The Siege Of Canterlot

Corporal Snapshot dozed, or tried to at least, in the shade of an upended wagon. The stultifying heat of the early afternoon sun made it easy to want to sleep; the firm earth beneath his buttocks did the opposite. The result was that he was hanging in a half-pleasant, half-unpleasant stupor, lulled by the heat despite the shade. Such was the case often in Canterlot at this time of year; the nobility would often spend the early afternoons either watching the groundskeepers shoot game while they themselves kept cool with iced tea and parasols, or alternatively engaging in some genteel pursuit such as croquet. This was not a time of the day for action. All Snapshot could do was hope that the enemy felt the same way.

Captain Oats had thoroughly debriefed General Hawkeye and Starswirl on what they knew of the enemy's strength, disposition, equipment and tactics before the Shadow Army had arrived at the gates. With that important task performed, the reason they had been sent north to Canterlot, Oats and her survivors became just another cog in the wheel of war again. Once they had all been scanned by a suitable detection spell from a unicorn officer, just to make sure they were not Changeling infitrators, they had been assigned to a new unit. They had been slotted into one of the provincial regiments and assigned patrol duties for the first two days of the siege, but now the wheel had rotated. They had been moved from the New Town outside. Today, the regiment they had been assigned to was to provide part of the first line of defence beyond the wall, manning the palisade. It was a prestigious assignment, to be sure, but also a dangerous one. It made sense, though. Besides the troops blooded the day before, they were some of the only soldiers in the city to have faced the Changelings and Shadow Army in action before; indeed, there were not too many ponies in Canterlot who had seen any active fighting before at all. A period of relative peace had reigned before this sudden shock, and only certain units had been involved in fighting against raiders, bandits, cultists and pirates before. As a whole, the defenders of the capital were green, despite sometimes having years of service under their belts.

As somepony who had faced battle before, Snapshot knew that getting rest whenever one could was of vital importance. A battle did not stop simply because somepony got drowsy, and adrenaline could only keep a soldier going for so long. Even a few minutes' shuteye could be enough to recharge and refresh the mind enough to bring a second wind when it really mattered.

The palisade lay behind him, a wall of wooden stakes, supported by crossbeams for rigidity and bracing against cannon fire, or a mass of enemy infantry pressing against the barrier. Soldiers stood ready in case of some trickery or other that might threaten the line before the rest of the troops could be alerted. Like Snapshot, there were many others lounging in the sun and shade, trying to catch a little sleep, playing cards, or listening to other talented ponies playing lutes or lyres to while away the time. The morning had passed in such a way, with nothing happening other than the already numbingly familiar dawn artillery duel between the guns of the city and the guns of the enemy, exchanging fire in a noisy but mostly ineffectual barrage, as they had done the morning before also. No doubt they would continue the new tradition tomorrow as well, and the day after, and the day after that until the walls fell, or, as was widely hoped among the garrison, until they were relieved by the Holy Army.

Messages had been sent. Snapshot knew that, as did all the soldiers. Pegasi messengers had been visible coming and going from the high towers of the palace over the last forty-eight hours. if the Princess knew about the city's plight, she would do everything in her power to return and aid them. Snapshot knew that, as well. In fact, he was more certain of that fact than of anything else. Even though Celestia had taken the Holy Army to deal with another invasion, if she learned that Canterlot itself was in danger, she would make haste back to her home, because it was not just a city, but a symbol, just as she was a symbol of faith, of courage, of strength and wisdom and all the other good qualities she embodied. The city reflected all that, too, for it had birthed her, crowned her, housed and raised her. It stood for the same things as the Princess stood for, and that was why it could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy.

"Stand to!" somepony roared. "Stand to!"

Snapshot broke from his half-trance and staggered to his feet, grasping for his musket and gripping it tightly. Something must be happening beyond the palisade, for it was far too hot for any of the top brass to be coming outside the city walls for an inspection, the only other reason he could think of for standing them all to. Sure enough, out across the plateau came the echoes of distant bugles and trumpets.

"Fall in, you lazy lugs!" Sergeant Billhook shouted. "Stand to means stand to, you slugabeds!" Captain Oats strode out of the small earthen dugout she had been assigned as sector officer, adjusting her tricorn hat firmly upon her head. A far cry from the disheveled state she had been in when the attack on Trottingham came in, she now looked every inch the Officer of the Sun she was commissioned to be.

"Take up positions!" she ordered. "Muskets and pikes to the front. Helpers to stand by. Bring up those boxes of ammunition! Make sure there's a steady supply."

"Your section ready, Corporal?" Billhook growled.

