The Battle of Pundamilia Mlima
Governor Gilded Buttons waited as the commanders and colonial officials made their way around the map table. He felt a great sense of excitement, as well as a desire for the spoils, of what he planned.
"Gentlecolts, thank you for your attendance," he said. "As the Governor of Starhorse Bay Colony, I am pleased to announce that our colony, since its foundation a hundred years ago, is thriving. Much trade comes in through our port, and the colony has grown to a population of some three hundred thousand."
He paused. "However, that is not enough. While our wealth is quite high, we have greater opportunities inland. There are gold, gem, and diamond mines we could exploit, and the colony - as well as ourselves - could become truly wealthy, enough that our colony is fully self-sufficient. We would gain glory in Equestria, and would be able to live comfortably for the rest of our lives."
Several of the other stallions in the room smiled, but not all of them did. One of the latter pointed to the map. "Governor?"
"Yes?"
"I must point out that our borders cannot be expanded any further without negotiations with the local zebras. We have filled in all the free land, along with that we purchased from them in the Hoofmont Treaty fifty years ago. There are mines, yes, but they made it clear at that time that they would not give us anymore land, by purchase nor by any other means."
"Ah, the zebra problem," Gilded said, smiling. "Those savages have long been a thorn in the side of expansion. But that ends today."
"How so?" another official asked.
"Glad you asked, Mistmane," the governor said. "Namely, we are going to take those mines. By military force."
There were a number of gasps around the table; even those who had been eager earlier looked very much afraid now.
"I understand your concerns," the governor said, raising a hoof for silence. "The colony's Royal Charter prohibits offensive war with the zebras, upheld by Princess Celestia herself. And no military action can be undertaken without an attempt at negotiation. We have our hooves tied, I'll admit it. However, the prohibition is purely on offensive warfare. And I've found a reason to wage a defensive war."
The unicorn governor levitated a letter out of his military jacket. "I have received a notice from Colonel Barnstorm, on the border with the Mstari tribe, that zebras have crossed the border and raided farmsteads on colonial soil. Reportedly, residents were threatened with death if they interfered, and they've stolen numerous possessions belonging to colonists. As such, we have a pretext for war with them and any tribe that allies with them."
"But the Princess clearly stated that even defensive war is prohibited without an attempt at negotiation!" one of the commanders, a gray unicorn, pointed out.
"I'm very much aware of that problem, Colonel Saber. As such, we will 'attempt' to negotiate with them." He pulled out another letter. "I've written this myself. We shall demand that the savages return all stolen property to its rightful owners, that they pay compensation - and then some - to the colony, give us more land, and, most importantly, disband their militia system. These, along with other demands, will almost surely be rejected. After that, our forces of musketeers, cannoneers, and pikeponies will move in, destroy their primitive resistance, and seize control of the mines. We can then force whatever terms we wish upon them."
"The Princess won't like it," another official said.
"Be that as it may, Mayor Hawk, we will have justification for our war, and even the Princess will be unable to reject it."
"I doubt she'll agree to this."
"That's why we're doing this without telling her first."
More shocked gasps.
"Gentlecolts, its either this, or we gain nothing. Besides, we can easily excuse the action by saying that we had to act immediately, before more raids could occur. The Princess is powerful, but even she cannot be everywhere, nor witness everything, despite the beliefs of the common pony. By the time any ship with the news arrives in Baltimare or Fillydelphia, this will all have been done."
There were some nervous mutterings around the table.
"We have been hemmed in by spear-wielding savages long enough," Gilded said sternly, stamping his hoof on the ground for emphasis. "I've made the decision. We'll give the zebras our terms. If they happen to give into them - which I doubt - we can find other grounds on which to work with. But they'll surely reject it, thus enabling us to embark upon a punitive venture to which we can gain gold, glory, and fame. A hundred years from now, our names will be written in the history textbooks of ponies everywhere!"
Adili watched the ponies enter the village of Nyasi Wazi. Their armor gleamed in the summer day, and their leader, decked out in a red uniform and a white hat, looked quite spectacular.
Adili had been helping his grandmother press dough when the ponies arrived. Eager to know what was going on, Grandmother Dalila had let him go and see what was the matter, though she had made it clear that he had better return soon.
Well, he was about to find out. A strange zebra was with the ponies; as the latter spoke - it sounded like gibberish to the young Adili - the stranger would translate.
"Zebras from this village are guilty of stealing jewelry, gemstones, and more from the citizens of the town of Sunset," the stranger said in beautiful though angry Swahili. "Other villages were involved in the theft. We demand that the thieves, and the items they stole, are given into our custody, and furthermore, we have instruction from Governor Buttons to speak to the High Chief of the Mstari tribe, Jelani, that this theft may be punished and our demands may be met."
A number of unarmored ponies had come with the Royal Guards. Now they came forward. A mare among them said, her words being translated, "I used to own a pearl necklace, until a thug named Damu stole it at spearpoint."
"I had a bag of potatoes stolen," a stallion's words were translated. "The thief laughed in my face, held up a spear, then galloped away."
"I lost three bags of gold I had mined," another said. "I want them back."
Some angry mutterings broke out from the village zebras.
"That necklace belongs to Amani!" Adili's sister, Kanzi, said, fury in her face. "She traded with that pony for it; she has no right to claim that her son Damu took it!"
"I agree, sister," Adili said, stomping his hoof in anger.
More outrageous demands were made. The village chief, Haki, came out of his hut to speak with the ponies and the stranger. He spoke at length with the pony leader, with several minutes passing. Then the chief raised his hoof for silence.
"I must admit, brothers," he said, speaking loudly and clearly for all to hear, though directing his remarks to the ponies, "zebras from my village did cross your borders. However, to be clear, this was to regain possessions stolen from us by ponies from your village. The pony traded the necklace in the first case to Amani in exchange for a shell from the beach, which was turned into an instrument of music. The pony came in the night and stole it, along with other ponies who likewise came that same night and stole various items. Several of our more hot-headed zebras crossed the border and took the stolen items back from the thieves. I could ask that you turn over these ponies for justice at our hooves; however, in the interest of peace, I will forgive their trespasses, and lies, in exchange for their promise never to repeat this injustice."
"This is unacceptable," the pony leader's words were translated. "This is not up for debate; give your guilty zebras to us, and we'll hear them in a colonial court of law. If they make oaths in our fashion, they can call upon witnesses from this village. But they will be coming with us, and I will be going on to meet High Chief Jelani."
"I will grant you a guard to escort you to our high chief," Haki said, remaining calm. "But I will not turn over the innocent to be punished for thefts they did not commit."
"No? Are you sure about that, chief?"
"Yes. I would look around you; I doubt you will need more... persuasion beyond what your eyes can see."
By this time, the strangers had been surrounded by angry tribezebras, all holding spears or slings.
The pony officer looked around; though the Royal Guards had spears of their own, they were outnumbered by fifty or more to one, and none of the complaining colonists had brought weapons with them. Nervous mutterings in English were heard from the group of ponies.
"Are you sure about this, chief?" the leader asked. "Equestria has tried offering you an olive branch, and we are met by a threat of violence. Our next answer, should Jelani be unresponsive, will be with powder and steel."
"I am sure you can deliver that threat to High Chief Jelani when you meet him," Chief Haki replied calmly. "But it will take more than this to make the Mstari bow to your will."
"Would you rather we burn this village?" the pony asked. "I must remind you that you have received many things from us. Horseshoes nailed to your hooves prevent damage that used to be common. Iron and steel tools have made your lives easier. And trading with us has made you wealthy. Would you truly risk your village going to war with us, or with your High Chief, should he agree with our demands?"
"I do not deny the prosperity, wealth, and health you have brought us," Haki responded. "But if the cost of holding onto these things is the loss of justice and subjugation under your rule, we would rather do without them. I will send you to meet our High Chief. But I warn you before it happens, that if you should threaten the High Chief as you have threatened the zebras of my village, we are not alone; many of our allies will come to our aid if you resort to war, and it will be you who are outnumbered. Your weapons, though mysterious to us, will not be able to overcome such a multitude."
