Chapters By late January, the war had turned badly for Equestria. Canterlot fell to the Gryphonian 2nd Army under General Rodes of Tribe Goldenbeak after a long three month siege. With garrison of up to 1,000 Royal Guardsponies, the civilian population, and the Royal Sisters were currently unaccounted for, morale in the Army of Equestria and its attached militia units plummeted. With Canterlot firmly secured and confident in the low spirits of the Army of Equestria, Gryphonian 1st Army under General Ferik of Tribe Cloudbreaker advanced southwest towards the major port of Los Pegasus. Despite the loss of Canterlot and other earlier disasters at Baltimare, Canterbury Junction, and Ponyville, the Army of Equestria met Gryphonian 1st Army and held them at bay at a river crossing east of the White Tail Woods. General Ferik, surprised at the ferocious resistance of the Equestrians, proceeded to entrench himself firmly on one side of the river. The Army of Equestria, under the de facto command of Major General Twilight Sparkle, also entrenched themselves on their side of the river.
Both sides at this point were perfectly willing and waiting for the other to come to them.
This was the status quo for over a week since the two armies met. By now, the artillery on both sides had remained quiet for over three days. Neither side wanted to fire first lest they be forced to attack across the river and throw themselves at a well prepared defensive line. Thus, the two armies were locked in an intense staring contest. Though General Ferik relished fighting and being at the forefront of it, the failure of his initial attack spooked him into his loss of initiative. In contrast, Twilight Sparkle was quite at a loss of what to do, as commanding the Army of Equestria was her largest command yet in comparison to the simple Division she commanded at Ponyville. She quite literally didn't know what she was doing. The tension was quite thick between them and they both stressed over when the other would make a mistake.
The soldiers they commanded however were quite bored out of their minds. They both knew the enemy was there on the other side of the river, but both had explicit orders not to engage without orders. Thus, they simply sat around their campfires, rested in their tents, drilled under the lesser officers, ate what food they had, rested some more, occasionally shot at bottles with their shootsticks or muskets, slid around on frozen puddles, sang their respective national anthems, gambled in Liar's Dice, pluck the feathers from chickens, read what reading material they had, rested some more, told wild stories about their commanders, reminisce about things before the war, make plans for after the war, tend to their uniforms, clean their weapons, write letters home, and most importantly, rested.
One pony had a different idea. Her name was Junebug and she was part of the Ponyville Earth Pony Volunteers. Her once curly orange mane was flattened and worn and her tan coat mottled with grime and dirt, her hooves especially. She was carrying a bag of apples, freshly supplied from Los Pegasus. Junebug had seen some of the worst the war had to offer. She was there at Canterbury Junction and watched thousands of her fellow ponies be gunned down in many futile charges against a unit of griffons entrenched behind a three foot high stone wall. She was there at the three day long campaign in Ponyville in which their successive attacks proved pointless against the flexible maneuvering of Gryphonian 2nd Army. The Slush March back to Los Pegasus was the most recent one, without trains or airships, the ponies were reduced to marching as fast as they could back to nearest city to resupply. The winter snow however, combined with a week of unseasonably mild weather, reduced the ground to a slushy and muddy mass. The Army of Equestria's movements were slowed considerably, not helped by the constant harassment from far-advancing griffon skirmishers which only slowed them even further.
Junebug thought on the Slush March often, and found it a little sad that every time someone in the rear reported to Major General Sparkle about a skirmisher attack, she would halt the army and prepare it for a fierce battle which never came. The skirmishers would always retreat back to the safety of their own lines, then when the Army of Equestria packed up and began moving again, the skirmishers would come back and repeat the process. The Army of Equestria's division of pegasi were powerless to stop this due to the skirmishers often simply staying on the ground where their green cloaks and dull colored feathers allowed them to blend in with the foliage. The pegasi, in contrast, were made to fight their enemies in the air in close combat, being equipped with hoofswords and armored wings and thus stood out prominently against the sky. This leads into skirmishers managing to spot pegasi fighters nearly instantly and thus beating a hasty retreat. The Pegasi could not follow because they would picked to pieces by the skirmisher's incredibly accurate rifle fire and wouldn't be able to follow because in the sky they would not spot the skirmishers.
All in all, the strength of the Army of Equestria and attached militia units totaled over 78,000 at present, with a few hundred being lost in the Mud March and nearly half its strength lost at Canterbury and Ponyville. In contrast, many of the ponies estimated the Gryphonian 1st Army's strength at 100,000 to 200,000 griffon soldiers, excluding foreign auxiliaries. Indeed, many wonder why General Ferik hasn't simply swarmed the Army of Equestria with this superior numbers. The idealists, wherever they were and there were few, speculated that General Ferik simply cared deeply for his men and would not waste them on a bloody frontal attack. The cynics, which made up the majority of the army, told the idealists that General Ferik is just simply biding his time for a better opportunity that would allow him a better victory that would look good on the papers back home and wouldn't ruin his army completely.
Junebug continued her trek down to the river. The river was called the Canterlot River, owing to it leading directly from Canterlot and out into the sea. This river crossing was shallow enough that a foal could remain dry if he walked through. Both sides generally kept their distance from the crossing itself, lest there be a conflict. The river itself however was partially frozen over, with the occasional block of ice floating down river. Thankfully, despite overcast skies, there hasn't been any rain recently. It was strange to Junebug though, the weather taking care of itself without the pegasi, and she was sure that it was a foreign sight to anypony.
Junebug stopped at the edge of the crossing and shouldered her shootstick. Her armor of scale mail and plate was back at her tent and for now she simply wore her brown cloak. Useful as it was, moving around in that armor was a nightmare, she couldn't imagine how the regular soldiers did it. She was incredibly envious of the griffon soldiers who wore simple leathers underneath their cloaks and a iron helmet, but didn't know if it was any better. She'd have to ask.
"Hey!" she called out. The griffon soldier on the other side of the river turned to look. As Junebug thought, he was wearing a leather jerkin underneath his blue cloak, signifying him as regular line infantry. Junebug held up a hoof and continued yelling. "What's it like wearing that armor!?"
The griffon responded. "It's very warm! I can do cartwheels in this thing too!" He pointed at his leather jerkin with a slight smile on his face. It had obvious signs of wear and tear and what appeared to be a scorch mark. His iron helmet fared a little better, only bearing a single scratch. "It's not exactly a full suit of armor, but it's way cheaper and miles more comfortable than yours!"
"I'm jealous!" Junebug chuckled, then immediately remembered why she had gone down to the river. She pulled out an apple from her bag then held it up in the air. "I got some apples! Wanna share!?"
The griffon's posture perked up. He shouted back, "Sure!" He grabbed his musket and swept his cloak back then made his way to the center of the river crossing. Junebug smiled as she did the same.
This was the routine for Junebug ever since it became clear that neither side was going to move. One day, she had quietly, and illegally, snuck away from her tent and went down river simply to break the monotony. She was simply tossing rocks in the river, watching them skip across before sinking, when she realized there was a griffon right across the river. However, he was not trying to kill her, and indeed he didn't even notice her. He was simply sitting down, sketching something in a worn down book. Junebug stood there, not knowing what to do, and her nervousness was replaced with fright when the griffon had looked up and noticed her. Without hesitation, she smiled and waved. The griffon, in return, smiled and waved back. Junebug immediately legged it back to her own lines. The next day however, she came back, and the griffon was there. They had soon got to tossing each other things from their sides of the river. Junebug would throw apples and oranges. The griffon would toss bread and tea packets. The next few days, they shouted to each other. She learned the griffon's name was Theo, of the Tribe Tempest, and that he was a botanist back in Gryphonia who studied mountain flowers. Theo learned that Junebug was a gardener in Ponyville. The two had hit it off quite smoothly. Today was the second time they would meet in the center of the river crossing.
As Theo approached, Junebug tossed him a shiny red apple. Theo caught it with good speed and immediately began biting into it. Apples were an excellent change of pace for him, especially with 1st Army being so far from established supply lines. His thin build obviously wasn't voluntary. He sat down on a dry rock, still chewing into the apple, and Junebug sat down on another rock across from him. He held in a burp then tossed the apple core away into the river. Junebug took out two more apples.
Theo took one of the apples and bit into it. As he chewed, he tipped his helmet upwards and looked at Junebug. "So, how's your day been?"
"Boring as usual. Drill, eating the grass." Junebug shuddered. She bit into her apple and immediately relaxed. "All that good stuff. What about you?"
