Chapters 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.”
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Mane six looked down from a hill bordering Ponyville. The settlement was almost unrecognizable, as it had turned out the two men with axes were lumberjacks before they enlisted and had decided to keep their axes for all the usefulness they had proved when erecting new forts in the frontier. They put their skills to good use and went to work on Whitetail wood. In almost a single night Ponyville was surrounded by a high wall. All of the ponies were forced to live under a curfew that started and ended at Ramsay’s whim.
However, for all his faults they couldn’t deny that he was a fair leader, though disliked among the ponies he had kept order and dispensed justice with swift brutality. They were also free to leave whenever they wanted, however it came at a price. Twilight still remembered Ramsay’s words echoing in her head when he put forth new laws, all of which were in the name of a king Twilight had never heard of.
~.~
The young redcoat stood on the podium directly in front of the town hall; the snow was blowing around him and the ponies of Ponyville as they were forced to listen to him reading out the laws.
“And furthermore you are free to leave the crown’s care whenever you wish, however if you do then all of your possessions and your home will be seized. It is also likely that a matter of taxation will arise after the establishment of a stable and permanent chain of command.” As Ramsay finished reading from the scroll he rolled it up and stole a hardened look at the crowd. “Are there any questions as to the laws now in place?”
Twilight immediately raised her hoof, eliciting a wave of whispers and murmurs to spread among the ponies.
“Yes, I have a question!” She said loudly.
“By all means speak.” Ramsay said with a motion of his free hand.
“What laws will keep you and your friends in check?” At this there was another spread of whispering among the ponies which was silenced by one of the regulars firing his musket into the air.
“As men in the king’s service we are bound to be gentlemen to those who cooperate, anyone-“ Ramsay continued, turning to the mass of regulars, loyalists, dragoons and grenadiers “-and I repeat anyone who would harm a local without reason will be punished severely, if you are found guilty of killing a local, regardless of position or rank, you will be shot. Am I clear?”
The redcoats all murmured their agreement and the Birch brothers both let out a loud “Hear, hear!”
“Very well, as you may know I am of the highest rank until the general awakens, at which point he will assume responsibility and command.” Ramsay continued.
~.~
That had been two days ago, and the princesses still hadn’t arrived.
“I heard that they eat chickens!” Fluttershy suddenly said, breaking the silence. “I had to hide Philomena and all my other chickens from them before it was too late!”
“Yes and they made me make four more of that flag they have flying over the town hall!” Rarity said.
“Well ah don’t know what ta think.” Applejack said “ever since they got here business has been boomin’. Ah think I sold all of my Apples to some of them ‘dragoons’ whatever that means.”
“You mean those big meanies that ride ponies!” Pinkie Pie said, her face clearly expressing her distain at the thought “they don’t get a pinkie party!” she continued turning her nose up at a group of regulars that they could see walking below them.
“Guys be quiet here comes one of them!” Twilight whispered loudly as she saw Ramsay stalking up the hill, clearly in a bad mood.
“Good morning.” He said, sounding more pleasant than he looked when climbing up the hill.
“What do you want?” Rainbow Dash asked angrily.
“I only desired to engage in pleasant socializing with you.”
“And what makes you think we WANT to so-socio-socio-BLAH with you!” Pinkie Pie said angrily glaring at Ramsay who laughed a little and looked at the small insignificant Pink mare that had challenged him. She looked adorable, with a pink mane and a lighter pink coat.
He sighed, “Very well, I was hoping to make this pleasant but it seems that won’t have any of that.” Ramsay said, his voice conveying the stress of his new command.
“Some of the scouting parties have spotted a large force moving towards us; it would seem that they are led by two beings, similar in form to you.” He said pointing at Twilight who in turn clenched her new wings to her body. After a few minutes of nopony answering Ramsay sighed yet again.
“Since it is obvious to me that none of you actually want to cooperate I shall take my leave.” Ramsay said hanging his head and turning to walk away.
“Wait!” Rarity called “we didn’t mean it like that…”
“Do not insult my intelligence. I may be different than you but I am not stupid, I know that you all silently despise us and that you probably wish to see us hang from the highest tree in the forest.” Ramsay said turning to look at the ponies with a look akin to that of a man who had given up on a task.
“Oh no, we would never want that!” Fluttershy said shocked.
“I beg your pardon?” Ramsay asked looking up slightly.
“Hey none of us was you to…like you know…die.” Rainbow Dash said “we just don’t like what you’re doing to our town.”
“But we provided security and stability…” Ramsay said.
“Don’t you see that we don’t need security, sure we have our share of problems but none that actually needed violence to solve…” Twilight said taking a step forwards.
“And what of your opposing kingdoms?” Ramsay asked, slightly shaken.
“There are none” Rarity said smiling.
“H-how is that possible?” Ramsay asked, shock completely absorbing him. “A kingdom with no enemies, you must have an extremely competent ruler.”
“Yes we do!” Twilight said happily “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the best rulers we could ask for.”
“Well then I would hope that we could reach a formal, civilized agreement on how to treat this situation.” Ramsay said, a smile creeping onto his face.
The ponies then invited Ramsay to sit with them as they pointed out Canterlot from the top of the hill, they told stories of their exploits, careful so as not to mention any of them being in any way important, especially Twilight. Being a princess would mean that she could be an important bargaining chip for these creatures. Their exchange of pleasantries was cut short by a sudden gust of wind that blew snow into their faces. It seemed that there was a storm brewing. Ramsay took this moment to invite the ponies into the converted town hall, which now doubled as the regulars’ headquarters.
As they walked towards it the ponies looked around at the newly erected wooden walls that surrounded the town. At first they thought this would be no problem for the pegasi or the unicorns, however as it turned out a few of the loyalists were either sharp shooters or duck hunters. A large target like a Pegasus would pose no problem. As for the unicorns… well save to say that they would simply be shot if they tried to enter without passing through the checkpoints.
The group finally settled down in the mayor’s old office, which had now been remade to look more akin to that of an English dwelling. Ramsay poured them some tea and left for a brief period to give some to the men on watch around the building. When he returned they all sat down to resume their storytelling and just as they were about to finish talking about their first encounter with discord the loud, fast paced beat of a drum sounded all over the town. Ramsay suddenly bolted upright, his face full of both anticipation and worry.
“They’re here.” He stated simply, walking over to a hat stand, removing his ammunition and weaponry from it and belting it to his waistline. The ponies watched as he shook his arms out and took a deep breath before moving to the door, the ponies in tow.
As they reached the main entrance they saw all of the other men arranging themselves into a standard combat position outside in the snow. As Ramsay began to make his way to the doorway Zane suddenly burst through a door.
“I’ve seen them, at least eighty, at most… a hundred.” Zane said calmly, fondling a royal union flag that Rarity had kindly or not so kindly been forced to make for them. Zane then quickly left to join the rest of the men.
Ramsay sighed as he looked at the six ponies before him. The six ponies all looked back at Ramsay whose expression had once again become sullen.
“It would seem that I was mistaken about your leader being competent.” He whispered.
“No…” Twilight said taking a step towards the human as he made his way towards the door.
“Ramsay, wait!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew quickly to land in front of Ramsay who glowered back at her.
“Out of the way GIRL!” He spat.
“You don’t have to do this!” Rainbow pleaded.
“The princesses will forgive you if you surrender!” Rarity said as well as she stepped forward.
“Somehow I doubt that we can evade punishment at this time.” Ramsay said as he gently pushed Rainbow Dash out of the way.
When Ramsay reached his men her was immediately pointed to the front. Reluctantly he took the position at the lead, flanked by the two grenadiers. Ferris held a drum while Zane held some sort of flute. Behind them private Cassowary held a large Royal Union flag.
“Right then” Ramsay began “Let’s get on with the unpleasantries of battle.”
The two brothers began to play the Grenadiers March as the men began to move forwards. Directly behind Ramsay and the grenadiers were the regulars. They were followed by the loyalists who were in turn followed and flanked by the dragoons.
Steadily, and to the beat of the music they marched towards the opening gate. Ramsay had prepared for this and had a little surprise in the event of a direct assault.
~.~
The two regal Alicorn sisters looked at the sight before them. Never, since the beginning of their reign had any creature made a formal act of violent warfare, and yet here it lay before them like an unpleasant stain on their permanent records. The Royal guard was perched atop the same hill the regulars had first discovered the town from. From that position they could see the town beyond the wall.
“Twi…” Shining Armour said quietly as he looked over the wall at the Ponyville library where he hoped his sister hadn’t been harmed.
“Do not worry captain, they wouldn’t dare harm her.” Princess Celestia said with a comforting smile. Suddenly her expression became cold and she looked once more at Ponyville “And if they have then they're gonna have to deal with a very angry princess.”
The ponies all looked at Princess Celestia as she said this, having never heard her this angry before Luna thought it a good time to begin organizing for any confrontation that may arise.
“Well then it seems that they are going to remain inside their fortifications, prepare the siege equipment.” Luna said before turning to Celestia.
“Sister what do you…” Luna trailed off when she saw Celestia glaring at the town.
“What is it?” Shining Armour asked.
“They aren’t going to hide; they intend to meet us on the battlefield.” She said coldly.
“They can’t possibly intend to do that.” Luna said, shocked “we outnumber them! I only saw about fifty of them crossing the plains.”
“We don’t know what they are.” Celestia reminded her younger sibling “for all we know they don’t know any better.”
“Princess” Shining Armour suddenly said, fear entering his voice at he pointed a hoof at the gates which now opened.
The royal guards readied themselves as the sound of music reached their ears. The guards glanced at the princesses who looked intently at the entrance to Ponyville as a large amount of red clad beings emerged. The beat of a war drum sounded loud and instilled fear into the ponies. All of the guards looked to their leader who in turn glanced at the princesses.
“Princess Celestia.” Shining Armour whispered “what are they?”
The two princesses’ jaws dropped as they looked at the organized units of men march towards them through the snow.
It took a while for princess Celestia to answer but when she did it came out as a broken whisper.
“H-Humans.”
~.~
As they left the gates they saw the full extent of the military facing them. The ponies seemed almost Roman in nature, using crossbows and other outdated weapons rather than gunpowder and flint. However the one thing the regulars immediately noticed was the lack of discipline. Of course they had formed a line but it was sloppy, each platoon leader seemed to govern his own small army rather than obey their commanding officer. This would give them another desperately needed edge.
Ramsay’s jaw slackened as he looked at no less than a hundred ponies standing no more than two hundred yards from the gates. He was thankful that he had been trained to resist the impulse to run.
“Ramsay” Nicholas said walking up to stand next to his friend. “What’s the plan?”
“How should I bloody well know?” Ramsay whispered back angrily “who went insane and made me the commander?!”
“I think it was mutually agreed that you should take command after you saved our arses mate.” Nicholas smiled. “Come on then we’ll give em’ a right good thrashing and get along home.”