"I shall take that arrogant response back to the Governor, once our business with Jelani is done."
"Then our business is concluded." Haki turned to two of his own guards. "Take some of our warriors and escort them to the High Chief in Mji wa Almasi," he said. "Make sure to protect them from the many lions, leopards, and cheetahs that will surely be on the way."
When that was translated to the pony, Adili could see that the gray officer's face turned pale for a few moments, but he rallied, spoke to his own entourage, and away they went.
"That was an outrage!" Kanzi said, fury on her face, as they made their way back to their family's own hut. "They accuse us of stealing, when all our people did was take back what was stolen. And did you hear the disrespect they had for our Chief and High Chief?"
"I did, sister," Adili said. "But what can we do about it?"
"I... I... I don't know!" his older sister said. "But if I were a stallion, I would fight them!" She looked down at her hooves, and the shoes on them. "If only these weren't attached with nails, I would cast them from me."
"I wouldn't," Adili said with calm. "As the saying of the elders goes, 'A spear is not to blame for it's maker's own impurities so long as it works.'"
"Maybe."
Grandmother Dalila was standing outside the door to the hut, stomping her hoof. "What took you foals so long?" she demanded. "We have bread to make, so we and our family may be fed tonight."
"But Grandmother, do you not know how rude the ponies were to our chief?"
"That has no bearing on the making of bread. You can tell me when you're inside."
Once the two younger zebras were in and working at the mixing bowls, Kanzi told their grandmother everything.
"I knew that this was going to bring trouble upon us," Grandmother Dalila said at last. "If their governor is serious, this could lead to war, just as the ponies have threatened."
"But it will be one we win, won't it Grandmother?" Kanzi said eagerly. "We have justice on our side. And all our tribeszebras did was to retake what was stolen from them."
"Yes, the ponies and their reasons for coming are foolish," the old zebra mare replied. "But war isn't always decided by justice, dear Kanzi. I remember when I was about your age, when our neighbors, the Simba and Duma tribes, went to war. The Simba had been wronged by the Duma, who had taken their hunting grounds as well as the places they gathered roots. Yet it was the Dumas who won that war, with many Simbas lying dead on the plains near Chui Kilima." Dalila brightened slightly. "Of course, I believe justice is always served in the end. The grounds the Dumas had stolen were ruined by a sudden flood when the Fedha River burst its banks, and their own crops suffered from blight the same year. In the end, the Dumas had to seek help from the very Simbas they'd beaten... and they had to return all they had stolen." The old mare's face became serious again quickly. "But don't get ideas of glory in your mind, Kanzi. War may be glorious, but it is also bloody. Very bloody. And the ponies have weapons we can't make for ourselves that are better than ours. That makes up for their lack of numbers."
"But.. we'll win, won't we?"
"I hope so, Kipenzi*. Now come, let us bake the bread. Your father is surely on his way home by now, and he won't welcome an empty table."
The High Chief of the Mstari, Jelani, sat on his throne quietly, his face deliberately blank, as the pony officer, Colonel Saber, made his Governor's demands known.
"As such, we hope that you may consent to our Governor's terms," the colonel finished. "We also demand punishment of the village of Nyasi Wazi for it's brazen infringement upon our sovereignty and for the threats its chief has made toward us."
The zebra translator - Jelani briefly wondered which tribe he had come from - finished the translation. He backed away to stand alongside his colonial masters.
Jelani rose to his hooves; he was slightly corpulent, but he got up out of the chair easily enough. "I have heard your complaints, my neighbors. I might be willing to pay compensation for these damages... if indeed, you've suffered damages. I received a messenger from the village you speak of, and his argument was that all the 'stolen' property was itself stolen from its rightful, zebra owners, who only acted to regain it. I must reject every other demand you've made, as this incident seems quite small for such a large threat to be made."
"That is unacceptable," Saber said. "I must remind you, that the Governor will be justified in acting with force should you reject any of these demands."
"And I remind you, pony warrior, that you are in our lands," the High Chief responded strongly. "If this was a case of theft, it is merely an act of justice, and by a mixture of zebra and pony law, I'm sure the culprits could be identified and punished in accordance to their crimes. But I will not disband the militias that keep my people safe every day and night from the predators that might slay them otherwise, nor will I give you additional land. You ponies promised that you would seek no more land so long as your Celestia's sun might shine in the sky, as the treaty in Hoofmont says plainly. I'm afraid there is no more to discuss."
"You condemn your zebras to war," Saber said aggressively.
"And you condemn your own ponies to death if they set so much as one armed hoof in our lands," Jelani replied... in English. He was pleased to see Colonel Saber deflate a little in front of him. Returning to Swahili, he continued, "As long as your colony remains peaceful with our tribe, we shall not bother you so long as I am chief, nor will any real thieves go unpunished. But I will not back down."
"S-so be it," Saber stammered. "May all the coming blood be on your own head!"
Buttons smiled again as his army stopped before the Colonial Palace. His forces consisted of five thousand soldiers; two thousand were Royal Guards, armed with pikes, two thousand, five hundred more were musketeers, armed with matchlock muskets, three hundred were rapid-moving scouts, and the rest were assigned to artillery batteries, crewing Lombards, Demi Culverins, and a couple of very large guns that would have been destructive to the stone walls of other nations - other civilized nations, the Governor thought.
He made his way onto the balcony, overlooking the square his forces were in. "Ponies! Loyal soldiers of Equestria! Today we march to right the wrongs the Mstari tribe have done to our outlying citizens! They have raided our border, stolen our property, and have threatened lives! Clearly these thugs need a good reminding of the Equestrian fighting spirit!"
There was a lot of cheering. There would be, he reflected; he had made sure the papers had riled up everyone.
"Go forth! Teach these criminals what happens when anyone attacks Equestria! Go and punish these raiders who would see us cower before their primitive spears! Give them steel, and come back in victory over the Mstari!"
More cheering took place. The Governor wished he could smile more.
"I hope we've got enough."
The Governor turned to Colonel Saber, who looked much more sober.
"Oh, come on, Colonel! No force these savages could bring to bear can break our square. Once our pikeponies in the field set up their square, all our musketeers and artilleryponies have to do is fire at any zebra stupid enough to stand before them. It will hardly be battle, it will be slaughter if the zebras try to fight back."
"I hope you're right... about the battle and our Princess' reaction to all this."
Jelani inspected his warriors. They had been joined by many others from neighboring tribes; as many as twenty thousand warriors stood read to fight.
They would need inspiration. The coming fight would not be easy or cheap.
"Warriors, I thank you for your quick response! Those who are off the Mstari know of the grave injustice the ponies have offered us in the preceding days, but for those of you who are from far away, I will reiterate what has happened. Not many days prior, the arrogant governor of the pony colony gave me a list of demands. They alleged that zebras from our tribe have stolen from them; this is a lie. The humble villagers of Nyasi Wazi only took what had been stolen from them by the ponies. For this, the governor demands we become prostrate and defenseless, that we give them land, that we pay compensation for their ridiculous lie, and they have threatened war. We know what they are truly after; our diamonds and gold, and more. The Mstari rejected their demands, as any of your tribes would have.
"They believe that their mysterious weapons, weapons that spit fire and are made of steel, will be enough to conquer us. But while a warrior may die, his spirit lives on, in the great hereafter and in the hearts and souls of his family. And our people will never submit to this grave evil that they would inflict upon us. I admit, their weapons are fearsome. But the heart of a zebra is stronger still.