Theo shrugged. "Same, really wish it'll be spring soon."
"You and me both. It's too cold." Junebug shivered briefly to prove her point. "Is it cold like this up in Gryphonia?"
Theo nodded and threw his spent apple into the river. Junebug took out another apple which he gratefully began eating. He talked as he chewed. "Only up in the mountains. I only really go up there to catalog Edelweiss."
As a botanist, Theo often described the mundane adventures he had traveling in order to catalog various plants and classify species. Yesterday, Theo regaled Junebug of how he discovered a very fast growing vine in the forests of Southern Gryphonia. He had made camp in next to a couple of trees bearing this vine. The next morning, his tent and the entire campsite was covered in it. He later flew back into a city, while leaving behind his belongings, to write a dissertation on this strange vine. Junebug found the story quite thrilling despite Theo's modesty about it. He wasn't too proud of the fact that the vine had to face an extermination team upon his Tribe leader's hearing of how fast it grew.
Theo reached under his cloak, revealing his satchel. He pulled out of this satchel the same book Junebug saw him sketch in when she first saw him. He flipped through the dusty pulpy pages, revealing many detailed pencil sketches of various flowers, their respective taxonomy, their habitats, and any special details. Junebug looked curiously as Theo stopped on one page. Theo held the book out for Junebug, and she scooted up closer. It was a page on Edelweiss.
Edelweiss was a flower that grew in the mountains of Northern Gryphonia. As Theo began explaining to her, Edelweiss is one of Gryphonia's most beloved flowers. For centuries, it served as a folk medicine when ground down properly. For symbolism, it was generally considered to be one of the most wonderful gifts a male could give to a female. A noble of excellent blood descended from the lines of conquerers, heroes, and warmasters could shower the female of his choice with gold, jewelry, beautiful castles in the mountains, and tales of his own bravery, but the female could always be won over by a poor commoner who picked a single Edelweiss. This was because of the flower's great rarity in the ancient times and its starry and rugged white appearance. It is still considered a great gift even in the present due in no small part to the fact that, while more common, it is nearly always found within Timberwolf territories and only blooms for a small part of the summer.
Junebug rubbed her hoof on the meticulously detailed drawing of the flower wistfully. "Do you own any?"
Theo shook his head, somewhat regretfully. He tossed his third apple into the drink. "I've had chances to pluck them myself, but there's not really a point without someone to give it to."
Junebug poked Theo. He turned his head at her and saw her smile. "I'd love to have one in a garden." Theo rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling.
"What kinds of gardens do you grow anyway?" he said. Junebug tapped her chin with her hoof.
"Well, I mostly grew stuff like lilies, anemones, daisies were incredibly popular too." Junebug began remembering some aspects of Ponyville she really didn't want to remember. That charge up Sweet Apple Acres orchard, the fight in the town, the loss of many of the finer officers and soldiers she served with. She could remember the choking of the smoke, the heat of the shootsticks and muskets, and the blood curdling screams of the wounded. She grimaced, but before Theo noticed, she saved face and said, "I absolutely love daffodils!"
Theo smiled slightly, still chuckling. "Daffodils are indeed beautiful flowers."
"Do you have a garden?"
"I do, a large one actually. Wouldn't be a good botanist if I didn't." Theo looked at his book and began flipping through. "I grow all kinds of things, flowers, fruits, vegetables, even have a cherry blossom tree straight from the far east. A colleague of mine is taking care of it for me while I'm out here."
Junebug snickered. She could imagine his colleague panicking as to whether which plant needed how much water or which fruit needed a certain kind of fertilizer. "It must have been hard, just leaving like that."
Theo frowned, halting his page turning. "Was, indeed it was." He closed the book with a sigh. "I can only hope to return to it now."
Junebug frowned along with him. "Well, I do hope you make it home back to your plants."
Theo quietly said, "Yep." If there was anything he felt he shouldn't tell Junebug other than the movements of the 1st Army, it was his opinion on making it back home. Everyday it felt as if he wouldn't survive the next battle. He had already seen people like Junebug, people with hopes, dreams, and friendliness, die horrible and pointless deaths. He gently felt the trim of his book. He turned to Junebug, held up the book, and said, "I plan on getting this published one day. It's already got quite the list of plants and flowers cataloged."
Junebug felt her smile creeping back. "Well, good luck with that." She briefly reflected on what she would do when the war ended. She sighed and said, "As for me, I guess I'll just go back to gardening. Not much else to do."
Theo shrugged. "Well, won't argue with that. Gardening is a very fine profession." Junebug blushed, taking a bite out of her apple to hide it. In truth, Junebug didn't think of herself as much of a gardener. The flower trio, Daisy, Lily, and Rose, were always much better at growing flowers than she was.
She looked up at the dreary sky. Although she wanted to simply sit and talk with Theo more on flowers more, she recognized it had to end for today. She held out her hoof and said, "I think we should leave for now, Theo. Same time tomorrow?"
Theo nodded and shook her hoof with his talons. He placed his book back into the satchel and said, "Indeed. Same time tomorrow, Junebug. Have a nice day."
They nodded to each other, then picked up their weapons and left the river crossing for their respective lines. Junebug for Equestria, Theo for Gryphonia. The next day would just be another day in the seven months of the Griffon-Equestrian War.
Baltimare was one of the three major ports on the Equestrian east coast, Fillydelphia and Manehatten being the other two. Both it and Fillydelphia were under control of the Gryphonian Army. Both cities were under the jurisdiction of the Gryphonian 7th Corps under command of Major General Bernn of Tribe Dauntless, whom now holds the title Governor General of Equestria. It was simple to move around 7th Corps' infantry and other personnel between the city due to their relative proximity to each other. Manehatten was still a contested area between Gryphonian 3rd Army and a large element of Equestrian Regular Army and Militia.
Fillydelphia cooperated with the griffons quite easily, they helped map areas unknown to the griffons, they prepared food and homes for the soldiers, and quite a few even joined the Gryphonian Foreign Auxiliary. Their collaboration was rewarded with being able to nominally govern themselves while under the jurisdiction of the Governor General and also with modernization of the city. Their firefly-lit streetlights were being replaced with electric lights, their gravel roads were being paved over with concrete and asphalt, and their old locomotives replaced by faster and more fuel efficient ones. It made for an interesting, but incredibly friendly relationship between the invaders and the invaded.
In stark contrast, Baltimare was a saw's edge from becoming a battlefield everyday. From day one since the invasion, Baltimare resisted Gryphonian influence by force of arms, and by today, through disobedience and sabotage. Whenever a team of griffons tried to repave the roads, ponies would lie down in the street until forcefully removed. Whenever an electric streetlight was placed, a pony would replace it with a firefly streetlight by the next morning. When the new locomotives arrived, they bombed the warehouses, scattered the coal into the sea, and tore up the railroad while killing many griffon soldiers in the chaos that ensued.
It was in Baltimare that the vast majority of 7th Corps was garrisoned, with only a division of griffons under the command of Brigadier General Verna stationed in Fillydelphia. Griffon soldiers were encouraged to travel in groups of 6, and any suspicious activity was to be reported to the police, for all the good it did. It was also here that Governor General Bernn was based. The Baltimare City Hall allowed him full access of an office so he may govern the occupied cities effectively. In this office was a simple wooden desk of, a shelf for books, and three chairs excepting the Governor General's own. He did not need much else and in fact he resented anything that reminded him of the fact that he essentially was out for the rest of the war. No griffon, however old or young, wanted the desk job. It was a necessary job however, one that couldn't just simply be contracted to civilians, but the Governor General felt completely wasted in this department. Fighting terrorists and saboteurs in the rear echelon just wasn't the same. At least he had gotten the proper paperwork out of the way for repairs to the Baltimare rail network and the various warehouses damaged, but his usual time to himself was occupied with another duty he familiarized himself all too well.
To the mother of Corporal Udesky of Tribe Valiant
I write to you with the unfortunate news that your son, Udesky of the 17th Infantry Regiment, has been killed in the line of duty. He gave his life proudly and bravely for King and Country. Due to the extreme differences in rank between ourselves, I did not know Corporal Udesky properly, and I am ashamed to have only learned his name now through the reports of his death in the casualty listings. However, I picture that Udesky was a fine griffon, one that is one of sound mind and of selfless courage. The same kind of courage that allows one to lay down his life in service to Gryphonia as others have before him and as others have now. I wish to offer you my sincerest condolences and I am proud to serve along such as brave soldiers such as Udesky. He will be remembered as long as you and your family live.
