The Valiant Few
By
Teal
Chapter 1
Reading the file in front of her, Princess Celestia couldn’t help but feel frustration build up inside her. Normally, the Solar Princess was calm and cool headed, with a personality that was known to be gentle and forgiving. But as she continued to read the report in front of her, the normally kind princess felt her anger rise up.
“Thirty ponies dead in the span of thirty minutes!” She said, slamming her hoof on the desk. The force of the impact was so strong that the wooden material of the desk began to crack from the pressure applied to it.
The thought of having ponies die was bad enough, but to have thirty killed in half an hour was outrageous. She has read many reports like this before, some far worse than this one, but every time she read them, she couldn’t help but feel her heart shatter. These were her ponies dying and suffering, losing their lives as the war continued to drag on.
Every day, she received more and more of this reports, about death and disaster. If was sad and heart breaking. She remembered a time when she received Friendship Reports instead of Casualty Reports, but that was a time long gone.
“Thirty ponies killed…” She repeated, in a much softer tone, as she looked down in dismay.
“Yes, sister, I know. It is a terrible thing to have so many of our subjects killed in a short amount of time.” Princess Luna said, removing her glasses and gently putting them down on the desk, as she tried to comfort her older sibling. “But let as remember why we are reading this report in the first place.” She said, gesturing to the file once more.
The report was rushed in to them, written by the commander of the Ponyville front. At first, the two Princesses thought that it was just another casualty report, listing the damages conducted by the recent battles in the area. But as Luna read through the file, she noticed something different and odd about it.
Putting her glasses on once more and levitating the file, she scanned through the report once more.
“It says here that these ponies were killed five miles behind our lines.” She said, looking towards her sister. “They were supposed to being medical supplies to the 78th Combat Regiment, when they were ambushed by an uncertain amount of enemy forces. When a team was sent out to check up on them, they found thirty dead bodies and the medical supplies gone.”
“Yes, I noticed that too.” Celestia said nodding. “I don’t like it. To have our own troops killed within their lines. A place they considered safe.”
“Yes, it is truly shocking.” Luna said. “From what General Thunder Shock said in his remarks, he believed that it was the doing of enemy infiltrators. They don’t know how many are out there, but they seem to be everywhere. His forces have received a dozen raids on different stockades during the past week. Its forcing him to pull out some units in the front lines, so that they would have enough forces to defend the stockades. Although this ensures the safety of our rear, it also has a draw back.”
“It’s forcing us to thin down our lines…” Celestia concluded as she stood up. “…yes, I understand.”
She moved away from the desk towards the large open window.
From there, she had a great view of the surrounding area. The vast fields of grass and the dense forest that composed the area around them.
Canterlot Castle’s position on the side of a mountain enabled it to have a great view of the land from Canterlot to Ponyville.
She use to stand next to a window, or on a balcony, to enjoy the beautiful land in front of her. It used to be a peaceful place, where the chirping of birds and cool breeze create a relaxing scene.
But the natural sounds were now replaced by the roar of canons, while the relaxing scenery was changed into the horrific sight of destruction. From the distance, she could see smoke rise from the far off town of Ponyville, as the recent bombardment set fire to more homes. The area around Ponyville was turning into a war zone, as bodies and destruction littered the area, while General Thunder Shock and his forces held the line and blocked the enemy from breaking through.
But as reports of ambushes and raids within their lines started to pile in, Celestia knew that not all of the enemy’s forces were blocked. There were still some that were breaking through, as they went deep within their lines to wreak havoc and confusion. Raiding supplies, ambushing reinforcements, they did everything to destruct Equestria’s forces from the front.
They needed to be dealt with, as soon as possible. But how?
A thorough search of the rear must be conducted, as they sweep the area for the infiltrators. But where will they get the forces required for the job? General Thunder Shock could not spare any more of his units, he was already stretched thin. With force holding the front, while others garrisoning stockades, he would not have enough ponies for the job of clearing the rear.
They could ask for reinforcement from the other army groups, but they too were having problems of their own. Newly promoted General Shining Armor and his combined forces composed of units from Equestria and the Crystal Empire, were being pushed back, as the enemy made a major push through the snowy north. Gen. Armor would need all the forces he had, so the chances of getting reinforcement from him were zero.
General Shield and his Pony-Buffalo force also couldn’t provide help, seeing that he and his force of seven thousand ponies and buffalos were trapped in the town of Appleloosa, while General Raven and her force try to push their way through the enemy lines and regain contact with them.
There was just no force to spare for a task as big as sweeping the rear. It would take up too much time and occupy too many units. They would need to look somewhere else for a solution.
Sighing, Celestia shook her head. “Oh, Luna, what are we to do? If we don’t stop these raids and ambushes behind our lines, then it would slowly wear us down. They are like mosquitoes, who slowly try to suck our blood, while we waste time and effort on fruitlessly trying to crush them. We just don’t have the resources to stop them.”
“Well, dear sister, there is another way…” Luna said, pulling out the other file that was given to them. She stood up from her seat and levitated the file, as she moved closer towards her sister. “This is a suggestion given by Captain Striker of the Scouting Corps. The Captain served as a commander of a scouting company in the Ponyville front, carrying little and moving quickly, gathering as much information they can. These are the forces that are always in the front lines, trying to gather information of enemy positions and strength. But when he was injured during a mission, he was given a desk job and pulled out from front line combat. He once suggested this plan, but it was rejected because we thought it would be a waste of resources. But now, it seems one part of his plan would prove useful in our current predicament.
Celestia took the file and levitated it in front of her. As she looked at it, she read the words written in front.
“Project H.O.O.F.”