"I know that many of us have been enemies for generations. Some of our tribes have only recently feuded. But this threat is greater than any of us. The High Chiefs of the many tribes of this part of the land have agreed to bury the spears we have leveled at one another, and to make another that is pointed at our great enemy. If you hold hostility towards another tribe, then let that be your reason to fight, to increase your tribe's prestige and honor, and to honor your ancestors who now watch over you; do not shame them in the battle to come, either by cowardice or by harming civilians.
"That is all for now. I thank you from the bottom om my heart, and may your hearts be as if they were made of fire, a fire to burn away the enemy warriors from our lands. Follow your chiefs, and bring glory to your people!"
A roar arose from the ranks of black and white; spears were risen into the air, as were bows and arrows.
"Moyo wa pundamilia haitoi kamwe!** Moyo wa pundamilia haitoi kamwe!" the warriors shouted.
Jelani didn't let his face change. This had been the easy part. How many of these warriors would be laid to rest in their ancestral villages? How many would be crippled for life?
It didn't change what had to happen. The invasion had to be stopped. And the warriors were all too eager to meet the enemy. Now for the war.
For the first two days of the invasion, Colonel Saber's misgivings seemed misplaced. No resistance had been offered; the few villages they had passed had been entirely empty.
But now, they approached Nyasi Wazi, the village that had openly defied him and his escorts.
"Sir, do we pursue?" one of his officers asked, pointing a hoof toward a group of zebras on a hill.
Saber lifted his binoculars. A few of the zebras were armed, but most were clearly ordinary villagers.
And watching from the very front of the crowd was Chief Haki.
His face remained blank as he said, "Burn it."
"Sir?"
"Burn the village. Let this be a warning to thieves and savages that they cannot commit an injustice against us and go unpunished."
Adili watched in shock and horror as flames consumed the village he had grown up in.
The huts, trees, even the grass were burning. Some of the ponies threw water from the nearby pond to keep the fire from coming to close to them, but they let the fires they had set for the village alone.
He, and other zebras, cried as they never had before. Their ancestral village, which they had lived in for hundreds upon hundreds of years, was dying.
"My heart," Grandmother Dalila said, a hoof over her chest. She wasn't crying, but the shocked expression on her face said it all.
Adili and Kanzi's father, Daudi, patted each of his children in turn. "Calm down, my beloved children," he said, though his eyes were wet with recent tears. "While the huts we lived in burn, the zebras of our village survive. One day, when the invaders are gone, we will rebuild what the ponies have destroyed."
Kanzi looked up at him, hate and sorrow mixed with loss. "I hope you kill every last one of them, father!"
She got a cuff on the ear. "Kipenzi," their father said, "I know it's hard. But do not hate. Hatred is like the fires you see consuming our village; if you let hate control you, you will burn others as you have been burned. I promise we'll rebuild, and that our lives will be as before, when the war is over."
He looked out over the plain. "I wish I didn't have to go and fight this war. But for you, for the village, and for our ancestors I shall go, that we may have the chance to return and rebuild our lives."
"Don't let them kill you, father!" Adili said, leaning against his father's foreleg.
"I cannot promise that, my son. But stand strong; you are growing into a fine young stallion. And Kanzi, remember to listen to Grandmother, for she is your grandmother, and she is old and wise. Obey her voice while I am away, as you would obey mine. And always remember, I will always love you, whether I am here or... beyond."
For another five days, there were no further incidents on the march east. The "war" felt too much like a triumphal march. Saber watched as his soldiers awoke from their camp on the eighth day of the war; as with soldiers from any nation, they ate breakfast, gambled, cussed, and drank various beverages. Although coffee and water were the only drinks officially allowed, unofficially some officers looked the other way if a soldier drank a... stronger liquid, so long as they didn't consume too much of it, and Saber wasn't too hard on this sort of rule breaking. It kept morale up amongst the soldiers.
"Major Arrow, your battalion will scout ahead of the army," he said to one of his subordinates.
"I doubt they'll even turn up," the Guard Stallion replied.
"Noted, but do it anyway, on the off chance we're wrong."
"Yes, sir."
Saber went to his tent and began to look at the map. Mji wa Almasi was only five days march away, and the Mstari, who had been defiant in all their words, had yet to fight.
To be sure, a few enemy scouts had almost always been on the edge of the march, watching and sending apparent messengers to and fro. When chased by fast groups of ponies armed with swords, they would run away, only to return when the pursuers came back to the main army.
But there was no sign of an enemy army so far. Where was the famous zebra warrior spirit?
Whatever the case, the capital of the Mstari wasn't far off. Would this be a bloodless war?
Major Arrow galloped ahead with his fellow Guard regulars. Despite his name, he was currently armed with a sword and wheel-lock pistol. He and his scouts stopped at the edge of a hill.
"Sir, is there any point in continuing?" one of his sergeants asked.
"Probably not," Arrow said, shrugging. "But we'll just check over this hill, just in case. If we see nothing, we head back."
The scout battalion ran up the hill. Some of them were already chatting, as if their job was over. And why not? The enemy had done nothing at all significant.
Arrow reached the top of the hill first.
What he saw almost stopped his heart.
The entire plain ahead of them was filled with zebras. Spears, feathers, and shields made of the skins of various dead animals could be seen for miles.
"Sir, what do we do?"
The question snapped Arrow back to reality. "We go back to the camp and tell them what we've found, of course!" he said. "What else?"
"They're coming our way!"
Arrow turned back to the horde before him; hundreds of zebras were already rushing the hill, and others were taking notice.
"Quickly! Back down the hill! When we reach the bottom, turn and fire on my order!"
The scout battalion raced down the west side of the hill faster than they had ascended it.
"Now!"
The scouts turned, pulled out their pistols, and fired at the pursuing zebras, who had been gaining on them; dozens of them fell, braying. Some of the survivors hurled their spears before withdrawing. Several ponies cried out in pain as some of them found targets.
"Take the wounded! We need to get back!"
Some of the scouts lifted the injured and dead onto their backs.
"More of them!"
Arrow looked up as more zebras crested the hill.
"Come on!"
Saber looked at his officers. "We'll soon reach the capital. Either the zebs give us a fight before they get there, or they give it to us. If they offer battle to us, we'll crush them. If they don't, the Mstari will have to concede to Crown rule. Either way, we get what we wanted from this campaign."
"Heh, they were all defiant and imposing upon us when we didn't have an army in their territory," said on Guard, one of the escorts on the diplomatic mission. "Now they can't run fast enough."
"I do fear we may face resistance soon enough," one of the officers mused. "What if their plan is to ambush us in the city, where our weapons have much less effect?"
"They may indeed intend such a plan," Saber conceded, not having thought of that plan before. "But it would be futile. Their houses, such as they are, are rarely higher that two story dwellings, even in their capitals, and most are one story. Pegasus scouts could easily sight any ambush from the air and warn us. We could just withdraw and bombard the city at our leisure."
He pointed at the map. "We are here at Pundamilia Mlima." He tapped his hoof on the spot. "Except for the mountain itself, and the hills Major Arrow is scouting, the entire area is bereft of cover from here on our except for lone strands of trees, which would provide cover for only a few warriors at best; I doubt they'll even try to ambush us like that."
"What if they decided to wait until we came in, then cut our supply lines?" another officer asked.
"That... is a good question," Saber admitted. "In that case, we may have to temporarily withdraw. However, even as we speak the Governor is marshalling more troops. I expect we'll have another two thousand, five hundred. I've also already written that he include fast, lightly armored troops in order to scout and pursue the enemy better. I don't expect the supply issue to be a critical one, not when we could counter by either attacking the blocking army or by plundering the countryside; except for Nyasi Wazi, we've been light on the zebs and their villages, but if their army chooses to play rough, we can choose to do so as well."
"Well, what i-"
"Colonel!"
A pegasus scout broke into the tent, huffing and puffing.
"What is this disturbance? Explain yourself, soldier!"
"You'll have to explain your own self to the zebras before long; they're on their way, all of them!"
Saber paused. "All of them?"