Yours most humbly, Major General Bernn of Tribe Dauntless, Commander of 7th Corps, Governor General of Occupied Equestria
He placed the quill back into the nearly empty inkwell. He signed the letter below, folded it and placed into an envelope with the right address, then placed the letter in the stack of other letters he had written today. He took of his half-moon reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. Then he ran his talon smoothly up the stack and counted 34 letters. He had another 205 to write by this evening, including the letters to the families of ponies killed in the chaos. On the battlefield, this was how Bernn passed the time. As a leader of soldiers relying on him to make sure they all got home safely, he felt responsible for each and every death. The other generals regarded Bernn as somewhat mad for writing letters for every fallen soldier, and indeed Bernn nearly shot himself after a particularly grisly battle in Zebrica a decade ago. Still however, he continued writing the letters, if only because it was simple habit.
Before he could start a new letter, there was a knock at his door. He frowned, he wasn't expecting anybody. He figured he might as well be polite though. "Door's open."
The door opened and in walked Bernn's Reconnaissance Commander, Colonel Cutter of Tribe Balmoral. He wore his simple brown officer fatigues, faded after great use, and he kept his hat under his arm. He saluted crisply, and Bernn simply gestured him to a seat. Manners would have dictated Bernn stand up and return the salute, but he had letters to write at the moment. Cutter paid this no mind, he knew of Bernn's habits, and simply pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Bernn's desk.
Bernn clasped his hands together and rested them on the desk. "Is there something you need, Colonel Cutter?"
Cutter nodded, remaining stiff in his chair and firmly at attention. "Sir, I am here to ask of you to authorize a reprisal against the terrorists behind the warehouse bombing yesterday."
Bernn cocked his head. "Reprisal? How do you intend to retaliate against these terrorists, Colonel?" Cutter was a bit young for his rank, but he made a decent recon commander. He was also incredibly good at Liar's Dice for some reason. Bernn ascribed this to his upbringing in a tavern frequented by travelers where gambling was as common as the fights.
"Simple, Sir," said Cutter as he shifted forward in his seat. "You see, these terrorists claim to represent the good ponies of Equestria, when all they've done is hinder the progress of our good work in civilizing this country. They've murdered and robbed us poor griffons and I feel a retaliatory action would be necessary." Cutter ended with a smile, confident in his explanation. There was a full minute of contemplation from Governor General Bernn.
"I'd like to know how , Colonel."
Cutter cleared his throat, pausing a bit to find the right words. "Well, sir. Basically we publicly execute ponies in plain view of all, in view of the terrorists who hide among their numbers and among those who would think of joining them. Get them to understand what happens to terrorists and saboteurs when they mess with Gryphonia."
Bernn nodded in contemplation. He picked up his reading glasses and fiddled about with them in his hands. Cutter twiddled his talons, awaiting Bernn's authorization.
Cutter added, "It'd also possibly draw out any of the terrorists who feel guilty for the uh..." he coughed then continued on, "The sort of deaths of ponies who were not involved in any way."
Bernn leaned back in his chair. Unlike most griffons who found themselves sometimes overstating their point, Bernn was incredibly understated. He was never happy nor sad nor amused nor even annoyed by anything. His men often called him Stoneface, often times to his face as he bore the inevitable stonefaced look. Thus, it was incredibly hard for Cutter to tell whether Bernn approved or not.
Cutter continued on. "I know you view the ponies as savages. We all know it's our divine duty to civilize them. Plus, they started it with the explosion of the Monoceros. No one in Gryphonia is going to miss a couple of ponies anyway."
Bernn nodded. Then he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. "Colonel, I want you to bear with me for a minute." Colonel Cutter nodded, going back to his stiff posture. "Now, Colonel, say you're a farmer. You breed chickens, pigs, cows, all kinds of animals. You're proud of these animals, purebred they are, these pigs are the heaviest, these cows give the sweetest milk, and these chickens lay eggs of gold. Now, in the middle of the night, wolves jump your defenses and steal several of your chickens in the middle of the night. The pigs and the cows saw this but were powerless to stop it. By your logic, in order to solve this problem, you would slaughter your pigs and cows because they saw the wolves steal the chickens."
Cutter briefly glanced away, then slowly nodded. "Well, Sir... the-"
"I don't mean to interrupt you Colonel, but I don't think much can defend your argument."
"Well, something has to be done, Sir!"
Bernn nodded. He pulled a blank piece of paper out of the large stack of them and dipped his quill in the inkwell. "Well, what do you do when wolves steal your chickens, Colonel?"
Cutter knew the answer, he'd gone hunting with friends before. "Hunt the wolves."
"Exactly." Bernn put his glasses back on and continued. "You're not going to get anywhere by slaughtering your other animals. They did nothing wrong. The only people who've done wrong are the ones who commit the crime. Besides, this isn't a Gryphonian colony yet, this is barely occupied territory. For all intents and purposes, this is still their ground, which means they won't respect us. We have to learn to with that until they learn to live with us."
Cutter nodded and said, "So you want me to hunt the terrorists then."
Bernn shrugged. He began a new letter for the mother of Private Kilrain of Tribe Fleetwood and focused his attention on it rather than Cutter. "To the best of your ability. Obviously it will be difficult, but it'll be easier if the general populace is on your side."
Cutter nodded violent, flush faced and somewhat embarrassed. "I see, Sir. I apologize for considering such a thing."
"It's understandable, Colonel, we're all on edge here." Bernn paused in writing this letter and looked back up at Cutter. "For all we know, the ponies could have smuggled a bomb in here that could explode and kill us both." Cutter's eyes went wide and he stiffened in his seat. "That was a joke."
Cutter cleared his throat, relaxing. Bernn normally wasn't one for jokes, which highlighted how much he hated being Governor General. "Well, I should take my leave then, Sir. If I am dismissed."
"You are, Colonel." Cutter stood up and made his way to the door. However, he stopped and turned back.
"Sir, I can see you definitely resent your post here." Bernn resisted the temptation to roll his eyes at the obvious. However, he gave Cutter the benefit of his attention and allowed him to continue. "Have you made Marshal Argus aware of that?"
Bernn nodded and went back to his letter. "Of course. They don't, however, call him Stonewall for nothing." Marshal Argus of Tribe Firewind was an incredibly controversial figure in the Equestrian Invasion. As the head of Gryphonian Army Group Equestria, he was essentially the head of the occupation of Equestria. He was actually quite on good terms with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, before the war at least, and he respected the ponies as much as he loved his men. Neither pony or griffon liked him all that much however. Ponies for incredibly obvious reasons, and griffons because they never get to see pitched battle under his command. The long siege of Canterlot and the ongoing siege of Manehatten were all of his orchestration rather than the General whom was actually at those locations. This created a large amount of friction between him and his Generals. Argus saw the Generals as mindless sheep leading lions and the Generals saw him as an immobile Stonewall.
"Right, Sir." Cutter opened the door and made his way out. Bernn dipped his quill in the inkwell and went back to writing. However, the quill only scratched the surface of the paper with no ink. Before he could get a new inkwell, Cutter poked his head through the door. "Also, will you be attending the Ball held in honor for the hero tonight? I hear the ponies have a lovely cellist named Octavia who will be performing with quite the troop of instruments."
Bernn shrugged. "I'll see, I have a lot of work to do." Cutter nodded and shut the door behind him. Bernn pulled open a drawer on his desk and pulled out another inkwell. He uncapped it then dipped the quill into the fresh ink. He resumed the writing the letter.
To the mother of Private Kilrain of Tribe Fleetwood
I regretfully inform you that your son, Kilrain, has been killed in the line of duty. He died a heroic death for his King and his Country. As Major General of his Corps, I did not know Private Kilrain personally and indeed I am saddened when I look upon the casualty listings and see names that I do not know. Kilrain was no different from any of them, all of them have families, lives, reasons for why they would give their lives in service to Gryphonia. I am sure he acted with honor and respect to his family and his country and I am proud that I may lead such noble griffons into combat. I wish to offer you my sincerest condolences and I only ask that you remember him as a proud son of yours, of Tribe Fleetwood, and of Gryphonia.
