Equestria 2150

A low rumbling was heard at the Lunar Army base later that day, accompanied by Night Time Waltz. Razgriz trotted to where it was coming from, and saw several tanks along with a hundred ponies behind them. All of them were chatting with each other, probably discussing whether or not they thought this was real or some sort of elaborate joke.

The tanks came to a halt by the base boundaries. Razgriz flew up to the hatch of the lead tank, and knocked. The commander of the tank popped his head out, and the general asked for the mic of the speaker system.

There was some slight feedback, causing the ponies to cringe. Razgriz cleared his throat, and with more effort from the tank commander, the sound became clear.

“Hello, everypony, and welcome to the Lunar Army FOB. I am General Razgriz, lead strategist, political negotiator and battle commander. I can only assume you all must have questions, which will all get answered soon.”

He took a moment to ensure all eyes and ears were on him. They were.

“But first, we need to figure out where all of you fit in in our puzzle of an army. If you would all form a single file line and follow me to the processing shed, we can get you enlisted.”

Some cheers could be heard. Razgriz glided down from the top of the tank and led his little herd of ponies to their destination. Luna was waiting at the door, still and silent like a sentinel. Taking flight just above the ground, the general flipped around to face his small group.

“To let you all know, just nod toward Princess Luna and walk inside, please. Remember, hat is how you will address her at any time you are outside. Is that understood?”

Razgriz got a general “yes” response from the ponies. They all did well; they nodded her way as they walked inside, some a little more than others. Once everypony was safely inside the building, the door was closed, and they were all seated to learn about the history of the Lunar Army. Razgriz and Luna remained outside, and for once, Luna was smiling.

“You look happy, Princess.” Razgriz said, but felt a shiver as he spoke. This was the first time he’d seen her smile like that in his memory.

“This plan of yours has been impressive, General. Who would have imagined that a ballroom dance would be successful? I only hope it works for the bigger cities.”

Razgriz tilted his head. “It will work as long as we hurry. If the Solar Empire learns of our plans, it’ll be over before it starts. We have to move the tanks into the cities within the next twenty four hours.”

Luna nodded.
“I will order more tanks to have the speaker system. In the meantime, our next attack will commence tonight.”

Razgriz was stunned.

“Tonight? I’m sorry, Princess, but we just had peace talks. How can we be ready for an attack?”

“The talks were to lure them into false hope, General. You should have known that. We’re going to begin the campaign against my sister. We will move our troops into Appleloosa and Dodge City. Then, we take the east coast cities.”

Razgriz was silent for a moment, unsure of how to tell his goddess this plan was doomed to fail.

“Look. Luna. We need to activate the sleeping population if we want to win this war. If we can divide most of them, then we can attack them with much greater numbers than we have now. In just a few days, we can double our army and damage theirs.”

Luna was silent for several seconds. When she spoke again, her voice was almost a whisper.

“Prepare for an assault tonight.”

-

“I trust you have a good reason to risk contacting me. I thought we said I would contact you.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but there’s been a complication. Razgriz had a plan in place I forgot to tell you about. He set in place that around half of the Equestrian population would be of the Luna Lover’s blood. He could awaken an army right under your nose.”

“You do know what this means, yes?”

“I do. An attack is planned for tomorrow. He likes to be on the front line. You should be able to tell which tank is his. Knock it out, and the general’s out of the picture.”

“You have confidence the Solar Empire can do it?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Rough Cut will be commanding a counter attack. Let’s make sure they face off.”

“You sure he can face Razgriz?”

“What did I say about your faith in the Solar Empire? It’s settled.”