"Yes Sergeant!" Snapshot replied with a nod. "With me, boys!" He led Ramble and the others, five stallions in total, to the palisade, where they took up positions among ponies from other units, all under the command of Oats. Many were the survivors she had led to safety, but there were ponies from the city militia too, as well as some Royal Guard in the reserve and soldiers from other companies on the fringes of her sector of control. The palisade line had been divided into numerous such sectors, each under the command of a Captain. A Colonel was in charge of each gate sector, spanning a large proportion of the line and including the Bastions around the gate in question, while each flank of the city was under the command of a General of Division. Hawkeye was in overall military command of the city's defences, despite Starswirl's temporary position as Regent. The Princess would surely return to take up her duties again, but Hawkeye would still be in military charge, whereas Starswirl would return to his rightful place as court mage.

The ponies on the ground had cheered when the city shield had gone up, and gasped in shock and dismay when it fell. Starswirl had failed, too, in their eyes, making it clear to the soldiers that they were the only true protection that Canterlot possessed. Thus, they lined the palisade again to repel whatever was coming their way. The guns on the wall opened fire as another Shadow Army attack began, thousands of soldiers funneling out of their camp and toward the city. Again, they stopped short for a single volley, before they started to charge.

"All guns, fire at will!" Oats cried as the enemy began to charge. The constant crackle of musketry became part of the background noise, unnoticeable in all practicality to any individual soldier, who could focus only on his or her own weapon, and the target they were engaging. Snapshot had little time or need to issue commands to his ponies, for the only command that really mattered was the one that Oats had just given. Keeping up a constant fire was the best way to hold the enemy at bay, or at least slow them down.

Over the gunfire, Snapshot could still hear the guttural cries of the Shadow Army. They shouted curses and spat bile as they charged, crossing the open ground at a terrifying speed considering they were mere footsoldiers. As they neared the palisade, the unicorns among them began to fire bolts of magic at the palisade wall, in an attempt both to wound or kill the defenders behind it and potentially set the wooden structure aflame. As they had the day before, they were aiming for the Unicorn Gate, flooding across the plateau and up the slope to the palisade wall, where they were met with a hail of musket fire that cut down dozens of their number.

Snapshot fired his musket and passed it back without looking. Another pony behind him grabbed it, and then a few moments later somepony else shoved a newly loaded weapon into his hand. He brought it up and poked it through the gap in the stakes, firing without even aiming as the enemy got close enough to spit at. They slammed into the wall, snarling and shouting their war cries.

"Long live the King!"

"Death to the Princess!"

"The Sun shall set and the Shadows will rise!"

The defenders kept up the fire, and responded with cries and chants of their own as the battle raged all along the line around them.

"Praise the Sun!"

"For Celestia and the Motherland!"

"Death to the traitor King!"

Despite the tumult all around, Snapshot could quite clearly hear Captain Oats issuing orders in a loud, strong voice. Her commands would be relayed down the line to the rest of the troops she was overseeing. This sector of the line was in good hands, that much was certain, but how much of an impact that would have remained to be seen. The enemy were pressing hard, probing for weak spots, areas in the line that their airborne scouts had identified as perhaps lacking in cannon support, or with hastily prepared and incomplete trenchwork.

Musket fire rippled back and forth along the line. Snapshot fired twice more, fresh muskets handed to him each time. Enemy shots came through the gaps in the palisade, musket barrels shoved through, discharging a cloud of smoke and a deadly projectile. Several Equestrians went down, dead or wounded. The palisade began to buckle inward at one spot where a large number of enemy soldiers were pressing on it.

"Give me that grenade!" Snapshot shouted back to a young, pertrified-looking militiamare, crouching to the rear of the frontline with several boxes of ammunition and a pouch of grenades- simple metal spheres filled with explosives and fitted with a fuse. They could be hurled a fair distance by any adult pony, considerably farther with specialist training, and could be punted a long way indeed by unicorns using their magic. Snapshot just had his upper body strength, but he didn't need to toss it far. The militiamare passed it to him in lieu of a reloaded musket, and Snapshot ducked down, taking a piece of flint from his pocket. All grenadiers carried them, and many soldiers did likewise, just in case they were ever called upon to use a grenade in anger, or perhaps touch off a cannon in an emergency. Rubbing the flint against an abrasive wick at the end of the fuse cord produced sparks, igniting the fuse and giving the grenadier a few seconds to hurl the bomb at the enemy before it exploded. Rising up from his squatting position, Snapshot gave the bomb a mighty thrust upward and forward, arcing it up and over the palisade wall.

An enemy soldier shoved a musket through the gap in the palisade just in front of him and fired, missing him by inches. The next thing Snapshot knew, that same musket was tumbling through the gap and landing at his feet as the grenade detonated, slamming the soldier against the palisade, his body torn and ravaged by the explosion. There were screams from the other side of the wall as the iron casing of the grenade ripped through vulnerable flesh, shredding wings, shattering horns, pulverizing organs. Half a dozen ponies were killed outright, while shrapnel tore through another squad, ravaging them and blowing a hole in the enemy line.