Yours most humbly, Major General Bernn of Tribe Dauntless, Commander of 7th Corps, Governor General of Occupied Equestria
Spike climbed up to the messenger pole. At the top was a little house for all the messenger pigeons the various armies of Equestria across the country used to communicate with each other. He wore a custom made little blue uniform and wore on his collar the rank of Captain. He checked the holes and frowned deeply, for only two pigeons have arrived this afternoon. He knew of the resistance sects in Baltimare, and of the awaiting regular army units up in Tall Tale, and of Rarity commanding the meager airship flotilla, and of the besieged Manehatten. He pulled the messages out of the pigeons carrier bags and checked the stamps.
A trio of diamonds in an inverted triangle, Rarity and her airships. An Orange in front of an M, General Orange in Manehatten. He sighed. He enjoyed status reports from Rarity, it was his only kind of correspondence with her. Two months ago, the situation had deemed it necessary that Spike stop his frequent letters to Rarity. Spike knew he had to soldier on however, he at least had Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy to talk to.
Unfortunately for him, talking had to wait. Even winters in the south were cold, especially at night. This particular night was far colder than most and even though dragons could survive excessive heat, excessive cold was a completely different story. He had to thank whoever stitched his thick wool coat for him. Despite being made for dragons however, it was stifling at best in warmer climates, and he'd gotten some pretty resentful and envious looks from the common soldiers.
Spike trudged through the slushy ground. With the weather factories having no one to run them, the weather had been become completely unpredictable. One day, it'd be sunny, the next it'd be a complete blizzard, yesterday it rained frogs on the coast for no particular reason. Thankfully, it snowed relatively little the past week or so and that meant the Army wouldn't suffer as much. He hated thinking about the winter up in Manehatten, how the snow comes up to a pony's neck, or how General Orange even manages it all.
He walked past a group of soldiers. Earth ponies, huddled together around a fire. They warmed themselves with what blankets they had and what warm food they had left. Despite being near one of the major ports, Twilight had made a serious miscalculation as to how many resources the army would need. The result was that real edible food was incredibly valuable while ammunition and spare shootstick parts were abundant enough to be used as currency in unofficial trades. Warm clothes were also a rare commodity in that in the rush of the beginning of the war, no one had enough to time to mass produce a winter uniform for the ponies.
There was another thing Spike noticed, and it was something that incredibly unnerved him. He himself had never been in combat, but he knew ponies like Junebug, Lyra, or Bon-Bon that had. Nearly all of them had this strange unfocused look in their eyes, as if staring off into the distance. They seemed fine mentally and physically, they could hold a conversation and even tell jokes, but the eyes told a much more different story. Spike was glad, and often hated that he was glad, that he had never seen combat. Being Twilight Sparkle's Chief of Staff made sure of that.
He could see the faint light of a lantern. Spike could see Twilight, even despite her being silhouetted in the warm orange glow. He could also make out two more silhouettes of other ponies, a unicorn by the looks of it and maybe an earth pony. He made his way over, keeping his face low into his coat. He could already hear them talking.
"... and there is a corps here, covering the ford, that's approximately 20 or 30,000 griffons." Twilight was explaining something. Spike could see here pointing to a map, spread out on a spare ammo crate. The other ponies must have been General Lancer and General Fancypants. "And over here is another corps we have yet to identify, either their commander or their numbers. We have to assume they're in reserve considering their location. All in all..." Twilight exhaled deeply and leaned forward on the crate. Spike had walked up next to her, she hadn't noticed, she was too deep in their situation. "It's an army over twice our strength at least."
Major General Lancer nodded. He was an old Earth Pony, his blue mane was nearly overtaken with streaks of gray. "We're 80,000 strong for now. We've been reinforced by Los Pegasus militia, it's only an extra thousand or two but they'll have to do."
"We can't rely on militia forever." Fancypants quipped. Lancer huffed at Fancypants' interruption.
"We can't sit here forever." Twilight piped up. She didn't need another sparring match between Lancer and Fancypants again. She looked over at Spike, her eyes had briefly widened then returned to their exhausted appearance. Spike handed her the letters and she quickly tore out the contents of both.
She read the correspondence from General Orange first.
General Sparkle
Griffons are beginning token assaults into inner city. Am not confident we will hold. Ponies are starving to death if they are not freezing. Send any help you can.
General Orange
She cringed at "starving to death." She pondered how it really could have come to that, ponies dying of hunger rather than the open battlefield. Freezing to death wasn't a preferable alternative either. The thing that got her most was "send any help you can". As if she could considering they were on opposite sides of Equestria with three griffon armies in her way, not to mention having supply issues of her own. She placed the correspondence down and opened the next one from Rarity.
Twilight
Have raided several supply depots in east. Will try to keep Manehatten resupplied as long as possible. We continue to avoid griffon airships with ease. Do not worry for us.
Rarity
Well, at least she didn't have to worry about that. For a dressmaker, Rarity made a fine commander of the remaining airships after the initial Baltimare attack. However, Twilight had lingering doubts as to how Rarity could supply Manehatten's army with only five airships at her disposal. They weren't even particularly large airships anyway but they evaded the larger griffon airships well enough to last five months and still continue on.
Most damning of all things was the fact that she still haven't heard anything of the ponies up in the Northwest. Five fresh divisions could surely help the army. Yet, nopony was coming down, nopony was even communicating to Twilight. The other correspondences were at least pretty honest with their situation. For all she knew, Tall Tale and the surrounding area were now aligned with the griffons and those five divisions of ponies were now foreign auxiliaries that will get thrown at her army like double canister from a cannon.
Across that river was an army of griffons twice her size, commanded by a General who knew more about war than she ever could. That General who commanded even more generals who knew exactly what they were doing and those generals commanding large units of griffons lusting for the blood of ponies and still eager to avenge the destruction of the Monoceros over five or six months ago. There was no conceivable way of escape except by the sea or heading south into the desert where inevitably the army would disintegrate from lack of food. Trying to attack the griffons meant losing ponies, and losing too many ponies could effectively cripple her before reinforcements could arrive, if they ever did arrive. Where would she go if she did claim the day? The Crystal Empire maybe. The griffons recognized them as a separate state from Equestria and thus would respect their neutrality, but certainly the griffon army in Canterlot would intercept them and most likely crush them. She couldn't go south for Appleloosa or Dodge City because there was little to no grass in that area for the ponies to pasture over and most likely they'd all starve. Going out to sea with the entire army was very much impossible due to the lack of ships. She could try going over the griffons if she could cast enough wing spells for every unicorn and earth pony in the army, which probably wouldn't work anyway because the griffons all have guns and rockets at their disposal. Tunneling wouldn't work either.
"Ma'am?" Twilight barely heard Lancer trying to catch her attention, for the situation was just about dawning on her: The Army of Equestria was going to be destroyed.
"Twilight?" Spike tried to catch her attention too. With a huff, Twilight put Rarity's message down gently and then smacked her face on the map.
Talc was a Crystal Pony.
The Crystal Empire found itself being circumvented in the invasion of Equestria due to its status as a sovereign nation, however small it was. In fact, King Lycurgus of Gryphonia himself more or less classed the Crystal Empire as a micronation rather than a full one, but did indeed recognize it as an independent entity. When the invasion started, King Lycurgus himself stated that the borders of the Crystal Empire would be respected. So for the most part in the Grypho-Equestrian War, the Crystal Empire has remained neutral.
That didn't mean they weren't curious however. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor still today consider joining the war on Equestria's side, but the fact remained that the Crystal Empire was very small. It was as much of an empire as pyrite was gold. Gryphonia on the other hand consisted of over fifty tribes of various griffons of different breeds, creeds, and territories, excluding conquests such as Zebrica or Canis. As much as they hated it, they needed to stay out of the war for the sake of their people.
The Crystal Ponies however share a common blood with the Equestrian Ponies, such that as every day goes by more and more Crystal Ponies believe the Crystal Empire should intervene. The Royal Couple very much agreed with their sentiments, but would not risk their lives in a war that was already lost.
That was where Talc came in. She was a scribe, as her inkwell cutie mark presented, who occasionally helped the Royal Couple ledger their official decrees and record anything important and store them in the archives. When she overheard a conversation between the Royal Couple regarding how they would judge the war lost, she jumped at the opportunity. Quite literally, as she broke her typewriter and spilled several wells of ink
"I will travel with the Army of Equestria! I will stick it with them through thick and thin, and I shall write to you if this war is lost or not!"
That was in December, three months since the war had started.
Talc had indeed met up with the Army of Equestria as they plodded along the Slush March in their retreat back in December. Most ponies warmed up to her immediately, others resented the fact that her nation remained neutral in the war. Talc understood this resentment as even she agreed the Crystal Empire had to do something. Being a scribe for a historical archive however taught you to consider multiple perspectives.
