Quashed

Shining Armor almost felt proud of himself. After Jericho had been sent down the river, he had used a ceasefire to invade Canterlot and take the castle. It was easy. After the first portcullis had been bashed in, no thanks to the cowardly zebra forces, He had marched right up the main thoroughfare, not even breaking his stride as he reached the gatehouse barring access to the palace grounds. The dumb minotaurs had just left the gates open. There weren't even any soldiers defending it.

He sent four teams of crystal soldiers to search the palace. He ordered that if they were to find a princess, they were to return to the gatehouse immediately. The first returned shortly, not with a princess, but instead a note, which had been left sitting on the throne. It was addressed to Shining Armor.

To the indefatigable Prince Shining Armor:

I must assume that Prince Jericho was the brains behind your operation. After you struck him down, your decisions have been far more guttural, and much less refined. The elegant plan to starve us out very nearly worked. I must also commend the manner in which you took our forts before arrival. The lack of any casualties was a stroke of genius. However, we were not at all pleased to find that, en route to your discussion, we were attacked by your forces. Clever plan to have a crystal pony firing zebra arrows, but you underestimate the number of battles I've fought. A well-trained eye can easily find the archer who fired on us.

If you had followed Prince Jericho's lead to begin with, I see it as entirely possible that you might have seen your sister again by now. However, as you have bared your fangs at us, we have opted to let you have the castle. While you were so busy breaking down the gate, we've all slipped out through the back door. It was previously guarded by zebras, but after their retreat, you failed to add a new barricade. The princesses, as well as their personal guards, are no longer in the city.

We have left you with the city guards, who have been charged by the princesses with protecting the citizens at all costs. The castle is in your hands now.

Wishing you better health than your zebra compatriot,
Chief Steelhorn, Equestrian Regent

Shining Armor tore the note to shreds and threw the scraps onto the ground. He was absolutely livid. He called off the search, making his way to the top of the gatehouse. He would need to take over here and deal with the mess that was feeding the citizens.

Steelhorn walked beside the carriage that held Luna and Celestia. They were on their way to Fort Winsome, just on the other side of the Everfree Forest, not too far from the falls. It was a well-made fortress, being built on an island rather than under a mountain. There was no way to be above the fort without flight, and the local pegasi were under command of the princesses' regent. The crystal army would need to make a deal with either the gryphons or dragons to strike from above. More importantly, it would be easier to hold a line at this fortress, as there were two sides to the river surrounding the island, which meant that the ponies could feed their rulers from one side, even if the other route was blocked. It would be much more difficult to starve them out.

Suddenly, Steelhorn stopped. He sniffed at the air, having caught a whiff of something strange. Boneshatter joined him, identifying the smell without a second thought.

"Blood. Fresh blood. Something or someone nearby is injured."

Steelhorn nodded. "Do a headcount. I want to know if it's one of ours. Keep your eyes peeled, too. If it's not one of ours, I'd like to know who it is."

Boneshatter rushed to the front of the group, counting heads as he went back to the end, noting that everyone was present. Furthermore whatever was causing the smell, it seemed to be travelling with them. He looked into the woods surrounding them, and saw nothing on either side. What he saw was a lot of undergrowth, leading him to the conclusion that if there was someone dying in the woods out there, he would be unable to see it. His grip around the neck of his maul tightened and he called out. "Is someone injured out there?"

What returned to him was silence. His first thought was that they were too injured to call back, or it was some kind of animal. That's when he noted something very harrowing about the silence. It was complete. There were no squirrels, no foxes, no twittering birds flapping away in response to his outburst. That kind of silence was a very bad sign.

Panicking inside, but keeping his face straight, he made his way up the line. First to Scrimshaw and Hardtusk, whispering to them the news. Their grips on their weapons tightened, but they otherwise showed no reaction. They did step a bit closer to Twilight's carriage, though. They were tasked with protecting her, and they would do just that, even at the cost of their lives.

Boneshatter moved up the ranks again, joining Steelhorn. "Keep at the ready," he whispered. "There's no wildlife responding to my shouting."

"You think there's an ambush party?" replied Steelhorn, keeping his voice down.

"I didn't see anything, but they could be hiding. There's no way to know for sure until they spring their trap or slip up. For now, I suggest we continue as normal, and keep our weapons out and ready to go."

Steelhorn nodded, and continued walking. He considered his options, eventually coming up with a better idea as they moved through a wider path. "Arrow, come take my place for a minute."

Arrow came rushing over. "Is something wrong?" He'd been one of the few ponies let in on the assumption that they were surrounded.

"No," replied Steelhorn, loud enough that he could be heard if the party following them was in the trees. "I'm just going to take a quick leak. Watch my spot for me?"

Arrow nodded and took Steelhorn's position in the formation. He was shaking, having experienced firsthand what it was like to be ambushed. Every bush he saw made him twitch.

Steelhorn disappeared behind a tree and began urinating away from the group. His eyes were closed because he was trying to listen as intently as he could to his surroundings. As Boneshatter had said, there were no woodland critters about. As he listened closer, he heard the sound of a twig snapping above him. Without waiting for his stream to stop, he wheeled around, slamming the head of his mace hard against the tree trunk. Vibrations were sent up the branches. Two of the zebras above were able to hold onto their footing, but one was not. He fell out of the tree, landing on the ground with a heavy thud. Steelhorn's stream stopped as he shifted his attention, running back to the group, his shield hand holding the zebra up by the neck.

"Ambush!!"