“I just hope Zane’s idea works.” Ramsay said.
Finally the soldiers came to a stop about fifty meters from the pony lines; Ramsay could clearly see their leaders. A figure that demanded respect on the battlefield, towering over the other guards were two majestic Alicorns. He would have brought up his looking glass had he not seen the white one look directly at him with a burning in her eyes that would have made even the most seasoned of men think twice.
“DIVIDE!” Ramsay yelled, collecting himself and focusing on the plan. “GROUPS OF EIGHT!”
The men split into three groups consisting of eight men each, with four crouching at the front and four standing at the back. Each group stood next to the other, providing a wall of red-coated fury with the dragoons lining up on the far left wing of the line.
~.~
Princess Celestia looked at the humans that stood before her and stuttered something that sounded like ‘Oh no…’
“Sister what do we do?” Luna whispered, sounding slightly worried.
“Try to convince them to surrender quietly.” Celestia said as she, her sister and Shining Armour walked forwards to the middle of the battlefield.
On the other side the humans seemed to converse before finally one began walking forward with two larger humans flanking him on each side. One of the two held a flag and the other held a large menacing axe with a drum at his side.
When they reached each other at the middle of the battlefield they did nothing but gaze at the other in quiet awe. Finally it was princess Celestia that broke the silence.
“I never thought I would see a human. You are supposed to be ancient myths and legends.” She said looking coldly at Ramsay who in turn shot her a cold, calculating smile.
“And yet here we are.” He said “I must say it is an honour to meet you and your sister.” He continued as he nodded at Luna.
“How did you get here?” Celestia asked, more forcefully than before. Though her tone would make anypony do her bidding it had quite the opposite effect on the human. Ramsay chuckled and shook his head.
“I cannot say.” Ramsay replied.
“Very well, then how do you know of me?” She continued.
“Oh your… student provided all the necessary answers.” Ramsay said, observing her reaction. He saw what he wanted when she gasped quietly and took a miniscule step back.
“If you have harmed Princess Twilight…” Celestia said in a quiet yet angry voice before being cut off by Ramsay who spoke in a quiet taunting voice as he revelled in the newfound information.
“She didn’t tell me she was of any significance, a princess no less! Well I shall have to pay a visit to her before this day is through.”
“If you so much as lay a finger on a single hair of her mane I swear I will dispense justice without restraint myself.”
Ramsay tried not to show how hard the coldness and sincerity of the words had hit him but he knew that with over one thousand years of experience the princess would have noticed his reaction. In an effort to redeem and refocus himself Ramsay then began bartering.
“Pull back your forces or we will all die here.”
Celestia looked back at him and responded in an equally emotionless tone.
“You should know that I cannot do that.”
“Very well” He said crisply “I’m sure young Twilight would love to cooperate…well, she will after I’m through with her.” Ramsay looked at Princess Celestia closely; his threat was, of course, a bluff. He could never hurt such a harmless creature, angry as he was at her hiding her true status from him.
“You, you wouldn’t!” Celestia challenged.
Ramsay simply looked back at her and raised his eyebrows.
“Wouldn’t I?”
He took Celestia hanging her head to be an adequate response
“Now then, this land is now part of the British Empire; you have my promise as a gentleman that we will neither harm nor expand further into your land for the duration of my command.”
“And what of my student?!” Celestia asked, taking a small step forwards.
“She will remain under our care until your forces withdraw.”
Suddenly Luna; tired of all the bartering that was going on stepped up beside her sister and glared at the human.
“And what is to stop us from attacking and overwhelming you? We both outnumber you and have the love of our subjects as added advantages!”
Ramsay sighed and looked at the two regal Alicorns.
“I am disappointed; I was told on good authority that you would be reasonable and forgiving princesses. It would seem that I was mistaken in believing this assumption, you would see us either die or be sent into the wilderness without provisions.”
The two princesses suddenly felt a pang of guilt. They knew that he was right on that one point, they had both let anger dictate their words and actions and in doing so had actually threatened military violence for the first time in their peaceful reign.
“I-I…” Celestia stuttered before Ramsay turned his back to her.
“Do not waste my time with talk. I have finished with this conversation.” He said as he began walking back to his companions.
“Don’t you dare turn your back on the princesses!” Shining Armour yelled taking a step forward.
Ramsay slowly turned and stared directly at the captain of the guard.
“You may attack, however I warn you that you will not achieve victory here through military conquest. We have been fighting long before we came to this pristine land! Your peace has made you soft, and leaders must be strong!” He continued, clenching his fist in the air to make a point of strength before turning once again and beginning to move back to his men.
“Sometimes it requires a caring heart to be strong.” Celestia whispered making Ramsay double back slowly “you may have had leadership thrust upon you but we are the same. You just can’t handle the pressure of knowing that all these beings depend on you and you alone. So I will ask you, as one leader to another, please leave.”
Ramsay walked up to Celestia and bowed.
“It seems I was incorrect, you are a great leader.” He said taking her hoof in his hand and gently placing a kiss on it. He then stood to his full height and smiled maliciously “But I have no intention of giving up this land.”
Ramsay then turned to Luna and did the same, bowing and kissing her hoof lightly. He then began the short trek back to his men yelling as he went.
“I await your response with bated breath!”
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Princess Celestia looked at the retreating redcoat as he rejoined his men. The two emotions that were most prominent in her were boiling anger and a sort of pity. It seemed that the humans had, as of yet, not realized that they couldn’t return to their land. They continued to serve a king and an empire that they would never see and that would never be able to acknowledge their achievements. She watched as a few of them moved into a circle to confer about something. She turned to Luna and whispered
“Sister, I have made you the commander of the Equestrian Guard for a reason. What in your opinion should we do?”
Luna looked at the humans with an assessing look on her face.
“They seem to be armed with naught but spears and blades. They also seem to lack armour…” She mumbled more to herself than to Celestia. “I think we should advance the line, we will be able to assess their true intentions by observing their reaction.
Celestia nodded and turned to Shining Armour. Looking him in the eye she said “Captain they are not to be harmed if possible. My subjects take absolute priority but that doesn’t mean that we can’t avoid bloodshed, as you know I hate violence.”
Shining Armour nodded and threw up a salute and ran to the front of the line of ponies. Looking at the humans and leveling their spears they began to move forwards in a slow march.
Celestia and Luna looked across the snow covered field and noticed the humans’ sinister smiles as they lowered their supposed spears and pushed their ends into their shoulders. Realization struck Celestia as she saw Ramsay suddenly spin around and look at her with a look of shock and disbelief. Even at the distance the two sisters could see his face go white as he began running towards the line of redcoats, waving his arms in the air and yelling incoherently.
~.~
“Ramsay, they’re advancing!” One of the dragoons yelled, making Ramsay spin around to face the ponies. He looked at Celestia in disbelief; he hadn’t expected them to call his bluff. He then noticed the regulars and loyalists level their weapons, his face went as white as the snow around him as he watched his plans fall apart before him. He began running to the line of redcoats yelling for them to hold fire. Ramsay wasn’t willing to harm these innocent creatures... yet.
“NO!” He yelled, diving for the closest musket and yanking it out of the regular’s hands.
However it was already too late. The sound of flint and igniting gunpowder filled the air before being followed by the dreaded *CRACK-BANG* of the shot itself. Ramsay was forced to watch as the fore most line of ponies fell, screaming into the snow. Looking at the enemy Ramsay saw dabs of red here and there as pony blood was spilled, melting through the snow and turning the beautiful arid landscape into a ruined canvas. There was one consolation though as he looked upon his fallen foes, he saw that all of them were moving and screaming. At least this meant that by some miracle they hadn’t killed any as far as he could tell.
“YOU FOOL!” Ramsay screamed into the face of the closest redcoat. Suddenly though he felt a warm tingling in the back of his neck. Slowly he turned on the spot, his eyes immediately drawn to the source of his discomfort. Across the field Princess Celestia glared at Ramsay. Though she had seen him try to stop the bloodshed she still blamed him for her wounded ponies. Soon the heat built into a burning pain as Ramsay and Celestia looked into each other’s eyes. Ramsay felt a stabbing pain in his mind and began to swoon. His friends and allies immediately supported him, worried as to what was wrong. Ramsay blinked his eyes. Every time he closed them he found himself seemingly floating in a celestial, starry void. In his visions he saw Celestia standing before him; though in truth she still stood across the field. In his vision he saw what looked to be a sparkly purple mist shift from Celestia to him. When it began to seep into him he suddenly felt a mixture of emotions; hate, anger and most of all, greed.
In his pain he only managed to convey one sentence.
“Retreat…”
At this the redcoats all stole furtive glances at one another before turning and bolting back for the gate. At that very moment the ponies charged, running across the field towards Ponyville. Soon all of the regulars were inside of the protective barricade and were in the process of closing the gate. At that moment Ramsay had recovered inexplicably and jumped to his feet. The others all looked at him curiously, wondering what happened and why Celestia had that effect on him. He quickly ran to the middle of the entrance and looked through the rapidly closing gap.
In only the briefest of moments Ramsay had determined that they wouldn’t be able to close the door before the equine guards reached them. However they had a plan in the case of this circumstance and were ready. In an instant the infantrymen wheeled eight pounder cannon into the gateway. The ponies saw the weapon and scattered just in time, the gun fired and recoiled, sending the ball thundering inches over the ponies’ heads. The ball then bounced off of the ground and continued…right into the carriages loaded with the siege equipment. The old, unused wood of the pony weapons gave and crumbled before the force of the shot. Before the ponies could even recover from the shock the gates had already closed with a defying *THUD*.
~.~
Princess Celestia had long since stopped paying attention. She had just felt all of her negative energy that had been building up recently dissipate, leaving her feeling oddly content. She looked over at Ramsay and noticed something purple fade into his skin. Soon though she fell back into reality and gasped. Looking down she watched her royal guards attempted to batter the gates down to little effect. She then looked over to the destroyed carriages, still attempting to dismiss the strange occurrence between her and the human.
“Captain” Princess Celestia said turning to Shining Armour “do we have any other siege equipment?”
“No you’re majesty; that was it.” He replied.
“What do we do?” Celestia said, her tone was that of surrender as she looked at the town before her. She couldn’t risk any more ponies after she saw what the human weapons could do. And if the look on Ramsay’s face said anything it was that the fact that nopony was killed was nothing short of miraculous.
“Sister…” Luna said quietly, shuffling her hooves as if she was nervous about something.
“What is it Luna, do you have an idea? Please tell me; I can’t bear to see anypony suffer.” Celestia said, her voice hopeful, almost pleading. Luna knew how much Celestia cared for her subjects. Seeing them colonized then seeing half her guard cut down was beginning to show through her impeccable face of calm.
“Well there is spell I know of and have power over, however I would advise against it because it is… well…cruel.” Luna said in barely more than a whisper, forcing both Celestia and Shining Armour to lean closer just to hear.