"He's a nice guy."
"Junebug, he's a griffon."
"Well, shucks, I don't fuss about you liking Lyra so much, Bon-Bon."
"That's different. Don't you read the pamphlets they give you about the griffons? They eat foals. "
"That is not true."
What Talc liked most however was the perspective of the infantry. Although the officers were quite pleasant and spoke eloquently to her when she asked it, there was something quite different when speaking to a soldier. When she came to the Army, she had brought her typewriter and many sheets of paper. Often when she had the time she simply recorded the many conversations she had overheard, joined in, and witnessed over her stay. Some talks were quite philosophical, as many often argued the point of the war, why it had started, and how future wars such as this could be prevented. Some talks were more nostalgic, recalling the lush fields of home or the smell of pie or the taste of strawberries. Most conversations however were very typical of bored infantry with a lot of time on their hands.
"Griffons are omnivorous!" Bon-Bon chewed on a wildflower as she explained the food chain of griffons to Junebug and Lyra. "They eat foals, they eat zebras, they eat Arabian Horses, anything is meat to them!"
Junebug skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Bon-Bon, that's a little mean. Could you imagine if the griffons thought all we ate were flowers and grass?"
Lyra tore up a bit of muddy grass and stuffed it into her mouth. "Actually, now that you mention it, that's really all we eat now. I haven't had a good pile of oats in months."
Bon-Bon nodded grimly. "I miss oats. I hate oats."
Talc, Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Junebug were sitting on logs gathered in a little circle. It had been ten days since Gryphonian 1st Army met the Army of Equestria at Canterlot River. Now, both sides were content on entrenching themselves and waiting for the other side to make a move. Even though the armies were barely half a kilometer from each other, most ponies treated it as a bit of a vacation. This was the first time in months since most ponies in the army were able to sit down, talk, and most importantly, sleep. Talc herself didn't get much sleep but that came with having to work long days in the archives. Here, she was tripping over ponies who sleep like the dead.
"Say, Talc." Talc looked over at Junebug. "What's Crystal Corn taste like?"
Talc blinked. One of the things she came to expect was people asking her questions about the Crystal Empire. She was more confused however by the fact that the conversation switched from generalization of griffons to Crystal Empire cuisine. "It's like rock candy. In fact, a lot of our nourishment so to speak is like rock candy. But it's all definitely chewable though, and no sugar!"
"I could go for those berries." Junebug sighed deeply. "I hear they taste sweet."
Talc nodded, grinning. "Sweeter than a strawberry in season." Talc's grin faded however when she found the three ponies she sat with starting to lose their cheer. Nobody liked being reminded of what they didn't have. She cleared her throat and decided on changing the subject. "So, weather seems nice."
The ponies most shrugged and murmured at that. Truth be told, a perpetual overcast mixed with a light snowfall from last night wasn't exactly great weather. Talc kicked herself mentally, of all the things she could have done she ended up accidentally making them homesick. It could have been worse, she thought, she could have asked if they had killed anyone. However, her salvation from this awkward moment came from a passing pegasus.
Lyra looked up, and immediately her smile returned. "Fluttershy!"
Private First Class Fluttershy was part of Colonel Rainbow Dash's regiment of Pegasi Volunteers. As was usual, she wore a brown cloak signifying her militia status, but her plate armor and her shootstick were missing. She carried in her mouth a basket full of untrodden grass. Upon hearing her name, she looked over at Lyra and waved with a nervous smile.
Lyra immediately got up and dragged Fluttershy over then sat her down next to Talc. Lyra gestured to Fluttershy and said, "Talc, Fluttershy," then gestured to Talc, "Fluttershy, Talc."
Talc smiled warmly and held out a hoof for a shake. "Well, nice to meet you, Fluttershy." Fluttershy slowly drew out her own hoof, then shook Talc's hoof with little gusto. "Ah, I don't bite. So what's your story, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy seemed to hide behind that long pink mane of hers. Talc could make out her other eye beneath all those split ends, muck, and frazzled hairs. Talc joked to herself mentally, noting that just because one fights in a war doesn't mean one has to have nice hair. Fluttershy quietly said, "Story?"
Talc nodded. She made a mental note to get her typewriter later. "Yeah, story. Sort of like, how Lyra came to be in the Earth Pony Volunteers despite being a unicorn. Or how Junebug talks to that griffon across the river. What's interesting about you?"
Fluttershy's face dropped to a sullen expression. "Oh, there's nothing really interesting about me. I'm kind of boring."
"Nonsense!" Bon-Bon had interrupted the two, revealing that she was chewing on some grass out of Fluttershy's basket. "Fluttershy, tell Talc about what you did at Ponyville."
Lyra nodded violently, as did Junebug. Junebug said, "Yeah, I'd like to hear about that from you, Fluttershy."
Talc's curiosity was now piqued. "Oh, something happened at Ponyville?"
Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably. She had told this story a couple of times, usually to larger audiences. Even simply telling it to a group such as this was unnerving to a pony like herself. "Well... it's a bit of a boring story but I suppose..." she trailed off, quickly glancing at all four members of the circle. They all eagerly awaited Fluttershy's side of it. So, Fluttershy began. "It was during the Battle of Ponyville, the second day if I remember right."
November
Ponyville
"They just kept coming... they just kept coming... they just kept coming..." The Pegasi Volunteers had occupied one end of a bridge in the town of Ponyville. The other side was the ruined east orchard of Sweet Apple Acres, with trees having been felled by artillery or massed gunfire. From that bridge, one could see all the way past the orchard and out towards the roads that led to Fillydelphia and Baltimare. Most of the artillery that had tore up the orchard came from the griffons, who had over a hundred seventy guns, plus or minus ten, of various calibers and sizes. Artillery wasn't just the bigger killer of trees however, during the night before the second day the griffons chopped down even more trees.
Talc held up a roof, signalling for a question. "Why would they do that?"
Lyra shrugged. "From my perspective, it seemed like they needed a good sight on us, and the trees got in the way."
Bon-Bon nodded, continuing to chew on the fresh picked grass. "Applejack found it pretty disagreeable though."
Talc raised an eyebrow. "What happened with Applejack?"
Lyra and Bon-Bon glanced at each other nervously, then looked back at Talc. They said simultaneously, "That's not really important right now."
The entire Army of Equestria kept the entire river guarded with their left flank anchored in Ponyville. The right flank anchored itself around the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse in the West orchard. The ponies found themselves having to defend from Gryphonian 2nd Army's attempted large scale advances south towards the Apple farmhouse and north towards the town. The day for the Army of Equestria thus became one of sitting and waiting for the griffons to come to them and having to hold the line against their repeated assaults.
The day had ended in a slaughter for the griffons. Only about a thousand ponies were killed or wounded, compared to the near 8,500 griffons and foreign auxiliary ponies killed or wounded in the area.
And there were a lot of wounded.
As Fluttershy sat behind a makeshift wall of sandbags, she tried to drown out Raindrops' constant and shell-shocked mantra of, "They just kept coming," and the horrible haunting moans and screams of the wounded across the river. She did everything she could, she pressed her hooves against her ears, she shoved herself into her bulletridden cloak, and she had even tried taping Raindrops' mouth shut with duct tape. None of these methods worked and Fluttershy ended up right where she started, except with a now bleeding lip.
As night began falling, the regiment began settling into their cloaks for warmth in the approaching winter cold. They kept their shootsticks as close as a foal would keep a stuffed animal for comfort. Even Raindrops finally began mercifully quieting as sleep took her. Fluttershy was no exception, but unlike them, she just simply couldn't sleep. The cries of the wounded were still audible to her.
Cries of a wounded animal was nothing different to Fluttershy, but she knew that animal needed help. They squeaked, they barked, or howled in pain. Often she came to say a bird or an aardvark with a first aid kit ready and some tender loving care to boot. It was usually quite simple, recover the animal and heal it of its immediate injuries, then nurse it back to health back in her home. They do cry, but the cries stop once they are given a little love and care and even turn into squeaks of happiness.
These were not cries of wounded animals however. They were cries of wounded people. Birds cry, but not for medics or for help. Dogs bark, but not for water or medicine. Cats whimper in pain, but not for their mother.
All Fluttershy wanted was for them to stop, but she could do nothing about it.