"Yes! From the hilltop we saw thousands upon thousands, black and white all across the plain! They started chasing us! I reckon they're all on their way!"
Saber looked to his officers. "Well, gentlecolts, it appears the enemy has finally chosen to give us battle. Go back to your commands and get ready for battle on the double! Remember to ready your stallions into square formations; pikes in front, musketeers in back, cannons in the center. Get to it!"
Jelani watched from the top of the hill where the battle had begun. The enemy soldiers were rushing out of their camp in haste. Long pikes extended outward, with the pikeponies crouching. Musketeers formed up behind them. Cannons were unlimbered, their crews rushing to load their pieces. The pikeponies and musketeers formed up in square formations. Each other square was forward of the two on either side; it would allow them to cover one another without shooting each other up.
He grimaced. This would not be easy.
"High Chief!"
He turned to regard his chief healer, Nia, a mare. "Yes, healer?"
"We have the potions ready. We'll be able to distribute and throw them at the enemy to cause chaos, but we need our warriors to return and arm themselves with them."
Jelani grimaced again. "I doubt it will be so easy," he said, watching as thousands of zebras, led by their chiefs, were already running forward to attack.
Thousands of zebras charged recklessly toward the Equestrian squares. Saber couldn't help a smile. This would be easy enough; such a charge was fruitless.
"Await my order!" he cried out to the musketeers.
More zebras crested the hill in the distance.
Let's give them a display of the futility of their situation. "Fire!"
Thousands of matchlocks fired at once. Smoke enveloped the battlefield; once the roar of muskets died away, the braying and screams of wounded zebras could be heard.
"Reload and prepare another volley!"
As the smoke lifted away, Saber realized that many of the zebras were still charging. Hundreds were down, but thousands more charged over the wounded and dying to continue the fight.
Not to worry, our pikes outrange their spears, he thought, trying to calm himself.
He realized, a bit too late, that each zebra was carrying two spears; one was on their withers, held there by a strap, the other held in a hoof, and they were raising them in such a way as to throw them.
Another volley of matchlocks downed many, but this time spears flew through the smoke. Screams, this time from both ponies and zebras alike, arose as those spears fell.
One spear landed at Saber's hooves. He backed up momentarily in surprise.
That was too close...
But when he looked up from the spear, he could see that his previous assumption was correct; the pikeponies of the Royal Guard were holding off the zebra horde. The enemy could not approach without being stabbed by pike heads, and dozens were falling trying to get past the line of pikes.
BOOM!
A ball from a demi-culverin flew through the air and slammed into the zebra ranks some distance back from the front line. Others followed; the damage done was frightful, even though it was the enemy being pounded.
The big guns also increased the amount of smoke on the field; it became harder to see the enemy, and by the time the musketeers had reloaded again, they could barely see the enemy in front of them. Nevertheless, the zebras could be heard crying out in pain and fear.
"Cease fire!"
A moment of relative silence fell upon the field as the smoke blew away.
Finally, the field could be seen. The zebras who were still on their hooves were fleeing, some carrying their wounded and dead on their backs with them as they did.
Saber smiled once more. "Major Arrow, get out there and chase them down!"
Jelani and the other High Chiefs, along with the healers, watched in dismay as the initial wave of warriors fell back. Hundreds at the very least had fallen already, and those who had survived were demoralized and frightened.
"Come back! Come back! Let us reform our lines and reform!"
A few zebras stopped, but many more continued to flee.
"Come back, cowards!" Nia screamed, her face and voice furious. "You disgrace your ancestors! You disgrace your families! Your mothers and fathers would be ashamed to have been your parents! You are nothing but pure mud in the eyes of those who came before!"
Her insults and rage had more effect on the fleeing warriors than Jelani's own attempts to stem the rout; hundreds stopped running and began to return, ashamed and heads hanging low.
"Bring the wounded here," another healer called out, though much more calmly. "We healers will do our part in this battle."
More zebras approached, thousands upon thousands more.
"Let the battle so far teach us a lesson!" Jelani yelled out for all to hear. "We must attack as one, and not waste our lives on individual attacks upon the enemy. Form up again, in the battle formations that we have rehearsed so many times in our training as warriors."
"Let all those among you who can throw well come to the healers!" Nia said loudly. "We have potions that will do great harm to the enemy, and will devastate their formations! Use them wisely, and not as fools, for we do not have an infinite number of them."
Hundreds of zebras stepped out of line to meet her call.
I wish I'd maintained my health, Jelani thought as healers treated the wounded and Nia passed out battle potions. I could keep up with them then. And I bear responsibility for this land... and these losses.
"Enemy scouts!"
The High Chief of the Mstari turned. A few hundred ponies were pursuing straggling zebras. Some of them were firing their pistols, others held swords or other melee weapons.
"All of the Mstari, follow me!" Although they won't be following me for long, he thought as he felt his belly jiggle.
Saber watched as Major Arrow finally began his attack, minutes after the order had gone out. better late than never, I suppose, he thought.
"Sir, there appear to be several important zebs on the hill," a corporal noted.
"Give me those binoculars." Having yanked the binoculars away, Saber looked, and saw several zebra chiefs upon the hill Arrow had scouted earlier.
"Hmmm... if only they were a little closer to us; then our two wall breakers could give them a lesson in audacity."
"More zebs! Coming over the hill!"
Saber saw them, of course. Thousands upon thousands, far more than were present in the first attack, were coming up and forming up.
"Reload all weapons. Prepare to receive another charge!"
Major Arrow's soldiers cut down several of the zebras who had been slow to retreat. The striped warriors fell to the ground, as their comrades had before.
No doubt Saber will be upset, he thought angrily. He would have wanted us to attack before now. It's not our job to attack; we're scouts and skirmishers, not pikeponies or musketeers. The fool will blame me if something goes wrong with this.
"Sir, zebras are coming from the hill!"
More zebras were gathering. Thousands.
They charged.
"Retreat! Immediately!" he called out.
But as the scout battalion turned around, Arrow realized that his unicorns and earth ponies were tired from the earlier scouting and retreat that had followed. They weren't going to be able to withdraw fast enough; indeed, some of the zebras were gaining. He needed to gain some time.
Cursing, he shouted, "Anypony with a loaded pistol, turn and give them a volley!"
The scouts turned around and began firing. It was a ragged volley, but again, numerous zebras fell.
It wasn't enough; they were still coming.
"Pegasi, grab what comrades you can and lift them away! The rest of you, withdraw as you can!"
But even as he gave the order, he realized it was too late. Zebras reached his scouts. The scouts resisted, but they were outnumbered massively, and no sword or pistol that was wielded like a crude club could ward off three, four, or five spears at once. Scouts fell quickly.
"Retreat!"
So far, the counterattack had gone well. The enemy scouts were driven back; indeed, they were routing as the zebras had, not very long ago. Over half had been cut down, and more were being slain even now. A spear from a warrior caught a pegasus who was trying to carry an earth pony away. The pegasus fell, screaming in agony, and the earth pony struck the earth unceremonially, to be speared himself a few seconds later. Similar scenes were happening elsewhere.
"Don't chase them!" Jelani bellowed. "Form up, and prepare for the real battle! These scouts are no longer a threat!"
Slowly, the warriors began to listen. Lower chiefs managed to get their warriors to listen, and before the enemy musketeers could fire, the many, many warriors had withdrawn. Now they were on flat ground, but out of range of the enemy's muskets.
" Form up!" Jelani repeated. "Make sure the potion tossers are within your ranks! We need them for the next attack!"
Saber watched in shock as the now ragged scouts withdrew; fewer than half had made it back, perhaps a third of those who had gone out earlier.
Major Arrow entered the square where Saber himself was. The earth pony looked like he was ready to start smashing things... namely the Colonel.
"What happened, Major? You were supposed to chase the routed enemy, not get routed!"
"You want to know what happened?' Arrow shouted back. "I found my soldiers were tired. We had to gallop two miles to the hill over there, gallop back, and then you told us to go back after them. That's nearly six miles on hoof."
