Quashed

At midnight, the game began. Not even an hour had passed before the call to arms went out. Half of the invading force was carrying a large tree cut to be a battering ram. A fine starting move that was undercut immediately by the raising of the drawbridge. With the drawbridge raised, there was no way to bring the battering ram to the gatehouse, which lead to a retreat. By sunrise, none of the green team had fallen, but the blue team was down eight players.

The invaders came back at lunch, launching their pegasi forces to pull the drawbridge down. They managed to bring it down, but ended up with fifty claimed casualties in the process, prompting another retreat. Only two from the green team had fallen by now, so the odds were looking quite favourable.

The third wave was a good concept, but poorly executed. The invaders lined up behind a quickly constructed palisade, and fired four volleys of arrows over the walls. They managed to hit one defender that was unable to find cover in time. Despite not being out of arrows, the assault force retreated again after their elected captain was struck by a returning missile.

Perhaps the most clever of their plans came on the third day. A lone invader came out of the trees, holding a messenger flag. He claimed to be sent by his commanding officer to deliver a message. The drawbridge was lowered so that he could cross, but as they wooden boards dropped into their slot, a fierce charge was started, and the battering ram actually managed to cross the bridge and slam into the portcullis. A dirty move, but effective. The weight of the battering ram, as well as the ponies holding it, kept the drawbridge extended. Unfortunately, this was a crude battering ram, and didn't have coverings from above. Once the ponies holding the ram crossed the bridge, several trapdoors from above were slid open, and scores of mock arrows rained down from the machicolations onto the carriers of the ram.

Steelhorn had overseen the construction of five layers of defense for the castle. By the time the assailants issued their surrender, only one of those defenses had fallen, and the second layer had been damaged, but not broken through. There was still time left, but there were not enough soldiers on the assailant side to operate the ram. What's more, more than half of the defenders remained, and they outnumbered the assailants. The siege had failed, and their best hope now was to surrender. Life in the mock dungeon was better than being mock dead.

The victory came as a big surprise for everypony. It was expected that the force with superior numbers would have won, but with a few well-placed defenses, Canterlot was safer now than it had ever been. The announcement was met with much jubilation from the guards, and some mild joy from the non-militant citizens. Even the princesses were shocked with how well Steelhorn's plan had worked.

"It seems your hands were the right ones to leave our kingdom in," smiled Luna, raising her Champaign flute in toast. "We are quite pleased with your results."

Steelhorn bowed his head, matching her flute with his own, despite the fact that he was confined to seltzer water. "It was not my hands alone that finished this feat," he chuckled. "I owe much to my brothers in making this possible." The other minotaurs in the room gave a short cheer of agreement before taking a drink of their celebratory liquids.

"Congratulations, Chief Steelhorn," sneered Celestia. Her mood had not improved all month. "You've proven your wisdom. Now, as we're done here, I ask that you--"

"We're not done," interrupted Steelhorn. "We've only just begun. We have a contract, signed by you, that says we are to reform the entire Equestrian military to match what we've done here. You signed it yourself."

Celestia scowled. She'd hoped he would have forgotten all about that. Her anger turned to Luna. She'd been supporting this reformation since it had been brought up. To make matters worse, Luna hadn't even tried to escape. She was complicit in Celestia and Twilight's captivity. It was almost as if she enjoyed being controlled by this group of foul beasts. Without another word, Celestia emptied her drink to the floor of the conference room and strode out. She was followed by a small group of Equestrian guards who were now completely loyal to Steelhorn by Luna's command.

Twilight swirled her drink in her hand, having mixed feelings on the entire situation. "I'm glad you've taken the time to improve our quality of life, but I'm not swift to condone your actions. I signed no document giving you anything. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but you must see that you're causing suffering in your wake. I wouldn't mind the reformations if you still allowed me to see my friends. Keeping us all here under lock and key is what's causing most of your pushback. Surely, you must see that?"

"We do," replied the priestess. "We know why we're unpopular with the ponies of Equestria. We simply don't have a means to solve that problem."

"Yet," added Steelhorn. "We're working on it."

Twilight finished her drink in a single swallow, setting the glass down on the table. "If you were to release the princesses, that would make you seem more benevolent." Without waiting for a response, she followed her teacher out of the room, her own train of guards following behind her.

Luna shook her head. "We cannot deny that her claim is correct. The citizens would feel much safer were we to go out to meet them. One can only glean so much from seeing us atop the balconies."

"A beacon of hope, perhaps?" suggested the Priestess. "The princesses have made public their trust in you, but what if you gave them a stronger endorsement?"

Steelhorn raised his eyebrow. "Such as?"

The priestess pulled Luna forward. "The same way you curried favour with the Ironbeats and Snowcaps."

Luna, being unfamiliar with recent minotaur history as far as alliances were concerned, was rightfully confused. She looked up at Steelhorn, who seemed to be inspecting her. "How did you gain their favour?"

"Trading citizens of value," answered Hardtusk. "My brother and I are Hornburgers now, but we used to be Snowcaps. That's why our fur is thicker."

Luna stared into Steelhorn's eyes. "Are you saying you'd trade one of your citizens for us? We don't think the citizens would be happy with that decision."

Steelhorn shook his head. "We are going to give you a citizen of value. You may make an offer in exchange, but the main goal is to have your citizens see us when they look at you."

Luna nodded. "We shall accept your gift, then. Who is the citizen you're offering to us? When can we meet him?"

The priestess took Luna's hand, leading her back to her bedroom. Steelhorn followed close behind. "You can meet him in about nine months."