eyes in preparation for greeting deaths cold embrace. His last moments weren’t filled with thoughts of what was to become of him now or if had led a good life… they were of his mother. Oh how he would have loved to see her just one more time before he died.

“Open your eyes boy.” An ominous voice said.

Ramsay opened his eyes and looked up to see the old woman’s face looking back at him.

“A-am I not dead?” he questioned.

The old woman rolled her eyes at him. “You doubt that which you see?”

Ramsay looked around him. All he could see was a beautiful landscape that stretched on as far as the eye could see, but there was something off about it… it was too bright, too colourful.

“Where am I?” He asked the woman

“I do not know, this is your journey. It is where you and your allies must go to survive.” She replied

“How do I go about this journey?” Ramsay asked.

“First you must return… come.” She said as she faded into golden ash. Ramsay reached out to her but when he did he noticed that his hand was beginning to break down into ash as well. Soon his vision was filled with a blinding light and then…blackness…

With a gasp Ramsay awoke to the familiar scented fire that he had been inhaling from not moments before. He looked up and saw the old woman smiling back at him.

“Your friends are waiting.” She said gesturing to the entrance. Ramsay groggily got up and moved to the doorway; when he reached it he felt a strong hand grab his arm. He turned and saw a native warrior with two feathers braided into his hair.

“I am Akecheta, the leader of this tribe. You are the first white man to successfully navigate the spiritual journey. You have the heart of a wolf, and I wish to give you this…” he said removing a tomahawk from his belt. “It was the first steel my tribe has ever forged, it will aid you on your journey.”

Ramsay accepted the gift with appropriate humility and grace, uttering a respectful “thank you.”

Outside stood the group of soldiers, they were well fed and seemed to have bathed, though Ramsay didn’t know how or where. They all seemed eager to set off and were looking over their kits when Ramsay finally rejoined their ranks.

“Where in the bloody hell have you been!” Nicholas asked.

“To be honest… I haven’t a clue.” He replied

“Hoi Ramsay, I think she’s looking for you.” Another regular whispered.

At the front of the group the wizened old woman sat cross legged on the ground as her tribe finished piling up a large amount of the same dried orange leaves that he had seen the night before.

“When we leave you must set this fire ablaze.” She said, not opening her eyes as Ramsay moved up behind her. “This time however do not inhale the fumes. You will go to the place you saw; you will be safe there… but beware for once you go you cannot return.”

At this a few of the soldiers began whispering behind them, they seemed not to want to leave until they heard the telltale sound of cavalry coming their way.

“And what of your people?” Ramsay asked.

“We will leave this place.” She said “Even if we had stayed it is only a matter of time before we are forced to.”

“Once more you have my thanks.” Ramsay said as the woman smiled and began to walk away from the now deserted village.

Ramsay turned to the group of leaderless soldiers.

“Well then…now what?” one asked

“Well we can’t stay here, do you hear that.” Nicholas said “there must be over fifty horses’ coming after us.”

“Will we never see England again?” Ferris asked, saddened.

“Gentlemen!” Ramsay yelled, getting the men’s attention as he walked over past the waiting horses to the carriage at the back. Inside he pulled the king’s flag from the as yet unconscious general’s saddlebags which lay next to their owner. He stepped back in front of the men holding the flag.

“You see, wherever we go we will be home, wherever we may arrive will become part of the glorious Empire… wherever we go will become an extension of England...and our homes!” Ramsay yelled.

The men all cheered in approval as one threw a torch into the large pile of leaves which almost immediately caught ablaze. This time Ramsay didn’t inhale, his vision didn’t go black and he felt no weariness. The thick grey smoke swirled around his ankles as he looked around at his peers. They were all looking in wonder at the smoke which didn’t rise, but seemed to sink instead.  It swirled for a few more seconds before they could actually make out shapes in the thick smoke. The shapes took on the form of what could only be described as small pony foals that ran among the soldiers who took care not to step on any of them. Finally the smoke swirled around them, encircling all of them. The dragoons fought to keep their horses still as the smoke rose higher still. Finally it engulfed them all and when it cleared they were all gone.

The patriot forces arrived moments later only to find a deserted village and mocking British footprints.