At least not now. So she waited, with her ears still pierced by those horrible moans of pain, until night had come completely. She quietly snuck off and grabbed as many canteens and water bottles and anything else that could hold water inside of town and stuffed them inside her kitbag. She also made sure to grab a few blankets as well. Fluttershy was no earth pony, but most earth ponies would buckle under that kind of weight.
Before Fluttershy could cross the bridge however, she was immediately bathed in the sharp light of a firefly lantern.
"Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy turned around slowly, and didn't find herself calming down at all. It was her commanding officer, Rainbow Dash.
Talc rubbed her chin. "So you and Rainbow Dash are friends?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Yeah. She wanted me to command a unit, but... I don't really want to."
"I can imagine so," Talc leaned forward, pensively gesturing to everyone in the circle. "The chains of command are quite the burden, and yet so many people think otherwise when they are not bound by it."
"Fluttershy, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash's initial look of confusion, then turned to immediate terror. "Please tell me you aren't going to desert on me."
Fluttershy shook her head violently. "No, no. I would never do that to you, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow Dash pointed to Fluttershy's overstuffed kitbag. "Then what's with all the water and those blankets?" Fluttershy bit her lip, finding everything in the immediate area but Rainbow Dash suddenly very interesting. A full minute passed, and Rainbow Dash patiently awaited Fluttershy's response.
Colonel Rainbow Dash knew as her position signified that it meant having to take care of her soldiers beneath her. Although she now presently wore the same armor they did and the same cloak, she bore a sword and a pistol rather than a shootstick. Fluttershy was no different to any of them, which was what worried Rainbow Dash the most. Seeing Fluttershy suddenly up and leave her post probably would have ended in a scuffle.
Instead however, it was a situation that Fluttershy expected, rehearsed in her head many times as she prepared, then suddenly found her tongue getting caught by a cat. She motioned several times as if to say something, but then recoiled back as if finding it too harsh. Fluttershy sighed, breaking the silence, then said pretty much what was on her mind. "I'm gonna cross the bridge and distribute water and blankets to the wounded."
The terrible moaning and squeals of pain didn't sound too far off, and even Rainbow Dash found herself unnerved by the experience. Nonetheless however, Rainbow Dash returned to a harsh expression and said, "You're not going out there."
What surprised Rainbow Dash, and even Fluttershy the most was Fluttershy's response. "I am."
"No you're not. What happens if some griffons are walking around out there, they'll kill you! Or worse!"
"I have to do this. They need some kind of comfort."
"Fluttershy, you're not doing this, this is final."
"But Rainbow Dash, I have to!"
"Fluttershy, I am ordering you to go back and-"
"Rainbow Dash!"
Not many people yell at their superior officers. Not many people yell at Rainbow Dash either. Rainbow's shocked face said it all for her. Fluttershy's face flushed immediately on realizing this. She stammered, "Oh, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't- I'll-I'll just go back-"
"Wait." Fluttershy stopped, and saw that Rainbow Dash was now putting a hoof around her. "Listen, Fluttershy, it's a really nice thing you're doing. Do you really know what you're doing?"
"Of course."
"And this is something you really want to do?"
"Yes!"
"And you know I can't help you. I can't even give you a white rag so the griffons know you're not fighting right?"
A little less enthusiastically, Fluttershy said, "Yes."
"Then I won't stop you." Rainbow Dash gave a slight smile to Fluttershy, then stepped back and gave off a sharp salute. Fluttershy saluted back, and with that, Rainbow Dash said, "Just make sure you come back by morning, alright?"
Talc tapped her chin. "She really let you just go?"
Fluttershy nodded. "I was quite surprised myself. I understood her reasoning though, not giving me a white flag. She was trying to talk me out of it."
Crossing the bridge was an easy ordeal. However, as she began walking out into the fields where the wounded laid, she started getting cold feet. The chances of getting shot were quite high now that Fluttershy thought about it. Just the thought of tending to a wounded griffon and then suddenly a band of not-so-hurt griffons show up and think she's looting them. She could imagine what they'd do to her if not just outright kill her. Regardless, the river had been crossed and from her perspective, there was no turning back.
The east orchard wasn't really an orchard anymore. The occasional tree still stood unscatched, but for every one tree around fifty more were completely ripped to shreds. Some chopped by axes, others torn up by artillery, and most fallen over. Fluttershy hopped and skipped over the occasional impact crater, until finally she began coming up to corpses.
The griffons had managed to come within nearly 40 yards of the bridge, and it definitely showed by the sheer amount of corpses left to rot and fest in the cold night. Most were shoulder to shoulder, as it would be if they were standing in a line getting shot to bits, and others were behind as they would if they were running from the fight. The soft haunting moans of the wounded were now very close as Fluttershy began focusing in on what sounded like the closest one.
She found a griffon, covered up by a bullet ridden blue cloak, lying on his face and his limbs splayed out onto the ground. He was groaning, rattling as if near his death throes. Fluttershy quietly stepped up to him, steeling herself for anything grotesque or otherwise horrifying. Perhaps his beak had been smashed to bits by an artillery round and all that remained was a bloody hole where his tongue hang out? Or perhaps his chest had been cut open and his intestines were soaking the ground with blood? Fluttershy threw caution to the wind and quickly turned him over.
It was a simple bulletwound, from the location Fluttershy guessed it was the lung that had been pierced. Fluttershy suddenly felt a great amount of relief wash over her, then took out a canteen from her kitbag. The griffon looked young, not much older than Fluttershy maybe, but the sorrowful and pained expression on his face made him old. The glazed over eyes barely looked over Fluttershy, then returned to staring off into the stars. Quickly, Fluttershy uncorked the canteen and brought it to his beak, and she made him drink. The griffon took the drink of water as a foal would desire a toy, but after a few sips he began coughing and wheezing. Fluttershy recoiled, nearly spilling the entire canteen. The griffon collapsed onto his back, his face strained and his previous groans now replaced with pained wheezing.
After a minute, Fluttershy quietly said to herself. "I've made it worse haven't I?"
The griffon looked over, his eyes narrowing on Fluttershy. Slowly, he shook his head and through his hacking and coughing, he said, "Thanks."
Fluttershy nodded. She left a blanket over the griffon, who accepted it gratefully, then moved on. She made sure not to step on any of the corpses or in any of the gathering pools of blood. She closed in on another wounded griffon from the sound of his weeping. He lay on his back, but Fluttershy could see immediately that he didn't even look that hurt. As she got closer, she could see he was simply lying on his back, almost relaxing, but he trembled as he wept. Fluttershy stepped up to him, and she could see what pained him so. At the base of his right wing was a bulletwound, which was yellowing and already showing signs of infection and rot. Then immediately, Fluttershy understood why this griffon wept. If he wanted to survive, that wing would have to go.
The griffon turned to her and she could see the tear soaked feathers on his face, the expression of defeat which was so pathetic that even she felt somewhat ashamed to even look at him. Without a word, Fluttershy offered him a drink from the canteen. The weeping griffon shakily accepted the canteen and took a large drink from it. After considering it, Fluttershy let him keep the canteen, and a blanket as well. The griffon, crying just a little softer now, covered himself in the cloak and the blanket. Fluttershy continued on, leaving him to himself.
"My goodness. Those were just the first two?"
"Yes. It didn't stop there however, I-... I went on. There were some very bad cases."
Fluttershy had recently given water to a griffon lying in an impact crater. The entire left side of his body had been mangled, his left arm was gone, his left wing was cut to ribbons, his left leg was broken and angled at an awkward position, and the left side of his beak was cracked like a ceramic vase. Fluttershy could only guess that he must have been the victim of a shrapnel bomb from Equestrian artillery.
Another griffon she met gurgled loudly as blood pooled out of his mouth. He lied on his back, and his frail arms were wrapped around his torn open chest, trying to keep the guts from spilling out. Fluttershy couldn't do much for him in terms of water, and simply tucked him into a blanket for warmth.
She had also met another griffon, whose eye sockets bled from being blinded by splinters. He wore a blue cloak with a silver trim to it, and instead of a metal helmet he wore a cap with an eagle badge affixed to it. He cradled the torn and bullet-ridden regimental colors in his arms, muttering somewhat madly to himself. Fluttershy had called out to him and offered him a drink of water, but he pointed a revolver at her and screamed at her to go away.
Fluttershy had been out in the field for a couple of hours now. The moaning and whining of the wounded now become cries for water. Fluttershy did her best to prioritize, she was already out of blankets and her water supply was running drastically low. She was going to need to make a trip back to resupply.