“What is it?” Shining Armour asked as the wounded guards passed behind him on stretchers.
Luna looked between the captain of the royal guard and her sister. Soon she began hyperventilating as she shook her head, almost violently.
“No, not even Nightmare Moon dared use it…”
“Sister please tell us.” Celestia urged, desperate to help her subjects who even now she was sure were bearing the punishment of the invaders. At this Luna sighed and said a single word that would change the tide of the battle.
“Alright.”
~.~
Ramsay and the redcoats all breathed out a sigh of relief when they heard the thudding on the other side of the gate cease.
“Well” Ferris said, trying to catch his breath “that could have gone better.”
Ramsay suddenly felt a violent surge of anger as he remembered the newly discovered information. He stalked towards Twilight’s library, causing a crowd of both ponies and humans to trail after him, wondering what could have possibly angered him so.
Twilight sat in her library reading a book and having a cup of tea when the door suddenly flew open so hard that it rattled in its hinges.
She gasped as Ramsay stepped through it; she had never seen him more livid than this. She was so shocked that she forgot about her teacup that floated just before her mouth. Suddenly Ramsay smiled at her. The smile was in no way kind, it was the kind of smile one wore just before dispensing pain.
“Are you enjoying your tea princess?” He asked, putting emphasis on the ‘Princess’ and clasping his hands before him.
“I…I…” Twilight said, still shocked at the sight of Ramsay. She could almost feel the anger radiating off of him.
“You’re case of informational lockjaw cost us this battle!” He screamed, flipping the table in the library and making Twilight scream.
Twilight backed into a corner and Ramsay advanced on her. The sounds of struggle wafted from the library. The commotion was so loud that it drew Nicholas to the doorway.
“Ramsay lay off, it wasn’t her fault…” He began until Ramsay rounded on him.
“Get the hell out of my sight private Bertroft!” He screamed so loudly that the redcoat disappeared instantly. Ramsay then turned back to twilight and grabbed her by the horn, dragging her to the door. He was so rough that Twilight actually began crying. He dragged her outside to the astonishment of the crowd and marched up to the dragoons.
“Fire the library and the homes of any cretins that try to stop you!”
Every human and pony looked at Ramsay silently for a moment before the dragoons began to look for torches.
“NO!!!” Twilight screamed, tears streaming down her face as she tried to pull away from the human. She even tried to teleport; however the pain in her horn broke her concentration, preventing her from focusing on casting the spell. In response Ramsay dragged her before him and hefted her off of the ground by her horn.
“Shut Up!” He bellowed into her face silencing her instantly.
“Hey!” Spike yelled, running out of the library and unleashing a flurry of underpowered, feeble blows on Ramsay’s leg.
Ramsay drew his leg back and let loose a savage kick, it connected with spikes stomach and he fell back in a heap, clutching his stomach and retching up his breakfast. In the back the dragoons threw lit torches through the windows of the library, setting the dry wood and the books ablaze.
“Let this be a lesson to those who conspire against the crown!” Ramsay yelled before dragging Twilight to the town hall. When they arrived Ramsay flung Twilight into a winged chair. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head accompanied by a voice that was both soothing yet demanding.
“This is her fault…” The voice whispered “it was your first command and it could have been you’re victory…”
“Yes…” Ramsay mumbled. Twilight stared at him with tears in her eyes; she immediately deduced that this was abnormal behavior. The human was talking to himself and seemed to be lost in thought, his sentances were coming out in short bursts, as if he were responding to an unheard conversation.
“Ramsay…” Twilight said cautiously “are you okay?”
Ramsay suddenly spun around to face her. His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at her.
“She’s right, it’s your fault!” He yelled pointing an accusing finger at Twilight.
“Who is she?” Twilight asked, fearing for her own life.
"Its always the same" He continued ranting, thuming his chest with his hands "Its always either me or them, them or MEEEE!"
Suddenly he glared at Twilight. It was then that she saw it, his pupils, they had elongated into a reptillian shape and his once chestnut brown eyes had turned a dark midnight blue.
“I demand satisfaction!” Ramsay finally said angrily, pulling his pistol off of his belt and pointing it at Twilight’s head.
Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the end. She heard a loud *BANG*and knew she was done for. After a while though she began to wonder why she wasn’t feeling any different. She opened one eye to see Ramsay lying unconscious on the floor. Standing over him was the largest of the redcoats; Zane flexed his hand, shaking it out. It seemed that Ramsay’s pistol had discharged into a nearby wall.
“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie yelled and she and the rest of the Mane six appeared from behind Zane. Twilight embraced each and every one of them, tears streaking down her face as she did.
“What drove the man to this?” Zane asked, kneeling over Ramsay’s unconscious form.
“H-He kept talking to himself…” Twilight said, still being held by all her friends.
“It is not unheard of; men developing some form of mental illness.” Zane pondered. Soon though he turned to Twilight and apologized for Ramsay’s actions and for the damage done to her library. Apparently the dragoons had only just set it alight when the other regulars insisted that they put it out. Surprisingly it didn’t take much to sway the minds of the cavalrymen and they put it out with only minimal damage to the exterior.
"However" Zane continued "I’m sorry to say that the bulk of your literature has been destroyed by the flames."
~.~
After a few minutes they had successfully manacled Ramsay to the flagpole outside the town hall and were now waiting for one of the few beings Twilight thought could help with this situation.
Zecora looked over the unconscious human, occasionally tapping him or sprinkling some mystical powder on him. To say that the platoon medic al officer was skeptical about her methods was an understatement.
Soon though Zecora tried something else, she placed her forehead against Ramsay’s and closed her eyes. In an instant she suddenly drew back with a gasp, moving away from the sleeping form as quickly as possible.
“Well Zecora, did you find anything?” Twilight asked.
“yes” She whispered, hanging her head before turning to the amassed humans.
“Tell me of all the men in the platoon was he the only one that did swoon?”
“Aye” The redcoats all affirmed as Zecora’s fears were realized
“Then he is doomed for this the essence of Nightmare Moon.” Zecora said, making the ponies all recoil and the humans stare at her with curiosity in their eyes.
“I have a potion here that will quell the fear, but be warned and filled with fright, for the cure won’t last for but a fortnight.” Zecora said, pouring some viscous liquid down his throat. After the potion disappeared down Ramsay’s gullet his eyes immediately snapped open and he strained against his metal bonds. He retched heavily and threw up. The regulars all gasped when they saw the discoloration in his vomit, it was a dark purple.
“Is he possessed?” One loyalist said, backing away from the manacled human.
“In a way” Twilight said, explaining how Nightmare Moon was a manifestation of the worst emotions, and wondering how she could reappear if they had destroyed her.
“Then why don’t ya use them ‘elements of ‘armony you was talking bout?” A regular asked, stepping forwards.
“We can’t, not safely. You see you attacked Ponyville by choice, not design. So if we were to use the elements of harmony to purge Nightmare Moon then Ramsay would be turned to stone. And with him being a non-magical being the process would either be permanent or cause severe bodily harm. It could even kill him!” Twilight said, starting a wave of murmurs to spread among the troops.
“So what do we do?” Ferris asked, looking strangely forlorn as he looked again to the closed gate, as if he could see the army that stood behind it.
“We hold until he recovers, as of now we keep watch.” Nicholas said, hefting his musket over one shoulder.
The Mane six turned to the humans and looked at them sadly.
“Why can’t you just surrender?” Twilight asked “Hasn’t there been enough suffering?”
Zane turned to face the small pony and sighed. Silently he shook his head and walked off to join his men muttering something that sounded like ‘you wouldn’t understand’.
When they had all gone to patrol the wall the girls turned to face each other.
“Well you have to admire their resolve.” Rarity said, looking at the redcoats as they went about their business. Their conversation was soon disrupted by a moan from Ramsay’s motionless body. Tentatively Twilight moved next to him and gave him a soft poke, eliciting another moan from him. Soon he began to truly stir as his eyes fluttered open again. After a few minutes he looked at Twilight blankly before his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.
“Oh god what have I done!” He said miserably, tears welling up in his eyes. Ramsay was no stranger to violence; he had fired people’s houses before and watched their lives were erased before his cleansing flame. However there was something about these equines that made him feel as if he had a duty to ensure that they would not come to any harm. And yet he felt so conflicted now, one half of his mind screamed for him to calm down while the other spoke in that serpentine, alluring voice, telling him to vent his anger and frustration on the colourful ponies.
“I-I am no longer fit to command men, lead troops into battle… I hereby relinquish my command.” He said quietly, slumping down in his bonds.
Twilight looked at her friends faces after he said this; they all looked as torn as Twilight felt. She was conflicted, more so that even when Princess Celestia proposed turning discord. Part of her felt gleeful at watching the cause of her pain suffer, as much as she hated to admit it. While the other felt sorry that he had to go through all of this turmoil due to something beyond his control.
“I’m sorry Twilight; I know not what came over me. Now please leave me be, I desire to be alone.” Ramsay said, slumping even further in his bonds.
The girls all looked at each other, pity in their eyes. However they heeded Ramsay’s world and left him be.
~.~
Later that night Luna stood alone atop the hill, behind her stood Celestia and Shining Armour. When Luna had explained her ‘forbidden’ spell Celestia was so aghast that she immediately insisted that she not use it. Shining Armour on the other hand wasn’t so resistant after he had seen Twilight’s library go up in flames. And soon he had convinced Celestia to allow the use of the spell for the good of her citizens.
Luna looked in the direction of Ponyville and closed her eyes. She focused on the humans and gritted her teeth in concentration. Her horn glowed a dark blue before suddenly becoming as silver as the moons light. It continued getting brighter until a palpable sheen was emitted from it. When it reached its peak it fired a bolt of silvery white light towards the moon at a lightning’s pace, soon it disappeared into the sky. Just when everypony was wondering if it worked the moon suddenly glowed and shone brightly over all equestria.
~.~
“What the bloody hell was that?” Nicholas asked the loyalist on duty who shrugged in response.
“Urgh” Nicholas moaned, turning to head back into the town “I’m going back to bed, keep a sharp eye out for those ponies, I don’t fancy having my throat slit in my sleep.”
Nicholas went back into the town hall and found his hammock. Gingerly he stepped into it a let a sigh of content. He closed his eyes briefly, but before long his brow furrowed and his eyes opened. Grumbling in annoyance at his insomnia he got out of his hammock tiredly. Shakily he walked back towards the door, intending to swap his watch with the guard on duty. However he was stopped in his tracks when he heard a moan come from a nearby bed. He turned and was shocked to find the general sitting up in his bed looking around curiously. Nicholas rushed to his side; soon he noticed all of his peers emerge from their respective bedchambers.
“I’m guessing none of you lads could sleep neither, eh?” Nicholas said look at their tired faces.