"If you'd counterattacked the moment I told you to-"
"We're scouts! We don't go hoof to hoof with the enemy! We find them, skirmish with them, screen the army! That's what we're here for!"
"You're insubordinate, Major," Saber said in a threatening voice.
"And you're an incompetent coward," Arrow replied, fury on his face. "We weren't fresh, and you ordered us out to our deaths. I don't respect you for that, and if you expect me to then you've got another thing coming."
Saber opened his mouth to reply, but somepony shouted, "They're forming up again!"
The Colonel looked through his binoculars again. The zebras were advancing, after a relatively short pause.
"Major, when we win this battle, I'll make sure you face responsibility for bringing this engagement upon us, and cashiered for insubordination!"
"If we win," Arrow replied, still furious. "I doubt the zebs are going to let you off the hook any more gently than they did me. Say hi to any of my scouts you meet in the hereafter; I doubt they'll receive you warmly otherwise."
"Get out of here," Saber said in disgust. "Run away, with your scouts. Tell Governor Buttons you and your ponies failed Her Majesty. I don't want to see any of you until this battle is over."
Arrow gave him a grim smile. "I doubt you'll have time for anything, Colonel. My ponies are spent. We'll make sure to keep out of your way." He trotted away, spitting at Saber's hooves as he did so.
"Cretin." Saber wanted to arrest his subordinate, but there was a battle to direct. "Make ready!" he called out.
The cannons began to roar again. Cannonballs and explosive shells struck the mass of incoming zebras, who continued to come on regardless.
Coward, am I? he thought, enraged at the very thought of the Major's words. I'll show him...
I really do need to exercise more, assuming I survive this battle, Jelani thought.
He had been right before; other zebras easily outpaced him. His days as a warrior had been forgotten prior to this conflict.
I won't make that same mistake twice.
The cannons roared; zebras, and parts of zebras, flew through the air. Screams of agony were almost as loud as the battle brays and shouts of the angry warriors.
Now they were coming into range of the enemy's muskets.
Here's the part we need to get right...
"Fire!"
The thunder of thousands of matchlocks momentarily drowned out all other sounds; smoke arose, once again obscuring the battlefield. A chorus of screams could be heard as the roars died away, followed by continued cannon fire.
Again, spears came out of the smoke; ponies fell, some screaming, a few just crumpling to the ground as though their bones had turned to water.
More projectiles flew in; they shattered upon hitting the ground.
Glass bottles? Is that all-
It wasn't.
One such bottle unleashed a blue cloud. At first, the ponies within the cloud seemed unaffected, but they began to have troubling symptoms very quickly; a pikepony watched in shock as his pike suddenly went limp, as if it were made of spaghetti; a musketeer found the same happening to his ramrod. Unicorns were horrified as their horns went limp, suddenly refusing to cast any magic. Strong earth ponies found their muscles growing to an absurd and impractical size; pegasi fell out of the sky as their wings inverted or changed into unfamiliar bat wings.
And that wasn't the only potion the zebras were hurling; some exploded like bombs, having the same effect on the ponies as their shells did on the zebras. Others unleashed a gas that did nothing to ponies but corroded their weapons; the wooden stocks and locks of matchlocks were turned to sawdust almost quicker than the eye could see, while pikes and cannons became rusty just as quickly. One potion that happened to fall upon a cannon melted the barrel; the powder within the gun ignited, sending it's ball flying along with molten metal, and blowing the gun itself to pieces. The cries of the crew, most of whom had been hit by melted iron and steel were horrific to hear.
One last potion had the worst effect; it unleashed a cloud of black smoke upon hitting the ground. From those clouds the cries of surprised ponies arose, almost immediately replaced by coughing and other loud and obnoxious noises, including that of retching. When the 'smoke' blew away, it would reveal ponies lying dead, hooves at their throats.
Almost all the ponies in the forward squares had been annihilated in just minutes. The few who yet stood were set upon by zebras armed with conventional spears, and were quickly overrun.
"R-Reform ranks!" Saber yelled in a panic.
Some soldiers obeyed. However, having seen the fate of the first line, many soldiers were dropping their weapons and fleeing.
"Come back!" a sergeant yelled. "Cursed fools, I'll make you all regret the day you were born!"
Saber was on the verge of running himself. But the zebras, having broken the forward squares, were surging forward, shouting in their tongue and braying as if there were no tomorrow.
"F-form ranks, curse you all!"
"Get your backsides back into line before I flay you all!" a sergeant bellowed. "What the zebs can do to you is nothing compared to what I will do if you don't get back here and reform on the double!"
That stopped some of the soldiers from fleeing, and some returned to the nearest square to them. But now zebras were running in between the squares, surrounding them and shouting, throwing spears and howling insults. Because they were in between the squares, they could not be fired upon without the risk of friendly fire.
Half the army destroyed, half the artillery lost one way or the other. This wasn't going well.
"Stay in your ranks! They obviously have no more of those potions! Stand firm, and we can still come out of this alive!"
Why didn't I say we could win? Saber thought a second later. The realization came quickly. We might not win...
The thousands of zebras brayed and cheered in Swahili as half the enemy force simply disintegrated... literally and metaphorically. It was a stunning success.
But it wasn't enough on its own. Jelani had hoped the ponies would all flee once the potions... did what they did. They had not, at least not in large numbers. About half their remaining force, aside from the scouts, who had fled, were still standing. The square formations still did their deadly work; many a zebra who dared come within range of a pike was gutted. Dozens more were being gunned down, though those in the gaps between the surviving squares were largely immune to gunfire due to the risk the enemy faced of hitting other squares.
The enemy weren't going to panic and run, not en-masse, not unless something drastic changed.
"Nia, are there any more potions?" he asked the healer.
"No," the mare replied, sounding frustrated. "I told the warriors to be careful with them. The idiots used them up too fast, and on the same targets."
"To be fair to you and to the warriors alike, those potions did more than I'd hoped for."
"Not enough," Nia said, shaking her head; she was rarely satisfied.
"No matter. The enemy have suffered greatly, and we have a victory on our hooves; how to win it, that's the question."
"We could surround them and keep them under siege; that would starve them out eventually."
"Or they might break out and become pains in our hindquarters later on. No, we must destroy them today."
"I suppose we could use the enemy's weapons," the healer suggested. "Some of our warriors have learned how to use matchlocks. And those pikes are no more than long spears."
"I suppose we could try; there are thousands of pikes and muskets the enemy have abandoned. But I doubt we have the skill or training to use their cannons."
"No. Pity; they'd be just the thing for breaking those squares the way an axe breaks open a coconut."
"Indeed." Jelani raised his voice. "Warriors! All those who know how to use muskets, take them from their fallen and fled owners. Others, take up their long spears, and use them. All those who have our own spears, throw them at the enemy; they will not serve you against their pikes."
Perhaps... perhaps we'll just hold out after all, Colonel Saber thought.
So far, the zebs had failed to break through; their spears were too short, and they really did seem to be out of those potions of theirs. If the Equestrian forces could hold out, until nightfall, then it was possible that they could withdraw under cover of darkness. While the cannons weren't as effective, the enemy couldn't break through the Equestrian pikes lines, and they were clearly becoming increasingly frustrated trying to break through.
"More spears incoming!" a musketeer yelled.
It was true; the zebras were throwing their second spears, the ones that were supposed to serve as their melee weapons. Another rain of spears fell upon the Equestrians; screams arose from the ranks yet again.
Saber noted, to his own anxiety, that his own troops were no longer standing as solidly as before; they had suffered hundreds more casualties from the bombardment of spears, and some soldiers were clearly hoping to get a chance to run if they could; musketeers kept looking behind them, and many soldiers kept turning briefly, as the battle allowed, to regard Saber himself, their eyes pleading for him to order a withdrawal.
