Survival Begins at Home

The carriage bounced up and down on its shocks as it made its way toward Manehattan. The intelligence suggested that the zebra forces were attacking not only by land, but by sea as well. The zebras weren't known for their seafaring qualities, but several Equestrian cities along the coast had already fallen to zebra forces. But these had all been small conquests. As much as it was hard to lose South Hooven, it was only a tiny sport fishing city. Their docks were made to host no larger than leisure yachts. They couldn't hold a full size ship, nor were they a shipping hub. Losing Manehattan would give the zebras all they needed to conquer the waves.

"We're facing attacks from the land and the sea this time," said Cadance, reading through the reports. "You've seen how the zebras fight on land, so you should be able to prepare for that. As for naval combat, I have no idea what you should be looking out for. There aren't any reports on the ships that attacked the cities, so I don't know exactly what you'll be up against. You'll have to figure that out on your own, if you can."

"I've trained on ships," nodded Shining. "I will give the men the best advice I can."

She placed a hand on his knee. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You did so well in San Palomino."

Shining looked out the window at the passing trees. "I certainly hope so..."

The trees turned to fields. Fields turned to small buildings. Small buildings turned to large buildings. And after ten hours on the road, plus a few stops, Shining and Cadance stepped out of their carriage and made their way up to their suite. It was larger and nicer than the one in San Palomino. Shining wished it was a little closer to ground level, but it would have to do. In the event of an emergency, at least his wife would make it out okay.

Unpacking was a short process. Shining wanted to prove to himself that he could still save lives, so he only had a few outfits, most of them different iterations of his guard uniform. There was also a suit and a set of business casual. Likewise, Cadance hadn't packed a large wardrobe, either. Business casual took up most of the space, but she also had a fancy dress just in case she needed to attend an event, however unlikely that may be. If the zebras suddenly offered up a peace treaty, for example, she would want to look her best for the negotiations.

After clearing out their suitcases, Cadance received a letter from the therapist and Shining left the room. He had other ponies he had to report to today. Lieutenant Commander Stone from the Equestrian coast guard and Major Pyre from the Army. This would be a battle fought on two fronts, and as a result, he would need to coordinate with both of them.

As Lieutenant Commander Stone was the superior officer in this meeting, it was held in his office at the coast guard command post. "Gentlecolts. I need not remind you how important it is that we work together," he said, bidding them to sit. "To that end, I suggest we put aside all the dick measuring for now and focus on keeping the citizens safe from the zebra threat. Do I make myself clear?"

"Let me be frank, Lieutenant Commander," said Major Pyre. "I think you still carry a lot of resentment towards me. What was our last match up, thirty-eight to seventeen?"

Major Pyre was silenced with a hard smack to the back of the head. "Knock it off, or I'll have you replaced with a janitor," threatened Shining. "We need to work together, so follow his lead."

"Actually," interjected Stone, "I was planning on following your lead, highness. You have experience against this enemy, and I was hoping you'd share it with us."

Shining shook his head. "It was just one battle, a few days ago, and we had stone walls to protect us."

Stone pursed his lips. "That's not a option here, I'm afraid. We don't have the time, nor the resources to build a wall around the city. Our best bet would be to barricade the bridges to the main island, but that would leave over a third of our city without good protection. Even worse, it would cut us off from a supplier if it was a long siege. What else can you tell us?"

"When the zebras did break through the wall, they liked to advance in lines. They put up their tower shields as a sort of mobile wall." There was a short pause. "What do you know about caltrops, Major?"

Pyre shrugged. "You throw them on the ground, and they stick in your boots. Why?"

"Zebra warriors don't wear boots like we do. They have padded sabatons covering their feet. Which means--"

"Which means there's nothing between their feet and the ground," finished Stone. "Good observation, Highness. I'll see to it that we have any trappers come forward and help us set up against the zebras. Mayhaps caltrops aren't the finest choice, but knowing that their feet are exposed from beneath gives me a few ideas as to how we might be able to funnel them into a chokepoint."

"Oh, really?" asked Pyre. "What, you're going to tickle them?"

"I was thinking some quick-growing brambles," answered Stone. "Smattered with shards of broken glass. A city this big, we have countless broken bottles. Let's see them walk over that."

Shining shook his head. "They can lay down their shields and walk right over the top. What then?"

"Watch towers," answered Pyre, finally being serious. "If they're walking on their shields, they won't be able to have them up over their heads. It's their choice: arrows or broken glass. What do they want to be stuck with?"

Shining clasped his hands together. "That's going to require a lot of towers."

Stone leaned forward. "The city loves its towers. I don't think that's going to be an issue."

Shining leaned back and nodded. "Okay, then. I see no reason it shouldn't work."