~.~
It had been fifteen days since Luna cast her spell and the ponies were seeing less and less local intervention from the redcoats. All the ponies remembered the strange events of the first night. The humans had all stormed into the street and summoned twilight so loudly that they had roused all of Ponyville. It seemed that they couldn’t get any sleep. Quickly they ordered her to cast a sleeping spell on some of their number. Needless to say Twilight was shocked when the selected test subjects didn’t fall into the embrace of unconsciousness.
As time went on they seemed to become frustrated. They began harassing everypony that cast a sidelong glance at them, seizing anything that they found even vaguely obstructive. Soon though the frustration gave way to suffering, ponies actually began offering help to the distressed men to no avail. They were beginning to look more and more dishevelled. Their eyes were bloodshot and noticeable stubble became clear on their faces. It was on the evening of the thirteenth day that one of the regulars finally collapsed.
It was young Robert Cassowary who fell. He was overlooking the crowded market place when it happened, as it was customary for at least one redcoat to stand in the centre of the square during market day to keep the peace and, supposedly, to quell any talk of rebellion against the British forces. The normally attentive, helpful young man was instead of going about his usual duties of aiding mares carry their purchases, was standing awkwardly, leaning heavily against his musket. It was Bon Bon and Lyra that finally noticed something wrong. They approached him and asked him kindly if something was wrong. When he didn’t respond Lyra walked up to him and tugged on the folds of his jacket. When she did the young Englishman teetered and fell, face forward into the dirt at the feet of the two ponies. His tricorn hat caught in the wind and bounced a few feet away from his body.
~.~
Ever since then more and more of the unfortunate redcoats had been brought to the town hall in a sleepless stupor. Twilight had examined them extensively and found out something incredible. It seemed that their bodies had collapsed due to sheer exhaustion, but their minds were still active, it seemed that an ancient and powerful magic that was far beyond Twilight was keeping them landlocked in a tortuous bay of awareness. To explain it to the other soldiers she managed to dull it down to ‘they are so tired that they collapse but are still unable to sleep.’
When they asked her what was preventing them from getting any sleep she stated that an extremely rare and powerful magic was the cause of their insomnia. A magic that twilight simply couldn’t break. On the fourteenth day things had gotten really bad, most of the humans were now incapacitated and some had crumbled into the abyss of insanely laughing and giggling in a corner. Those that hadn’t yet given in to exhaustion were simply too tired to do anything and spent their days slumped in chairs, waiting their turn at either a tortuous, sleepless paralysis or insanity. Finally though the regulars had banned all ponies from entering the town hall, including Twilight and that was the last anypony saw of the redcoats for the next twelve hours, save for the thudding of hammers as they barred themselves in. later on they heard a single shot ring out, marking an end to any and all noise from within the hall.
~.~
‘Today was the day’ Luna thought as the pony forces marched carefully towards Ponyville, ready to bolt at the sound of the first shot. To their immense happiness no shots were fired as Celestia, Luna and Shining Armour approached the gate.
Celestia’s horn glowed as she charged up a spell and let loose it against the wooden barrier. The gate immediately caved and fell in a shower of splinters and wooden shards. When the dust cleared the three leading ponies gasped. Before them was Ponyville, in pristine condition. Some ponies even looked away from their daily business before immediately bowing to the princesses.
“Where is Twilight Sparkle?!” Celestia said loudly so that everypony could hear.
“Princess” Rarity yelled, running up to them from the crowd and bowing quickly “thank heavens you’re here.”
“Rarity” Celestia said anxiously “where’s Twilight?”
“She’s in the library princess. I was just helping her repair it, she isn’t happy with the damages done to it though, I must say that I haven’t seen her this angry since her first encounter with the pinkie sense.”
With that they all trotted towards the Ponyville library, as the royal guard trailed behind the princesses the ponies of Ponyville all emerged and began cheering for their liberators. When they finally found Twilight she was digging through a small collection of charred books that had, partially, managed to escape the flames. When she saw them Twilight let out a squeal of delight and ran up to nuzzle her mentor.
When they separated Celestia looked at Twilight seriously and said only three words.
“Where are they?”
Twilight silently pointed at the town hall which still had the royal union flag fluttering over it.
“Nopony has wanted to go near there since…” Twilight trailed off as they got closer and closer to the unmanned fortification of the town hall.
“Since what?” Shining Armour asked, hoping to get some answers as to the result of Luna’s spell.
“Since the screams stopped.” Twilight continued.
When the ponies reached the building a guard trotted up and examined the barricaded windows.
"looks like they didnt want anypony to get in." The guard called to Shining Armour.
"No" Luna said “They barricaded themselves in so that they couldn’t get out.”
At these words all of the ponies went silent as they finally came to the boarded up windows and doors that now became clear on the structure’s exterior.
Shining Armour then used his magic to unlock the door and remove any of the planks the humans had used to board up the place. Tentatively they stepped into the consuming darkness. Celestia cast a spell that lit up her horn, shining a gentle yellow light into the otherwise endless pool of darkness. The main hall was devoid of any life, papers littered the floor and massive banners of St. George's cross hung ominously from the ceiling. As they moved forward the light caught more and more shapes, slowly bringing them into focus. There was a ruined desk, most likely used to board the windows. Then came a set of tools scattered over the floor, confirming the previous assumption about the desk. Finally though the light caught something reflective, pooling outwards from the darkness.
“Oh no!” Twilight suddenly yelled running up to the still form of one of the regulars that sat, propped up against the adjacent wall which was covered in blood. As Twilight got closer she found the discharged pistol the man had used to kill himself with as well as a crumpled up piece of paper that lay at his side.
“Oh sister what have I done!” Luna stuttered, tears running down her face as Celestia put a comforting wing over her.
“Look at this note.’ Twilight said, beginning to read it to herself.
“To Whom It May Concern, my name is John Pinner; I ask whomever finds this note to please inform my wife and child in England of my demise. Tell them that I love them dearly, with all my heart and that it pains me to have to do this. I am the last of my outfit that is not unconscious or laughing like a madman. The misery has become too much to bear and I ask what have we done to offend our lord so that he should punish us like this? I result to believe that he has forsaken us for the sins we have committed in this new world. The men have agreed though that we are not to surrender, we shall not be the ones to bring further dishonour to our country and our king. Once more, Ethyl, Young Michael… I love yo…” Ant the note cut off there, a speck of dried blood concealing the final letter.
As Twilight finished reading she was snapped back to her surroundings when Celestia turned and ordered her guards to search the building for any survivors and to bring them outside. In a last gesture Twilight put the note in Pinner's jacket pocket, placing his hand over it, as if he were holding it close.
The three Leaders continued through the converted town hall. It had been decked with the Union flag and various weapons lay here and there, occasionally accompanied by a bloodied bandage or a series of documents concerning the state of the town under the British rule. Along the way they found a few more redcoats slumped down in their chairs, completely exhausted, their pupils flicking left and right in a vain attempt at sleep. They were about to leave when they heard the guards yell from the back door of the building.
“Princess!” The guards suddenly yelled as they surrounded the flagpole the humans had erected behind the town hall. When the Princesses managed to get past the circle of guards they saw, chained to the flagpole, Ramsay’s slumped over form. His shoulders and hat were covered in a thin layer of snow. Celestia stomped up quickly and knocked his hat from his head. Celestia then immediately took a step back in horror as Ramsay slowly raised his head to look at her.
When he opened his eyes the ponies let out a collective gasp. Nightmare Moon’s influence had progressed significantly since the last time Twilight has seen him. His right eye had become green and its pupil elongated, almost as if it was that of a reptile. The veins on the right side of his neck became a clear black against his pale skin. He smiled cruelly at Celestia and spoke, only it wasn’t Ramsay’s voice that came out. It was clearly Nightmare Moon even with the prominently male tint.
“Well Celestia, we meet again.” Nightmare Moon said, malice shining through her one corrupted eye.
“Nightmare Moon” Celestia spat “And here I was thinking that the elements of harmony had finally defeated you.”
“Oh they did, I was broken. But I just happened to find something else to anchor myself to.” Nightmare Moon said, smiling through Ramsay’s face.
“You mean this poor creature.” Luna said angrily.
Nightmare Moon looked at Luna and sneered.
“Of course not you foal, I mean your sister here.” She continued, nodding in the direction of Celestia “The most powerful being in the history of Equestria. I was lucky that you showed up when I was originally defeated. Otherwise I would have had to take control of one of those less powerful beings.” Nightmare Moon said, nodding in the direction of Twilight and the rest of her friends who had just shown up to accompany her.
“Of course I couldn’t take control of Celestia like in you Luna. Celestia is too… good.” She continued, spitting out the last word.
All of the other ponies were looking at her open mouthed, waiting for her to continue her retched tale.
“Of course there wasn’t much hate, anger or greed for me to feed on with you Celestia. I couldn’t even switch to another host I was so weak. But then I felt it, the delicious anger…hatred, all directed at this pitiful creature that I now inhabit. I made my move then, transferring my consciousness to him. I will give him this though, for all his weakness he does have a marvellous capacity for stubborn resistance and… violence.” Nightmare Moon said, turning back to Luna.
“Though Luna, I think I misjudged you. In all our thousand years I would never have imagined that you would use the insomnia spell, even I thought it was too cruel. Oh you should have felt their suffering… it was so glorious. My host here felt all their pain as I slowly broke his defences, taking my time, pleasuring in his distress as I get closer to total control. Your little spell made him weak enough for me to gain a true foothold.” Nightmare Moon then turned to Twilight and smiled.
“He was so sorry for what he did you know. He is still trying to fight back.” She said as Ramsay’s body jerked awkwardly and his one uncorrupted brown eye began to water.
“Leave him alone!” Celestia ordered, taking a step forward.
“Or what?” Nightmare Moon snickered “The elements of harmony won’t work on a non-magical body, and I doubt that you would kill in cold blood.”
Celestia glared once more at the nightmare-hybrid that had consumed the once proud human.
“Guards, find a cage and take this fiend to the dungeons.”
Nightmare Moon suddenly snarled and Pushed Ramsay’s body to its feet, launching him towards Celestia. Luckily for her the shackles on Ramsay’s wrists were just too short to allow contact. They caught and became taught as his body was stopped in mid-jump. With a sickening *CRACK* Ramsay’s wrist broke, a single piece of white bone jutting forth. Then the body switched back to Ramsay’s voice and let out a long, pained howl of agony, making all of the ponies take a step back and causing fluttershy to faint.
Once more Ramsay collapsed to the ground, his good eye looking at the jagged shard of bone that jutted from his wrist. After his outburst Nightmare Moon spoke again, her voice gleeful.
“Oh good, it seems I don’t feel his pain.”
“T-to hell with you” Ramsay’s voice replied just seconds after. Needless to say two voices coming from the same being was strange enough that Luna finally lifted her spell and Ramsay’s eyes mercifully fluttered closed. Just before he fell into unconsciousness he whispered a barely audible thanks to her.