So that's what she did. When she ran out of water, she quietly called out that she would right back and that she was simply stocking on water and blankets. She quickly galloped back to her lines, and was welcomed by the amazement of her regiment for the audacity of her actions. She wasn't paying attention to them however, she simply refilled as many canteens as possible and then ran back out into the field, to the horror of her unit. Fluttershy made a note that this would probably be the last time she would need to refill her canteens. She would finish giving out water once it ran out. She'd seen enough of dying griffons.
Talc leaned back, digesting the story as Fluttershy had told it. After a minute or so, she asked, "And you only made one trip back?"
Fluttershy looked at her, slightly embarrassed, and said, "I made several actually."
"More than a dozen from what I hear," Bon-Bon chimed in. "Fluttershy didn't stop until everyone was right and quiet, and it took all night to do it. The sun was rising by the time Fluttershy was done."
"Still," Lyra added, "it's something I couldn't have done myself. I mean, seeing the enemy up close being as mangled as you, it really sucks the fight out of you. I mean, me and Bon-Bon don't like griffons definitely, but seeing a person in pain is just terrible. How did you get through it, Fluttershy?"
Talc nodded. "Yes, it is a weird thing helping the enemy.
Fluttershy hesitated in answering, but then puffed in her chest and confidentially said, "It was the right thing to do."
"Well, I really admire it, Fluttershy," said Junebug with a comforted smile. She continued on, "I really hope the war ends soon, can't imagine how I'd go through seeing any person like that."
After Fluttershy had told her story, she simply went up and left with a simple goodbye to everyone. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Junebug continued shooting the breeze on the latest topics. One of them was the rumor that the army may move soon, which they all laughed at. Talc herself however opted out of the conversations. The story that Fluttershy told lingered in her head, and she was now regretting not asking more questions.
The simply idea of someone helping their enemy, or at the very least comforting them in their dying moments, was very strange to say the least. It wouldn't seem strange if they had a common enemy to fight in which case they'd settle their differences and band together to defeat this menace. But here in the Griffon-Equestrian War, neither side particularly liked each other very much for the longest time. The destruction of the griffon airship, the Monoceros, and the death of over 162 crewmembers on Equestrian soil who had in the past denounced Gryphonia for its imperialism served as the straw that broke the camel's back.
As Talc sat her in her modest little tent later that night, she considered typing up a letter to send to Princess Cadance. After a quick mug of mud, walnuts, and sugar that the ponies called "coffee", she pulled out her typewriter and donned her reading glasses. She began typing a letter.
To Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,
I am writing to you describe an amazing tale of kindness...
"Checkmate."
"Darn."
Luna had gotten Celestia in the Scholar's Mate, again.
There was little else for the Royal Sisters to do after they surrendered Canterlot to the Gryphonian 2nd Army under General Rodes. Despite being relatively free to move about the castle as they wished, they were under armed guard. In Celestia's room where the two played chess, at least five guards occupied the room as well guarding the door and window, five more were outside the door, ten more were guarding the window from the outside, and another fifteen were patrolling between the two exits. At one point, at least one of those soldiers attempted to follow Celestia into the bathroom, and what ensued caused enough of a ruckus that the amount of guards were trimmed down.
In order to stave off the feeling of enslavement from the guards, Celestia and Luna retreated into anything they could find. They had considered going into Starswirl the Bearded's archives to read up on some old magic tricks, before learning that the archives were completely looted. Then they decided to learn to cook, before also finding out everything in the kitchen was looted, including the kitchen sink. They also considered remapping the star charts, until they discovered that the telescopes and the old star charts were also looted. The griffon soldiers did not leave a single stone unturned for anything valuable. Even the Royal Sister's bedrooms were stripped of their velvets and their jewelry. The only thing the sisters had left to do was play chess, and even then they had to defend their thousand year old Crystal Empire chess set from looters as well.
"Luna, perhaps maybe you'd stop with the Scholar's Mate?"
"I would if I hadn't already used every other move."
And that was how they spent their evenings, playing chess hour after hour while under extreme armed guard. They maintained their usual stoic demeanor however, worse stuff has happened to the nation of Equestria than an invasion of griffons. Celestia always kept her ear to the ground, and what she picked up cheered her and her sister immensely. Twilight Sparkle was continuing to lead the Army of Equestria against the griffons, and has even stopped one of the three griffon armies at Canterlot River near Las Pegasus. She couldn't help but smile as she overheard conversations about, "that feckin' pasty who won't give up".
A knock came from the door. Tamsin, one of the five guards and as Luna learned was a baker, walked over with rifle in hand and opened the door. In came a griffon, wearing a silver-trimmed blue cloak and a cap bearing a golden eagle on it. On the breast of his leather armor was a silver chevron, indicating his status as Lieutenant. Celestia and Luna knew who this particular Lieutenant was, and they could recognize him from miles away because he was probably the only griffon this side of the ocean who smiled without prompt. It wasn't a contagious smile by any means, but it was a smile nonetheless. His name was Lieutenant Eckhardt of Tribe Ironwing.
"Princesses!" He tipped his cap and beamed brightly at the two not as impressed Princesses. "I see you're still playing chess, who's winning?"
Luna shrugged. "I am."
Lieutenant Eckhardt snapped his talons. "Ah, just as well! But I have come to inform you two that General Rodes has excellent news, however he wishes to speak to you two personally." The guards immediately turned their heads towards Eckhardt, suspicious. "Ah, don't worry, you all can come too!"
"What is this news, Lieutenant Eckhardt?" Celestia felt a bit of hope rising up in her. "Perhaps it is from the Crystal Empire?"
Eckhardt shrugged, still smiling. "General Rodes would not tell me, you know how the old Shrike is. But, if you all would follow me, I can lead you to him."
After a brief minute of consideration, the Royal Sisters packed up the game of chess and locked it away underneath the bed, then followed Lieutenant Eckhardt out.
***
Canterlot was an interesting scenario for the Gryphonian invasion force. General Rodes, who was observing the citadel from Ponyville, was confident that he could have had the citadel of Canterlot within a week with a full frontal assault. Marshal Argus, who is all the way over in Gryphus across the ocean, ordered a siege of the city. Argus was confident that Canterlot would fall with minimal loss of life. It did, it took three months to do so however, and in that time the winter had set in. Because Argus and everyone else in Parliament expected a short war that would end in three months, the logistics line of supplies stretched like a person between two bulls. Nowadays, the three armies are perpetually starving.
It was understandable thus that anything that wasn't bolted down in Canterlot got looted and pillaged by starving griffons. General Rodes himself encouraged his soldiers and officers to squeeze the city dry of anything edible, down to the last seed if necessary. What resulted was an incredible looting that saw the city ransacked and with enough chaos roaming about that decimation was almost implemented. Because sieges weren't exactly ways to increase food income, what scraps of food were left were reserved for the soldiers.
Not to say that food was the only thing that was on the list for looting. Anything valuable was taken as souvenirs. Jewelry, Royal Guard armor, spellbooks, fine china, dresses, instruments, and artworks were all targets for as the griffons called it, "requisition". Canterlot, once a city for the rich, the artist, and the intelligent, became nothing more than a spoil of war.
It hurt Celestia. Every night she'd flashback to signing the surrender. Luna would always be there as well, whether because Luna was there or because Luna really was there. It was difficult just getting out of bed in the morning for Celestia. Walking with Eckhardt through the once brilliant gardens of the citadel pained her immensely. Tents and soldiers now sat where flowers and animals lived, now crushed underfoot and requisitioned as rations. Still, Lieutenant Eckhardt smiled, even humming to himself a little tune, one that all griffons remember as they sing it out during the night.
Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, And smile, smile, smile! While you've a lucifer to light your fag, Smile, boys, that's the style! What's the use of worrying? It never was worth while, so Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, And smile, smile, smile!
It was a tune that annoyed Luna and Celestia to no end.
The throne room was especially chilly today for late winter weather. This wasn't helped by the fact that the stained glass windows had been removed, with only metal bars and open sky to indicate that something had been there. The usual emptiness of the throne room was now replaced by tables and desks of staff officers organizing maps, communiques, reports, dispatches, logistics, casualty listings, and the occasional citation. Instead of ambient silence or the occasional songbird that the Royal Sisters were used to in the throne room, it was now the automatic clacking of typewriters and the chatter of staff officers. Somewhere in this mess of organization however, was General Rodes.
"Eckhardt!" Eckhardt, the sisters, and the armed guard following them all turned to the griffon who called. She was a Lieutenant just like Eckhardt. Eckhardt broke out into a broad grin, happy to see his fellow staff officer with whom he served with underneath General Rodes.