"Quick hands, Corporal!" Billhook nodded approvingly, before shoving his bayonet through a gap in the palisade and into an enemy's throat, bringing forth a strangulated gurgle from the unfortunate Shadow Soldier. However, Snapshot was not the only one with the same idea, and once the enemy grenadiers reached the palisade, an exchange of bombs began in earnest, the iron balls of death causing casualties on both sides, but it was the Shadow Army who received the worst of it. Behind the palisade, Equestrians could duck for cover behind sandbags or earth-filled sacks, overturned wagons, the trenches, or the lip of the embankment upon which the palisade itself had been constructed. Beyond the fence, there was no cover save for the bodies of fellow soldiers, and while the defenders were strung out along the line, the invaders were trying to concentrate their forces at a few key locations to make the breakthrough and crack the first, hard, outer kernel of the nut that was Canterlot.

Snapshot picked up a musket again, heart pounding. He took position beside a pikepony who was thrusting with his long weapon, jabbing it through a gap but taking fire in return, blood streaming from a wound upon his shoulder. A brute of a pony was trying to force his way through, protecting himself with a shield of magic from his horn, fending off the pike. The gaps between the spikes of the palisade were big enough to pass through, but it was not as easy as simply walking through a doorway. One had to turn to the side, take care that any weapons or equipment were not blocking things, and be mindful constantly of being shot, stabbed or slashed by the defenders.

Snapshot fired his musket, the ball bouncing off of the pony's shield. His dark features turned to a grin as he shoved the pike aside and stepped through, raising a mighty sword.

"With me, brothers!" he cried, the blood of his own dead kinsponies dripping from his black plate armour. The pikepony lunged, but the brute deflected the blow and quickly brought his sword back around, running him through with the blade and leaving Snapshot standing alone against him.

This was not ideal.

A Pegasus had the advantage in manoeuvrability. An earth pony had the advantage in strength, and a unicorn had the advantage in terms of initiative and unpredictability. This unicorn, however, seemed to have an advantage over most in bulk, as well as having magic. He kept his shield raised as several other ponies fired at him, before advancing upon Snapshot as another soldier began to push through the gap behind him. To add to the problem, another grenade sailed over the wall and landed near a cluster of militia who had been poised to advance in support. They wisely scattered before it detonated. Two other musketeers hurried over to stand with Snapshot, who kept a wary distance from his foe with his bayonet ready.

One of his comrades advanced from the side to try and get around the magic shield, but the unicorn deftly deflected with his sword before slashing again, catching the pony's musket and dragging it forward before reversing his sweep and cutting a deep gash across her chest. Snapshot took advantage of the distraction to quickly take to the air. he couldn't fly too high, for risk of becoming a target for every enemy soldier with a loaded musket; just enough to leap over the head of the unicorn in one clear bound, rapidly switching his grip on his musket to hold it from the underside and stab downward with a grunt of exertion.

Since the unicorn was wearing a helmet, with a suitably shaped aperture for his horn to protrude through, the downward stab did no damage, but it did distract the unicorn. As the Pegasus flapped straight over his head, the unicorn knew he had to turn and face the foe, or else risk getting stabbed in the back. He did so, swinging round with sword, catching Snapshot's musket as he landed and turned and sending him stumbling back against the palisade. He turned to administer the killing blow, but that left him exposed, as his shield swung around with his body. He tried to make it quick, but not quick enough, and some enterprising Equestrian with a steady hand put a pistol shot into his leg. The unicorn stumbled, dropping to one knee as his own fellows began to move through the gap. Captain Oats stepped up, locked his sword arm aside with her own limb, and plunged her weapon straight through his neck. Blood sprayed out as both of his jugular veins were severed, and his shield fizzled out as he fell to the ground, bleeding out all over Snapshot.

"Stand up and fight!" she shouted, spinning elegantly to pierce the breast of another enemy soldier who was pushing through the palisade, killing him. She fried another with a bolt of magic, and Snapshot used his wings for a rapid ascent back to the vertical.

"With you, Captain!" he cried, fighting back to back with her, stabbing out at another enemy, catching her in the groin and making her fall, withdrawing the blade and stabbing again, right in between the ribs, piercing her chainmail armour. More grenades went outbound, blasting the enemy as they climbed the bare earthen slope toward the wall, with more defenders now reforming the defensive line where it had buckled briefly. Billhook and Ramble were with them too, pushing back the tide, forcing the few enemies who had made it inside back out through the palisade, or slaughtering them where they stood.

Again the trumpets sounded from across the plateau, signalling the recall. The Shadow Army began to pull back, leaving their dead and wounded behind. Another assault had been repelled; another cheer from the throats of the defenders. Snapshot slumped wearily against the side of the wagon he had been resting at...when was it? Ten minutes earlier? Twenty? An hour? He had lost all track of time, but he knew it could not have been that long. Time dilated in the heat of battle, seeming to either last a mere moment, or eternity. The reality was somewhere in between. All he really knew was that the enemy were in retreat again. For one day more, Canterlot would hold.