~.~
Twilight Sparkle had an extremely difficult choice to make; Celestia had told her that since she is the princess of Ponyville the punishment these men would receive fell upon her shoulders. She had considered many options, everything from banishment to imprisonment.
All around Ponyville ponies celebrated in their conquerors downfall, burning their flags and dancing in the streets as they rejoiced.
Twilight and the two regal sisters had just decided to sit at a table as Celestia lowered the sun and Luna raised the moon when they saw two young foals running about with wooden swords, wearing tricorn hats that had been taken from the regulars and were far too large for them. As they watched their mother appeared and began scolding them.
“What have I told you about staying up after bedtime, and take those hideous things off!” She said angrily throwing the hats to the ground before walking off with her foals. Twilight watched as the hats were caught in a breeze and blown into a nearby bush.
“Twilight” Luna whispered “You must decide upon a form of punishment for the humans, they committed many crimes that must be punished.”
“Where are they?” Twilight asked, still thinking about a suitable form of punishment.
“The Royal guard have locked them in some cages I brought along just in case.” Princess Celestia replied with a sigh.
“Sister…” Luna said “What I did…h-how could I?”
“Luna, your actions may have saved many a pony’s life. And you saw how they were acting; it was only a matter of time before they hurt somepony more than they already have.” Celestia smiled, both she and Twilight putting a wing around Luna and comforting her.
“Thank you Tia, you always know what to say.” Luna said with a content smile on her face. Celestia smiled back, though behind the smile she still doubted her very own words. Were the humans really that bad? She had spoken to Ramsay as an enemy but they were under pressure. She couldn’t help but wonder what first contact with them would have been like under different circumstances.
“Well I’ll sleep on it and think of something suitable tomorrow.” Twilight said as she rose and began her walk to a tent that had been set up for the regal sisters. Soon after Luna bid good night and followed Twilight. Celestia sighed and decided to walk about the town. She couldn’t sleep, there was far too much occupying her thoughts. She remembered stories of the humans being vicious creatures that would just as soon eat a pony as speak to it. As she contemplated these thoughts she heard whispered voices coming from nearby. Sneaking to their source she found some bushes that would provide adequate foliage that would hide her form as she snuck up on the source of the whispered voices. Soon she realized that they were the voices of Ramsay and Nightmare Moon. Hiding she listened intently to their conversation.
~.~
“I don’t believe you.” Ramsay said anger clear and present in his voice.
“You should human; I can sense your desires. Your desire for power and wealth I can provide, and when I am strong enough to create my own body I may even give you love…” Nightmare Moon responded, her voice heavily coated in alluring overtones.
“You take pleasure in my suffering and the suffering of others, how would I know that you will keep your word?” Ramsay responded, cautiously.
“Very well, what is it you desire?” Nightmare asked grudgingly.
“Return control of my body over to me, and I will help you escape. I will nurture you with hate, anger and greed until you are powerful enough to create your own body. Then I will help you take this land.
“What did you have in mind?” Nightmare Moon asked, intrigued as to how one human planned to take the most powerful kingdom in pony history.
“I have more men; they are currently concealed within the forest. Let me take you there and we will take this land and rule side by side.” Ramsay whispered
Nightmare Moon considered. She was planning on killing this whelp as soon as she had enough strength to leave him, so she supposed that being lenient for the time being could do no harm.
“Very well” She replied reluctantly returning Ramsay control of his person.
In the bush Celestia let out a silent gasp, she would have thought Ramsay more intelligent than to fall for the most obvious of traps. Nightmare Moon had played on nearly every male’s common desires for Power, wealth and physical pleasure. She swore to herself that she would get revenge on the both of them after she discovered the location of Ramsay’s other men.
She watched as Ramsay silently rose and moved over to the door. Once there he reached into his britches and pulled out a spare bayonet he kept hidden there. He inserted the tip into the keyhole and twisted violently. With a crunching sound the door swung open.
“Ooh, you’re smarter than you look.” Nightmare Moon commented as Ramsay took off through the snow towards the Everfree forest, clutching his broken wrist which had been placed in a cast by nurse Redheart. Neither the human nor Nightmare Moon noticed a silent white shadow trailing them through the sky.
They ran through the forest for about an hour before Ramsay finally came to a stop in an empty, snow covered clearing. Celestia landed in a nearby tree and hid herself, watching silently as Ramsay doubled over to regain his breath. Once he did he began shivering violently.
“Are you cold?” Nightmare Moon asked sarcastically “Now where are they?”
“Y-You fool.” Ramsay said with a smile as Nightmare Moon realized that she had been tricked.
“How dare you lie to me!” Nightmare Moon screamed suddenly “For this I shall kill you when I gain physical form and there is nothing you can do to stop me!”
“There is one way…” Ramsay wheezed through one of his trademark sinister smiles “you fell into my trap beautifully.” He continued
“Look around you Nightmare Moon, what do you see?”
Nightmare Moon looked around with his eyes and replied with what she saw.
“I see nothing.”
“Exactly, you told me that in your state you cannot maintain an external form without a host. I am going to deprive you of that host.” Ramsay said levelling the bayonet at his torso.
“You foal, I cannot be killed. I will simply find another!” She screamed back.
“Tut, tut” Ramsay said mockingly “I thought you were smarter than this… think about where you are, Where I led you.”
Realization as cold as the biting winter around them dawned on Nightmare Moon as she realized that Ramsay had taken her to a place deprived of a hoast. He intended to take his own life and destroy her by forcing her into the open, without a host anywhere nearby.
“Wait!” Nightmare Moon said, worriedly “Why would you do this? You have nothing to gain by helping those who fight you.”
Ramsay’s smile turned warm and his voice radiated with it as he replied “As a wise, great leader once told me, sometimes it requires a caring heart to be strong. That is your undoing Nightmare Moon. It is something that you couldn’t possibly comprehend.”
For a moment the entire world seemed to fall silent, nothing moved except for the falling snow that landed around them. Celestia’s eyes watered at hearing her own words from a man who was going to make the ultimate sacrifice for his enemies, Ponies that hated him from the very beginning and imprisoned him as soon as they got the chance.
Suddenly Ramsay thrust the bayonet at himself. However before it even came to within an inch of his crimson coat his other hand, veins showing dead black against white caught the blade.
“You didn’t think that I would let you totally free of my grasp.” Nightmare said as each side of Ramsay fought for dominance. Dropping to his knees Ramsay realized that he was losing this internal battle and clenched his teeth in preparation for what he knew he would have to do. He unexpectedly released his grip on the bayonet and moved his hand down to his belt. There he clenched the tomahawk given to him by the Native American warrior just before they left their world. In one swift motion he brought it down upon his other hand, severing it, thus rendering Nightmare Moon powerless to stop him before he did the deed.
She screamed a horrid scream inside his head as Ramsay crawled towards the bayonet which had fallen a few feet away. He finally reached it, feeling Nightmare Moon tearing at his very being as he thrust the blade into his gut.
Once again the entire forest seemed to go quiet as Ramsay froze, kneeling in the snow. Celestia cringed; tears in her eyes as she saw the first drops of blood dribble from his mouth in a thin stream as crimson darker than that of his coat blossomed on his torso. After what seemed an eternity Ramsay Keeled to the side and fell. Celestia had to restrain herself from rushing to his aid, reminding herself that if she did then nightmare moon would survive and his sacrifice would have been for nothing. Ramsay’s body rolled onto its back and arched as the familiar purple mist left it. As soon as it was free Ramsay’s body slumped back to the ground. The shadow form of Nightmare Moon flew swiftly around the clearing, searching hopelessly for any creature she may inhabit. To Celestia it was almost pitiful as she watched her arch nemesis struggle for her life. Finally Nightmare Moon stopped her futile search and turned to Ramsay and seemed to look directly at him. He simply stared back, blood now pouring from his mouth.
“It is satisfying to know that I died for something worthy.” He said as his breath began to catch, finally he opened his mouth one last time before he fell still. “I shall be joining you in hell, whore” He gurgled through the blood that flooded his mouth before he finally fell still, his brown eyes glassing over.
Nightmare Moon’s mist seemed to vibrate with anger as she took on a ghostly apparition of herself and leapt at the human’s body, fangs bared. Just before she reached his throat her form dissipated, having exhausted her time without a host. As she left this world Celestia swore she could hear an echo in the distance screaming.
“NOOOOO!”
All the king's horses and all the king's men
After a few minutes of looking down at the astonishing scene that took place beneath her; Celestia sank down onto the ground at the edge of the clearing. She looked at Ramsay’s still form and felt tears begin to roll down her face. He didn't need to die for this, he never wanted any of this. It seemed odd to Celestia why anything would die for its enemies. Particularily a human, and to think she didnt even know who he was. After another ten minutes she shakily got up and unfurled her wings to return to Ponyville, casting a final look back at Ramsay's motionless form in the middle of the clearing before rising up into the air and flying off in the direction of the town.
~.~
When Celestia finally returned to the town she landed with her head hung, not acknowledging any of her guards’ salutes, breathing heavy, shuddering breaths as she trotted towards her tent. At entering she found that Twilight and Luna were still awake and talking, though the subject of their discussion quickly became secondary when they saw Celestia’s face.
“Sister what happened?” Luna asked worriedly as both she and Twilight rushed to the white Alicorn’s side. Celestia simply walked over to a pile of plump, feathery cushions and lay down, resting her head on one and staring at a candle that happened to be nearby as its flame flickered and danced in the slight breeze let in by a crack in the tent’s folds. She continued ignoring the worried questions of both Twilight and Luna as she looked at the flame. Suddenly a gust of wind blew into the tent, snuffing the flame, and threw her expression into darkness. At this Celestia remained still, looking at the smoking wick as its final embers died down.
Twilight and Luna continued doing their best to comfort her even when not knowing the cause of her distress and at the same time trying to coax an answer out of the silent Alicorn. It was a long while before Celestia rose and told the two what she had seen. 'Disbelieving' would be an understatement to anypony asked to describe their expressions. But after seeing the seriousness in Celestia's eyes they quickly believed her story, and felt her pain.
“Do not worry sister” Luna said, standing and pulling Celestia into an embrace which she returned. “In the morning we will go out and retrieve his body, he will be buried properly by his allies.”
Celestia then turned to Twilight and attempted to smile “Twilight… tell any of the humans that have woken up that they have my permission to send four of their number to accompany us.”
Twilight nodded and rushed out of the tent, leaving just Luna and Celestia to talk.
“Sister what is it you want to tell me that you did not want Twilight to hear? we both know that none of the humans will have awoken by now.” Luna asked as soon as Twilight was out of earshot.
“Luna…” Celestia said dejectedly “He suffered so much in his final moments…and for all the power I was told I wielded I could do nothing!” She elaborated, sounding depressed.