"Ah, Sandy! You seen the General?"
"Eckhardt. Two things." Swift held up two talons on a hand, with an expression on her face that did not say she was amused at all. "One, don't call me Sandy, my name is Swift. Two, something very urgent came up." Swift, or Sandy as she hated being called was a Staff Officer to General Rodes as Eckhardt was. What brought Luna and Celestia's attention immediately was her height, she was far shorter than nearly anyone else in the room. This was attributed to her rather stubbier shorter than normal legs, which would have disqualified anyone out of formal infantry command.
However, the Royal Sisters have heard extensively of Swift of the Tribe Spectrum. Eckhardt was Rodes' eyes and ears on the affairs of the Princesses since the surrender, and this meant that Eckhardt conversed extensively with the two alicorns. When the topic of other staff officers to General Rodes came up, Eckhardt quickly brushed over people like aide-de-camp Colonel Dorsey or Equestrian Literary Standard translator Captain Quincy, but spent extensive and particularly romantic detail on Lieutenant Swift. From what Eckhardt had told them, Swift was one of the fastest flyers in Gryphonia, making her one of the best communications runners in the Army. She also studied entomology extensively, enjoyed the taste of chocolates, has a pet cat at home named Belle, and has as Eckhardt so lovingly described it, hypnotizing green eyes which could launch a thousand ships in her name.
Luna found herself amused by Eckhardt's obvious infatuation over Swift, Celestia didn't have no higher opinion of it however. These people do serve the same people who order hundreds of thousands of griffons to invade country.
Eckhardt nodded and turned to the Princesses, his smile having become just a smidge wider. "Well, Princesses, would you kindly wait for a second then, as I attend to this?"
The Princesses glanced to each other briefly, then nodded in unison. Eckhardt bowed to them respectfully and happily went off with Swift. Luna giggled quietly seeing Eckhardt pick up his feet at walking with Swift. Celestia glanced disapprovingly at Luna, then back to Eckhardt and Swift. What business would take priority over the Royal Sisters, she wondered.
***
"Dead?"
Swift nodded. "As an auk, Sir."
General Rodes sat back in his chair, a very comfortable wooden chair built by ponies. General Rodes of Tribe Goldenbeak was the very controversial leader of 2nd Army. Unlike other Generals who presented themselves as professional, businesslike, and affable towards all with no malice towards none, General Rodes was very different. He drank constantly, openly, his breath smelled of alcohol right now in fact even though it was nine in the morning. His leathers did not have any medals or commendations, or even anything showing off his rank, and overall his uniform and even his physical appearance was in such a sorry shape that one would mistake him for an infantry officer rather than a commander of over 120,000 griffons.
What made Rodes even more controversial was his conduct on Canterbury Junction and Ponyville, in which 30,000 griffons under his command were killed, with little to no wounded. That's not even mentioning his record at Canis or Zebrica. Griffons at home either demonized him or loved him. In some circles, people called him the Shrike for treating his men like food for the guns. In other circles, people called him the Shrike for tearing into his enemy with great ferocity. Many of the soldiers under his command just called him the Old Shrike for the fact that his age was north over every soldier and officer in Equestria. It showed, as Rodes' brown eyes sank deeply into his face and his feathers drooped downwards rather than fray or spur outwards in a younger griffon.
His expression now though was a deep frown. He sighed and said, "And you've confirmed this?"
Swift and Eckhardt nervously stood across his desk inside the Royal Guard locker room. Also present were Captain Quincy and Colonel Dorsey, the two male griffons who sat on benches nearby listening to the conversation attentively. The staff officers were quite confused over Rodes' choice of office, as his desk quite literally was in between two rows of lockers as if someone had moved it there in some form of prank. However, they began understanding when they could no longer receive any messages from Marshall Argus, apparently his messengers couldn't find Rodes anywhere.
Swift nodded slowly. Rodes cocked his head, sitting up in his chair and leaning forward on the desk. He could only sum it up as thus, "So General Ferik is dead, and 1st Army is routed."
Colonel Dorsey adjusted his glasses quickly and stood up. "Well sir," he began. "Not entirely routed, 16th, 13th, and 15th Corps made it out."
"With casualties, and from what Lieutenant Swift tells me, 14th Corps was halved in strength." Dorsey cleared his throat nervously at Rodes' response. Rodes opened up the left drawer on his desk and found maps and other useful information. Wrong one, he shut it, then opened the right one. He pulled out a bottle of poteen and uncorked it. He also put out three shot glasses then poured the spirit into all three. "So tell me, how did this happen?"
Colonel Dorsey looked at Swift, who responded with a gesture to get on with it. He reluctantly said, "They were flanked."
"Flanked?" Rodes quickly downed one shot of the spirit and violently shook his head.
Dorsey nodded. "Flanked."
Rodes nodded, rubbing the bottom of his beak. "Ah, that explains nothing to me. Would you be more specific, Colonel?"
Dorsey quickly cleared his throat, blushing underneath his feathers. "Well, Sir. From what General Ferik's aide-de-camp told us before passing out of exhaustion, apparently the ponies found a ford downstream. They exploited it under the cover of a thick fog and a full moon of a night. Created a very confusing situation, Sir."
"And how was Ferik killed?"
"Stray bullet. Hit him in the eye."
Rodes nodded, visibly cringing at the word "eye". He offered the shots to any of his officers, who all respectfully refused. Rodes proceeded to down another shot quickly. He gestured to Quincy, who quickly hopped on over and pulled out a map of Equestria and laid it on the desk. The staff officers came round to observe. It was planning time. "Right, well I'll be blunt, this is bad. General Ferik is, or was, a competent general. Losing him will be a blow to the armies here, and to morale at home, people are gonna want answers. The only answer we can apparently give them now is that the immovable army of Gryphonia has been defeated on the field. Haven't seen anything like that since Gondwana in Zebrica."
Rodes took out a pair of reading glasses and began examining the map. Swift looked at Rodes, eager for orders. "What shall you have us do, Sir?"
"Swift, you're the fastest, go to Governor General Bernn and tell him to assemble 7th Corps and rally here at Canterlot. Quincy, you'll go to Lieutenant General Bleier and 3rd Corps at Canterbury Junction, they'll do the same. We'll be assembling 2nd Army, we'll go after the ponies in a methodical and calculated fashion."
There was another thing Rodes was quite famous for in his campaigns in the lands of the Zebras and the Diamond Dogs, and it was a reputation that he neither fully accepts nor denies. It was his eye for strategic detailing. His attention to the movements of armies, and how and why they moved, made him even more of a controversial figure in the Gryphonian military. He used to his own greater advantage, and to his opponent's great suffering.
***
The situation in the sixth month of the war had shifted from stalemate in the wake of the 1st Army's loss at the Battle of Canterlot and the death of General Ferik. Major General Twilight Sparkle, emboldened by her success, proceeded to move north for Tall Tale and Vanhoover, where fresh supplies and troops awaited her. Although Marshall Argus' standing order for armies in Equestria was to garrison captured territory until further notice, General Rodes would not receive any order from Argus nor any complaint from him. By the time any messenger from the Marshall arrived at Canterlot, they would have found that Rodes, and indeed nearly the entirety of 2nd Army, was gone.
Rodes' plan now was to stop Twilight Sparkle's Army of Equestria from reaching the northwest. 2nd Army would be divided among its Corps into five wings: 3rd Corps led by Lieutenant General Bleier, 7th Corps led by Governor General Bernn, 6th Corps led by Major General Stark, and 2nd Corps led by Major General Tanzer, with the fifth being a division of rangers led by Brigadier General Theron. These wings will be responsible for taking different paths to Tall Tale and Vanhoover from the north, whereupon during their travels they will follow Rodes' orders of "complete destruction of the Equestrian war effort" as they marched to the sea.
Farms will be burnt to the ground, railroads will be torn up, bridges will be burned, food will be pillaged and looted from villages and hamlets to feed the troops, essentially it was a strategy that would force Twilight Sparkle's hoof into an action which would never benefit her. If she attempted to defend any of these little villages from 2nd Army, she would most likely be forced into a bad tactical position from which she may not recover even with victory. If she left the villages and attempted consolidation of her army, she'd be forced to accept the fact that her army would literally starve to death and simply disintegrate as people either died of hunger or deserted. Either way, Rodes won. All that remains now is for Twilight Sparkle to react to it.