He pretended not to notice. Even if I did order our forces to retreat, we couldn't make it through this mass of zeb savages without being slaughtered. Better to try our fortunes, such as they are, in holding our ground than run away.
The horde of zebras continued to swarm around them; some of them hadn't yet parted with their spears, no doubt unwilling to part with a weapon in battle regardless of how useless it was.
"Well, Sergeant Stock, it seems we'll hold well enough."
"Yes, sir, for now. But-
Thock!
Stock stiffened, then collapsed to the ground.
"Sergeant?"
Saber looked. That hadn't been a spear, so why...
Upon examining Stock's forehead, he realized that the sergeant wouldn't be going home, except in a body bag.
That could only be... a musket ball... but no, it couldn't be, these primitive savages don't have the know-how to-
A pikepony fell in a similar manner as had Sergeant Stock. A musketeer screamed as something slammed into his chest; a hoof held to the wound, he dropped, still shrieking to the skies.
Individual clouds of smoke rose from the zebra horde; to Saber's horror, numerous zebras were holding, loading, or aiming matchlocks. They were firing individually, not in any organized volley, and they didn't have much expertise in aiming their new weapons, but some of their shots were killing or wounding ponies they were firing at. Furthermore, as he watched, more zebras seemed to be arming themselves with abandoned muskets.
Others were picking up pikes and trying to balance an hold them, in the fumbling way an untrained recruit might do.
"Shoot for the gunners among them!" Saber shouted, his voice close to panic.
Many musketeers did; along with zebras who happened to be in the way of the musket balls (the matchlocks were smoothbore weapons, designed for mass firing), numerous musket-wielding zebras fell to the ground. But more picked up the weapons they dropped, and tried using them. Meanwhile, small bands of zebras advanced upon the squares, pikes in hoof. In zebra hooves, they wobbled much more than a trained pikepony would have done; one zebra actually slammed the tip of his new weapon into the ground. But more and more zebras were taking up weapons of dead, wounded, or fled ponies, and those who weren't seemed to be taking more and more spirit. Some of the zebras were attempting to actually muscle their way into the formations, trying to force the pikes apart, with some trying to jerk them out of the hooves of the ponies who were holding them.
While the zebras who had acquired muskets were making the battle easier, the ponies still refused to budge. Something had to be done, something to make them flee. Jelani watched with dissatisfaction; at this rate, the Mstari and their allies would defeat the ponies, but it would cost them the lives of many warriors. The healers were already overwhelmed by the number of wounded.
"For the Mstari and our nation!"
A young zebra charged into the fray, straight at the pikes of the center square.
"No, you fool! Come back here!" an older zebra yelled.
It was already too late; the zebra threw himself into the air, straight into the pike formation. Several pikeheads snapped off their pikes, and the ponies holding those and nearby pikes were badly knocked out of place. A moment later a sword clipped into the zebra's chest, and several pikes stabbed him, so that he was held like some gory banner atop them.
But his reckless attack had knocked the front formation of pikes out place. Immediately, zebras, realizing the opportunity before them, surged into the gap their younger colleague had made, with others charging in after them, spearing the ponies on either side; those who had cast both their spears earlier stuck with bare or shod hooves at the invaders.
In a moment, the square had been broken.
"Curse that zebra!" Saber shouted. "May he be condemned to the biggest fire there is in the abyss! He's wrecked us all!"
He had. The youth was dead now, but his death had opened a hole the enemy could surge through, and did.
Saber began, almost accidentally, to take some steps back. Some individual soldiers had dropped their muskets or pikes and were fighting with swords, but in doing so they were now more or less on par with the enemy, and they were cut down as often as they cut down their zebra opponents.
"Left and right, fall inward!" Saber called desperately. Maybe the square - or some shape - could be reformed out of all of this.
But it was already too late. Pressed from front and now from the rear, the pikeponies and musketeers on both sides were being cut down or were fighting back as best they could, now deprived of their signature weapons and fighting with swords. The rear of the formation, realizing what was going on, began to panic, and disintegrated, with individuals fighting with swords or pikes such as they could; a few musketeers swung their muskets like clubs, trying to ward off their inevitable demise.
Saber was forced to take out his namesake weapon and began to swing it at zebras coming his way. He caught one in the face, and the zeb fell to the ground, crying out with his hooves covering his new scar.
Another zebra, however, smacked the sword aside and punched him in the face, a pony-made horseshoe nailed the zeb's hoof adding to the blow.
Saber fell to the ground, clutching his face.
There was a thud on the ground as a hoof fell near it. Saber looked up.
"I hoped all along for victory," came the accented voice of High Chief Jelani in English, "and yet I never thought it would be my fortune to take you alive, Colonel Saber." The zebra chief held a spear in one hoof while staring down at the unicorn.
"K-kill me, then!" Saber said, tears coming from his eyes. "Be a stallion and slay me! I have nothing more to live for!"
"On the contrary, Colonel, I intend to end this war with you and those of your warriors who live paraded through Mji wa Almasi. And then... I shall hoof you over to your Princess. We shall see how she deals with you."
"P-please!"
"No, coward. I shall not slay you, even as much as you may deserve it for the harm you've done to my people. I will see justice done with my own eyes."
The chief gave a signal, and two warriors raised Saber to his hooves.
"Look," the chief said, pointing his spear at the battlefield.
Saber did. The left square was in the process of disintegrating. The right one was already in full flight, or more accurately was trying to flee, with zebras cutting down fleeing soldiers. A few of them were on their knees, begging the victors to not kill them, while pegasi flew as fast as they could to the west, some carrying other soldiers with them.
"We can do little to stop the flying ponies from escaping," Jelani continued. "But the rest of your army is ruined."
Saber turned. "W-what shall you do to Starhorse Bay Colony?"
Jelani looked fiercely at him. "I could march all the way to Gemstone, your capital, and with ten thousand zebras burn it to the ground. But I and the other High Chiefs have elected to be merciful, and shall appeal to your Princess instead of destroying Starhorse and making you all leave. We shall not invade, but there will be consequences."
Major Arrow watched as what was left of the army broke. One company of his scouts had gone in to try to rescue those they could, and he'd followed, unable to just stand and watch as his fellow soldiers were cut down.
Having rested, those scouts who were left were able to catch the zebras by surprise and open enough holes in their horde for some few soldiers to get out alive. Many, many more, however, were left dead or dying on the field. And once again, the scouts were forced to fall back, with zebras in pursuit.
Gradually, the scouts and main army soldiers who had managed to get out of the fight alive reached a hill to the west of the battlefield. Arrow and his stallions turned around, weary.
Zebras milled at the bottom of the hill, but did not attack. Some shouted what must have been insults in their own language, but they did not pursue further.
One threw a spear; of course, it landed far short of the pitiful remains of the colonial army of Starhorse Colony. That done, the zebra who had thrown it signaled to the others, who followed him back to the east.
Far in the distance, zebras could be seen howling and braying in victory.
"Major, that spear appears to have a piece of paper on it."
"Does it? Sergeant Rosewood, go down there and retrieve it."
Rosewood, a brownish-red pegasus, flew down, picked up the spear, and flew back up the hill. "Sir."
Arrow took the spear and shoved it's tip into the ground, then took the scroll of paper wrapped around the middle.
Ponys of Star Horse, it read, in bad English, go hom and tel your Prin Cess that wee the Zeb Ras of the Miss Tari tribe wil fight to ther deaths to hold our land. Send yor Prin Cess to make peece, and do not com bac un til then.
Arrow looked at the remains of the army. It was pitiful; including his scouts, maybe five hundred ponies had made it out of the death trap, with a couple hundred of those wounded, and some were without weapons. Others had abandoned some or all of their armor in their flight.
Out of five thousand three hundred, this is all that's left. Arrow looked westward, where the sun was currently on it's way to the horizon. It would be a tough retreat; no doubt angry zebra villagers would be all too happy to attack the survivors.