“Why didn’t you do anything?” Luna asked leading Celestia to the cushions where they both sat, Luna cradling her sister's head and stroking her mane comfortingly.
“I- I don’t know…” Celestia said, looking deep into her sisters blue eyes. “Luna, humans are supposed to be monsters, like mother told us in her stories… not like this”
“Sister do not tear at yourself thinking like this.” Luna said gently.
“You don’t understand, I was there and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help him because that would the opposite of what he would have wanted and I couldn’t be there for his final moments or Nightmare Moon would have survived and his sacrifice would have been for nothing.” Celestia paused to take a deep, shuddering breath before she looked at Luna “What bothers me most is that he died alone, cold and bleeding and I could have been there to comfort or at least thank him.”
“But you were there for him Tia!” Luna said, putting a hoof under her sister’s chin and helping her look back at her. “Simply by doing what you did and letting him be you were there for him, and maybe…” Luna continued, levitating the extinguished candle before Celestia “by remembering him for his best, though we didn’t know him all too well, do we keep him truly alive.” Suddenly the candle burst into flames, dancing in the breeze once more.
~.~
Dawn broke over Ponyville. However there was something different about this dawn. It wasn’t the usual bright sunny day the ponies were hoping for. It was a cold, hard sun; one that would begin to melt the snow that had remained on the land for so long. In the town square a small band of ponies and humans were preparing to begin their trek into the Everfree forest. Among them were the princesses, the Mane six and Shining Armour. Of the humans accompanying them were the two grenadiers, Nicholas and Robert. The newly roused general said that he would take command in their absence as they set off into the forest. Each of them were filled with mixed emotions, to the ponies it was fear and sadness that occupied their minds while the humans were in a state of disbelief, and had refused to believe that Ramsay was dead until they saw a body.
After another two hours of walking through the snow Celestia’s breathing became ragged as she began to recognize certain pieces of landscape that told them that they were getting close. When she stopped dead the Mane six worried that she had become lost until Luna stepped forward.
“We have arrived.” She announced.
And rest assured just ahead of them was the clearing. Suddenly the silence was broken by a scrabbling noise accompanied by a low growl. When the ponies finally cleared the trees they found Ramsay’s body being gnawed at by a lone timber wolf.
“Get away from him ya bastard!” Nicholas yelled, drawing his pistol and firing at the wooden creature, which simply absorbed the shot and ran off into the forest. As the humans moved forwards another, far more resonating growl reached their ears, the men then slowly backed off, away from Ramsay’s body as a Manticore appeared from the other side of the clearing. As they all backed off they were surprised to see Celestia move forwards and stand facing the Manticore. In response the beast roared, moving forwards and dragging Ramsay a few feet towards him. Just as the onlookers thought that the beast would get its prize Celestia spoke, her words were like ice, cutting through the haze of confusion and fear.
“You cannot take him.” She said simply.
The Manticore looked at Celestia with an oddly competent, questioning look on its face. Quickly though its hunger drove that off as lowered its head to bite into Ramsay’s shoulder. However before it could, Celestia took yet another step forward.
“You cannot have him; he is not yours to take.”
At this the Manticore seemed to cringe under an unseen pressure before turning tail and bolting back into the forest. Slowly the rest of the group approached Celestia, their mouths hanging open.
“WOW Princess!” Pinkie Pie said staring at the spot where the Manticore had disappeared. Soon though their attention was drawn back to the body in the middle of the clearing, the humans immediately noticed something odd about it.
“A crimson angel…” Zane said, moving to stand at Ramsay’s feet.
Wondering as to their meaning, Celestia and the rest of the ponies all moved to where Zane had stood. Their curiosity was immediately satisfied when she looked down at Ramsay from the same angle as the humans had done. When the beast had dragged him his blood had made the appearance of wings under his arms. It was uncannily eerie as well as horrifying. Celestia timidly walked up to him and lowered herself to the ground near his head, using a hoof to close his eyes.
“What was he like?” Celestia asked no one in particular.
“Begging your pardon Ma’am?” Ferris asked, wondering who she was talking to.
“What was he like as a friend, as a person rather than as an enemy?” Celestia elaborated.
“Umm…Princess I don’t know if…” Robert began
“It is far harder to let the memory of someone go if you know their story princess; however I will not refuse you, if you choose to ask again me and my compatriots will do our best to answer your questions.” Zane cut in, finishing Robert’s sentence.
“Tell me…” Celestia said
“Sister” Luna began moving to rest next to Celestia “maybe it would be for the best if you simply let him go. You have watched many a friend, hero and loved one pass away in your years, why has his death affected you so?”
“Please, I need to know.” She said, ignoring the repeated warnings.
“Honourable” Robert said.
“A gentleman” Ferris continued
“Follower to any cause he believed was just” Zane said, drawing himself to his full height.
Nicholas was Ramsay’s best friend. They had enlisted together and were the only survivors of their previous detachment. He took a step forwards and glared at Celestia. After a few more moments of looking at her his lip curled.
"To die for what you believe in is a great sacrifice, to live with the knowledge of that sacrifice is in itself an even greater sacrifice. I hope you think it was worthy.” He said.
With that the men all set about gathering anything of importance from the clearing and finally picked up Ramsay’s body, and began the walk back to town.
~.~
When they arrived everypony in the street froze to look at the procession. Some ponies even followed the men as they gently set Ramsay’s body down on a table placed near the makeshift gallows that had been erected for the humans. Immediately after Ramsay lay on the table the four others were led back into their cages. Celestia was just about to turn when a commotion drew her attention back to the humans. One of the ones she hadn’t spoken to was yelling at Shining Armour, demanding to examine the body. At once the princesses went to see what the commotion was about.
“You there” Luna said, an air of authority dominating her voice as she looked at the human. “What is the meaning of this disturbance?”
The man removed his hat, revealing a head of dark brown hair.
“Begging you pardon madam, I am this platoon’s medical officer. It is my duty to examine its men, be they post or ante mortem.”
Luna looked at the man coolly before turning to Twilight. “It’s your town Twilight. It’s your choice.”
Twilight looked at the man. He seemed to be in his late forties. He was tall and thin. She also noticed that he didn’t seem as brutish as the other men. Finally she nodded slowly and Shining Armour moved aside, allowing the man to walk past with an indignant huff.
He walked up to Ramsay’s body and pulled a pair of spectacles from his jacket.
“Ah, what a pity” He mumbled to himself, looking over the corpse and examining its severed hand “He had so much potential, the only one of these ruffians that actually read my medical books rather than looking through them for pictures of tits, begging your pardon your highness.” He continued, tipping his hat and seemingly ignoring everything that went on around him.
Twilight moved towards the cage that held the humans and whispered “Does he always talk to himself like that?”
“Yes, don’t let it fool you though; the man is a brilliant doctor. He was civilian loyalist that decided that ten years in the Americas was enough. He keeps talking about how he ‘misses London’s sorrow.’ No doubt that man is not in the norm, and yet he wouldn’t look at you for less than ten Guineas in England.” Ferris replied.
“Oh dear” He said, yanking the bayonet from Ramsay’s body with a wet *squelch*. At this Celestia immediately looked away remembering the same sound as Ramsay thrust the thing into his body.
“Must you be so uncouth?” Luna asked, irritated at the man’s insensitivity to the feelings of those around him.
In response he turned an eye to look at her and raised an eyebrow. “What would you have me do, hmm? The man is dead; he isn’t going to feel anything.”
“Just get on with it.” Celestia said angrily, glaring back at the doctor who raised his hands in surrender.
“Very well.” He said crisply, placing the bloodied bayonet on the table.
“I may not be a mortician but I know the basics of a postmortem.” The doctor mumbled to himself as he examined Ramsay’s severed hand once more. “Excellent, the cold has preserved this brilliantly, it can be sowed back on... for the sake of appearances.”
Suddenly the doctor snapped his fingers and pointed to a guard who took a few steps back.
“You, bring me my medical case.” He commanded. The guard looked at Shining Armour who nodded in turn. The guard disappeared to the Human’s carriage and returned a moment later with a leather bag in his mouth. As soon as he approached the doctor the bag was yanked from his grasp by the man who flung it on the table, digging all manner of vicious looking instruments from its interior.
“Just going to have a quick feel old chap” The doctor said respectfully, patting Ramsay’s corpse on the chest. “You don’t mind do you? Of course you don’t.”
The doctor then took his index finger and shoved it into the bayonet wound, humming as he did. All the ponies grimaced as he did, some of the guards even rushed to the brush, their faces green and their cheeks puffed out.
Suddenly the doctors face went white, his eyes widened as he looked down at the body.
“Hmm… this is interesting, no signs of even the beginnings of rigor mortis…When did he die?” The doctor called. When no one answered he withdrew his hands and screamed at the bunch. “Who the hell knows when this man died?!”
“I saw it happen” Celestia said crossly, stepping up to face the man “It was last night in the snow, to destroy one of the most evil beings in Equestria.”
“Princess, you don’t know Ramsay like I do, he is far, far too stubborn to die. And if my preliminary thoughts are correct then he is also far cleverer than I gave him credit for.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, moving forward to get a better look at the work the doctor was doing.
He had taken what seemed to be a miniature mirror from his bag; he then quickly polished it on his jacket before placing it under Ramsay’s nose. After a short while it fogged up, causing the doctor to yell in delight.
“Oh you cheeky bastard, you read my notes didn’t you? Ooh, you are very good!” He said, discarding the red coat he wore and standing in his usual civilian white shirt and silver lined waistcoat, the usual attire of a wealthy doctor.
“Alright that is enough!” Celestia said, grabbing the doctor with her magic and slamming his against the table. “What is your name? And what have you discovered about Ramsay?”
“Dr. Haydon Utterson at your service” The doctor said worriedly, sighing in relief as he was released from the magical hold.
“Good, now what do you know?” Celestia continued, smiling inwardly at the evident fear on the once smug doctor’s face.
“Please, let me treat him and then tell you, every minute brings him closer to the precipice of death.” The doctor said, regaining some of his composure as he talked, turning back to Ramsay and cleaning the wound.
“So he is alive!” Celestia said, shock overcoming her system.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself princess” The doctor said “He is extremely far gone; the fact that he is still alive is a huge step in development of a medical theory concerning the use of extreme cold to preserve the body.”
Once again the doctor turned to the body and shoved his finger in through the wound.
“Yes, yes…” He kept mumbling for about a minute before finally pulling his finger out. Turning the ponies and their human captives all saw him beaming.
“Well it seems I was right, as always. It seems that Ramsay has read a few of my notes on a subject that has come into the light of advanced medical care. The theory is as such, cold weather has been known to destroy flesh. So it is controversial to think that the very thing destroying flesh also preserves the vast majority of it. Almost as saltwater is to burns.” The doctor said as he reached into his back and retrieved a bottle of clear liquid, which he then generously sloshed over the stab wound. Retrieving a needle and suture, he then continued talking, more to hear the sound of his own voice rather than for the benefit of his audience.