For hours the smoke seemingly swirled around the hapless soldiers, their previous curiosity replaced by fear. None dared inhale as the woman had instructed, but that only served to add that they felt no need to inhale after so long to their current list of curiosities. That was when the smoke began to clear; Ramsay peered as hard as he could through the lightening mist only to be greeted by a sudden ray of bright white light that pierced the eternal grey veil. Ramsay could have sworn he heard a gasp and the flapping of massive wings. All the soldiers ran towards the light in hopes of escaping this madness, but when they finally escaped the void all they could do was rub their eyes and stare at the sight before them. They were perched on a hill overlooking a small and almost pristine village, covered in snow.

“Where in the name of Christ are we?”  Nicholas asked before being suddenly interrupted by an angered shout.

“What the hell has happened to our horses?!” a dragoon yelled. When the rest of the men turned to look back at the dragoons they saw that they were holding the reigns of not large fierce beasts but almost comical looking ponies with large eyes.

The two grenadiers burst out laughing while the rest of the regulars and loyalists stared open mouthed at the sight before them. The horses were still the same size and fit the saddle, but that was little consolation to the dragoons who held their beasts at only the highest level of prestige.

After wasting another few hours of precious time complaining the dragoons finally settled down, accepting that their pride would have to accept this particular blow. Though they would still mumble obscenities and comfort their steeds. That had always been a mystery to those who didn’t ride, Ramsay always thought it funny watching the dragoons comb their horse’s manes and quietly chat with them as if one could understand the other.

“Right then!” another regular said stepping forward, rubbing his hands together “shall we get on gentlemen” he said to quite the rabble that had emerged from the band of organized men.

“Who are you?” Ramsay asked as the man removed his scarf.

“The name’s Robert Cassowary.” He said “And might I suggest that we at least attempt to discover where we are rather that bicker and dribble like a bunch of new-borns.”

“And what would you have us do?”  Zane asked crossing his arms.

“Well I would suggest that one of the dragoons attempt to make contact with the residents of the village down there while we set up some sort of encampment.” Robert said.

“Aye, a good plan if ever I heard one, however what if we find out who occupies the town down yonder and ask if we could set ourselves up there, eh.” Ferris said, smiling.

“You know…” his brother said thoughtfully “that might just be the smartest thing you’ve ever said.” Earning Zane a punch in the gut for the crack directed at his brother.

“Very well, I will ride into the town and attempt to reason with the residents. If they do not oblige then we take them by force!” a dragoon yelled, jumping onto his horse and trotting up to where the group stood.

“What would you have me do?” he asked, smiling slightly.

“Ride into the village and do not under any circumstances harm the residents, we need their aid if we are to establish a colony. If you run into any form of hostility discharge one shot and we shall come to your aid.” Ramsay said as the dragoon spurred the horse and galloped ahead towards the village.

Meanwhile in Ponyville all of the inhabitants of the town had gathered in the town square in preparation for the winter wrap up. As usual Twilight was in charge of organizing the event.

The usual chatter of the happy ponies filled the air as she walked onto a large podium that had been erected in front of the town square.

“Alright everypony!” Twilight said happily, unfurling her wings “let’s get this winter wrapped up!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash yelled, pumping the air with her hoof.

Suddenly Big Macintosh ran up the stairs to the podium and whispered frantically into mayor mare’s ear.

“What do you mean something riding a pony?” she asked incredulously.

The silence was promptly punctuated by a distraught mare’s scream.

“What is that!” she screamed as a massive black stallion rode into the centre  of the square with a strange being dressed in red and green sitting atop the poor stallions back.

It was very intimidating because none of the ponies could see its eyes; the golden helmet it wore threw the top half of its face into shadow. It seemed to be surveying them because it finally spoke, much to the pony’s astonishment.

“Who is in command here?” it spoke in a cultured, articulated voice.

Nopony answered as it seemed to become irritated suddenly and yanked on the stallion’s reigns. The ponies gasped at this treatment of one of their own and yelled in disapproval when the oblivious dragoon brought his riding crop down on its thigh.

“Now y’all hold on right there partner!” Applejack said angrily, bringing her lasso to bear on the unsuspecting dragoon. It caught him around the middle and yanked him off of his steed. To the ponies surprise the stallion reared and galloped off towards a hill in the distance.

“Who dares dismount me!” the creature snarled with such viciousness that everypony was taken aback as it untangled itself from its bonds.

“Ah did!” Big Macintosh said, stepping in front of his sister and bringing himself to his full height. His hardened expression faltered slightly when the creature stood, a full foot taller than him.