It's up to me to get these ponies out. He sighed. "Let's go," he said, sighing as he turned from the battlefield. "We've got a long way to go."
Colonel Pike looked in dismay as the ragged survivors of the battle at Pundamilia Mlima came towards his army, just outside an abandoned zebra village. "What happened!?" he half asked, half screamed.
"What happened, Colonel?" Arrow said, an angry frown on his face. "What happened was, the zebs beat us, that's what happened."
"But... how? How could Saber lose to these primitives?"
"Those 'primitives' had potions that all but destroyed the forward squares, and the rest got stormed by superior numbers as far as I could make out. I don't know precisely how they broke the remaining squares, but they did. This was all we could save."
"Save! There can't be more than one out of every ten ponies who went out with you!"
"Yeah. You can thank Colonel Saber and his overconfidence for that."
"W-well, my orders were to join up with Saber near the Mstari capital, and now he's dead. What do you suggest?"
"I suggest we fall back. At least one of them has his letters - well, some of them - in our language, because they gave us a letter to leave and send Princess Celestia to make piece. There were maybe ten thousand zebras or more, and we're outnumbered more than 3 to 10. I wouldn't recommend going further. The zebs were no slouches on the battlefield, and they won't deal any differently with you than they did with us."
Pike shifted his forehooves uncomfortably. "The Governor won't be happy if we fall back without at least engaging the enemy. I condemn my career as a soldier if I don't at least try something."
"And I'm telling you that if you don't retreat, sir, you'll condemn Starhorse's entire army to extinction. We'll have nothing but militia to defend the colony from a zebra counterattack."
"Zebras! Over yonder!"
Pike and Arrow looked east. A large army of zebras, most wielding spears but some clearly armed with matchlocks and pikes from the previous battle, was forming on a hill about a mile away. They showed no sign of attacking, but they were clearly ready.
Pike made up his mind. "We withdraw. We'll need a rearguard."
"I'll lead it," Arrow said. "My boys got roasted in the previous fight, but if you'll give me some of your scouts, I can guard our rear as we withdraw."
"You'll have your rearguard." Pike looked up at the hill. "Why aren't they attacking?"
"Maybe they're sending us a message. Get out and we won't attack you. Or maybe they're tired of fighting and just want us gone with as little loss as possible. Either way, if we get back to our border without another battle, I'll be relieved."
Adili, Kanzi, and the elderly Dalila looked in dismay at their hut, which had been burned to the ground.
They weren't alone. Hundreds of zebras stared at the ruins of their homes in Nyasi Wazi as the afternoon rolled on. Many, most of them young, were crying. Some few walked into the ashes and tried to find something, anything, of their lives before the war.
Kanzi was amongst those crying. "Grandmother, how will we rebuild... this?" she asked, waving her shod hoof top encompass the village.
"Come here, Kipenzi," Grandmother Dalila said, drawing Kanzi in with a hoof to cry into her shoulder. "Don't worry, my brave children. We will rebuild our house, and our village, and we shall again grow crops and make bread and sing as we used to."
"B-but when, Grandmother? When will we rebuild?"
"We shall start right now," a familiar voice said.
Adili and Kanzi turned. "Father!"
Daudi awkwardly walked up to his children... awkwardly, because his left foreleg was gone from the knee downward.
"Father, your leg!" Adili said in shock.
"Don't worry, my son. I've come out of this war with my life, and with the honor of our tribe intact."
"T-then we w-won?"
Their father smiled grimly. "Yes, my children. The Mstari, and zebras of tribes around the Mstari, have won, and the ponies now skulk back to their colony. Chief Bakari has allowed me to return home, given my... infirmity."
"C-chief Bakari?" Adili said, looking up from his father's leg. "But... But Haki is chief!"
Daudi sighed. "Not anymore. A pony shot him in the battle, and the healers were unable to save him. As such, Bakari, his eldest son, now rules our village."
Adili sobbed quietly. "How many more have not returned, father?"
"Thankfully most of the zebras from our village lived through the war. Sadly, Sadiki is one of those who will not."
"What happened to him, my noble son-in-law?" Grandmother Dalila asked quietly.
"He was very brave. After our potions destroyed the first of the pony formations, we were struggling to break our way into the one that remained. Many were being shot or stabbed, and it seemed hopeless. But Sadiki threw himself into the enemy pikes, breaking their formation long enough for those of us yet on our hooves to break into their square. He sacrificed himself so the rest of us could defeat the invaders."
"How did you lose your leg, son-in-law?"
"I was in the second attack. The ponies stabbed me through the leg twice with their pikes and broke my bones, and I could only lay on the field after that as the healers did their best. They could not save me and my leg, so..."
"Oh father!" Kanzi cried.
"Don't be sad, my lovely daughter. It is an honorable wound, sustained in the service of my tribe and my village. Our ancestors will be proud of our courage we showed."
"But... you won't be the same!"
Daudi let out a braying laugh. "My daughter, I am the same zebra, the same father, I was before the war; I just have one less hoof, that's all. I buried my leg on the battlefield at Pundamilia Mlima, two days after the battle there."
"Father, our village...!"
"Yes, my son Adili, our village is currently in ruins. Key word, currently. It will take time, but we will rebuild our village, our land, and our lives. Hopefully, my loss, and that of many thousands of zebras, will ensure that neither of you ever have to fight."
"Did our High Chief survive the battle, at least?" Dalia asked anxiously. "He is still too young to have died."
"He lived. And he fought and led on the field himself, despite his belly. Along with Sadiki's sacrifice, it was one of the greatest things I have ever seen. After the battle, while the healers were still treating me, I heard he captured the pony commander, and many of his soldiers. They will be paraded through Mji wa Almasi; indeed, I wish I could watch. But I knew you all needed me, and my love for all of you overrode my desire to see our enemies humbled. I am here now, to help our village recover." Looking up at the skies, Daudi sighed quietly. "It will not be long before things go on as before, my sweet children, you'll see."
Buttons slammed his hoof onto the table. "That imbecile! I gave him five thousand troops of the finest caliber this colony could muster, and he loses nearly all of them to worthless savages who can't even read! If the zebras ever release him, I'll discharge him with such dishonor that he'll never recover from it."
He turned in his chair towards Colonel Pike. "And you! You should have pressed on!"
"Sir, the zebs had ten to fifteen thousand warriors, and they no doubt captured many of our weapons at Pundamilia Mlima. To have fought would have been suicidal."
"So you listened to this coward," Buttons said furiously, now pointing at Major Arrow, "instead of... doing something. Anything! Maybe you couldn't have taken their capital, but you could have held onto some of the gold mines!"
"Sir, might I remind you of the enemy's numbers? And Major Arrow's rearguard pegasi soon discovered that more zebras were on their way from other tribes to reinforce their army; no doubt they joined after hearing of the battle."
"And we have you and Colonel Saber to thank for that!" Buttons shouted. "Saber is done! Finished! I'll make sure of it! And neither of you are going to rise the ranks so long as I am Governor!"
"And how do you intend to explain this mess to Her Highness?" Arrow asked, angry sarcasm in his voice. "We'll soon have a zeb army on our border, ready to invade, with thousands of ponies dead. I doubt you'll remain Governor long."
"We have weeks until she finds out! I can have you dishonorably discharged, same as I'll do with Saber if he ever escapes zebra captivity!"
"But she will find out, sir," Arrow said. "And she'll be furious."
"No thanks to either of you!"
"I risked my life in that battle and to help rescue our boys!" Arrow yelled, stomping both forehooves. "How dare you blame me for that!?"
"I don't blame you for that; I blame you for losing the battle, and for not gaining something out of this venture!" Gilded Buttons turned his chair around. "You are both dismissed. From my presence, and from the Colonial Army. Now go."
It was humiliating.
Saber, stripped of all armor and weapons, and from all personal effects, was forced to lead the march of about a thousand ponies, who were likewise stripped, through the streets of Mji wa Almasi.