“Although how he managed to pierce his gut without grazing anything vital is remarkable, and with his left hand too, good lord.” The doctor then proceeded to seal the wound. Grasping the disembodied hand he threw it over his shoulder, stating that now there was no way for it to be re-attached now that he was alive. Thankfully Twilight caught it with her magic just before it landed in the fire, screaming she returned it to the table.
“Oh really” The doctor huffed “you ponies are so squeamish. This must be disposed of so as not to spread disease.”
“Move” Luna yelled at him, having had enough the doctor shifted, muttering things under his breath that would put even a drunken diamond dog to shame. Casually she walked up to him and placed her horn at the severed wrist. In a feat of magic that nopony could have expected from anypony other than one of the princesses; the hand was enveloped by a rich blue light. Instantly it jumped into animation and scuttled across the table like a crab, before finally reaching its owners body. Once there it aligned its severed end with the arm and remained still. Soon though it seemed to regain some of its colour and molded itself back onto Ramsay's arm as if it was made of clay.
The good doctor stood in shock before finally laughing maniacally and gently pushing the princess aside.
"Ooh, you simply must teach me that trick!" He giggled, once more working on the body.
“Tell me you wouldn’t happen to know another trick for making his body warm without burning him?”
The doctor's last comment was extremely sarcastic, conveying his mistrust for magic and all that which he could not see... or rather sink his arm wrist deep into.
At this Celestia smiled and pointed her horn at the sun. In an instant the weather grew hotter, human's collars immediately became soaked and wrinkled with sweat and any snow that had remained melted instantly.
“Bloody show-off.” The doctor said, wrapping more bandages around Ramsay’s middle.
“We must take him to the tower in Canterlot. He will be able to get the most sun and care there.” Princess Celestia said “Doctor you and the rest of the humans will also come. You will be held in the dungeons until we have decided on a suitable punishment for your crimes.”
With that the doctor was led back to his cell and the royal guard prepared to move the regulars to the palace.
~.~
“…until we have decided on a suitable punishment for your crimes.” he heard a voice say.
“I…I can’t feel my body…” Ramsay thought “My god I can’t speak!”
Ramsay continued to simply exist, sitting in blackness, thinking, slowly he began to realize that he was lying on a wooden surface. He also knew when he was moved by hands, Ferris and Zane judging by the size of them. He came to conclude that they had placed him in a carriage. He also knew when the doctor got his hands on him. He heard the distant voice followed by a sharp prodding to his arms, legs and chest that brought so much pain that Ramsay wished he was numb again. It felt as though a thousand needless were sticking him wherever someone or somepony touched him.
“Does it hurt here?” the doctor’s voice echoed from miles away. In his head Ramsay silently screamed yes, followed by a string of profanities tied together so beautifully that it would have made Shakespeare’s jaw drop.
“Good” the doctor continued before fading away again “… still nothing, majesty. I fear it may be too late…”
Ramsay listened as hard as he could trying to make out the other, more feminine voice. Finally he settled for various snippets of the mysterious conversation.
“I hope for your sake he survives, do not think for a second that his sacrifice will save you from punishment. What you and the rest of your men did is unforgiveable. Princess twilight has something special in mind for you…” Princess Luna’s voice echoed “Now tend to all of the other wounded ponies, me and my sister shall personally escort Ramsay to the top of the tower…”
After that Ramsay couldn’t discern anything. He felt a strange tingling sensation envelop him and a slight breeze blow through his hair. A few minutes later he felt himself come to rest on what felt like a feather bed. He felt the tingling again as he was stripped to his breeches before having a blanket draped over him and hearing another voice speak. He almost didn’t recognize it without the dripping hatred but sure enough he hear Celestia speak.
“You didn’t deserve this.”
In his head Ramsay said but one sentence, grinning inwardly when he discovered that he could now twitch, and even slightly move as his vision began to clear.
“No, we do not.”
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Later that month, after remaining still for hours every time the doctor came to pay him another one of his ghastly visits, Ramsay had finally gained enough strength to move. He could now rise and walk, even run if dire circumstances called for it. He knew that he would be slowed by his time without movement. His muscles would be unused to the strain. But his time bedridden had at least given him some tactical advantages. For one he now knew when the guards patrolled the corridor and even where the armoury was located, thanks to the pair of loudmouth guards stationed outside his room. All this new information was useful to his plan. It would be a cold winter in hell before he surrendered without a fight. But even Ramsay had to admit that it was treacherous, even foolhardy. But it was all he had to go on.
"Right, that's all I can do for him now." The doctor said, rising from the floor "Princess I will examine him more tomorrow."
Ramsay waited until he heard the thudding of the doctor's boots and the graceful clinking of the princesses' hoof steps recede, escorting the doctor to the dungeon as usual.
It was then that Ramsay seized the moment. The princesses would be going down the winding stairs and the guards would just be about to reach the end of the corridor where, Ramsay hoped they would turn their backs for a brief second. Peeping through a crack in the door Ramsay watched the guards as they walked. To his horror it looked like one of them was about to turn and leave the other one standing at the end of the hallway denying Ramsay a chance at slipping away unnoticed.
"Hey, want some hay-fries?" one of the guards asked suddenly, pulling a greasy bag from the folds of his armour. The other guard turned back and they both proceeded to eat the food, not noticing a silent shadow limp from the room they were supposed to be carefully guarding.
"Fourteen… fifteen." Ramsay muttered as he moved painfully down the corridor, counting his steps. Finally he reached a door and pulled it open, he breathed a sigh of relief as he looked down the darkened staircase. Ramsay had spent his nights listening to the *clip-clop* of the guards hooves in the hopes of finding out where they were going. And after his time in bed he had found out three things, first, that the pantry was twenty four paces to the left. Second, that the stairs were fifteen paces to the right and most importantly that the armoury was somewhere down the stairs. Unfortunately after listening to the guard go down the stairs the sound of his hooves eventually tapered off and Ramsay had to resort to the great fallback of every man in the service, improvisation in hopes of finding the room.
After an agonizing few minutes walking slowly down the stairs, wincing at nearly every step his cold, stiff body made, Ramsay found himself in a large and well lit hall filled with tapestries, paintings and busts. Ramsay was jolted out of his subconscious admiration of the art by the faint sound of clanking armour. Looking around Ramsay flung himself behind a tapestry and tried his best to remain silent.
The clanking got louder and louder before finally stopping directly in front of the tapestry the regular hid behind.
"What's wrong now?" asked a gruff voice.
"Ah, nothin'… coulda swore I smelled somethin' though." Replied yet another guard. Furrowing his brow Ramsay quietly sniffed his armpit. It took all of his power not to retch at the stench, breathing through his mouth now. It was only then that he realized that he was wearing naught but his breeches, he would need shoes before he would make his escape.
"Forget it lets go, the Princesses are having a meeting for the rest of the night and I want to get rid of this heavy thing." the guard with the gruff voice said, following his statement with a metallic *clank* followed by a comical 'ouch!' as they trotted off. From behind the tapestry Ramsay's eyes widened. The sound had undoubtedly been that of a weapon and looking out from behind the obscuring tapestry Ramsay saw, to mixed joy and anxiety that the guards were armed with long spears. The sound was made when one of the guards and brought the flat end of the spear down on his companion's helmet. And that meant that if they wished to discard and divest themselves of their armour and weapons they must be going to the armoury.
Then Ramsay, his face one of glee, waited until the guards rounded a corner before stepping out from behind the obscuring tapestry.
"So we see the price of idleness." Ramsay said, smiling maliciously following the guards stupid enough to abandon their own weapons to sneak out early.
Ramsay was careful to keep the guards in his sight at all times, however it was difficult with his impaired movement. Once or twice they turned suddenly and peered down the hall, almost catching him. Eventually the guards came to a halt outside a large led plated door. Ramsay was at a loss as he hid behind a massive statue of princess Celestia, the door he was faced with was massive. He even doubted the eight-pounder they had would put a dent in it. He watched in silence as one of the guards put his horn in a carefully concealed hole in the door. The guard held it there for a moment before pulling it out. The doors swung open as if they were weightless after that. But it made no difference as Ramsay didn't have a horn, and he didn't quite fancy challenging two armed guards at that particular moment. Briefly he considered that he could slip in after they left, but no. There was no way he could move quickly enough without them hearing something.
"Let's go!" one of the guards urged as the two left the room and the door slammed shut. When the two guards left Ramsay stepped out into the corridor and pushed at the door. As expected it didn't budge. After a few more futile attempts Ramsay was starting to get worried, there was no way he could get in. Getting nervous he glared at the statue of the princess.
"Foil my plans again will you? I think not!" He said angrily, booting the base of the statue. He grit his teeth as the delicate thing teetered and fell, the crashing echoing throughout the palace.
Ramsay looked down at the rubble and knew that it wouldn't be long before guards swarmed the place, as incompetent as they were. Ramsay began to turn and make his way back down the corridor when he stepped on something rather pointy.
"Jaysus fucking Christ!" He spat, clutching his bare foot. Looking down at what he had stepped on he saw it to be the statues horn, which must have rolled away from the wreckage. Ramsay picked it up and was about to hurl it down the corridor when he realized what he was holding. Slowly, a smile spreading over his face Ramsay looked from the ceramic horn, which he still held raised, to the led door.
~.~
*Thud*
The door to the armoury swung open and revealed Ramsay's outlined from standing there. The Armoury was far bigger that Ramsay had expected, within it was a wide selection of swords and spears as well as shields and armour. However it was a touch of crimson that caught Ramsay's attention. Moving to the back of the room he found, neatly folded, his red jacket and the rest of his clothing. Including, to Ramsay's joy, his shoes. After putting on his jacket he looked around the room again he found the regular's weapons, of which he took five pistols which he promptly tucked into his belt, what appeared to be the general's sword and a musket. After a few more minutes of ladling himself down with all that he could bear to carry in his weakened state he turned to leave.
The heavy door opened without incident when pushed from the inside, Ramsay marveled at the ingenuity of a one way locking system but quickly dropped this thought and set about finding either a way out of the palace or his friends, telling himself that he would take whichever he found first. Hastily he moved as quietly as he could, weighted down by his weaponry to the end of the corridor where he looked out of a window and found, much to his disappointment, that he was still many stories above the ground.
"Shite!" He spat quietly, moving back to the staircase he had descended, only going down rather than up. He continued on his way down for two stories before he heard voices coming up from below. Quickly Ramsay threw himself through a door and sprinted down the corridor. Only after he had taken cover behind yet another statue, this time of Luna, did he stop and think about his surroundings. The corridor was just as well decorated as the one before, except this time it was lined by a series of smaller, less imposing doors. Gingerly Ramsay opened one and peeked through. Inside he saw Fluttershy sleeping. Immediately he closed the door, making a little *Clack* as it did and making her stir.
