Invasion of Hjortland

27th November 1012

Papers upon papers were laid out across the Princess of the Night's desk. Ranging from supply reports to detailed topography maps of North Western Equestria, they laid on the desk.

Princess Luna chewed on the end of her pen as she tried to think of any idea possible to turn the tide of the war.

The Changelings launched a surprise invasion of Equestria back in the winter of 1010, they pushed the Equestrians as south to the state of Las Pegasus and as east as the Shire. The meek Equestrian Army wasn't able to hold back the initial invasion, it's fifteen Onhooves Divisions weren't enough to hold back the Changeling Blitzkreig. It was only to thanks to the Air Force and the many Militas that were formed that the Changelings were stopped, but the Equestrian High Command knew it wasn't enough. So during the winter of 1011, a full year after the start of the war, they rushed the creation of as much proper divisions as possible, and it paid dividends.

At the start of 1012, the Changelings attempted another offensive to try and capture Las Pegasus. General Zecora was able to defend the city with the newly formed divisons and even pushed back. While the battle did cost plenty of lives, it was a much needed boost for the battered Equestrian populace. Soon after, the now famous Summer Offensive was commenced under Luna's command. Despite being gone for a thousand years, the Princess of Night's tatics of old still played a major role in defeating the Changelings and pushing them back up to the North West.

The Equestrian army was lead not only by Luna, but also by a mix of ponies of many backgrounds joined in to lead the fight back against the Changelings. Some like General August or Zecora, who quickly mastered the art of mobile warfare and some like Soarin and Whiplash who prioritized either air support or artillery in order to push the Changelings back. The Equestrian Army was transformed from a disorganized, underfunded force into an effective defense force within the course of a year.

The Equestrian economy too was transformed. While it was a civilian dominated economy before the war, as soon as the war started. Many companies began switching to military related business in hopes of either helping to defend their homeland or simply profiting off the conflict, whatever the motive was, it helped supplied the Equestrian Army and was one of the reasons that the Summer Offensive was a possibility in the first place.

But despite all these efforts, it would seem that the war had turned into a stalemate once more.

With the Changelings pushed back, they were now much closer to their homeland and was able to bring forth supplies easier. And with them also being pushed into a corner, it was beginning to become harder to preice the enemy lines, never mind launching an offensive. The Changelings also have revamped their Air Force, and the Air Superiority enjoyed by the Equestrians early on the war was being threaten as the RAF battled the CAF in the sky.

Equestria needed to turn the tide again, the longer they waited, the more time Chrysalis is given to recover and launch another offensive back into Equestria.

Luna glared at the maps laid out in front of her, she curse how the landscape was! The rivers flowing through the North West of Equestria were a formidable force to cross, and the Changelings were taking full advantage of it, using the river line as a defensive line to hold back the Equestrians.

General Reese of the Crystallian army attempted a river crossing and it resulted in the deaths of five thousand ponies in a single day! How was that even possible?!

Luna briefly contemplated the idea of a Pegasi offensive over the river before discarding the idea as she remembered that the Changelings had a proper Air Force now.

It was getting frustrating. She wanted to protect her ponies from the Changelings, she wanted to, but she couldn't do anything! The front was getting stagnated and the Changelings seemed to be rebuilding for another offensive if she didn't do something, the ponies of Equestria might be at the possibility of being defeated and subjugated by the Changelings once more!

Knock Knock

The Blue Alicorn turned to face the source of the disturbance, the door to her bedroom-turned-war-room. She checked the time to see it was midday. Huh. Time flies when you were desperately trying to find a way to turn a tide of the war.

"Come in!"

A mare with a grey coat and a mane of black and white entered the room. Luna smiled as she recognized her friend, General August. The young smiled back at Luna as she saluted her CO.

"Anything to report General August?"

August turned to her saddlebags and pulled out a couple of reports and handed them over to Luna. Luna quickly skimmed over the reports. Not good, all stalling and requesting more supplies.

"Blueblood radioed in earlier, says that the his troops are exhausted and that the trucks are out of gas, they're stuck in Applewood for now," reported August.

Luna turned back to one of the supply reports on her desk and levitated at eye level to read it properly, Blueblood won't be getting another shipment till the day after tommorow it seems.

"What about the offensive at the Shire?"

"General Soarin hasn't replied to any of our messages yet, Your Highness,"

Luna turned back to August, with the report in her levitation's grip.

"What about the Crystallian front?"

"They're digging in, Shining Armor radioed in last night," The mare answered, "Their planes can't do as much in a blizzard, he's ordered them to dig in till it clears up, thankfully the Changelings are also forced to dig in,"

The Princess of the Night let out a sigh. The war was stagnating, how much longer was the war going to last?

"General August, I have a question for you, do you have any idea how to break this stalemate?" Luna asked, "We- I cannot find a way to break this deadlock. The longer we sit here the longer we're giving time for the Changelings to recover and launch another attack!"

"Luna," August calmly said, "take a breath in, and out," The General's friend did as she was told, and her breathing went back to normal.

"Thank you, August, any suggestions?"

"Yes, actually," The grey mate pulled out several peices of paper with her hoof from her saddlebags, "General Fallen has a proposal to turn the tide of war, in short he proposes opening up another front,"

Luna quickly faced back at her desk and the maps. The Changelings had roughly 73 divisons along the front, just the about the same to the Equestrians. They had another 14 along the Crystallian Front. If they could chop the numbers down to 50 or 60 on the Main Front, it would be enough for the army to be able to launch an offensive to take back most of if not all of Equestria's occupied territory.

"Huzzah! That it the plan we need! If we open up a second front; we'll be able to push the Changelings out of Equestria and we can hopefully begin an offensive into their lands!" Luna was overjoyed, it seems there was hope to break the stalemate on the front. Until she came to a sudden realization, to open up a second front, you needed to know where it was, and as Luna skimmed across the map, there was no where to open up one. The Yaks were staying out of the war, so were the Polar Bears and the Griffons in Nova Girffonia. It seemed that there was no where to open up the much needed second front.

August, seeing her friend's face of joy turned to that of disappointment and worry, decided to tell her the rest of Fallen's plan.

"General Fallen has proposed opening up a second front, by launching an invasion into Oleni-"

Luna cut in immediately, "We have to push through occupied Equestria if we are to reach Olenia, and that is out of the realm of possibility as we-"

"Via a naval invasion. He wants it to be Hjortland, the former capital of Olenia. Becuase of its distance from the front and the distinct lack of infrastructure leading towards it, the General has seen it as the optimal place for a naval invasion,"

Princess Luna sat there speechless. She turned to the map on her desk, then back to August, then back to the map, and back again to August.

"General?"

"Yes?"

"Tell General Fallen that he's a fucking genius,"

"I will, Princess, I will,"