“Ah so, you dare challenge my honour sir!” the creature said turning to Big Macintosh only to freeze as it looked at him.

“A horse!” it cried “Am I supposed to challenge a bloody equine! Where is there even the faintest honour in that?” Then the creature snorted and spun on its heel and began marching away until he was blocked by a crowd of angry ponies.

“Hey!” Berry Punch said angrily “you can’t just come in here and treat us like animals!”

“Oh really.” It said casually, crossing its arms.  “I shall treat you as I wish.” It said smiling.

“Naw ya ain’t!”  Big Mac said pushing the creature with his hoof.

“You shall regret your invasion of my privacy horse!” it said as it drew a long and slightly curved sword from its sheath on his belt. Big Mac gulped and mentally cursed his aggressive action and prepared for the blow, not willing to back down. All the while a certain Pegasus was speeding towards the creature from behind.

“I’ll teach you to threaten my friends!” Rainbow Dash said angrily through gritted teeth as she spun around and bucked the hand the creature held the sword with. There was a loud crunching sound as it dropped the sword, clutching its hand and moaning in agony. Then all the ponies seemed to latch onto the coursing wave of courage as they pushed, bucked and stomped on the red menace.

“ENOUGH!” Twilight yelled making everypony back down. “Don’t you see what you’ve done?” She said gesturing to the bloodied soldier on the ground. She walked up to it and offered her hoof to the creature. As it looked up at her its helmet fell off and Twilight saw the obviously broken nose and split lips. But most of all she noticed its eyes, eyes that burned with anger and something she recognized whenever Applejack asked for help or Rainbow Dash lost a race... tarnished pride. She was about to say something to it when it suddenly grabbed a strange instrument from its belt and pointed it at the sky. Twilight was about to ask what it did when it let out a resounding *BANG* that echoed through the town.

All of the ponies stared at the creature as it finally flopped down and lay still. Rainbow Dash landed and prodded its prone body with her hoof. Then the whispers broke out. Like a wave it enveloped the ponies as they began asking questions about the mysterious being.

“Nobody move!” Came yet another yell over the din of the ponies.

All the ponies turned and saw not one but almost two dozen of those strange creatures standing at the entrance to Ponyville.

Twilights jaw dropped as two of them moved forward and grabbed their wounded comrade under the arms, dragging him back to the others who pointed strange sticks at them.

“The first one of you to move will be fired upon!” yelled one of the red beings as it stepped forward.

“Somepony call the royal guard!” a Pegasus stallion yelled as he began to fly away. The same being that had stepped forward calmly raised the same noise making device as their wounded comrade and pointed it at the stallion. The same loud *BANG* ensued except this time the stallions wing exploded into a mess of blood, gore and feathers.

The stallion and most of the crowd screamed as he fell to the ground with a sickening *THUD*

Rainbow Dash couldn’t take her eyes off of the monster that had harmed an innocent stallion. Twilight walked up beside her and placed a hoof on her back as the creature calmly waked to the screaming stallion and examined the wound.

“Medical officer!” it yelled as another one of them ran up to him. “The wound is clean and the shot exited the other side, wrap him up and set him loose.” The creature then walked up the stairs to the podium and kneeled down in front of Mayor Mare, who in turn recoiled.

“What is the name of this settlement?” it asked in a surprisingly calm, kind voice.

“P-Ponyville” Mayor Mare replied holding back tears.

The creature then stood and walked to the center of the podium, facing the ponies.

Ramsay walked up the podium the mythical creatures had erected. At first they weren’t sure how to deal with a town inhabited entirely by intelligent equines so they resorted to using the standard address for captured settlements.

“Attention citizens of Ponyville!” Ramsay cried “you are now under the protection of his majesty the king of Great Britain and the British empire. You are free to leave if this displeases you; however I would advise that you stay as the rewards we could reap together far outweigh the negative connotations of this new colony!”

Ramsay then turned his attention to one particular pony that had caught his eye almost immediately. Her multicolored mane served as a banner to all those around her, identifying her and unfortunately for Rainbow Dash singling her out. Ramsay reached into his rucksack and produced the flag that he had acquired from the generals saddlebag.

“Fly these colors.” He ordered, handing Rainbow Dash the flag, a cold deadly look in his eye.