"It must be the bedchambers" Ramsay whispered to himself and sure enough he was right as he heard a snort of laughter that was clearly Rainbow Dash come from behind the next door. It was then that the last door in the corridor slammed open, Shining Armor's voice sounding from within.
"Alright honey, I'll find some fruit. Just get some rest okay." He said backing out slowly and closing the door at the same time. Ramsay froze for a moment before throwing himself at Fluttershy's door, to his amazement he didn't make that much nose opening and closing the door. But Shining Armor definitely heard the faint clatter of the sword and pistols. Turning the pony looked suspiciously around the corridor then walked up to Fluttershy's door. She had told her friends that she was tired and wanted to sleep, and Shining was not going to be the one to disturb the shy pony. But that didn't mean he couldn't listen. Gingerly he pressed his ear to the woodwork and listened.
On the other side Ramsay heard the sound of Shining's hooves coming closer and quickly locked the door.
"Umm, hello?" A timid voice called out from the dimly lit room. Without missing a beat Ramsay threw himself across the room before Fluttershy could shake herself out of sleep and used one arm to hold her to the bed while he pressed the hand of the other across her muzzle, covering her mouth and nose with an airtight grip in an effort to silence her.
"Mmmff!" She squeaked her eyes widening when she realized what was happening. Ramsay paid her no mind while she struggled against his weight, she stood no chance in throwing him off of her, and she could barely shift his bodyweight without him pressing himself onto her. Once again she let out a muffled sound as she tried to draw breath, her face turning blue when she couldn't.
Silently, not daring to breathe himself, Ramsay watched the shadows under the door. He barely noticed as Fluttershy pounded his chest with her hooves before she let out one last, weak "Mmmf" and fell still, her frightened eyes rolling up in their sockets as her body went limp. After a few more tense seconds the shadows under the door disappeared and Ramsay let out a sigh of relief. His relief was short lived, however, for when he looked down and saw Fluttershy's lifeless face he immediately released her muzzle from his vice-like grip.
"Fucking Christ!" He said loudly, cradling her head, not wanting to believe that he had suffocated her, a kind, innocent pony, and not even noticed. Thinking fast he opened her mouth and blew hard into it, her chest rose quickly, as if she were one of Pinkie's balloons. Ramsay then released her to draw breath himself, not daring to think that his efforts weren't working as her lifeless tongue flopped out of her mouth. Once again he blew into her and this time he was forced away by a tiny little cough followed by a massive gasp as Fluttershy's unconscious form gulped down air greedily. The man now felt truly spent, he let himself fall back, sitting up on the floor with his legs splayed before him. Quietly he watched Fluttershy sleep, her little chest rising and falling. Then quietly Ramsay let himself fall apart, a shuddering sob escaping his form. Then he contained himself then wiped his mouth and brow with the back of his hand. Steadily he rose, tucked Fluttershy in as gently as he could and walked to the door, opening it quietly and slipping back into the corridor before he let it close with a gentle *Click*. He was about to go back to the stairs and continue going down when he turned on his heel.
"No more of this bloody sneaking around!" he told himself "I'm not some assassin."
He now had a plan. Whomever pony Shining Armor was talking to in the room at the end of the corridor must be close to him, otherwise he wouldn't have called them an affectionate name, such as 'honey'. Slowly he made his way to the end of the corridor and the door that lay there. As silently as he could he drew a pistol, inserted the shot and pulled the flint and hammer back. Feeling the door he could tell that it wasn't locked by the way it shifted slightly when he pushed it. Bracing his foot against it, he held the wall with his left hand for stability and the pistol in his right, taking a deep breath he pushed. The door flew open with an almighty *Crash!* it would have bounced back into his face had he not rammed his shoulder into it as he leveled his pistol at the only inhabitant of the room, a light pink Alicorn has frozen in shock halfway through combing her mane.
"Right then young miss, I think you know what this is." Ramsay said, gently shaking his pistol to draw her attention to it.
"Please" She whispered "I'm pregnant"
"Well then, I didn't intend on committing one murder tonight, and making me commit two is just unfair to the infant. So don't even think about using magic or attacking me miss, or I'll get a shot off before you can do me any harm." he said, though his voice faltered slightly at this new information.
At this Cadence's horn stopped glowing and her hairbrush fell to the floor. Using the pistol Ramsay gestured for her to get up, which she did. Ramsay then did a slow circle of the room, never once taking his pistol off of her. He finally stopped when he was standing directly behind her.
"Move!" He said harshly, shoving her in the flank hard with his pistol. The two slowly moved out into the corridor where they spotted another door fly open as the Mane six, excluding Fluttershy, burst into the corridor and took up fighting poses.
"Oh I don't think so!" Ramsay said snidely, curling his lip as he thrust the barrel of his pistol into the base of Cadence's skull for emphasis. "You are going to let me pass and then return to your rooms, if I so much as imagine anypony tailing me she dies!"
The ponies all glanced at each other before they slowly fell out of their fighting poses and let Ramsay and Cadence pass.
"You!" Ramsay called, flicking his pistol briefly in Twilight's direction "Check on Miss Fluttershy, she needs attention."
Twilight and the others snarled at him when they heard this.
"What. Did. You. Do." Rarity growled, giving Ramsay a look of extreme dislike.
"She will recover" Ramsay assured "Now remember what I said, return to your rooms and not a sound or... what is your name?"
"Cadence"
"-Cadence here gets a bellyful of shot."
"You'll never get away with this!" Pinkie Pie screamed, to which Ramsay shrugged and moved backwards towards the staircase, making Cadence open it before they descended, closing the door behind them. As soon as the door closed Twilight turned to the others.
"Alright girls, I'll check on Fluttershy. You warn Shining Armor and tell him to be discreet."
They all nodded and quickly moved to a door next to Cadence's room which contained another staircase which they all promptly descended.
"C'mon!" Applejack called "Where's that darn guard!"
It was just as they were sprinting down the stairs that Rainbow Dash, obviously leading the pack, slammed headfirst into Shining Armor who was ascending the stairs with a bowl of fruit which clattered to the floor when they collided.
"Hey!" Shining said, rubbing his head "Watch it Rainbow Dash, you could have hurt yourself."
"Shining Armor!" The girls screamed together.
"What?" he said looking at their worried faces "What's wrong?"
"He has Cadence!"
Shining Armor's eyes darkened as he said one word.
"Who?"
~.~
"Which way?!" Ramsay grunted, basically pushing Cadence down yet another corridor several floors below them.
"Tell me where you want to go and I can lead you there." Cadence replied almost irritably, though she was still afraid of what he might do. Judging by what Shining Armor had said, the humans did not hesitate when it came to hurting ponies.
"Don't tempt me" He muttered shoving the pistol harder into her back "Just get me to the entrance and I'll let you go."
They continued on, moving slowly down corridor after corridor before they finally entered what looked to be an extended hall which ended with a massive door, it was so finely decorated Ramsay stopped for a moment to look about him.
"What's wrong?" Cadence asked smiling "Cat got your tongue?"
"How is it you are so bloody cheerful, eh? Do you not see that I could easily kill both you and your chil-foal." Ramsay retorted once again shoving Cadence forcefully until they came to the intricate gold and oak door.
"There, you're free, anything else I can help you with?" Cadence asked, again sounding frustrated.
"Actually there is, you are coming with me. And I'm going to use you to free the rest of the men. I'm sorry but I see no alternative. I'm sure you understand." Ramsay said, a very well hidden sorrowful tone interlaced with his words. Cadence tried not to show her surprise at these words, the man genuinely cared for his friends, and she could feel it. She almost felt bad about doing what she was about to do.
Ramsay opened the massive doors quickly, obviously eager to escape the palace. But when he did he was not greeted by a blast of fresh night air. Instead he was facing a large room, with guards stationed periodically leading up to an elevated platform with two thrones placed at the top, occupying these thrones were two beings, which stopped their previous conversation and looked directly at Ramsay, the shock on their faces only bested by the one on Ramsay's. There was an unbearably long silence as they all stared at each other, it was finally broken by Ramsay.
"Ahh, Fuck!"
"Guards size him!" Luna bellowed in her royal Canterlot voice, making the guards in the room instantly move to put themselves between Ramsay and the two princesses. In response Ramsay grabbed Cadence by the neck and put his pistol to her head.
"You lied to me you deceitful bitch!" He spat in her ear as he eyed the guards, slowly moving backwards and the two other princesses moved off of their thrones and joined ranks with their guards which had pinned Ramsay at the entrance to the throne room.
"Ramsay, stop this." Celestia said so calmly that Ramsay actually stopped looking around the group with his eyes and locked onto her. That was the one moment of distraction Celestia wanted. She had seen Shining Armor round the corner behind Ramsay and move steadily closer before finally putting on a burst of speed when he was close enough behind him.
"Get away from my wife!" he screamed, tackling the regular and causing his pistol to discharge. Cadence was lucky to survive, the lead ball passed so close to her that it actually shattered the jewel adorning her tiara before she hit the ground and was encircled by guards who dragged her behind them. Shining Armor used his heavy form to pin Ramsay to the ground before roughly head-butting him with his helmet, causing Ramsay's head to bounce between the steel plates and the hard tiles of the ground, opening up a missive gash through which blood leaked profusely. In response Ramsay's body went limp for a moment as the whole world began to spin. He quickly recovered however thanks to the massive amounts of adrenaline coursing through his system, and brought his pistol to the side of Shining Armor's head as hard as he could, denting his helmet and making him roll off of him.
Immediately Ramsay was surrounded by guards pointing their spears at him. Shakily he got to his feet and eyed princess Cadence, in his eyes the cause of all his troubles. In a sudden movement he yanked the sword from its scabbard and rushed the princess, slapping the spear of the guard before him with the blade so it pointed away from him. Then using his own momentum he launched himself towards her before anypony could reach him. His burst of violent energy was for nothing it seemed, as he was cut off just before he could bring the blade down on her. He felt himself suddenly freeze, encased in a midnight blue glow. Out of the corner of his eye Ramsay saw Luna glare at him before he felt himself flying. Ramsay felt the sensation of weightlessness end abruptly when he smashed into a pane of glass, shattering it. He then fell, feeling a prominent fear well up inside him as he did before coming to an inevitable, bone shattering stop. His vision clouded slightly as he looked up groaning in pain, and watched the princesses and Pegasi guards descend like angels and land around him.
"Take him to the dungeons, keep him away from the others." Celestia said faintly. In Ramsay's disoriented state he reached out a hand and grabbed her hoof gently, mumbling something that sounded like a faint "please". After that he fell still and his breathing regulated.
There was a silence for a moment before Celestia spoke again "And get him a doctor and some food."