All along the route, zebras lined the column, howling insults at the captives and occasionally throwing things. Some tossed dirt or mud, others trash. Saber got a face-full of mud, with other junk striking his barrel.
Some of the guards shouted to the crowd. Most stopped throwing things, but continued jeering. Most yelled in their native tongue, but a few...
"Afraid ponies! Ponies afraid!" a zebra stallion shouted in broken English.
"Ponies dumb! Coward!"
These and some few other insults could be understood. Nothing could be done; any attempt to break from their course would be met by armed guards who probably wouldn't hesitate to use their spears. Or matchlocks; a few held captured Equestrian weapons. In addition, some of the stronger zebras, or perhaps those who had distinguished themselves the most, hauled the army's cannons, all of which had been captured, behind them.
When they had reached the thatched roof "palace" of Mji wa Almasi, the column was halted.
A zebra climbed atop a small speaking platform and began speaking. Another zebra spoke at the end of every sentence, translating his words.
"Behold, the conquering heroes!" the speaking zebra shouted, gesturing with a hoof to the captives.
More jeering, braying and laughing from the crowd.
"Our eyes behold the victors in their shining armor!"
This time a cheer arose; many of the zebra warriors wore Guard-style armor they had taken from captives and from the the dead.
"And behold, the fallen sword of the defeated!" the zebra shouted, pointing his hoof at Saber directly.
More jeering. Saber tried to avoid their eyes and tried to hide his head.
"May justice be served in the coming peace!"
Shouting, both of apparent insults toward the captives and of cheering for the victory, were heard from the crowd.
The last sentence made Saber wish he'd never come to the colony; Princess Celestia was not going to be happy, not happy at all, when she heard of this...
No further aggressive actions were taken by either side in the month and a half it took for Princess Celestia to come to Starhorse Bay Colony. Both sides - especially the ponies - built defensive fortifications, but other than very light skirmishing, nothing of particular military note happened.
The battle had seen some 4,800 Equestrian casualties; about 1,000 captured (many having been wounded), with the rest dead on the field; five hundred or so had escaped, including the Scouts and parts of units that had managed to flee the battle. All artillery had been lost, along with all supplies for the campaign. The Mstari and their allies had suffered much worse; some 4,000 had been killed outright, and about a thousand died of their wounds later on, with 6,000 wounded. 8,000 or so had survived uninjured, with around 10,000 more zebras joining after the battle. It had been a bloody, violent battle.
As Colonel Saber had feared, the Princess had been livid when she had heard of the war, and had given immediate orders for any action to cease.
Now she met with the zebra leadership on the border, with crowds of civilians and military personnel from both sides participating in the spectacle.
Princess Celestia stepped forward to speak, bowing her head to High Chief Jelani and the other High Chiefs. "You have my utmost, sincere apologies, your highnesses. I never thought one of my appointed Governors would have dared to disturb the harmonious and beneficial peace between our peoples. You also have my great thanks for not invading our colony in response."
Jelani replied, a pleasant twinkle in his eye, "Do not fear, Princess; we do not blame you personally for this conflict. Having met you, none of us would think that you would be to blame. But we must demand justice, for the sake of the dead and permanently injured on both sides, that all may know that this shall not happen again."
"I shall gladly grant you this," Celestia replied. "I would like for you to return all captives to us... save those responsible for this mess."
"We shall do so gladly. However, out of fear that their bodies would rot, we have buried the dead near the battlefield; if you would exhume the bodies to bury them with their families, then you must come to our lands."
"I understand, and we'll do so. You may keep all the weapons you've taken; you've earned them."
"We would request," Jelani replied, "though not demand, that you send us training in these weapons and their tactics, that we may be better prepared in case of our neighbors attacking us again, and also that we may re-foster good relationships between our peoples. We request this not just for the Mstari, but for all our allies who fought in the war."
"I grant this request gladly, along with anything just that will restore our relations. Is there anything else you would like?"
"Yes. We want the ponies who destroyed Nyasi Wazi punished, along with those who gave cause for the war by giving false allegations of stealing, when they were the ones who stole from us. We are willing to reimburse any damage to their own property and threats to their lives, but they must pay the price for helping to start this war."
"This I will certainly do as well. All the perpetrators will receive just punishment for their deeds." She turned her head, and frowned. In a much different voice, she commanded, "former Governor Gilded Buttons and company, come forward."
Their heads bowed, all the ponies she had ordered came forward.
Celestia's horn lit up. In a moment, she ripped the medals and other accolades off her ex-governor. "Gilded Buttons, you have made war upon Equestrian allies on false premises, and are personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of ponies and many thousands of zebras. You shall be tried according to a trial, consisting of both zebras and ponies alike as the audience and jury, and your subordinates who joined in your conspiracy will also be tried. When convicted - and I see no other outcome - they shall be stripped of their ranks and dishonorably discharged." She finished by ripping off his already mangled red coat.
She turned again, her face softening. "Majors Arrow and Pike, come forward."
Arrow, his light purple coat having been cleaned since the battle, stepped forward, as did the silver-coated Pike.
"For courage on the battlefield, and staying to aid the survivors at the cost of your life, you are both restored to your previous rank, and all dishonors heaped upon you by the previous administration of the Colony are reversed as illegal abuses of power."
Both ponies puffed with pride, though Major Arrow was clearly uncomfortable.
"Speak your mind, Major."
"Ma'am, with all due respect, all I did was my duty to do. It was pure fortune we lived."
"Maybe, but ponies lived due to your efforts."
"Please make sure that my Scouts, who died at Pundamilia Mlima, didn't die in vain," he said, a furious eye turned toward Saber, who was in a crowd of captives still surrounded by zebra guards.
"That I will do."
Jelani stepped forward. "Thank you for including us in the trial of these miscreants. I am willing to have this take place according to the laws of both our peoples, but I insist it take place in Mji wa Almasi, or Diamond City, as you would say in your language."
Celestia nodded. "I would very much like to see your capital myself, if you'll pardon the brevity."
"This request I am pleased to accept. It may have the gilded and jeweled streets of Canterlot, but I assure you that you'll rarely find a more lively town, at least in my tribe."
Now the Princess' face became solemn. "May I also see the battlefield where so many brave warriors and soldiers gave their lives?"
"Yes, I think that would be best."
"Do you have any other terms for us?"
Jelani put a hoof under his chin. "I would like for Equestrian aid in rebuilding Nyasi Wazi, as well as financial reparations to help our villagers recover, and so that we can reward our allies for their efforts on our behalf. We would also like aid in rehabilitating the damaged souls who have been traumatized by the war, civilian and warrior alike."
"We shall do what we can for soldier, warrior, and civilian alike who has suffered or will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other combat-related issues. And yes, we shall pay the reparations."
"Thank you."
Celestia thought for a moment. "What does 'Pundamilia Mlima mean in your language?"
"It means 'Zebra Mountain.'"
"An appropriate name for a place in the 'Stripe' Tribe."
"Indeed."
There was silence for a moment.
"Is the peace then made, High Chief?" the Princess asked.
Jelani stomped his forehooves and planted his spear in the ground. "The peace is made. Zebras and ponies are at peace once more, and may that peace last for all time!"
He shouted something in Swahili to his own people, who cheered and stomped their hooves and raised weapons - some formerly of the Equestrian army - in the air.
"Cheer as well, my ponies," Celestia said, turning her head to smile at the crowd that was with her, "for Equestria is again at peace."
Ponies also began to celebrate, though they did so much more slowly than their zebra counterparts.
Celestia noticed that Saber, Buttons, and several of the ex-governor's staff did not look happy. Well, that was their fault. Justice would be served, by both nations.
In the meantime, Starhorse Bay Colony and the zebras would celebrate the return of peace.
Author's Note
*"Dear one."
**"A zebra's heart never gives in!"