She looked back at him for a moment, confused as to his meaning before he repeated the request. “Fly these colors please…” when she seemed to defy his command he pointed his pistol at her head.

“Please.” He repeated.

At this Rainbow reluctantly flew up to the top of the town hall and unfastened the flag that had flown over Ponyville for so long, replacing it with the union flag.

Ramsay then turned to Ferris and nodded. The grenadier ran out of the town and returned with the dragoons.

“The settlement is ours gentlemen!” Ramsay yelled as the humans began cheer.

“HUZZAH!” they cried as twilight hastily scribbled a note and passed it to spike who sent it to Princess Celestia.

“Let us begin the fortification of this town!” Ramsay yelled as the men hurried off to retrieve the carriage and their equipment. “I fear that we shall be having some rather unwelcome company soon!”

He turned to Twilight and Rainbow Dash and smiled.

“I have to apologize for that distasteful encounter, we had intended for a peaceful meeting. However fate seemed to have different plans.” He said smiling.

“W-what are you?” Twilight whispered, terrified that she might offend the creature.

Ramsay’s expression hardened as he scowled down at twilight.

“I shall ask the questions.” He stated plainly. “By observing your behavior I would think that you are the scholar of this settlement, am I not correct?”

“Y-yes.” Twilight whispered as Ramsay reloaded the pistol in front of her eyes, making her fear the power he wielded.

“And what of you?” Ramsay said turning his attention to Rainbow Dash.

“I am the fastest flyer in all equestria.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to remain defiant, yet the crack in her voice gave Ramsay a glimpse of the fear she actually felt. He did not punish her for her defiant tone; in fact he had to admire the bravery she exhibited in the face of danger.

Ramsay chuckled “you best not tell the dragoons that, they would trade in their stallions if they found that out.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash noticed his demeanor change from tyrant to friend for the briefest second before his stoic expression replaced that of laughter.

“Very well, you will be my guides as I learn this new land. I am sure that your leaders will come eventually and attempt to regain the land they have lost.” Ramsay said before Twilight interrupted him.

“Princess Celestia will defeat you, you will regret the day that you harmed an innocent pony.” Twilight said a little more defiantly that she would have wished. To their surprise Ramsay wasn’t troubled by this at all. He smiled darkly, in a way that made both Twilight and Rainbow Dash shiver. It was the smile of one who anticipated violence and waited for it with bated breath.

“Well then, I do hope she makes haste.”

In Canterlot princess Celestia was just sitting down to relax when a letter from Twilight suddenly appeared in front of her. Immediately Celestia noticed that something was amiss, the letter wasn’t her student’s usual careful scripture. It was hastily scribbled on a piece of torn parchment that simply read ‘Ponyville under attack. Bring royal guard.’ Celestia gasped and summoned a guard to her room, telling him to fetch Shining Armor and his finest troops. Celestia was about to leave when Luna burst through the window panting.

“Sister, I saw something coming through the dream plain!” she said frantically, pacing up and down before her sister. “How is this possible, only I can traverse that domain!”

“What!” Celestia said shocked. No being alive save Luna should be able to enter the dream plain let alone negotiate that terrain. There were any number of nightmares in there, if they got out... well it wasnt worth thinking about. “It must have something to do with the trouble in Ponyville!”

“Trouble in Ponyville?” Luna asked, confused.

“Yes twilight sent me this note.” Celestia said, levitating the note over to her sister to read.

“Sister…” Luna trailed off as she read the note. “I fear that we may need the entire guard.”

“Captain Shining Armor is preparing the guard as we speak, we will find out what’s attacking Ponyville.”  Celestia said a determined look in her eye.

“Then we march on Ponyville?” Luna asked.

“No, though we will be ready to fight I would prefer it if no ponies were harmed.”  Celestia said confidently as she and her sister left her room and moved towards the courtyard in front of the palace. Outside there were about one hundred guards standing ready. Not counting those who would remain to guard the city and those stationed in other villages and cities.

Shining Armor stood at the head of the group, his posture exhibiting the nerves that he actually felt.

“Princess the guards are ready.” Shining Armor said walking up to the two rulers.

“Very good captain” Luna said as she looked over the guards armed with swords, spears and crossbows.

Shining Armor moved closer to the princesses and whispered “My ponies are getting nervous, what are we going up against?”

“To be honest…” Princess Celestia said “I have no idea.”